Shadows - Chapter 2
Date: Apr 22nd, 2007 6:06:53 am - Subscribe
Mood: moodless
Chapter 2 - Retrieval
The door opened and Pete was picked up and taken to the couch by two figures. When he came round, Pete felt his usual self, sat up and looked around for signs of people. Behind the couch sat two figures. Around them were 10 tall candles burning with black flames. Pete felt compelled to join them, but as he approached a barrier of shadow formed between the ten candles encircling the figures. Two candles blew out. “Damn!” exclaimed one figure as the other eight candles blew out. Turning to Pete the figure spoke again, “Dude, now you’re up you gotta help too.”
Pete gave the figure a look of bemusement as if he hadn’t a clue what he was talking about. He sat down on the rug and looked at the figures. “Has he done this before?” asked the second figure. The first figure looked at the second, “Who Pete? Yeah, loadsa times. Ain’t ya Pete?” Pete smiled nervously and sat very still. The first figure noticed Pete’s nervousness, “Pete? ...” he paused. “C’mon, if you’ve forgot… It’s been a while, but we gotta do it tonight.” Pete nodded and pulled a lighter from his pocket. Grasping the small device in-between his thumb and forefinger he moved the flame over the wick of all ten candles, staying inside the circle as he did so.
As he lit the tenth candle his wrist stung again. The dots penetrated his skin and seemed to form holes straight through his wrist. Pete blinked, sat down and stretched his arm into the centre of the circle. The other figures did this too. A voice sprung from the first figure, “I am Teek. My voice is true. My shadow self must be renewed.” This was followed instantly by the second figure, “Magz I am. My voice is true. I call upon my shadow too.” Pete seemed aware of what was happening but his senses forbade him from making sense of it. Eyes open a voice came from Pete, “Pete; am I? My voice is true; I make a shadow self anew.”
The candles flickered, a cold feeling spread throughout his body, tingling as it moved from limb to limb. Open eyes and grinning faces spread across the three figures inside the circle of candles. Teek stood up, arms outstretched to meet the arms of his friends. The motion was copied by both Magz and Pete. A group hug was formed and Pete’s memories came flooding back.
Pete remembered his first time calling upon his shadow and how exciting it had been, having all that power. His memories flicked forward to when he had left. No warning was given, Pete had merely disappeared and nobody knew where he’d gone, whether he’d come back and so everyone continued as normal.
The flashback ended and Teek was pointing at the door, “So Pete, you gonna crash here or at your pad?” he asked. Pete’s face was blank, recalling vividly the image of him ultimately powerful and out of control. Magz leaned over and kissed his cheek, looking deep into his eyes. “C’mon Pete,” she whispered. Snapping back to reality he looked deeply back at Magz.
“Yeah,” he answered faintly. “Yeah, okay” he said more firmly. Heading for the door his gaze wandered to a chart on the wall. It seemed to have dates scribbled all over it, and feint imprint of a footprint shadowed underneath the writing. The day circled in red ink was today’s date, October 26th.
His thumb raised in acknowledgment to Teek, Pete opened the door, Magz a step behind him, walked out onto the first floor landing.
In front of them stood Pete’s pad, marked with a white lightning bolt on the door. Home, he removed a silver key, long and thin with square teeth black from use. Poking it in the keyhole jostling it into place, he turned the lock and opened the door.
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