Shade (Luke Brooks)

CH 001:

"We're here!" My mother exclaimed in an overly-excited tone, completely fascinated and mesmerized by the sight ahead of us.

The vehicle took a turn to the left, pulling into the gravel driveway which acted as a moat for the abandoned, brooding and neglected appearing house I was stuck calling 'home' for the foreseeable future. The garden was overgrown, to say the least. Sickly green weeds creeped over the layer of pebbles our car trampled over whilst pulling to a hault. On the opposing side of the front of the house laid a small pond, covered entirely in slime which rippled against the wind, giving the illusion that something was somehow still alive in there. The light of the setting sun reflected against the grimy windows which I suppose gave a sense of character to this shit-bin.

"Sunny, are you going to come help with the boxes?"

I snapped out of my trance and scanned around the car quickly only to realize my parents had already exited and were unloading. I sighed deeply before unbuckling my seat-belt and forcing my legs to jump out of the vehicle. My black boots squished in the mud, splattering the dirt slightly up my legs and onto my jeans. I rolled my eyes and sluggishly dragged myself to the back of the car, slamming the door behind me.

"Here, you can take these to the kitchen. Be careful though, they're glass," my father instructed whilst placing the small box into my arms. I carefully clung onto the cardboard exterior and carried it cautiously up the creaky timber stairs and to the front door.

I took a moment to properly analyze this sector of the porch as for some absurd reason, old doors managed to fascinate the living hell out of me. This door was unlike most I had seen; it was incredibly large, obviously with the intended purpose to make a statement. It was constructed from the same wood as the planks decorating the stairs, only to a higher quality. It was slightly splintered, but due to it's careful workmanship it had endured the test of time. Many years of wear had nevertheless taken their toll on it's once delicate frame. The stain glass features implanted still stood out in places, regardless of a few chips and shatters in others. It's commanding presence at the front of the house could not be missed.

I continued my journey to the kitchen after wiping my feet on the doormat inscribed with the words 'Home, sweet home', completely contradicting the exterior of the house. Taking a right from the stairs, I had finally reached the kitchen. Dimly lit by the red and orange hues of the sunset, there was a warm, homely vibe about the property. It's exterior was uninviting and dull juxtaposed to it's vibrant and comforting interior.

This place was a paradox within itself.

I placed the box of cups and cutlery in the center of the island and made my way back to the door, stopping in front of my mother. "You can go and unpack your room now. Your father already put the boxes up there," she smiled warmly whilst pointing her index finger to the staircase situated directly in front of the doorway. It was wide and tall, taking up an- estimated- entire room of space, branching into two separate flights of stairs towards the top which stretched to either side of the second story. This house resembled a mansion; an old, decrepit, mansion; but for a reason I was unable to directly pinpoint, I found myself loving it.

As I begun ascending the stairs, I traced my fingertips along the glossy, walnut-stained hand railings. It was obviously renovated yet the previous owners kept it's antique vibe alive. In comparison to the other houses we had driven past on our way here, I felt like this would have been the nicest. Although it was the most isolated from every other property, it was the largest and most expensive within a ten mile radius of this deadbeat town.

Upon finally reaching my room which was situated behind the last door of the left hand corridor, I swung the gateway open to what would hopefully be my new and improved haven and begun observing my surroundings. It wasn't as small as I had expected it to be, but it wasn't necessarily large either. The walls were painted a dull cream colour, composed entirely of microscopic chips and cracks. The floor was decorated with the same dark floorboards which seemed to be a developed trend throughout the entire house, despite the kitchen and bathrooms for obvious reasons. The head of my bed was pushed against the left wall, accompanied by two small dressers on either side. The wardrobe was already built into the same wall as the door and directly opposite the bed sat my desk and chair, as well as the rest of my unpacked boxes. The one thing that stood out the most, however, was the bay window positioned on the back wall of the room. It was decorated with white woodwork to match the rest of the room and the glass was crystal clear, which was one thing it didn't have in common with the rest of the house. The window overlooked the entire paddock and even slightly into the front yard of the closest house to ours which was around a kilometer down the road.

I deciphered whether or not to unpack the rest of my boxes now or tomorrow morning and it resulted in my laziness getting the better of me. I tugged off my boots and dark blue jeans which were still covered in mud as well as my black sweater and discarded them to the floor, replacing them with my favourite oversized shirt and boxers. I approached the wardrobe and glanced at the mirrors covering the doors, taking a moment to analyze my appearance before heading downstairs. My pale hand tucked the wavy brunette lock that had fallen onto my cheek behind my ear as I scanned my lanky body up and down quickly. I had always avoided mirrors as best as I could but since I was starting fresh in a new place, I strived to be a new person so having one bad habit knocked out of the way was already a significant improvement.

Just as I was about to embark back down the stairs, I felt a sudden cold gush of wind strike the back of my legs. I spun around uneasily only to notice the window wide open and unattended. I scratched my scalp slightly whilst approaching the glass aperture. I began to reach my arm out and pull the handles shut until something in the distance caught my eye. I kneeled on the couch-like padding which was built into the window sill as I tried my best to interpret what exactly was out there. Since the sun had already set and the moon came out to play, it was incredibly difficult trying to see past a few meters. I managed to make out a figure on what appeared to be a roof... surely not?

They were.

Why are they walking on the roof? Were they fixing something? Were they hiding?

The countless questions that flooded my mind overtook my train of thought and before I realised what I was doing, a shout escaped my lips.

"Hey!"

The figure continued walking along the gutter-pipe of their roof, completely unaffected by my words.

"Excuse me, hello?"

I became annoyed at the fact the house was so far away. I knew they wouldn't have been able to hear me but it nonetheless managed to aggrovate me further.

"Hey! Get down from there before you hurt yourself!" I almost screamed.

My increased tone seemed to do the trick as the figure haulted and snapped their neck around in my direction. Their dark brown eyes were barely noticeable in the twilight atmosphere and their curls that matched made them almost invisible at this time of night. The male shot a grin in my direction and, before I could say anything else, jumped off the fucking roof.

I let out a shriek of horror as I sprinted out of my bedroom, down the stairs and out the front door. Tears flooded my eyes whilst I pushed the paddock gate open and began running through the fields, ignoring my parents questioning screams as to where I was going. I had never experienced adrenaline like this in my entire life and sprinting this fast became effortless.

As I reached the house, I scanned around in hopes of finding the boy alive. Seeing as it was a straight drop, I expected him to have fallen remotely close to the house, but no one was in sight. No trace of him was here either and my skin began to crawl as I examined around the trees and bushes for any signs of him. A lump formed in my throat and my knees began to tremble in shock as I stopped in my tracks, staring up at the roof where the boy had fallen and questioned if it was only in my imagination.

I was just about to turn around and head back, still shaken from the episode I had just witnessed, until I felt a cold breath lingering on my earlobe.

"Looking for someone?"

I sprung around immediately, my face just inches from the boy who was walking on the roof.

"How did you... you just... I-" I stuttered, unable to find the correct words to use.

"Shh, you ask too many questions," he smirked, biting down on his lip ring and drawing it through his front teeth.

"You just fell off a roof and went ahead and scared the shit out of me, I think I'm entitled to my questions," I snarled back, still confused about what had just happened.

"I didn't fall," he replied with a grin. "I jumped."

"How the hell did you survive that?"

"It's not called surviving if you're already dead, princess."

As the words left his lips, the boy let out a hoarse laugh before completely vanishing right before my eyes.