by E Kathryn
Why? Mark yelled, a thousand fears consuming him. Why does everyone hate Shadows? I still don’t see why. If you guys are just people with powers, what’s so dangerous?
We’re not dangerous, Kip assured graciously, but it’s something we can’t control, humans are just threatened by us, they always have been.
Feeling himself sinking, Mark couldn’t move. It couldn’t be that simple. There had to be a real reason the Shadows were stuck here, why he was stuck here. What had the Shadows done to be so hated? No one let him ask any questions, no one who had real answers, like Keller, or his mother.
Mark’s form wavered in the airless space, doubts whispering in his mind. Mark, the Exodus is here because of you. Emilie smiled up to him, overjoyed. I bet that was why your Shadow test was negative and you could hide for so long. Your power is to defy the ASH’s technology.
A Shadow touched his hand and Mark tensed until he saw it was Ocie. His heart relaxed, and he relayed all his fears to her without speaking. It calmed him, and he glanced around at the other Shadows as Emilie declared, The Exodus is here at last!
A stir of warmth resonated through the water enveloping his hand, and Mark could feel all these wonderful things in Ocie’s heart, feeling the fullness of Emilie’s hopes. This powerful hope enveloped all of them, and Mark knew this feeling had been growing for years. Nevertheless, there was a sorrow in Ocie’s demeanor as if she knew something would break their hearts.
Emilie’s Shadow brightened in the dark, and the other Shadows stretched their powers, strengthening themselves. It was glorious to see. But we must keep it a secret. Emilie leaned forward on the nonexistent floor of the Shadow Realm.
Emilie’s right. If the ASH finds out Mark is the Exodus, they will take him and make sure he never gets out. Elise said, looking at the other Shadows.
We’ll have time to celebrate once we get out of here. Kip asked, Shadows agreed?
Agreed. The Shadows said together.
VI
FAULTS
A mixture of poor timing, a horrible choice, and a sudden spark of hope among the Shadows churned a bitter taste in Mark’s stomach. He portrayed an air about him that he wanted to be left alone as he sat on his bed for the first time. Through the skylight in the center of the room, Mark could see evening drawing near, even though his horrible, terrible day had just begun.
Sil’s frozen eyes and the look of hope in all the Shadows was all Mark could think about. He fretted over how seriously he had burned Sil, how he would react to him, how he would apologize, and—
He gave up. Letting these thoughts whirl about in his head only sickened him more. He tried to justify himself because Sil challenged him. Mark didn’t know how to use this Shadow he had, and in the fullest sense, both of them were toying with fire.
Mark saw the flames burning away at Sil again. He dismissed the thought that anything that had happened was Sil’s fault. Mark’s power was fire, but he didn’t know how to control it. He banished all thoughts of everything except he felt a little hungry, which was probably part of why he felt sick.
Leaning back into a borrowed pillow, he gazed at his hand. He assumed it would be blistered, especially with how much fire it had endured, but to his surprise it wasn’t burned in the slightest. His fingers trembled a little bit, and with much effort, he caused dim and scattered flames to race across his skin.
Fire… in his hand.
It was deep red and entirely unnatural. It felt hot, but it didn’t hurt. He didn’t want to burn himself and he didn’t. He gulped, listening to Keller had helped. He let the flames grow higher and hotter, engulfing his hand to his wrist in bright, cherry colored fire. It twisted around his fingers, climbing up into the air and wavering at his bidding.
He forced a breath to steady the spinning rock in his stomach. Just yesterday, it had been an accident, out of his control as he destroyed his computer. Now, it was like he had full control over it. But too late. He’d already hurt someone.
Despite how much he wanted to be alone and used a dark aura to deter the others, Ocie came to him without warning and took him by the hand. She said several things, but Mark didn’t listen as she pulled him along, and her words flowed over him. She laughed. “Aren’t you hungry at all?”
Mark came out of thought a little startled until he realized it was probably time for the evening meal. Ocie pulled him out of the room and into the elevator. He noticed her stifling her grin. “You’re gripping that railing like you’re holding on for dear life,” she said.
Mark let go and took a step away from it. “Sorry,” he replied. “I just get uncomfortable in elevators.”
Ocie giggled, but tried to hide it as the doors opened, and Keller appeared on the other side. She left the elevator, turning back to Mark, saying, “Walk with us.” Before Mark’s eyes, Keller took Ocie’s arm tightly and tenderly.
Mark drew his brows together and didn’t budge, dumbstruck, and then he noticed Ocie’s hidden grin. Keller met eyes with him. “Mark,” he addressed in a strong authoritative voice, “I’m sure my daughter has introduced you to everyone, hasn’t she?”
Mark’s psyche cracked his brain open ten times over before he recognized Keller had pushed him forward by the shoulder. Ian Keller was Ocie’s father. Mark remained silent as he walked with her and Keller down the hall, following closely.
Keller, in Mark’s eyes, attempted to become personable. “I hope you understand, Mark, that you are here to learn to control your powers as every Shadow is. Unrefined Shadows can be very dangerous. And we don’t want you hurting anyone,” he assured. Mark gulped uncomfortably as his gut turned. Keller saw it and sighed. “Unfortunately, I was a little quick to put you in with the Shadows, and I didn’t think how Silverstonarellena would react to you.” He seemed apologetic in his tone.
They continued down the stairs when Keller spoke again. “Did you know, Mark, that you are the first new Shadow the ASH has received in five years?” He stated it as if it were an amazing fact.
Ocie took Mark’s attention and explained. “That’s because the generation of Shadows ended five years ago. Children stopped being born with Shadows, and generations usually last about fifty years.” They continued down the hall after they reached the bottom of the stairs.
The passageways were lined with windows along one side. The sunlight beamed in on Mark’s right, and doors to rooms were on his left. Mark noticed one door labeled “Infirmary” next to a reception area. He had a feeling Sil was in that room, and a sense of dread came over him at the notion the room held many memories of injuries and long sicknesses.
They took a turn in the hall and passed through double doors into a loud, spacious room which appeared to serve as a mess hall.
Keller spoke over the crowd. “You’re about to meet Kimberly. She works here as our main nurse in addition to being a fabulous cook. I’m sure she’ll be pleased to meet you officially,” he said with a hint of sarcasm and more meaning, which Mark didn’t catch.
He could, however, manage in this state to acknowledge Keller was speaking about the woman he had seen earlier who had been so quick to care for Sil.
Keller left them as Ocie pulled Mark into the line to get their dinner, which flowed quickly in spite of being immensely long. Mark was thankful for the efficiency as he entered the room and the delicious scents worsened his hunger.
When he was closer to the front of the line, already with a plate and several items on it, he spied the woman managing the portions of food. Her curly red hair was still tied up in a high ponytail, and to Mark’s surprise, now that he got a closer look, she had bright pink eyes. This was Kimberly.
As the line moved, Kimberly glanced up from the serving spoons directly into Mark’s eyes, and she froze. He assumed her shock was from the fact she had never seen him before, but the look in her eyes said more. It was a mixture of amazement, shock, and grief all at once.
Kimberly took a hasty step back from the counter and her hand drifted over her mouth as she
stared at him. Mark felt she was looking at him as if she saw someone entirely different, someone she loved, maybe someone she had lost.
Ocie instinctively patched things up for her. “Kimberly, this is Mark. He’s the new Shadow.”
The hand on Kimberly’s mouth drifted over her heart. “It’s nice to meet you,” she said, burying her surprise and adding awkwardly, “Sorry, it’s just you remind me of… someone I used to know.”
“It’s fine,” Mark said only to get past her wide-eyed shock, which hadn’t vanished yet. He and Ocie continued, and Mark looked to Ocie, asking, “What was with her?”
Ocie sighed a little. “A few months ago, Kimberly lost someone she loved a lot. I suppose you remind her of him.” Ocie led Mark to a table among dozens in the room where most of the Shadows from the room ate. Mark sat next to Ocie, forcing Kip to scoot down, who was happy to see him joining them.
Looking across the table, Mark stared at Emilie oddly for a few seconds and noticed she was sitting with her feet on a chair next to her. She gorged herself, gracelessly stuffing in forkfuls of an odd-looking green veggie, which Mark guessed was zucchini. She either loved it or was simply compensating for her anger by overeating. But one thing was clear, she was saving the seat next to her for someone. Mark didn’t have to guess who that was.
He looked around, bewildered. There were so many Shadows. Indeed, the youngest must have been around five years old, and the oldest were adults. But there were so many, easily a hundred Shadows in this room if not more. Looking at the door, Mark noticed a uniformed man held it open. He thought for a moment the man was one of the officers or guards he had seen earlier, but as he watched longer, he saw the man was holding the door for a Shadow.
As the Shadow entered with slow, smooth footsteps, Mark grimaced and gulped. It was Silverstonarellena. From the distance, Mark could easily see a white gauze bandage on the side of Sil’s neck and face. Mark said nothing, but he watched Sil, thinking frantically about how he was going to apologize, or say anything, so Sil knew he hadn’t meant to hurt him.
Sil traveled through the line, heavy-footed, gaining the gazes of everyone along the way. Kimberly tried to smile, asking, “Are you holding up all right, Sil?” He simply turned her a cold shoulder and continued to the place Emilie was saving. Sil ate silently after adding a layer of frost over his food to cool it down. Silence overtook the table and soon it spread through the mess hall.
Mark noted the bandages were only in places where Sil had received more severe burns, and the rest of the burns were cleaned, open, and oozing a little. Mark had a hard time looking at it, but it was equally difficult to tear his gaze away. Emilie slid a napkin to Sil across the table, but he pushed it back at her.
Very briefly, Sil’s golden eyes flared at Mark for staring at him, and Mark cowered his gaze into his half empty plate. The mess of Sil’s white hair was tied back, and Emilie commented under the chatter that it looked like Kimberly fought to ponytail it.
Sil snapped, “Emilie, it was gauze, not a haircut.” She didn’t even seem fazed by the harsh tone of his voice.
By not letting herself be intimidated by him, Emilie cozied up to him like he was her protection. Mark assumed the two of them had played off each other for years, but they didn’t have any kind of friendship. Mark’s fear overwhelmed him, and he panicked. He had to apologize somehow.
Even so, he couldn’t make a single sound as he watched him eat. Sil’s slow, fluid movements terrorized Mark, but he knew he would regret any attempt to grovel.
“I’m so sorry!” Mark got out in a brash second breath he had intended to say in the first, which was why it was so hoarse in the second one. Sil’s cat-like eyes locked onto him abhorrently, but Mark still forced himself to add in a choking whisper, “Please, I didn’t mean to hurt you…”
Regret seemed to freeze Mark’s soul like Sil’s Shadow as he watched Sil bolt up, raising his hands as fists. Mark flinched and closed his eyes as Sil slammed them down onto the table, blasting ice over everyone’s meal.
In addition to frying all Mark’s senses with fear, Sil screamed out, “You keep your mouth shut around me! Get it through your head that the only way I’ll ever forgive you is if you get a hold of that blasted Shadow of yours!” His golden eyes burned into Mark’s, paralyzing his heart.
Right about bloody now, Mark wished he could just die, and that his petty soul would fly out of him and leave this place forever. The color drained from his face as the room fell silent. The whole table was covered in ice, and there was a pile of snow all over him. Mark sat unmoving, staring into his lap ashamed.
On instinct, the Shadows filled the room with chatter, knowing the silence was likely to beckon Sil’s anger on them, and make Mark feel worse. Sil sat down frustrated, and the Shadows around Mark watched him as Sil spread a layer of icy frost over his burns before he continued eating, ignoring Mark’s very being. The ice on the table retracted back into Sil’s hands, then vanished, and Sil proceeded to chill his own meal, to eat it practically frozen.
Mark put his hands in his lap, seeing that Sil had done the same thing to his own meal when he blasted ice all over the table. Mark slid his chair back from the table and got up to get away.
Kimberly watched Mark closely as he left the room, and only turned her gaze away when Keller spoke to her, assuring, “He’ll be in the hall. He’s not going anywhere.”
They sat at a table away from the majority of the other Shadows. Kimberly reluctantly acknowledged Keller. “Who exactly is he?” she asked, still as concerned as before.
Keller wore reading glasses and browsed through papers strewn across the table. “Marcus Ezra Halo,” he stated as if he had read it, “born November 6, 2015, age fourteen, Shadow Fire. Emilie Meyvise is his cousin. Apparently, they have the same birthday. That’s about all I know for sure about him, at least all that matters.”
Kimberly’s countenance stiffened as Keller paused, and in return, Keller sighed heavily. “I know all those details mean a lot to you, but Kimberly, you need to let go,” he replied, his tone growing warmer as if in warning a close friend.
Hesitantly, Kimberly folded her hands under the table. “But they’re so much alike,” she insisted. “What if it’s him?”
Keller again sighed, thoughtfully removing his glasses, with a stern aura. “I have thought this. It occurred to me the moment I saw him. He’s got the same fire in his eyes, and the red patches in his hair, but they’re not nearly the same person. Think about it. He has a family. He’s lived with that family all his life, and even if it is him and his memories of the Shadows are somehow gone, how does that explain how he has a family he’s known all his life?” Keller started to stack the papers. “What I’m worried about now is finding out how Mark has hidden from the ASH so far and why his powers have never surfaced until now.”
“But they even look alike!” Kimberly pled, her eyes flaring as her tone became brash. “Like, it could be dyed, and it’s not hard for a Shadow to change their eye color. What color are his eyes without his Shadow?”
“Stop!” Keller snapped. “I know what you’re feeling, Kimberly, but you have to let go and accept that he’s gone. He’s never coming back, and Mark is not him.”
Kimberly cringed, fighting off what Keller knew were tears, but in fighting them, she got up, and like Mark, left in such a way that made her look as if she were going after him. As she crossed the center of the room, Sil abruptly stood from his seat calling out a loud word, “Keller!”
Sighing heavily, Keller stood as well. “What is it, Sil?”
Sil’s golden eyes sparked with his intent. “I would like permission to go outside so that I can feed and check on my hawk.”
Nodding, though still quite frustrated, Keller affirmed and signaled one of the ASOs to accompany Sil as he snagged up the last of the meat portion on his plate in his hand and took it out of the room.
Sil and the ASO turned in the hall toward a short staircase leading up to a door which was left unl
ocked most of the time and Shadows often used it to go outside. Upon exiting, Sil and the guard turned the corner into the courtyard where Sil looked to the sky.
He had the ASO unlock a supply closet in which the Shadows kept many belongings for outdoor use. This included Sil’s leather arm guard he took out of the closet and strapped to his arm. In his mind, Sil called to the air while he was still fastening the arm guard. He only waited a few seconds before, a large golden-brown hawk came from the clouds and landed directly on the leather guard.
Sil embraced the force of the large bird’s landing and as it did, he took the time to switch hands with the meat he had snagged. The Red-Tailed Hawk tucked its feathers behind its back and began to preen itself on Sil’s arm. With his fingertips, he stroked the gorgeous bird’s breast, but the animal smelled what he had in his hand and paid more attention to the food than Sil’s touch which it seemed to enjoy.
“Hungry, Winter?” he spoke to the bird. He let her have the pieces, one by one, and spoiled her. Like Emilie, she was something he genuinely cared for.
As she scarfed down the last two or three pieces, Sil placed them in his hand where she was perched, and with only his other hand, tried to fasten a shoulder rest across his torso. Fortunately, the ASO aided where he could in fastening the straps. Sil mostly had it covered but he thanked the guard without the normal scowl he provided to everyone else and paid more attention to the hawk as she tore into the food.
Winter was a large Red-Tailed Hawk. Without her tail feathers and head, her body was larger than Sil’s shoulder from his neck to almost his elbow. He had developed a deep connection with Winter, and when he was around her, his dark demeanor often completely vanished. As Winter finished the food, she climbed his arm and onto his shoulder where she nestled herself.