Shadows in the Darkness

Shadows in the Darkness.

 

“Brace yourself!” A tall woman ordered, diving backwards as a small wooden plank exploded next to her. The man dressed entirely in white ducked per her instructions, covering his head as debris fell from the ceiling above him. 

           

He quickly stood up, brushing the bits of rotting wood off his white jacket before raising his small flashlight.

 

“Fat load of good that’ll do…” The woman said quickly before pulling a small black box out of her satchel bag. She held it out in front of her and waited, holding her breath before searching through the shadows around the run down shack around her. The man slowly lowered his arms, looking around also before brushing a small splinter of wood off his jacket.

 

He looked over at his companion, watching as her eyes scanned the small staircase next to her. The dirty staircase matched the rest of the worn down house around them.  Although, house wouldn’t be a word many would use to describe the surroundings around the pair. Rotting wood and trash littered the small old building that looked like the slightest breeze could turn it into a pile of rubble. The man tightened his grip on the flashlight, wanting to leave this building in his rearview mirror, ready to run incase the wind picked up.

 

His companion on the other hand, hadn’t moved from her position, eyes focused and unrelenting.  Her dark blue eyes studied the small shapes of the shadows surrounding the small sitting room they were in.

 

With out warning, her entire body, once in suspended animation, snapped into action. Her friend only saw a blur as she whipped the black box upward before holding it outward.  The toggle switch was depressed before a stream of blinding light shot outward towards the floor. Her thin glasses quickly automatically polarized as the light illuminated the entire room, revealing the cold snow falling to the ground outside.

 

Her partner didn’t know whether to block his eyes from the burning light or cover his ears to drown out the screaking sounding through out the house. Seconds passed before the glare slowly lessoned before plunging the room back into its usual darkness.

 

“Did you get it?” The man asked, unstopping his ears and noticing the screaming had ended. His comrade slowly held up a finger and pressed it to her lips. The still smoking black box loudly crashed into the floor before the woman slowly moved around the room, watching and waiting quietly.

 

A split second passed before her eyes snapped open wide, watching in fear as a dark blur slowly drifted towards them.

 

“No,” She muttered before digging through her satchel and grabbing a large flashlight before turning it back behind her. She knew it would stop the blur but not for long.

 

“What are you?” She muttered aloud, watching the shadow in the middle of the room slowly grow larger. She waited before her eyes snapped open in fear again as the blur rushed forward towards them.

 

“Run!” She yelled before turning back. If it were possible, her eyes would have opened even wider, staring at the new intruder.

 

“Duck.” A simple command. She didn’t hesitate dropping to the floor as the new comer quickly lobbed a small white disk. It hit the floor next to the blur before exploding, illuminating the room with an intense light, casting out every shadow in the house, except one. The scream was unbearable, sending a chill down the woman’s spine. As soon as it appeared, it vanished.

 

“It won’t be gone long,” I said quickly, leaning down and helping the woman to her feet.

 

“What was that? What is that creature? And who are you?” The man stammered out as the woman got back to her feet. She looked at me, interested in the answers as well. I only grinned widely.

 

“That was an Illuminator. Sorry for the lame name, I didn’t really have time to think of a creative witty name.” I said, my grin getting wider. I got a smile out of the woman but the man only looked back at me, dumbfounded.

 

“As for the creature…that was a Shade.” I said, my voice somber. “A phantom, a creature created by destruction. I’ve seen this before, always contained but never one on the run.”

 

“Well, what do we do?” The woman asked calmly. “You said that thing, the Shade, it’d be back.”

 

“And we’ll be ready. Wont we?” I asked as I dug through my backpack. Quickly finding the small device, I drew it from the pack before setting the small tripod on the floor in the center of us. I flipped the switch on the side quickly before a dome of light covered the room, pushing the shadows back and keeping them at bay.

“I call it, the Illuminator…” I said dramatically before getting back to my feet. I saw the smile had returned to the woman’s face.

 

“You still haven’t told us who you are.” The man said accusingly, squinting through the light around him.

 

“True but neither have you.” I replied, rummaging through my pack before pulling out two pairs of dark glasses.

 

“But I…” The man started before he was cut off.

 

“Shut it Steven.” The woman said quickly before looking back to me. “I’m Ericka and this is my partner in crime, Steven.”

 

“Partner in crime?” I asked, tossing the glasses towards Steven. They hit his forehead before bouncing out of his hands. “Are you two…together or something?” I asked, offering the second pair to Ericka. She quickly declined.

 

“No…Heavens no. I don’t need that.” She said quickly.

 

“A simple ‘no’ would have worked all the same…” Steven said, picking the glasses up before returning to his feet.

 

“I was talking about the glasses…” Ericka replied with a wide grin that mirrored my own. Steven opened his mouth to reply but quickly shut it before turning away.

 

“So, this thing? The Shade or whatever you call it. You know it?” He said, watching the shadows around him. I nodded softly.

 

“I’ve seen it before. Terribly unfortunate creatures that feed off the shadows. They are fear the light but rely on it to cast the shadows. Normal darkness isn’t enough; it needs shadows. The contrasting light and darkness is what it needs to survive. With out it, it grows weak and starves. The light will keep it at bay, but it’ll find a way past it.”  The ceiling above us shook before dust fell to the ground. I slowly looked upward holding my breath. “Sneaky devil…” I said before the ceiling rocked again.

 

“Stay back but stay in the light!” I ordered. The pair didn’t hesitate, backing out to the edge of the light, standing on the edge of light and darkness. The ceiling shook again before a large chunk of wood fell from the ceiling above. It hit the ground in the middle of the circle of light. It hit the ground with a thud before casting the tiniest of shadows against the bright light of the Illuminator. Ericka and I held our breath as the shadow stayed still. Steven opened his mouth but Ericka and I cut him off simultaneously.

 

A second passed before the shadow rippled before rising upward. Ericka dove a hand in her satchel. I quickly grabbed her wrist, stopping her.

 

“Wait. Look…” I said, pointing at the shadow. It had only risen a couple of inches before it stopped. It only looked forward at us, waiting and watching. I slowly approached it, keeping my distance but still observing it.

“What is it?” Steven asked. “What is a Shade?” I sighed loudly.

 

“For several years experiments have been conducted. Trying to bring a dead spirit back into the world. Hundreds of tries but all failures…except once. Every time they failed bringing a spirit back, a Shade was created instead. 

 

A Shade is the very essence of what a soul is not. Broken and dark. Clinging to the shadows it survives, growing stronger. Every Shade was too weak to put up much of a fight but the one time the spirit was brought back, another Shade was created. Something as strong as the spirit itself, strong enough to fight back…and win.”

 

“This?” Ericka asked. I nodded slowly.

 

“How do you know this? We don’t even know who you are. How can we trust you?” Steven yelled from across the room at me.

 

“I trust him!” Ericka said.

 

“Because I’ve seen it before.” I said softly. Everyone in the room stopped and looked at me. “I’ve seen the nightmare that this thing caused.  This girl, Samantha…and I...” I said, feeling a lump in my throat as I said Samantha’s name. “…We barely made it out alive.”

 

“So, you created this?” Steven accused.

 

“No. But I know who did. I was trying to bring them down. Trying to stop this. I just barely did too…at a cost.” I said, feeling the difficultly of the words escape my throat.

 

“How do we stop it?” Ericka said, putting a hand on my shoulder comfortingly. “Light wont stop it.”

 

“No, we have to contain it. Trap it somehow. Eventually it’ll starve itself and we can put it out of its misery.” I said quickly. Ericka nodded, Steven didn’t look too convinced. “If we can somehow trap it in enough shadow surrounded by light. It’ll be immobile. It can only move through the shadows. If their close enough, it can jump from shadow to shadow but for now, we should be saf- what do you think you’re doing!?” I yelled. Ericka followed my gaze to see Steven, sidearm drawn and aimed directly at the creature.

 

“Taking the easy route…” Steven said.

 

“No!” I yelled but it was too late. The sound of two shots drowned out my cry. Everything happened so fast; our own eyes couldn’t track it. All that was left was a shattered Illuminator; Steven’s sidearm still sailing through the air away from him and a missing Shade. Ericka and I held our breaths as our hearts pounded loudly in our chests.

 

“See. Told you.” Steven said with a smug grin on his face.

 

“You’ve just set it free…” I said harshly. “And probably killed us all…”

 

“But how?” Steven asked. “Because I broke your precious Illuminator?”

 

“A Shade is fast. Give it a way out and before you can even blink, I’ll take it. Those bullets cast shadows. It jumped through them, faster than you could have seen before knocking your gun away and destroying the only thing that was saving your life.” I said harshly. “And now, we can’t save you.” Ericka snapped her head over to look at me, eyes wide with fear.

 

“What do you mean save me? I don’t need to be saved.” Steven said quickly stepping forward.

 

“No!” I yelled out, stopping him in his tracks. Ericka looked over at me, confused.

 

“What?” She asked before her next words caught in her throat. I saw it too and my heart sank. My hand clenched to a fist in anger while my other reached into my pack, digging around blindly.

 

“What?” Steven asked, confused. Neither of us answered. I just stood, frozen, watching the scene unfold before me. Ericka stood, reaching into her own pack and pulling out a large cylinder.

 

            “I am sorry. I wish I could do something but I can’t. Its too late…” I said soberly.

 

            “What’s too late? What are you too looking a-“ Steven said, turning back. Only darkness filled his vision. He slowly looked upward to see a large blob of darkness rising up from his shadow.

 

“What the heck is-“ He said before the darkness fell on him, engulfing his entire figure before disappearing again into the shadows.

 

“Steven!” Ericka yelled before I grabbed her and pulled her away. The Shade was moving. With a flick of my wrist, I sent another Illuminator bomb outward, shielding mine and Ericka’s eyes from the blast. The explosion and accompanying scream was deafening. A distorted scream. A mixture of the Shade and human. With in a second, it ended. I slowly looked back, seeing the Shade was gone.

 

“What happened?” Ericka asked, still in shock. I quickly reached in my pack and pulled out a second tripod Illuminator, and placing it next to the one that Steven destroyed. The dome filled the room quickly, sending the shadows back and keeping them at bay. Whether that would help or not, I had no idea. But I wasn’t telling Ericka that.

 

“What happened?” Ericka asked again, louder.

 

“He got taken. Absorbed by the Shade for energy. His entire body was compressed into a darkness that the Shade could use for strength. I’m sorry. But he’s gone.”

 

“Gone? Just like that?” Ericka replied. I nodded slowly.

 

“I’m sorry.” I said, staring her directly in the eye. I could see the sorrow welling up behind those blue eyes.  “There was nothing I could do.”

 

“And now that…thing…is coming for us!” Ericka yelled, pointing off into the darkness. I put an arm on her shoulder, pulling her in for an embrace.

 

“I’m sorry. Really I am. If there had been something I could have done I wouldn’t have hesitated to do anything to save him but I couldn’t. I did however save us. We’re not dead and I have no plans on dying today. I will get you out of this. I will do whatever I can. But you’re going to have to trust me.” Ericka nodded slowly before pulling back out of the embrace.

 

“What do we have to do?” She said, her voice hard but clearing.

 

“The light will keep it at bay for now. As long as we keep our shadows away from the edge, we should be better off. But it’s stronger and smarter now. It got past before and it can easily do it again.  We have to find a way to trap it.”

 

“So, what’s the plan then?” Ericka asked as I walked over to the couch, still in the light dome.

 

“We sit…and wait. Let it come to us.” I said, collapsing on the sofa, kicking up a large cloud of dust. Ericka looked at me with a weird expression before walking over to the sofa and sitting on the other edge, placing her pack on the ground.

 

“Who are you Ericka?” I asked as she slowly rummaged through her gear. She slowly pulled out a small cylinder object before clicking it on, illuminating a large dome area momentarily before turning it off.

 

“I’m Ericka Winter…I thought we went over this...” She said, confused.

 

“No, I mean, who are you really? No average citizen carries this kind of equipment on accident.” I asked, suspicious. She grinned mischievously. 

 

“I’m a paranormal hunter. This world is full of extraordinary events and things no one would believe unless they saw it with their own eyes. Blink and you’ll miss it. I’ve never been the one who lives the mundane life, taught to believe magic didn’t exist. I don’t need proof that it does exist, but rather proof that it doesn’t. I’m destine to fight until I am convinced one can’t fly.

 

So I packed my things and headed out on an adventure. Recently heard rumors of a “shadow creature” living in an abandoned house here and here I am. Armed to the teeth with enough light to rival the sun and enough adventure in my spirit to keep me running, searching for magic.” I only smiled at the end of her story, grinning like an idiot.

 

“You probably think I’m crazy.” She said, laughing momentarily to release the tension.

 

“Ericka. I’ve seen the world. I’ve seen things not even you would believe. Things even you would consider impossible or even improbable. I’m a paranormal junkie. I’ve seen things that make this look like taking the bus. Come with me. Finish this job here and leave it behind you and come see the world.” I said quickly, my lip curling in a smile.

 

“So, I’m just Samantha’s replacement?” Ericka asked harshly. I raised my eyebrow inquisitively. “I put two and two together…”

 

“Samantha was the best thing that ever happened to me and the only one I will and have ever loved. I had to watch her die and have been haunted by the memory ever since. And while I know I’ll see her again some day, until that day, I wont love again. I’m offering you this chance to tag along with me, as a friend, not a replacement. What do you say?” I said, eyes cold and voice harsh. Ericka looked back, piercing my own eyes with her own bright blue.

 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know.” She said softly. I exhaled loudly, calming myself and clearing my head.

 

“No, you didn’t. The memory is just fresh. I’m sorry.” I said, running a hand through my hair quickly. We both sat in silence momentarily before Ericka broke the stillness.

 

“What is this thing? Why did it take Steven?” I exhaled loudly before running a hand through my hair again.

 

“The Shade was created in destruction; created from ripping apart the laws of nature. A Shade was something that was never suppose to exist. It was code-named, Yin, the darker half of the light.  It was created from bringing another spirit back to life. And by that logic, if life is the Yang, what do you think the Yin is?”

 

“Death…” Ericka said already knowing the answer. I nodded slowly.

 

            “A Shade is an angel of darkness for lack of a better term. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Bringing back life brings a form of death into the world. Powerful enough to kill anything standing in its way.” I explained solemnly. The ceiling shook above us, kicking down more dust than before.

 

            “And it’s stronger now…” I said, sighing loudly. I turned over, looking back at Ericka. “Still want an adventure?” I said with a grin.

 

            “Thought you’d never ask.” She replied, grin on her face for the first time in a long while. I quickly sprung to my feet as the ceiling rocked again. Ericka joined me before flicking her cylinder light on, illuminating the already bright room. I slowly grabbed my own light, holding it out at the ready.

 

            “No more waiting.” I said as the roof shook again. “Tonight…we fight.” I said again before rushing towards the edge of the Illuminator.

           

            “We have to trap it. Get it in an enclosed space. A place with enough light to keep it subdued long enough…” I said, voice trailing off, as the echo above us grew louder. We could hear the creature growling above us. I held my breath quickly, feeling my mind race, formulating a plan.

 

            “Here, just in case.” Ericka said, pulling out a small short-range radio and handing it to me.

 

            “Thanks, “ I said, clipping it to my belt before handing her two disk Illuminators.

 

            “Just throw and duck. They’re automatic.” She nodded, smiling despite the circumstances. The ceiling shook again, rocking the entire room.

 

            “Got a plan?” Ericka asked as a dozen shards of rotted wood hit the floor, casting small shadows that all rose up into tiny blobs in the middle of the Illuminator dome. They slowly rose up, lazily drifting through the air towards the bright sun in the middle of the room.

 

            “Nope. You?” I asked as the roof shook again, bringing down a large section of the ceiling and leaving a large gaping hole. The light shone through and we could hear a scream from the Shade before silence again. The shadows were still slowly drifting through the air towards the Illuminator.

 

            “Not a single idea…I think we’re going to get along really well…” She said, grinning at me. It was the last thing I saw before the Illuminator shattered.

 

            “Run!” I yelled before tossing a single Illuminator towards the moving shadow in front of me. A second Illuminator hit the ground at the same time. Ericka and I exchanged a nervous panicked look before diving backwards.

 

            The sound of the Illuminator exploding was drowned out by the bloodcurdling scream behind us. We both scrambled back to our feet before seeing the large Shade cringing in pain in front of us.

           

            It stood hunched over because of the shortness of the ceiling but much taller than either of us and about twice as wide. The entire blob of darkness just watched us, if it even had eyes. It waited, prolonging its strike. We waited also, afraid of any sudden movements that will spark the creature’s attention.

 

            Something wasn’t right. Shades rarely plan out attacks or even stare their opponents down. They always strike. They take any opportunity and strike with out hesitation. I waited holding my breath before my eyes snapped open and the realization kicked in.

 

I turned back quickly staring at the walls around me to see the shadows slowly creep towards me, through the darkness. I didn’t waste a second, tossing the Illuminator at the wall. A blur of dark shadows shot out towards me before absorbing the device and rushing towards us.

 

Ericka quickly snapped her own light upward, illuminating a small dome around the both of us. The shadow quickly stopped and withered before retreating back to the shadows.

 

“Let’s move.” She said, grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the room. We both rushed outward, holding our lights behind us. We could still hear the creature screaming in protest but never slowing.  We hit the stairs, two at a time, rushing upward. I risked a glance back to see the Shade, now just a blob of darkness, rushing towards us with out any sign of hesitation.

           

            I jumped as a large spear like appendage of shadow rushed towards me, destroying the step I was on. From then on, we took the steps three at a time, weaving back and forth to avoid the hail of dark spears sailing towards us.

 

            We quickly hit the top of the staircase before I threw my last Illuminator down the stairwell. I heard the blob absorb it before a small beep was heard. A second passed in silence before the Illuminator exploded outward, blasting out the Shade outward into tiny shadows and illuminating the hallway and stairwell around us accompanied by the distorted howl of the Shade.

 

We stood in silence, waiting and watching for any movement around us. I held my breath again, waiting for anything. We could hear the Shade growl in pain around us. I slowly saw movement from a single shadow and then another, and another after that, slowly moving around us, surrounding us in a thick darkness.

 

“It trapped us!” Ericka yelled, watching the Shade slowly enclose us in the thick darkness. I only waited, feeling the floorboards creek beneath us.  I looked around us, seeing the only thing sticking out through the dark shadows around us. A small chandler, it’s light had long been dead, no use to us now.

 

The floorboards creaked again as the creature moved closer to us, slowly trapping us inward.

 

“Take my hand. Now!” I ordered. Ericka didn’t hesitate as she locked her hand in mine. I held my breath again, bouncing on my toes in anticipation. I felt the floorboard sag under the ever-increasing weight.

 

“Give me your Illuminator. Quickly.” She quickly handed the small disk over. I could hear the Shade growl as I held it up. With one swift motion, I threw it to the ground. Ericka covered her eyes and missed the quick dark appendage lash outward, striking the floor around the Illuminator, destroying it and several floorboards around it. That’s when I jumped.

 

The rest of the floor gave out quickly, dropping with a loud crash.  My fingers wrapped around the chandler right as the Shade quickly dropped through the large hole in the floor. It hit the floor beneath it and crashed through it as well, landing heavily in the basement, debris still falling all around it.

 

Ericka quickly opened her eyes after feeling gravity take effect. She looked down quickly to see the Shade slowly moving around the basement, motion lessened by the large debris covering its entire form.  She looked up to see me looking down at her with a wide grin. She returned with her own.

 

But in a split second, her smile faded as the whole building shook. I looked up quickly to see the ceiling around the chandler crack. I spat as dust filled my mouth before looking down. The rest of the house was in worst condition. Walls were slowly succumbing to the effects of gravity. The Shade, try as it might, couldn’t move through the debris falling faster on top of it. Every time it tried to pull itself out only caused more to fall on it. I winced as I heard its bloodcurdling scream as it slowly was being buried alive.

 

“We did it…” I said softly though clenched teeth as I tensed up, holding on to Ericka for dear life. I looked down at her, expecting to see her grinning back at me. Expecting to see her eyes full of adventure and wonder. I only saw fear and sorrow. I raised an eyebrow in confusion.

 

“That’s not going to hold…is it?” She said coldly. I followed her gaze to see the light fixture’s chain slowly stretching and straining under the weight. A large chunk of the ceiling fell down on me. I only shrugged it off and watched it fall into the mess of the house below us. Very little could be seen of the Shade but much of the house was still falling on it.

 

“I’ll hold. Just…” I grimaced as the light fixture shook more dust and debris down at me. I looked down and locked eyes with Ericka’s cold blue ones. I’ve seen that look before and I knew exactly what it meant.

 

“No. Don’t.” I ordered.

 

“I’m sorry…” She said softly.

 

“There’s another way. Let me swing you over to that ledge and we can get out.” I said desperately. I saw her gaze follow mine towards the ledge.

 

“This whole place is falling apart. That wouldn’t support the both of us.” She said looking around. The ceiling shook again before we locked eyes a second time. “Besides, this light wouldn’t hold under that weight…”

 

“It doesn’t have to end like this. We’ll get out together.” I said quickly but I could see her mind was already made up.

 

“I’m sorry.” She said before breaking free of my grip. I saw her fall before I could believe what I was seeing.

 

“Ericka!” I yelled as I saw her hit the floor below me. She quickly rolled once before looking up. A large wall, old and rotten finally swayed under the weight before falling. Ericka looked up just in time and dove under more debris before the wall fell on top of her.

 

I swung back, pushing my own momentum through the air before swinging back. I let go quickly, hitting a small pile of rubble and rolling to my feet. The entire house had collapsed in a large pile of dust and fragments of what was once a home.

 

“Ericka!” I yelled, rushing over to the wall where I saw her last. “Ericka! Can you hear me?”

 

“Yell a bit louder. I don’t think the neighbors heard you…” A voice called out from behind me. I turned back quickly to see the empty room behind me.

 

“I’m still alive. Don’t worry.” The voice called out again. I quickly realized where it as coming from as I unclipped the radio from my belt.

 

“Oh, it’s good to hear your voice. Sit tight, I’ll get you out in a jiff.” I said quickly before bending over and digging up small chunks of rubble.

 

“No wait! Stop!” her voice came back, thick with urgency. I stopped immediately.

 

“What?” I said, tossing the small rubble away.

 

“Listen…” I pressed my ear against the pile of rubble beneath me. I could hear the soft growl of the Shade. It sounded angry but remained still.

 

“I hear it.” I said back into the radio.

 

“It’s dark here; hauntingly dark. Not a single light, and thus, not a single shadow…” The radio chirped back. “We did it. We trapped it.”

 

“Along with you inside…” I replied with a sigh. I heard her return it.

 

“Not ideal I’m aware…” She replied, voice trailing off. “But if we extract me…we’ll unleash the Shade on the world. The second that thing gets a shadow, we’re dead.”

 

“But we can trap it again.” I said quickly, denial setting in quickly.

 

“We only trapped it by accident!” Ericka replied. “You know much more about these Shades thingies than I do. Answer me honestly, if we were to let this thing go now. What would happen? What would happen if this thing wasn’t contained right now?” I sighed loudly before pausing.

 

“It would kill us before we could even blink before wiping out the entire planet into a never ending darkness…Best case scenario…it’s eventually contained but thousands will die…” I explained.

 

“You would risk thousands or even millions of lives…just for mine?” her voice came back on the radio. I sighed again before running a hand through my hair in frustration.

 

“I’m sorry I couldn’t show you magic.” I said softly into the radio. “I’m sorry I never got to teach you to fly.” A soft chuckle returned to me through the radio.

 

“I’ve seen more than I think a lot of others in this world have in my lifetime.” She sighed. “I never got the chance to prove magic didn’t exist…So, I guess I can rest easy…” She coughed loudly before her mic cut out.

 

“Ericka!” I yelled.

 

“Relax…” she said, sounding exhausted and out of breath. “There’s just a lot of dust in the air…what’s left of it anyway.”

 

            “How long do you think you have?” I asked softly. She sighed outward again, coughing out more dirt from her lungs.

 

            “Just a couple minutes. It’s a tight squeeze here.” She said, wincing.  “Quite cozy. I’d ask you to come in but the place is a mess.” She said with a light chuckle that I mimicked.

 

            “Samantha was a lucky girl.” She continued.

 

            “You two would have gotten along really well.” I said with a smile. “She was the adventurist type. Always searching for something, something that would surprise even her.”

 

            “She sounds like an amazing person…” Came her reply before a barrage of a coughing fit echoed through the small remains of the room, sounding worst than usual.

 

            “Before you freak out…I’m fine.” She said, as if she had just run a marathon.

 

            “That was a lie wasn’t it?” I asked.

 

            “Yeah, I’ve got about a minute left here…” She said, her voice trailing off.

 

            “I’m sorry. Really. I’m truly sorry things didn’t end differently. If I could have taken the fall I would have.” I said softly into the radio.

 

            “Ha, like the world could have survived with out you. I don’t know exactly how many times you may have saved someone like us but I’m sure the world could use more of you…” She said, her voice fading quickly.

 

“Death…the great last adventure…” She coughed out before silence. I didn’t call out to the mic again. I only sat there, staring at the large pile in front of me, Ericka’s tomb. I set the radio down, knowing it was useless to me now before getting to my feet. I tried to leave but couldn’t tear my eyes away from the spot in front of me.

“Ericka Winters…The world is now yours. You can finally fly…” I said softly before turning back and walking out of the ruins and into the cold harsh snow.