The Shadow Manipulator

Chapter 32: Hopeless Last Stand

Darkness.

Darkness encompassed the whole surrounding as I tried to release myself from my binds. How did I get here? Who bound me here? I don't know . I could only ask myself those questions. I tried to struggle but it was no use. I was tightly bound by something I don't recognize. It looked just like my shadow binds but it was far thicker, and far more stronger than mine. It was like being tied to a stake, ready to be slaughtered at any given time. That's how I felt when I saw the binds on my whole body.

Suddenly, a spotlight brightly lit up something from a distance. From afar, it looked like a great mound of rock with a few shiny spots on it. I could feel uneasiness welling up inside me as soon as I saw the figure. Somehow, it kept getting larger and larger as if my eyes were playing tricks on me. Then I realized that it wasn't getting any larger at all, it was getting nearer and nearer towards me by means of smoothly sliding down the pitch black floor. I couldn't do anything but strain myself. It was all I could do to get as far away as I could from the looming rock. 

Click!

It was pitch-black once again. All I could hear was my raspy breathing. I desperately searched the area for the looming rock but I couldn't see anything. The surrounding has gotten more pitch-black and somehow, my binds kept getting tighter and tighter. I finally found two flashes of red lights coming from the direction of the looming rock just a few moments ago. As if replacing the enormous rock, the pair of red lights threateningly loomed towards me. A bigger streak of red light appeared just below the pair of red lights soon after that.

Now, I had clearly recognized the shape and form of the red lights including the rock that I  have seen. I'm quite certain that I've seen this monster before. Its red eyes and black form, I could definitely recognize it, as if I'm in a dream.

Wait? Don't tell me? This is the monster that almost ate me in my previous dream! I could quite remember everything that happened.

"Who are you? What do you want?" I exclaimed, but not a single sound came out of my mouth. The figure, meanwhile, kept getting nearer and nearer until his face were directly facing mine.

A strong force pulled me up. Before I knew it, I was right above its red-colored mouth. It was a scary sight. Everything seemed to happen in a slow motion as the monster dropped me into his mouth gaped open.

"Nooo!" I desperately shouted as I searched for hand holds anywhere, but to no avail. Slowly, I fell down the abyss-looking mouth that the monster had.

It didn't swallow me before, but it looks like he'll be successful this time. I closed my eyes while I tried to calm myself down.

This is not happening. I said to myself.

.....

"Ha!!!" I exclaimed while bolting upright.

Thump!

Before I finally realized what was happening, my forehead struck something in the middle of hard and soft. A flash of light suddenly hit me, as if I was almost knocked out. "Ouch! That hurts!"

"Ouch!" Someone exclaimed.

"W-who's tha...Mom!!! Why are you here?!"

"Hikari, seems like you're awake already."

Out of impulse, I hugged my mom. She was teary-eyed after seeing me wake up. I don't know what happened but someone definitely saved me and mom. I wanted to thank whoever the guy was, so I asked my mom about everything that happened.

.....

A streak of shadow glided faster than the speed of sight towards a sniper a few meters away. The shadow immediately shifted to its human form as it knocked the sniper unconscious. "Come on Blue Fire! You're much faster than that!" Master Ryu exclaimed after seeing the Blue Fire cornered by two irregulars.