All Things in the Shadows

by B. D. Messick

  “You sure about that?” she asks with a wicked little grin.

  Honestly, I’m not sure about much anymore.

  “Hold on tight.” She takes my hand again and we're off.

  This time the distance between jump points seems to be much further, and after only two split-second stops, we're standing in front of the huge, black wooden doors that bar the entrance to the old factory. It looks like any other abandoned industrial building. A dilapidated chain link fence surrounds the property, although its ability to keep intruders out seems questionable at best. The factory itself is red brick with a red metal roof, faded to dull pink by the sun. Empty wooden pallets, a few abandoned vehicles, and bits of trash are scattered across the cracked and pitted parking lot.

  At first, I figure we're going into the old factory through the massive wooden doors, but instead Kateri leads me around the side. There's a small door about twenty yards from the main gate, obscured from the road by a stack of old wooden barrels. A single, bare bulb hangs from a loose fixture above the rusting metal door.

  Kateri reaches up and touches it, and it comes to life, casting a dull yellow light over us. I look at her and she smiles and tips her head to the right.

  “Come on,” she says as we move away from the door.

  “Isn't that the way in?” I ask as I follow her.

  “It's one way, but not the way we need.”

  We move down a few feet, to a spot where the light from the lonely bulb casts a shadow across the wall. Kateri places her hand on the rough brick surface. Slowly, the area around her hand gradually looks as if the masonry is melting away and being replaced by a smooth wooden surface. The transformation spreads almost like how grease moves away when you drop dish detergent in dirty water, and within a few seconds the red brick has become an oak door set inside a granite frame, but that’s not all. The building itself has changed. It no longer looks like the rundown factory on the verge of collapse, but a modern brick and mortar structure with at least three more stories than the old creamery. I just stand there for a few minutes, unable to form any words and then I turn my head slowly and look at Kateri.

  “What the hell?” I mutter.

  She turns to me, a wicked twinkle in her eyes.

  “Welcome to the Umbra.”

  Chapter Six

  Kateri pushes lightly on the newly formed wooden door and it swings inward without making a sound. She takes a small step back and gestures toward the opening.

  “After you.”

  I move past her and step across the threshold. For a second, I can't speak, my mouth just drops open. I expected to find an empty, abandoned factory, filled with broken down and rusting machines, shattered windows, and cobwebs hanging from the water damaged ceiling, but instead it's like I walked into a huge library, right out of the movies. You know, three floors, an endless number of books lining countless shelves, with ladders and stairs connecting all the levels. Study tables are set against the walls, each one with a chair, and a computer with a large flat screen monitor. Heavily cushioned armchairs are set thoughtfully around the space, each one with its own reading lamp. Huge chandeliers hang from the ornate, cathedral-like ceiling, casting a dull yellow light throughout the entire room. There's more wood in here than in all the trees surrounding Indian Lake. I turn and look at Kateri. She smiles as I move past her and outside again, looking at the shabby, rundown factory exterior.

  “How?”

  “There are more things in the shadows than you know,” she says. “Come on, it's time you met Father.”

  We walk across huge oriental rugs covering the dark wood floor. Several tables surrounded by sets of ornately carved chairs occupy much of this first level. There are no guards, no one checking to see if we belong here, in fact, we seem to be the only people here, at least at first. Kateri turns right and I follow her, trying to take in as much as I can, without losing track of her. Every now and then I catch a glimpse of movement out of the corner of my eye, and like at the park, people slowly come into view. In the same way that Kateri melts into the shadows, these people seem to form themselves out of them. Many are dressed like Kateri, in slightly out of date clothes, with various weapons hanging from belts or slung over shoulders. I notice immediately, there are no guns, everything is sword, knives, and bows. Speeding up, I catch Kateri.

  “Who are all these people?”

  “Friends,” comes the terse reply.

  I notice there aren't any doors separating the various rooms, just huge arches, so that you're able to see from one end of the building to the other.

  The longer we're here, the easier it becomes for me to see the dozens of people passing us by, occupied with their own tasks, jobs, lives, or whatever else is on their agendas. I can see them directly now, with no more shadowy outlines first, and no more flashes of movement in my peripheral vision. The place is bustling with dozens of people of all ages and races. Two girls, probably about nine or ten years old, are carrying coils of rope slung over their shoulders. One of them, with dark skin and jet-black hair, smiles at me, and I can see the same multi-colored eyes that Kateri possesses. I smile back, and she giggles, before rushing to catch up with her companion.

  “How many are there?” I ask, as I try and keep up with Kateri’s quick pace and long stride.

  “You mean just here?” she asks, as we pass through what looks like some sort of dining hall, occupied by several long tables lined with chairs.

  “There's more than here?”

  “We're everywhere, Eve.”

  “So, how many are you?”

  She stops outside the only set of doors we've encountered since entering this strange building and turns and looks at me.

  “Millions,” she replies quietly, before knocking on the wood and iron doors that look impossibly thick and heavy.

  They open slowly, not making a sound, exactly like the door at the entrance.

  “Come on.” Kateri takes my hand and leads me through the doorway.

  We walk into a room beyond anything I could have created in my wildest imagination. A massive transparent model of the earth floats in the center of the space, with no obvious means of support, as a few dozen people sit at computer stations at intervals around the globe, inputting data and speaking into blue-tooth headsets. Flashes of red and blue appear at different locations, in various countries, as the world spins slowly above the heads of the technicians. Beyond the computer stations is a set of stairs that leads up to another room, fronted with glass windows, allowing someone to monitor everything going on down below. It looks like something right out of a Hollywood disaster movie.

  “Cool, huh?” Kateri asks as we make our way past the operators, toward the base of the stairs.

  I don't even know what to say, instead I simply nod. No one seems to be concerned about my presence, most likely because I'm with Kateri, but it still strikes me as odd. We climb the short flight of steps and enter the smaller room. A myriad of television screens are mounted on the wall to the left, each one showing news broadcasts from countries all around the world.

  Straight ahead, a bank of windows looks out across our little city, although I could have sworn that there were no windows on that side of the factory. The center of the room is occupied by a large wooden desk. It's nothing fancy, no ornate carvings or fancy decorations, but it's impressive nonetheless. A chair is pushed in behind the desk, while two others are situated on our side. For a second, I think we're alone, before I notice the tall, thin man sitting in the darkened corner. As he stands, he sets the book he was reading on a small side table.

  Kateri takes a small step back and lowers her head. “Father.”

  As he steps out of the shadows and approaches us, it's almost as if he shrinks in the light, but I'm sure it's my imagination. He looks like any other middle-aged man you might pass on the street. There's nothing remarkable or memorable about him, which might be by design. His hair is grey, with bits of black peppered in on the sides. It's cut short, not a crew cut
, but close. His face is clean shaven, but his eyes are what draw you in. Unlike Kateri's, his are green, but it's the absence of a pupil that is a little unnerving. His clothes are much like the others, a little dated, but in good condition and well cared for. A pair of dark slacks, white button-down shirt, brown vest, tan sports coat, and black dress shoes make him look like a community college professor.

  “It’s good to see you, Kateri,” he says, his voice deep but gentle and calming.

  She nods and looks up at him. “Thank you, Father. I've brought her, as you asked.”

  “I can see that. Thank you,” he says to her before turning his attention to me. “Miss Torino, I'm sure you have a thousand questions.”

  “You could say that,” I reply.

  “Well, let's see what we can do about answering some of them. I realize it's probably been a long day for you, would you like something to eat, or drink?”

  “I'm not sure I eat the same things you do,” I say, imagining all sorts of strange dishes, full of unidentifiable ingredients.

  He looks at Kateri for a second and then smiles at me. “So, pan roasted rat with puréed cockroaches not to your liking?” he asks.

  For a second, I can't tell if he's being serious or not, but suddenly, both he and Kateri start laughing and I shake my head.

  “So, you're funny then,” I say with more than a touch of sarcasm.

  “Kateri's the funny one,” Father says. “I'm more of a straight man.”

  “What about a pizza from Papa Spino's?” Kateri asks.

  Spino's, is without a doubt, the best pizza in the Pittsburgh area. It's only about two blocks from here, but a thought pops into my head.

  “No one can see you, right?”

  “As you are aware,” Father says.

  “So, how exactly do you get a pizza?”

  “We have ways of acquiring what we need.”

  “So, you steal it?”

  Kateri looks at me, her eyes widening as she tries to get me to shut up, without saying the words.

  “You could say that,” Father says. “Is that a problem?”

  I think for a few seconds before reaching into my pocket and pulling out twenty dollars. “Let's have this one on me, okay?”

  Father smiles and nods. “That's more than okay,” he replies. “Kateri, can you have Alex make a run?”

  She nods, and I hand her the money. It's then I realize she's going to leave me alone with Father, at least for a few minutes and I'm instantly nervous, despite my cocky attitude. She exits the room and Father looks at me again.

  “Let's sit,” he says, gesturing to the two chairs.

  I take the chair on the left, and he waits for me to sit, before settling into the other seat. He looks at me for a few moments, or maybe studies might be a better word.

  “So, you want to know who we are.”

  The statement stuns me for a second, since that's exactly what I was thinking, but I brush it off. I mean, it's only logical I would want to know that, right? Maybe it was just a lucky guess.

  “Yeah, that would be nice,” I say after a long pause.

  “I assume that you've been able to see us longer than even you know,” he says quietly.

  “What do you mean?”

  “The shadowy movement out of the corner of your eye. The double-takes that you would do, even when there was nothing there. That was us.”

  “It still doesn't tell me who you are or where we are,” I say, tilting my head to the side.

  He nods. “True. Let me start from the beginning. You, and the rest of humanity live in the Solas, where people go about their lives, never knowing about the things that dwell in the dark spaces.”

  “The dark spaces?”

  “Yes. Places where evil lives, what we call the Abyss.”

  “I take it this is not the Abyss,” I say, gesturing to the room around us.

  “No, this is the Umbra, the place between the world of light and the kingdom of darkness.”

  “The Umbra. Latin for shadow,” I say.

  Father nods. “Very good. Kateri was right about you.”

  “Okay, so, if I believe what you're saying, what are you then, Umbrellas?” I ask, grinning.

  Father looks at me and sighs, shaking his head. “No, but that's clever.”

  “We’re called Shayds,” Kateri says, as she walks back into the room. “Alex is on his way.”

  “Good. I was telling Eve here about who we are, and what we are.”

  “What about what she is?” Kateri asks, looking at me.

  I tense up immediately, as I look at Father's face. I can tell he didn't expect Kateri to ask that. His shoulders slump almost imperceptibly.

  “Kateri,” he says, with a sigh.

  “What does she mean? What I am?” I ask, sitting up straighter in the chair.

  Father looks at Kateri and frowns.

  “What? She needs to know why she’s here,” Kateri says.

  “What the hell is going on?” I stand and start moving away from both of them. I look at the TV screens, the desk full of papers, and then I glance quickly at the huge map room behind me, filled with people.

  “Please, Eve. Calm down. We have a lot to talk about, and I promise you that I will explain everything.”

  I can feel my heart speeding up and my pulse begins racing as I edge my way toward the door. I can feel a panic attack beginning to bloom and I don't need it happening in front of them. Neither Father or Kateri makes any move to stop me.

  “Who are you, some kind of crazy cult, terrorists or something?” I ask, my eyes wide.

  He shakes his head and sighs.

  “No. Please Eve,” Father pleads with me.

  I continue backing away, until I bump into the windows overlooking the globe below us. I keep my eyes on the two of them as I feel my way toward the door. Kateri and Father still make no move toward me. As my hand finally locates the opening, I slip out of the room, and start down the stairs, facing them the entire time. I hold onto the rail and move quickly to the bottom of the steps. The moment my feet touch the floor, I turn and dash out of the room, past the technicians and through the dining room. No one pays even the smallest amount of attention to me, as I run through the building. When I reach the door, I half expect it to be gone, but it's still exactly where it had been. I yank it open, all the time watching for any pursuers, but no one is chasing me. The door swings open without a sound and I rush outside into the darkness.

  Chapter Seven

  By the time I get home, I'm crying, and struggling to understand what just happened. I'm mad at myself for appearing so weak in front of them, no matter who they are. I also wasted the opportunity to find out what my mother has to do with all this. But even worse than that, I'm mostly angry about acting like I did in front of Kateri.

  For a few minutes I stand outside in the cool air, running through my calming ritual; rubbing my hands on my thighs and breathing through my nose and out through my mouth, to try and gain control before the panic overwhelms me. It takes about five minutes before the spell passes.

  As I stand there in the dark, I realize that I couldn't stop thinking about Kateri the whole way home, and then I remember the paper. I stuff my hand into my pocket and pull it out, opening it slowly, but instead of a message in beautiful, handwritten script, it's blank. I feel my heart sink and I sense a great loss I can't quite understand.

  My shoulders slump and I trudge up the front steps and let myself inside. Thank God, my mom isn't home. I don't think I could face her right now. I flop down on the couch after locking, and dead-bolting the front door. Closing my eyes, I start thinking about what happened and now that I'm able to calm down a little and look at the situation from a distance, I realize they didn't do anything to me; no threats, they didn't try to stop me from leaving, and no one pursued me home.

  “Well, that could have gone better,” I hear Kateri say from out of nowhere.

  I jump off the couch and spin around as she steps out of the shadows
in the corner of the kitchen. Part of me wants to hug her, and part of me wants to slug her.

  “Jesus, Kateri,” I say as I walk around the couch. “Every time?”

  She grins at me and takes a seat on one of the stools, before her expression changes.

  “You didn't have to run away,” she says, stone-faced.

  “I know.” I sit down on the opposite side of the counter.

  “Then what the hell happened?”

  “I got scared,” I say, looking her straight in the eyes.

  For a second, she doesn't respond and then she nods.

  “I guess I can understand that. We did throw a lot at you.”

  “I'm not even sure it was that. I think it was that I suddenly realized that this is all real. It's not my imagination, or just in my head.”

  “Would it be better if it was?” She leans forward on the counter.

  “It might. At least if it was, maybe eventually it might all just go away, but now I know it can't ... and—” I say, before falling silent.

  “And what?”

  “And after you said what you said, about ‘what I am’, I know I'm not the same person I was before I met you, and nothing's ever going to be the way it was.”

  Kateri reaches across and touches my hand, the contact sending little bolts of electricity up my arm.

  “No, it's not, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Everything changes, Eve.”

  Without even thinking about it, I wrap my fingers around hers and squeeze gently. I feel her respond in kind and then we both pull our hands back at the same time as a blush runs across my skin.

  “Okay,” I say nodding. “Let's talk, but here okay?”

  She nods.

  “Fair enough. I'm not sure Father will be too happy,” she says.

  “I'll explain it to him.”

  “Okay. So, I don't know about you, but now I'm starved.”

  “Yeah, me too, and I was really looking forward to that Papa Spinos,” I say.

  “Well, now that we're here, why don't you call in an order?”