Shadow Morphs

Sofia strode down the bare, light grey corridor as she read the file in her hands. Staring back at her was the cocky smirk of Fred Andersen’s ID photograph, his eyes lit with mischievousness because he knew no smiles were allowed in the photos, she deduced. She glanced over his features, noting the red-brown hair and rounded jawline covered with a decent layer of scruff. He appeared to her as a typical young male who no doubt would have had a promising future ahead of him, had he not have been afflicted with such an awful power. Sofia paused outside the recently vacated room 24 that now housed Fred and skimmed over the rest of his file. Nothing stood out to her so she handed it to the assistant dressed in a white lab coat that was awaiting her.

They both passed through the door together and closed it behind them. The door slid against the floor, ensuring that no light would escape from around it. Once inside the dimly lit cubicle, the assistant keyed in a code and pressed a button. Beyond the second door, the room that was pitch black instantaneously became lit with pure white light, the sources strategically placed so that the few items inside created no shadow. Sofia and the other woman put on precautionary sunglasses that tightly clung to the sides of their faces before lighting the cubicle that they were in. The assistant then pushed the second door open and approached the man who was bound to the chair, his shoulder supporting his heavy head and his mouth ajar in a relaxed position. Without a word from Sofia, the assistant double-checked the straps that held his ankles and wrists to the metal chair, then removed a container from her lab coat’s pocket. Carefully, the assistant removed the injection and inserted the needle into a vein on Fred’s left arm. By the time she had placed the injection back into its case, Fred was regaining consciousness. He groaned as he rolled his head back to an upright position, the unbearable stiffness in his neck almost making him cry out. His hand automatically willed itself to rise and massage the ache away, but it was unable to shift upwards. Fred looked to his hand and tried to focus in on it, but could only make out his fuzzy hand with a thick black band across his wrist.

“Glasses,” Sofia ordered, knowing that Fred had been completely searched upon his arrival and stripped of everything, including his contacts. The assistant withdrew another case from her pocket, this one housing Fred’s frames. She slipped them on Fred’s face without him struggling, partly because he was still groggy from the drugs and partly because he wanted to see what was going on. Fred finally was able to focus and he instantly felt like retching. He was in the middle of a rather small room that had blank white walls that appeared to be covered in lights, as were the ceiling and the floor. On his wrists were black bands securing him to a chair, and he assumed his feet were tied the same way. After a short wriggle, Fred determined that the chair had been bolted to the floor and that he truly wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. He attempted to call out on the shadow link, but no one replied, proving it was now useless. After the reality sunk in and his last memory returned, he knew he was in the facility where the captured Shadow Morphs were kept. His gaze shifted to the two women who stood before him, dreading the words that might come from their mouths.

“What do you want?” Fred spat as Sofia stepped forwards.

“I’m Agent Sofia Perez, the leader of the Shadow Morph Con-”

“I know who you are. I’ve seen your face all over the news,” Fred interrupted her, taking Sofia by surprise.

“Good. Then you know that you’ve been made,” she remarked with a hint of arrogance. Fred clenched his hands into fists, feeling the sudden need to smack the woman across the face. She was responsible for ruining the lives of Shadow Morphs, now including him. As per usual, Fred’s mind searched out for his shadow’s presence. It was always there to take Fred’s need and morph to help him achieve it, but Fred immediately sensed that it wasn’t there. The lack of his shadow’s company made him anxious as well as lonely, in a way. He hadn’t noticed it was a huge part of him until now; it had simply felt normal to him. Fred cursed the millions of lights in the room as he clicked his stiff neck.

“So what now, then? You gonna torture me? Kill me?” Fred questioned with a scowl. He didn’t care about what was going to happen to him now, as long as his death occurred rather quickly. Ever since he first controlled his shadow and morphed it, Fred had known that the day would come that he would be captured. It was inevitable in his mind, and he had accepted his fate.

“I was hoping we could just talk for now,” Sofia stated, causing Fred to raise his eyebrows. “Fred Andersen, 20, mechanic. Correct?”

“Yeah…” Fred drawled as he stole a look at the other woman in the room. She was patiently standing closer to the door with her clipboard and pen poised, though she wasn’t writing anything.

“Tell me, were you the one who morphed at the World War II museum? The gigantic elk that blocked the main exit?” Sofia asked, noting the brief recognition that crossed the man’s face.

“Man, that was a good night,” Fred answered while bobbing his head. He couldn’t help but grin a little at the memory of Kasey that night; the medium blue shirt that matched her eyes and the way her heels exaggerated her long legs.

“Who was the rhino? A friend of yours, perhaps?”

“You know I’m not going to tell you,” Fred said as he began to wonder why they got protection for their eyes in this bright room and he did not.

“Was it Taylor Roberts?” Sofia questioned carefully, her eyes peeled as she watched his reaction. Fred tensed at the mention of his friend’s name. He had no clue how they would have found her out as well, and he hoped she was safe and not in the room next door.

“Don’t know the name,” Fred attempted to say bravely, gulping when he heard the small wavering of his voice.

“We know she’s a Shadow Morph too. We have a confession. I also know that you two are friends, so stop lying to me,” Sofia commanded. The threat was unsaid but clear to Fred.

“What proof do you have of our friendship?”

“A photo,” she replied after a pause. Sofia knew she was hitting the nail on the head and unnerving Fred. If she could catch another Shadow Morph so soon, she would create a personal record. A beep sounded from Sofia’s waist and she took a step away from Fred to answer her phone.

“Agent Perez, the alarm has been tripped at Miss Roberts’ residence. A team has been dispatched,” another agent’s voice came over the phone.

“I’m on my way,” Sofia said sternly before hanging up. She turned to her assistant. “Brief him. Report back to me when I return.”

“Will do,” the assistant nodded as Sofia rushed out. She followed proper protocol while exiting the containment room, ensuring that not a single shadow could be cast into the brilliantly lit room. No risk could be taken.

The assistant explained how Fred’s life was going to work from now on, stating that he would have daily breaks in the light where he would be untied and allowed to use the toilet behind him and eat a meal. He would initially be supervised when out of his chair, but promised that after he settled into his new routine he would be left alone and the breaks extended, though she made it very clear that sedatives would be used if he rebelled at any time. If he ever needed anything, all he had to do was speak and it would register with the active supervisor.

Fred nodded to show his understanding, anticipating that it wouldn’t be easy to abide by their rules, but he figured he would be able to at least try to earn back some form of freedom. As the assistant gave a fake smile and headed for the door, Fred thought back to all of the fun times he had had, mainly with Evan and the two girls. It had all been worth it. He figured as a ticking time bomb, living in the moment was the only way to live, and he was glad he had stuck to that. The assistant stepped into the cubicle and switched off Fred’s lights, leaving him in complete darkness and silence.



Taylor entered her lounge and squinted, attempting to visualise the room that was now a large mess. Despite feeling upset that her personal belongings had been thrown onto the floor, she was relieved to find that Zeke’s toys and his basket had been removed, presumably by Lauren.

“I shifted it from its frame into my favourite book after Fred was captured,” Taylor muttered as she walked over to the now empty bookshelf, searching the nearby floor area for her novels. Kasey dropped to the ground beside her, hastily tossing aside a cushion from a couch and almost cutting herself on shards of broken pottery that lay beneath. Brett wandered over to the petite dining table and lifted up a rectangular, flimsy piece of paper, looking over it with his worried chocolate eyes. Taylor almost cried out as she found the ripped cover of her favourite novel, and she took it into her arms. She flicked the pages and found page 150, the one that should have contained her treasured photo.

“Uh oh…” Brett spoke softly before turning to face the girls. Kasey looked up immediately, Taylor freezing once she realised the photo had been removed by someone else. Brett turned the paper around to reveal the photograph they were searching for, the dim light from the streetlamps showing a red X covering Fred’s face and a circle around Taylor’s. They all paused, their guts sinking as it dawned on them that Kasey and Evan were now possibly in danger of being caught too. Suddenly an intense white light shone through the lounge window. Brett instantly dropped to the ground so he wasn’t spotted. Doors opened and slammed shut before voices were heard, mainly male.

“They know we’re here!” Taylor hissed as she crawled towards the hallway that lead to the backdoor.

“We’re going to get caught! We need a distraction!” Brett whispered urgently, following her but hesitating as he noticed Kasey hadn’t moved from her spot on the lounge floor. “Kasey?”

“You need a distraction,” she repeated, her dismayed blue eyes glancing at the front door not far behind her. Hearing Kasey’s words made Taylor halt and whip her head around.

“No,” she forbade her friend powerfully. “You can’t…”

“What other choice do we have?” Kasey asked, knowing their time was running out. “Get out of here!” There was a rustling at the door and Kasey tugged off her black beanie, her long straight locks flowing freely around her crouched body. The lights form the vehicle gave her shadow an obvious presence and Kasey didn’t delay connecting her mind to it. Taylor’s tears flowed and Brett grabbed her arm, trying to tug her forwards.

“We need to leave! Now!” he urged, but Taylor refused to take her eyes off her friend.

“Please don’t let them-” Taylor began.

“I won’t,” Kasey shook her head, giving her friend a reassuring smile before her eyes were forced shut by the shadow. The shadow swiftly twisted and moved outwards, creating a lion a split second before the door was thrust open. Kasey shouted with determination to protect her friends and the lion roared so loudly it made the man with the key tremble. She was a mother, protecting her cubs, and nothing would stop her. Brett gave Taylor a final heave and they rose to their feet, running outside and meeting Evan. They jumped the fence, the men helping Taylor over first, before crossing the neighbour’s backyard to get onto another street.

Kasey couldn’t help but grin as she saw the stunned faces of the armoured team that was beyond the door. Despite having been trained for such situations, it still surprised them how realistic the shadow creature seemed, and how obvious the threat of the lion was. Kasey readied herself, unsure of what their first move would be, but remaining on her toes to fight. The need to protect her friends and give them the opportunity to escape was set in her mind, and her shadow wanted to aid her. For once, Kasey willingly handed over control to her shadow, hoping its instinct would be right and she would survive this altercation.

“Freeze! Disperse your shadow or we will fire!” a man near the front shouted, his gun already raised and aimed at the lion. Kasey took a step forward, trying to get outside the flat so she wasn’t cornered with limited options, and the team only followed her motion, very wary of the gigantic paw that was moving closer. As Kasey continued forwards, the corners of her lips turned up because she realised she had called their bluff. Her shadow wasn’t attacking yet, and guns were only used as the last option. She knew the government wanted to take the Shadow Morphs alive. With no experience at any sort of fighting, Kasey was unable to come up with a battle plan. She simply looked around at the faces that stared at her, wondering what her next move should be to buy the others some more time. She didn’t have much longer to contemplate her situation, because a few men to her right were shuffling closer. Kasey gritted her teeth and took in a deep breath, knowing that this was her chance to fight for her life.

“Back off!” Kasey yelled. A lion’s roar covered her voice as the lion struck, swinging its heavy paw at the group of men that were approaching her. Immediately, a few others to the left came closer, Tasers at the ready, and Kasey flung her arm at them too. This time the shadow lion let its claws out and slashed through some of their armour. The remaining members of the team who hadn’t been knocked down paused with awe, reconsidering how they should get closer to the source of the shadow. They soon spread out, staying far enough back so Kasey didn’t lash out. Before she could do anything else, she noticed she had been surrounded. The lion growled in unison with Kasey as she tensed, her heart pounding as she awaited their next move. All at once, the men shifted forwards and fired their Tasers at the lion. Kasey jumped to the side but one still managed to find her. Her body convulsed and she unwillingly fell to the ground. The shadow lion woefully closed its eyes and dispersed, the shadow returning to a regular form beneath Kasey’s body on the footpath. Another team member rushed in and injected Kasey, knocking her out before she had recovered enough to fight back. Ten minutes later, Sofia sped onto the scene and demanded to see the woman who had been caught.

“This isn’t Taylor Roberts,” she stated to the leader of the team.

“I know. We have no idea who she is,” he shrugged while staring at Kasey’s peaceful face.

“Find out. And locate Taylor Roberts!” Sofia commanded as she took another look at the woman. She felt as though she knew her from somewhere.

The trio stuck to the shadows, hiding from every vehicle that passed and returning to Brett’s apartment building. Taylor managed to hold onto her tears because of the adrenaline pumping through her system, but once she had rested in Brett’s lounge the tears streamed down her face. Losing Fred was heart-breaking enough, and knowing her sister was living a nightmare was almost unbearable, but adding on the loss of Kasey was tearing her up on the inside.

“She might return,” Evan told her, placing a kind hand on her shoulder. He glanced over at Brett who quickly diverted his eyes to the floor, doubting that being cornered and having little control would allow Kasey to escape. The minutes ticked by and turned into hours. Taylor eventually ceased weeping and fell asleep on the couch. Brett shook his head at Evan. Kasey had been captured.