Slice

Chapter 3 - The Fear of Fear

Hello wonderful wattpadders!! UniquePeak here. Thank you so much for reading my story!! I hope you all like it so far!

Thank you all so much for the 12 votes!! I know that I promised a new chapter at 15 votes, but I decided to be nice and let you guys have it early.

The next chapter will be published when this story gets 22 votes so go tell all your friends and family and that wierd guy who sleeps on your porch bench when you're not home, to read this story!!

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[Photo above is Sam's dad.]

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Sam sensed Rupert before he even got to her. She opened her eyes wide as his shadow-like arms pulled her from the wall. She fell limp in his arms, gasping for air. When Sam's breathing once again became steady and she stood up, leaning on Rupert for support, she looked up to see Cindy glaring at her. They both glared back at her before turning to walk away.

"Not so great now, huh?" Cindy called out.

Sam clenched her teeth and her hands formed fists. She swung around to resume their fight, but Rupert grabbed her shoulder and roughly pulled her back.

"Ignore her. Let's just go." Rupert said, grabbing Sam's hand, pulling her towards her house. She complied, walking with him to her house. Cindy said nothing more, walking in the opposite direction with a smug smile on her face.

"I can't leave you alone for five minutes, can I?" Rupert said jokingly.

"Nope," Sam replied with a smile on her face. "So what's your punishment for cutting training?"

"A sigh, some glares, and a 'don't do it again.' " He replied.

"Wow!" Sam said, surprised. "Your mom must have been in a really good mood today."

"I'm more afraid of what mood she's in tomorrow because there's a good chance I'm going to training in a dunce hat." Rupert said, grimacing.

"Oh. That's totally something she would do." Sam said looking at her best friend with pity. "It's too bad I'm not going to be at training tomorrow."

"What?" He gave her a confused look."But tomorrow's an odd day. You're supposed to stay here."

"I know, but I have something to do. It may take a few days too." Sam told him with a sad smile. "Sorry." She added.

"It's alright." He told her as they hopped up the front steps to her house. "Just come and visit every once in a while, ok?"

"Sure thing," She said to him, taking a hold of the door knob, "and thanks for helping me out earlier, Rupe." Sam smiled at him before opening the door and stepping inside.

"No problem." He called to her just before she closed the door behind her.

Sam walked straight into the living room, where she found her dad readying for the hunt that he would go to at sundown. "Hey, Dad." She said to him, walking past him into the kitchen.

"Hello, Sammy." He called out to her as he pulled his dark blue cape over his shoulders. "I heard you got into a little fight earlier with Cindy." He said, his voice portraying no emotion, as he walked into the kitchen behind her.

Sam cringed, opening a cabinet and pulling out a can of human fear. News traveled fast in the small village, if you didn't hold his enhanced senses accountable. All Shadows have these increased senses, so everyone in the entire town should already know what exactly Sam had gotten herself into earlier. "Uh, yeah." She said to him.

"Now I'm sure you had a good reason to." He said with a curt nod. "But," he said, his face portraying his anger, "I remember telling you, not to start a fight you can't win. No matter the reason."

Sam looked down at the ground, still clutching her can. "Right. I'm sorry, Dad."

"Sorry isn't going to cut it, Sam. If that was a real fight, who knows what would have happened to you." He grabbed Sam's shoulders, saying, "Sammy, old habits die hard, and I cant have you making a habit of fighting in fights you can't win. If you do, then I'm afraid you aren't going to live long." He let out a sharp laugh. "And you know that all parents want their kids to live long, happy lives."

Sam wanted to tell him how she had a good reason. How Cindy had insulted her and even went as far as insulting her mom, but she knew that this wasn't the time. She knew how her dad took "buts". She was touched by his words while still wanting to defend herself, wanting to tell him her side of the story. "I know, Dad. I really am sorry." Sam said to him, still looking at the ground. She couldn't say that she wouldn't do it again, but at least what she told him was the truth. She was sorry. Sorry for not winning.

"I know you are," her dad said, giving her a soft smile. "Now, you should have your fear before I leave to the hunt." He told her.

"Okay," Sam said and slowly popped open the lid on the can she had in her hand. As her body absorbed the fear, she heard the screams of the person who the fear had come from. The screams sounded female, and young. Sam could feel her fear as she saw the shadow-like figure creep towards her. She could feel her fear when she had sneezed on the dust in the air, revealing her location in the small storage room she had been hiding in. Her fear when hearing the snake-like voice, say, "Hello there, missy," dragging out the S sound. When she felt the shadowy hands wrap around her throat, pulling her against the wall. The horrible sensation of being choked, arms flailing about, not able to do anything to save herself. Her vision becoming blurry, seeing black dots floating around in her line of sight until finally, everything became dark. She felt her immense fear of death and finally, the fulfillment of her nightmares. Sam gasped, snapping back into reality. Her breathing, unsteady. She leaned against the counter top, until she could once again stand up straight. Sam's dad gave her a pitying look. She let out a nervous laugh. "Well that's always something." She said before lifting her gaze up to her dad. "Why did you have to kill her?"

"You know why, Sammy." He said with a sigh. "If we let them all live, eventually they will stop fearing us, and without their fear, we'd starve."

"Right," Sam said, sighing. They stood in silence for a few minutes. "Hey, Dad?" Sam said, breaking the silence. "I'm going to have to leave again tomorrow, and I might take a while this time."

"A while?" He asked. "How long?"

"A few days? A week? Maybe a month." She replied.

"That long?" He said in surprise. "What are you going to be doing? How are you going to get food?"

"It's a surprise." She said, answering in the first question. "For human food I'll do the usual, and for the fear, I was hoping I could finally go hunting."

"Hunting? By yourself?" Her dad asked her. Sam had never gone hunting for human fear before because of her awful shadow-form duration. Sam readied herself for a "no", but was astonished when he finally said, "Okay fine, but be careful."

"Really?" She asked giddishly, almost jumping up and down from excitement.

"Yes, really. You're older now, and I trust that you will make the right decisions and be more careful." He said, grabbing his satchel and walking to the front door. "Now I should probably head out to the hunt before I change my mind. Be safe, Sammy." He grabbed his top hat from its place on a hook next to the door and placed it on his head, gave Sam, who had followed him out from the kitchen, a kiss on her forehead, and walked out the door.