Shadow's Mark (Currently Being Edited)

Chapter 1: The Awakening

Wearing nothing but my Star Wars pajamas, I found myself standing in the middle of the football field of my school, Shady High.

At first, I had no clue where I was for the lights in the field were turned on, their brightness momentarily blinding me. But as my eyes adjusted to the light, I immediately took register of my surroundings.

I was alone, smack dab in the middle of the field with no recollection of how I got there. The indigo hue of the sky and the alarming crow of a distant rooster hinted that it was some time early in the morning.

What am I doing here at this hour? I wondered drowsily as the cool breeze tickled my exposed arms.

Cold and confused, I began to shuffle towards the nearest gate entrance when a sudden growl behind me broke the silence and stopped me in my tracks.

Turning immediately, I found myself face to face with an abyss of darkness.

'Shadow cloud' seemed like a more accurate description.

The shadow cloud's dark form looked something like a Grim Reaper and stood about my height. Where the shape of a head seemed to take form, in what looked like a dark hood, two red eyes glowed right out of it.

As I stared wildly into those red eyes, too mortified to move, the temperature surrounding me suddenly dropped. My breath became visible in thick puffs around my mouth as I exhaled. And I was exhaling quite a lot due to my sudden stage of fright.

In the corner of my eye, a dark cloud materialized in the air and began to form the shape of an arm, immediately attaching itself to the creepy shadow cloud's side. Then almost instantly, that surprisingly-solid shadow arm grabbed hold of my right shoulder, making me go absolutely still and frigid in fright, despite my mind screaming endlessly at my body to move.

Move! Run! a voice cried out desperately in my head.

But for some reason, I could barely move an inch.

The shadow cloud hovered closer as it neared my face until we were literally breathing the same air. Then suddenly, it let out a low wheezing sound that nearly scared the hair off my skin.

Despite my trembling fear and urge to flee for my life, my feet remained glued to the ground. All I could manage to do was stand in place and helplessly watch the wretched creature.

As the wheezing noise continued, it gradually grew louder and somewhat familiar.

Shutting both my eyes, mostly out of fear, I tried to listen closely to the noise as it intensified when, suddenly, a loud and stern voice nearly shook the ground apart.

"Waaake uup, Natalya!"

I quickly jerked my eyes open and the first thing I saw was my father, whose gruff hands were holding strong grips on both my shoulders, appearing to be waking me from sleep. Then I saw my mother, who, for some reason, was holding my inhaler tightly in her grasp. Both my parents had equally terrified looks plastered on their faces.

One look at my inhaler and my chest suddenly hurt like crazy. My whole face went numb as I felt my chest tighten in a piercing spasm of pain. I grimaced as that dreadful wheezing noise continued loudly in my ears.

In the midst of all the pain, my other senses seemed to dull as I could no longer make out the shapes of my parents or heed what they were saying to me.

My vision hazy, my breathing ragged, I was about to welcome the numbing throes of senselessness when I felt a sudden intrusion between my lips. I latched my mouth around the familiar shape of my inhaler and waited for that pressure. Soon enough, a gush of fresh vapor filled my mouth and went straight down into my lungs.

In a matter of seconds, I began breathing normally again, with only a slight hoarseness in my throat. I felt my chest slowly and rhythmically heave as I took in deep, savory breaths.

As the pain slowly receded, my senses seemed to return to normal as I could now distinguish the clear forms of both my parents. I no longer heard any wheezing sounds.

"Natalya, are you okay?" cried my distraught mother as she smothered me with her hug.

My father gazed at me with his usual look -- caring yet worried. "Honey, why didn't you get up and use your inhaler?"

"Wait, what? Was I having an asthma attack in my sleep?" I asked in disbelief, my voice a bit low and dry.

And that's when I realized I was the one who was making the dreadful wheezing sounds.