Storms and Shadows

The message had been clear and simple: 

For the answers, find Rowan.  

It would have been helpful if Luna knew who Rowan was. 

She gazed up at the dark sky and had the urge to curl into the abyss of shadows that she used to take comfort in. She looked ahead to a city she could no longer recognise, and somehow, she knew exactly where to go. Luna had no past memory of who she was besides her name, but the one thing she did know is that she had the ability to manipulate shadows. She felt her hands tremble, slithers of shadow moving through her fingers. Chills ran down her spine as screaming plagued her memory, images of purple lightning and solid black clouds flickered through her mind. Her powers felt out of control, and she knew that she had been a part of whatever this was.

“Not again.” She muttered. She felt herself slipping away suddenly, melting into the darkness, invisible to everyone. She’d seen flashes of the destruction that had been caused, but that didn’t bring her any closer to the reason why she had to find ‘Rowan’. Her eyes immediately wandered to the tallest building. On the top was a neon logo, in the shape of a flame with a teardrop in the centre, and branches surrounding the fire in a circle. The image was seared into her memory. When she had first woken up, she hadn’t seen a single sign of life anywhere, just that logo. She had a gut feeling that it was important to her. The frustration was starting to build up.

After gathering up the strength and courage to finally venture away from the derelict building she woke up lying on the roof of, Luna found herself staring at her reflection in an old broken mirror on the ground floor. Her light blonde hair had streaks of black running through it, and her eyes looked empty and tired, as if the spark that was once there had burned out. The dark blue shirt she was wearing was slightly torn, as were her jeans, and her black boots were drenched from the downpour. Other than that, she looked fine, no severe injuries to be seen. She took in her surroundings to find that the streets were empty and abandoned. Something terrible had happened here, and Luna couldn’t help it was bigger than just her. Something must have gone horribly wrong for her to end up alone on a roof surrounded by smoke and uncertainty. She needed answers, and there was only one place she knew to get them. 

Later that day, Luna found herself standing in an empty training room, facing the first person she had seen since she’d woken up. If someone were to ask how she knew the way there, she wouldn’t have been able to explain it to them. The only thing she had going for her was the strange feeling in her gut that must have been familiarity. The room was full of various weapons and equipment, and she could tell she’d been here before. Some weapons were scattered around the floor, oozing traces of anger and aggression. On a bench, a boy sat silently with his head in his hands, unaware that he had company. 

“Are you Rowan?” She asked. 

Suddenly, a beam of white light threw her back into the wall, winding her. On instinct, her shadow curled around her body, offering protection from the blinding flash of light. This caught both her and her assailant off guard. Luna gasped and took a few steps back, holding her hands out in front of her, thick black tendrils curled around her fingers, little bolts of lightning joining them. The shadows stayed where they were and didn’t approach him, the first time she’d managed to gain control of her powers. Her outburst took her by surprise. Had she been this powerful before? 

“Stop! Please, I don’t want to hurt you!” She pleaded. “I-I woke up in some old building, and I can’t remember anything, I don’t know what I’m capable of!” Luna’s hands were shaking violently, she couldn’t tell whether it was from fear or the raw power surging through her body. 

The boy turned to look at her. All she saw was pure rage. Bolts of white light charged like electricity between his hands. Her powers were the complete opposite to his. She dealt in darkness, and he with light. 

“It’s about time you showed up.” He spit out the words like venom. Luna was confused, this was the last reaction she had been expecting to get. Upon her arrival, she’d expected to be greeted with the answers she wanted, not to be attacked by spastic yet controlled balls of light. The boy squinted at her, caught off guard by her nervous state. “Are you going to say something or just stand there?” He said. 

“I woke up with no memories, just a note pressed into my hand that said find Rowan, are you him?’ Luna spoke quickly, anxious to explain everything before he found the urge to attack her again. Instead, he looked at her with a grim expression, realization dawning onto his face that something was not right. 

“What’s the last thing you remember?” 

“I was fighting something on the top of that building, there must have been an explosion and I woke up alone, the only thing I can fully remember is my name.” Luna truly did not know what was happening. She couldn't explain the instinctual distrust she had over the young man in front of her. He remained silent. 

“Say something! Are you Rowan?” 

He sighed. 

“No, unfortunately I’m not.” He turned away from Luna once more and sat back down, head in his hands, exactly how she saw him when she arrived. 

“Do you know where I can find him or are you going to just sit there?” She pushed, only becoming more desperate as time went on. 

He looked over his shoulder and stared at her directly, the look in his eyes sent a chill down her spine. 

“Rowan is dead.”