“Sure,” Aaron smiled thoughtfully at us, blue eyes shifting from me to my sister. “You can join our club now.”
My eyes widened in shocked disbelieve. “Really,” I asked as I pulled myself over the fence that separated our yards. I landed on the stump in his yard and slid into a sitting position.
“Well yeah, if you can pass the tests,” Aaron’s smile turned to a mocking grin.
“Tests?” I looked to Kayla, worry lacing its way through my stomach.
Kayla smirked, “We can handle it.”
I wasn’t so sure, but we’d been trying to get Johnny and Aaron to let us join their club for more than two weeks. I wasn’t about pass up the opportunity now. “What are they?”
Aaron moved closer, his voice dropping to a secretive whisper, “Before I tell you, swear that you won’t tell anyone. If you do, you’ll be kicked out of the club.”
“Okay,” I nodded, my eyes never leaving him.
Kayla remained silent, smirk still lingering on her lips, as Aaron gestured for us to follow him into the shed. His eyes were bright. I wondered if it was all a trick, but the thought was quickly cast aside. Aaron had always been the ‘cool’ one and I was sure he would never lie to us. I didn’t hesitate to obey when he told me to close the door. It squeaked on its rusty hinges, but that didn’t matter. There was no one around to hear it.
“Alright,” Aaron started as he plopped down on a board that had been laid across an old tire, sending dust flying into the air. “Cover that,” His eyes locked on the hole in the door that had been made for the dogs.
I slid a board in front of it and then turned to face him again. Something in his smile sent shivers down my spine, but there wasn’t time to think about any of it. He was starting to explain the tests and I would have to listen if I wanted in.
“There are three,” Aaron was saying, shifting his gaze between Kayla and me, “and you both have to complete all three or neither of you can join. Understood?”
“Yes.” Kayla stated while I just nodded.
“Good. Alright, we’ll start with something simple for your first test,” Aaron pulled down a piece of paneling that had been stored there for who-knows how long, “Simple… Kendra lay on the board and Kayla hump her. You can leave your clothes on for this one, since it’s the first test.”
At first, I laughed thinking it was a joke. I had expected him to make us do something physically challenging, like rollerblading through some sort of obstacle course. I didn’t have to ask for the real test, though. The look he gave me said everything and I fell silent instantly, shifting my gaze to my hands as if I’d been thoroughly reprimanded.
“So, I just… have to lay there?”
“Well, for the first part. This is Kayla’s first test,” Aaron responded slowly,
“Yours is next, but she can’t pass hers if you don’t cooperate. So go on, now.”
I watched him for a moment longer and then followed the instructions. It felt wrong when Kayla’s weight came down on me, but I didn’t complain. I just laid there, with my head turned to the side, watching as the first shadow made its appearance. It seemed wary as it stalked through the small shed. Its eyes never left me, even when it came to rest in front of the tiny, dust covered window. The filtered light didn’t obliterate it like a regular shadow. Instead, it seemed to be absorbed by this creature. I’m not sure how long I stayed like that, but eventually Aaron’s voice broke through the fog that had drifted into my mind.
“Enough. Your turn,” his grin was almost malevolent and his eyes brightened a little more. Hunger lingered in their depths as Kayla stood.
I slowly pulled myself to my feet, reluctantly dragging my eyes from the shadow. I swallowed past a lump that had gathered itself in my throat.
“What do I have to do?”
“First, strip.”
I blinked at him, not sure that I heard right, but impatience etched itself into his features and I quickly obeyed. I could feel a slight breeze whispering through the shed, but that wasn’t what raised the goose bumps on my arms. The glee sparkling in his eyes was.
My attention darted briefly to the shadow, only long enough to notice that another had joined it. A low growl emitted from its throat and then Aaron was speaking again.
“Now you two switch positions.”
It took a minute for his words to click in my mind. By then, Kayla was laying on the board I had just left and staring silently up at me. The look in her eyes dared me to back down and ruin it for both of us. It left me with no doubt how much she would hate me if I did. I followed his instruction, closing my mind off to what was happening. No. I didn’t understand everything, but I knew that it felt wrong and I knew that I wouldn’t ever escape that feeling.
More shadows had joined the previous two, expressing their outrage with hisses and growls. The first had moved between Aaron and I, its eyes trained on him and a viscous growl reverberating from its chest up its vocal cords. Its teeth were bared.
By the time Aaron announced “part one” of the first test to be finished, several more shadows had joined the first two. I no longer wondered about them. In fact, I had ceased thinking all together; I didn’t even notice that he had said part one until Kayla spoke against it.
“Part one? You said three tests. You never said there was more than one part to each test,” She protested rather loudly.
“Keep it down. Well, there is. There are two parts to the first and three to others,” Aaron responded, glaring slightly. “If it bothers you, you can always back out.” The last was said with an indifferent shrug.
The protests from the shadows became more violent. Several launched themselves at Aaron, only to be blocked by the first shadow. A single growl seemed to enforce and unspoken rule. Other shadows nudged up against me, pressing close in a comforting manner.
Defiance flared in Kayla’s eyes. “No. We can handle it. I’ll even go first.”
“Yes. You will,” Aaron agreed.
He was removing his pants and delight danced over his features as he beckoned Kayla closer to him. He gestured to his now exposed penis, “Suck on it. Easy enough, right?”
My stomach churned as I watched Kayla kneel down, her curly brown hair falling to cover her face. I turned away, but Aaron let out a low snarl. “Watch or you will not pass this test.”
As I reluctantly turned, I noticed more shadows lurking about, several returning his snarl, and I started counting them instead of devoting my attention to where he wanted it. Only my eyes moved, but I think he could feel that they weren’t on him. He snapped his fingers and I was forced to shift my gaze to him. It only stayed briefly, but when I looked away again, he was too lost in his pleasure to notice.
“Your turn,” the voice broke through a fog that had swirled into my mind.
I resisted the urge to blink, knowing that it would only anger him, and took a step forward. Kayla stood with her eyes fixed to me, message clear once more. I knelt down, but as he was sliding into my mouth, I could hear our names being called.
My dad. It was lunchtime. Aaron swore under his breath and pushed me back, yanking his pants back on and I rushed into my clothes. “You both come back here so you can finish the test when you’re done eating,” he commanded.
The first shadow let out a rough growl, snapping his jaws at Aaron before following me out. The other shadows remained constantly with me, swarming and rubbing against me.
The sunlight stung my eyes and I had to blink until they’d adjusted after being in the dim light for so long. My dad watched us as we climbed over the fence and hurried into the house. “What took so long and what were you doing in the shed,” he asked as he set a two plates of Ramen noodles on the table.
“We were playing hide’n’seek,” I lied, innocence the only thing making it believable.
“Yeah,” Kayla confirmed, “I didn’t want to hide alone in there so Kendra came with me.”
His frown indicated that he only just bought our story, but he didn’t press any further. There was a knock on the door and he went to answer it, leaving us to eat in peace.
I rushed through lunch, not because I was eager to get back, but because I always rushed. If I didn’t now, dad would know something was wrong. It wasn’t long before we were both finished and starting back out the door. I glanced to Uncle Dan, the one who had been at the door, and waved in greeting. I almost hoped he would stop us and want to talk. He didn’t and dad waved us on so they could get inside.
I looked back over my shoulder as I climbed the fence into Aaron’s yard. They were inside and no one was paying attention to us. We made for the shed immediately and Aaron opened the door, quickly closing it and covering the hole once we were inside.
The shadows had relaxed up until this point. Now they seemed alert, ears raising on those that had them. I swear I saw tufts of fur sticking up on the back of some of their necks, but at that point, none had the distinct forms they would take later. They were just shadows, but a comfort nonetheless.
“Alright, time to finish this,” He smiled at me as he exposed himself once more.
“I don’t think this is a good idea. What if we get caught?”
“Don’t be such a baby. We aren’t gonna get caught,” Kayla piped up, her eyes burning into me.
“Okay,” the hesitance lingered in my voice, but I knelt down and soon felt the warmth of him inside my mouth. There would be no interruptions this time. A million thoughts bombarded my mind at once and then I felt him hit the back of my throat. I pulled back and heaved.
My entire lunch was thrust from my stomach as violent spasms shook my body. I felt the shadows close in around me, where before they held back, almost a loving embrace rather than the comfort previously offered. It was all of them now, not just the braver ones.
“You aren’t done! You have to finish or you won’t pass the test and you can’t join the club.” Aaron was saying, his voice mocking me, daring me to back out and walk away.
It was only the comfort of the shadows that allowed me to turn and face him. This time, when he hit the back of my throat, I swallowed the bile that threatened to send me into another spasm and finished the test.
That night I didn’t sleep. I watched the shadows surround me and felt them embrace me as one of their own. I bonded to the shadows and them, to me. They could not exist without me and I was nothing without them. That is when I became Master of Shadows. I became their Master, but they were also mine.
! There's not much I can do to help it become more disturbed 