The Hybrid

Niros

The gate was heavy to move. From a distance it looked like it weighed almost nothing, but when I actually tried to push it, it felt like I was trying to move a semi. With a huff of disappointment I sat on the ground and gazed through the bars of the gate. What I saw beyond them was the usual Shadow World activity, except with a lot more Shadow People. Since the Shadow World is an exact replica of the Living World, well almost an exact replica because everyone here is made of shadows, I could see shops and restaurants for miles. The Shadow People were always busy rushing from place to place meeting and greeting other Shadow People, but I've never figured out why. I haven't heard them utter a single word since the day I started visiting the New York Shadow World, and the California one didn't seem any different in the sense that none of them talked. At least none of them talked until I saw one of them staring at me, right at me, and it seemed to be glowing a little brighter than the rest of the Shadow People. I could hear it call my name.

Sorin.... Sorin.... Sorin.... Sorin....

I heard it over and over again, like a little kid calling for their parents when they need something. The shadow didn't move at all but all of a sudden it was standing right in front of the gate, just outside of my reach.

Sorin I need you to come past the gate.... I have information that will help you find you sister.... Sorin come quickly....

"How am I supposed to get past the gate? It's too heavy for me to move on my own."

I will help you but you must hurry....

I grabbed two bars of the gate and started pushing. It felt at first just like it had the last time, like I was trying to move a semi, but then it started moving. It was moving so painfully slow that I pushed even harder and soon enough the gate was open just enough for me to squeeze through. As soon as I stepped through the gate, the shadow that helped me through turned a very light color and I could actually see the features of its' face. And it, or should I say he, looked a lot like me.

Sorin you must come with me quickly, your sister Hallen is in danger.... If you don't come now you won't be able to save her....

We weaved through the Shadow People who crowded the streets until we came across a fire escape in an alleyway, which he told me to climb up. I climbed.

At the top of the ladder there was an open window with light streaming out of it. It was really unusual for the Shadow World and I wondered how it had gotten here, it isn't normally the place with a lot of bright lights. But maybe things are different in the California Shadow World. They have more people so why not have more lights I guess.

"Sorin come in, I've been expecting you for quite some time now." A tall man stood in the back of the lit room, facing a bookshelf with an open book in his hands from the looks of it. Tentatively climbing in through the open window I looked around the room. When I looked around, all I could do was stare in awe. It looked exactly like my room from my parents house, but that was no where near California nor had I recreated it anywhere in the New York Shadow World. Another cool thing about Shadow Worlds, if you make something in one, which you can do if you know how, and travel to a different one, you can bring that exact recreation into the new Shadow World. Another reason why I spend all of my time in the New York Shadow World. It's so much cooler.

"I know you have questions, I'm sure you do, but right now all you have time to talk about is how to find your sister. Niros," the man pointed to the shadow person who brought me here," will be able to go with you back into the Living World. He will be invisible to all but you and he is going to help you find the clues you need to be able to find your sister. Niros will be weaker there and will not be able to use his shadow powers there to assist you, but he is a helpful hand when it comes to tough situations. I can't explain to you who I am just yet, you aren't ready to know yet, but I can tell you who Niros is." He paused for a few seconds, still with his back turned to me, and then told me something that I couldn't believe was true.

"Niros is you Sorin. He is the Shadow World equivalent of the Living World you. Since he is you, he is a Living Walker, and that means that he can walk among the Living World without them ever noticing him. Which is kind of what you do when you enter the Shadow World. Do you understand that?" Understand it? I was completely speechless. A Shadow World equivalent of me? And he was a Living Walker? That just seemed utterly impossible, but then again I could see the resemblance between us. His face looked exactly like mine, but a little softer around the edges. His hair was blonde too instead of my shaggy, dirty brown, and his eyes were a deep, chocolatey brown instead of my blue ones. We looked almost the same, but if you looked close enough you could see the differences. Having a twin who lived in the Shadow World was strange, but it felt kind of awesome too.

"You can talk later but right now you have to return to the Living World Sorin. Find the clues, find your sister. Once you've done that, come back here and then you'll be read to know who I am. Good luck Sorin."

Let's go Sorin....

Before I left to go back to the gate, I looked back at the man one more time. He was still turned towards the bookshelf but I could just barely see his face and the faint smile that was settled there. He looked almost proud.