"What are you doing, Jude? Why are you still up?" Mrs Ricochet was standing right by the door. In her eyes was suspicion, a deep and fixated one. It was as though she knew what kinds of games I was up to."Nothing. I just could not sleep."The bracelet box was right behind me, hidden by a small emerging shadow of darkness which I created. She could not see it yet but I think she knew."I heard some footsteps outside. Did someone follow you to this place?" She was speaking in whispers. Something must really be going on."No one. Nobody..." I came here all alone. There was no way...Bang! Bang!! A noise came from the main door. Someone was knocking."Stay here!" She turned around in alert, walking slowly towards the door.I was not a kid who listened to instructions. Of course, I followed her in secret.Mrs Ricochet peeped through the security cameras, she gasped with happiness on her face. It felt like she just saw someone whom she had not seen in years."Honey..."I heard her even th
"Jude! Get your stupid legs off my school bag at once!!"That was Christine screaming at me. Or as everyone else called her, Fat Christy."Get! Your! Stupid! Legs! Away!!!" She kicked me so hard I could not hold it in anymore."Try and be nice, will you? It's not my fault that the train is about to crash!!" I yelled back. Our lives was at stake here but all she cared about was her twenty five dollar bag, or perhaps the steaming hotdogs she stuck in there.And you heard me right when I said the train was about to crash. More and more evil mutants had emerged in recent weeks, filling up the streets of Twillightoria. And for some unknown and ungodly, unreasonable reason, they had chosen to officially make going after high school students the top option on their crime priority list."Ahh!! We are gonna crash!!!" The scream of my school mates flooded my ear balls again. The rail had finished, or rather there was a hole seperating the two parts of the rail ahead. This was probably caused by
Getting to school today, my problems only grew worse. Everyone kept singing the praises of Shadow Man, the fake one obviously. And it felt as if they would never stop. In the class rooms. By the school kitchen. In the principal's office. In the rest rooms. At the basketball court. Even right beside my innocent two ears, I could hear people screaming."Shadow Man this! Shadow Man that!"They kept talking about the imposter while the real one was walking among them. But they never noticed, not even for once. They never noticed me."Today we were saved from the curling grasps of death by none other than our beloved hero of Twillightoria - Shadow Man." Ariana declared to the juniors who had gathered around her like listening sheep to listen to the marvelous tale of the miracle which we had endured today. Did I say that Ariana was a good story teller? A perfect one at that. She took her time to properly analyze the electrifying moves and the extremely cool methods which Shadow Man used t
"Jude Rutherford!"He just called my full name? I turned around in suprise, and right there before me stood a shadow with white eyes and a dark, almost invisible body."Or should I say... Shadow Man?""How do you know my full name?" I responded with a sharp glare, ready to step into a fight."My name is Han Eduardo. I know many things about you, bro. Even things that you do not know."Such a weird name, no wonder he wants to be Shadow Man. And Bro? He just called me bro! This guy must be some psycho. He stole my style, my identity, my shadow occupation, he even stole my signature stance. And he thought he could call me bro? Just like that?"Yeah? Well it is good to know that you know all that about me, that means I can go all out on you!" I registered, ready to fire into my combat mode."We don't have to do this." He uttered in cowardice, trying to avoid the fight. "I have just come here to talk. You need to know that we are on the same side..."That was just an excuse so I could not
As I walked back home on the lonely road, the saddening memories of my mother's death replayed in my mind. It was seven years ago, summer had just come and the sun shone beautifully through my little window. Mother was baking a cake for my tenth birthday when a dark cloud hovered above our house.I thought it was going to rain, and it rained chaos.A giant figure was standing by my door, peering at me. Terrified, I could barely move. I only shivered in horror, my heart doing its job like an overworker.My mother appeared behind the figure, she was shocked like I was. But she got over it quickly."Don't you ever touch him!" She threatened, ironically.As the intruder saw her, he focused his attention away from me."Where is it?" I heard him say."I have nothing to give to you."From my bed, I watched as he towered over her, edging closer with each step.I remember myself thinking in that moment, "If only father was here... if only father was here..."But he was not. He was never there
Silence ruled the dining room as I sat to dine with my father, his wife and my half siblings.I could not remember when last I sat down like this, around a large table surrounded by people who were supposed to be family, having dinner. It felt so weird and I almost choked on the food. It didn't taste that good too, only made me start to miss my mother all over again."So where were you all day?" Father broke the silence. It was always going to be him. Without his presence, we all had nothing to actually discuss. I would be in my room by now, door locked till the next morning."I was handling some personal business." I was trying to enjoy the meal at least, I did not appreciate the questioning."We are a family, Jude." He continued, his voice thick across the room. "We should be open to one another. We don't just disappear and appear whenever we want."See who was talking. He literally disappeared and appeared anytime he wanted since the day I was born. Now he thought he had the moral
As I prepared myself to leave for Twillightoria Passersway to meet Han Eduardo in my mutant form, I heard my father speaking on his phone. I did not need to leave my room to hear his conversation. With the powers of Shadow Man, I was able to listen in on people's conversation from afar."Are you sure about this?" I heard him say to the voice on the other end."Yes. We found him." Someone said from the other side."Alright then. I will be there." He ended the call. I knew what that meant, he was about to disappear again as usual.I was not surprised. He never stayed for longer than five days with us. And even though this was probably the fastest that he would ever leave after coming back from a long absence, I did not see the need to think it was odd."What is this about?" I heard Melissa say."Something has come up. Do not worry, dear. I will be back soon enough."I was sure she did not believe him. Neither did I."Jude?" I heard him knock on my door. He probably wanted to say goodbye
Staggering like a wounded soldier, I approached Han Eduardo in my human form. He had also returned to his human form... And he was dying.Seeing me, he managed to smile."I knew you would come..."His voice sounded like the crisping sound of biscuit crackers. Barely audible, burdened by friction and accompanied by coughs.He tried to wear a smile on his face, but it faded the more he tried. He was in stinging pains of death."Who is he?" I questioned with a vengeful aura the identity of the dark giant mutant who killed my mother, I needed to know it now!"This shadow power... We are not the only ones with it..." He uttered, faintly.I figured that out by now. I had thought I was the only one who could harness the power of darkness and shadows, but the first day I saw Han, I knew that others might have my power. And with what I had seen tonight, I knew that the dark figure was a shadow himself."Who exactly is he?"I was referring to his real identity. I wanted to know what his name w