After about a minute of just running full speed ahead, I realized this wasn’t throwing this guy off. Every time I turned around, he was still there, after me, his long, gray hair billowing in the breeze. All the while, it seemed as though I was rushing for my life and he was simply walking. It was definitely the creepiest experience I’ve ever had.

The wound in my chest kept pounding, trying to force me to the ground. I gritted my teeth, hoping that something would stop it. My stupid red hair kept getting in my eyes, so I couldn’t see a freaking thing. Seeing helps a bit when you’re running away from someone who might kill you.

Finally I tripped, after running hard and long, the pain in my chest too agonizing to bear anymore. Gasping, I turned to the guy chasing me, still on the ground, and exclaimed, “What could you possibly want?!”

The man chuckled, finding whatever I said humorous. I don’t know why, but he did.

“You’re not as smart as you look, Shadow,” he stated. He gripped me by the shirt and yanked me upward, causing more blood to pour from my chest. I screamed in agony and glared at him.

“Maybe you’re not as special as they say you are. Maybe you’re just some dumb kid who really is just a waste of my time.” He released me, and I stumbled backward, panting, grasping my chest and hoping, praying I wouldn’t die. A thousand questions rushed through my mind: Who was this guy? What did he want? Most importantly, how did he know my nickname?

None of them were answered, though, not before he took out that gun. “I’m not gonna take my chances, though,” he stated, then hit me in the head with it. Everything went out like a light.


So many things were different when I woke up.

The first thing I noticed was all the boys about my age. Only they looked like death, like zombies. They were all pretty nasty-looking and just crawled around, like they were too weak to walk. I swallowed. What if I was to become that?

The second thing I noticed was....

“Crap, I can’t move!”

I can’t remember if I was immobilized or tied up, but either way, I wasn’t getting out. When I glanced upward, the same freaky dude was there. I could have killed him.

He leaned down toward me and examined me, like I was some sort of zoo animal. I grimaced. Eventually, he stared back at me and declared, “Well, you certainly do look... different.”

“What the heck’s that supposed to mean?!” I shouted. I was getting sick of this guessing game. I wanted answers now.

Again, he laughed. I was getting tired of that, too.

“It means that there’s more of a chance that they’re right.” He walked away for a second, then came back with a strange, red crystal thing. It kinda freaked me out, so I pulled back a little bit. The guy started pushing it toward me, like he was going to shove it in me or something.

I glanced down at my chest and gasped in horror. All that was there was a big, gaping, bloody hole. He WAS going to shove it in me!

He paused for a moment, then stated, “Let’s just say that if they were right, you’ll be the most amazing human being in the world. If they were wrong...” he nodded toward the zombie kids, “you’ll get to meet your new brothers.”

The crystal was suddenly thrust into my body, and I screamed like I’ve never screamed before. It hurt like hell, and I thought it was going to kill me. ‘This is the end, Shadow,’ I thought. ‘It’s all downhill from here.’

All of a sudden, the flashing stopped. I gasped for air, unable to breathe the whole time. I was pretty sure I was going to die.

But when I looked back at the wound, a red light was flashing from it. It seemed to be coming from the crystal or something. I glanced at the man again to see his mouth wide open in shock.

All I could say was, “What the freak?!”

Obviously, Mr. Creep ignored me and shook his head. “I don’t believe it... they WERE right! You’re him! You’re....”

“What?! What’s going on?!” I exclaimed back.

He put a hand on my shoulder and said, “You’re my son.”

My whole body went into shock. He was... this guy was my father?! There was no way! He looked nothing like me! And my mom always described him as someone....

Exactly the way this guy looked.

I stared back at him, stunned. Was he really my dad?

He started laughing again, only it wasn’t evilly like last time. It was... like a normal laugh. Almost.

“Shadow, my name’s Phillip.”

Oh, dang, that was his name, all right. I couldn’t believe it. I was staring at my father.

When I finally came to my senses, I spit in his face and yelled, “You liar! You freaking liar! You left her for no reason! No reason! If you think I’m gonna start getting teary-eyed and become your ‘son’ and all that crap, then you are WRONG! You’re sorely mistaken, you’re....”

He stared at me with such a pain in his eyes, I burst into tears. I hadn’t cried in ten years. From five to fifteen, I had a record. This sorry excuse for a father broke it, broke me. I wanted to kill him even more.

“What’s going ON?!” I shouted. I glared at him, waiting for an answer. Finally, he sighed and said, “Shadow, you’re not... normal. That thing I just implanted in you? It’s called the Fire Crystal. It’s your destiny. You... you can control fire.”

I gawked at him. Control fire? Did this guy take me for some kind of idiot? I wasn’t that stupid!

Then I remembered that I had survived the whole chest-being-ripped-apart thing and the crystal had glowed once it got inside of me. Crap. Maybe that meant something.

I moved my arm to see if I was still paralyzed and, when I realized I wasn’t, I kicked him and took off in the other direction. It was really annoying, since the stupid crystal wouldn’t stop glowing. I wanted to shoot something.

I don’t really remember what I was running from. Maybe my future, maybe my “father,” maybe my pain, maybe just a bunch of confusion. It all happened so quickly... it was too weird.

I noticed someone in my way and came to a stop. When I glanced up, I saw some pretty girl with really long, black hair and froze. Not only that, but she also had a creepy, glowing crystal in her chest, only it was light blue. She was staring right at me with piercing eyes and questioned, “Are you Shadow?”

Unsure of what to do, I nodded. She almost smiled, then extended a hand toward me. “I’m Amelia, and I control wind. Welcome to the club. It’ll be one heck of a ride.”

She didn’t need to tell me that.