This is the continuation of the first part of this short story I started on Crimson Vixen's "The Box" Contest
You don't have to read the first part, but I'd highly suggest it since it clears up a lot of stuff in this entry.
But without further ado...
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My shoes clicked on the smooth tiles for the ground as I followed where the man had disappeared into the dark alley.
"Hello?" I said softly, questioning if he'd just left.292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ75Mdggw5m8
The man seemed to materialize from the shadows.
"Follow me," he calmly stated, his shoes making a soft click, click, sound as he slowed in front of a dim light post.
"First things first," I started to say, mad at myself for following him in the first place, "I need to know you a bit before I trust you. Just who exactly are you?"
"A shadow," he muttered, his back towards me and he turned a little, staring from the black half of his face. His orange eye glowed in the darkness making me shiver in fear. "But you can call me...Draven."
"Well, 'Draven', you need to answer some of my questions before I follow you another step. How do you know where I live, how do you know who I am, and why did you leave a box with your weird cat in it at my front door?"
Draven's face turned into a smile, and he silently chuckled.
"I am a shadow," he repeated, "I see all. And you..." Draven turned around to face me again, "are special. I knew that you couldn't resist helping an animal in distress, so I left Phantom at your doorstep. Even if you wouldn't let him into your home, I knew you'd hear his continued cries before deciding to free him."
"So...you just-left your cat in a box with no way out at my door, without any confirmation I'd open it?! You're a pretty crazy guy, 'Draven', but I wouldn't want animal cruelty added onto the list."
Once again, Draven laughed that silent chuckle. He closed his eyes, before opening them again and stared at me with those unsettling eyes of his. I felt a shiver run down my spine once again, clutching my arms from the cold and the fear. Who was this crazy person?
"Oh, don't worry." Draven laughed, "Phantom had a way out. I could just teleport him back to me if he was in any real danger."
I blinked once. Then twice. Then I stared at him for a long moment, and began to laugh.
"Ha ha...very funny, dude, but last time I checked, teleportation wasn't real." 292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡODEBVYhlFV
He just had to be a drug dealer or something, trying to convince me to buy some horrible drug to make me feel like I was being "teleported" from one place to another, but it probably just caused memory gaps.
Draven's face contorted into a smile, his orange eyes narrowing as he stared at me for a long moment, muttering something in a language I didn't understand.
"Wh...at are you doing?" I raised an eyebrow, laughing nervously again. "I mean, you can't possibly think I'd-"292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy75fAvwoy3
I was about to say "you couldn't possibly think I'd believe you."292Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHr3y0upeSU
Oh boy, was I wrong.
His smile grew, and he snapped his fingers. I blinked, and when I opened my eyes I found myself on the edge of a rooftop.
I gasped, flailing my arms as I almost fell off the building.
A hand grabbed the back of my jacket, pulling me back onto solid ground. “Believe me now?” Draven smiled, snapping his fingers again and I saw he’d brought us back to where we were before, under the dim light of a street light.
I pushed away Draven’s arm, which was gripping my shoulder and glared at him. “Don’t you ever do that again!” I shouted, rubbing my shoulder where he gripped it before.
“Oh, please,” he smiled, absent mindedly petting his cat, Phantom, who was purring as it rubbed against his leg. “I’ve been in much more dangerous situations than falling off a building.”
“You-you’re crazy!”
“Maybe,” Draven shrugged, “but not as crazy as the shadows after you.”
I narrowed my eyes. “There are…more of you guys?”
“Yes,” he answered, “Some not as kind as I am when in the presence of a bright like you.”
“Woah, woah, woah,” I held up a hand for him to stop. “This is too much to process at once. You’re saying there’s more…people like you, who are after me. And you’re saying I’m a what?!”
“I know it seems like a lot,” Draven jammed his hands in his trench coat pockets, looking unsure. “But we don’t have much time. The other shadows have been watching you much like I did. They could attack at any moment. And we are far outnumbered.”
”How should I believe all the crazy things you’re saying? I barely know you!” I put my hands in my hair, wondering how to get out of this situation.
There was a low crackling noise, then an explosion. I whirled around, looking at where my apartment building had been. What hadn’t been caving in was covered in orange flames.
”Because if we don’t hurry,” Draven nervously adjusted his top hat, “They will do the same thing to your apartment to you and I. Along with this entire block.”
ns 15.158.61.55da2
