The Shadow Man

Four

The scraping sound is unsettling to say the least.
He drags the bar across the blade as he stares at me, sharpening his axe.
"You said the Dark Ones, are still out there? Who are they?" He asks.
I turn to Finley, and nod.
She stands up, and begins her presentation.
"A few weeks ago, one of the Depeer was shot down on the shores of Hawaii. It was swimming near there, attacking people and anything that came near it.
As far as we know, the Collapse was secluded to the states. So this, renegade  forces us to ask questions. Where was it going?" She asks.
"And what was it doing all the way out there? Yes? Don't you think this could've been just an isolated incident? This one Rep was just wondering around?" Asks Judger.
"The gliders have been seen carrying off citizens. I think they are trying to keep themselves in the spotlight." I say.
"Why?" He asks.
"To keep the attention off something else." Says Xander.
"Such as?"
I look back at the screen, taking control of it.
"This is security footage from a logging camp in Canada." I explain, pulling up the footage.
A tree, at least 50 feet at the top, begins to fall. One man is not fast enough to get out of the way. He closes his eyes and prepares for death. Only death doesn't come.
A man stands there above him, holding up the trunk with his bare hands. His body lurches as he throws it aside. People all around him, stare in amazement. He looks around at all of them, and grabs his axe. The blade vanishes as he speeds off.
"Donnie?" Asks Judger.
"No. Even at his strongest, Donnie couldn't lift half of that. This is someone new entirely. And I fear there's more like him out there." I say.
"But that man saved a life. He obviously has some respect for humans." He replies.
"What if the others don't share his values?" I ask.
"What, Others?" The question lingers in the air, hanging over me.
"Rone contacted me recently."
I start.
"How is he?" Asks Xander.
"He's good he says Hello. Anyway, he told me there's been a spike in the Crucible's activity since the Collapse.
He says the number of Nolites on the planet has increased since the gates were opened, and he thinks that these new Nolites, are loyal to Dāku."
Judger looks at the screen as if he knows something he's not telling us.
"Anything you wanna share with us, Evan?" Asks Xander.
Judger gives him a death stare.
"Call me that again, and there's gonna be another axe murder in the news."
Xander shudders as Judger continues sharpening his hatchet.
"Is there something your not telling us, Judger?" Asks Finley.
"The Staffs. They house the memories of the Warrior that previously wielded the weapon." He says.
"We already knew that." I reply.
"The staff not only passes memories, but also skills. Each warrior is more dangerous than the last."
Xander looks at me.
"That's good than, right? These guys won't be as experienced."
Judger shakes his head.
"Their bloodlines were trained by ruthless men, traits passed down and worsened from generation to generation. No, Xander. That is not good."
A silence falls.
"What can we do?" I ask.
"I think we should split up. I'll go after the renegade Nolite in Canada. You three will find Donatello. I have a feeling he is a person of interest to them."
I shake my head.
"Nope. In case you haven't noticed you aren't exactly a people person."
I object.
"Yeah, what he said." Agrees Xander.
"Shut up." I growl.
"It doesn't matter who goes after him. I just thought that since he's just one man, he might feel threatened if three of you approached him. And if it were to go sideways...I respectfully doubt you three would be able to stop him."
He says, making a compelling argument.
"All good points, but that still leaves us with another problem...how do we find, the Shift? There's 47 Nolite signatures out there. How do we know which one he is?" I ask.
"Simple. Everything that comes through that portal gives off a negative charge because of the time they've spent there. Find the one that doesn't have negative energy signature." He answers.
I turn to Finley.
"I can do that!" She says excitedly.
After typing on the computer for a second, 46 of them vanish. Leaving a single signature behind.
"So that's where he went after all? Back to where it all began." I say, shaking my head.
"He's in trouble." Says Judger.
"How do you mean?" I ask.
He presses a key on the board, causing all the signatures to reappear. 11 of them, appear all around him.
"I'm guessing that's not good." Mutters Xander.
"They have him. And that's not good."
Says Judger.
"So, you still wanna split up?" I ask sarcastically.
"Someone has to reach out to Rone and Larson."
"Why? I'm pretty sure they already know about this? What if they already have someone on it?" Asks Xander.
"It doesn't matter. Kree, let him know what we've learned then let's get moving." He commands.
"Where are we going?" Asks Finley.
"Like Kree said. To the place where it all began. Anchorage Alaska."