Shadow Bound

Its all over

I looked back to Dalton on the balcony, who hadn't taken his eyes off the pile that used to be the Alpha. His jaw was on the ground, his eyes as big as dinner plates. I walked up, wrapping my arm around his shoulder.
"We're safe. Can you believe it?" I asked quietly, looking where he was. He slowly peered at me, as if disconnected from life. He blinked, and opened his mouth to say something.
"Can," He stopped, thinking again. His eyes twitched. "Can, can you believe that-" Stopped again. "That thing ATE Matt! What the heck is that about?" He pointed down to the pile of dust. I nodded, agreeing that it was insane.
"I'm not sure what that was about. Matt told me it was the only way that we would win. I guess he was right. What was it about him that killed the Alpha though? That's what makes no sense to me," I pondered, but really didn't want to know why. We were safe, and at least Matt was no longer running.
It was all done. The battle was over. We had won. One day, we were running from every creak, every groan in a building. We were terrified of everything. And now, we're free. Matt had risked his life to save all of us. All these people had been running for years, terrified day after day that it would be their last, that one day, the Shadows would claim them as their own. Years were spent learning how to strategize, learning how to ration, worried about where my next place to say was going to be. I spent countless hours trying to find out where Matt was. These things killed our families, murdered our loved ones, put us through complete hell, and we had revenge. The creatures that haunted my dreams for several years had finally fallen. The things that hid under children's beds, causing your loved ones to second guess their safety are destroyed. Gone. Extinct. The Alpha was dead, causing every other shadow to fall. Now it was time to lead a normal life, or as normal as we can. They'll stay in our minds, we'll always be paranoid. We'll always be watching the corner for hidden Shadows, combing the night for orange eyes staring back at us. It's a habit, it's how we grew up. It's all we know. But at least deep down, we would know that they weren't actually there. At least we knew that it was just us being paranoid. I can lead a semi normal life. I can have my brother back. I can spend time with him, knowing that I wasn't the only one left of my immediate family. I can remember Matt as my best friend: The crazy, paranoid one that left me for years, but he saved our lives. He saved everyone here, and everyone that was still out in the world battling these horrid creatures. We knew that everything is fine again. We know to appreciate the little things. We know to hold our families closer at night.

We know that we are safe.