{Shadow's Nightmares}

A flash of lightning and the crackling of thunder sends chills down Alice's back, as she holds Shadow's hand leading her through the forest. The rain pouring down on them soaks through their clothes sinking past the fabric onto their skin. Causing both of them to shiver and cough, as the storm above them releases all its fury in claps of thunder and piercing purple lightning that streaks across the sky. When the wind blows, the water from the rain splashes into their eyes, causing them both to stop and wipe the rain from their sensitive eyes.

Screams of unseen creatures around them echo through the dead trees as the wind carries them in many directions, never giving away where the screams originated from within the blackness of the forest. Each scream is followed by a loud clap of thunder, that almost causes the earth to shake beneath Shadow's feet. Then a flash of lightning, that illuminates the forest just long enough for Alice to see a few feet ahead of them, before casting them back into the darkness again. It is at that moment that Shadow realizes that she can't bare the thought of being in this haunting forest alone.

Alice pushes branches, and thorns, holding them back as she helps Shadow step over them, the water swooshing in Shadow's boots cause them to squeak with every step she takes. Alice holds her hand tightly, as she pulls her through the dead forest whose branches seem to cast eerie shadows around them, as the canopy above opens up to be swallowed by the blackness of the night sky.

"Are we friends?" Shadow asks, tightening her grip on Alice's hand afraid of letting go fearing the dark shadows in the forest might swallow her up. The thought of Alice being gone scares her so much because she couldn't stand to be forced to walk through this eerie place all by herself. She doesn't want to lose the girl who is pulling her along as she stares up ahead at her wet silver hair that curls when wet.

"I am not sure Shadow. I found you in that awful place back there and I couldn't leave you behind. I suppose that makes us friends. Because I don't want to lose you, you're the only person I have met." Alice answers as she squints her eyes, struggling to see through the downpour of the rain. Her mind still jumbling fragments of sentences around, connecting them to other words that she doesn't know the meaning of, or why she is saying them. She wonders if her mind will ever be clear, of all the mixed up bits of information floating around inside her head. A flash of lightning illuminates the sky for a moment, and Alice can make out the details of a large structure just a little ways ahead of them. She grabs Shadow's hand and quickly runs toward it. Shadow runs quickly runs behind Alice trying to keep up with her.

"Please slow down!" Shadow pleads, almost losing her footing as she holds tightly to Alice's hand. Her short dark hair has water droplets falling onto her dress as she runs. Her dark eyes, struggle to see whatever it was that Alice had seen.

"Just a few more steps, we're almost there. It's okay, we'll be safe soon enough." Alice says, tugging at Shadow's hand as she passes by a dead apple tree, whose branches almost smack her in the face. Both of their feet sinking in the tall grass, that is up to their waist. They both almost trip over the wooden steps leading up onto a deck of an abandoned two-story log cabin. Alice slowly pulls Shadow forward as she presses open a lockless door, and they step into the abandoned log cabin.

Alice shuts the door behind them, as her fingers fumble on the walls for a light switch. Shadow is so relieved to be inside and out of the rain that she just flops down on the floor on her butt, then she removes the drenched boots from her feet and wiggles her small wet toes in her stockings. She sets them down by the door and smiles happily as she continues to wiggle her toes.

Alice finally finds a light switch and flips it up, overhead bright light flickers on. The light comes on brightly, as Shadow covers her eyes she screams thinking it's lightning. But Alice sits down next to her, relieved to see the light overhead still working in the abandoned cabin they sit in. Alice smiles at Shadow as she watches her wiggle her toes, and she then takes off her boots to her eyes never leaving Shadow's small delicate feet.

"Shadow, does it hurt when you do that?"Alice asks her, her eyes wide with curiosity. Shadow looks up at her, and smiles, as she catches sight of Alice's bracelet that bears her name, resembling the bracelet she wears on her wrist.

"No, it doesn't hurt Alice. It feels different, but I am sure you can do it too." Shadow says as she wiggles all ten of her toes all at once. She is more fascinated by Alice's long silver natural hair. She touches her short dark hair, and frowns wondering why her hair isn't as long and as pretty as Alice's.

Alice slowly begins to wiggle her toes and a tingling sensation shoots through her body, as she laughs happily. Alice frowns as her mind tries to piece together certain words, that seem to be floating all around her head in a chaotic mess.

Shadow smiles as she stretches out her legs on the floor as she curiously looks around the room they are sitting in. It's a very spacious room, hardly any furniture at all in the entire room except for a round circular table that the wood was rotting off of, chairs with broken legs, some kitchen appliances a refrigerator, stove, sink, and a broken dishwasher.

The overhead light flickers in and out and Shadow immediately gets to her feet. Alice stands up next to Shadow seeing the light going in and out, she hurriedly runs over to the cabinets over top of the stove and opens them all up. She and Shadow both begin to plunder through the cabinets, almost as if they had the same idea at the same time. Shadow jerks open the drawers below the sink and only to find some old candles that have spider webs on top of their open jars. About the same time, Alice withdraws from one of the drawers some old newspapers and a box of matches.

"Found them!" They both scream happily at the exact same time, then they both stop and look up at each other. Alice's eyes search Shadow's eyes for answers, and Shadow's eyes do the same thing to hers. Alice and Shadow both look away from each other at the same moment all the while putting down the candles and matches next to each other. Alice and Shadow watch each other as their bodies move in sync as Alice strikes the match, as Shadow slides candles across the floor to her. Shadow's right hand sliding the candles, Alice's right hand catching them in her right hand, Shadow handing the box of matches to Alice with her left hand, and Alice lighting each candle with her left hand.

"We are similar, aren't we?" Shadow asks Alice as the light overhead goes out completely, the room now filled with the dancing flames of candles that sat in a large circle around the two of them.

Alice smiles at Shadow, the flames from the candles reflecting in her iridescent purple eyes that seem to glow hauntingly in the light given off by them. Shadow pulls her knees up to her chin, wraps her arms around them and rests her head while her dark hair drapes lightly overtop of her black stockings on her covered kneecaps.

The flickering flames from the candles danced in her dark eyes, as she scoots closer to them feeling the warmth given off by candles through her black stockings, warming her delicate toes. Alice stares at her, and at this moment she is glad that she isn't alone.

"Yes, Shadow I suppose we are similar in a lot more ways than one. Maybe that's why we need each other."Alice answers softly, as she copies Shadow bringing her knees up to her chin as well, resting her head on them as she wraps her arms around her knees while her long silver hair drapes across her covered kneecaps, to the floor, splicing out to silver strands at the end of her hair that reaches just inches from the candles. She notices how the flames dance in Shadow's dark eyes wondering if the flames dance in her own eyes.

Alice gets up away from the circle her long silver hair comes up off the floor and almost brushes its silver tips overtop of the lit candle. Quickly she pulls her hair up away from the candle as she steps away from the circle. Then she begins to straighten her hair out again with her fingertips, as she walks to the end of the kitchen stepping down one step, into the living room. Alice's eyes stare out the shadowed outline of a wobbly coffee table, and a large sofa that has plastic overtop of it. Alice slowly steps over to the sofa tracing her fingertips across the plastic making a crackling sound as she brushes her fingertips from one end of the sofa to the other. Shadow covers her ears as she turns her head to see Alice, her eyes wide with fascination as she stares at the plastic on the sofa.

"I don't like that sound. Do all shiny surfaces on furniture make that sound?"Shadow whines as she turns her head away from Alice's direction, back to the lit candles circling her. Her eyes memorizing the pattern that the flames are dancing in, almost enchanted by the unique rhythm each lit flame has on every candle.

Alice's eyes focus on the faint splashes of print on the sofa, her eyes are squinted and she is leaning in inches away from the fabric, because of the candle light it has made it difficult for her see exactly what print the sofa has on it. The sofa's top plastic overlay doesn't help with Alice's struggle to make out the print as it wrinkles when she touches it. She tries to smooth it out with her hands, but the wrinkles in the plastic soon stretch across the sofa making it look eerie and distorted.

"I don't know Shadow, I think they do. But I am unsure if all sofa's make the same sound as this one." Alice replies, as she sits down on the sofa, the plastic hissing it's disapproval. She lifts her legs up onto it and then stretches them out as far as her legs will let her. She looks up, and see's curtains hanging above the back of the sofa. Alice begins to tug at the curtains playfully, and then all of a sudden the curtain rod crashes down on top her as the curtains fall on her head and cover her face. She screams as she pulls the entangled curtain from her face and her hair. The curtain rod breaks apart and the metal of the curtain rod causes knots to form in her silver hair as it gets entangled in the thickness of her hair.

When Shadow hears Alice scream, she in returns also screams. The shrills from her screams, cause Alice to panic even more as she continues her fight with the curtains wrapped around her that seem to be endless. The breaths escaping from Shadow's mouth cause nearby candles to go out until soon only two candles are lit. Alice finally untangles the mess of the curtains and the curtain rod from her hair, then she throws them on the floor next to the table. She steps back up into the kitchen and walks back over to Shadow, she gives Shadow a quick smile then picks up one of the candles.Then she motions for Shadow to follow her through the narrow door on the opposite side of the kitchen.

"Come on, we should explore the rest of the house. Maybe there are other rooms in here too. Maybe even beds for us to sleep on, and I'm tired. I want to rest on something besides the ground for once." Alice says to her, as she motions for her to follow through the door opening it with one hand and holding the candle with the other. Shadow shakes her head, as she lifts her head from her legs and stretches them across the floor as she crosses her arms over her chest.

"Why can't we just stay in this room? We can leave the candles lit until morning, and then explore the rest of the house then in the daylight. You shouldn't just be rushing off deeper in this place, you don't know what might be hiding or lurking in the other rooms." Shadow whines as she unfolds her arms, and lifts up the small candle bringing it closer to her face to show Alice the concerned look in her eyes and the expression on her face. Her eyes expressed her concern for the uncertainty of what could be hiding in the shadows of this abandoned house they had stumbled into.

Alice sighs, rolling her eyes at the expression on Shadow's face and then twists the doorknob of the door anyway. The door creaks as it opens all the way, revealing a hallway consumed by darkness with no windows to let in any light. The flame from the candle flickers casting light into the darkness, revealing a couple of doors on the right side of the hallway. Alice stretches her arm out with the candle into the hallway.

"Hello! Anyone there?" Alice called out loudly down the hallway from the kitchen. No response yielded from the darkness of the hallway or inside any of the doors. Alice leaves the door open and takes a few steps into the hallway as she holds the candle in front out in front of her to light her way.

"See Shadow? Nothing to worry about, there is no one here besides us." Alice calls out to her once she is in the middle of the hallway, Shadow is staring at her. She is beginning to worry that Alice's curiousness could get her in trouble.

"Be careful Alice! Please, come back in here soon! I don't want to be alone for long." Shadow calls back to Alice, as she watches her descend down the hallway, the small light of the candle appearing farther and farther away as Alice steps deeper into the darkness. Shadow watches as Alice opens a door in the hallway and steps into another room, closing the door behind her. Shadow holds the lit candle closer to her fearing it will go out, and she will be in the overpowering darkness radiating in through the windows from the night sky outside.

Shadow begins to shiver as the shadows from the hallway seem to distort right before her eyes, growing shadow claws that seem to be reaching out toward her. Shadow slowly scoots farther back into the kitchen toward the table as the darkness continues to grow, swallowing up the floor and stretching to the ceiling. She watches as the darkness swallows up the candle in her hands, and she drops it fearing the darkness would swallow her hands up with it. As the candle drops to the floor, the glass shatters and the flame from the candle ignites into a fire consuming the walls of the kitchen surrounding her.

Shadow begins to cough as she watches the flames stretch from the floor to ceiling, and then suddenly out of the darkness of the hallway comes a shadowy figure with piercing red eyes carrying a scythe. She screams as the shadowy figure rushes toward her it's menacing glowing red eyes staring directly into hers. The shadowy figure takes on the outline of a large man taller than she is, his body is consumed with darkness overpowering any skin he might have.

The figure wears a tattered black trench coat, with the hooded part shadowing his face, the scythe's blade drips crimson blood onto the floor as he runs toward her staining the tiles red.