Shadow Runner

Ok, this is the first time I'm posting something on this site. All comments welcome with open arms. Thx for reading.

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Shadow Runner

Prologue

My mother died of ovarian cancer fourteen hours ago.

I should have known something was wrong from the way that she finally accepted her fate with a disturbing serenity. I asked myself – is this the same woman, who just last month had screamed for no more experimental treatments, that when she gave me life I took much away from her? I should have spotted the void of erratic emotions and protected my father. He wasn’t ready for her passing, not in the way I was.

After my careless mistake, I sprinted to the same place I went every time I had something to run from, but on this visit I was sure of my purpose. It’s where I sit right now, doubling back over my thoughts, second guessing my skills and rethinking my conclusions. In the end, I know that nothing will change unless I do this.

I peer over the edge of the three story sports centre and let the wind comb through my sharp black hair. From here I can see the horizontal pole sticking out from the building. Years back it wielded a Union Jack, but now it’s bare. Apart from that, the bricks set out a smooth path down; no window ledges to catch my heel on and no ‘hero pedestrian’, thinking that he chanced to walk by as some sign to save me. Halfway down to my right just one brick pokes out from the wall around the vent. Plumes of gas retch out from it, reeking of pollution. Below that is the cemented ground of a car park, decorated with lightning shaped cracks. The only shrubbery is the weeds that have poked through these crevices; nothing will break my fall.

Ten years ago when I was six, this place changed my life. Knowing of this impact was another thing. I was always a natural at gymnastics but being scouted by a renowned institute for future athletes named ‘Occulex’ never really mattered to me. It was years later when I found out who they really are did I start to plan for this moment, where I realised my fate had already been carved out before me like a tailored set of combat clothes. All I need to do is step forward and wear them. And after that, jump.

This is it. Fear of death will no longer hold me back; I can only fear myself, how far I will go.

I dive off the building.

My stomach lurches back - a sensation I live for. My sense of smell is whipped away as I hurtle downwards towards the cracks. They draw nearer and for a second I doubt. I reach out.

A crunch and a slap harmonise as I seize the pole. It jolts, reverberating. My body coils around the pole, feeding my momentum into a swing, slowing down. Then I propel myself towards the vent, balancing on the brick with ease. It was a larger platform than I expected and I am able to grab a fair amount of ledge with my right hand. From here I run down the wall, hanging before the vent with my strong grip. If I hadn’t been wearing my running gloves, I would have lost a clean layer of skin from that trick, but I guess part of me knew I would need them today...

The rest is easy. My running gloves turn the haggard blades of the vent into a ladder, and after that there’s just a one story drop. When I hit the ground I roll just in case and then check for damages; not even a scratch.

I stand back at marvel at the moves I had just pulled off, one’s I had planned since I was ten. Now I know I am capable of anything.

You see, I’m a Shadow Runner. My job is to complete delegated tasks with only the clothes on my back and a traqu gun tucked onto my belt, using the environment resourcefully and efficiently. I’m the most valuable implement that the off-government holds, yet my life is not worth the coffin it would take to bury me in – if it was, would they let me climb up buildings? Nonetheless, it’s who I am. My identity.

Let me show you the life of a Shadow Runner.