Among the Shadows: Part 1, Chapter 8
I waited, but the punch line never arrived. I didn't know what to think. Maybe he had suffered brain damage. I took another glance at him, seeing his expression stoic. The man was serious. Or crazy. I recalled the famous syllogism: All men are mortal. Socrates is a man. Therefore Socrates is a mortal. Luke's statement implied that he wasn't human. What if he was an alien? Susie would be asking him if he was a vampire right about now. I opened my mouth to ask, but the question sounded far too stupid to voice out loud, so I stopped myself and said nothing. I had no idea how to respond to his statement.
For the remainder of the distance, I held my tongue, and Luke didn't seem to want to talk. We didn't see anyone else on the streets. After we reached my building, we walked upstairs to my apartment suite. Susie should be asleep, so I didn't want to be talking loudly. I raised my index finger to my lips to indicate quiet and waited for Luke's acknowledgement. He nodded, so I unlocked and tentatively opened the door. When Susie's voice didn't confront me, I breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn't waited up for me.
Stepping inside, I pointed at the room that was mine, though Luke didn't make any move to enter without me. Since he was waiting, I quickly took off my shoes and left them in the living room to pick up later. Cautiously closing the door, Luke followed behind me but didn't remove his shoes, which was just as well. If Susie happened across his shoes in the living room, they would be hard to explain.
I led Luke toward the bathroom I shared with Susie, which was located nearest my room. If Susie needed the bathroom and he was still there, she could always go next door. On the way there, I reached through the open doorway to my room, dropping my keys and purse on the desk. I turned on the water for a bath, wondering if he was too large to really get soaked.
"I'm going to get you a towel," I whispered as I left the bathroom.
After a quick search, I found the extra towel in my closet. When I returned, Luke had already stripped, leaving everything in a pile on the floor. He sat awkwardly in the tub, trying to keep his arms and chest in the water, which was easier as the water level rose. He seemed oddly unconcerned about the burns, about his unclothed state, and about sitting in a stranger's bathroom. I placed the towel on the closed toilet lid and shut the door quietly to leave him alone.
In the privacy of my room, I changed into my pajamas, guessing that I could take a shower and brush my teeth after Luke was done. Remembering his state of clothing, I rummaged through my closet and dresser for things that might fit him, settling on sweatpants with a string waist and a T-shirt I never wore since it was too big for me. He couldn't afford to be picky when there were no other options anyway.
I must have dozed off, because I woke up with a jolt when Susie shrieked. Oh, no. She must have woken up early to cram before her final. Ignoring the closed door, Susie barged into my room muttering to herself. "Dude, that was a wake-up call. What happened to Kyle? Oh, but this guy is hot."
I had no clue where to start my explanation. "That's... um, Luke," I replied.
Susie climbed into bed to sit with me. "Wait, what happened with Kyle last night? How come you didn't tell me about Luke? Is this a one-night stand? Why is he in our tub? Luke's really hot. I approve of your choice. Tell me, tell me!" In her excitement, Susie had spewed out all of that in one breath. I stared at her. 'Hot' was not a good choice of words for a homeless burn victim. Sounds from the bathroom indicated he was vacating it, so Susie huddled and clung to me. She grinned practically ear to ear as her other hand tried to restore order to her hair.
In a few moments, Luke appeared in the doorway. Immediately, I could see why Susie had used that particular word to describe him. He met many of her preferences, physically speaking, that is. The man was tall, muscularly lean, and his long hair and unshaven face gave the appearance that he didn't care what he looked like, especially since he stood in the doorway naked with only the towel around his waist. He carried his bundle of clothes and shoes under one arm. Susie stared openly, forgetting about her hair.
"Sorry," Luke apologized, addressing my roommate. "You can have the bathroom now."
I stammered out a brief introduction. Instead of offering his hand, Luke waved awkwardly, and Susie daintily sidestepped around him on her way to the bathroom. He waited until he heard the water running before closing my door. Suddenly, the hysteria hit again, and I found it difficult to breathe. I was alone in a room with a stranger, and he was practically naked. My pepper spray sat in my purse on the desk next to the door where he stood.
Luke dropped the clothes he was holding onto the floor. Calmly, he picked up my purse and walked purposefully over to hand it to me. "I don't mean to frighten you," he said as I accepted the purse with shaking fingers. "But it is the best way I can heal."
Having my purse and thus the pepper spray made me feel better, and I calmed down somewhat. When I looked up at him, I saw his red skin. His skin didn't seem to be in as bad shape as when I met him at the fountain, but it was noticeably different than when Susie had been in the room. I blinked and rubbed my eyes again. People did not heal that quickly, let alone without scarring. Had I somehow imagined his burns worse than they were?
Confused, I asked, "But just now, your skin...?" I didn't finish the sentence, for I couldn't come up with the words. His wounds needed to be bandaged, but I didn't have gauze to offer. The nearby drugstore would have some and wouldn't be too much trouble to run over and fetch, but he didn't ask for any.
"No." Luke shook his head. "I knew she was coming, so I let you both see me that way."
Huh? Tentatively, I tried, "So... it was an illusion?"
Luke nodded carelessly. He spotted the clothes I had left on the chair. "For me?"
"Yes, hopefully they fit," I replied. "Or you'll have to walk around outside with a towel." If he continued to look and dress the way that Susie had seen him, she'd be pleased with that outcome.
I politely turned away while Luke dressed. When he was done, he said, "Our kind heal pretty quickly, but flame is the only weapon that will kill us." Our? That meant there were more... beings like him. I turned to face him. Covered in more solid clothes, he looked almost presentable, although the T-shirt was a bit tight on him.
"Okay, Mr. Vampire. First, who are you really," I demanded. Luke scoffed at the name. I added, "And what you are." Maybe I shouldn't have called him that. It might be rude to address him by the incorrect... race? Species? I sincerely hoped he wasn't a vampire. At least he looked human.
He looked at me plainly before answering. "Shadow," he announced clearly. The word evoked thoughts of school-taught definitions, but none really suggested a race of beings. Let alone a hidden one. "And I didn't lie about my name," he added quietly.
I gave him a look of disbelief. "You really call yourselves that? And let me guess: you're fighting an age-long battle against werewolves and vampires." I hoped he could hear the sarcasm, but the words sounded dumber coming out of my mouth.
Luke clucked his tongue in disapproval. He said, "Don't be stupid. Werewolves and vampires don't exist." Alright, maybe they didn't. Neither of us said anything. As if avoiding looking at me, Luke's gaze wandered over my room. I hoped he wasn't looking for things to steal.
Exhaling slowly, I broke the silence. "Fine, say you are a shadow." I shook my head. "Haven't heard of it."
Smiling slyly, Luke said, "We wouldn't have survived this long if you had." Good point. But if what I say sounds crazy, how can you know it as truth? he had said. I could assume his statements as truth, and see what else followed.
"So, as a shadow, what is a defining characteristic of your kind?" I had to ask.
"We feed and heal off... of the... energy of people." He added, "That includes ourselves."
Uneasy, I swallowed upon hearing that answer. "What... kind of energy?" I asked. "Please don't say 'blood' or 'flesh'." I grimaced. It was not a pleasant thought, especially when I was in such near proximity to this self-proclaimed energy-eater.
The shadow laughed heartily. "No, nothing so gruesome," Luke said reassuringly. Phew. That was a relief to hear. He explained, "We feed off fears that nearby people are currently experiencing." Admittedly, that was different.
I laughed nervously. "No, nothing? Guess laughter doesn't work, huh."
He shrugged, apparently not understanding the reference. Fears. I pondered that word. "We're at a college, so... students are afraid of failing?" I suggested.
Luke nodded. "Exactly." Score.
"And... you can make illusions so arachnophobics will run away screaming?" Or not run away screaming, as the case with Susie and a hunk. I wondered if that was their method of blending in. I wasn't sure whether to believe him or not. Certainly, I had seen his magical non-healing abilities, but it could always be... a trick of the light? These otherworldly things were always swamp gas over the horizon. Or hallucinations. And... Susie had also been hallucinating. At the same time.
"That's probably how we evolved, but we generally don't have to do that anymore. People are scared constantly nowadays, and that's much easier to feed off of than shocks."
I studied his reddened skin again. "What was it you said about fire?"
According to Luke, fire was the easiest way to kill a shadow. While shadows could heal most burns, the hotter and longer the exposure, the more likely the shadow reaches a point his body just disintegrates. Luke explained that is actually how the old witch burnings started, as burning was the proof of a 'demon'. Of course, they never actually burned a shadow. Since a shadow could fake an escape then genuinely escape later, the witch trials had only burned humans.
I had no idea why he was volunteering such details, but I had already seen some 'proof' of the shadow's abilities. I had been quiet while trying to absorb all this information about a clandestine people. Finally, I asked, "So was that fire today someone trying to kill you, or was it an accident?"
Luke didn't answer me. The water turned off because Susie finished her shower. By the way he was acting, I could tell that he would prefer Susie not to learn any of what he had just told me. But I didn't understand how he could expect me not to spread such information. After all, I held no loyalty to him, and Susie was my best friend. Then I realized that Susie was not likely to believe me. No one would. Without Luke performing mind games, there was no proof, as burning him at the stake was not likely.
We listened to Susie finishing up in the bathroom. When her footsteps stopped outside my door without continuing to her own room, I realized she thought Luke was here for naughty reasons. I thought about bouncing on my bed to encourage the squeaky springs, but that was probably inappropriate. I didn't want to give the wrong impression about Luke to Susie, just in case I was wrong about him being harmless. Given what he claimed he could do, he might not be. Suddenly, there was a loud knock at the front door.
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