Code Luna

The Elites

 

Warning: This is a reader’s copy. I politely ask that you do not plagiarize or share without my permission. Thank you!

Chapter One

 

According to the Law of Orbits, all planets move in elliptical orbits, with the sun at one focus. So then, why does it seem like I’m the sun, and other people are the planets?

It’s only specific people, really. Tall men, dressed in black trench coats or blazers. I see them out of the corner of my eye, even when I’m not looking for them. Skillfully, they are able to blend into the rest of the world, appearing as a normal citizen. There’s just one way I can tell them apart from the rest of society.

They are always staring right at me.

As long as I can remember, they have always been around. I was sixteen when I realized it. At first, I thought they were staring at something behind me, like a sign or storefront.

But, as I continued to see them, I noticed the slight twitching of their heads as their unseen eyes followed me from behind their dark sunglasses. I saw the small shifts in their posture whenever they caught sight of me, and the way they repeatedly seemed to trail me for a few blocks each time I would encounter them.

Sometimes they’d be standing on the other end of a street. Other times, they would be standing in the doorways of coffee shops, or looking down at me from dirty apartment windows.

The Shadow Men, as I liked to call them, didn’t ever try to interact with me. They only observed me from a distance, and they definitely never tried talking to me. One time, I attempted to chase one of the Shadow Men down when I noticed them in a public library a few weeks ago. However, when I began approaching the man, he calmly walked down to the next aisle. When I turned down the same aisle, he was nowhere in sight. It was like he had vaporized, leaving no trace that he was there. I combed the entire building for him, but I came up with nothing. It was as if he were never there.

Though, that wasn’t even the strangest part. After searching for what seemed like hours, I exited the library, and instantly I saw him once again. He was across the street, leaning against a wall and reading a newspaper as if he had always been there, waiting for me patiently as if he were my ride home. When he noticed me staring at him, he gave a little wave with his gloved hand, obviously teasing me. I booked it down the street, never once looking back.

After that, I never tried to confront the Shadow Men again. I’ve kept my distance whenever I’d see them, and have tried not to pay them any attention. But it’s hard to pretend that I don’t feel the familiar prickle on the back of my neck whenever their eyes are on me. It’s hard to ignore the black-clad figure that seems to stand apart from everyone else, but only noticeable to me.

It’s as if they are invisible hunting dogs, and I am the rabbit they are stalking.

I’ve tried telling my parents about it, but my dad simply brushes it off as a prank, and my mother believes it’s from stress. The worst part of the situation is that I can’t prove that the Shadow Men exist because whenever I’m with someone, the Shadow Men seemingly disappear until I’m alone again. If I try taking a picture of them, they’ll duck into alleyways or into shops before I can. They don’t seem to exist to other people except for me.

The dreams are the worst part of the experience. Their faceless forms are always chasing me, their hands reaching out. It always ends the same, with me waking up in a cold sweat.

Which is why I find myself collapsing on a mahogany table inside the formal restaurant that I work at. The last few people from dinner had left, and it was time to close up, but I had absolutely no energy at that point. I let out an audible groan, my head resting on my crossed arms. The flickering candles and the soft ticking of the decorative clocks was enough of a lullaby to nearly lull to sleep.

“Hey, Code?” I opened my eyes to find my coworker, a college student named Ishmael, standing over the table I was resting on, a bottle of cleaner in one hand, and a roll of paper towels in the other. His eyebrows were raised in playful teasing.

Propping myself up on my elbow, I let out a small yawn.

“Hmm?”

Ishmael rolled his eyes and smiled down at me, waving the cleaner in my face, the blue liquid sloshing around in the bottle.

“You’re supposed to clean the tables, not sleep on them.”

“I was getting to it,” I protested, swatting his hand away and flashing him a grin. “The dinner shift was worse than usual tonight.” I stood up, stretched, snatched the cleaning supplies from him, and started the nightly chore of locking up.

I attacked the coffee stains violently with the cleaner, scrubbing the wooden tables until my hands stung, while Ishmael looked on from a distance, the old broom hanging loosely in his hand. The biting feeling of being watched was something that I was slowly getting used to, so I ignored him, and just concentrated on the warped, rainbow lights that sparkled off the wine glasses I was picking up.

The hour ticked on, the heavy silence in the air adding to the uncomfortable hotness. Most nights Ishmel and I would be sword-fighting with the brooms from the back closet, or shaking the dust from our rags onto each other for a cheap laugh.

But not tonight.

Glaring at the table I was working on, I shook my head to clear my mind, wishing that the wood would just shine already.

Out of nowhere, a hand grabbed my wrist, and I jumped back, spraying a mist of chemicals into the air as my hand involuntarily squeezed the pump on the bottle. Whipping around, I met the emerald-eyes of my co-worker.

“What was that for!?” I yelled as Ishmael stepped back.

“Sorry, sorry” he said, throwing his hands up as if he were surrendering “I didn’t mean to startle you.” He rubbed the back of his head, ruffling his curly hair.

After a second of awkward silence, Ishmael reached out and gently took the cleaning supplies from my hands.“Why don’t you go home early,” he said. It wasn’t a question; more like a soft demand.

“I couldn’t do that,” I protested, trying to grab the supplies from his hands. “Then you’d have to do all the work.”

“I’m fine with that,” Ishmael replied, pulling away. “Besides, whatever I don’t finish tonight, I’ll let the guys in the morning finish up.” He stuck his tongue out and winked as if to say everything would be fine. “Back to my original point, you should go home. You seem more tired than usual. Go home and try to get some sleep. With the way you’ve been acting, people might think you’re drunk.”

I snorted. “Was it really that obvious?”

“Dude, I’ve never seen anyone more exhausted than you. And my mother has four kids at home, so that’s saying a lot.”

Reaching back I untied the dangling straps of my apron, looking out one of the big windows at the city glowing with light and colors. Slipping my apron on the rusted nail, I grabbed my backpack and slung it over my shoulder, quickly adjusting to the familiar weight.. “I owe ya one,” I called, grasping the brass knob, the faux oak door hanging open..

“No need,” Ishmael called back, giving me a little wave as the door swung shut, the quiet tinkle from the bell overhead muffled by the sounds of the city at night.

I shivered in the cool air, the smell of caramel coffee beans replaced by a mix of ozone, petrichor, and the salty smell of the ocean. My shoes slapped the pavement, wet with fresh rain, adding to the electric orchestra of the city.

Pulling out my headphones, I plugged them into my Entertainer8 and clicked on my playlist. If I wanted to, I could have taken the subway, but the walk to my apartment was breathtaking at night. Besides, I had a feeling that if I sat down at any point, I’d probably end up falling asleep.

I sighed the salty air of the sea, stinging my taste buds. When I was younger I would wish that my family could have those moments of serenity but now that I’m older I know that wishing will never work.

Walking along the wet street, I watch the buildings get taller and taller. Though they were not the towering skyscrapers from the center of Kor, the buildings that closed in on either side of me were still massive, making me feel caged in, even though the open ocean was a five minute walk away. Height is one of the defining traits of wealth, prosperity, and power.

Half of the windows in the apartments were dark, giving off the feeling of an abandoned and lonely house. The other half were lit with bright lights, people either staying up late for work, or for cozy, family game nights.

I sighed through my nose, wishing that my family nights were like that — if we ever had a family night.

A new sound was suddenly added to the normal cacophony of the Kor. The sound of footsteps clicking against the pavement behind me.

My hair stood on end, and I felt the familiar prickle of someone watching me. My hair stood on end, and I felt the familiar prickle of someone watching me. I quickened my pace and didn’t turn around. “Come on,” I muttered. “Why tonight of all nights?”

The sound of footsteps grew faster as well, as the person behind me began to speed up. I clutched the straps of my backpack tightly as a hot flare of anger sparked inside me. I sharply turned around, eyes like lasers, scanning for the man. It took me a second to notice him. He was standing, fully illuminated under a streetlight, his appearance like a shadow at dusk, tall and unnatural.

I took a step back, before calling out. “Who are you?”

As expected, the man said nothing. He simply stood there, unmoving. With a disdainful glare, I turned around and started walking away. It didn’t take long before the footsteps behind me started up again, but I ignored them, knowing I was going to waste my time trying to talk to one of the Shadow Men.

Trying my best to shake off the fear, I turned down a familiar street, entering the grounds for Paradise Apartments. The apartment, lit with large, glistening, white, bulbs stood high and mighty. I looked up to my bedroom window at the top floor, feeling a lot safer knowing I would soon be behind a locked door.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed my wrist. My blood turned cold and I felt a tremor run through my body. An invisible hand seemed to grab my throat, choking me, and making me unable to speak. Someone’s hot breath flew down my neck, and I swallowed.

“Excuse me, sorry to bother you, but you dropped this.” The voice was stunningly young, and surprisingly not full of some sort of evil intent. I turned to find a man holding my wallet in his hand. It wasn’t the same person I saw before, and definitely not another Shadow Man. In fact, he didn’t seem to be a man at all. Only a few years older than me, around nineteen or twenty, he smiled kindly at me with a nice, but intelligent face. His red hair shone underneath the hat he wore, making it glow in the dim light like coals in a fireplace.

“Thank you,” I replied, taking my wallet and smiling back.

“It’s okay,” the guy said. “There aren’t many honest people in the world. I’m just glad that I found it, and not some person who’d keep it for themselves.”

I appreciate it!” I said, smiling up at the guy. I started opening the glass door to the lobby, before looking back. The guy had already walked halfway down the street, tapping his cane on the pavement before turning the corner into some sort of alleyway. I grinned again and was just about to go inside before I noticed a figure standing at the edge of the neatly trimmed lawn. I recognized him as the one who had followed me home. My hands clenched into fists, and I shouted across the lawn, “Last chance to say something.”

Silence.

Slamming the door open and stepping into the warm threshold I nod to the doorman, the door closing behind me. Nodding back the doorman, Henry, as I’ve often heard him called, turned back to this disheveled looking woman.

“I’ll tell you once again, I can not send you up there without a valid ID or the owners of the room approving you,” he said, his monotone voice hanging in the air.

“I told you!” the woman barked with a shrill voice “I need to go up there! They said-” But before she could continue the doorman turned back to me.

“Oh, hello there, Code,” he greeted with a yawn. “Your parents are expecting you.” He pushed a few buttons on his keyboard, and elevator doors opened behind me.

“Oh, so he gets to go up,” the lady scowled.

“He’s approved.”

“I gotta talk to your manager!”

Their conversation continued, muffled by the closed elevator doors. I punched the button for the penthouse, before placing my thumb on a circular sensor. After a few moments, the sensor turned green, and the elevator started rising. Humming along to the annoying, but strangely catchy elevator tunes, I thought back to the encounter with the Shadow Man. What scared me the most was that these “visits” had been getting a lot more frequent. There was nothing I could do; my father already thought I should be on medication for making this whole thing up.

I pulled out my wallet to take out my keycard, before realizing that it was lighter than what it had been when I left work. Opening it, I found most of my money gone.

Great, that red-head street punk just robbed me. Can this day get any worse?

A loud ding echoed through the empty compartment, and the doors slid open leading into a short, narrow hallway, a single door a few feet in front of me. I swiped the keycard— which luckily wasn’t stolen — and with an electronic hiss and slow click, the door swung open. I entered quickly, and quietly closed the door.

The dim turquoise lights of the holographic table illuminated the otherwise dark room. As my eyes adjusted, I could make out the sleeping form of my mother on the couch. I sighed and smiled. She always did this; she tried to stay up and wait for me to get home, but ended up falling asleep once again.

I kissed my fingers and placed them gently across her forehead, before backing out of the room quietly.

The faint clicking of a keyboard snapped me out of my thoughts. Glancing down the hallway cold light forced itself through a door cracked open a bit. Heart slamming against my ribcage, I creeped past the office, holding my mouth.

Pressing my fingers to my cold bedroom door, I slowly turned it, a quiet click whispering into the silence. A small sigh escaped out of me as I pressed the door open, my room staring back at me. Letting go of the doorknob, a sudden, horrifyingly loud click reverberated around the small space.

The clicking of the keyboard stopped dead, the office chair squeaking sharply as my father listened. Gripping my mouth and nose, I stood frozen, staring at the light from the door. After a minute or two the keyboard started up again. I tiptoed into my room, slowly and quietly closing the door, being sure this time to carefully twist the doorknob shut.

Flicking on the lights, I sighed as I looked around my messy bedroom. In my rush to get to work today, I’d flung clothes all over the room. On my desk, my laptop was still on, buzzing softly, scattered pens and pencils encircling it.

Though my brain yelled at me to pick up the mess, I instead drifted into the connected bathroom, kicking the door shut.

The fluorescent lights of the bathroom cast a white glow over every surface, bathing objects in a holy light. I turned on the sink, letting the water run down the drain, the bubbling noise distracting me from my thoughts. Looking up at myself  I examined the dark circles forming under my eyes before trailing them down to my neck.

Dark lines barely show along my neck, hidden by my shirt. I reached up and pulled the cotton fabric away from my skin, revealing it fully. Inky lines of varying sizes mark my pale skin in some sort of pattern or code.

It was still there.

Rubbing at them again, I couldn’t help but notice a few scratchy marks below it, letters or numbers, or maybe more lines, who knows. Leaning down into the sink I cupped the cold water in my hands quickly splashing it into my face.

Another wave of exhaustion rolled over me, and I collapsed on my bed without a second thought, not bothering to change my clothes. It started to rain again, and I could see the drops streak against my window, as if someone in the dark clouds were crying.

Letting the soft pitter-patter of rain lull me to sleep, I closed my eyes.

It wasn’t surprising that once again I had a nightmare about the Shadow Men.

Chapter Two

 

“New America is the true world. United we stand and united we shall be. No one is unhappy in New America. Only in New America can we truly live. This I pledge, amen.”

We stood for a second with our hands over our hearts, before the professor gestured for us to sit down. Obediently, we complied with his wishes, and as we sat down, a light chatter rippled through the students.

“Quiet while you take your seats!” the professor shouted, earning many nasty looks from the students.

“Stick in the mud,” I heard one of the girls mutter as she shifted toward the front.

The professor was a young man with a snobby look permanently etched on his face. Everyday he would start class by lecturing us on our performance level following the pledge. Though we were the best of the best, he still felt as if we could do more. As if there’s a level after “the best.”

Taking out my E-Reader, I pulled up my notes from the previous lesson, knowing that the professor would probably quiz us on what we learned.

It turns out, I was wrong.

“Today, we have a special visitor.” The professor clapped his hands twice and the windows went dark as its glass tinted. Pressing a little button on a handheld remote control, a person suddenly materialized in the room.

Well, let me rephrase that. A hologram of a person generated in the room, so realistic that you could almost believe it was real, if it weren’t for the faint shimmering of the skin, or the occasional flicker. As his facial features solidified, I recognized the familiar long, black hair, and instantly knew who this was.

“Hey, Code.” A whisper caught my attention. Turning, I was met with round, caramel-colored eyes, sparkling with a mischievous glint. Julius, my quirky and ambitious friend ever since we’d met five years ago, leaned on his desk, arms crossed in front of him.

“What?” I whispered back.

“Are you free tomorrow? I’m planning on sluffing school and going to Section Two. Wanna come with?”

“Are you crazy!?” I whisper-yelled at him, while he smiled, a familiar wild glint in his eyes.

“Aren’t we all?” he countered, his cunning nature barely hidden in his wide eyes. “Come on, I invited Debi.”

Glaring back at him I opened my mouth to say something before snapping it shut, grinding my teeth. “She wouldn’t,” I hissed, watching his smile widen.

“You’d be surprised what that girl can do.”

Our professor cleared his throat, staring daggers at us. “Sorry sir,” I said, my back stiffening to fix my posture.

“I’ll talk to you after class,” Julius whispered before the presentation started.

“Hello students,” the hologram said. Wherever this hologram was being generated, there was a real person on the other side, so it was only polite for us to reply back.

“I have a bit of an exciting presentation. You are all aware of Elite-Live, correct?”

Who wouldn’t be? I thought. Supposedly to be the most immersive and interactive video game of all time, Elite-Live was all over the news as soon as the government announced its release date. But why would this be a relevant topic for school?

“Before anything else, I should probably introduce myself. My name is Hamilton Dark, and I am the creator of Elite-Live.” The hologram of Hamilton Dark paused as the rest of my classmates gasped in shocked awe. I leaned forward, interested in what this man had to say. While it was fun to see him in a holographic form, it was even better to see him face to face. True, not many people can say they’ve met him in real life, but I can. Once, he showed up at the Paradise Apartments for my father. It was short, but naturally, my father introduced me to him.

It was a cold, autumn day when he stopped by to talk to my father, his long dark hair brushed away from his face and tied up. My father, being the man he is, invited him in for a cup of tea and sometime during their little chat my father got up and grabbed me from my room.

My father clasped my shoulders, gripping them, as if to send the simple message of ‘don’t disappoint me’ and instinctually, my back straightened. I held my head up looking into those almost black eyes of the man in front of me, his soft smiling eyes looking back.

“This is my son,” my father declared, poorly hidden pride dripping from his tongue.

Now that I’m older I know why he introduced us. I was and still am the only Enzume son, the lineage of my fathers line. I remember the warm hand of Hamilton Dark as we shook hands and his brief goodbye to me and my father.

I wonder if he still remembers me?

“As you all know, the government is funding this project,” the hologram continued. “Therefore, that’s why I am here to talk about it with you today. Elite-Live is scheduled to come out in the next six months, starting on the first day of summer. Inbetween that time, the government will continue to improve its uses. One way of doing that is by bringing in beta-testers to make sure the game works properly.”

A sharp pop came from everyone’s E-Readers. Pressing the notification, I was sent to a long document. Full name, date, height, weight, and other information to fill out continued on for pages and pages.

Then, a new notification popped up. Clicking on it sent me to a long document that looked something like a cross between a medical form and a poll.

“What you have just received is a permission slip. I bring this unique opportunity to you. If you wish . . .” the hologram eyed everyone of us, “. . . you could very well be a beta-tester for Elite-Live yourself.”

The class was stunned into silence, before going into an uproar.

“Is this for real?”

“Seriously?”

“They wouldn’t pull a cheap joke, would they?”

The hologram held up his hands and waited for silence. “There are going to be sixty beta-testers. They will be between the ages twelve to fifty. If you wish to join the lottery, fill out the form with your parent’s help. If you’re lucky, you may very well be an Elite.”

The students whispered excitedly among themselves, before once again being quieted.

“You must fill out this form by Thursday at midnight. Saturday morning, you will be informed whether you have been accepted or denied. Once again, this is a lottery, and only sixty out of the millions of people who live in New America will be chosen. Many of you will be denied. But, I still wish you the best of luck.”

The hologram flickered, then disappeared, and the windows brightened. The professor stood up, dropping the niceties he had with the hologram. “With that exciting piece of news, we will now return to our scheduled lesson. Now, who can tell me who our first Emperor was?”

 

*          *          *

 

After school, I ambled down the increasingly lively sidewalk, slowly making the boring walk to my work. One of the other coworkers had asked if I’d take his shift, and seeing that I didn’t have anything else to do, I accepted.  I didn’t notice Julius walking next to me until he lightly elbowed me in the gut.

“Why couldn’t your coworker take his shift? Why did you take it? We said we’d hang out.” I walked along pretending that I didn’t hear him, ignoring  his loud complaining. “Are you planning on ignoring me the rest of the day?” he asked, a teasing smile on his lips.

I straightened up and looked at him with begrudging amusement. “After you elbowed me? Yeah, probably.”

Julius smirked and patted me on the shoulder. “So, are you thinking of being a beta-tester?”

“I don’t know,” I replied, checking my watch. “Maybe.”

“Maybe? Are you kidding? This has got to be the greatest opportunity of a lifetime. You should be more excited about it.”

“I’m not quite into video games like you are.” Julius looked at me in disgust. I shrugged and faced ahead. “You know my father, he doesn’t like these kinds of things.”

“But what do you want?”

That question made me stop in my tracks, hearing the soft omf of Julius colliding into me, and getting dirty looks from the people behind me. What did I want? I thought. Before I could think on the matter anymore, Julius threw his arm around my shoulder, propelling me forward.

“The form isn’t due until Thursday, so that can give you some time to think it over.” He winked at me, a grin forming across his face. “Back to the conversation we were having before we were so rudely interrupted by our professor.”

I smirked. “Technically you interrupted him.”

“True, but you engaged in the conversation.”

“Shut up,” I said playfully.

“Anyway, so, do you wanna come to Section Two with Debi and I on Friday?”

“During school?” I asked incredulously, pushing him off of me. “No way.”

“Aw, come on,” Julius joked, giving me a little shove in return. “What’s the harm of missing school for one day?”

“Well, for one thing my father will never let me hear the end of it.”

“Again with your father,” Julius muttered. “He’s really never at home. How’s he going to know?”

“My attendance record,” I said, matter-of-factly.

Julius eyed me, annoyed at how accurately I can pinpoint the problems with his plan. “You really are a killjoy, aren’t ya?”

“Oh,” I raised an eyebrow at him. “Well at least I’m not threatened by expulsion everyday.”

His expression turned dark. “Those lousy teachers don’t ever actually teach us anything,” he muttered. “And it’s not as if my parents care. They never liked me anyway.”

I slowed my pacing down, biting my lip in concern. I had no authority to say anything; it’s not as if I could help out with his family life. Julius Underwood’s father, Atticus Underwood, is the supreme military leader of New America and he overlooks all of New America’s military. I’ve only met Commander Underwood once, but from what I could tell, he was the polar opposite of Julius.

We walked the rest of the way in silence. It was only when Julius stopped that I realized that we were standing outside my work.

“Welp, here we are,” he said. “The Champagne Door, home of the world’s richest fat people who eat here because they have nothing else to do with their money.”

I stared at him, appalled and slightly bemused. The old Julius was back. “You can’t say that here,” I whispered fiercely, despite a slight smile forcing its way on my face, regardless of my attempts to stop it.

“But it’s true,” Julius said, hands up in the air defensively.

I shushed him frantically, a red blush starting to creep its way up my cheeks.

“Don’t let my boss hear you say things like that. He’ll fire me on the spot!”

“No, he won’t,” Julius said, wagging a finger in my face. “Not the advisor’s son. Now me on the other hand . . .”

“You don’t work here!” I explained, exasperated. I rubbed my eyes, then placed a hand on his shoulder. “Listen, you’re my friend here, but at this moment, I need to walk away.”

Julius raised his eyebrows, grinning at me. “Okay,” he said, an impish look on his face.

He definitely had something up his sleeve.

I didn’t question it, and just waved goodbye, exhaling long and hard once the employee’s entrance door slammed shut.

“What happened to you?” Ishmael stood in front of me, his arms folded and head cocked to one side, eyeing my ragged expression.

“Don’t question it,” I said, roughly grabbing my uniform and heading into the bathroom.

After I had changed, I entered the office and logged in. On the login-screen, it showed that my assignment for today was waitering.

Great.

“Waitering, huh?” Ishmael said, coming up next to me and looking over my shoulder. “Be thankful that you don’t have the dinner shift like last night.”

“Yeah, I-”

Suddenly, through the sliding glass door, I saw a familiar face at one of the tables. Julius was reading the menu, his school bag beside him, still in uniform. All of a sudden, he turned towards the kitchen and saw me staring dumbfounded at him. He brushed his hair back and waved at me tauntingly.

My eye twitched, and I snatched the apron Ishmael held out for me and stuffed it over my head.

“What’s going on with you?” Ishmael asked, more forcefully.

I didn’t look at him, and instead slugged to the lobby door. I grabbed on the handle, opened it, then turned towards Ishmael.

“I’m preparing to die,” I announced numbly, leaving him standing there, absolutely confused and mortified.

In a grimly saunter, I stood by Julius’ table, a fake smile plastered onto my face. “Good afternoon,” I said, my voice dripping like syrup onto sarcasm pancakes. “Are you ready to order?”

“I believe so,” Julius said, imitating my formal tone. “But first, may I ask what the soup specials of today are.”

“Today’s specials are the Mushroom Beef or Clam Chowder.”

“Very well, thank you,” Julius replied haughty. “I’ll have the Mushroom Beef with the Cheese and Fruit plate as the appetizer.”

“Anything to drink?” I asked, trying extremely hard not to say the other words at the back of my throat.

“Ah, the raspberry lemonade,” he requested, then made a shooing gesture with his hand. I stomped into the kitchen, dropping my formalities almost instantly.

A burst of hot steam hit my face, salty green smells assaulting my nose. I went over to one of the large kiosks by the wall and began imputing Julius’ order into the waiting list. Looking over the requested order, I was almost tempted to input something completely different from what he asked for, but refrained from it.

“Code!” I jumped as one of the cooks called out for me.

“What?” I groaned, irritated.

“Order complete for table twelve,” he shouted. “Stop zoning out and do your job!”

Once again, I had to swallow the words forming at the back of my throat and instead put on another plastic smile. “Okay!”

I took the large carrying plate holding only a single flat white coffee and three buttered croissants on one hand, and went back out to the main dining room. It was quiet out there, like the calm before the storm of rush hour. Only a few people sat scattered across the room. I made my way past tables covered with linen tablecloths topped with glass vases filled with pink and white roses.

There was a single group of old women talking and laughing over black teas and lemon pie. Two business men sat at different tables, sipping tall glasses of red and white wine. Then there was Julius, who was watching me, amused knowing that he was making me sullen and that I couldn’t do a thing about it.

And then where was the man sitting at table twelve, hidden all the way in the back corner, the perfect spot to be hidden in plain sight.

Two things happened at once: the man looked up as I was approaching, drumming his fingers on the table; and a shock wave passed through me as I recognized the man. The restaurant faded away into the background, like TV static, and the person sitting in front of me was the only working station.

We stared at each other for a second, each one equally surprised, before I sank to my knees, the coffee cup and croissants crashing to the floor. There was a yell from across the room, but my vision blurred as a trainwreck of thoughts flooded my head.

I jumped when a hand grabbed my shoulder and I scooted away, only to see it was Julius, concern reading on his face like a map.

“Code?” His voice seemed far away, as if he were talking to me through a radio. “Are you okay?”

I turned back to the man to find him gone, as if he were never there. The table looked untouched, the only evidence of his existence was the chair, which had been knocked over in his haste to get out the door.

“Code!” Julius’ voice brought me back to my senses. A sharp stinging pain arced across my palm, blood dripping from the cuts caused by broken glass. I winced, cradling my injured hand, which Julius noticed.

At this point, people were staring at us, whispering among themselves. Julius, unsure what to do, helped me up, then addressed the room. “Just a dizzy spell is all, no need for panic.” Most people turned away with disapproving looks on their faces, as if they were scolding us for ruining their entire night.

“We should fix you up,” Julius said as he gently examined my bleeding hand. “These cuts don’t look too deep, but we should still check it out.” I didn’t say anything, and allowed Julius to lead me into the backrooms, where the first-aid station was.

Halfway through, we bumped into Ishmael, who nearly dropped the tray of wine glasses he was carrying. “What happened?” he asked.

“Nothing,” Julius hurriedly replied, brushing him off, and for the second time that night, we left him standing there, utterly confused.

He dragged me to one of the backrooms, the door slamming behind us. The dusty air hit me sending me into a mini coughing fit. Julius snatched up one of the little medkits from one of the shelves, forcing the plastic box open.

“I think it’s time that you tell me what happened,” Julius said, his playful demeanor replaced by a cold and serious one. Gripping my hand in his own he took one of the cotton swabs and dabbed some hydrogen peroxide onto the small cut, holding me still despite my efforts to pull my hand away.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” I replied sharply, wincing as he dabbed more on.

“Isn’t there?” he asked, wrapping bandages around my hand, the porous brownish yellow cloth hugging the contours of my hand. “When you saw that man, you turned white. And then you collapse to the floor as if he was your worst fear. Why did you react like that?”

I bit my bottom lip, debating whether I should confess. Suddenly, Julius grabbed my shoulders, his eyes pleading with me. “Code, I feel like you’re keeping something from me. You’ve been acting strange lately. I won’t make fun of you. I just want to help. So please, talk to me.”

I recoiled from the sudden outburst, keeping my eyes trained to the floor. “There’s nothing to talk about,” I repeated. The injured look on his face made my heart sink.

“Fine,” he said, standing up. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then.” He started opening the door before my hand reached out and grabbed his.

He turned sharply, looking down at me a few stray tears still gliding down his cheeks. “What?”

Glaring down at the floor a few tears of my own start forming. It took me a few moments to get the right words, but they began spilling out of my mouth a tangle of sentences mashed together in panic.

“I think I’m being followed,” I said quickly.

That got his attention. He let the door shut and turned back to me slowly. “What?”

Regretting my decision already, I didn’t face him. It took me a few moments to get the right words, but they began spilling out of my mouth a tangle of sentences mashed together in panic.

“It was a Shadow Man,” I whispered, turning back to Julius. “He’s been following me, along with others. He followed me home from work last night.”

Julius’ eyes widened. “I don’t understand,” he said. “What do you mean by Shadow Man?”

“A nickname,” I explained. “They are always dressed in black, and they always tail me, like a shadow. They’ve been following me for the past six months now, but as I think about it, they’ve been around my entire life, but no one believes me because the Shadow Men always look like normal people. And the worst part is, I don’t know why they’re tailing me!”

Holding my breath, I stared at Julius waiting for him to tell me I’m mental or belong in a hospital. Instead of the usual laughter and dismissive comment, he clenched his hands, face solemn. “I believe you,” he said. “Because I’ve seen them too.”

Now it was my turn to act confused. “Excuse me?”

“They haven’t been following me like you, but I’ve seen some pretty shady guys hanging around lately. They match the description that you gave me. So, there’s no reason for me to think you’re making this up.”

I searched his face for any sign of a practical joke, but currently, he was as serious as a soldier going into war.

“Where have you seen them?” I asked.

“Just around the city,” Julius replied. “They’re not easy to spot, but when I think about it, I’ve seen them sitting on benches, or standing at corners as I walk out of school. Sometimes they’re just standing around in an odd place. The ‘Shadow Men’ as you call them, blend in like normal civilians, but if you take a close look at them, you can tell by their stance or posture that they mean business.”

“What am I supposed to do?” Wrapping my arms around my chest, I bent over as a rupturing anguish bubbled up in my heart. “My parents don’t believe me, and it’s not as if I have the courage to approach one. You saw what happened out there . . . those men scare the living daylights out of me.”

Julius listened quietly, eyes tight with emotion, a waterfall of words stuck in his throat. He kneeled down and put his arm on my shoulder.

“It’s going to be okay,” he soothed. “Just calm down so we can talk about this.”

I took a couple of deep breaths and looked up into Julius’ kind eyes.

“Good,” he said, as helped me up. He led me to the swivel chair in the office and sat me down. “Now, how long has it been since they’ve been following you?”

“Well, I’ve seen them around my whole life,” I said. “But, since the past month, they’ve really been noticeable.”

“Do you have any notion why they may be tailing you?” Julius asked.

“No, I don’t,” I replied, looking down at the floor. “But, I feel like it might be because of . . .” I trailed off, my voice becoming a whisper.

“Because of what?” Julius asked.

“Nothing,” I replied, a little too quickly. I rubbed the side of my neck. “It’s fine; don’t worry about it.”

“Code.” Julius’ voice snapped at me, just like a drill sergeant. “If you have any, any idea why they might be following you, tell me.” His eyes softened. “You can trust me.”

I keep my gaze trained to the floor as I sign. Slowly, my fingers tugged down the edge of my shirt until my neck was exposed. There, on the side of my neck were two inky-black characters, X0. Underneath was a barcode.

“This appeared the day I turned sixteen,” I said softly as Julius stared at it. “I don’t know where it came from or how I got it. All I know is that I went to bed and on my birthday, it appeared. The next thing I know, the Shadow People are following me.”

“May I see it?” Julius asked, reaching out his hand. I nodded and he leaned down next to me, examining the mark. After a moment, he asked, “Do your parents know about this?”

I gave a slight laugh. “No,” I said. “It’s not exactly something I want people to see.” I muttered feeling the tension grow along my brow.

“Hey” he said, a soft smile on his face “I’ll be okay!” Looking back at him, I couldn’t help but smile myself.

“Yeah!”

“Umm, you two,” Ishmael said, making me jump out of my skin. He looked between me and Julius “Look boss says if you’re done here, that you need to get back to work,” he said pointing at me “and you need to get out of the employees only zone” directing his finger to Julius before turning to go.

“Right. Sorry, I’ll be out as soon as possible!” I called, watching the door swing shut. The two of us sighed, my eyes trained to the floor.

“Do you think I’m going mental?” I asked, slowly.

“Well, if you’re going mental then so am I,” Julius said, bumping my shoulder before extending his hand down to me “We’ll figure this out together,” he said. “Even if it’s just the two of us. Now let’s get you back to work!”

 

~

 

Hey everyone! This is Oria Nightshade, a.k.a Alora.

 

It’s been a while since I’ve been on here, and I’m grateful to be back on. A lot has happened since the last time something of mine was posted.

I won an essay contest, got free Hamilton tickets, and got to go to a reception dinner with my state’s governor, and so that took a good chunk of time.

 

This is a new book that I’m writing. As I’m going to possibly be publishing this book later in life, this will not be updated, as this will only be an excerpt. I’d greatly appreciate your feedback. I entered the full book into a contest, so wish me luck as well.

 

Thank you!

 

~Oria Nightshade

From Somewhere in America