by R L Delaney
Anger arose within Harrison's chest and gave him a new burst of energy, and the detective began to run again. Come on, Harry… Faster. You can do it.
Another branch hit his face and scratched his skin. He could taste blood. Probably dripping from his forehead, but it didn't matter. He had to go forward. But where to? He could still hear the breaking of twigs far ahead in the darkness, but it was just too dark, the forest was too thick, and he was just too slow.
Right then he stepped into a rabbit hole.
He let out a scream, and pain shot through his ankle. He tried to keep his balance, but could not move his foot and before he knew what was happening he landed face first in a mud puddle on the mossy ground. Had he broken his ankle? The detective didn't dare to move.
Strangely enough, for just a moment, it felt good to be lying there, even though the wet, muddy ground was soaking his clothes. He couldn't take another step. He was panting too hard, his energy was gone and his whole body hurt, especially his foot.
The sound of the receding steps of the silhouette he had been pursuing were now far and faint in the distance. Fast, skilled and controlled.
He let out a soft curse and chided himself for having allowed that man to beat him. The first time ever he had been called upon to do some real detective work, and he had fumbled it. He groaned as he pushed himself to an upright position and began to inspect his foot. Even though his injured foot was packed away in his Adidas running shoes, he could see at a quick glance it was already swollen to twice its normal size. But, and to his relief, it did not appear to be broken. He had sprained it badly.
Great. Alone, in a rainy forest in the middle of the night with an injured foot.
What now?
He had to find his way back to the others, but that was easier said than done. He could barely walk.
But right when he turned his head to see if he could figure out where exactly he was, he spotted something strange. There, far away, there was a faint, shimmering light.
Harrison narrowed his eyes and looked closer. A light? In the middle of the forest?
But there it was.
Just about a hundred yards from where he was lying, and right near a rolling hill, he could see an unfamiliar, warm glowing light. Very faint at first, but it seemed to grow in intensity, and as it shone through the trees it began to cast large shadows on the forest ground.
What was going on? As far as Harrison knew, nobody lived here either.
In spite of the pain in his ankle, he pushed himself up and stared with a dazed look at the glow.
Maybe what he saw wasn't really there. Maybe he had bashed his head when he tripped in the rabbit hole, and now he was just imagining things.
While he stared at it, he tried to convince himself it wasn't really there. But he wasn't imagining it. There really was a light that shone through the woods, almost warm and inviting.
Ignoring the pain, and pushing his tiredness away, and he began to stumble in the direction of the strange light, while panting heavily.
Only a small hill to climb
A few more steps and he could peer down the other side of the hill…
Gone.
Just like that, the light was gone. When he let his eyes slide over the open spot below there was nothing to see, almost as if somebody had turned it off. It was as dark as before.
Harrison stared in disbelief down the hill, but then, as the moon broke through the clouds again, he noticed something on the ground. Something big was lying there.
He slowly began his descent, but the closer he came, the more convinced he became that it wasn't just something, it was somebody. Could it be the man he had been following?
"H-Hands up," Harrison shouted when he came near and had pulled his gun.
There was no answer.
"I am coming closer now," Harrison shouted to the dark figure on the ground. While he tried to suppress the pain in his foot, he slowly and cautiously moved closer. "Don't do anything stupid… I've got my pistol trained on you."
The figure didn't react.
Harrison's boots were now almost touching the figure. Without lowering his gun, he pushed the lifeless body with his boot. "Get up, man… I need to talk to you."
Still no reaction.
Harry kept on staring at the man with clenched jaws, almost as if he expected a sudden attack.
Was he dead? At last, Harry overcame his fears and knelt down next to the man in order to feel his pulse.
Alive… The man was alive, but clearly unconscious. He lifted the man's head in order to get a closer look and… His heart skipped a beat.
There, right on the ground before him, helpless and unconscious, and his face contorted in fear, was the man he had arrested before, but who had so mysteriously escaped. There was the man they were after.
Alfred Rodeo.
Continue reading in The Shadow Walkers Book 2, Guardians of the Light Coming soon…