A Game Of Pawns

Chapter 9

I wasn't expecting a shock the moment we stepped out into the summer air, but it hit me all the same. I had been gone a week, in a sphere of solitude with Saris, training nearly non stop. I thought that going outside, seeing the world in motion as it always had been would be comforting to me. Going back to everything I knew and seeing everyone go about their day by day routine would make me feel normal; even if it was something I could not return to. But it didn't happen. The outside world was strange and quiet. This was downtown. It was the weekend again but it was empty. No, not empty. Soft shadows were wandering around. It was early, but not that early. Saris said that people would slowly disappear. He called them 'Shades'. The soft outlines of shadows that I could see moving around were the shades of normal people. People who were not a part of this awful game. I knew that things would be different, I just didn't realize how different it would be.

The reality of my situation stung. My old life was gone, replaced with hiding and war. Before now, it was just training. Now, for some reason, it felt more real. I couldn't even pretend that everything was normal because I could no longer see or talk to my friends or family. Then I had an idea. I dug in my pocket and took out my phone. I had turned it off after following Saris to the safehouse. I turned it on and waited for it to load. It buzzed. I had messages. A lot of them. I checked the texts from Tommy first.

Dude. What is going on over there? Did anyone find out why the cars were breaking like that?

The next message was four question marks.

Do you have your phone off? Call me when you get this.

The next day, he wrote:

Worried about you. You ok? Mike and I went to your place but you weren't there. Call us when you can.

He had also left me a voicemail:

"Xander? Where are you, man? Everyone is worried. There's even a missing person's report going on for you." He paused and sighed. "Just call me back or something."

I had no idea if a text would reach him or not. But I tried anyway:

Tommy. I'm ok. I can't explain what's going on right now. But I will try to someday. Just know that I will not be back for a while. Please text me if you get this and I'll try to keep in better contact when I can. Sorry for being vague.

I read my other messages and listened to similar voicemails from Michael, my sister and my boss. I sent messages to Michael and my sister and left my boss wondering. I was probably considered fired anyway. My sister had only started to get suspicious about things yesterday. I didn't leave her an ominous text. Instead, I just told her that I've been swamped with work and might take longer to respond for a while. Then I got a message back. It was from Tommy.

I got your message. And I trust you. Tell me what's going on when you can.

I told him I would and breathed in relief. I still had some kind of contact with my life. I had no idea what to say about my situation, but it was enough just to know that I could tell someone what was going on. At least as long as the phone lasts. I would just need to preserve my phone's life. I looked at the small device in my hand. I still had most of a full battery; 83%. I turned off the phone, hoping to make it last and trying not to think about what I might do or say when the battery finally died. Maybe I could still charge it? I would test it later. Right now, Saris was staring at me.

I cleared my throat. "Sorry." Saris just rolled his eyes and waved for me to follow. I didn't want him to be irritated with me the minute we walked out the door. "Oh, come on. I just needed some kind of connection with my friends and family. You get that, right?"