Solar Knight: Dark Veil -book 1-

Chapter 8: shadows R

Almost as soon as I got done reading the story, I heard a loud bang as though someone kicked in the doors at the front halls as well as a loud shattering sound. They broke in, and even throughthe glass ceiling too it seemed. The next thing I heard were screams and demons cackling as they began to slaughter the people up front. Keeping quiet, I walked quietly down the hall to find an exit. The halls were dark and cluttered with debris and props from the exhibits, so my footing wasn't the best and every step could result in tripping or stepping on something that would cause noise.

I could hardly bear the fact that the people I just saw up front, the ones cowering in fear, are now being killed and eaten, and there's not a damn thing and can do about it! I kept pressing on with my phone light and the functioning exhibit lights shining the way. Something didn't feel right though, like something was off. The air felt uneasy, it was quiet, and I felt watched....but there was nothing.

Suddenly, I felt a burning sensation on my leg as though something scratched it. There was nothing I could have bumped or scraped up against, so how would I have hurt myself? I felt the pain again, but instead of my lower leg, it was my thigh. I found a bench and looked at where the pain was coming from. To my horror, there were claw marks! Four lines, parallel to each other, about a good four to five inches long, would trace my legs. They were red, but not bleeding.

I looked back at the empty hallway and was puzzled by this. I walked back towards the hallway, then as soon as I stepped into the shadow of the light, I felt pain again. I jumped back into the darkness and realized that the shadows in this museum were demonic entities. I seen a man who somehow escaped shambled towards me.

"DON'T WALK IN THE LIG-. "

Before I could warn him, he started to be clawed all over. He keeled over in pain, screaming. Before I could do anything to help the poor guy, he was torn to ribbons. All that was left was a pile of meat and flesh.

Two things, I got outta this. One, the shadow demons, or at least these types, sense by scratching their victims. Two, if they sense blood or hear screaming, they will decimate the target and feast on them. I could be wrong, the logic doesn't really make sense, but that's all I have for now. Gotta stay away from the shadows at all costs.

The halls seemed even more dangerous than ever now. Now I'm in pitch black darkness, without my phone, I can't see anything.

"You're right to keep your phone light off human....." Said a eerie voice out of nowhere.

"Who said that?!" I said looking around.

I was met with several red, glowing eyes in the darkness.

"We are legion, we are part of a whole....we linger in the darkness, yet are powerless without light...we could have killed you where you stood, like we did with that lumbering buffoon....however we like toying with OUR prey...." They said in unison cackling.

"Just what are you?" I said trembling.

"We're shadow fiends, brought to life by our master Pandora......she wants you alive, but.....your succulent aura, your delicious life force, isn't like most humans....like a cooked boar on the table, you stand out from the side dishes heheheheheh." They said.

Not gonna lie, I do feel like like I could get killed by these things at any given time. However, one thing stood out from what they said. 'We linger in the dark, but we're powerless without the light'. My theory was completely wrong, they can see practically everywhere. They just like toying with their prey, like they said! If that's the case, how do I get away from them?

"Better be carefuuuuulll, any blinking or flickering lights give us a chance to attack!" They said laughing hysterically.

They're right, but how could they? I mean, the only lights that haven't blown out were the ones from the exhibits, and I'm long out of range of it. Suddenly, fear kicked in as I realized that some of the lights may or may not flicker, due to there being some power going throughout the building.

Immediately I bolted down the hallway, looking for any kind of exit. Eventually I found one, because I could see the exit sign glowing. As I got closer, logic started kicking in inside my brain, and I skid to a halt. A GLOWING exit sign, that means there's a power still going to the exit signs. With it's deep, red glow illuminating the entrance to the door, I knew I wouldn't be quick enough to run to it, push open the heavy door, and leave before the shadow fiends got me.

I could try to bust out of a window, but that may alert more demons outside to my location. I could go to the rooftop, but who's to say I wouldn't get stuck up there or run into flying demons? I had to think of something I could do to get these things off me.

As I paced and the demons laughing, I nearly tripped over a flashlight, which flickered, but away from me. During that flicker, the demons were visible in the shadows. They were tall, semi muscular, and had wings with dark grey skin.

I yelped and threw my sister's baseball bat at them to do something to them, any sort of damage to them. The bat would pass through a few, before one behind them would catch it and stare at me menacingly.  He took a nail and effortlessly cut the bat into clean discs, like one would to a carrot for a salad. Piece after piece fell and hit the floor with hollow sounds, before the bat was gone and all that was left were the pieces on the floor.

One thing I noticed however, is that during that brief moment, they only appeared where the light shown. As if they all converged to that location of where the shadows were casting. What's more, is that after the light went out, they dispersed and surrounded me cackling like usual.

"Ahhh are you scared since you've seen our forms? It must be terrifying seeing something towering over you and several as well....give up human, you'll be dinner soon!" They said as they cackled.

"Cut the villain act already.....you guys are chumps. All talk and puffing out your chests like you're scary." I said in confidence.

"What was that human?! Are you mocking us?!" They snarled.

"Y'all are literally two dimensional dumbasses. You can only go where the light allows you to go, and do the brightest area no less." I said with a smug grin.

"What makes you think that?!" They growled.

I turned on the flash light and pointed it down the opposite way, linking it's light to the exhibit ones. This caused them to be trapped in the shadows the light was casting.

"How?! How did you figure it out?!" They screeched.

"Its basic science? Even a kid knows how shadows work!" I said smirking.

"You bastard!" They howled.

I casually walked away from them.

"Get back here you sonovabitch!! We'll find you and tear you apart!! Nice and slowly!! We'll enjoy your agonizing screams!!" They screamed as I casually stepped outside.

As I opened the door into the alleyway, and was met with a young man who was sitting down smoking something. He had dark orange hair, and lizard-like hands and a tail to match.

"How's it going m'dude?" Said the individual.