Shadow Taking Over

5- Another hello

The distance between them never felt so long. Tanner's house was a mere five miles away. She wondered why the length of the road seemed fifteen times that. Being out in the open on the sidewalk like she was now was risky, but there were no alternate routes. Eve moved at the pace of a light jog. Something held her back from exerting all of her energy into sprinting. Mid-step, her right foot tripped. Instinctively, her left came forward to catch her, but the ground took her instead. Like quicksand, Eve slowly sunk into the sidewalk. In a fit of panic, she clawed at the concrete. Bits of her nail chipped. Her body was set firm with no space to breathe. Shadows that kept to her skin now rolled down along with her, seemingly adding more weight to her. "Help!" she wanted to call out but was taught to be silent long ago. The ground swallowed her whole a few moments later.

Once her body had been completely engulfed, she found that there was a large space to breathe. Darkness was below her, while the image of where she once stood was above. Almost as through the ceiling was glass and underground was an infinite empty box. Eve laid belly flat on the see through ceiling. She felt like a phantom that lost their physical body. Looking down there was nothing but darkness. Her body had vanished, replaced by a shadowy mist with a beating heart of fire at its core. A burst of energy filled her 'legs' with adrenaline. Eve glided smoothly in the direction she wanted to go. An overwhelming feeling of freedom washed over her. She sped, the world above becoming a blur. She envisioned wind whipping through her hair, the cool touch of the sky. Of course, here on the surface none of that was real, but she welcomed the delusion.

Tanner's front lawn zipped into sight not long later. Eve skidded to a stop underneath the shadow of the mailbox. She pressed her 'hands' on the barrier between worlds. Shadows of objects acted as a permeable gateway back to the surface. Her nails dug into the over-world dirt. It took all of her upper body strength to claw her way out of the ground. Once she was free, she flailed onto the Earth. Damp blades of uncut grass stun her exposed cheeks. She scurried to sit upright, adjusting her sleeves over her hands and tucking her hair away. It was all very awkward. Given that this was her first time experimenting with her new form, she gave herself a pass.

The sun rested in the middle of the sky. There was no time to waste.

Eve delicately approached the house. Various piles of scrap parts scattered along the porch. She stepped over them to reach the front door. Assured that her sleeve covered her hand, she knocked three times. Shuffled walking caught her ear. It stopped at the door. Eve felt an eye peering at her through the hole. A serious of locks clicked one after the other until the door swung open.

Standing in her way was another female that towered over her by four inches. Eve remembered her as Pearl, Tanner's younger yet taller sister. Pearl ducked under the arch into full view. She was of Asian descent from her mother's side. Her shoulders pointed outward at the sides like spikes. Ruler straight hair drooped over her left while the whole right of her skull had been buzz cut an dyed silver to contrast the black. Despite the somewhat early hour of the day, Pearl still dawned a wrinkled PJ shirt that surpassed her upper thigh. A layer of mascara and violet eye shadow coated her eyes from the previous night. Pearl and Eve were equally as pale. Her jaw moved mechanically to chew a wad of green gum. She scanned over Eve with gleaming, violet eyes. A bubble expanded from her painted lips. Pearl popped it with her front teeth as she sneered.

"What dy'want?" she slurred from having just woken up.

"I'm here to visit an old friend," Eve replied uneasily. "Is Tanner home?"

Pearl scoffed. "I'm pretty sure Tanner doesn't have any friends."

"Old friend," Eve repeated with added urgency.

"Whaaaatever," Pearl breathed. She lead Eve inside, shutting the door promptly behind her.