Shadow Girl

Chapter 9

I couldn't actually believe mum was going to answer all of my questions! At last, my busy mind could rest. 

"So, um... why did dad leave us?" I started with

Mum looked at me with sad eyes. "I think we should leave that until last darling. I know this is upsetting for you, but that particular question doesn't have the most simple answer." Of course she avoided it. I should've known better.

"Okay. Well uhh, promise you wont get mad, but I stole your phone," I remembered it was still in my pocket, so I reached across and handed it to her. "So I have some questions about that. Who is S?"

"S? On my contacts? S stands for sergeant, he's the general of the military." That explained why he had no information on mums phone. "He wanted you to be sent into a high maintenanence prison, but I said you were too young, and it was a waste of time considering you'd had the memory wipe."

I was going to complain, but what was the point? Besides, I had to concentrate on getting the answers. "Okay...okay. So after that I got a call from someone asking for you, and then he asked me why I wasn't locked up. When I didn't know what he was talking about he mentioned the memory erase thing and then hung up."

"That would've been one of the soldiers." She stated as simply as possible.

"Okay, that makes sense. But who did I hear in my dream? Who won't I escape from?"

Mum sighed and looked at the floor. It seemed she didn't want to meet my eyes. "2 years ago you said to me "Don't let them get me again."

"Before I got my memory erased? I read that on the website"

"You were talking about the Shadow Leaders. They are the leaders of the shadow walkers - hence the name - and they are by far the most evil. They send out the walkers to take innocent humans, and use them as slaves in their kingdom."

"So all those people murdered are still alive?!" I exclaimed, trying not to let the hope inside me bubble over.

The look on mums face made me sink down in disappointment. "No... they only keep workers until they're no longer young adults. Once they reach a certain age they're murdered and sent into a limbo like trance for the rest of eternity."

I didn't wan't to speak, but I had to ask this in hope that it'd lessen my guilt. "How many people did I...take?"

"The military lost count, but it was over a million..."

I felt sick. I'd murdered millions of people and I couldn't even remember their faces. I didn't even have anyone to apologize to. I just wanted to curl up into a ball and disappear, but I had one last question burning in the back of my head.

"Mum... why did dad leave us?"

She sighed, then, taking a deep breath, her eyes met mine. "Your father was your final victim before they took your memory..."

                                                                                   XXX

I couldn't face her anymore. No one deserved to look at my face, and I didn't deserve to be sitting there in my cozy house with my hot chocolate. I was a murderer. I was a Shadow Walker.

I felt a falling sensation for less then a second, and then I was in the floor - a shadow. I managed to slide under the door and out onto the street. It was dark out, which was good because no one could see the mysterious shadow of a girl pace across the floor and up onto the wall. I'm not entirely sure if mum followed me or not, but either way, I just kept walking. 

The night was calm, and not a single soul disturbed the serene silence in the air. I wasn't sure where I was going, but to be honest, I wasn't really sure of anything anymore.

It was weird being a 2D shadow. I could see everything normally, but I could only walk forwards and backwards, and whenever I tried to reach out to my side the black fog crept out around me. This fog must've been the thing that killed the squirrel next to the writing. 

I froze. If the squirrel was killed by a shadow walker, then that must mean they can't be extinct. I had to go back to that spot in the woods to see if I'd missed anything. I spun around so I was facing the outside, then slowly stepped out of the wall, which was a lot easier than I'd expected it to be, and then sprinted along to road to the woods.

                                                                                XXX

The woods were always quiet, but at night time they were kind of creepy. It was lucky that I'd remembered the exact spot where the squirrel was, so getting there was easy. However, when I arrived I did not get the sight I was expecting. The writing was gone, and the squirrel was no where to be seen. I started to wonder if I'd remembered incorrectly, but once my eyes adjusted to the dark I noticed something odd.

A circle of rocks surrounded the place where the squirrel once was. Slowly, I approached it. It looked just big enough for my two feet to stand in it, but there was no chance I was going to do that. I reached out and touched the inside of the circle, but then I jumped back in fright.

Thick, black fog swirled up from the circle, spreading through the clearing. My brain was telling me to run but I just stood there and watched it wrap around me until I couldn't see a thing. Then I heard it - the footsteps coming towards me. I tried to run but I couldn't even move. The footsteps got closer and closer, but then they stopped. The silence was deafening, but I'd much rather have been deaf than see what I saw next: 

A face was opposite mine, and all of a sudden everything came back to me. All of the innocent people I killed, all of their screams, and all of their 'please don't kill me!' cries. I remembered being surrounded by soldiers then being pinned down, and an oxygen mask being forced over my face. I remember crying and begging them not to let the shadows overcome me again.

And the most terrifying of all; I remembered that the man standing in front of me right now was the almighty Shadow Leader...