The fear of shadows

Chapter one

Everyone in our world always has an extra set of hands from birth, they are not part of the physical body but they can affect the body in some way. It's not much different from your world, you are born with these hands as well. however, there is one major difference between our worlds: these hands are controlled by our shadows
Here in my world, we have the ability to manipulate and control our shadows. Sometimes we are too weak to manipulate them or they are too strong for us. And sometimes people are very compatible with their shadows and they use them as the extra set of hands they are, whether it's for good or bad.
And there are those special cases when the beholder can manipulate their shadows beyond human ability. By this I mean these special people can change their shadows to not be human and take on a different role, and people who are really good can detach their shadow. These great manipulators are called "skygge" (she gay, Norwegian for shadow)
The skygge are scoped out by our government and shipped to the special academy for shadow prodigies. But if the government does not deem you worthy of it you either grow up the normal way or become an "ayogy" (Hindi for unworthy, pronounced I o gee) The ayogy are a group of organized crime put together by some of the people that are deemed unworthy of being sent to the special shadow prodigy academy, SSPA for short. The people who are set aside can either live a normal life, become an ayogy or succumb to the shadow and be placed in a special facility for the weak. Remember before when I said some shadows are too strong for the holder, well, in that case, the shadow engulfs the holder and controls the body instead of the other way around. Sometimes the shadow will treat the body the same way a normal person would treat a shadow but most of the time the shadow doesn't have a mind of its own and uses its power and the body to rampage and in some cases kill the holder and itself in the process. Some people are lucky enough to be admitted into a facility for the weak before the worst case happens. These facilities are all under the government's wing and will treat the fallen according to the orders received from the government.
And one special thing I forgot to mention, our days are way shorter than yours. Which is good, the less the sun is out the less the shadows are awakened, making it safe to roam around in the dark. With our short daylight, we have adapted to be able to see well in the dark, there are still lights inside buildings but most people prefer the dark. We rather roam in the shadows then roam next to them.
Today is the annual day that citizens are judged on their abilities. April 6th. On this day everyone of age, 15 and up is welcomed into the town square for a battle to show off their abilities. It is mandatory that all 15-year-olds undergo a checkup like assessment. The assessment consists of a booster injection upon entry, which helps the brain concentrate better and boosts the light emitted from the body. This injection's effects last for five years and can only be given again if the person pays for the injection after the first period is up. This injections power helps sort the weak from the strong, the ones who succumb are shipped immediately to the facility and the strong are sent ahead. After the injection is given we are sent to a waiting cell for one hour to wait for it affects to take over, then we are sorted.
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Today is the first judging day that Pall will attend since he is 15. The first years call it sorting day, for some it's scary and for others it's exciting. There is practically no way to get out of a first years judging day, so they start to gather in a line outside the entrance to the town square. There is already a long line of first years waiting to be let in and checked off. Once the 8:00 bell rings the doors will open and the upper years will rush in hoping for a better ranking while the first years wait in line to be sorted.
In the eyes of normal citizens it's worth it if you pass, but the weak ones who have trouble already are full of nerves as stress starts to take over. Good thing the sun doesn't rise till 10:00 am otherwise their shadows would be out of control.
Pall stands in line for about 30 mins till the 8:00 bell rings and the line starts moving. Time for the sorting they all tell themselves. The line moves fast as there are about ten nurses and ten rooms of waiting. 50 people can fit in the rooms and there are two time slots for judging day. The lower class gets the morning slot, 8 am and the higher class gets the later slot at 8 pm. As Pall is of the lower class him and his acquaintances are sent to the morning slot, this one usually has more children so the rooms will be overfilled with 15-year-olds.
Once I got the front of the line the lady at the desk asks me, "what's your government name and please show me your identification card" he bows in respect and shoves his card in her face and says, " I am Pall Kindle Contra, here is my identification."
She checked off his name and pointed to the nurse a little further ahead. He walked toward her and she yelled, "NEXT!" he stepped forward and she said, "welcome, take a seat." Pall looked around but there was no chair, but then she forcefully grabbed his arm and said "ready". Her grip was tight as he saw her press the needle into the bend of his right arm, Pall's eyes started to roll back as his vision turned black and he nodded off.  Loosing consciousness when one gets the shot is normal so it didn't scare him, but when he came to a couple of seconds later the nurse let go of Pall's arm and he lost his balance as she practically threw him to the ground. And again she called "NEXT!".
Pall picked himself off the ground and was still a little woozy. But he knew that he needed to keep calm, Pall has always always had good control mostly because it's family's specialty hence the last name of contra which means control.
As he stepped into the room he took a  look around and catched the eye of his friends. They make eye contact and they start to congregate together. They wave and yell Pall's nickname, "KIIINNN!" His friends Silhouette and Blight work their way through the crowd and hug Pall. "Why don't we go sit over there?" Pall points to the left corner of the room where there aren't that many people. They all agree and work their way over there. Blight points out how one of their friends, Dim, is already sitting down over there. Pall looks at him and thinks to himself, why is he curled up in a ball? He walks over to him and pokes him on the head, Dim looks up and Pall can see his tear-stained face. Pall gives Dim a reassuring smile and then Pall glances at what Dim is clutching. IT'S HIS ARM! Pall thinks in surprise, it's covered in his shadow. Silhouette walks over and drapes her arm over Pall's shoulder, she sees the shadow taking over his arm and screams a little before Blight covers her mouth. Pall can hear chattering behind him and turns around in fear while clutching his fist in an effort for his shadow not to awaken. There about three nurses pointing their way. Pall turns back around immediately and sees Dim's face. He has a great big grin covering his face trying to stop the tears with his cheeks while still clutching his arm. Then he lets out a great screech and stands up, his arm is completely dark and starts to take over the rest of his chest. His right arm, the one engulfed, reaches up to the sky in hopes to be let go and be pitied. But the nurses come over and strap a belt over his torso chaining his arms to his chest and they start to drag him out through the back door. Before the door closed, through the fear, Pall was able to yell, "why are you taking him away now? TIMES NOT UP!" He felt a tear run down his face while Blight and Silhouette stood frozen in shock. They sat together and stared into the distance because there was nothing left to be spoken about, they all eventually dozed off.
They woke up to the bell ringing and light shining their faces as the wall opened up. It is about 10:00 am and the sun is rising, Pall pushes Blight and Silhouette off of him and they all stand up. The two go ahead of Pall and he notices that some of Silhouette's hair is covered by her shadow. He reaches up and covers it for her and she smiles and says, "I figured..." with a slight smirk on her face. But anyone could tell that she's worried.
All the judgments walk out into the rising sun, inside the arena the morning rank fights where being withheld as the stands started to fill up with families. Then the announcer said, " Let The Judging Begin!" Inside the area were 7 more lines of teens forming in a star shape and a fire in the middle. Pall looked around in the seats and saw some people cheering and some crying as they found out if their children had passed or not.
They were still clearing out the arena from the older years judging while the judgments started their second test. They were instructed to hold their hand over the flame to see if their shadows are strong or not. The ones with big strong shadows went to the right and the weak ones went to the left. The weak ones were left with a choice of either going home or taking an enhancing pill and waiting for the 30 min required period and test again. And the strong ones were left to battle it out in pairs and were watched to see if they are good enough to be sent to the SSPA or not.
They began to form a line with Blight in the front of the three and Silhouette in the middle so that they could hide her hair from the guards. As the line moved each citizen would hold their hand over the fire and their name would be announced and their direction as well. It was now their turn, Blight held his hand over the fire and his shadow rose over 7 feet high and was very jagged like a knife. The announcer said, " Blight Iota Smidge, Right!" Next was Silhouette, as she held her hand over the fire and her shadow rose about 4 feet high and was bubbly in shape. The announcer said, " Silhouette Travesty Shade, Left!" Her classification didn't come as a surprise to them becuase Silhouette herself has always been small and her shadow hasn't been that big either, but she comes from a strong family so she will definitely take the pill and get into the SSPA. Now it's Pall's turn, he walks up to the fire and places his hand over it. In order to look powerful, he tries his best to make his shadow seem big and strong but not too overpowered. So he takes a deep breath and relaxes his arm that's reaching over the fire. Then he focuses all his light energy that is inside of him so that his body will glow enough for the shadow to grow. Pall closes his eyes and takes a deep breath while he rests his hand over the fire. When he lets the breath out he opens his eyes and accidentally blinds himself with all the light he is emitting. Then the announcer says, "Pall Kindle Contra, RIGHT!"
Pew... I knew he could do it. I look into the crowd and see his mom shake her head in approval which gave him the biggest confidence boost he could have. Pall walks over to the right and stands with Blight. He points to Pall's mom waving bye to him, "why is she leaving" I ask myself  but then I remember that she doesn't have to twins with her so it makes sense for her to go home. The twins are 6 and shouldn't stay home alone when the sun is out, so it understandable for her to leave right now. Then all of the sudden Blight says, "man I hope she's coming back, she needs to be here for negotiations." That's right, the negotiation period for the SSPA acceptance requires a guardian to sign papers. Since the judgments are still underaged they need guardians to negotiate the scholarships the government will have to provide for us.
Pall looks up at Blight and can tell that that's not the only thing worrying him, he staring at Silhouette from across the arena as she is waiting in line for the pill. Pall puts his hand on Blight's shoulder in order to reassure him that everything will work out. "Hey man don't worry, she's always performed better in her second try. Don't you remember in grade school when we would have our CC Exams?" Pall askes Blight.  CC Exams stand for control and combat exam, a yearly test that is given to see if a student will be able to excel in the next grade or not. Blight nods and turns back around to face Pall and puts his hands on his shoulders and yells in Pall's face, "We have to get in because she is definitely going to get in!" He smiles and pauses in order to collect himself. I can tell this is going to be rough for him.
The lines end and the announcer begins to tell the judgments their next directions, "alright judgments out next assessment will be pair battles. You have already been assigned partners, the cards being handed out to you will have a number, which is the order you will be battling. Now we will have a 15-minute break for water and bathroom, no judgments may leave the arena unless they have permission to leave. If you want to opt out please go to the south exit and fill out the proper paperwork. Our time begins now."
One of the prompters hands Pall a card with a number on it. The number is XXX, or the number 30. Then Blight is handed a card, he flips it over a couple of times then hands it to Pall and says, "dude there are no numbers on this! I think I got the wrong card. Plus I can't even pronounce the word on it." Pall looks at it and it says XXX, he giggles a little bit but its more like a strong exhale through his nose. Then he hands the card back to Blight. Who gives Pall a confused look, like dude what the fuck this isn't funny I'm literally concerned. So Pall tells him, "it's Roman numerals. Three x's means 30, we got the same number. See." He holds his card up and turns it around so Blight can see, his face changes from concerned to happy. Then Blight points in Pall's face, "Ayyyyyyeee, that means we are going to be up against each other. You're gonna go easy on me, right?!" He says in a sly way. Pall pushes his hand away and says, " yea, uh sure man." But instead Pall thinks to himself, "I'm definitely not going to go easy on him, its always been my dream to go to the SSPA. My mother told me that my father went to the SSPA, I don't remember much about him but I'm told that he was a good man and if I can follow in his footsteps it would make my mom happy then she would be proud of me." After hearing his thoughts I think to myself, "If only he could see his father now, he would think much different."
As the break came to a close Pall was able to calm down Blight's nerves but he still was pressuring Pall to go easy on him, he put his hand on Pall's shoulder and tells him "Hey buddy if you really want me to get you a girl you have to let me look good here. Cut your best bro some slack this time around." He points in Pall's face yet again and says with a serious look, "Got it buddy." Pall doesn't really know how to take this because Blight is usually joking, the only times he has that serious look on his face is when he is trying to hold him back. Then Pall thinks to himself, "Maybe I shouldn't use all of my power in the area, just in case I understand the situation correctly."
They are directed to a waiting room inside the stands, I follow them and hide in the dark using my shadow as a cloak of sorts. The waiting room it is decked out with chairs, water and snacks. There is also bathrooms and changing rooms in here. Soon the first group of judgements are escorted out of the room in a group of ten, so five pairs disappear from our sights.We can hear the numbers being called and the people in the stands but thats all we are given, but we can't see the battles or even know where they are battling and who is fighting. We only have a rough idea of who is out there and who is winning. After the first two groups are taken they are replaced with 20 other leftsiders, I can only assume that 30 minutes have passed based on the leftsiders joining us. By this point Blight has left Pall's side to go mingle with the other judgements that they haven't met before. Pall is left all alone until his group is called, "numbers 25-30 please follow me," the prompters enunciate. Pall gets up and Blight leaves his current conversation on hold while they head out to our battlegrounds, I follow close behind them while staying out of sight. Once Blight reaches Pall he hits him on the back of the head, "Hey dude, ready?" he says to Pall with a big grin, "it's forced smile I always see from him," Pall thinks to himself. "Yeah!" Pall says out loud fist pumping the air to reciprocate his enthusiasm. This time he truly smiles and yells, "Let's go!" also fist pumping the air.
I follow them into a room, it is so dark that even my night vision is blinded and the room also smells of death. I can hear all of the thoughts of the people around me. One sticks out the most, it sounds like an old man, he's thinking. "I hope it's another bloodbath, the last kids freaked out so bad we had to take them into custody. Let's see if we have a special pair or not." But aside from his thoughts I hear him laughing and some screaming and clapping around me. I cover myself in my shadow and fade into the ground so that no one can sense my presence. The anouuncer starts over the intercom while it is still dark, "here are the rules judgments, each of you will be trapped on the opposite sides of the room. Whoever get themselves free first has a head start to beat up the other one still trapped. Your battle room is based on your number. Number 30 or XXX represents the Amsterdam coat of arms, the X's stand for the X- shaped cross that St. Andrew was crucified on." The lights turn on and the announcer says, "Good luck escaping crucifiction! Your time starts now." I can hear Pall and Blight start to freak out as I gasp myself. They are both being hung on X-shaped crosses, I examine the room and the walls are covered in blood, from the last battles held in here I guess. Explains the smell of death.
Blight screams as his hands and feet are nailed down to the cross, blood dripping from his hands and feet as it hurts him to struggle. But Pall is only bound by chains, which are attaching him by his hands and feet to his own x-shaped cross. This battle has already started out unfair. Pall struggles for a while, trying to assess his situation while his best friend is across the room screaming in pain as his own body weight is gravitating his body downwards slowly suffocating him. Pall unleashes his shadow making a wedge between the cross and his body prying himself free. As soon as his feet hit the ground he take off running straight toward Blight and yells out loud, "I won't let you die here!" Before Pall makes it halfway to Blight he is engulfed in smoke and there is a loud crack as I see him hit the ceiling. "It's booby trapped?!" he thinks to himself while falling back down to the ground. He picks himself up and wipes the blood off his eyes and chin that is dripping down from the back of his head. He propelles himself up and forward in Blight's direction using his shadow, before he reaches the ground once more he sticks his shadow in the ceiling and using it like a pendulum on a clock to swing himself as close to Blight as he can get. Blight has tears streaming down his face while he grits his teeth trying to pull his hand off the cross. Still dripping blood there is a clank as another nail is sent flying his direction grazing his blonde hair and strikes the wall behind him. His face turns from pain filled to complete utter shock as he realizes this isn't a battle it's a test to see if he will be saved for die trying to survive. Just as this thought is processed he unleashes his shadow and forms a giant claw to help pull out the nails while he waits for Pall to make his way over to him. Once Pall reaches the ground about 3 feet away from Blight he dodges another nail that is headed directly for Blights head and screams, "BLIGGHHHTTT!" Blight looks in Palls direction and quickly dodges the nail and the next two that come after it. Pall then makes his shadow a platform heading directly to Blight, once it reaches him the shadow is place in way that supports Blights body enough so that gravity is no longer pulling on him. Blight then goes back to trying to pull out the nails keeping him prisoner on the wooden X. Pall uses his shadow's path to get to Blight and save him. Once Pall reaches his friend he then divides his shadow to create a knife and slice the cross apart. He then uses the rest of what left of his shadow to make a chair for Blight to land in since part of the cross is nailed to his feet. As soon as Blight touches the chair the lights turn off and the announcer says, "Times up, congrats on passing." I can hear the nurses dragging the boys out of the arena but I stay and listen to the old man's thoughts. He thinks another horrid thought, "Man I hoped that they wouldn't figure out the true meaning of the battle. Pinning friends against each other might be the point of sorting the good maning judgments from the bad bunch but still what a disappointing blood battle." 
I dash through the dark and follow the extraction nurses to the next room where there is enough light to see. They set the boys on beds and give them a serum that makes them fall asleep. Then the beds are rolled into a room filled with all the other judgements that are injured. I stay in the shadows waiting for the sorting to be finished, during this time I notice that their wounds are healing in a raid but weird way. First the wounds turn black as if their shadows are leaking out through the holes in their bodies. But once the black fades away the wounds are completely healed. Once the sorting is done the judgements are woken up by the nurses and are led into a big room where they are to redenvue with their guardians. Blights brother goes with him to the negotiation table while Pall is left all alone and told to sit in the waiting room. Soon I learn that since Pall's guardian is not present his negotiations are voided and is placed on the waiting list for the SSPA, though he is the first one one the list this means bad news for masters plan.
Once Blight is done with his negotiations he runs to go find Pall and tell him everything. While they are talking the leftsiders start their negotiations, Silhouette comes out of the hallway and meets with her parents she is accepted immediately. She then goes to meet up with Pall and Blight while I stay in the shadows trying to figure out a way to get Pall accepted so that masters plans are fulfilled. Soon a average boy in a hoodie passes by me and I listen to his thoughts as they are very loud. "I hope they don't ask me to take my hoodie off, my shadow has been attached to my back for quite some time now." he thinks to himself. I sigh in relief as now I can kick someone out and get a spot for Pall. Once the boy leaves the negotiation table I create a big gust of wind with my shadow and make his hood fall off. Before he gets out of the nurses sight they grab him by the shoulder and ask him what on his back. He is frozen where he stands and turns his head slowly as he is scared that he will be taken away. The nurse asks him again but he doesn't answer, his parents look very concerned and ask him themselves but he still doesn't answer. What a coward! I think to myself. The nurse starts to get angry then ripped off the back of his hoodie and his shadow grows about 4 feet tall and starts to sprout from his back. I grin as my plan has been accomplished. The boy is then injected with a serum and falls to the ground unconscious, his parents are escorted away and the nurse takes him into custody.
My work is done, and Pall and his friends didn't see a thing. One of the negotiators approaches Pall and tells him the good news and I go back to the base to update master on my mission so far. Everything is falling into place.
Once I reach the base I go to masters room, I open the doors and Master says, "Welcome back Glimpse, how was my son's Judgement day?"

CHAPTER 2
I bow in respect and answer him, "There was a bump or two but I completed the first phase and made sure he was accepted in the SSPA." Master looks up from his chair replies, "Oh, that's great. Well done Glimpse, your next phase is to continue to follow him and Blight until we are ready to extract him. You will also need to..." He stopped talking out loud but said the rest of my mission in his head. Then said this out loud,  "This is confidential Glimpse, do not tell anyone your goal or let anyone else know what you find out. Our way of life depends on it." He looks into the distance and rests his head on his right arm.  "Yes Master." I bow and turn around and start to walk out the door but before I exit I ask him, "Sir, are you worried?" He thinks to himself, "My Glimpse, I am worried. But I believe that you will be able to bring my boy out of that world and save ours." I smile and continue to walk out.
I make my way to the capitol, the town in which the SSPA is located, though the whereabouts of the academy itself  is unknown if I follow a transit vehicle I'll be able to find it and get in undetected.
I wait outside of the capitol building while the new students arrive and get ready for transportation.  P