Umbra and the Shadow Hunter

by A.L. Svartz

  Chapter Two

  A New Enemy Rises

  He heaved forward, clenching his chest as he breathed heavily. Drops of sweat were trickling down his cheeks. He wet his lips as he soon realized that it was only a terrible nightmare, a nightmare that seemed too real.

  "Shadow?" Umbra questioned. He looked down to see that now his red necklace was glowing. "Did you see that?"

  "I did," it responded. "Strange dreams you've been having over the last couple of days." Umbra tried to remember the past few dreams he recently had. They all weren't exactly the same, but featured the same strange figure.

  Sunlight had somehow made its way into the room that Umbra was in, blinding him as it struck his face. He scooted to the left, out of the sunshine's way. "What was that thing?" Umbra asked.

  Shadow remained silent for a little bit before finally giving an answer. "I'm not sure." The reply repeated itself inside Umbra's head.

  Umbra still couldn't get over the fact of how real his nightmare seemed to be. As he rolled off of his bed, his wet socks squished as they hit the floor. He made his way over to the window, which was half boarded up. Looking out into his neighborhood, it looked exactly as it did the day everyone left. Homes all around were still badly damaged, and only Umbra had inhabited the town. "When will they return? It has been two months and still, not one single person has made there way here. What is keeping them away?"

  "You may not realize it Umbra, but a lot happened here on that day," his Shadow informed him. "A legendary beast was ruling over the town with his undead army. That day changed the lives of many, mostly you Umbra." There was a quick pause. "Those people are probably still scared of returning."

  He squinted his eyes as he moved his head down, the sunshine now returning on his face. "It's just, I haven't seen my family for a while. I wish they'd return. That's what's really important to me right now. I just hope they're alright." Umbra held back his tears, firmly shutting his eyes. "I wonder if they even miss me." Taking in a deep breath, he opened his eyes back up, rubbing away some tears that had escaped. He stepped away from the window, now facing his messy room.

  Umbra didn't know what to do now. He looked up at the calendar that barley hung on the wall above his bed. Walking over to it, he flipped through a few pages. One of the calendar blocks had writing in the space. The date was June 7th. Underneath read "Graduation Day!" with a runny red marker. It brought a smile to Umbra's face before he realized that he would not be living that day the way he wanted to live it. He dropped the pages that he was holding up, bringing back the current calendar month.

  "So much has been lost," Umbra whispered. "I never asked for any of this to happen." He rubbed his hands on the black shirt he was wearing, trying to dry his hands from touching the wet calendar.

  The growling of his stomach woke Umbra from a deep thought. Placing his hand over his stomach, he could feel it vibrate.

  "Why not venture out for some food," Shadow said. "Eating will take your mind off of things."

  "You're right," Umbra agreed. He turned himself around and headed out of his room. Racing down the stairs, he stumbled, almost knocking himself over on the last step. He grabbed his jacket that was lying on the table next to the door. As he slipped on the tight leather jacket, Umbra braced for a cold blast of air as he opened up the front door to outside. "Eh. It's freezing out here." He listened to the wind howl as he took his first steps out from the house.

  Snow was scattered all around the front yards and the streets. The tracks of passing animals were left. He observed them as he walked by, guessing what kind of animal was just there. All the trees in his neighborhood were without leaves. Their branches hung down, the wind rocking them whenever it came by. The squeaking of open doors could be heard, and the occasional slam would spook Umbra.

  "I have found you Shadow Keeper," a dark whisper that only Umbra could hear said. He placed his hand over his ear. "Your end is nearing." Umbra scratched at his ear.

  "Do you hear that Shadow?" Umbra said out loud. The whispering had stopped.

  "What has troubled you?" Shadow asked.

  "Didn't you hear that?" Umbra whispered. He continued to pick at his ear, making sure that nothing was caught in there that was making it seem like a voice was in his head. "Just like from the dream. He said he's found me." Shadow remained silent the rest of the way to the store.

  He hurried his way through the town, not wanting to be out in the cold for very long. Jogging his way towards one of the local shops, he would stop for a second and take a couple of painfully cold inhales of air.

  As he made it to the closest shop, he made his way in by walking through one of the broken windows, the doors to the building still being locked. He chipped off some of the glass that still managed to hang onto the sides of the window. A few of the lights inside the store were still on and working, but flickered. Making his way through the small isles that the convenient store had, he quickly headed to where the chips were. Located towards the back of the store near the coolers, Umbra grabbed as many as he could, checking the expiration date on each one he had. Some of them were still good for a few more months.

  He headed towards the cashier's register which was located right next to the window that he entered the store from. Umbra dropped his stash of chips on the counter. He hopped over register desk, grabbing one of the white plastic bags. Waving it in the air, the bag opened up. He leaned towards the counter with the bag and with one quick motion, swiped all of the chip bags into the plastic one. Umbra tied up the bag. He hopped over the counter again and left the store.

  "Damn," he whispered. "It's so cold out."

  He then closed his eyes. Using the power of his necklace, he imagined two large, dark wings sprouting out from his back. When he opened his eyes back up, he saw that it had come true. The two wings that Umbra now had flapped repeatedly. Squatting down, he leaped off from the ground, his newly acquired wings now keeping him afloat. Lifting himself further into the sky, he located his house. But before he made his way over there, he looked around, noticing all of the other houses that were badly wrecked. Deep down inside, Umbra felt that he was responsible. He then made his way home.

  He flew above his house, entering through one of the broken openings in his roof. As he swung down inside his house, the wings he had vanished.

  Umbra plopped himself back down on his bed, still wearing his leather jacket. He began ripping apart the plastic bag containing his chips, letting them fall on the floor. He crumpled up the bag, tossing it away. Umbra leaned down and grabbed one of the bags, tearing it open. As he pulled out the first salty chip, something outside caught his eye. He dropped the chip back in the bag, setting it next to his pillow as he got up to investigate.

  Facing outside the window again, the sky seemed wicked. It was morphing. "What's going on out there?" Umbra asked Shadow. The sunny blue sky was starting to turn black. He knew that night wasn't nearing.

  "Your end is nearing Shadow Keeper," the dark voice said again. Umbra again reached for his ear. He held it. "When the sun is dark, I will rise." The voice faded away like it did before. Umbra released his hand that was cupped around his ear.

  "There it was again," Umbra said. "The voice. Did you not hear it?"

  "There was no voice Umbra," Shadow uttered, trying to calm him. Umbra thought for a second that he was going crazy. Was his own mind playing tricks on him?

  "Ah, yes there was," Umbra picked at his ear again. What really annoyed him was that Shadow couldn't hear the voice. "It said something about when the sun is dark. And that he will rise. What does that mean Shadow?" He remained silent. "Stop with this! I need answers when I ask you questions. What's going on?! Explain!"

  "I can't believe he is still alive," Shadow said. "He has been waiting this whole time. Waiting for this day to come. This is not good Umbra."

  Umbra was growing nervous. If Shadow was getting anxious, Umbra had every right to become wary. "
Who's still alive?" Umbra wondered. He continued to watch the sky twist. It sounded like thunder outside. "Who is it?!"

  The ancient book that Umbra's uncle gave to him magically floated out from under his pillow, fitting right into his hands. Pages of the book magically flipped, stopping at the beginning of a story. He brought the book closer to his face. The story was titled "THE DARK SUN". Umbra cleared his throat as he began to read.