Shadow Walkers Read online

  Nick tries to quickly take in the general look of the Pit. Large towers pierced the clouds as far as he could see. The stone streets were smooth and free of any holes- something that Nick was always envious of when he drove through richer neighborhoods. Probably the most notable thing about the Pit was the large amount of statues scattered about, all of them depicting men and women holding up various types of weapons.

  Everything in Nick’s view seemed to be made out of either stones or crystals. The architecture seemed older fashioned, but still managed to have a modernized and fashionable flare to it. Surprising Nick more than the architecture was the bright light shining down onto the vast city surrounding around him. He didn’t know why, but he expected the home of the Walkers to be rather dark and dull. He was rather pleased to see that it was quite the opposite.

  “Alright,” Isaac says, “Grab on and we can go somewhere a bit more interesting.”

  Nick hesitates at first, but then grabs onto the man’s shoulder. The two shuffle over to stand above a shadow, and then once again dip into the darkness. For the few seconds that he couldn’t see anything, Nick felt a surge of excitement rush through his body. He was inside of a shadow- how much cooler could it get?

  When he emerges from another shadow he finds himself standing in what resembles a large mall. On the ground floor hundreds of people in suits move about, obviously in a hurry to get somewhere. By their attire and the quiet nature of the place, Nick quickly realizes that wherever he was, it was far from a mall.

  “This,” Isaac says with outstretched arms, “Is basically Shadow Walker HQ. This is where all of the big shot leaders and government officials come to work.”

  “Wait a minute,” Nick says as Isaac and him begin walking towards an elevator, “When you say HQ you make it sound like the Walkers are an organization.”

  Isaac and Nick step into the elevator, the former pressing the button for floor seven. The doors close and Isaac looks at Nick. “Well Shadow Walkers are the people who can only pass through this world and the human’s world. This city is the capital of the Pit, the world we live in. And this building is the HQ of the government that rules over the entirety of the Pit. Right now we’re in high class official turf, so behave.”

  “But why are we here?” Nick asks as the elevator passes the 4th floor. “I don’t care about politics. I just want to learn what it means to be a Shadow Walker.”

  Isaac points up. “Seventh floor is registration for rookies like you. We’re going to give you a rundown of what Shadow Walkers do and register you as a confirmed Walker. Then you get to choose if you want to be a part of the Guard.” Isaac sees the look of confusion on Nick’s face and immediately answers the question running through the boy’s mind. “The Guard is the government and military force that rules over and protects the Pit. Only Walkers such as myself who join the Guard go on missions, while the majority of Walkers just live everyday life like normal humans do.”

  The elevator beeps and the doors slide open. The two men walk out, Nick following Isaac’s lead. “I don’t care about joining any clubs, I just want to unlock my powers.”

  “Sorry, but that won’t slide.” Isaac says flatly. “Only Walkers who join the Guard receive the training that efficiently unlocks their abilities. If power is what you’re after then you’re going to have to join the Guard and get placed on a team for training.”

  “So I’d be working with other people who are new to all of this?” Nick asks. The idea of meeting other young Walkers slightly intrigued him. How many other people out there had no idea how to deal with this second world that they were tied to? Having someone to relate to here in the Pit could make the whole transition a lot easier to deal with.

  Isaac nods as the two of them walk through a set of doors. “Kind of. You and two other rookies will receive training that will develop your powers. You’ll be trained by a captain- a title only given to highly experienced and skilled Walkers who were promoted by the leaders of the Guard themselves.”

  The older man leads Nick to what looks like a waiting room. Nick makes sure to pay attention to every word and phrase the man says as he explains this world to him. Shadow Walkers, the Pit, the Guard, and captains- nothing seemed too complicated so far. But the real questions on Nick’s mind revolved less around the Pit and more on the things that attacked him- the Void. Though before he could ask any questions a woman behind a reception desk greets Isaac.

  “New recruit?” She asks with a smile.

  Isaac returns the smile. “Yeah, trying to give him a quick rundown on the Guard. Can you fit in an appointment for today?”

  The woman shrugs and starts playing around on her computer. A few clicks later and she shoots another smile Isaac’s way. “I’ve got you booked for fifteen minutes from now. Two other recruits have the same time slot booked. In fact, it looks like both of them came in to sign up for enrollment today. It’ll be in room forty-five, down the hall to the left.”

  “See,” Isaac nudges Nick, “Told you other Rookies would be here.” He turns his attention back to the woman. “Thanks Sarah.”

  Sarah smiles at Isaac, then at Nick. “No problem. I’m always willing to help you, Isaac. You two have fun now.”

  Nick feels a little awkward watching Sarah try to flirt with Isaac. It reminds him of how his mother and Jeffrey flirted with each other whenever she went to the Sweet Stop. Though, unlike his mother, Isaac seems to ignore the advance entirely.

  Isaac leads Nick down a hallway and eventually they make a sharp left. They reach the entrance to room forty-five. Isaac knocks on the metallic door, which slides open almost immediately. A large round table was centered in the room, with five people already sitting down at it. On the opposite side of the room from the entrance was a podium. An older woman wearing a business suit shuffles through a stack of papers. Her eyes are quick and snake-like, scanning over the content of the papers before handing them over to the man at her right.

  Isaac and Nick sit down at the round table with the rest of the people who were seated. Nick notices that there are fifteen seats in total, and wonders why there were so many chairs if there were only three recruits to a team. Then he looks over at the group of five sitting across from him and Isaac. Only one person looked to be around his age. She was a pretty girl with smooth brown skin and dark black hair. Most of the people sitting near her were much older. One person had to be in their seventies, while the other two adults looked to be about in their thirties.

  A young boy- not even in his teens- sits to the left of the pretty girl, playing on a cell phone. Nick comes to the conclusion that, given her age, the young woman was the only recruit among them. The rest of them were probably family who came to support the girl. Nick feels a slight pinch in his chest at the thought of his own mother. He wished that she could be there as well, but for now they were just going to have to stay in the two different worlds. With the way he was now, with no powers or knowledge of this other world, it was the best way for Nick to keep his mother safe.

  After about what seemed like twenty minutes, the woman at the podium coughs to get everyone’s attention. She looks over the seven people at the table and then speaks. “Greetings to you all. It seems that we have one recruit missing, but unfortunately we can’t wait all day for one slacker to show up.” She looks at Nick, then at the man to her side. “George, please give this young boy the Walker registration papers, then we can begin orientation.”

  The man at her side makes his way over to Nick. He doesn’t say a word as he hands over some papers and a pen. He returns to the woman’s side before Nick even uncaps the pen.

  Isaac moves the papers around, placing them in between the two. “These papers are just so we can put you in the database of verified Walkers. Hurry and fill it all out.”

  Nick winces at the sudden urgency, but he complies. He picks up the pen and looks at the first line, which of course asks for his name. Nicholas Calum Winters, he unwillingly writes. His middle name wasn’t something
that he liked saying out loud, let alone telling anyone. To him, it was like a personal gift from his father.

  He continues filling the papers out, giving basic information about him and his mother. About halfway through the papers, there’s a knock on the door. The doors slide open, and a single guy walks in. Nick feels relieved to see that it’s another teenager.

  The new guy moves his curly bangs out of his face, and looks at everybody with a grin on his face. “Am I late?”

  The woman at the podium stands up straight and eyes the new arrival like a hawk. “Yes, but luckily for you, Hector, we haven’t started Guardian orientation and registration yet, so you may still take a seat. However, in the future, try not to make a habit out of late arrivals.”

  Hector smiles wider. “Yeah, I’m so very sorry.” He walks to the table, taking a seat to Nick’s right. He slouches down, stretching his arms across the table and resting his head on them. Nick can’t help but wonder where this kids parents were from. Could his relaxed attitude and lack of a companion mean that he was from earth?

  The woman in the business suit narrows her eyes in contempt as she shuffles some papers in her hand. She motions her hand towards Nick, and her guard- George- comes to retrieve the papers. Once she has them she does a quick scan over the room, then smiles. Nick almost cringes at how forced the expression was.

  “To start off, you may refer to me as dvisor Amanda. I’m excited to be the one standing here, ready to recruit three new young Walkers into the Guard.” She looks at a paper in her hand and then side glances at Nick, “It seems that one of you here is a full fledged rookie- a half blood who has just today realized his Shadow Walker lineage. Because of this, I’ll explain things a bit more in depth in order to make our newcomer feel more at home.”

  Isaac fake coughs and raises a hand. “Advisor Amanda, I’d like to add something.”

  Amanda nods as she narrows her eyes again. If he was going to be honest, Nick didn’t like Amanda. She was too sure of herself, and she looked over the people in the room like they were all below her. The way she narrowed her eyes just made her seem like a condescending jerk.

  “This boy was targeted directly by Valus.” Isaac says.

  The look of contempt on her face is suddenly replaced by a brief expression of shock. But she looks at Nick again, and her snake like gaze returns. “Why didn’t you tell me about this in private, captain Isaac?”

  Nick’s gaze flickers to the walker beside him. Captain Isaac? He had referred to himself as a captain when he was talking to the boy’s mother, and he wondered what significance the title truly held.

  Isaac sighs. “Because Nick should know as much about the Void as possible. He’s being targeted by Valus, which means he needs to know what he’s up against right away. I know he’s a rookie, but for some reason he drew in that man. We shouldn’t keep him in the dark.”

  Nick grins at the older Walker. Isaac was still shrouded in mystery, but Nick couldn’t help but take a liking to the man. After all, he’s been on Nick’s side ever since he appeared back on earth.

  Amanda bites her lip and turns her attention to Nick. “The Void are our enemies.” She starts. “Much like how us Shadow Walkers live in a different realm than the human world, the Void have their own home realm which we also call the Void. As a rookie, you should know that all of the Void have some type of purple coloring to them. Think of it like a symbol for their species. And as you’d expect, purple isn’t a very popular color here in the Pit. But those are just the basics. You don’t really need to know every little detail right away.”

  Nick nods, showing that he’s keeping up. He thinks back to the group of Void who attacked him, and the purple haired man- Valus. “So the Void are just another race like the Walkers? Are there Walkers that look like monsters too?”

  Amanda sighs as if the whole conversation was a chore. “No, Walkers are basically just humans with special abilities. However, the Void take on many monstrous forms. Wings, spikes, scales- any animal like feature you can think of is found on some species of Void. The more humanlike the Void is, the more powerful they are. Valus, the Void man who attacked you, is of an elite class. I seriously don’t understand why he of all people would take such an interest in a no-name rookie like you.”

  Nick feels taken aback. He seriously didn’t appreciate the way this woman was talking to him. If he weren’t getting the answers he needed, Nick would have snapped back at the lady.

  Amanda continues. “The Void and the Walkers have fought for as long as our history tells. A long time ago, there was no government here in the Pit. However, in 1720, three siblings formed an organization named the Guard. They made it their mission to eradicate the Void both here in the Pit and in the human world. Other Walkers adopted their ideology, and joined the Guard. After many years, the Guard became large enough that it could start taking charge here in the Pit. It became the government of the Pit, and the members of it- we call ourselves Guardians- are also the military force.”

  She pauses to take a drink of water, then continues. “The Guard is run by three Council members. Each council member has three advisors, which would include yours truly. We run things here, and keep the Pit in order. When new Walkers like yourself are discovered, you may choose to become a part of the Guard. In doing so, you join a team with two other rookies, and then you’ll receive training from an instructor. And then, within just a month’s time, you’ll be ready to go out on missions to fight the Void. This training program is so advanced that it will help develop your powers much faster than they would come naturally.”

  “After the training the rookies get assigned a captain to lead them.” Isaac says. “Like I told you before, captains are highly skilled and experienced Walkers. When one reaches that rank, they don’t have to work with a team unless they wish to, or are assigned one by the Council.”

  Amanda smiles crookedly. “That’s right. So now that things are a bit clearer for you, let me list a few rules before anyone signs the oath.” She pauses, then almost shouts. “Rule number one- all Walkers who are still receiving training are to stay here in the Pit until their training has ended.”

  Nick feels a sting of worry in his chest. “But my mom-”

  Amanda cuts him off. “I know very well about your mother, Nicholas. She was once a very powerful Walker, before she ran off with that man. If you choose to stay here and join the Guard, I will have a Walker sent to watch over her until your training is over.” Nick feels slightly relieved, but still finds the woman’s attitude appalling. The way she referenced his dad didn’t sit right with him.

  She continues her speech. “Rule number two- the Guards orders are final. Disobeying the Guard will get you a punishment corresponding to the magnitude of the disobedience. After three strikes, you will be removed from the Guard, with your Walker powers stripped away.” She waits, as if expecting cries of shock. When no one objects, she continues. “And there is rule number three- the most important rule here in the Pit. Under no circumstances whatsoever are you allowed to befriend or work with any creature of the Void. You are not permitted to show them any type of mercy regardless of the situation.”

  “What if people’s lives are at stake?” The teenage girl across from Nick asks.

  Amanda locks eyes with her. Her cold gaze let’s Nick know that she doesn’t have it out for just him. She shuffles her papers once again, then looks back at the girl. “Well, Allison, that’s a good question. Using the Void as a way to save your comrades is a smart idea. However, there is a difference between using the Void as your disposable pawns and allying with them. Creating any type of relationship with the Void is absolutely forbidden. And letting them live can result in further casualties.”

  Allison sits back in her chair and nods. Her family starts chatting and patting her on the back. Nick wonders if she irrationally hated this woman in the same way he did.

  “To join the Guard means that one is willing to dedicate themselves to following the orders of the co
uncil.” Amanda declares. “By joining, you agree that you are willing to actively partake in any and all assigned missions in exchange for payment and the honor of protecting the Pit. The Void are not a peaceful race, and it is very likely that you’ll end up losing your life in the field. If you are sure that you are okay with signing yourself over to this kind of lifestyle, come up to the podium.”

  The chatter by Allison ends as she stands up from her chair. She pushes her chair in and hugs the younger woman next to her. She whispers something in the older womans ear, then walks to the podium. No hesitation, no more questions. The girl had motivation.

  Hector and Nick both stand up and make their way to the podium as well. There was no denying this new world around him. The Void would come for Nick whether or not he joined the Guard. At least this way, by joining the Guard, he would have a fighting chance- for him and his mother. Nick can’t help but feel a strange sense of ease. As unfamiliar as all of this was to him, everything felt right as he walked towards the podium. In a way, he wasn’t just doing this to protect his mother- part of Nick actually wanted to be a Shadow Walker.

  Nick walks up behind Hector, with Allison in the lead. These are my teammates, he thinks as he studies the other two teenagers. He didn’t know anything about these kids, but they would soon be spending a lot of time together. He felt like it was the first day of school all over again.

  Amanda picks up a black chain about the size of a necklace. “By taking this chain, you will become a part of the Guard. In doing so, you agree that you understand the risk that comes with being a Guardian. You agree to abide by any rules placed on you by the council. Now, Allison Marxon, will you accept this chain and join the Guard?”

  Allison nods and holds out her hand. “I’ll take it with honor.” Amanda hands the chain over to Allison, who grips it tightly in her hand. What Nick assumes to be her family cheers from the roundtable behind them, and for some reason, even he cracks a smile.

  Allison moves to the left, and the other boy walks up to the podium.