Unto Shadows

v. heart attacks & murderers

Heart Attacks & Murderers

AFTER MAYBE FIVE minutes of sitting quietly in my room, I nearly had a heart attack.

It started with the room darkening significantly over by my closet, but wasn't noticeable enough for me to look up and realize something was off. I was too focused on my homework and getting it done so I could hurry up and get downstairs before my mom finished cooking. Could you really blame a girl for being hungry?

It wasn't until a deep voice permeated my thoughts that I realized somebody was in the room with me.

"I need your help."

I instinctively dropped my books, jumped back in bed, and opened my mouth to scream bloody murder. Except, before any sound escaped from my lips and gave way to the intruder in my room, he stepped forward and dissipated into a shadow, reappearing in front of me with a hand covering my mouth. I froze, mouth still opened despite the gloved hand covering it. Revenant stared at me like a deer caught in a set of headlights as he slowly removed his hand from my lips. "It's just me, don't scream."

Although the statement wasn't very reassuring, I shut my mouth and did as instructed. Aside from the question of whether I was going to live or die right now, I was mostly wondering why he'd just appeared in my room so suddenly, especially after leaving me accustom to his little notes rather than his actual presence. If I was being honest with myself, the notes made me feel a lot safer than I felt right now, standing in a room with a potential killer.

Then came the onslaught of panic as I realized both Heath and my mother were downstairs and could come up here at any minute. If they saw Revenant standing casually in my bedroom, not only would I be a dead girl, but it would also put a quick end to all of the curiosity I had built up about what Revenant's intentions were, as well as questions about what exactly happened to Ace. I shot from my bed with wide eyes and started pushing the masked Super towards my window. I refused to let him be caught and ruin all of my suspicions. I needed answers, and getting him caught in my bedroom wasn't going to provide me with what I needed. Even if he wasn't a super villain, I didn't think my mom would approve of a teenage boy being in my room that wasn't Heath.

"Woah," he exclaimed, heels digging into the carpet as I pushed him towards the shattered window. His muscles tightened against my hands as his feet came to a halt in the carpet. "What are you trying to do? Kill me?"

"It's how you came in the first time," I stated bluntly. Despite having zero understanding of how his ability worked, I gripped his suit and pushed harder. It suddenly dawned on me that the suit was no longer torn, the dirt and mud from before washed off and the holes neatly stitched. It looked brand new.

Before I had the chance to question it, his hands wrapped gently around my wrists and lifted them off of his chest. "Hear me out for a second."

"I don't have time for this—"

"More Supers are dying than they're saying on the news," he blurted out.

That stopped me in my tracks. He let go of my hands when I stopped pushing him towards the window. "What are you talking about?"

      "They're being murdered," he explained. "A lot of them."

      I opened my mouth to protest and tell him that he still needed to leave, no matter how much his amber eyes pleaded for me to listen, but my curiosity got the better of me. A sigh escaped my lips as I gave in. "You've got five minutes."

      What I could see of his face lit into a lopsided grin. "I won't disappoint."

      I took a few steps back to sit on my bed, crossing my legs beneath me as I instructed, "Get to it before I change my mind."

      Revenant nodded quickly. "I have sources that tell me more people are dying than they're saying on the news—and they're all Supers."

      My lip twitched as I held back an amused smile. He sounded like he belonged in some kind of spy movie. "Sources?"

      He waved me off before continuing. "Almost all of them are murders, but none of them leave any evidence. The few that aren't murders just don't have enough evidence to say whether or not it's homicide."

      "You guys have abilities," I pointed out. "Ever think that maybe you're all just really accident prone?"

      He seemed to consider that. "I did get hurt a lot while I was figuring out my abilities."

      "See?" I argued, glancing up at the clock before standing and ushering him back towards my window. "It's been four minutes. Get out."

      He stumbled back at the unexpected shove. "Wait, I thought I had five?"

      "I'm sure it will be five by the time you actually leave my room," I pointed out.

      He laughed. "That's probably true." His hands lifted in a placating manner as I shot him a glare. "I'm going, I'm going. What's the big rush, anyway?"

      "Heath or my mom could come up here any minute and see a possible murderer standing in my room," I muttered, ignoring the way his eyebrow lifted curiously at the word 'possible'.

      Then he seemed to realize that Heath was a guy's name. He froze. "Heath?"

      "Yes, my friend is staying." I pushed him again, but this time he didn't budge.

      "You have a guy actually staying the night with you? And your mother allowed it?"

      I rolled my eyes so hard I thought they might actually have gotten stuck in the back of my head. "Yes, Dad, now get out."

      "Okay, I'm going!" He turned reluctantly towards the window and started to climb through the opening. Me pushing him towards the window was one thing, but him actually climbing out on his own was another. I didn't have the first clue how he would survive a drop like that. "Sheesh, woman."

      "What was that?"

      He grinned. "Nothing."

      Then, before I had a chance to respond, he dropped from my opened window without a second of hesitation.