Love in the Shadows

Child of Death

by Veronica Mallen-Luttgens 

There was nothing worse than the feeling of being followed. That was, of course, until it became more than just a feeling.

The cold night air nipped at Adrian's exposed skin as he ran from the fleeting shadows. He could only see their silhouettes when they passed under the streetlights, their footsteps soundless.

Gasping for breath, blood pumping in his ears, and legs on fire, he rounded the corner and noticed the ice cream shop where he was supposed to meet Emery...ten minutes ago.

He sprinted to the entrance. A bell chimed as he swung the door open, diving into the doorway as quick as he could. Once inside, he breathed a few times deeply.

If he looked back, he was certain he would see the faces of his attackers staring at him from across the street. A shiver crept up his spine at the thought.

"Adrian?"

Looking up, he saw every pair of eyes on him. Then he saw hers.

Shit, he thought. I must've caused a scene.

Still unable to breathe normally, he straightened up and met Emery's concerned gaze. She reached out and touched his forehead, furrowing her brow. "You okay, Adri?"

Blurry images of the shadows appeared in his periphery when he closed his eyes. When he opened them back up and looked in their direction, they were gone again.

"Hello?" Emery waved a hand in his face. "You with me?"

"I think so," he replied with a tremor in his voice.

"Focus. What color are my eyes?"

"Hazel."

"Good." She grabbed his hand and walked him over to a booth in the back corner of the shop.

Adrian broke out into a cold sweat and shifted back and forth in his seat. He scanned the length of the table, and he could feel her eyes on him. Emery was silent while he gathered his thoughts, but he knew she was going to say something eventually.

"Are you seeing things again?" she asked.

There it was.

A sigh escaped his lips as he raised his head to level with hers. "They're not just visions, Em. I can feel them."

"Sometimes, if a vision is powerful enough, you believe you can feel them."

"You don't believe me, do you?"

Before she could answer, the waitress came by their table with their usual order: a vanilla cone with sprinkles and a triple chocolate milkshake. He took the shake and met her eye with a smile. "Thank you."

She smiled back before she returned behind the counter.

"No, I believe you." Emery licked her cone and grabbed a napkin from the rack at the end of the table. "But I just worry about you sometimes. Your visions have been occurring more frequently, and you always seem like you're lost and in another world."

"What if I am?" He swirled his straw around the edge of the glass.

"Are you being serious?"

Her question was met with silence. The chatter at the other tables filled the space between them until he could find the right words to say.

Taking a sip, he looked out the window at their reflections. One of the street lights flickered in the distance. "Would I sound crazy if I said I was?"