City of Shadows: Part One

It's been three years. Three years since the lights went out. Since the sun died. Since the darkness enveloped us all, draining the life out of everyone and everything. The flowers shriveled up. People and animals froze. Starvation took over. Disease ravaged cities, snatching the young, the old, and the weak. Now, only the strongest remain, hiding deep within underground bunkers, fighting for survival every minute of every hour of every day. We have no other choice.

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"Pippa," a gentle voice hisses through the stillness, dragging me out of sleep into a cold reality. I open my eyes only to darkness. It's so black, that I can hardly make out the shadow of another human being standing in the doorframe.

The figure fumbles around for a moment before I hear a quick scratching sound and a tiny flame jumps to life, illuminating the face of a boy.

"We need to go," he whispers, lighting a lamp. Without a second thought, I push up out of the pile of blankets and follow him. We quietly walk down the hallway, our bare feet padding against the floor of the bunker. Underground, there is heat, so we can function without the heavyweight of our coats.

"I apologize for waking you," the boy whispers as we turn a corner. He is tall, much taller than me. His hair, from what I can tell in the darkness, is a deep brown, and in desperate need of a cut. His gait is slightly stilted, unlike my naturally delicate steps.

"It's alright," I whisper back, giving his arm a reassuring squeeze. He smiles down at me, his white teeth glinting in the firelight.

"One of these days, I'm going to get us out of here," he says softly, taking my hand gently. A warm feeling takes over me, spreading from the tips of my fingers all the way down to the ends of my toes.

"I know, Jeri," I murmur, hugging close to his side.

"Jerico! Pippa! There you are!" a woman hisses at us from a nearby doorway. Almost instantaneously, Jeri straightens, all the warmth from his eyes had disappeared. My heart plummets as he slides his hand out of mine and addresses the woman.

"General Hesper," he growls, his voice low. Hesper and Jeri haven't been on good terms ever since she got promoted and he didn't. The three of us used to be good friends, always running about the bunker, playing pranks on others living down here with us.

"Jerico," she responds, then turns to me with a warmer smile.

"The Council of the City of Shadows would like to see you, Pippa. They have something very important to discuss with you." Hesper gestures through the doorway to where five men and women, all dressed in heavy coats, sit around a small fire. I frown slightly. There are usually six. My mother is one of the councilors.

Hesper leads me through the door to a single iron chair that sits about 2 meters away from the fire. Just close enough to feel the lick of its warmth, but far enough away to leave me yearning for more.

Jeri stalks in, standing guard right behind me. I can feel a heavy apprehension in the air as I stare at the men and women in front of me. Many of them seem to be in various states of unease and none of them can quite make eye contact.

I clear my throat softly and whisper, "Is there something you needed me for?"

The grand elder, Councilor Reeves, stands up from his place by the fireside and addresses me with a solemn look on his pale face. "I regret to inform you, my dear Pippa, that your mother, Lucia Sanchez, has unfortunately been killed."

My heart seems to stop. My whole world slows. Not my mom. Not her. Not Lucia, the woman who's been there for me my whole life. Through my first bike ride. Through my first cycle. Through the death of the sun and the death of my father, as well as my baby sister, Luciana. She was all I had and now, she's gone.

"What?" I gasp, forgetting to whisper. Councilor Jeanette, a close friend of my mother's, steps forward and places a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm so, so sorry Pippa," Jeanette says, tears filling her beautiful green eyes. I can already feel the tears slipping down my face, hot a quick.

"You are dismissed," Councilor Reeves says quietly, nodding his head. I quickly get up from the chair and race out the doors, past Hesper. I don't even wait for Jeri. I just run down the hallway, with no thought to the direction I'm going. I run and run and run until finally, I find myself back in my room. I stare blankly at the two separate piles of blankets on the floor. At Lucia's clothes, stacked in a neat pile at the edge of the room. At the way the wood planks were worn where she had stepped.

I do my best to hold in the tears, but I can't. A sob bursts from my mouth, my chest heaving. I crumple to my knees, wrapping my arms around myself. Tears stream down my face, sliding to the floor as I rock back and forth. The pain inside me feels like it's about to rip me open, threatening to shatter me into pieces that I don't know if I can ever put back together.

I hear Jeri open the door behind me softly. I hear his heavy footsteps as he kneels to join me on the floor, wrapping his enormous arms around me. I turn into him and press my face against his chest, trying to rein myself in.

"Shh," he soothes, stroking my black hair, "it's okay, everything's going to be okay." But, of course, we both know that's not true. Nothing's okay. It hasn't been since the sun died and it never will be again.

Suddenly, I hear pounding footsteps coming down the bunker corridor, much too loud. Jeri and I tear apart as Hesper bursts through the open doorway, her chest heaving with exertion.

"What is it?" I whisper urgently, trying to look as if I hadn't just been sobbing in Jerico's arms.

Hesper rolls her eyes, "Oh, don't even, Pippa. Everyone down here knows you two have the hots for each other."

"What is it, General?" Jeri growls, sidestepping away from me. Part of me hurts to know that he wants to keep our relationship a secret, but I know it's for the best.

"It's the council, I heard them talking after you left," Hesper says between breaths, still wheezing slightly.

"And?" Jeri asks impatiently.

Hesper suddenly straightens, looks me dead in the eyes, and says, "It's about Lucia. Her death wasn't an accident. They killed her."