Hi!
This is my new story which I have just started. Before you start reading, I know I use the words 'But' and 'And' a lot. Especially when starting new sentences, so any tips on starting them differently would be useful!
Also, there might be italics missing, but I don't have the time to go through it.
Please read and comment!
EDIT: Here is a newer, edited version of the Prologue and Chapter One!
EDIT 2: I am re-posting the chapters in smaller parts to make them easier to review.
Prologue
In this modern world of ours, we do not believe in magic. Anything we call “magic” others will call science. After all, how can it exist? It cannot logically, cannot possibly exist. And yet there are lots of unexplained things that happen in this world. Of course, they are hushed up and nothing is mentioned to the public. If even a whisper reached the public they could panic. They would be scared. That isn't to say that the people who know aren't scared. Of course they are. Nobody can explain these things, anything could happen. Nobody could explain. Except perhaps one person. And nobody would get information from him. Just 3 months ago he had gone mad.
But this is not the beginning. No, the beginning is back when the world was created.
In the beginning it was darkness. There was no mass, no shape. There was nothing. Apart from one something. No, not something because it wasn't something. It was nothing itself. “The shadow” as people would later call it. But it had no name. How can nothing have a name? It all started slowly. The first atoms were created, suns started forming. The galaxy's and solar systems were created. Then planets came. But what we now know as the Milky Way, that was the last to come. Later still came Mars, Satan, Mercury, and all the planets apart from Earth were created. All this took millions of years. And then suddenly, Earth appeared. It hadn't been formed like the other planets. It just appeared. Created by a invisible force. Created by the Shadow.
By now you must be getting the gist of what I am saying. Magic does exist. Not science, but actual magic. It was all at the beginning. And it continued through the ages.
Every religion has a God or Gods. They also have the bad guy, the Devil. Let us take Christianity for example.
Lots of people believe in Christianity. It is probably the most common religion in the world. The Christians holy book is the Bible. There are two major sections to it; The Old Testament; and the New Testament. In the old testament it introduces the beginning of the world, and claims that God created everything. But in actual fact, 'God' does not exist. 'The Shadow' exists. In the Old Testament it is mainly prophecies about a saviour who would come down to save the world, make it a better place. And it speaks of Satan. Christian's devil. So if the Shadow is God, what is Satan, our devil? Impossible as it may seem, the Shadow is Satan as well. Because the Shadow feeds on Misery and Pain. It tortures humanity, but won't quite destroy it in case it can't continue to feed. Humans found this out, and put together a force to destroy the Shadow. A great war was fought and they hurt It and It went into hiding – It hasn't been seen since.
Then we come to the New Testament. Jesus is born. Tales of magic, wonder appear. He heals people. Jesus was a healer (See p.738 in The World of Shadows). Then, in the tale of King Arthur, Merlin the magician appears.
Perhaps you have played a game of Chinese whispers. The message starts at one end, but as it got passed from person to person, it got more and more distorted. The same has happened with story's of the Shadow and magic. Nobody remembers. But one thing is certain.
The Shadow was there at the beginning.
And It will be there at the end.
Chapter One
Patrick Weed sat down on the sofa and turned on the T.V. He was small, just over five foot. He had a thin face, and his lips were pressed tight. His body, which until a few months ago had been quite well rounded, was thin and shapeless. His head had gone bald around two years ago, even though he was only in his forty's. So far he could have been an ordinary person – if very thin. But then you saw his eyes. They were a pale blue, but they were wide open as if in shock. There was something strange and sinister about them. A haunted look.
He had once had a normal life. Until he had found the book. He had found it quite by accident. He was in a second hand book shop, and the thick leather bound book had appealed to him. Now he would curse the day he had found it – if he could. He had read the books secrets. Learned about the Shadow. Although it was only the day that he first uttered the words 'the Shadow' that he had become a marked man.
So the Shadow had found him. Patrick Weed no longer existed. He had disappeared three months ago. Only the body remained, and the Shadow now possessed it. What used to be Patrick smiled as he thought of this. He looked at his watch. It was time. He stood up and walked to the door with a cold smile on his face.
He knew that people thought he had gone mad. But it was quite the opposite. He had become a proper person. He had become his maker.
Literally.
***
James ran down the alleyway at full pelt. He stopped at the other end for a moment, realizing too late that it was dead end. He then risked a glance behind him. Another boy, Jake appeared round the corner and gave a triumphant whoop as he saw James. “No!” James whimpered. He was rooted to the spot. Sweat trickled down his face as he panted heavily.
“You shouldn't have tried to run James. It only makes it worse.” Jake crowed walking forwards. James cowered away in the other boys shadow. James was small. Even half an inch makes a big difference when you're being bullied, and James was three and a half inches smaller. He looked vaguely Chinese but had long blonde hair. “What sort of boy has long hair anyway?” Jake asked. He was the complete opposite of James. Tall, heavily built. His nose looked like it had been broken more than once.
James didn't answer. “I said; What sort of boy has long hair?” Jake snarled grabbing James arm and wrenching it behind his back.
“Me.” James risked saying.
“No. You're wrong.” Jake said smiling again. “Because you're not a boy. You're a girl. A big, wussy, girl.” he spat the last bit wrenching James's arm again. James let him. He would never dream of retaliating to this boy. It wasn't in his nature. It just wasn't him. So he let it happen.
***
Patrick walked through the crowds casually. He looked exactly like anyone of the other people in the crowd, but for some reason they all skirted round him, making a path for him. He had a smile fixed on his face, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.
He looked around and saw a man sitting outside a cafe drinking orange juice. What a pathetic creature. All of these creatures surrounding him were petty. He looked around again.
The body of Patrick Weed was pathetic too. Soon it wouldn't be able to support him. He needed a new host.
Casting out with his mind, he searched for a suitable person. Quickly he found someone who should be able to support him for quite while. He could just feel it. It was one of his powers. Patrick homed in on him and pretended to bump in to him, almost falling over. “Oh, I'm so sorry!” he exclaimed. “I wasn't looking where I was going... are you all right?” the other man nodded. He was backing away from this strange man, when he held up a hand to shake. “Patrick Weed.” he smiled. Hesitantly the other man took the hand.
“Harry Royale.” They shook. He tried to take his hand away, but Patrick refused to take his hand away. Harry pulled more insistently, but then realized something. Patrick's hand was stuck to his. It was almost as if the two were glued together. He could only look with wide eyes as Patrick opened his mouth and breathed out. Harry tried to tell himself that this nightmare wasn't actually happening as he saw some sort of gas come out of Patrick's mouth. Something which smelt of everything and nothing. It was a dark greenish colour and enveloped Harry. He fell to the ground onto his knees. He saw people clear a space, looking at him, frightened.
Then Harry screamed. Somehow the breath was hurting him. He could feel it inside of him now. The pain was immense. What had that man, Patrick, done? It was unearthly... as was his scream. He was still screaming as Patrick slumped to floor. There was no doubt he was dead. The - whatever it was - had all disappeared now and the crowd looked on in stunned silence. Then the man who used to be Harry closed his mouth and stopped screaming. A new calm spread through him, and he stood up and walked away as if nothing had happened.
The public had never seen anything like it.
***
At the same time, on the other side of London, James felt something deep inside him. It was a strange feeling, as if something had opened inside of him. It was strange but he didn't think about it. He couldn't. All he could think about was Jake. The bully had been toying with him. Punching and kicking him a little. Insulting him. But James was fed up. For once in his life, he wanted to fight back. Right now Jake had pinned him against a wall, his dirty breath in James's face.
“Go away Jake.” James said quietly.
“What?” Jake asked, surprised.
“I said go away.” Jake just laughed.
“Or what? You'll tickle me?” he taunted.
James had lifted his arm and punched Jake square in the chest before he realized he was doing it. He was shocked with himself. He had never hit anyone in his life. He couldn't even bring himself to hurt a fly!
What happened next shocked him even more though.
Jake went flying through the air as if he had been hit by a train. He crashed though the wall of a house on the other side of the alley, actually going through the brick. Yet he kept on going! Someone screamed, and all the while James felt his energy being drained from him. He felt drained, and suddenly didn't have enough energy to stand up. He collapsed onto the ground, feeling his life support being drained out of him. A blackness was trying to cover his vision, but he fought it.
I don't want to die! he thought, desperately wondering if that was what was happening. Now he couldn't breathe. His vision flickered as he fought desperately for breath. He was slowly suffocating with no apparent reason for it. His last thought as everything faded into blackness was: Why am I dying?
