The Descending Darkness

by Michael Chulsky

  Ellie shook her head and sighed. It was a small request – trivial, even. She gazed into the eyes of the young man. She wanted to fight it, but couldn’t ignore the feeling that was flourishing deep down inside of her. She just knew he meant her no harm and decided, ultimately, that it was okay to trust him. “Fine.” she said. “I'll head there. But if there’s anything nefarious going on, we’ll be continuing our earlier fight, and you won’t like it.”

  “Fair enough,” Shadow replied, and gave her a small nod. “The portal in front of you will take you there. Just hop in.”

  Ellie let out a huge breath. “I must either be very trusting or very stupid to believe you, but I do. And this Ethan sure as hell better have a good explanation too,” she said. She looked down and put one foot cautiously into the portal. When she decided it was safe, she jumped in and vanished.

  Shadow watched her disappear into the portal with a satisfied look on his face. He was glad he had managed to convince her. He was pressed for time and still had two more recruits to go. There was no time for mistakes. He’d succeed in his mission no matter the cost. “Soon the great battle will begin. And once I’ve held up my end of the bargain, I’ll be able to avenge your death, mother.”

  Shadow closed his eyes and bowed his head in remembrance. Suddenly, a jolt ran down his spine; his sensing power drew goosebumps to the surface of his skin. It was a sensation he had not gotten used to quite yet. He followed it and sensed a tug in a particular direction. It was urgent, almost frantic. “One of the kids on my list is in trouble. I’d better hurry.” He called the shadows to his body, and they wrapped around him like a cloak. In less than an instant, he was gone.

  A boy with tears running down his face ran through a dense forest as a tall woman with cold fury in her eyes chased after him in pursuit.

  “Somebody help!” he cried. He broke through several patches of briar and was forced to ignore the cuts made by thorns on his skin, because he didn’t want to be captured again. A yellow glow illuminated his hands, and chunks of earth broke from the ground. They rotated in the air, forming circles of three, and rushed toward his attacker in several waves.

  The woman showed no concern on her face from his attack. She casually stepped to the side and avoided the first two waves. When it came to the remaining waves, she thrust her palm out multiple times and smacked the rocks away. She narrowed her eyes, and two thin beams of energy shot out from them.

  The lasers slammed into the boy’s shoulder, and sent him spiraling to the ground. Part of his shirt was completely burned away, and his skin was smoking and raw. He tried to get up to continue running away, but the pain made him cry out and he stumbled.

  “Bull’s-eye!” the woman exclaimed, throwing her head back with a satisfied smirk. “I’ve almost got you, little one.”

  “No….please,” the boy whimpered. “Leave me alone!” He pulled himself off the ground in spite of the pain and edged backwards away from her. Dread filled his entire body at the thought of what would happen if he was caught after yet another escape attempt.

  “Tereya, you stupid child,” the woman called out to him. “You should know better by now than to try and escape. You know what happened to the others.”

  “Please, stop! I don’t want to go back with you!”

  The woman laughed. “I’m afraid you don’t have a choice. You’re my property, and nothing is going to change that, except your death.” She raised her finger in his direction, and a bolt of lightning fired out, striking him in the shoulder, sending him spiraling onto the ground.

  The hit caused the boy to land on his injured back, and he screamed in pain. He rolled onto his side and tried to inch away. “Please….”

  The woman flexed her hand and electricity gathered in her palm, stretching out into the shape of a jagged, crackling whip. “You made me do this, Tereya.” She raised the whip and brought it down to deliver the final blow. When she was just inches away from his body, a hand caught the whip before it could make impact.

  “Didn't your mother ever teach you to not to play with electricity?” Shadow asked, materializing from the darkness. “You might get shocked.”

  “Who the hell are you?” the woman asked.

  “Reinforcements,” Shadow replied. He jerked the whip out of the woman’s hand and tossed it to the side. It landed on the ground and vanished with a crackle.

  “How did you do that? For anyone else to touch my lightning whip would be like getting struck by lightning. It’s impossible to survive.”

  Shadow raised an eyebrow. “Well, clearly it’s not impossible, because I just did.”

  The woman’s eyes widened. “What are you?”

  “Someone with little time and even less patience for monsters like you.” He sized her up with his gaze and shook his head. If there was one thing he couldn’t stand, it was someone who bullied those weaker than themselves.

  The woman pulled out a dagger from her bra. “That boy is my property. I won’t have you getting involved.”

  “Your property? He’s a person, you psycho,” Shadow growled.

  “He’s my servant. I purchased him fair and square. So if you know what’s good for you–”

  “I think that’s my line to you,” Shadow said. He moved his hand, and the dagger in the woman’s hands became shrouded in darkness and then vanished. “Here’s some friendly advice: I’m out of your league. So I suggest you leave before you piss me off more than you already have. Trust me, you don’t want that.”

  The woman studied him and then clenched her fists. “Fine, I’ll leave. But know this – this isn’t over.” She transferred her gaze to the boy on the ground. “I’ll be back for the brat one day. You can’t protect him forever.” She turned on the spot and walked away.

  Shadow had half a mind to go after her and make her pay for what she had done, but the soft, pained moans coming from the boy on the ground diverted his attention. He made his way over to the boy and kneeled down by his form. “Hey…are you okay?”

  The boy stirred and, after a few moments, brought himself to a sitting position. “I…I’m okay, I…think.” He looked around. “Is she…really gone?”

  “Yeah, she’s gone. You don’t have to worry about her anymore. I promise.”

  Tereya grunted as he sat upright and stared at the man in front of him. “Why did you help me?” His eyes widened. “What do you want from me?”

  Shadow frowned. He looked down at the kid and gave what was a strong attempt at a reassuring smile. “Calm down. I don’t want anything from you, alright? I only wanted to help.” He held out a hand to help the kid up. “My name is Shadow.”

  Tereya looked at him for a moment but grabbed his hand and let himself be pulled up. “Thank…you.”

  “Can I examine your injuries?” Shadow asked. He waited for Tereya to nod before proceeding. He started with the wound on the kid’s shoulder, and saw a deep gash had formed where the lightning connected. It wasn’t life-threatening, but it didn’t look good. He moved his attention over to the wound on the kid’s back, which again he found to not be serious, but it would need some looking over.

  “How…are they?” Tereya asked.

  “They’re fine,” Shadow replied. “I just need you to be looked at by someone more qualified.” He paused for a moment. “I know we just met, but do you trust me?”

  Tereya looked at the ground. “I’m not sure. I haven’t been able to trust many people in my life. But you seem like you don’t want to hurt me…so I guess.”

  Shadow nodded. That would have to be good enough. “So listen. I’m not here by accident. I could sense that you were in danger because I could sense you. I’m trying to gather teens with power like myself to help with an important mission. I know it probably sounds crazy, but it’s the truth. And one of the teens I’ve already recruited for this mission is a girl who has the power to heal. If you sign on, I can have her heal you.”

  “You think I could help you?”

  “Yeah, I do,” Sh
adow affirmed. “I know you have power in you. I can feel it. All you need is someone to help you train so you can utilize it better. Besides, I don’t want you to be out here alone and by yourself. It’s not safe.”

  Tereya didn’t say anything for a moment. He kept his eyes on the ground and shuffled his feet in thought. “I don’t want to be out here all alone. She’ll come back to claim me; she always does with those who escape.”

  “I’ll protect you,” Shadow said. “She won’t get her hands on you ever. I promise.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a device similar to the one he had given to Ellie. This one, however, was brown and black. “I want you to take this.”

  “What is it?” Tereya muttered.

  “It’s a communication device that allows all of us to stay connected.” Shadow waved his hand and the glowing black hole appeared again. “And this portal will take you to where the others are. Once you get there, Faith will fix you up.”

  Tereya grabbed the device and put it into his pocket. “I don’t know what to say…except thank you.” He pulled Shadow into a sort of half-hug using his uninjured arm.

  Shadow tensed and smiled awkwardly, pulling away a second later. Although a normal thing to do for most, hugging wasn’t on the list of things he was comfortable doing. “You’re welcome.”

  He looked Tereya over properly for the first time. The boy had brown hair, much like his own; however, it was much longer, and fell down around his face. His eyes were hazel, green with specks of grey floating in them like storm clouds.

  Shadow waited and watched as the young boy took the portal and vanished. “Thank God,” he said, then pulled the list out of his pocket and looked it over. “Two down, one more to go.”

  Shadow materialized on the outskirts of a ruined town. The seer who had shared the vision of what was to come had also given him the ability to sense where the special children were located. It had worked effectively thus far. He was able to teleport to each one without a problem. But the place he was drawn to seemed practically deserted. “It’s just a ghost town,” he said, aloud to himself. “There’s nothing here....”

  A loud boom broke through the silence like someone had set off TNT. Screeching sounds tore through the quiet, followed by the sound of a girl yelling. “I guess I spoke too soon,” he thought. He wasn’t sure exactly what was going on, but it couldn’t be a coincidence. He made a break toward the commotion, rushing through collapsed buildings and abandoned cars. The unmistakable clash of fighting guided his way. It wasn’t long until he came to a clearing and saw a young woman standing in the middle of a street, opposite a group of skeletal-looking demons.

  Shadow continued forward and caught a good look at the scene; the girl’s jet black hair danced in the wind as she dodged attack after attack. Her hazel eyes flashed bright blue, and bolts of electricity shot forward and engulfed one of her attackers, causing it to disintegrate into a pile of ash.

  Shadow made a motion to move another step forward, but the girl, moving in a flash, whipped her body around and sent a knife flying at him. He stepped to the side and caught the knife at the hilt, then looked at her, bemused. “What was that for?”

  The girl looked surprised for a brief second before her lips curled into a smile. “Let me guess, you’re Shadow, right?”

  “Uhh, yeah,” Shadow replied.

  “Right. I’ve been waiting for you…but hold on one second.” The girl turned back toward the demons, who had thought to catch her off-guard, and proceeded to fire several bolts of lightning out of her hands which reduced them to ash as well. The remaining one was felled by Shadow, who threw the knife he had been holding and sent it flying into the demon’s chest.

  The girl laughed. “Well, that was nifty.” She dusted her hands off and turned back to face Shadow. “Now that that’s done with, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Kay.”

  “How did you know my name?” Shadow asked.

  Kay half-shrugged. “A few days ago, this strange woman dressed in a tattered shawl and feathers in her hair approached me. She told me that my destiny was in the hands of a young man named Shadow and I’d meet him soon. I figured she was a crazy homeless person, but here we are.”

  “Strange woman with feathers in her hair,” Shadow repeated. He didn’t even need her to go into more details to know of whom she spoke. It was obvious that she had met the Seer. The same one who had sent him on a mission in the first place. “Is that all she said?”

  “Pretty much, why?”

  “I’ve been searching for teens like you, with special powers.” He watched her carefully, trying to gauge her reaction. “Something is happening soon, something big. I don't know all the details yet, but from what I’ve heard, I’m going to need all the help I can get.”

  Kay caught a strand of her hair and twirled it between her fingers. “And what…you think if you have enough of us together, we’ll be able to make a difference in this messed-up world?”

  “Something like that.”

  Kay scoffed. “I’m not so optimistic, but whatever. Does this job pay, or at the very least give me a warm place to stay?”

  “I can’t offer you money or anything like that, but I can offer you the same thing I’ve offered everyone else: shelter and protection from evil.”

  “Seems legit,” Kay replied, shrugging. “Only thing is, I’m not going anywhere without Isaac.”

  “Who’s Isaac?”

  “Isaac is a friend of mine. A few years ago, when he was about eleven, I saved him from a demon that killed his family. He’s been with me ever since.”

  “Makes sense. Demonic activity has risen so much in the last few years because of the prophesized war. It’s nice that you were able to save him,” Shadow said. He didn’t mention it out loud, but he was confused about why he couldn’t sense Isaac. He was given the power to sense those around his age with power, and yet one had slipped right under his radar. Unless… “What’s his power?”

  “Isaac? He can manipulate different types of energy. His body is like the perfect conduit for energy, and he can conduct anything that is channeled through him. It’s pretty impressive.”

  Shadow nodded. It made sense that he couldn’t sense the kid then. Those with the power to manipulate energy had a tendency to be too neutral for sensory abilities to work well on them. “Alright then. Isaac can come. Where is he?”

  “I had him go hide when I saw the demons,” Kay replied. “But I’ll call him.” She raised her hand up and a bolt of lightning struck the ground several yards away from them. After a few minutes, a boy sprinted up the road toward them from the distance.

  “Isaac!” Kay called out.

  Isaac caught up to them at last, smirking halfheartedly. He was short for his age, being thirteen and barely over five feet tall. He had dirty blonde hair and gold-framed hazel eyes. Upon catching sight of Shadow, he frowned. “Who’s he?”

  “Don't worry. He’s not a demon,” Kay said, leaning against a wall. “If that’s what you’re wondering.”

  “Oh,” Isaac said. “Still, who is he?”

  “Remember that weird lady who was wrapped in a shawl and had beads and feathers in her hair?” Kay asked, and waited for a nod to indicate that he had. “Well, this is the guy she was talking about.”

  Isaac nodded again. “Shadow, right?”

  Shadow smiled. “Yes, pleased to make your acquaintance.”

  “So why did you have to meet with us?”

  “Because something is coming. I’m not sure what or when exactly, but I just know that a great evil is about to rise and anyone who has even the slightest touch of power in our world is in trouble.”

  “And what does that have to do with Kay and me?”

  “I already told Kay that whatever is coming I intend to stop it, but I need help. I can’t fight it alone. I have tracked down others, like you two, in order to fight. If we all work together, we can–”

  “Something powerful and evil is coming, and you want us to fight it?” Isaac cried.
“Are you crazy? We’d get killed!”

  Shadow frowned. “I wouldn’t let anything happen to either of you. I just can’t do this all by myself, and was told to gather individuals who all had something in common: losing family to evil. The Seer told me that in order to defeat a great evil, you must understand evil and have lost due to evil. And I’m doing what I need to in order to save the world.”

  “This all just seems so insane,” Isaac said. He turned to Kay. “What did you say? Did you said we’d help him?”

  Kay shrugged. “I don’t know. I mean, it seems like a lot of work or whatever, but he’s also offering us free room and board, so I figured that was worth a little bit of demon-slaying.”

  “I’m not sure….”

  Shadow sighed. “Well, I’m not about to force you – either of you - but know one thing: if you guys choose to stay here, it isn’t in your best interest. Evil more than likely knows about the prophecy, like I do, and they’ll probably want to do away with anyone who could help me stop them.”

  Isaac’s eyes widened. “Is that true?”

  “I’m afraid it is. I know it sounds scary, but I’m not going to throw you to the wolves. I believe if we all train together – you two, me, and the rest of the guys I recruited – we will succeed.”

  “And you know I’ll protect you, kid,” Kay added.

  Isaac nodded. “Alright, I’m in.”

  Shadow pulled a device out of his pocket similar to the ones he had given to Ellie and Tereya before. This particular one was black and yellow. He tossed it to Kay. “Before you ask, it’s a special cell phone device. It’s how the team communicates with one another.”

  Kay stared at Shadow expectantly. “What about Isaac?” she asked. “Doesn’t he get one of your magical cell phone thingies?”

  Shadow blinked and cursed himself mentally. “I didn’t know he even existed, so of course I wouldn’t have one for him. I only had enough for the kids on my list,” he thought, frowning. A nagging voice at the back of his mind suddenly corrected him: he did happen have an extra one. How could he have forgotten? “Actually, I do happen to have a spare one. It was… meant for another kid.”