Shadow of Death (SOD)

Chapter 28

"...."

"It’s time for you to leave." The woman uttered coldly.

Asher blinked a few times, then stood up.

Yet, he didn’t move to leave as he looked at the woman.

"What are you?" He asked the question almost casually.

Turning around, she grabbed her cigarette and began striding towards a window.

She puffed the cigarette, then exhaled through her nose while looking outside. She closed her eyes for a few moments.

Breathing out a quiet sigh, she slightly turned her head to the side.

"You need to leave. Your family must be getting worried."

Asher’s gaze sharpened.

His teeth could be heard audibly grinding against each other.

"Like hell I came here to leave?! I want to save my family, so I need you to tell me something tangible. How can we escape this city? How can I take them all away from here?!"

"...."

The sound of crickets chirping outside could be heard.

The woman paused silently.

It first started as a broken, silent chuckle until it became a full-blown maniacal laughter.

"Escape? Escape? Escape?"

She kept repeating the question each time, as if hoping that it would sound less ridiculous with each repetition.

She then turned to look at Asher.

"I suggest you just go home and accept your fate. It’s inevitable. Prepare your mind and family against the threat. Because it’s just in three weeks.

"A lot of citizens and your family will die soon. Be prepared."

Asher’s hands curled into tight fists.

He clenched them so hard that his nails were beginning to dig into his palms.

"How has the city been able to survive without sleep for so long? There must be something we can exploit."

The woman’s cigarette had now shortened in length as she stared at it bitterly.

"The Nightmares differ for each person. Some could face a physical challenge or something terribly crazy. I really don’t know.

"Some could have a phase-by-phase challenge where they could pause and then come back whenever they slept."

She paused once more and took a puff of her cigarette before continuing.

"... While if you are unfortunate, you will be tossed into a not-so-phase-by-phase challenge. And such a challenge claims lives within the first five or ten minutes there."

Asher’s fists loosened in dread as he began thinking about his family.

And each time, he wasn’t seeing a viable way for them to escape.

So did that mean that he would lose all his family in three weeks?

His mum. His father. Elder brother. Little sister and finally, him?

No. He wasn’t going to let this happen.

Clenching his fists once more, his eyes shone with determination as he turned towards the door for a second.

Then he snatched his tray from the sofa and began stomping away.

The woman waved her hand in the air.

"Tell your mum I said; thanks for the meat pies."

Asher didn’t reply as he swung the door open and bolted out, slamming it shut and causing the doorframe to shake for the slightest of seconds.

The woman stared at this, then turned to look at the wall clock.

Turning back to face the window, she could see Asher’s frame heading towards their house.

She inhaled from her cigarette, pouted her mouth in an ’O’, then let out a breath of smoke which came out in an ’O’ shape.

She then let out a small chuckle and sauntered back inside the house.

"Man... you should have taken my warning and gone on time."

....

Asher could be seen standing outside the woman’s house for a moment after slamming the door shut.

He then inhaled and exhaled a few times.

He was attempting to regain his composure.

His excuse for staying out so late wouldn’t work if he was seen furious.

So, after regaining control of his immediate anger, he decided to slow-walk back home so he could release the remaining tension in his body.

Walking forward, he slipped outside through the partly opened gate.

But the moment he stepped out onto the street, he lifted his head with a frown.

There were barely any lights on.

Only a few streetlights were still on.

But even those were flickering in and out, as though someone was playing with the switch.

He took another step.

And now he could feel something.

It felt like someone was standing directly behind him.

Chills—literal chills—crawled up from the back of his legs to the top of his head.

He spun around instantly but couldn’t see anybody standing there.

He breathed a sigh of relief and tried to turn around to continue walking.

Then, from the corner of his eye—

Something passed by with astonishing speed, causing the streetlight to turn off instantly with a few sparks.

’Wha-What’s that? What’s going on here?’

All around him, and even on the streets beyond, he could feel strange presences walking around as though they owned the whole street.

His face was now drenched in cold sweat as he closed his eyes for a moment.

Taking in a deep breath, his eyes snapped back open instantaneously.

"This-This.... This is the same presence I sensed from Nuel. Are they Shadows around me?"

"O-Over here."

The voice crawled into Asher’s ears as though it were standing directly beside him.

Something was flying through the air towards his neck.

He could feel it.

Almost immediately, the boy dove forward, dodging whatever it was by the skin of his teeth.

A line appeared on the ground where he had been standing just moments ago.

Rolling on the ground for a few moments, he shot to his feet.

Something was shooting towards him from the side.

He tried dodging by twirling around.

But at the last second—

"Ackk...."

He stumbled on his feet as something grazed his side, ripping through the fabric of his shirt and drawing crimson droplets.

"Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit."

He grabbed his side, clutched the tray with all his might, and bolted forward—towards his house.

Nobody.

Not a single soul was out on the street, yet he was being attacked.

’Fuck. Why wasn’t I warned?!’

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