Neo Chronicles
Episode 38: Dwelling in the Shadows
Table of Contents
So we've been watching this fight unfold for the past minute. Two girls, in the middle of the school hallway, surrounded by all of us—all of us kids—and they're just laying into each other. One of those girls happens to be possessed by a demon.
Yeah, and she's winning.
Nexus was standing with us. Then he wasn't. Then he was. Now he is... I think. What in the world happened to him?
He looks up at me and gives a halfhearted chuckle. “Apparently demons can stop time.” It looks like he's the one who's been in a fight. His clothes are roughed up and tattered. He's got scrapes and bruises all over his face and arms. “An' I'm still not gettin' this ki thing.”
“Don't tell me you got manhandled by a girl,” Kai mockingly says, turning his nose up at the guy.
“Mane, you go up there an' see what happens!” To my surprise, Nexus is still very much animated in everything he does. He's quick ta jump and quick ta shout, in spite of how visibly taxing it is on him.
“If she wasn't backed up with demon juice, I would. She'd get laid out!”
“Kai, what is it with the rampant sexism today?” I ask. Believe me, it's a fair question. I'm pretty sure I know the answer, but the problem is, I don't think Kai does, and that makes him a little more overbearing than usual.
“What sexism?” he blatantly responds. It's enough ta make me palm my face in shame.
And at that very moment, a tear forms on Kai's shirt. The cut is deep. You can see a faint bit of blood seep through. Where that cut came from and how it got there is beyond me. Kai's certainly not happy about it. He's taken aback.
I figure it has something to do with the fact that Tameka has power over the air. There is something of a hurricane brewing around here. Everyone's clothes are flapping violently in the wind.
“What in the world?” Kai exclaims as he examines the gash. He gently pats the open wound. Honestly, it doesn't look too bad. Yeah, it's bleeding, but he'll live.
“Just because you're salty about that girl turning you down, doesn't mean you got the right ta go huffin' an' puffin' on some 'macho-man, guys are superior' kick!” Yeah, I'm ignoring the mini-crisis he's having ta give him a lecture. Sue me. He needs ta hear it. “I hope you don't think you're entitled ta having a girl just because you want one!”
“Guys,” I hear Nexus utter, but I'm so caught up in the moment that I fail to address him.
No, Kai's had this for a long time comin'. He's a jerk. He's always been a jerk—not just for this particular instance, but for everything—and I wouldn't be a good friend if I didn't call him on it.
“Are you serious?” I hear Kai ask. I find it odd that he asks that as he looks right past me, but I still respond.
“Yes, Kai. I'm dead serious. You need ta chill out!”
“We gotta go,” I hear Nexus say.
And then the setting loses its hue. The colors all around fade in saturation. Everyone around us just stops motionless, like we're in an old picture. The sound fades, too.
I turn around to see what's become of the fight, and standing in the midst of the frozen crowd is a very devious looking Rayne and a very motionless Tameka.
Rayne's back is turned to us. Makes sense, since just a second ago, her full attention was on Tameka. Now that Tameka stands motionless—hair going wild in the wind, clothes flapping, mouth open mid-scream—Rayne couldn't care less about the fight. Her head is turned towards us. Her eyes, glowing like a high intensity red laser, are set on us.
And she smiles.
Her smile makes me feel sick. It's the smile of a crocodile. The kinda smile that doesn't feel good natured at all. It's creepy. All of a sudden, she's creepy. And the black smoke hazing from her body doesn't make me feel any better, either.
Then the smoke gets thicker, and—for the love of God—I think it's coalescing. All of its coming together, and it's forming something – somethings. The smoke becomes shadow. The shadow becomes figure. The figure becomes demon—demons—plural. There are black, shadowy demons shooting out from Rayne.
I personally think it's the scariest thing in the world, so as soon as they leap out, I jump back. I'm glad to see Nexus and Kai do the same.
The shadow demons rise up. So far I count four, but more are forming. They look like animals. They rise up on their four legs, hunch over, snarl with their snarling snouts. Animals. Beasts. Dogs? No, wolves. Yeah, wolves makes sense. Rayne's a wolf girl. Her demons look like wolves. Okay.
I count sixteen red eyes staring us down, including hers. The wolves slowly step their way towards us. I slowly step back and clench my fist. Kai steps back next to me. The heat his, now fiery, arms gives off is starting ta bother me. I can feel sweat creeping on my eyebrows.
“Do any of these lames see this?” Kai asks as his eyes shift back and forth through the crowd.
I turn my head both ways and examine the room. “I don't think so.”
This is the strangest thing ta happen all day. We're literally the only things moving.
“Mane, so you tellin' me they can stop it fo' themselves an' otha people, too?” Nexus shouts. He inches closer to the wolves, waving his arms in anger. “All dat runnin' 'round I did! Fo' what? Y'all some lames!” I guess he's talking to Rayne.
The wolves bark at him. The sound is so loud and forceful, I think my heart stops. Doesn't seem to bother Nexus, though. He's still egging them on. Then two of the wolves lunge at him.
He disappears before our very eyes. Like blinks out of existence. So do the two leaping wolves. Not even a second later, they all come back, and Nexus looks like he can barely stand. One of the wolves now holds a torn piece of the man's black jacket in its mouth.
Nexus blinks out of existence again, and reappears next to me and Kai in the next instant.
“Okay, we really gotta go, now,” he says.
“Ya think?” Kai sarcastically responds.
I nod my head and we turn tail and run. We bump our way in between the still people until we're out in the open. Then we make our way down the fairly dense halls. I'm still taken aback by how no one can see us right now. The people are caught in mid-motion. Hanging out by their lockers, stepping their way ta and from class, talking, arguing, laughing. It's like a slideshow of photos that pass us by as we run for our lives.
We can hear the wolves barking as they're not too far behind. More wolves emerge from the shadows we pass, adding on ta the pack.
We're all huffing and puffing. Well, me and Kai are. Nexus is just keeping pace with us for the company. Running's kinda his thing. But me? And Kai especially? We're way outta shape. The adrenaline's keeping my legs moving, but any moment, I feel like giving out.
We turn a corner, and throw our backs ta the wall. The wolves form from the shadows above, from the shadows below. Before we know it, we're surrounded on all sides. Nexus stares at them, ready for anything. Kai's head is thrown up, staring at the ceiling, eyes closed, back all along the wall. I'm hunched over, hands on my knees, eyes closed, inhaling and exhaling fiercely. Feels like my heart's about ta break out of my chest.
“You sure there's somethin' to this ki thing?” I hear Kai ask in between pants.
I nod my head a few times before finally getting the strength ta say, “I'm sure.”
Next thing I know, it's a bazillion degrees. Let me tell ya, this heat is not helping me out with my exhaustion.
Kai steps out, holding a fireball in the palm of his hand. “Well, let's find out,” he says. And just then, I see a faint, shimmering, flickering light flash around him. Then it fades. His fireball grows. Looks about the size of a basketball. He cocks that thing back and chucks it at closest wolf in the pack.
It's a direct hit. At first, the wolf just sits through it, like it doesn't even register being set on fire. Then the fire spreads to the wolves next to it: one on its right, the other on its left. Same result. Then at the last second, it hits them. The wolves howl out in pain, then burst into a black smoldering smoke.
Kai's still panting, but you can see him crack a sly smirk.
Nexus looks at him and me. “Well that settles that!” he says with a smile. We all exchange glances, knowing full well what's about ta come next.
Now we fight back.
I exhale and do my best ta clear my mind. That's the first step. Everything starts with the mind. Then I imagine myself wrapped up in a cool, rushing wind. Goosebumps form along my arm. My body can feel the cold air around me. Vapor starts to form. But it's okay. I'm in control of it. This is all me. I embrace the cold. I embrace the wind. Now my body's radiating it. I cast my hand out and the slew of wolves in that direction are flash frozen in ice.
Then the ice is immediately shattered thanks to Nexus. He moves like a super sonic arrow. He pierces through the surrounding wolves like a bullet. I can't even make out his movements. I just know that whenever a wolf spontaneously evaporates, he had something ta do with it.
Fire is dancing all around Kai. Like jetstreams swirling about, he forcefully, yet eloquently, commands the flames to jump forth and ensnare the demon wolves. Like barbwire, the embers take hold. You can hear the wolves whimpering as the fire constricts them. And turning into dust, they evaporate in thin air.
Then the wolves fight back. I hear a loud, popping sound. It's like a gun going off.
Black smoke comes from the ground and the air and wherever shadows are formed. The next thing I hear is the pitter-patter of footsteps coming my way, and, before my eyes, two wolves, much larger than the others—like the size of bears—are coming at me. They leap forward, sharp, yellow teeth—fangs, ta be more accurate—borne and shimmering in the white fluorescent hallway light.
Without even thinking about it, I notice the cold, frozen mist in front of me solidifies into a thick, heavy wall of ice. The giant wolves come crashing through it. I raise my arms as a reflex, trying ta cover my head. One of them bites down. My arm! I wince and grunt in pain. Getting chased by dogs is one thing, but actually seeing one—a mutated, rabid, demonic, devil one, at that—gnawing into your flesh is definitely one of the top five scariest things in the world.
My heart is pounding. I try ta wiggle—then violently shake—my arm free, but the more I move it, the more its mouth clenches, the more I scream out, the more it hurts. And there's that gun popping sound again.
I look over ta see if the others are around ta help, but they look in worse shape than me. Kai's shooting out fire blasts every which way. Three giant wolves surround him, snarling, growling, howling. It's like they're taunting him. He shoots at one, and the one disappears and reappears. He shoots at another, the same thing happens. They're too fast for him ta pin down.
Then one of the wolves pounces on him from behind. His face violently acquaints itself with the floor. Just watching him almost get knocked out by that hurts me, and I'm already hurting! He tries ta push himself back up, but the wolf on his back has him pinned. He flinches, winces, and struggles. I see him grit his teeth and strain himself. His body ignites on fire. The wolf almost looks intimidated by the sudden outburst in flames, but he's still hovering over.
Now the wolf snaps its head down and bites Kai on the back of his shoulder.
Kai cries out.
I look around ta find Nexus, but he ain't nowhere around. This is on me. It's up ta me ta get us out of this.
So I turn my attention back to the wolf in front of me. It's been trying ta push me over for the longest, but I'm still standing here, still in pain, still in a royally jacked up situation. Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on.
Cold air solidifies. Floating, clear, thick, ice walls hover around me and the wolf. I look the wolf in its big, bright, red, glowing eyes. Its nostrils flare up as it continues trying to tear into my forearm. It's taking everything for me to keep the arm attached. I'm trying ta kick the wolf on its hind legs and gut. I'm smacking the wolf on its snout with my free arm. Nothing's make it budge.
Then I shout at the top of my lungs, and as I do, two large spikes of ice jut out from the wolf's eye sockets. The wolf's grip loosens. I jerk my arm out of its mouth and pull it back. My hand turns into a fist. Ice surrounds the fist. It's tight. It's cold. It's heavy. It's spiky. And I swing. I swing so hard and so fast, like my whole body weight goes into this swing.
I punch the wolf so hard, my fist breaks through its face. Dead in the center. Its head literally explodes as I make contact. The ice that surrounded my fist breaks out in a burst. Shinning, glimmering, specks of icy dust fall out every which way as the wolf's dead carcass dissipates into a black smoke.
Then I hear that gun popping sound again. I look up to my right and see Nexus flash into existence, along with some other wolf, then they both flash away. It happens so fast, my mind almost didn't work out that it was Nexus, and now, there's another wolf bursting out from the shadows, leaping at me.
I stretch my arms out to the side, and swing them together in front of me. From each side of the wolf, hundreds of shards of ice instantaneously form, and then collide in on the wolf. The wolf's skewered before laying a paw on me. I'm panting. I'm sweating. The sweat that leaves my face freezes before hitting the floor. Now I'm shivering. Damn. Come on, stop that. Stop. I close my eyes and try ta empty my mind. Gotta remember ta embrace the cold. Be one with it. This is my spirit. This is my ki.
My body stops shaking. Good. Now. Kai.
Oh my God, Kai!
Episode 38: Dwelling in the Shadows
Table of Contents
So we've been watching this fight unfold for the past minute. Two girls, in the middle of the school hallway, surrounded by all of us—all of us kids—and they're just laying into each other. One of those girls happens to be possessed by a demon.
Yeah, and she's winning.
Nexus was standing with us. Then he wasn't. Then he was. Now he is... I think. What in the world happened to him?
He looks up at me and gives a halfhearted chuckle. “Apparently demons can stop time.” It looks like he's the one who's been in a fight. His clothes are roughed up and tattered. He's got scrapes and bruises all over his face and arms. “An' I'm still not gettin' this ki thing.”
“Don't tell me you got manhandled by a girl,” Kai mockingly says, turning his nose up at the guy.
“Mane, you go up there an' see what happens!” To my surprise, Nexus is still very much animated in everything he does. He's quick ta jump and quick ta shout, in spite of how visibly taxing it is on him.
“If she wasn't backed up with demon juice, I would. She'd get laid out!”
“Kai, what is it with the rampant sexism today?” I ask. Believe me, it's a fair question. I'm pretty sure I know the answer, but the problem is, I don't think Kai does, and that makes him a little more overbearing than usual.
“What sexism?” he blatantly responds. It's enough ta make me palm my face in shame.
And at that very moment, a tear forms on Kai's shirt. The cut is deep. You can see a faint bit of blood seep through. Where that cut came from and how it got there is beyond me. Kai's certainly not happy about it. He's taken aback.
I figure it has something to do with the fact that Tameka has power over the air. There is something of a hurricane brewing around here. Everyone's clothes are flapping violently in the wind.
“What in the world?” Kai exclaims as he examines the gash. He gently pats the open wound. Honestly, it doesn't look too bad. Yeah, it's bleeding, but he'll live.
“Just because you're salty about that girl turning you down, doesn't mean you got the right ta go huffin' an' puffin' on some 'macho-man, guys are superior' kick!” Yeah, I'm ignoring the mini-crisis he's having ta give him a lecture. Sue me. He needs ta hear it. “I hope you don't think you're entitled ta having a girl just because you want one!”
“Guys,” I hear Nexus utter, but I'm so caught up in the moment that I fail to address him.
No, Kai's had this for a long time comin'. He's a jerk. He's always been a jerk—not just for this particular instance, but for everything—and I wouldn't be a good friend if I didn't call him on it.
“Are you serious?” I hear Kai ask. I find it odd that he asks that as he looks right past me, but I still respond.
“Yes, Kai. I'm dead serious. You need ta chill out!”
“We gotta go,” I hear Nexus say.
And then the setting loses its hue. The colors all around fade in saturation. Everyone around us just stops motionless, like we're in an old picture. The sound fades, too.
I turn around to see what's become of the fight, and standing in the midst of the frozen crowd is a very devious looking Rayne and a very motionless Tameka.
Rayne's back is turned to us. Makes sense, since just a second ago, her full attention was on Tameka. Now that Tameka stands motionless—hair going wild in the wind, clothes flapping, mouth open mid-scream—Rayne couldn't care less about the fight. Her head is turned towards us. Her eyes, glowing like a high intensity red laser, are set on us.
And she smiles.
Her smile makes me feel sick. It's the smile of a crocodile. The kinda smile that doesn't feel good natured at all. It's creepy. All of a sudden, she's creepy. And the black smoke hazing from her body doesn't make me feel any better, either.
Then the smoke gets thicker, and—for the love of God—I think it's coalescing. All of its coming together, and it's forming something – somethings. The smoke becomes shadow. The shadow becomes figure. The figure becomes demon—demons—plural. There are black, shadowy demons shooting out from Rayne.
I personally think it's the scariest thing in the world, so as soon as they leap out, I jump back. I'm glad to see Nexus and Kai do the same.
The shadow demons rise up. So far I count four, but more are forming. They look like animals. They rise up on their four legs, hunch over, snarl with their snarling snouts. Animals. Beasts. Dogs? No, wolves. Yeah, wolves makes sense. Rayne's a wolf girl. Her demons look like wolves. Okay.
I count sixteen red eyes staring us down, including hers. The wolves slowly step their way towards us. I slowly step back and clench my fist. Kai steps back next to me. The heat his, now fiery, arms gives off is starting ta bother me. I can feel sweat creeping on my eyebrows.
“Do any of these lames see this?” Kai asks as his eyes shift back and forth through the crowd.
I turn my head both ways and examine the room. “I don't think so.”
This is the strangest thing ta happen all day. We're literally the only things moving.
“Mane, so you tellin' me they can stop it fo' themselves an' otha people, too?” Nexus shouts. He inches closer to the wolves, waving his arms in anger. “All dat runnin' 'round I did! Fo' what? Y'all some lames!” I guess he's talking to Rayne.
The wolves bark at him. The sound is so loud and forceful, I think my heart stops. Doesn't seem to bother Nexus, though. He's still egging them on. Then two of the wolves lunge at him.
He disappears before our very eyes. Like blinks out of existence. So do the two leaping wolves. Not even a second later, they all come back, and Nexus looks like he can barely stand. One of the wolves now holds a torn piece of the man's black jacket in its mouth.
Nexus blinks out of existence again, and reappears next to me and Kai in the next instant.
“Okay, we really gotta go, now,” he says.
“Ya think?” Kai sarcastically responds.
I nod my head and we turn tail and run. We bump our way in between the still people until we're out in the open. Then we make our way down the fairly dense halls. I'm still taken aback by how no one can see us right now. The people are caught in mid-motion. Hanging out by their lockers, stepping their way ta and from class, talking, arguing, laughing. It's like a slideshow of photos that pass us by as we run for our lives.
We can hear the wolves barking as they're not too far behind. More wolves emerge from the shadows we pass, adding on ta the pack.
We're all huffing and puffing. Well, me and Kai are. Nexus is just keeping pace with us for the company. Running's kinda his thing. But me? And Kai especially? We're way outta shape. The adrenaline's keeping my legs moving, but any moment, I feel like giving out.
We turn a corner, and throw our backs ta the wall. The wolves form from the shadows above, from the shadows below. Before we know it, we're surrounded on all sides. Nexus stares at them, ready for anything. Kai's head is thrown up, staring at the ceiling, eyes closed, back all along the wall. I'm hunched over, hands on my knees, eyes closed, inhaling and exhaling fiercely. Feels like my heart's about ta break out of my chest.
“You sure there's somethin' to this ki thing?” I hear Kai ask in between pants.
I nod my head a few times before finally getting the strength ta say, “I'm sure.”
Next thing I know, it's a bazillion degrees. Let me tell ya, this heat is not helping me out with my exhaustion.
Kai steps out, holding a fireball in the palm of his hand. “Well, let's find out,” he says. And just then, I see a faint, shimmering, flickering light flash around him. Then it fades. His fireball grows. Looks about the size of a basketball. He cocks that thing back and chucks it at closest wolf in the pack.
It's a direct hit. At first, the wolf just sits through it, like it doesn't even register being set on fire. Then the fire spreads to the wolves next to it: one on its right, the other on its left. Same result. Then at the last second, it hits them. The wolves howl out in pain, then burst into a black smoldering smoke.
Kai's still panting, but you can see him crack a sly smirk.
Nexus looks at him and me. “Well that settles that!” he says with a smile. We all exchange glances, knowing full well what's about ta come next.
Now we fight back.
I exhale and do my best ta clear my mind. That's the first step. Everything starts with the mind. Then I imagine myself wrapped up in a cool, rushing wind. Goosebumps form along my arm. My body can feel the cold air around me. Vapor starts to form. But it's okay. I'm in control of it. This is all me. I embrace the cold. I embrace the wind. Now my body's radiating it. I cast my hand out and the slew of wolves in that direction are flash frozen in ice.
Then the ice is immediately shattered thanks to Nexus. He moves like a super sonic arrow. He pierces through the surrounding wolves like a bullet. I can't even make out his movements. I just know that whenever a wolf spontaneously evaporates, he had something ta do with it.
Fire is dancing all around Kai. Like jetstreams swirling about, he forcefully, yet eloquently, commands the flames to jump forth and ensnare the demon wolves. Like barbwire, the embers take hold. You can hear the wolves whimpering as the fire constricts them. And turning into dust, they evaporate in thin air.
Then the wolves fight back. I hear a loud, popping sound. It's like a gun going off.
Black smoke comes from the ground and the air and wherever shadows are formed. The next thing I hear is the pitter-patter of footsteps coming my way, and, before my eyes, two wolves, much larger than the others—like the size of bears—are coming at me. They leap forward, sharp, yellow teeth—fangs, ta be more accurate—borne and shimmering in the white fluorescent hallway light.
Without even thinking about it, I notice the cold, frozen mist in front of me solidifies into a thick, heavy wall of ice. The giant wolves come crashing through it. I raise my arms as a reflex, trying ta cover my head. One of them bites down. My arm! I wince and grunt in pain. Getting chased by dogs is one thing, but actually seeing one—a mutated, rabid, demonic, devil one, at that—gnawing into your flesh is definitely one of the top five scariest things in the world.
My heart is pounding. I try ta wiggle—then violently shake—my arm free, but the more I move it, the more its mouth clenches, the more I scream out, the more it hurts. And there's that gun popping sound again.
I look over ta see if the others are around ta help, but they look in worse shape than me. Kai's shooting out fire blasts every which way. Three giant wolves surround him, snarling, growling, howling. It's like they're taunting him. He shoots at one, and the one disappears and reappears. He shoots at another, the same thing happens. They're too fast for him ta pin down.
Then one of the wolves pounces on him from behind. His face violently acquaints itself with the floor. Just watching him almost get knocked out by that hurts me, and I'm already hurting! He tries ta push himself back up, but the wolf on his back has him pinned. He flinches, winces, and struggles. I see him grit his teeth and strain himself. His body ignites on fire. The wolf almost looks intimidated by the sudden outburst in flames, but he's still hovering over.
Now the wolf snaps its head down and bites Kai on the back of his shoulder.
Kai cries out.
I look around ta find Nexus, but he ain't nowhere around. This is on me. It's up ta me ta get us out of this.
So I turn my attention back to the wolf in front of me. It's been trying ta push me over for the longest, but I'm still standing here, still in pain, still in a royally jacked up situation. Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on.
Cold air solidifies. Floating, clear, thick, ice walls hover around me and the wolf. I look the wolf in its big, bright, red, glowing eyes. Its nostrils flare up as it continues trying to tear into my forearm. It's taking everything for me to keep the arm attached. I'm trying ta kick the wolf on its hind legs and gut. I'm smacking the wolf on its snout with my free arm. Nothing's make it budge.
Then I shout at the top of my lungs, and as I do, two large spikes of ice jut out from the wolf's eye sockets. The wolf's grip loosens. I jerk my arm out of its mouth and pull it back. My hand turns into a fist. Ice surrounds the fist. It's tight. It's cold. It's heavy. It's spiky. And I swing. I swing so hard and so fast, like my whole body weight goes into this swing.
I punch the wolf so hard, my fist breaks through its face. Dead in the center. Its head literally explodes as I make contact. The ice that surrounded my fist breaks out in a burst. Shinning, glimmering, specks of icy dust fall out every which way as the wolf's dead carcass dissipates into a black smoke.
Then I hear that gun popping sound again. I look up to my right and see Nexus flash into existence, along with some other wolf, then they both flash away. It happens so fast, my mind almost didn't work out that it was Nexus, and now, there's another wolf bursting out from the shadows, leaping at me.
I stretch my arms out to the side, and swing them together in front of me. From each side of the wolf, hundreds of shards of ice instantaneously form, and then collide in on the wolf. The wolf's skewered before laying a paw on me. I'm panting. I'm sweating. The sweat that leaves my face freezes before hitting the floor. Now I'm shivering. Damn. Come on, stop that. Stop. I close my eyes and try ta empty my mind. Gotta remember ta embrace the cold. Be one with it. This is my spirit. This is my ki.
My body stops shaking. Good. Now. Kai.
Oh my God, Kai!
