The Clearwater Chronicles (Book 1): Shadows in the Light

by David Barton

  “What reason?”

  “You wouldn’t understand. You’re just a man.” Then she spat in my face. My arms frozen, afraid what she would do with the knife if I moved to wipe it off. “It’s time.” Without another word she lifted her arm back and prepared to plunge the knife somewhere in my body. It felt like my heart froze in that moment.

  The knife moved down towards my chest. A look of utter satisfaction appeared on this woman’s face. I shut my eyes waiting for the sharp pain of metal. Then came a thud as I felt the cabin behind me moving. I opened my eyes and saw the knife on the floor as the masked hero held the woman by her throat against the wall.

  My sudden feeling of happiness was short lived as I heard another noise. My sight moved to the floor looking for the tapping noise. It sounded like something was bouncing closer. Then I saw the object that wasn’t any bigger than my fist. I had seen plenty of them in films. My eyes shut for the second time only this time what I was waiting for happened.

  06/07/2014 PM

  I didn’t hear the object landing behind me. Too busy staring into the mad eyes of this woman. In the next second she was my last worry as the grenade blew up, sending me flying off into the distance.

  My shoulder hit the side of some kind of machine. It gave way, sending both of us crashing to the floor. As my body hit the dirt I felt a sharp pain shooting through my body. When I looked down I saw the jagged piece of metal sticking out of my leg. It was covered in blood with more of the red liquid dripping on the floor.

  I slid myself off the red metal, slumping to the floor as the pain took away my control. Breathing in and out brought that control back and I stood up. That’s when I saw the men. Dressed all in black. Henrikson must have known what Ryan was up to. Then again, why make him bring the girl. Unless she was working for him. There were too many questions and they could wait.

  I didn’t have enough time to think about them now. I had to find Ryan and get us out of here alive. The men hadn’t seen me yet so it gave me a little time to locate Ryan. He no doubt got thrown by the blast like I had.

  I couldn’t see him anywhere and the men were getting closer. I moved behind the crane I had crashed into. Using the cabin for cover. Time was running out and I still couldn’t see any sign of the reporter. I might have super strength and speed but they had guns and I was no match against bullets.

  I searched and searched until my eyes came to rest on the wrecking ball lying on the floor. It was the only thing close by that I could use as a weapon thanks to my strength. My hands grasped the chain linking it to the machine. Squeezing and twisted the metal finally gave way with a simple clink.

  I wrapped the excess chain around my right arm. Testing the weight of the ball that was the same size as me. Checking on the men again, they came closer and closer until it was the perfect time to strike.

  I swung my arm, the chain snapping taught, sending the massive ball into motion. Three of the men didn’t even see it coming. I could hear their bones crack as they were hit and sent flying into the air. A massive crash came as the ball hit into some scaffolding.

  I pulled it back to me as I heard the gun fire. I stopped the ball with me hands, my feet skidding back on the loose dirt. Bullets hit the ball, bouncing off into various directions. Then there was a break, the sound of clips being ejected and hitting the floor. That’s when I attacked.

  I used the ball like a massive bowling ball. Pushing it with all my might the round metal moved with lightning speed. I ran behind it, almost not keeping up with it as it smashed into the human skittles. It was utter destruction.

  As we came to the middle of the construction site I stopped running, allowing the ball to carry on a few metres. Then I snapped the chain back, turning my body and swinging the ball like a hammer at the Olympic games.

  I heard the screams as the men were either hit by the ball or almost cut in half by the chain. The thought of this fight being finished fleeted across my mind just before a gunshot rang out across the night.

  It was closely followed by a ping of metal and the weight at the end of the chain disappeared. I watched as the ball flung into the air, sailing far away from the site and towards the water just by Hollow Bridge.

  A loud splash came as the ball hit the surface. The next noise I heard was a soft puff of air. It wasn’t coming from nearby but before I could pin-point the position, I felt a small prick in my chest. My first thought was that I’d been shot and I was going to die.

  But when I looked down I saw a short little dart sticking out of my top. That’s when the drowsiness came and I fell to my knees. My mind started to go cloudy but I wasn’t about to be caught like this. Not without a fight.

  I pushed myself up to my feet and started stumbling towards the blown up cabin. There was enough ruined metal to create some kind of cover. My fingers gripped the dart in my chest and pulled it out. I heard it hit the floor and then I heard someone’s voice.

  I looked over my shoulder as I heard, “Hit him with another. Take him down.” There was a man standing at the edge of the site holding his hand up to his ear. I willed my feet to move faster but the drug must have been working faster. I couldn’t use my speed, moving along at the rate of a ordinary person.

  Then another prick came in my shoulder blade. My arm shot up to pull it out but my legs gave way before I could blink and I fell to the dirt. My eyelids dropped and they didn’t open again. The feel of the ground seemed to surround me in a cocoon. The sounds of voices seemed far away but the footsteps were so close.

  When I woke up my mind was the first thing to come back, trapped inside a motionless body. Then the feeling of touch came to my fingers and I wriggled them. Wanting more.

  As the feeling spread through my body my eyes shot open. The first thing I saw was the ceiling. It was smooth concrete. My back was on something like a bed but it couldn’t be described as soft.

  I moved my body and swung my legs off the edge, my head hung like a lead ball. Breathing in and out slowly gave me back my control and I looked up. I was sitting in a cell. Two smooth walls just like the ceiling. One wall was made up of bars. The last was a large pane of glass reaching from floor to ceiling.

  I looked back at the bars and realised there was another room on the other side of them. Sitting in that room was a woman. She was lying on the bed with her back to me but her smell seemed to reach out to me. “Hey.” My voice came out like I hadn’t used it in days. I coughed trying to make it more audible. “Hey.”

  The woman stirred like she was having a bad dream. Shouting wasn’t working so I found a small stone on the floor and flicked it through the bars. It hit her in the back a little harder than I wanted. She rolled over and scowled at me, “What the….”

  Her outburst froze mid-sentence and mine would have if the roles were reversed. It was Felicity. Wearing a leather jacket and a pair of black jeans. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail but there were a few wisps of hair that had escaped the constraints of her hair band.

  Memories of her came flooding to me about her and myself. The only time I had met her was in her apartment last night. However, these memories consisted of times before that. It wasn’t until it came to the kisses and what followed in her bedroom last night that I realised they weren’t my memories. They were the reporter’s.

  Her eyes narrowed changing from happiness to concern. “What’s wrong with you?”

  “I don’t know.”

  She got up from her bed and rushed over to the bars that separated our rooms. “Come here and tell me. I might be able to help.” Her sudden concern was strange.

  “I don’t think you can help with this.”

  She pulled a smile that made my whole body calm in such a weird situation. “At least allow me to try and help before you dismiss me.” She kept smiling.

  It was so beautiful I got up and made my way over to her. A arm came through the bars and our fingers entwined. “What’s wrong?”

  I took a deep breath. “This is going to sound crazy
but I’m remembering someone else’s memories.”

  “That is strange.” Her voice seemed to be laced with sarcasm but I couldn’t be sure. “Who’s memories do you have?”

  “The reporter, Ryan. I can remember….” My mind trailed off in the memory of that night, my eyes slowing moving over her body.

  “You remember the night Ryan and I slept together, aren’t you?”

  My eyes shot up to her stare, “How did you know?”

  “The way you’re looking at me. I flirted with you in my apartment and you didn’t bat an eyelid. This happens and you can’t keep your eyes off my body.”

  “I….”

  “There’s no point in denying it and it is okay.”

  “I don’t want to cross Ryan. He’s like my only friend.”

  “You aren’t crossing him. Now that the memories are coming through you’ll realise that.”

  It was my turn to be concerned. “What are you talking about?”

  “No more talking. Let me show you.” Her hand slid up from mine to my neck, pulling me towards the bars. I was confused until our lips met and it was like a bomb had gone off in my brain. There were no thoughts, nothing moving around.

  The only thing that existed in my life right now was Felicity and this kiss. It seemed to complete me in a way I had never thought possible. Then it was over just as sudden as it had begun.

  I stared into her eyes as our heavy breathing mixed against each other’s lips. “Well?”

  “Well what?” I didn’t want to move away from this woman despite being crushed against the cold bars.

  “Any more memories?”

  I frowned, “Were you expecting something to happen? A sudden flash of memories?”

  “Kinda.” She pulled a cute face.

  “Sorry to disappoint.”

  “Oh well, felt nice.” Then she did it again. This time it was more passionate like she’d been holding back for years. My arms slipped through the bars and wrapped around her. Our lips playing as a spark shot off in my brain. Then another. Sparks like someone was sharpening a saw in my head.

  Our kiss was broken but she lingered an inch from me, whispering, “I love you.”

  Suddenly my brain felt like it was having hot glue poured into the very middle. Burning it from the inside out. I fell back on the floor. I held my scream in but I wanted to yell at the top of my lungs.

  Gritting my teeth so hard I could hear them grinding. Through blurry vision I could see Felicity yelling both at me and off into the distance. I couldn’t hear anything apart from a strange noise coming from inside my head like something being smashed together over and over.

  My hands shot up and grabbed the sides of my head. Ripping my mask off and chucking it away. My body felt like a red hot poker was being pushed straight through every joint. I spasmed and flipped over on my front. Pounding the concrete floor with my fists.

  Blood splattered over the grey concrete as I made cracks and dents. My mouth shot open and this time I screamed. It bounced around the room, hitting my ears over and over but I couldn’t stop it.

  One final push and the screaming stopped. The pain in my body vanished but so did the entire feeling of it being there. I couldn’t feel the ground against my front. Not even on my fingertips as I pushed myself up right.

  The clothes on my body were too baggy and clung to me like curtains. I couldn’t even think straight. It felt like I was controlling my body remotely from another plain of existence. I looked over to Felicity who had stopped yelling and was just watching me with tears running down her cheeks.

  “I love you to Felicity.”

  Her smile was the biggest I’d ever seen it. “You’re back.”

  “What?”

  Her face turned to a worried look again. “What do you remember?”

  “Just you.”

  “Nothing else?” I shook my head. “Oh no.”

  My hand went up to my face. “Where’s my mask?”

  “It doesn’t matter anymore.”

  “It does. It’s my mask. It’s my way of protecting myself and the people I love.” I dropped to the floor and rushed around. Moving over the concrete my fingers grasping at air. I hadn’t noticed I was venturing closer to the glass wall.

  That’s when I looked up and saw my reflection for the first time for as long as I could remember. But it wasn’t what or who I was expecting. The short brown hair. The simple features. I looked just like the reporter.

  I turn to Felicity who is looking at me but she doesn’t look anywhere near as surprised as I feel. “Explain. Am I his brother? Is that why I felt the need to protect him.”

  “No.” She paused like she didn’t want to explain what was really going on with my life. But she did, “Every time you were protecting him you were protecting yourself. You two are the same person.”

  “No, no. That’s not possible.” I thought back, retrieving memory after memory as they came rushing into my brain after the revelation. “I can remember chatting with him. Having conversations with him.”

  “Do you remember having one of those conversations with someone else in the room?”

  I thought but no matter how I looked at it, I couldn’t remember anyone engaging both of us at the same time. “What’s going on?” I looked back at the reflection as I stood up. “How do you explain the body difference? The muscle definition is so different.”

  “That part is harder to explain.”

  “Please try because I’m finding it hard to keep a hold on reality at the moment.”

  “Come here.” I walked over, tearing myself away from my reflection. She took my hands in hers again and stared into my eyes. “You’re not from around here.”

  “How do you mean?”

  “You are like me.”

  “What? What are you talking about?” Suddenly I had the horrible thought that she was lying to me. She was working for these guys. Trying to make me insane so they can do something to me. They must be pumping something into my cell to make me see things.

  “There’s nothing to worry about.”

  “Yes, there is. You’re working for them aren’t you! Whoever has me trapped in here!”

  “No, you’ve got it all wrong. I’m trapped here just like you.”

  I yanked my hands from hers and backed away. “Where did they find you then?”

  “They captured me because I followed you when you were Ryan. I wanted to make sure you were safe.”

  “When I was Ryan?”

  “It’s like you have two personalities.”

  “And my body changes depending on who I am.”

  “Right.”

  “I don’t believe you.” I moved around the room. Trying to find a way out. Trying to get away from this woman. “Get away from me Felicity or whatever your name is.”

  “Look!” She screamed. My head snapped to look at her. “Just watch.” I did. Worried to do anything just in case my mind snaps and I lose everything.

  She stood there, slowly breathing in and out, her eyes closed. Her body motionless as it stood there for seconds, minutes. I was about to say something but then I saw it. A white light floated out of her chest, lingering in the air in front of her body.

  I watched with my jaw wide open, not believing what I just saw. My eyes widened with fear as it floated towards the bars, passing through the gap and into my cell. I whispered, “What the hell are you?”

  There was no reply, it just simply flicked around in front of me before moving back towards Felicity’s body. Floating back inside her chest she suddenly gasped to life again. She stumbles forward but catches her hand on a bar.

  Rushing over to her I place my hand on hers. “What was that?”

  “That was what I really look like. And it’s what you really look like as well.”

  “What? What are you?”

  “We. We are beings which are made up of pure light. We are nothing but good. We do good deeds and selfless acts. No corruption.”

  “If I’m one of you t
hen how do you explain the bad things I’ve done. I’ve killed people.”

  “The human body you’ve been living in corrupted you when you got the knock on the head. It screwed up things for all of us.”

  “All?” I thought about her statement but the answer came quickly. “My mum and dad are one of you as well.”

  “Us. They are one of us. They’re aren’t really married or in love either. It was all an act but when you lost your memories we were stuck here. The act became too much for them so they didn’t see each other. When you were Ryan you created all your childhood memories. When we take over the body it wipes them clean for us.”

  “If this is all right and you’re not lying to me, why didn’t you guys try and help me?”

  “The light part of you was dormant for so long, years. We didn’t know what to do other than keep an eye on you. There was little else we could do but your father got interested when your light came to the surface and started roaming around the city. The mask you wear is what we wear. It keeps our identity secret from people so we can slip off after the mission is all done. The human body is left behind and isn’t in any danger from what we’ve done.”

  “What mission?”

  “The one we were sent here to do.”

  “That’s something you’re going to have to explain as well.”

  “We don’t come from this place like I said before. We come from a different world. It’s full of light and it’s our home.”

  “A blue light?”

  “Yeah, you remember?”

  “No but every time I touched Ryan’s father, I mean mine or whatever. I touched him or he touched me and I saw a bright blue light with white balls floating around.”

  “The white balls are us. He must have been trying to fix your memories. He’s a healer.”

  “Yeah, I’ve seen what his powers can do.”

  “The light inside your mother is the memory bank. She collects all the mission logs and our progress sending it back home.”