Shadow Girl

by R. L. Stine

  Who was holding Jada prisoner? Why did Jada think this costume would scare them away?

  A thousand questions flew through my head, all of them frightening. I knew I wouldn’t have answers to any of them until Jada was rescued.

  Rescued…

  Rescued…

  What if I didn’t get there in time?

  The address Jada had whispered was a few blocks from the ice-skating pond.

  I reached the house and stopped at the curb. I grabbed onto the mailbox. Held on to it with both hands as if it were a life preserver.

  Leaning on it, I struggled to catch my breath. Struggled to slow my racing heartbeats. And waited for my legs to stop throbbing.

  Finally, I let go and stared across the small front lawn at the house. A low, ranch-style house. Completely dark. No lights anywhere.

  No car in the driveway. No sign of life.

  Could this be the right house? I squinted at the address on the mailbox.

  Yes.

  I started up the lawn. My long cape swirled behind me in the wind. It tangled around my legs, and I had to pull it loose.

  My face was sweating under the mask. The mask made my cheeks itch. It stuck to my forehead.

  I sucked in deep breaths, one after another. Forced my legs to move.

  I stepped up to the front door.

  Silence inside. The wind whispered behind me. Trees creaked and groaned.

  My hand went up to push the bell. But I stopped myself in time.

  I grabbed the doorknob. Inside the glove, my hand was wet and colder than the metal.

  Was the door locked? I turned the knob. And pushed.

  The door slid open silently.

  I stared into more darkness. Blacker than the night.

  Still not a sound.

  I held my breath. Forced one leg forward. Then the other.

  I stepped into the dark house. Warm inside.

  I waited for my eyes to adjust. But I couldn’t see a thing.

  Pulling the cloak around me, I took a trembling step. Another.

  Another.

  Into a dark hallway. My boots thudded heavily on the wooden floor. The only other sound was the shallow wheezing of my breaths.

  I stepped into a room, darker and warmer. My eyes squinted into the blackness.

  Jada, where are you? I asked silently. Are you here? Is anyone here?

  A terrifying thought made me gasp: What if I’m too late?

  I bumped into something hard. A table?

  I heard a clattering sound. Scraping footsteps.

  The ceiling light flashed on.

  “Oh—!” I cried out as someone moved quickly toward me.

  A figure in a bright red costume. A red mask over the face. A red cape, tight-fitting red tights and top.

  I staggered back. “Who—who are you?” I cried.

  “Shadow Girl, don’t you recognize me?” she sneered. “I’m Red Raven. I’m your archenemy!”

  23

  I backed into the wall. I stared in shock as the red-caped figure moved toward me. I recognized her voice at once.

  “Jada—why are you in that costume?” I demanded angrily. “I don’t believe this! Is this another one of your mean tricks?”

  She stopped and swung the cape behind her. “It’s not a joke,” she replied softly. Behind the red mask, her blue eyes lit up like jewels. “I’m not Jada when I wear this costume. I’m Red Raven. And you—”

  “Stop it!” I shouted. “Give me a break. Why did you make me put on your other costume? Why did you make me come here?”

  “It’s not my costume,” Jada replied sharply. “Can’t you figure it out, Selena? Look at the pendant.”

  “Huh?” I lifted the oval pendant from my throat.

  “Go ahead. Look at it carefully,” Jada urged.

  Squinting through the eye holes of the mask, I studied the oval pendant. I saw a face inside the glass. A photograph.

  My face.

  “It’s not my costume,” Jada said, hands on her waist. “It’s yours. Didn’t you wonder why it fit so well?”

  I swallowed hard. “Well…”

  “It’s your costume, Selena,” Jada said. “It has always been here, waiting for you.”

  “But—” I started.

  Jada’s blue eyes flashed again. “And I really am your archenemy.”

  I leaped across the room. And grabbed my cousin by the shoulders. “But that’s crazy!” I screamed. “Archenemy? What are you saying? We live in the real world. We don’t live in a comic book!”

  She brushed my hands away. “There are all kinds of worlds in the real world,” she said softly. “Most people don’t know that.”

  My head was throbbing. I stared at my cousin, trying to make sense of what she was saying.

  “Don’t try to fight it, Selena,” Jada said. “This is your fate. This is what you were born to do.”

  I saw sadness in Jada’s eyes. Or was it anger? “No! I—I don’t like this,” I stammered.

  She sighed. “Now maybe you understand why I have always been so jealous of you.”

  My mouth dropped open. “Jealous?”

  Her voice broke. “Why do you think I’ve always been so mean to you? Why do you think I played all those awful jokes to embarrass you?”

  “You’re…jealous?” I repeated.

  Jada sighed. “I wish that costume were mine. I’d give anything—anything—to be Shadow Girl. But that’s not my fate. Not my job.”

  “Shadow Girl?” I repeated. “What are you talking about?”

  “My job is to toughen you up,” Jada continued. “To harden you. To test you. To make you angry. To prepare you to be Shadow Girl. And then…to destroy you!”

  “No!” I cried. “You’re crazy! You need help! You’re totally nuts!”

  I pulled off the black mask and heaved it at her. “I won’t do this! I won’t! This is a joke! A stupid joke! I want to talk to my mother! I want to see her! I want to see her right away!”

  Jada picked up the mask and began to fold it between her hands. “You can’t fight your fate,” she said softly.

  “No! This doesn’t make any sense!” I screamed. “I’m twelve years old. I’m not a superhero!”

  Jada sighed. She placed a hand on my trembling shoulder. “I wish I could help you,” she whispered. “But it is your destiny.”

  “No—” I wailed. “I hate fighting! I hate superheroes! I don’t believe any of this! It can’t be true! It can’t!”

  “Calm down, Shadow Girl,” a voice said from the doorway behind me. “You have to toss away your old life and accept the new.”

  I spun around. “Aunt Janet!” I cried. “What are you doing here?”

  24

  “This is our special hideout,” Aunt Janet said, closing the door behind her. She wore a long black coat over black leggings. Her dark eyes sparkled in the dim light. “Your uncle Will doesn’t know anything about this part of our lives.”

  I gaped at her. “You too?”

  She nodded. “I was the Gray Avenger—until I retired.”

  My aunt stepped to the far wall and pulled open a cabinet door. She lifted out a large book, bigger than an encyclopedia. The cover was black leather. It appeared to be heavy. She had to hold it in both hands.

  “We couldn’t reveal anything to you until tonight—a night without a moon. The night of shadows. So it is written in the Book of Fates. Has Red Raven told you about the book?” Aunt Janet asked.

  “Not yet,” Jada said. “Selena has been fighting me. She refuses to understand—”

  “This is all insane!” I blurted out.

  Holding it in two hands, Aunt Janet raised the book in front of her. And as she lifted it, it began to glow. A yellow-red glow, like fire.

  “It isn’t crazy, Selena,” she said softly. “This is the Book of Fates. Your future is written in this book.”

  I stared at the glowing book as if hypnotized. Bright yellow and red sparks flew off the cover and circled my aunt
until she glowed too.

  I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Could all this really be true?

  “I—I don’t understand,” I murmured.

  Jada pulled two folding chairs from against the wall. Pushing her cape aside, she sat in one of them. She motioned for me to take the other.

  Aunt Janet stood in front of us, glowing in the light of the huge book in her hands.

  “We come from another world,” she said in a whisper. “Our fate is different from those we live with. We have a job—to protect the innocent. To protect people who don’t even know we exist.”

  “But my mom—” I blurted out.

  “Your mom had to cut herself off from you,” Aunt Janet said. “She cannot be involved. The Book of Fates decreed it. Your mother cannot be involved in your training. Your friends had to be instructed to stay away too.”

  I swallowed. “You mean Beth—?”

  Aunt Janet nodded. “Your future is to become Shadow Girl. It is written in the Book of Fates. But you must discover your own powers. You must test yourself and discover your own courage.”

  Jada snickered. “What courage?” she muttered. “She’s a total wimp.”

  “It will take time,” Aunt Janet said softly. The sparks flew around her. “We have tested you, Shadow Girl. So far, you have not done well.”

  “Tested me?” I asked. “You mean—”

  “Cindy,” Jada said. “Her story about being robbed—it was a fake. You were supposed to show some courage. Instead, you turned green and nearly lost your lunch.”

  I jumped to my feet. “But—I don’t want to do this!” I cried. “I’m not brave. I—I—I don’t want to do what it says in that book!”

  Aunt Janet raised the glowing book higher. “You cannot go against the Book of Fates,” she said. “Even if it is not what you would choose.”

  Jada jumped up too and spun me around to face her. “I didn’t choose to be Red Raven!” she cried. “It was decreed in the book. My whole life, I wanted to be Shadow Girl. I didn’t choose to be your enemy—but I am!”

  Aunt Janet let out a long sigh. She returned the book to the cabinet. The room grew darker.

  “Yes, our family is now divided,” she said sadly. “Shadow Girl and Red Raven are enemies forever.” Her voice broke. She turned away. “So unfair. So unfair…But we have no choice. We must obey the book.”

  She strode quickly to the door.

  “Aunt Janet?” I started toward her. But Jada pulled me back.

  “Use your powers well, Shadow Girl,” my aunt whispered. She vanished into the darkness.

  “But—but—” I called after her.

  Jada gripped my arm hard. “She can’t talk about it. She’s too upset.”

  “About you and me?” I asked.

  Jada nodded. “Mom couldn’t tell you the rest of the story,” Jada said. “She’s too upset to finish it.”

  I locked my eyes on Jada’s. “What’s the rest of the story?” I demanded.

  She stared back at me for a moment. Then she said, “It is written in the Book of Fates that you will kill me!”

  25

  “Nooooooo!” A cry escaped my throat.

  I pushed past Jada and tore out of the room. I had to get away from her. Away from this house.

  My head felt about to split open. Jada’s frightening words repeated in my brain until they were a crazy jumble.

  I ran through the streets, the cape fluttering behind me. I wish I could fly away from here, I thought. I wish I could fly away and never see these crazy people again.

  “Whoooooa!” I let out a startled cry as my feet left the ground—and I took off. The cold wind blew against my face as I flew above the street.

  “Oh, wow! They told the truth!” I exclaimed. “I—I have powers! I’m flying!”

  I gazed up at the stars and soared higher. The icy air stung my cheeks, but I didn’t care. This was incredible!

  My cape stretched out behind me, billowing in the wind, lifting me higher still. I was afraid to look down. Afraid that I would tumble from the sky if I did. But I slowly lowered my eyes and gazed at the streets below. At the houses that dotted them in a perfect pattern. Everything appeared so unreal from up here. So amazing!

  I turned and flew over Jada’s school, and a few seconds later, I landed in Jada’s front yard. “Ow!” I cried out in pain as I dropped to the hard ground on my elbows and knees. My heart pounding, I scrambled into the house.

  I sneaked upstairs. My whole body shook. I had to get out of that costume. I stuffed it into the secret room. And changed into jeans and a sweater.

  I had to talk to someone. But who? I knew I couldn’t reach Mom. And I couldn’t call Beth.

  I needed a friend. But I didn’t have any friends in this new town.

  Then it hit me—Stan. Maybe I could talk to him! Maybe he’ll have an idea about what I should do.

  I looked up his address in the phone book. Then I grabbed my coat and ran out the front door.

  It was late. Most of the houses on the block were dark. The air felt heavy and wet. No moon or stars above.

  As I neared Stan’s house, the neighborhood changed. The houses were run-down and closer together. Front yards were patchy, cluttered with litter and junk.

  In an empty lot, I saw three or four men huddled around a trash-can fire. Across the street, a car had been stripped of its tires, the top slashed open.

  “Hey, girl—” someone shouted from behind me. “Got any change? How about a dollar?”

  I didn’t turn back. I started to jog, pulling my coat closer around me.

  Maybe this was a mistake, I thought. Stan’s neighborhood is really scary at night.

  I finally found his house, a small square, dark-shingled house next to an empty lot. Railroad tracks crossed the street at the corner. A two-pump gas station—closed for the night—stood across the street.

  I knocked softly on the front door, afraid his parents might be asleep. After a few seconds, Stan pulled the door open. His eyes bulged with surprise. “Selena?”

  “Hi. You busy?” I asked.

  He pulled the door open wider. I stepped inside. The air was hot and smelled of stale bacon. The wallpaper was dark and had a big stain on one wall.

  “I was setting up a new computer,” Stan said. “Come this way. My room is in back.”

  I stepped over a hole in the carpet and followed him to the back of the house. “Are your parents home?” I asked, peeking into the tiny, dark kitchen.

  “No. Dad has two jobs,” Stan replied. “So we never see him much. And Mom works the late shift at the box factory.”

  “My mom works nights too,” I said.

  At least, I thought she did. I suddenly wanted to see her so badly. I had to hold back a sob.

  Would I ever see her again?

  Stan’s room was long and narrow. Rock music posters were tacked over one wall. He had a computer on his desk, surrounded by a dozen cables.

  He motioned for me to sit down. “What’s up?” He stood over his desk, hooking up the monitor.

  “I don’t know,” I said, sighing. “It’s been such a weird night.”

  He picked up the computer mouse. “Now, where do you think you attach this?” He scratched his head.

  Does Stan know about Jada’s secret identity? I wondered. Does he know any of this superhero stuff?

  The other day, when we explored the secret room together, he didn’t seem to know anything about the Shadow Girl costume.

  I had to find out what he knew. “You know that black costume we found in the hidden room?” I started. “I’ve been thinking about it. Did Jada wear it last Halloween?”

  He scrunched up his face, thinking hard. “No. I think she was a witch last year. Yeah. With a big green wart on her nose.” He chuckled.

  He doesn’t seem to know anything at all about Shadow Girl, I decided. “Do you ever read comic books?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “I know Jada is into them. But I never was. Even
when I was little.”

  I can’t talk to him about Shadow Girl, I decided. Jada hasn’t told him anything. And it’s probably supposed to be a secret.

  I came all this way because I needed someone to talk to. And I can’t talk to Stan.

  I suddenly felt totally alone. Totally alone in the world.

  Stan pushed the mouse cable into a connection. “Yesss! Victory!”

  He stood up, smiling. “Hey, Selena, did Jada tell you about the party Saturday night?”

  “Party?”

  He nodded. “She probably forgot. She is having a party at her neighbors’ house across the street. The Carvers are away all weekend. And they gave Jada the key to their house to take in the mail.”

  “And so Jada is throwing a party in their house?” I asked. “That’s terrible!”

  Stan laughed. “The Carvers will never know. We’ll clean up everything before they come home.”

  I frowned at him. “But why is Jada doing it?”

  He shrugged. “Why not? Because it’s cool.”

  I climbed to my feet and pulled on my coat. “I’d better get going,” I said. “If my aunt and uncle knew I was out this late, they’d have a cow!”

  “Guess I’ll see you at the party Saturday,” Stan said, following me to the front door.

  I rolled my eyes. “Yeah. If my dear cousin invites me!”

  I said good night and stepped back into the cold, damp night. I felt icy sprinkles on my head, so I pulled up my hood.

  I took a few steps along the sidewalk. A garbage can had overturned, spilling a mound of garbage over the sidewalk and street.

  I jumped over it and started to walk quickly away.

  I had gone less than half a block, when I heard a shrill, high scream behind me. A scream of pure terror.

  26

  A chill of fear ran through my body.

  I spun around.

  And heard another cry. From the darkened gas station across the street.

  Through the misty rain, I saw four or five boys. At first I thought they had formed a huddle. Like a football huddle.

  But then I realized they had another boy in the middle. A boy in a striped ski cap. The boy who was screaming.