The sound of police sirens and stray voices howled in displeasure. Feeling the uncomfortable cold steel beneath me, I slid off the emergency truck and removed the wool blanket wrapped around my body. Medical technicians came out of the school pushing stretchers with white sheets that covered those who lost their lives in the building.
Distress and disappointment forced me to look away. It was then that I peered at another emergency truck in the distance and saw Lucas and Robyn being medically attended to.
I subconsciously started to wander over to them before an EMT stopped me halfway. “Please sit back down, young lady. I’ll need to check your pupils for a brief moment.” He brought me back over to the truck and shined a flashlight in my eyes. “Alright. It looks like you’re not suffering from a concussion,” he said as I squinted from the blinding light until he removed it. “Your guardian hasn’t shown up yet, so stay put until they do, understand?”
The EMT waited for me to reply, but I didn’t. Staring into space, my mind drifted to an endless void of darkness. The only thought in that black hole was Lucas cheating on me with Robyn, and even when my brain did process something else, it would just be the dead body of James.
My suffering continued with the presence of Agent Grant, who approached me with a smug expression. “Nice to see you again, Aliyah. Care to explain how so many people died this time?”
“I don’t know. Please, just go away.”
“Choosing to lie some more, I see. You mean to tell me that this school isn’t your playground for killing young sinners? That you’re not a part of the group responsible for everything?”
My eyes rose from his accusation. “What?”
“Don’t play dumb. People are dying, and I know you’re involved somehow. It pisses me off that you could sit there and act innocent after you’ve taken so many lives. Criminals like you deserve to rot behind bars.”
“What the hell is your problem?” I retorted, standing up. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I—”
“Enough. I want the truth, and I want it now.”
I flinched from his aggressive demand. Before the interrogation could continue, my mother came to my aid.
“Baby, I’m so glad you’re safe.” She hugged me before addressing Grant. “What business do you have with my daughter?”
He mustered a smile through his frustration. “Simply questioning. That’s all. I pray she isn’t in the middle of something like this in the future.”
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
“She won’t be. Now leave us alone.”
“As you wish. Have a nice day.”
My mother waited until he was out of sight before she brushed my hair back and examined my face. “Why didn’t you come straight home? I don’t know what’s been going on with you lately, but there will be some changes. Let’s go.”
***
Day swiftly turned into night, but the misery consuming me didn’t change. I laid in bed under my sheets, heartbroken and resentful of the person I loved the most. Depression and loneliness had become my existence, and the darkness and silence of the room would have become my paradise had the tormenting demon not manifested near the side of my bed at 11:11 p.m.
“I told you he was screwing her. They have a child together. You mean nothing to him anymore.”
The demonic entity stared down at me and cackled with an uncanny screech.
“Valeria was the only one who cared about you. Maybe you should kill yourself, too.”
Enough was enough. I was tired of this.
I glared back at the scarlet luminescence of the creature, standing up to face it even without my powers. “You’re a virus. A virus that has infected not only this entire city, but my best friend. You made her kill herself.”
“But that’s what she wanted.”
“No, it wasn’t. She was going through a tough time, who doesn’t? Everyone has problems in their life. Everyone. But you … You force people to live in that misery every damn day. You don’t care what it does to them. Death and destruction are your only goals.”
The outside light leaking in from the crack of the curtains revealed a glimpse of the demon’s figure. The creature backed away, possibly in retreat. If my words were affecting it, then good. I still had a lot to get off my chest.
“You pitiful, soulless monster. You don’t feel anything I’m saying because you have no emotion. All you do is feed off negativity like a parasite. You’re nothing more than the Shadow of my sins.”
“If I am your shadow, then you can never escape me.”
“Maybe you’re right, ‘cause this isn’t a perfect world. There will always be misfortunes in my life, and you’ll try antagonizing me when they happen. But that doesn’t mean I have to listen. It doesn’t mean you get to control who I am.”
A warm, soothing sensation flowed through my body, and a cold breeze circulated around my left hand. “It’s back,” I acknowledged, unwrapping the bandage. A powerful radiance illuminated the room, much to the dismay of the demon.
I understood why I lost my light. It was because of fear. Fear of letting the same thing that happened to Valeria happen to someone else. My desire wasn’t strong enough, but it damn sure was now.
I raised my left hand at the demon and released the energy contained in my palm. The demonic tormentor shrieked before dissipating in the light.
The gleaming, visible aura ran down my fingertips before dispersing into small orbs that clustered on the floor. I couldn’t help but smile, astonished at what I had accomplished.
The brightness dimmed until the room was dark again. A surge of overwhelming pleasure had taken over my mind, body, and spirit. My Shadow had been tranquilized.
“I swear, even if it kills me in the end, I’m gonna purge every last one of them.”