Forlot - Books 1-3 {Completed}

Chapter Thirty-One

"Hey!" Karla yelled. "Get your hands off the merchandise! Now!"

The shadow who had gotten ahold of my arm quickly let go, and the other shadows staggered back.

"That is right," the shadow girl continued. "Give the man some space."

Man? I am thirteen!

She went over to me and started massaging my arm, the arm that the shadow had gripped tightly. "Are you okay, Nigel?"

"I-I believe so," I stammered.

"Sorry about the rudeness. My friends are just excited that you came."

I glared at her. "Friends?"

She motioned to the shadows who gave me a scare a minute ago. They stood a couple inches away from me and her, and their shiny, blue eyes locked on me. "My friends are the shadow people."

I facepalmed. Great. More shadows.

"And I suppose that these are the shadows whom I am helping?"

"Yep! The shadow people are good shadows. Their souls were taken by the evil shadows."

"And what are the evil shadows called?"

"...evil shadows. What else?"

I raised an eyebrow. "So the evil shadows are just evil shadows, and yet the good shadows are the shadow people. Does that not seem...redundant?"

"I have the perfect reason on your wonder, Nigel. I will explain it to you when we get to the library. But first..." She glanced at her friends.

Most of the shadow people, if not all, were way taller than Karla. Compared to them, she only looked like a small child.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Karla boomed. "Children of all ages! Actually, there are no children in this crowd, so disregard the last part. For years, we have been trapped in this sickening realm. We were killed, used, and thrown like dirty laundry!"

The shadows booed.

"But I have brought you good news! The legend was correct. Our hero does exist, and he has come to free us!"

The shadows clapped and cheered.

"Nigel Sanders will bring us justice! He will help all who are good, innocent, and pure!"

The shadows jumped up and down excitedly.

I blushed. I felt a little embarrassed.

How would I even free them? I found out that I was their hero ten minutes ago!

"But before he carry his plan to freedom, I must take him to the library. You know. For research. And to refresh his memory." She took my hand and pulled me away from the group of shadows as the shadows shouted with joy.

We walked deeper and deeper into the darkness. My stomach hurt. I was nervous. My legs quivered so much that I had trouble walking.

After what seemed like an eternity of walking, Karla stopped me and smiled.

"This is it!" she said happily. "The Shadowy Library."

I looked to where she was looking. I saw no library or even a silhouette. Then I had to remember what Karla said to me. That I could not see any shadow objects because I was a human.

Hold it. If that were the case, then why did I have no problem seeing Karla or the shadow people?

The shadow girl led me inside. "Have a seat," she offered.

I looked around. "Uh, where?" I questioned. "I do not see a place to sit."

"...on second thought, keep standing where you are. It should not take me long to find the book anyway." With that, she ran off and soon returned. "Found it!" She sat down...in a chair...I guess...? "Since you cannot see the book, I will gladly read for you." She opened the invisible book and began reading.

"'Once upon a time, there was a king named Emperor King Oberious. He was an evil shadow, the evilest shadow of them all. He ruled Nerquina and its evil people with a shadowy fist. In the past, he came to Forlot and decided that he and his followers should rule that land. That way, they would be free from the shadow realm forever. Unfortunately for them, something - or someone - ruined his plan.'"

Karla cleared her throat and continued.

"'The founder of Forlot was to blame for the king's downfall. Because of this, Oberious and his shadows had no choice but to go back to Nerquina. For that alone, Oberious had to make the humans pay. Even the innocent humans who had nothing to do with Forlot.'"

I frowned. "He is evil."

"'From then on, he lets his shadows kill and bring humans, whether they be adults or children, to Nerquina, and the humans, now shadows, become his willing slaves. Oh, how he enjoys it so much.'"

"He is sick in the head!"

"'Then, out of the shining light, a hero proceeds! The hero shall rise up against King Oberious and save the innocent lives!'" She glanced up at me. "'And the hero's name is Nigel Sanders!'"

"...are you making that part up?"

"No, it is in the book."

"The tone of your voice..."

"I swear! That is what it says in the book."

"...you sure?"

"Yes!"

"Okay, okay. Jeez."

Karla set down the invisible book and stood up. "The shadow people...are the humans who were killed in Forlot," she stated. She looked down. "And so was I."

I gulped. "Y-you were killed?" I stuttered. "By a shadow?"

She nodded. "Your dear friend also."

I gasped. "Damian?"

"No. Another dear friend."

"But—"

Karla whistled, and a shadow hurried to us. "Do you recognize the shadow?"

I stared at the shadow who came up to me and her. "No. I do not know."

"Look closely."

I squinted and examined the shadow. I still had no idea who it was supposed to be.

"Nigel?" the shadow piped up.

I brushed some of my hair away from my eyes, and my eyes widened. I recognized that voice.

"Maxine?"