Chapter One
It was the war
that divided us. Fighting. Killing.
Kidnapping. Destruction of our
race. Over a hundred years of self-destruction. Then walls were built, separating us into
three territories. Three places where
people live behind walls afraid of what the others are capable of. Despite the walls, kidnapping, blackmail, and
assassinations still terrorized the major cities. One day, our salvation appeared when an
experimental project was made known. An
attempt was made on a zone’s mayor’s life during a press conference. Before the bullet hit its mark, a deep purple
figure had appeared, blocking the bullet.
From then on, Shadows were given to select citizens through a
lottery. The exceptions were if you were
an important member of society, political, medical, or scientific. Not much is known about these Shadows by the
general public, but my father, one of the head scientists in the research and
development of the Shadows, knows their workings intimately. He refuses to even tell his family the
Shadow’s secrets. The only information
given is provided through a class given to those who were to receive a
Shadow. Those who were lucky enough to
receive a Shadow were known as Charges, seeing as how they are in the Shadow’s
charge, their care. The first Shadow
made its appearance in Tolian, my home territory. Acen obtained theirs from a treaty between
our cities while Deptherian stole theirs from an Acen research facility. With the territories all containing Shadows, the
tension between us dissipated. Peace
began to ripple through the territories.
For nearly two decades since, hostility has been at a minimal, only the
occasional act of violence between citizens.
The Age of Peace, as the Acen Central Mayor called it, had begun. While those who lived in the Central zones of
the territories felt the peace, those in the outer zones saw that the so called
peace wasn’t as stable as we had been led to believe. I was born in Tolian South, it was here that
my father saw what those in Central tried to keep hidden. What those were, my parents tried their best
not to tell me. They wanted the best for
me and I wasn’t going to let them down. Those
of us in Central, we enjoyed the life we had.
It was safe here. I was happy
here. My father worked at S.R., Shadow
Research building, while my mother took a job at a flower shop near our
home. My mother had loved flowers for as
long as I could remember. She said that
they reminded her of her childhood home and that the smell of a flower tells
you what its soul is trying to say. Myself,
I had recently graduated high school.
There was still another year before I was supposed to get a job, not
that it was required, but my father wanted me to have a strong work ethic,
which he enforced through my studies. I
had graduated near the top of my class with an A in every class. My mother had convinced him to let me have a
year off and have fun before my career took over my life, not that I knew what
I wanted to do for a living exactly. As
for now, I’m enjoying my time hanging out with my friends. I had laughed at our group through high
school, we joked that we were meant to know each other, all of us with “M”
names; Meghan, Marcus, and myself, Mila.
Meghan Remel, who we called Meg, I would consider the rebel. We clicked the moment we had said hi and she
was always the troublemaker. Marcus Pane,
we had been neighbors since my family moved here. The three of us were inseparable and we used
every excuse invented had been used to get us together or spare us from
trouble, mostly thanks to Meg. It was
good time though, very memorable.
“Mila!” Looking up
from my computer screen, I closed the page I had open for a downtown party tomorrow
night. Meg’s idea to go. Rumor had it that a few Shade’s were going to
be there and she wanted to meet one. Not
that it mattered. Shade’s were
notoriously reclusive. Some went to
school, but they never stuck around for any extra-curricular activities. They were different. It wasn’t hard to know if someone was a
Shade, they had a thin metal line that went from their temple and disappeared
into their hairline. We didn’t know what
they were for, but we did know to never ask about them. It was kinda creepy how a Shade behaved. Reclusive is the best way to describe them,
but they always seemed to be watching everyone.
I don’t know how they got their nickname, my guess was some popular high
school girl called them shady then it grew from there.
”Yeah mom?”
“Are you planning to finish your chores today?”
“I’ll get ‘em done. Be out in five minutes!” I switched off the computer. Stretching the knots out of my shoulders as I stood. It was Friday, chore day. Meaning a full day of cleaning and laundry for me while mom ran out for errands. Dad was at work again. He was gone nearly every day except for one day a week which was seemingly random. Throwing on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, and then throwing my hair into a ponytail, I ran out the door to the kitchen, instantly smiling at my mom’s famous chocolate chip pancakes. They were few and far between in our household, something about wanting to be healthy, which meant something was up. “Special occasion?”
Mom’s smile shone when she tucked her blonde hair behind her ear. I was shorted on that bit of the gene-pool and got my dad’s mouse brown hair. As for mom’s, my dad’s description was the best, thin strands of gold. Her rainbow hazel eyes, which I was lucky to inherit, sparkled when she held an envelope out to me. “I’d consider this special.”
My jaw dropped when I saw the insignia on the upper left side; a black circle with a dark purple star in its center, reminiscent of the stars in the night sky. “No way? Seriously!” Mom nodded when I took the envelope. I was jumping up and down when I read my name as the recipient. Ripping it open only made me happier. “I can’t believe this is really happening!” The first sentence was to congratulate me upon being selected to receive a Shadow. I was dancing in the kitchen hugging the letter. Mom had to literally hold my shoulders down to keep me from dancing. “I was selected!” Quickly skimming the rest of the envelope’s contents, I learned where I needed to be and when as well as some do’s and don’ts, but any further information was to be provided upon arrival at the Shadow Research building. “First briefing is Monday.” Nothing could kill my excitement. The lottery had selected me as a Charge. If I was able to convince dad, that meant I could travel the outer zones, something I had been wanting to do for years now, all attempts to be met with resistance. Dad couldn’t say no now, I’d be safe.
“I know you’re excited, but remember, pancakes then chores. “ I sat in my chair smiling like an idiot staring at the letter. When the pancakes were in front of me, I was almost afraid to put the letter down and wake up from a dream. “Mila, eat.”
Looking up, I smiled. “Sorry, this is too exciting!” Reluctantly, I put the letter down; next to me where I was sure it wouldn’t disappear. “Thanks mom!” Stabbing my knife and fork into the pile, I stuffed my face with the goodness that mom made.
Hearing her laughing, I sat with a mouthful of pancake staring at her. “Slow down. You’re inhaling your food. Enjoy it.”
I gave her the best smile I could without showing the food in my mouth. Swallowing, I leaned back in my chair. Then I realized that mom would be the only one without a Shadow in our family. Dad had one because of his status at work and I’m getting one from luck. Picking at my food, I wondered what my mom thought. “Are you alright with this? You still don’t have a Shadow yet.”
“Mila, you know I’m fine. We’ve survived for years without Shadows, I’m certain that I’ll be alright without one. Now that you’re getting one, I’ll get to worry less about whatever trouble Meghan is going to get you in.” Pointing her fork at me, she tried to put her serious face on. “Now finish your plate before you pick it to pieces.”
“Weren’t you just telling me to slow down?” I stuck my tongue at her before shoving another bite in.
A smile spread on her lips. “I told you to enjoy them. It’s not every day we have chocolate chips in this household.”
”Yeah mom?”
“Are you planning to finish your chores today?”
“I’ll get ‘em done. Be out in five minutes!” I switched off the computer. Stretching the knots out of my shoulders as I stood. It was Friday, chore day. Meaning a full day of cleaning and laundry for me while mom ran out for errands. Dad was at work again. He was gone nearly every day except for one day a week which was seemingly random. Throwing on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, and then throwing my hair into a ponytail, I ran out the door to the kitchen, instantly smiling at my mom’s famous chocolate chip pancakes. They were few and far between in our household, something about wanting to be healthy, which meant something was up. “Special occasion?”
Mom’s smile shone when she tucked her blonde hair behind her ear. I was shorted on that bit of the gene-pool and got my dad’s mouse brown hair. As for mom’s, my dad’s description was the best, thin strands of gold. Her rainbow hazel eyes, which I was lucky to inherit, sparkled when she held an envelope out to me. “I’d consider this special.”
My jaw dropped when I saw the insignia on the upper left side; a black circle with a dark purple star in its center, reminiscent of the stars in the night sky. “No way? Seriously!” Mom nodded when I took the envelope. I was jumping up and down when I read my name as the recipient. Ripping it open only made me happier. “I can’t believe this is really happening!” The first sentence was to congratulate me upon being selected to receive a Shadow. I was dancing in the kitchen hugging the letter. Mom had to literally hold my shoulders down to keep me from dancing. “I was selected!” Quickly skimming the rest of the envelope’s contents, I learned where I needed to be and when as well as some do’s and don’ts, but any further information was to be provided upon arrival at the Shadow Research building. “First briefing is Monday.” Nothing could kill my excitement. The lottery had selected me as a Charge. If I was able to convince dad, that meant I could travel the outer zones, something I had been wanting to do for years now, all attempts to be met with resistance. Dad couldn’t say no now, I’d be safe.
“I know you’re excited, but remember, pancakes then chores. “ I sat in my chair smiling like an idiot staring at the letter. When the pancakes were in front of me, I was almost afraid to put the letter down and wake up from a dream. “Mila, eat.”
Looking up, I smiled. “Sorry, this is too exciting!” Reluctantly, I put the letter down; next to me where I was sure it wouldn’t disappear. “Thanks mom!” Stabbing my knife and fork into the pile, I stuffed my face with the goodness that mom made.
Hearing her laughing, I sat with a mouthful of pancake staring at her. “Slow down. You’re inhaling your food. Enjoy it.”
I gave her the best smile I could without showing the food in my mouth. Swallowing, I leaned back in my chair. Then I realized that mom would be the only one without a Shadow in our family. Dad had one because of his status at work and I’m getting one from luck. Picking at my food, I wondered what my mom thought. “Are you alright with this? You still don’t have a Shadow yet.”
“Mila, you know I’m fine. We’ve survived for years without Shadows, I’m certain that I’ll be alright without one. Now that you’re getting one, I’ll get to worry less about whatever trouble Meghan is going to get you in.” Pointing her fork at me, she tried to put her serious face on. “Now finish your plate before you pick it to pieces.”
“Weren’t you just telling me to slow down?” I stuck my tongue at her before shoving another bite in.
A smile spread on her lips. “I told you to enjoy them. It’s not every day we have chocolate chips in this household.”
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