The Walking Shadows

Chapter 4

        "Now back to what we were talking about before you trailed off," said the doctor shooting me a be quiet look. "These things are scavengers. They feed on misery."

        "That makes sense," I say nodding.

        The doctor looked at me surprised. "Anna, this is very important. Is this the first time you've seen the shadows?"

        "No," I said bluntly. "I've seen them around all my life."

        The doctor scanned me with his blue electronic hand-held device. "What is that an electronic screwdriver?" I asked.

        "No it's a sonic screwdriver," said the doctor. "I'll explain later. We don't have time to go over every little thing I've got right now." The doctor plugged the screwdriver into the ship and read something on a panel. "You've got a background energy surrounding you. Tell me about other times you've seen them."

        "The first time I saw them were when my parents were fighting," I said. "I cried and told my mom. She said everything was fine, and I was having a nightmare."

        The doctor nodded and said gently, "Go on Anna. Don't leave anything out. This is very important."

        I nodded and continued. "The next time I saw a shadow was at night after I moved in with my grandmother when I was thirteen. My dad had just died in a car accident, and my mother couldn't cope. So my grandmother took me in to lessen her burden. I was laying in bed crying. A dark hand reached up and pulled the covers off of me. I screamed, and my grandmother came in. When she flipped on the light it was gone. I told her what happened, and she said it was normal to have nightmare considering what I've been through. However, it kept happening every night. My grandmother made me go see a therapist after several months of it. The therapist told me I wasn't dealing with what happened and put me on anti depressants."

        The doctor touched my shoulder gently. "I'm sorry to drag this up, Anna. I wouldn't if it wasn't important."

        I sucked in a deep breath and continued. "After a time I stopped seeing the shadows. I figured I had just had a bit of a break down like my mother. After a year I went off the meds. My mother had gotten better, and I moved back in with her. I started high school and had a relatively normal teenage life. After I went away to college I started seeing shadows again. I figured it was just the stress from all the studying and working full time. Only thing was my roommate saw one too. She was very religious, and said I was being tormented by demons. She said that if I prayed the devil wouldn't come after me. I thanked her to be polite, but I figured it was just the light playing tricks on us. After that I started sleeping with a dim lamp on. No more sightings."

        "Until when?" said the doctor.

        "Until about a year ago, when my store started having trouble. Now I see shadows all the time. I'm having a nervous break down again doctor. I don't want to admit it, but I really am crazy." 

        "You aren't crazy," said the doctor. "That's their game. They take away all sense of security. Then they feed. They feed off of the sadness that's left."

        My eyes are burning. I turn my head so the doctor doesn't see me.

        The doctor takes me and gently turns me back towards him. "Anna, don't let the sadness overcome you. You've got to fight."

        I shake my head. "Doctor, how can you be sure everything will be okay? I'm not even sure I deserve for life to be okay anymore," I said. Ugh the tears are starting to come now.

        "You've got the best ally you could get. You've got me," said the doctor. "Now what do you say we go fight some shadows."

        I smiled and nodded through the tears.

        The doctor took my hand, and we ran back outside the tardis doors.