Seeing with the Shadows

Chapter 8

"What's Training like?" Lena asked after lunch, discovering that they had the same class after this.

"A bunch of random, boring drills in which you have to pull yourself out of crevices and climb breaking ropes and all of this other stuff that will so not help us. I mean, we live in the 21st century, not the mideval time when we're running away from people with swords or something." Quoim answered.

"That sounds fun, though!"

"Um, sure." Quoim simply replied.

They reached the doors of the gym, and unlike the other classrooms, they were two double doors that swung open to reveal... "Wow." Lena couldn't help it. The gym had been transformed to look like they were in the mountains.

"We're working on what to do in the mountains, you know- rock slides, all of that stuff. They just leave it up." Quoim explained, "It is pretty cool." She admitted.

In the middle of a normal looking gym sat a hunk of gray rock. Bubbling springs ran down the sides, and plants swayed in an invisible breeze. Small animals even were crawling around. "It's better than a few weeks ago." Quoim said, shuddering, "Those stupid mountain lions... I ripped my favorite shirt and when I tried to get a new one, they were all out."

"All right everybody! Gather up! Gather up! Let's go! Come on!" A thin woman called out, standing on top of the mountain. She was a full Vampire, just like most of the teachers at Half Moon. Was everyone a full Vampire here? Lena though anxiously. She rain a hand through her hair and stroked Phelicia's feathers repetetively.

"That's Professor Sloan." Quoim said.

"Now, today we'll be doing the activity: what to do when you are running around a mountain with the enemy chasing you."

"Like we'll ever have to do that in real life." Quoim muttered to Lena. Lena nodded, not really paying attention to her.

"Now," Professor Sloan continued, "You will all choose partners and once that has happened face me again." Lena and Quoim paired up, and then faced her again.

"You will be a team, working for some cause and some other people don't like you. So, two people to a team. Then, two teams pair up and one will chase the other. The one being chased will need to find places to hide, and find ways to protect themselves. I will be putting the teams together." She went around, putting four kids together, then another four, and so on. Soon she got to Lena and Quoim. The closest people were Ellevet and one of her minions. "Quoim and... I hear, is it... Lena?"

"Um, yeah. That's me!" Lena pretty much squeaked out, silently cursing herself for being shy.

"So, Quoim and Lena and Ellevet and Misha. That should do. Ellevet and Misha, you'll be chasing." Quoim groaned softly, so Lena guessed that Misha was just as bad as Ellevet, and that it was even worse to be paired up with them and have them be the enemy.

Professor Sloan had climbed back up on the mountain, she blew a whistle, then screamed, "GO!"

About 20 kids raced up the mountain, followed closely by their pursuers. Some were running for fun, and some, like Quoim and Lena, were really running from the enemy. "Let's- let's hide in that hole thing in the side of the moutnain." Quoim panted out.

"What? No! We'll be trapped, it's just a tiny cave thing!" Lena almost screeched, "We'll be trapped! Then they'll come and suck our blood and I'll die a painful death and then it's all going to be your fault and then-"

"Could you be any more sterotypical? Jesus. Calm yourself and just follow me." Quoim interrupted and walked into the tiny cave. Lena had no better idea, so she followed Quoim's lead.

Once they were inside, Lena whispered, "What's the plan and what's so special about this place?"

"Well, actually, nothing! It's only because I'm a Shadow Walker. There's one cool thing about that." She pointed the different shadows dancing up and down on the walls: plants, theirs, rocks. "If there are Shadows, then I can help." She bent down and clicked the locket open, allowing Slinth to slither out onto the ground. "Go on, you know the way." She nudged Slinth with her foot, and the snake slithered out of their view and slipped into the Shadows. Literally. Like through the Shadows onto the other side of the rock wall. "There."

"There what?" Lena asked, she couldn't see any difference, just no snake.

"You'll see." Then she, like Slinth, melted into the Shadows. For a few seconds she was gone, and then a voice called softly, "You can come now. It's all good."

AUTHORS NOTE:

okay so my reads basically DOUBLED in the time when i was away at sleepaway camp so thank you so much! 800+ this is like the most amazing thing i could every have wished for. i love you all sosoososoooo much! also, I'm trying to find pictures of the characters, but when i look they're all models shoving their boobs at the camera basically, so if anyone finds a picture they think would be good for a character, pm it to me or something. THANK YOU!

also, im starting school again in a week and we have an eighth grade trip to yosemite for four days so i wont be updating then, but i also probably wont be updating a lot during the week because of all the homework and the fact that i have stuff after school five days a week (chorus, rock climbing, and trapeze) and that stuff goes pretty late and so yeah. anyways I HOPE YOU LIKE THIS and this is a long authors note like longer than the story lol idk ilysm thank you for reading this if you did comment TRAPEZE because i do trapeze and its the best thing ever. BYYYEEEEEEEE

VOMMENT :)

ilysm.

again.

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