Shadows Rising

Shadows

Hi, first off, before the chapter starts, I want to thank all of you for getting "Legion of the Killjoys" to 1K reads! I was so excited when "The Wild Ones" hit 1K, and now the second book in the series has done the same. So, as a thanks, here's the next chapter of this story!

{Jake's POV}

     I opened my eyes, a killer headache pounding into my skull. Everything was soar. A groan of pain passed through my lips as I rolled over, pushing myself into a sitting position. "Mmm, Jake?" Jinxx hummed beside me. 

    "Hey, baby," I smiled, rubbing my head in an attempt to soothe the ache. 

     "You're awake! How do you feel?" He asked, climbing out of bed and running around the bed to kneel in front of me. 

     "Like...I got hit by a ship.What happened?" I asked. 

     Jinxx sighed, shaking his head. "That's...that's kind of hard to explain. I'm not too sure but...I think you were...possessed. One of those shadows, or something. You...you attacked us," He explained, and I froze.

     "I...attacked you?!" I asked in shock. Jinxx, not being able to look me in the eye, nodded. I took his head in my hand and gently turned it to me, looking him in the eye. "I...I didn't hurt you...right?" 

     He didn't answer. "Jinxx! Please just...I didn't hurt you, right?!" I asked again, desperately. 

     "No. Not me," he answered, sadly. 

     "Who?" I asked, realizing he meant I hurt one of the others. 

     "CC." I didn't say a word. "Jake?" He asked, snapping me out of my daze. 

     "I...hurt CC?" I asked, looking up into his eyes. 

     "He wasn't badly hurt, and I healed him. He's just getting some sleep now, it's OK, love." Jinxx tried to comfort me. 

     "That's not the point, Jinxx! He got hurt because of me!" I shouted. 

     "Jake, will you calm down?!" Jinxx yelled at me, holding me by the shoulders firmly. "Now, listen to me. You were possessed...or something. Whatever it was, it wasn't you, okay? You didn't hurt CC. That thing hurt CC. Understand?" He asked.

      I nodded, taking a deep breath. I knew he was right, but I couldn't get the thought of CC being hurt by someone wearing my face, by my hands. "I want to see him." 

     Jinxx nodded, running a hand through my hair and smiling. "Okay. Come on," He said, taking my hands and lifting me to my feet. We walked in silence, hand-in-hand, to CC's room. Jinxx opened the door and stepped aside, letting me step into the room first. The lights were off, the only illumination coming from the hallway, but it didn't seem much different to me. I made my way over to the side of the bed, my gaze never leaving CC's form. He was asleep, his chest rising and falling slowly, but his skin was more pale than usual and it worried me how not-living he appeared to be. His shirt was off, and there was a wet cloth covering his sweaty forehead. I reached out and brushed his arm with my hand, wincing at the heat radiating from his skin.

     "Hey, CC? Wake up. It's me, Jinxx," Jinxx whispered softly into his ear. 

      CC groaned, his head turning towards the sound of Jinxx's voice. "J-Jinxx?" He asked, his eyes opening slowly. 

     "Hey. Listen, someone's here to see you..." Jinxx stopped, smiling and pointing to me. 

     CC turned to me, our eyes meeting. I held my breath, waiting for him to back away, or yell, or something like that. Instead, he smiled a tired half-smile. "Hey, Jake. You're okay!" 

     I let out the breath I was holding in a sigh of relief. "Yeah. Yeah, it's me. I'm...back, I guess. Are you...okay?" I asked. CC took one of my hands firmly, pulling me down so we were eye-level. 

     "I'm fine. I know you, and I know you're beating yourself up over this. Don't. I'm fine, Jake. I promise," He said. 

     I smiled, squeezing his hand. "Thanks, C." 

     He nodded, pulling his hand back. "So...what happened? How did I...How did this happen?" I asked, switching my words at his warning gaze. 

     "Well, I mean, that thing was attacking Jinxx, and I pushed him out of the way. It was weird, though. You were generating this...green smoke. I breathed it in and I couldn't breathe. It was like my lungs were on fire, while also being crushed," CC explained. 

     "What? How is that possible?" I asked, looking up at Jinxx. 

     He hesitated for a moment. "I checked some things over while you were asleep. It seems that, somehow you've acquired some...new powers," Jinxx explained. This time, CC and I both seemed to freeze. 

     "New powers?! How?!" I asked anxiously. 

     "I don't know. But from what I could see, you can generate poison gas, see in the dark, and control shadows," Jinxx explained. 

     I sat down on CC's bed, trying to take all of that in. "That's crazy! I understand having the whole ghost thing. I was born with that. But new powers? We don't get new powers, none of us have. How is that possible?" I asked. 

     Jinxx shook his head with a sigh. "I don't know. I'll find out, though. I promise, I'll figure this out. For now, we should figure out how to use these powers of yours. They could be useful," He suggested. 

     I sighed. "I guess. I'm going outside, take a walk," I said, getting up and heading towards the door.

     "I'll go with you." Jinxx called, rushing to catch up. 

     I stopped, turning towards him. "I can go by myself," I said. 

     "You shouldn't, though, you know that. Something could happen to you. I'm coming."

     I sighed, rolling my eyes with a huff. "Fine. I'll see you later, CC. Get some more rest," I said. When I didn't get a reply, I looked up to see CC already asleep. Laughing, Jinxx and I left the room and quietly headed out the front door into the yard. We left the yard behind and headed out about a mile into the desert, the dry, cool air refreshing on my warm skin. 

     "You know, it's really nice out here at night. If only it wasn't so dangerous," Jinxx mused, taking my hand. 

     "Yeah. Peaceful, too," I replied. 

      Suddenly, Jinxx's hand was ripped from mine. I looked up just as something hit me in the face. I fell to the ground, feeling blood streaming from my nose. "Jake!" I heard Jinxx shout.

     "Jinxx!" I called back, trying to get away from the Shadow (we're just gonna call them Shadows. It's a lot less gender-specific that Shadow-Men, like I was saying in previous chapters. That's annoying.) that was wrestling me. I managed to get away from him and run towards where Jinxx stood, fighting off two more. I kicked one of them out of the way. Jinxx hit the other one with a ball of light, knocking it to the ground. I turned to him, smiling. 

     He turned to me, and his eyes grew wide. "Move!" He shouted, pushing me out of the way. I hit the ground as a sickening crunch sound hit my eardrums. Jinxx hit the ground, unconscious and bleeding from a cut on his forehead. I looked up at the Shadow that had knocked him out, which held a broken metal pipe, then rose to my feet. 

     I cried out as one of the first two Shadows grabbed me from behind. He held me out towards the one that knocked Jinxx out. Then, everything went black, the only sound I could hear being me screaming for Jinxx.

Ooh, suspense! My favorite! (Jk, I'm sorry!) Anyway, thanks everyone for 1K reads on "Legion of the Killjoys"! That really is amazing! I really hope you guys like this story just as much.

Speaking of liking this story, if you liked this chapter, please remember to comment and vote. Thanks for reading! Later! ;)