The Shadow

The school was boring today. Our SST sir droned on and on about icebergs and global warming, it was so tiring to listen. Just after school got over, my friend James came running to me holding something that looked like crushed paper. He pushed me to an empty corner and gave it to me. I slowly opened it.

Trust no one, be careful, and keep to the shadows.

I looked at my friend in horror, 'w … wh …where did you get this?', I asked him in a shaky voice. 'I found it under your desk and a stink bomb that blasted on my face during lunch break,' he said.

I was not in the mood for humour. 

'We have to go home cautiously,' I whispered.

'Agreed,' he replied.

We slowly walked home, keeping to the shadows. Just as we came out of the school campus, the sun disappeared. The sky became pitch black.

'What just happened?' James spoke out in panic.

I was so shaken that I closed my eyes in fear. I could make out a dark silhouette of a man running toward me. The shadow laughed in a cold voice. I tried to grab James' hand, but could only feel the thin air.

The very next moment, I could feel a cold, dark hand squeezing my throat. I opened my eyes and tried removing the hand, but it had a grip like iron. I cried out in frustration and punched at what seemed to be his upper rib. The hand trying to choke me disintegrated and the whole figure blasted into the sun (yes, it came back after I punched the shadow.) I tried to watch what would happen next but a purple portal sucked me inside and I felt something squeezing my throat again and I fainted because of the pain. When I came to I looked around and saw myself on a bed in a dingy room. The walls had paint peeling off. An ancient grandfather clock ticked in one corner. 

'We can't stay here for long now,' said a familiar voice.

'Huh?' I said, surprised.

'Sorry, if I scared you, but we can't stay here for long,' said James.

'James!'

I ran and hugged him.

'Yeah, it's good to see you too buddy,' he said.

'What is this place?' I asked him.

 'This is Zemon city,' he said. 'We are kind of like special people so portals appear when we are in grave danger or… when we need it but these types of shadows always try to kill us.'

'What was that shadow?' I asked him.

'It was a demonic spirit you killed.. and.. it's very dangerous.'

'How do you know all this?'

'While you were unconscious, I met the king of Zemon city who told all this to me. He was the one who sent the note.'

'Unbelievable!'

'If we stay longer, we'll be imprisoned in a dark cave filled with dragons. We have just a minute so… ready to go home, then?'

I smiled and said, 'of course!'

He screwed up his face with a look of intense concentration. A circular and hazy purple portal appeared. My expression must've been priceless because James started laughing hysterically. Mainly, to save me from the embarrassment, I stepped in and disappeared back home. POOF!

The End