Shadow Morphs

Taylor jumped off the sidewalk and onto the barren road with ease. The footpath was heavily damaged for this stretch of the suburb, and it hurt her ankles if she jogged on it. Zeke was to her right, trotting at a comfortable pace with his tongue flopping out. The dim street lamps lit up his hot breath that Taylor knew was coming from a smiling mouth. Taylor could have sworn that half of the exercise for their lungs was dealing with the filthy air, even though she picked her route to go through a cleaner suburb. Before she could look back ahead, Zeke let out a low growl and slowed to a walk. Taylor immediately stopped and scanned the dark road up ahead, noting that it was truly empty. But her guard dog never let her down; after all, that’s why she had picked him.

“What is it, boy?” Taylor whispered, attempting to remain calm but mentally acknowledging that she was failing. Her heart was racing and her muscles were tense, both not simply from the exercise. Zeke growled again, approaching a large rubbish bin out for collection on the pavement. Suddenly a black dog rounded it, matching Zeke’s German shepherd height. As the two approached each other for a sniff, Taylor noticed it wasn’t an ordinary dog. It was made from shadows.

She wanted to call Zeke back to her, but she couldn’t. Her body had frozen because the shadow creature was separated from its creator. Taylor didn’t know that was possible. That could only mean that its master was powerful, and therefore someone she didn’t want to encounter. Taylor watched in awe as the two dogs seemingly made friends and then playfully scampered along the footpath together. The shadow dog appeared so real in every movement and behaviour; it fascinated her.

“Hello, Taylor,” Brett said as he stepped out from behind the bin and into the light of a lamppost. Taylor’s heart skipped a beat, staring at the man with his hands shoved into jeans. Beneath him there should have been some sort of shadow, but Taylor saw nothing. The shadow dog belonged to him.

“What do you want?” Taylor asked. She could hear the fear in her voice and she tried to breath slower to calm herself down.

“You never called,” Brett replied simply. Taylor noted she wasn’t far from her flat and she suddenly wondered if he knew where she lived. Her shadow picked up on her anxiety and Taylor felt it prodding her in the back of her mind. She ignored it, knowing her power would be nothing against Brett’s.

“How are you doing that?” she questioned with a glance over at his dog shadow. Zeke was still friendly towards it.

“I take it you haven’t discovered how to dissociate yet,” Brett stated.

“Didn’t know it was possible.”

“I could teach you how. I’m sure you’d pick it up easily,” he offered. Taylor hesitated as she took her eyes off Brett once more to watch his shadow beast. It was absolutely extraordinary how he could do that. “I could teach you so much more.”

“Why are you offering this to me?” Taylor wondered as Brett walked closer, stopping when he was a few feet in front of her.

“Because you’re in danger,” he said quietly. “You were close to being caught a week ago because you didn’t have control. You know what happens when a Shadow Morph gets apprehended.” Taylor grimaced at the recollection of the news broadcasts that showed other Shadow Morphs being stunned and then taken away to the ‘research facilities’. Rumours told her about the appalling things that happened behind those closed doors. That could have been her and Fred.

“How does this work?”

“I schedule a time for you to come to my house and then I’ll teach you everything I know. You can come alone or with your friends, but you’ll never see another Shadow Morph that I’m training, and they won’t see you. I guarantee that no one will know what you are capable of,” Brett explained, glad he had succeeded in scaring her.

“There are others? How many?” Taylor spluttered. Finding her three friends had felt lucky enough in the large city of Dormere, as was bumping into Brett.

“There’s enough. With you and your friends, we could think about beginning a revolution and stop the slaughter of our kind,” Brett continued with a genuinely hopeful tone. Taylor fell silent as she pondered the idea of having full control over her powers and not being hunted. It seemed like an unattainable dream to be truly safe.

“I’ll call you then,” she eventually said. Brett grinned and nodded, his smoky shadow suddenly swirling across the road and appearing beneath him in an ordinary form. Zeke ran back to Taylor’s side and they watched Brett walk away. Brett halted and turned on his heels.

“And if you don’t, I’ll find you again,” he called out. Even though he sounded rather cheery, Taylor sensed the threat. His words reminded her of another thing she was keen to learn; how Brett had located her without her noticing. Once Brett was out of sight, Taylor sceptically continued jogging home, not spotting Brett lurking in any dark corner. She immediately checked all of her doors were locked and hurriedly shut the curtains to ensure her house was secure. After a cold shower to wash away her shock, Taylor collapsed on the couch and rang Kasey.