Shadow Born

by Jamie Sedgwick

  They watched the first movie, which was over three hours long, and then chose a second, this time one of the Harry Potter films. At this point, it was after midnight and Gabriel was finding it hard to stay awake. Halfway into the film, he glanced around and saw that Pete was asleep, and Jodi was starting to nod off. He thought about sneaking up behind them and snarling like a wolf, but before he could, something caught his attention. It was a flashing red light on the phone on the wall. It appeared to be ringing silently. Gabriel watched it for a moment, debating whether he should pick it up. If it was an important call and they missed it, Julia might be angry. Then again, it could even be Julia herself, calling them from the basement. He decided he’d better answer. He walked over to the wall and lifted the receiver.

  “Hello?”

  He heard heavy breathing on the other end of the line and a raspy voice whispered, “Balthazar.”

  Gabriel dropped the phone and a wave of nausea washed over him. Darkness closed in around the edges of his vision. He felt weak, as if all the strength had drained from his body, and he had a sudden desperate need to fall asleep. Gabriel fought it for a few seconds, but the feeling was too powerful. He lost consciousness, and darkness swallowed him.

  Chapter 18

  Gabriel was tired, so tired. He felt himself lying on the ground, the cold earth biting into the welts on his back. Icy water dripped from a pipe overhead. Every few seconds a cold drop came stabbing out of the darkness and hammered into his chest.

  He moved after a while, when he thought he had the strength to get away from the cold water and the mud. He cried out in agony as the whip scores across his back opened. A drop of water hit the open wounds like the blade of a knife, and he rolled aside, gasping.

  A small form emerged from the surrounding shadows. She was young, probably about seven years old, dirty-faced and pale with big blue eyes and a frail malnourished frame. She held a doll in her arms, cradling it like a baby, but it wasn’t a real doll. Gabriel knew because he’d made it. He had bound small sticks together with clay and mud, and twined some scraps of fabric over the top.

  The doll’s dress matched the girls, because that’s where the fabric had come from. She had been so happy, because the doll had a dress just like hers. It had made her cry… Like the way she was crying now.

  She stared at him, eyes like pools of crystal, tears streaming down her cheeks. Crystal, that was her name. Crystal. She was waiting to reach out to him; waiting to see if he had turned or not. Was he still her friend, or was he one of them now? He managed a weak smile, despite the pain and the hunger gnawing at his belly and the fatigue that threatened to consume him.

  ‘It’s me,’ he said reassuringly. ‘I’m still me.’

  Gabriel woke with a heavy weight crushing down on his chest. His heart pounded in his ears. He fought for breath, but it wouldn’t come. He struggled, trying to fight off whatever held him down, but the weight was too great. He could barely even move.

  “I think its over,” said a voice in the darkness. The drumming in Gabriel’s ears began to recede and the darkness slowly faded from his vision. He saw a dim, shadowy form hanging over him. He knew instantly who it was.

  “Reeves? Why are you sitting on me?”

  “Gabriel is that you? Are you okay?” That was Julia. She appeared at Reeves’ side, and motioned for him to get off. Reeves did, and offered Gabriel a hand to his feet. Gabriel’s body screamed as he got upright. He had bruises everywhere. Every bone, every muscle ached.

  “Sorry about that,” Reeves said. “It got kind of rough there at the end.” Reeves had a bloody lip, and Gabriel noticed Julia had a bruise on her forehead.

  “What happened?” He glanced around the room and realized he was in the basement. The D.A.S. headquarters was in utter chaos. Computer desks had been overturned, monitors were smashed, and there were numerous holes in the walls. The room looked like the aftermath of a nuclear blast.

  “You happened, you jerk!” Jodi shouted. Gabriel glanced around and saw her standing by the elevator with Pete. There were tears in her eyes, and Pete’s face was white, as if he’d seen a ghost.

  “Everyone calm down,” Julia said. “This wasn’t Gabriel’s fault. He had no idea what he was doing. Blame it on the Shadowlords, if you want to blame someone. This was their doing.”

  Gabriel felt a sickening feeling in his gut as they spoke. Reeves’ bloody lip, Julia’s bruise… Were they saying he had something to do with it? That he’d hit them? It just didn’t make any sense. He couldn’t have done that. He wouldn’t ever hit Julia. He wouldn’t!

  “I don’t understand,” he said. His legs felt weak and shaky, as if they were going to give out underneath him.

  Reeves put a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t take this too hard,” Reeves said, “But you did do all this. It’s not your fault, though. One of the men in black hypnotized you. It’s one of their powers, and they are very good at it.”

  “How?” Gabriel said. Then it dawned on him. “You mean last week, at the party? Is that why the Shadowlord was here?”

  “I don’t think so,” Reeves said. “It was probably before that.”

  A silence fell over the room as Reeves’ words sunk in. The Shadowlords had hypnotized Gabriel before he arrived at the estate. What Reeves was telling him, was that he had come from the Shadow. That he was a shadowfriend. He shook his head emphatically.

  “I’m NOT a shadowfriend,” he said angrily. “I’m not a… a spy or something, if that’s what you’re trying to say!”

  “No, you’re not a shadowfriend,” Julia said. She came over next to him, caught him by the chin and drew his eyes up to meet her own. “We knew that from the moment we saw you. We also knew that the Shadow had sent you. It was an obvious trap. The only thing we didn’t know was what they were after.”

  Gabriel scanned the room, meeting their eyes one by one. “You all knew about this?” he said. “You all knew and nobody said anything?”

  “I asked them not to,” Reeves said. “They wanted to, so don’t be angry with them. It’s my job to protect D.A.S., and especially Julia. Do you understand?” Gabriel nodded, and Reeves continued. “We had to watch you and let you run through your programming. There was no other way. Sometimes Shadowlords set self-destruct mechanisms into their victims. If we tried to de-program you before you carried out your mission, it might have been a fatal mistake.”

  “So that was my mission?” Gabriel said. “To destroy the headquarters?”

  “Not exactly,” said Reeves. “The first thing you went for was the security system. Then you were going to kill me. There are probably shadowfriends outside the estate right now, waiting for security to shut down. Once inside, they would have killed or taken prisoner anyone still alive. The survivors would have been tortured until they gave up everything they knew about D.A.S., and then most likely killed. You were sent here as an assassin.”

  “A rather obvious one,” said Pete. “Somebody with Gabriel’s abilities as a plant. Not very smart. Especially with the mark of a shadowhunter on his arm.”

  “Shadowhunter?” Gabriel echoed.

  “Shadowfriends aren’t known for being very smart,” Reeves said, ignoring Gabriel’s question. “They must have known that Julia had a weakness for children. That’s not comforting. I wonder what else they know.”

  Julia looked him up and down. “I’m a middle-aged widow,” she said. “Maybe they were just guessing.”

  “Maybe,” Reeves said.

  Gabriel was only-half listening to the conversation as a feeling of vertigo swept over him. He had a sense of déjà-vu, and images began flashing through his mind.

  Darkness. Cold, damp earth. He heard the sound of crying, the shrieks of pain, and felt the helplessness and fear of a child imprisoned. Then he saw them. The others. They were all children, but most were younger. Five and six year-olds, maybe a couple as old as nine. They were small shadows in the darkness, huddled together in fear, hoping and praying that they wouldn’t be
next. Praying that someone would save them. Gabriel knew their eyes went to him, because he was the only one who might be able to fight back, but they didn’t understand. They didn’t know.

  He couldn’t fight, not because he didn’t want to, but because if he did, the Shadowlords would kill him. And if they killed him, there would be no one to care for the others. Instead, he would take the abuse. He would keep the captors’ attention. That was the only way to protect the others, to keep them all alive. He felt the crack of the whip and the warmth of blood running down his back.

  A moan escaped from his lips, and Gabriel rocked on his heels. Reeves caught him and guided him into a chair. “Have a seat kiddo,” he said. “Mr. Oglesby is on the way over. He’s going to straighten you out.”

  Gabriel watched guiltily as the others cleaned up the mess he’d made. He rose to help once, but Julia forced him back into the chair. “You just relax,” she said. “You’re going to need all your strength.” Gabriel obeyed, but he felt lousy about it. It seemed like the least he could do was clean up the stuff he’d broken.

  “What about the security system?” he said. “Won’t the shadowfriends be coming?”

  “No doubt,” Reeves said. “They were probably planning on attacking within the next couple hours. Fortunately, the security system is fully functional. If they have any brains at all, they’ll know better.”

  “I didn’t break it?” Gabriel said.

  “Not for lack of trying, but we were expecting that, remember? Pete installed redundant systems, just in case. As soon as you damaged the main security controls, the secondary system kicked in. Had you found the backup system, a third would have come online. Fortunately, the shadowfriends don’t have much imagination. They assumed that there would only be one system and programmed you accordingly.”

  “They programmed my brain, like a computer? They used me like a robot?”

  “That’s the idea,” said Reeves. “When you’re under their spell, a Shadowlord gives you a series of commands. Then it makes you forget all about it until you’re activated.”

  “Activated?” said Gabriel. “How do they do that?”

  “Usually it’s a trigger of some sort. An object they know you’ll see, or maybe a word. Something that will set you off at just the right time.”

  “I saw you talking on the phone,” Jodi said. “You woke me up. You were acting kind of strange so I woke up Pete, and we followed you down here.”

  Reeves moved over to one of the undamaged computer consoles, and punched a few keys. “We had an incoming call twenty-nine minutes ago,” he said. “I’m tracing the number. Hang on a sec…” There was a pause as they waited. “Aha! According to the NSA database this number is a payphone in Idaho Falls. Well that doesn’t make much sense.”

  “Sure it does,” said Julia. “It’s a relay. The Shadowlord didn’t actually call from Idaho, right Pete?”

  “Right,” Pete agreed. “It’s not hard to set up, especially if you have help.”

  “Somehow he got the number for the direct line in the theater and called when the children were in there alone,” Julia continued. “This is no coincidence.”

  Gabriel glared guiltily at the floor. “They knew where we were… Do you think I told them somehow?” he said.

  “That’s one possible explanation,” said Julia. “It’s possible that you’ve been unknowingly maintaining communications with them all along. I don’t know how you could have done it without getting caught, though. Perhaps that was the hobgoblin’s real purpose here. To relay information, like the phone number, and the layout of the house.”

  Gabriel felt like curling up into a ball and dying. After all that Julia had done for him, he was little more than a spy. An assassin. Could he really have killed them? He knew the answer, and it sickened him. That was what the Shadowlords had trained him for, and while he was under their control, he’d probably do anything they said.

  “Get them out of my head,” he whispered. “Please?”

  “Relax,” Julia said, taking him in her arms. “Flannigan can take care of this. I promise.”

  Mr. Oglesby arrived fifteen minutes later. On the video system, they watched his van come up the front drive. Reeves went upstairs to let him in.

  “The system’s under lockdown,” Pete explained. “It was triggered when we hit the alarm. The bars on the doors and windows can only be opened using a vocal I.D. and a retina scan. They’re made from a practically indestructible titanium alloy.”

  “Let’s do this upstairs,” Julia said. “You’re going to have to be comfortable.”

  She brought Gabriel to the library and told him to lie on the couch. Mr. Olgesby sat next to him and began speaking in a low voice. He produced a gold pocket watch that dangled from a long chain, and waved it in front of Gabriel’s face. “I want you to follow my watch with your eyes, Gabriel. Good, now listen carefully. We are going to take a trip. We’re standing in front of a long staircase. There’s a light at the bottom, but it’s very far away. We’re going to start walking down the stairs now. With every passing step, you can feel your worries drifting away. The darkness of the staircase is warm, and you feel lighter and lighter with each passing step. You’re not walking anymore -you’re floating now, down towards the light. The light is getting brighter and brighter, and your skin is getting warmer. You want to close your eyes and fall asleep, so go ahead and do it…”

  Gabriel awoke and found himself staring at the ceiling. He sat up. “Did it work?”

  “Quite well,” said Mr. Oglesby. “I believe we have removed all of the imprints, and set up new obstacles in case they should try that again.”

  “Did you find anything else out?” said Gabriel. “I mean, like where I came from?”

  “I’m afraid not. Amnesia cannot be removed in the same way as a hypnotic suggestion. Your mind will have to rebuild the neuro-pathways to those memories. The good news is that since you have been remembering details, you’re likely to recall everything, eventually. Don’t force it, though. It will happen on its own.”

  “Well,” said Julia. “I think we’ve all had enough excitement. If you don’t mind, I’m going to ask you to spend the night here, Mr. Oglesby. Kids, you know where the guest rooms are. I’ll check on you in a few minutes.”

  “Do I still get my flying lesson tomorrow?” Jodi said.

  Reeves smiled broadly. “Are you kidding? I wouldn’t miss it!”

  Chapter 19

  Reeves kept the plane hangared at a small airport just a few miles from Winschfield Manor. A security guard waved them through the front gate and Reeves drove all the way to the very last hangar. They piled out of the Hummer and Gabriel threw his gaze around the airfield. There were a few small planes tethered along the edge of the strip, but no traffic whatsoever. The place seemed abandoned. A cool breeze blew across the drab landscape and Gabriel saw clouds moving in from the west. It didn’t look like a great day for a flight, but for the moment at least, the sun was shining.

  “I’m going to go flag down the fuel truck,” Reeves said. “Jodi, why don’t you two get her opened up?”

  “I need your hand!” Jodi reminded him.

  “Oops, forgot.” Reeves walked over to the entrance and placed his hand over a plastic scanner on the door, just like the one at the armory. The laser came on and slid across Reeves’ palm, and then the door clicked open. “Okay, I’ll be right back.”

  The children stepped inside the building and darkness enveloped them. “Lights!” Jodi said. Gabriel glanced around, expecting some computer to turn the lights on at her command. Nothing happened.

  “LIGHTS!” she repeated. “GABRIEL, TURN ON THE LIGHTS!”

  He swung his head around and realized he was standing right next to a switch panel, barely visible in the dim light of the hangar. His face reddened as he hit the switches and rows of fluorescent lights began flickering to life.

  “Sorry.”

  Jodi rolled her eyes. “Well, there she is.”

 
; Gabriel’s jaw dropped. The plane wasn’t anything like what he’d been expecting. It was an enormous twin-engine amphibian with a wingspan that covered most of the hangar. It was huge. The hull of the craft was shaped like a boat, obviously for landing on water, and the engines were placed high on the wings for the same reason. The plane looked like it could easily haul Reeves’ Hummer.

  “Good grief,” he said. “You fly that thing?”

  “They’re all the same from the cockpit,” Jodi laughed. “It’s called a Grumman HU-16 Albatross. It’s a tri-phibian. They were used by the Navy back in the 1940’s. It can land or take-off from water, land, or even ice, and it’s huge inside. You can fit fifteen people in there comfortably. Its one of the most practical planes ever made.”

  There was a small desk at the back of the hangar, and Jodi stepped around it to raise a series of large switches mounted on the wall. The hangar doors began to rise and daylight flooded the room. She grabbed a clipboard off the desk and started walking around the plane. “We go through a checklist every time we fly,” she said. “That way you don’t run into any surprises.”

  Gabriel watched quietly as Jodi examined the wheels and hydraulics, the engines, and then the wings. Then she did a slow walk around the entire plane, randomly examining body panels and mechanical parts. As he watched, Gabriel was tempted to ask her a few questions about D.A.S., but the timing didn’t seem right. Besides, he didn’t want to distract her from her checklist. He wanted that plane to be in tip-top shape.

  A few minutes later, Reeves returned. He pulled the Hummer into the hangar and attached a towline to the front of the Albatross. “How’s she look?” he said.

  “Great!” said Jodi. “I went through the whole checklist.”

  “Excellent. Let’s get her out in the sunshine.”

  The fuel truck arrived just as they were locking the hangar up. After a quick fill-up, they went taxiing towards the runway with Jodi at the controls. Reeves sat in the copilot’s chair, and Gabriel took the third seat in the cabin, next to a console full of buttons and electronics. Reeves said it was the navigation console. Gabriel cinched his belt up and put his hands in his lap. He didn’t want to accidentally touch any of those buttons. There was no telling what they might do.