Awakening Shadows-Nekko 2009 NaNoWriMo

Hello Bloomington Land!

This is my place to post my novel for my own backup and for you if you want to comment and read. If you are brave enough, I hope you share your novel as you write it too! Make sure you don't get too distracted by reading too many novels on here!

Warnings:

Not for children, will have homosexual themes, and could possibly have R rated material as the novel progresses. Read at your own risk. Flaming will just be fire for my marshmallows.

Summery:

In a battle between undead and humans, will the undead win? Will the bad guys end up the good guys? Will the living find out the truth before it's too late? Or will innocents have to parish?

Shadows want nothing but to be left in peace and to go on with the rest of their kind. They want to be free to have relationships, love and be loved.

Will a newly born Shadow be able to help prove to the world that they aren't evil? Will he get help from an unexpected place? A human hunter at that. Does love really always find a way?

Here are my first 5029 words!

(Not edited obviously)

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It seemed like any other day, though when Eian woke up, he just knew something wasn't right. In a panic, he started to kick and scream. He was trapped. There was no light where he was. It seemed to be a small room, no, not a room, a small box that went the length of Eian's body. What was going on? Eian almost swore he couldn't breathe, because there had to be no air in such a small space. When he realized that air wasn't a problem at all, the man became confused.

What's this? He asked himself. He paused all movements. His knuckles were starting to bleed from slamming them against the box. I'm not in any pain. At least not the kind of pain I should be in. That was the truth. Even though his knuckles were completely rubbed free of all skin, and he was bleeding, Eian only felt a prin prick of pain as if someone had poked him with the tip of a pen.

Eian tried to sit up in the small amount of space he had; his head smashed right into the box above him. This did it; he started to panic again. There was no way out and even though he wasn't dying from lack of breathe as he should be, he felt like he was going to any moment. He was terrified.

“He's awake,” Eian heard a small voice coming from the other side of the box.

“You take that end, I'll take this end,” another voice ordered.

Suddenly light glared into Eian's eyes. He blinked, trying to see through the brightness. Around him stood a strange group of people. Eian looked around at them, and then around at the room he was in. He glanced down at the box he had thought he was lying in, his eyes going wild when he realized the box was a coffin.

Why would somebody put him inside a coffin? Was this some kind of sick joke? Eian rubbed at his eyes. Maybe everything was a dream. It had to be. It wasn't normal to wake up in a coffin. Only Shadows did that. Eian wasn't one of those undead creatures. They were evil, weren't they?

Besides, Eian figured he'd remember if he died. How could you forget something like that? Though in the back of his mind, something awful tugged at his memory, something he couldn't remember fully, and something he probably never wanted to remember.

“Where am I?” Eian asked finally finding his voice.

The strange group of people stared at Eian, a mixture of emotions behind their eyes. Eian mostly saw pity. The smallest of the group walked toward Eian. She had to be no more then five years old. Her smoky gray eyes were eerie. Eian shuddered when he looked into them. There was innocents there, though far too much intelligence for a child.

Eian suddenly had the biggest shock since he had woken up. He rubbed his eyes again, as if checking to see if this were a dream for the second time. He could see. Eian had been born blind. All his life he had seen with his other senses, never with his sight.

The child in front of Eian raised an eyebrow. She seemed to know what Eian had realized.

“You'll get used to it,” the girl said. “I was mute and deaf before.” She spoke as if she were years older, yet her voice was still sweet and child-like.

“I don't know what's going on,” Eian said. He looked from the little girl to the other people. “Who are you?”

“Don't be alarmed,” one of the older looking males gently told Eian in a calm voice. “We're friends. You've got to trust what I tell you. We. Are. Friends.” He put his hand over Eian's. Eian flinched at how cold his hand was, though he didn't say anything or pull away.

“I'm known as Syder,” the man continued. He had kind blue eyes. Eian had trouble not trusting him. His eyes were just so kind.

“I'm Lana,” the little girl said. She tilted her head to the side, winking at Eian.

“Lana, Syder,” Eian repeated. He looked at the rest. There was an older woman with long black and Grey hair, and a young man with strawberry blond hair, and then there was a young teenager with
sandy blond hair. Why had this group came to meet him?

Finally, Eian whispered in a shuddery voice, “am I dead?” That was the only thing that made any sense. He had awoken inside a coffin, he barely felt any pain when he bled, and the scariest thing, Eian didn't think he was breathing.

Lana put a small hand on Eian's shoulder. She had to stand on her tip toes so that she could do this. She was so small. “Calm down,” Syder said.

“How can you say that?” Eian demanded. He wanted to cry, to scream, but he couldn't find the strength to react at all. He was dead, he was dead, yet he still moved. How could he have died? How could he have become a Shadow? An evil undead being the world hated. Not much was known about the undead race of humans except for their evilness. Eian didn't want to be evil.

“Leave me alone,” Eian said, shifting away from Lana and Snyder's hands. He shook, his whole body seeming to spasm, as if he were having some kind of fit.

“We can't do that,” the girl with dark hair said. Her voice was wise and full of understanding.

“Cidney,” Syder addressed the woman, “he's in shock.”

Cidney frowned; Eian just glared at Syder. He wasn't in shock. He knew just what was happening; he just didn't like it.

“You're one of us now,” Lana whispered thoughtfully. “Family.”

Somehow Eian knows this is true and it terrified him.

“What happened to me?” Eian whispered. How had he died?

“That's not important,” Syder said firmly. He had no idea how this boy died anyway. “The important thing is figuring out how you're going to spend your second chance.” He reached out for Eian, offering assistance in getting him out of the coffin. Eian pulled back from Syder at first, fear clearly written in his body language, though he finally let Syder pull him out.

“I don't know. What about my family?” Eian asked. If he really was a Shadow, then his family would fear and hate him like everyone else. He was a being that nobody understood; only a small percentage of humans became a Shadow after their death. Why was he chosen? Just why was he being punished?

“You have to forget them,” Syder said as kindly as he could. His voice slightly chocked. Finding new born was never easy. There was so much they had to learn; so much they had to give up. “We're your family now.”

“You have nobody else,” the young man with strawberry blond hair said, speaking for the first time.

“Robert, don't tell him that,” Lana said, swatting at the man as if she were his mother. It was the most unusual sight Eian had ever seen... not that he had ever really seen anything before this day.

“But he doesn't,” Robert said quietly, though Eian could hear him just fine.

Everything hit Eian hard in the gut and he was finally able to cry. Syder patted him awkwardly on the back, surprised when Eian leaned against his chest, hugging him as if he were a young, frightened child; in a way he was.

Syder lead Eian into a large room. It was bare, except for two beds, two nightstands, and a mirror. The walls were white, and the carpet was light green. The room felt depressing.

“This will be your room,” Syder said. “You'll have a roommate, though right now, you will live alone.” He walked over to one of the beds and set down. “This house is funded by silent supporters,” Syder explained. “Believe it or not, there are some who believe we are mistreated and want to help protect us.”

Cidney walked into the room. Her long dark hair was pulled up in a grandmotherly bun. She set some clothes on top of a dresser and then turned to Eian. “We have no need to eat,” she said, “though we do have a fully stocked kitchen. Eating for pleasure is the only reason any of us eat.”

Eian barely paid attention to Cidney; he didn't care about any of that stuff. Everyone he had met so far seemed kind and decent, but what about the reports saying all Shadows were evil, blood thirsty creatures?

“Am I evil?” Eian whispered, though he was really just talking to himself.

With a sigh, Syder glanced up at the ceiling. “Shadows are the same as they were before they re born. We're just like everyone else. Some are good, some are bad. You are what you want to be, Eian. Whatever you choose. Okay?”

He felt as if he understood, but Eian didn't get something. If Shadows were just like everyone else, then why did all the reports on the news say they were evil? Why were there hunts for the undead if they weren't harming anyone?

Going over to the bed Syder was sitting on, Eian set down beside him. He sighed, before looking down at his hands. They were so pale. “Why does a person change so much when they come back?” Eian questioned.

“I don't really know, but I do know that when a Shadow comes back, they are whole. You were blind, now you see, the same with Lana; she was deaf and mute, and as you've noticed, she doesn't ever stop talking now.”

“Angel, the dark haired teenager,” Cidney started, “he had a very destructive personality before he became a Shadow, and now he's a very cheerful, well manured guy.”

“Everyone changes in other ways,” Syder explained. “You might notice something later on about yourself. I think our abilities are one of the biggest reasons the leaders of this world spew such lies about us. They're scared we're more powerful then them.”

“Abilities?” Eian blinked. There wasn't anything in the news about Shadows having super powers. “What can you do, Syder?”

“I can see,” Syder said mysteriously. Eian gave him a blank look. “To be more clear, I see, I know when someone is going to wake up. That is why were were there waiting for you, Eian. I knew you were waking. Sometimes I even see when someone dies, though I know nothing about your death.”

Cidney frowned, silently leaving the room, though nobody noticed her.

“This feels like some messed up fairy tale,” Eian groaned. “Honestly, I might have super powers, I'm dead and the world hates me.”

Syder patted Eian on the head, “we don't like calling them super powers; nobody can fly or walk through walls. Things get easier, I promise. The hardest thing I guess is learning to cope with keeping to our kind only. Every day, it seems as if new hunters are let loose on the street.”

“Oh great, now I have to fear for my life, excuse me, my un-life.” Eian crossed his arms. He was clearly sulking. Syder just gave him an amused look. Eian was taking to this better then others at least.

“Come on, get comfortable, Cidney and I will bring you the things you will need.” Syder stood up and left Eian alone with just his tormented thoughts.

Walking over to his window, Eian looked out. When the other had brought him to this place it had been dark. He had no idea where he was, nor what this house looked like. He felt shocked when he saw how big the yard was; the property was well hidden behind a forest of trees. That made him feel safe at least. Eian opened the window, trying to lean out to see what the building looked like.

“This isn't a house, it's a fortress,” Eian said in awe. From what he could see, the so called house was larger then four houses put together. There was window after window on the side Eian was looking at. “I live in a mansion?”

“You have no idea how big this place really is.”

Eian turned around to see Angel. He never spoke to him before. “How can we afford a place like this if we're not even supposed to exist?” Eian asked.

“I'm sure Syder told you, by silent supporters, mostly very, very rich folks who've been around long enough to know a thing or two.” Angel set down on Eian's bed. “At first when Cidney founded a safe haven for Shadows, she only had an abandoned building to use. How we went from that to this, I have no idea.”

“So she's really old?” Eian asked.

“Depends on what you mean by old. She is the oldest Shadow, at least local to this region. She's been one for twenty years.” Angel glanced over at Eian, watching as the other's eyes widened. It was no wonder that Eian was surprised.

“She seems very wise,” Eian said, because he had no idea what else to say. He felt awkward around everyone.

“She was not yet 40 when she died,” Angel said as he stood up. “You'll learn as you go. Cidney is the founder of this safe haven, though Syder now leads us by a group vote, including Cidney's vote.”

-

“Oh,” was all that Eian said. Angel got up, patted Eian on the head, and then he left him alone once again. With a sigh, Eian went back to the window. How was he supposed to survive? He had to live in secret, and when he thought about it, he wasn't really living at all. Not like his parents were, not like his siblings.

He placed a hand over his heart, a frown coming to his face when he felt nothing. Was his heart even inside his chest anymore? He had awoke inside a coffin, did that mean his organs had already been taken? But he had bled, right? How could a dead creature bleed? Nothing made any sense. He had no reason to breathe, yet he still made the motion to sigh; he still cried, his chest heaving in and out as if he was going to loose his breath. But he didn't.

Can a human really tell the difference between them and a Shadow? Eian wondered. He held up his hands to the light, taking in the pale appearance. He looked like a ghost. What did the rest of him look like? He had no idea.

It was with that thought in mind that Eian walk over to the mirror. He braced himself for the worst, before he looked at his reflection. He only saw a frightened face of a stranger boy looking back at him. His face was ghostly pale, and his eyes wide and haunted. They were still green, though now they were very pale green and red rimmed.

Come to think of it, everyone was pale, with red rimmed eyes. That had to be what marked someone as a Shadow.

What about these abilities though? Eian focused, trying to make something happen. Of course nothing did and he just felt stupid. Maybe he would be someone who had no ability at all. What a waste. To come back and have to face all this and be unable to do anything amazing.

“I should at least be able to move things with my mind,” Eian grumbled, “or make things shatter.”

I could if I threw the mirror, Eian morbidly thought, though he stifled that thought. He might have been frustrated with his new situation, but he wasn't going to destroy the place. It would have felt nice to break things though...

“What will my family think when they realize I dissapeared from my coffin,” Eian mumbled to himself. He knew it wasn't a good thing to talk to himself so much, but he just didn't feel comfortable venturing out into the rest of the house. The others still creeped him out, especially the little girl. He wondered what Lana's story was.

How long had the child been a Shadow? How old was she? Her wise personality was unsettling.

Eian shuddered.

Maybe that in itself was her ability.

“I'm going to go crazy if I try and analyze everyone I've met so far,” Eian said, scolding himself. He walked to his door, glancing out. The hallway was clear thankfully. Eian wasn't ready to meet anyone quite yet, though he was tired of being cooped up in a room all alone. Strange way of thinking.

Eian walked softly through the hallways, trying to find the way outside, though he had no idea where he was going. The house really was huge. It felt like he was going in circles, though finally he saw light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak.

-

The door he found lead onto the back porch. Eian breathed in the fresh scent of the air, at least in a sense he did. Everything looked so beautiful. How could the world hate them so much? Just look at how they lived?

Eian wondered into the yard, following a dirt path, until he came to a fountain hidden by trees. There was a man sitting at the fountain. All Eian could see was the back of his head. Dark brown hair... Eain tried to remember who this person was, though when the other turned his head toward Eian, Eian realized it was Syder.

“Hi,” Eian said awkwardly. “I found my way outside.”

Syder cracked a smile. “So I see. How was the journey?”

“Long and boring,” Eian said. He walked over to Syder, sitting down beside him on the edge of the fountain. “Syder do you remember how you died?”

With a frown, Syder glanced at Eian. It wasn't healthy stressing over things nobody could change. “I do remember. Not many Shadows remember their death. I expect I remember because of my ability. I just know things I have no business knowing, and some of them are things I never want to know in the first place. It's a burden to know so much.”

“Is it wrong to ask how someone died then?” Eian asked softly. He carefully pulled his knees to his chest, equivalencing on the edge. Syder hoped he didn't fall into the water.

“Curiosity did kill the cat, but we're already dead,” Syder replied. “That's one thing every one of us has to come to terms with.” He glanced up at the sky, barely seeing it through the tree tops. “I'll tell you.”

His interest sparked, Eian shot a glance at Syder, “You will?”

“Because sometimes burdens can be eased by sharing them, though do you want to share it with me?” Syder asked.

“Sure,” Eian answered. How hard could it be hearing about his death?

“I was thirty when I died.” Syder shut his eyes as he remembered. It was all like it had happened yesterday. “I'd been happily married, though not really in love. That's complicated and not part of this story,” Syder said, shaking his head. “Back on point, my death was simple. I was hit by a car. After that I remember nothing until I woke up. I was found by Angel and she took me to Cidney, whom I knew already.”

Eian gave Syder a shocked look, his eyes nearly reaching his eyebrows. “How could you have know Cidney before?”

“I was sixteen when I met Cidney actually. I had always had second thoughts about Shadows. I didn't like believing what the news always said without having any real proof. One day I literally stumbled upon Cidney and I knew what she was.” Syder grinned, “ and guess what, she didn't eat me or anything. I became a supporter of her “cause”, though at 16, I couldn't do much, but I came around and visited. When I died, Cidney was heart broken, but then Angel found me and brought me home.”

“Wow,” was all Eian could say. “Are there any others like you here?”

“Who knew Shadows before they became one? No, I believe I'm the only one.”

“What about abilities?” Eian asked.

“Quite a few of us have abilities, though there are just as many who don't have any or keep them to their self,” Syder answered. “Like Lana, as you probably guessed she's really young, though she's one of the smartest here. That is her ability. I believe it's her way of adapting. She'll be 4 forever, though her mind has the ability to grow.”

“She scares me to be honest,” Eian confessed.

“Don't be scared of any of us; I'm really careful about who I bring here, Eian. Anyone who would give Shadows a bad name are dealt with.”

Eian shuddered. He supposed those were the ones who were bad before they died.

To change the subject, Eian asked, “how come you got married if you weren't in love?” He winced almost as soon as he asked. Reliving the past before becoming a Shadow had to be one of the hardest things.

“You are a curious one,” Syder said. He didn't seem offended by the question, just thoughtful. It wasn't often that he talked to anyone about personal matters, especially those from his past. “Hynna and I were what you could call high school sweethearts, though in reality we were just very close friends. Best friends even. I loved her of course, but I was never in love with her. Time just continued to pass and I was going nowhere with my life, neither was Hynna.” It did hurt to talk about Hynna, though Syder's face was void of emotions. “We decided to get married, hoping everything would fall into place from there. It didn't, though we were content with how things were.”

“Then you died?” Eian said softly.

“And Hynna left. I never bothered looking for her. That would have been a mistake. To people I used to know I'm dead, gone forever. It should be the same for everyone.” He grimaced. “Those who tried to go back to their family regret it.”

“But couldn't we make them see we're not bad?” Eian asked passionately.

“To your family and friends, probably yes, but to anyone else, no. You can't tell who's a hunter these days. They'd attack first, ask questions later. You see why it would be hard? You couldn't live normally and your family would be burdened with hiding you, and then one day...” Syder trailed off, though Eian didn't need him to finish. Somehow he knew what Syder was thinking.

“They'd die and you'd still be the same age forever,” Eian finished.

“Unless someone puts a stop you and gives you a final death.”

“And how?”

“Head decapitated or destroying our brain is the only way to really kill us. It's only luck that people don't really know that small detail.” Syder rolled his eyes. Shadows were stereotyped like vampires and zombies and everything else that went bump in the night. He could count on one hand how many ways hunters had tried to kill him. Stake through the heart, silver bullets, so-called holy water; the list went on.

“Sick.”

Syder just laughed. “I'm glad you're not freaking out about this. Robert was silent for almost two weeks, and then he shut himself in his room for another two weeks, before he finally joined the land of the unliving. Lana cried forever until her ability kicked in and she could understand everything. Everyone reacts differently. I just knew what I was because of Cidney and the news. Only people who live under rocks know nothing about Shadows.”

“I knew about them... I mean us,” Eian said, “and I believed everything the news said. It's always top news; Shadows did this, Shadows did that, attack on sight, or if you're unable to defend youself, run away. They said Shadows kill for fun, that they need to feed on living beings to survive.”

“All of that is bull. We need nothing to maintain ourselves, especially not human flesh.” Syder stood up, reached a hand down for Eian, and pulled him to his feet. “I don't know how or why we exist. It shouldn't be possible. Is there some higher being playing with our lives, deciding who goes to the beyond and who comes back? Thats the only way to make this make sense.”

Syder pulled Eian's hand gently, “walk with me,” he said, before letting his hand drop. “I have noticed something each Shadow has in common.”

“What?” Eian looked up at Syder.

“Each person wh comes back has lived a hard life before their death or they died in a horrible way.”

“Come again?”

“For example, you were blind, Lana was mute and deaf, I died in a car wreck, Angel was a manic depressive person, and Robert thinks he was killed in a school shooting, though he has no real memory of this, just newspaper clipings of the shooting at the school he taught at.”

“Wow...”

“And everyone else somehow had a bad life. It's the only thing that links everyone together. It's like the Gods are playing with pour souls in order to give them another go.”

“This life is just as hard in ways, isn't it?” Eian pointed out. “We're hunted and killed, hated, and the so-called big shots of this world spreads nasty lies about us so people will think we're nothing but animals. We loose our family as well, plus we'll be tormented, trying to figure out how we died.”

“Yes, that's what I don't get. If we are being given a second chance, then what's the point of making us outcasts?” Syder put a hand on Eian's shoulder to stop him. “We've come to the edge of the property. Nobody is allowed to leave the property without me or Cidney with them. But we do go out, don't worry, we just have to be careful.”

Can I really live this way? Eian asked himself. He supposed he had no choice at this point. He was just thankful their leader was such a gentle person.

“Oh,” Eian had a sudden thought. “Syder do we have to learn how to fight?”

Syder frowned, “Yes. Some of us already know how to fight in various ways. I worked at bookstores before dying, so I had no idea how to defend myself. Cidney taught me a lot. Her body might be nearly 40, but that didn't stop her in life and it won't stop her in her unlife either.”

“Even Lana?” Eian shuddered at the thought. “Does she have to fight?”

A dark look clouded Syder's eyes. “Lana has never witnessed a fight. The child is four years old, and she's only been a Shadow for two years. I believe she knows everything, she just hasn't had to see it herself.”

“She just knows stuff?”

“Yes, do not ask her questions you don't really want answered,” Syder warned.

-

That night Eian learned had to sleep just like everyone else. He figured sleeping was their way of keeping their bodies going forever. Nothing else was doing it. He dreamed of his family. The first part of his dream was of his funeral. He saw his mother crying, his father looking stern, yet there was a broken quality to the way he was holding himself. His brother and sister were fighting tears. They had always been brats toward Eian, though Eian knew all siblings were that way. It was hard realzing he would never see them again, and shocking how much he missed them.

Then his dream had changed. It was the same scene, except the coffin was empty, yet nobody seemed to notice. Eian saw himself standing near the coffin, waving his arms and screaming for his family to see him, though they looked right through him.

With a gasp, Eian set up. He cried, his whole body shaking. If he still had a working heart, Eian was sure he'd be having some sort of heart attack.

Eian barely noticed when someone slipped into the room and crawled into his bed. When he was hugged by small arms, he jumped, looking down at the blond head that was pressing against his chest. Lana...

She looked up at him with sorrowful gray eyes. “Stop crying,” she said in a voice that sounded like a mixture of sweet child-like innocence and a wise mothering tone. “It gets better. It's the first nights that are the worst. Want me to stay with you?” She smiled up at him, the kind understanding in her eyes almost breaking Eian's heart. How had such an innocent girl died?

“Is it okay for you to stay?” Eian asked. In other words would it be frowned upon if she did? She was a child and he was an eighteen year old boy.

“Yes, why do you like little girls or something?” She asked.

“Of course not! How do you know about stuff like that?” Eian asked, feeling ill.

“I don't know,” Lana said, shrugging her shoulders. “Shut your eyes and go back to sleep.”

Again with the mothering tone, Eian thought.

To be continued, obviously!
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