Shadow of the Wicked

Water starts filling my shoes. The suede shoes busting at the seams. I turn a corner rapidly, burning my heels as I turn. My breath starts to quicken, hyperventilation. One of the easiest ways to die surprisingly. I start to slip up, tripping on imaginary rocks below my feet. Keep running, just keep running. Its the only way to survive in this very moment. My arm movements become loose, swinging wildly at my sides. Keep running, keep running. "Which way did he go? " Faint voices in the distance. My arms fluctuating. I swing my body through a tight ally way with dumpsters that are slightly opened. I squeeze my body against the wall, the closer to the wall, the safer. I envelope my mouth with my hands, though they are mostly skin and bone. You could probably see right through them in the broad daylight. I start to see shadows, running. The officers run past me, and I watch as their shadows follow, all but one, mine. It stops in the middle of their tracks that they left behind. It starts to slowly walk over toward me. Slowly, but surely. I try to push myself closer to the wall, but both of us being in the solid state, I know I can not merge into it. What I would give to simply be one with the crowd.

"Man, me as well." My shadow says slumping next to me. Resting his head on his two-dimensional knees.

"You have caused enough damage." I say tucking my knees to my chest and turning towards the dumpster to my left.

"Now, don't be so mean to an old friend." My second says while scooting closer to me.

"I do not consider you as a friend, after you got me shunned from my family, I do not think I could ever consider you part of me at all."

"That hurts my feelings, I'm sorry." He says, acting as if he could rest his head against the wall instead of being part of it.

"You are not." I say, keeping my gaze at the metal that holds other people's waste, things people want to discard.

'Why can't I be my own person?" He asks, or simply a question I can ask myself, well in a sense.

"I don't want you to carry my burden." He says staring at me now, even though his eyes are not visible to me, though they can see, I do not know where they lay, but I have a feeling they lay upon me. I look at the ground covered in dew. I let my fingers dance in patterns on the stage made of the rocky ground, for I have no answers to his questions. My head starts to throb, and I slowly drift to sleep.

I wake to the morning sun, peering through rips and tears in cloth that provides the ally way shade and privacy. My extra, nonexistent. I turn my head left to right, in hopes to see his paper thin body slumped against the wall. To no avail, I decide to introduce myself to the outside world, to which everyone knows as Tenebris. Sadly, Tenebris is filled with a multitude of people, ranging from idiots, to dumb people with horrible facial recognition. I take one step out of the alley, and then I'm forced right back into the world full of dark to which I know as the alley itself. I push my body against the wall again, in strong hopes to shield myself from the people willing to hurt me, or my extra. I watch as my shadow runs down the street, officers trailing him. As soon as every last one of them are out of my view, I then take my fist step, and as if I were a track star my whole life, I take off running. I have recently heard about a lady who is known for helping people who are cursed like me, escape their extras. I have her coordinates, I need to get away. Away from this world, away from these people, away from my extra.

This lady's house looked like it was straight out of a princess's get-away cottage int he middle of the forest, but it was in the middle of Tenebris. Keep in mind, this is the only house in the city with actual grass and flowers. It's pretty scary to be honest. I knock on the door, hesitantly, ready for something or someone to grab me. Ready to run again. To my surprise, I don't have to run, I have to stop falling. Because what do I know? I'm falling from her front door, should've known there was something up. I fall into something that feels like I'm falling on top of clouds. I lay there for a second to check if I'm still alive or even if this is some trick. But then an old witch looking lady appears in my vision, and I let out a scream. SHe scared me ok? My head starts to hurt again, but this time I don't know if it is from the fall, or malnourishment.

"Why are you here" she asks in a tiny but somehow strong voice.

"I need to get away from my shadow." I say looking at the concoction of feathers and hay I lay upon.

"Why should I help you?" she asks. This scares me, I need to get out of here.

"Please! I need help, he is ruining my life!" I plead, flipping to my knees. "I need you to help me."

"You realize what this will do to your shadow, right?" She says with a sigh, "He will disappear, you won't be able to find him again." I no, if I'm being honest, that's all I really want. I nod ferociously.

"Please." I say. She nods,

"Very well then." She grabs me by the arm, "Let's get to work." She explains how I will have to find the portal that will open at 12am sharp, and will only be open for that minute. She informs me that my extra will follow me, knowing something is wrong. She says I have to run, but so will he. She tells me I need to make it before him, he can only get through if he has a person to latch on to. I need to be faster. I thank her and head to my alley. I sit next to the dumpster. I watch the sky, which she explained how to tell what time it was, and as soon as it hit 11:55, I started to book it to the west end of the city. I had 5 minutes. 5 minutes to get away. I start ot pick up my pace when I feel someone following me. I run when I see the "West End Bakery." The cheerful colors warm, and inviting. I see the portal, but the alley way it sits at the end of seems to stretch for miles, and at this point, I heat my other half.

"What are you doing!? Are you trying to get rid of me!?" he screams. I start to run, my body's only fuel was the 1/4 loaf of bread I ate what seemed about 1 year ago. Just keep running.

"Its the only way to survive." I say.

"No, no!" he says, getting closer. But I can feel the energy, I can feel the heat to freedom. Just a couple more feet. I'm almost there. I take larger steps, I try and run faster, I try and try. I run and run. I run and run and run. I don't stop for his screams, I don't I run, run, run, until I feel grass on my face, tickling it like a newborn. I'm gone, I'm free. I look up, a world where I can start new, a world with grass and stone buildings, and laughs! I hear laughs! I jump about through the field with flowers and grass. Beautiful flowers! I walk into town, and I hear a story teller, I smell fresh bread, and I see flowers everywhere. I walk toward the story teller who sits on the fountains that sprays out portions of water that collect at the bottom.

"A boy with a shadow, he came to me. Told me all about it, how it ruined his life. I knew he lived in an alley way, and that the police were after him for what his shadow had done. He came to me desperate, he needed help." The children oohed and ahhed, and I joined them, though the story sounded familiar.

"I helped him." She looked at me and I remembered her house, and her hair, and her face.

"He is better now."