Shadow of Death (SOD)

Chapter 43

"Asher!"

Everybody shouted at the same time as they stared ahead with shocked looks on their faces.

To them, Asher could be seen hovering a few inches above the ground.

A pair of red finger marks had appeared around his neck while the boy looked like someone was choking him.

His hands slammed desperately against the air, trying to get whatever was around his neck off him.

His eyes bulged incredibly wide as he kept tapping at the air, gasping for breath with all his might.

Asher could also sense something holding him in the air.

He couldn’t see it.

But if he could, he would have been seeing a Shadow.

It was a human-shaped Shadow glaring at him with its hollow, obsidian eyes.

It had the appearance of a human being, but without flesh or anything else.

Just a Shadow that was clutching the boy by the neck and refusing to let go for whatever reason.

"Ash—"

Jayden was about to step forward to help his brother.

Asher quickly raised one hand into the air, stopping his brother from moving.

Jayden froze.

Confusion etched across his face as he wondered why he was being stopped from moving.

"Wh—"

Before he could say anything, Asher turned his gaze toward the space in front of him.

He stared at the empty air, but in reality, he was glaring at the Shadow in front of him, which remained invisible to his eyes.

"Da-Da-Dad." Asher managed to breathe out.

His teeth clenched tightly as he tried his best to resist the urge to simply pass out.

His neck was being squeezed, and he could feel himself just moments away from losing his life.

Gasping for air while patting the air repeatedly, Asher clenched his teeth and breathed out again.

"Da-Da-Dad, listen t-to me. It’s-it’s me, your son. Da-Dad, it’s Asher."

"...?!"

The other family members were confused by the boy’s words.

Why was he shouting at empty air and calling it "Dad"?

Was he going crazy already?!

"Asher! What are you saying?!" Jayden shouted.

He was unable to genuinely understand his brother one bit.

What was coming out of his mouth?

But even as he was about to take a step forward, Asher just lifted his hand, forcing Jayden to stop right in his tracks and not move a muscle.

The Shadow glared at Asher.

Its grip continued tightening, refusing to loosen around the boy’s neck.

’Damn. Why isn’t this working? I’m just mere minutes away from meeting my maker. Or can he not hear me?’

"Da-Da—"

A much firmer grip caused the boy to cough out blood and saliva.

His eyes widened in pain as he could feel the oxygen leaving his body with each passing second.

His hands, which had been desperately tapping at the air, slowly loosened and began falling to his sides.

His eyes slowly closed, flickering in and out.

The others saw this.

They were about to lose another member of the family.

"ASHER!" Clara shouted and bolted forward in an attempt to free her son from whatever was holding him in the air.

But the moment she took two steps, unbeknownst to her, the Shadow snapped its head in her direction.

Two seconds away from losing his life, Asher suddenly felt the grip around his neck loosen.

Like a mere ragdoll, he fell from the air.

Thud—!

His body hit the ground loudly.

Clara froze in her tracks on seeing this.

"Huuuuuuu—!"

Asher drew in a sharp breath into his lungs.

"Cough... cough... kuk...."

He began coughing violently.

Specks of blood fell from his mouth, splattering onto the ground.

His eyes became almost bloodshot as another wave of intense headache washed over him.

His hands wrapped around his neck as he desperately dragged air into his lungs, trying to fill them after being deprived of oxygen.

Slowly, he began regaining control of his bodily functions.

’Why-Why did it drop me—’

His gaze suddenly sharpened in horror.

He could sense the Shadow rushing toward his mother with astonishing speed.

Within seconds, it stood directly in front of her.

Clara couldn’t see it, but she could feel a small, uneasy gust of wind hit her directly in the face.

The sensation sent chills running down her spine.

Trickles of sweat began forming across her temples.

"Wha—"

"Don’t move!" Asher shouted toward his mother.

Blood stained his lips as he desperately reached out.

The Shadow stared at her from head to toe.

Its limbs twitched repeatedly the longer it stared at her.

"Dad-Dad, don’t do it. She’s your wife. Please, remember!" Asher pleaded desperately, his hands waving in the air as he tried to get the Shadow’s attention.

But it was all in vain.

It continued staring at Clara for far longer than it should have.

As if it was trying to figure out where it had seen her before.

"Asher, what have you been yapping about? Nothing is here. Who are you talking to?!" Jayden shouted.

The whole situation was beginning to get on his nerves.

First, he had lost his father and almost lost his brother a few minutes later.

Now, it seemed like the situation had affected Asher as well, with the boy beginning to shout at empty air and calling it "Dad."

Shrugging off the boy’s words, the Shadow’s hand shot forward with great speed.

It rapidly approached Clara’s midsection.

Asher couldn’t see it, but his senses were on high alert.

His heart pounded loudly as he could feel that something bad was about to happen.

He was about to scream when—

"J-Jack? Is that you, honey?"

"....?!"

Just an inch away from her midsection, the hand froze.

Clara’s heart thumped rapidly as she stared blankly at the empty space before her.

Usually, Shadows could be seen under light, but the whole house had been shrouded in darkness a few minutes ago.

The power had gone out while they had been mourning.

So right now, the Shadow remained invisible to the human eye.

"Ja-Jack? Are you there?"

The woman’s eyes welled up with tears as she slowly reached out into the air.

And soon, unbeknownst to her, her hand touched the Shadow’s face.

A sense of warmth and pain filled her heart almost instantly.

"I-I-I can feel you. Jack. What happened in there?!"

The Shadow’s body shook violently beneath the hand resting against its face.

Its limbs trembled as if an earthquake was shaking its entire body.

Then, with a silent scream, the Shadow vanished like a puff of smoke.

"...."

Tears flowed down Clara’s face at that exact moment.

Asher’s lips quivered.

’It—He’s gone?’

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