Under Shadow

8. Penny

"Miss Penny! Chantelle licked the crayon!"

Penny groaned. "Chantelle, that's yucky. Take that out of your mouth. Josephine, don't cut your hair! Lucas, I swear to Yoba..."

The children in Penny's preschool class ran about the room wildly. It had been a long day of coloring and songs and she was only just starting to realize how exhausted she was. But at least it was Friday. She would have a whole weekend away from the chaos. A whole weekend stuck in her tiny one bedroom apartment with her mother. She would have rather worked through the whole weekend and clean up vomit then be stuck in that apartment.

She reminded herself that she loved her job. She loved the kids and their eager faces, so willing to learn and explore. But it had been a long week. Between field trips and picture day, their schedule was upside down and backwards, which only excited the children to be out of their usual routine. It made for a very, very long week.

But soon, their buses would be coming, their parents waiting outside to pick them up, and the room would be empty. And Penny would have to make her way, ever so slowly, back home for the night. Of course, she would stop at the library first. Pick up her favorite book. Sit in her favorite corner. Simply enjoy the peace and quiet. She was excited just thinking about it. Three o'clock was just twenty minutes away, but it couldn't come soon enough.

She leaned back in her chair behind her desk and watched helplessly as they chased each other around the room, yelling and laughing. They quieted only for a moment as the lights cut out, shrouding them in darkness, and just as quickly they erupted once more.

"The lights!"

"I don't like the dark!"

"Boo!"

Yoba did not want her to get out of this easily. Penny sighed and stood. It was pitch black in the room. Unusually dark. Something wasn't quite right.

"What happened to the sun?"

Penny flicked on a flashlight she kept in her desk and shone it across the room. The children stood on their tip toes, peering out the window into the eerie darkness.

"Where did the sun go?" Their curious eyes turned to her as Penny joined them at the windows.

Penny searched the world beyond their window. The entire city was shrouded in an eerie, purple-gray dark haze. No lights lined the roads or marked the buildings.

"Look!" Chantelle shrieked, pointing at the window.

"What's that?"

Penny followed their gaze to four sets of glowing eyes in the distance. They bobbed up and down in the darkness, nearing the school. The children started to scream and cry.

Penny's heart quickened as she lowered the flashlight. Something wasn't right. She needed to hide the children.

She spun on her heels as she heard quick footsteps coming down the empty hallway. Voices echoed off the walls. She hurried to the door, opening it slightly, watching as beams of light bounced off the walls and over the floor.

"What's happening?" she asked the two men running down the hall. Principle Jones stopped at her side, grabbing her wrist and pulling her towards him. She met his panicked gaze as his eyes darted across the hall.

"Shadow People," he muttered, his breath on her cheek. "We're in a lock down. Hide those kids. Not a sound, Penny. Do you understand me?"

Penny swallowed and nodded quickly as he took off down the hall. She watched as the flashlight paused and turned, flashing over her face.

"Don't get caught, Penny," his voice, just barely audible, begged her. "I will come back. I will protect you."

Her heart sank as the light disappeared around the corner. She hurried back into her classroom where her children waited for her, their eyes anxious and afraid. She forced herself to smile, reassuring them that they were okay.

"Okay, boys and girls," she said quietly. "Everything is okay, but you need to listen to me and be very quiet. We're going to hide in the closet, just like we practiced. Do you remember?"

Their little heads nodded quietly.

Penny's gaze shifted uneasily to the window, then back to the children. The glowing eyes were gone. The Shadow People could be anywhere. She needed to act quickly. She forced her smile and held out her hand to them.

"All right," she breathed. "Let's get into the closet. Quickly and quietly."

The children obeyed and quickly piled into the closet, just as they were taught at the beginning of the school year. They sat with their knees to their chests in the darkness, hidden behind jackets and brooms, books and pillows. With no windows outside, they would be safe, if at least for a little while longer.

Penny closed the door quietly behind her and let out the breath she had been holding. Her heart thudded loudly and her hands shook, but she fought to keep her composure. She forced another smile, though it was unlikely they could even see her.

"Good job," she said quietly. "Nice and quiet now, okay?"

She sat on the floor with them, their little hands reaching to her. She held their hands as they sat in the closet, listening and waiting.

She lost track of time quickly as they sat there in uneasy silence. She didn't dare turn her flashlight back on. Maybe they had drifted off to sleep. The darkness had a way of fooling the body and Penny could feel herself fighting to stay awake and aware of her surroundings. She jumped at every sound, though most of them she had probably imagined.

The one sound she didn't imagine were the screams from the classroom next door. And her children had heard it, too. They started to whimper and cry. Penny pulled them closer to her, trying desperately to keep them calm and quiet.

"Listen to me," she urged them. "Don't listen to anything else. I'm right here, okay? We need to be very quiet. Shh."

They quieted and waited. The muffled screams did not last long. They seemed to quiet, one by one. Penny's stomach knotted and tears stung her eyes. She could only imagine the worst. One by one, children dropping, silenced forever.

Penny blinked through her tears as their world fell silent once more. The Shadow People were here, in the school, and it was likely they would come to her room next. She couldn't let them win. She couldn't stand by and watch these children die. And she didn't want to die. Not yet. She still had hope - hope that her life would get better. That Principle Smith would pull through for her. That they could be together.

Penny stood abruptly. She had to do something. The children whimpered and called to her.

"I will be right back," she assured them. "I won't let anything happen to you. I promise. By Yoba, I promise."

She squeezed through the closet door, closing it quickly behind her. "Lock the door, children," she said to them. She listened with her hand on the door until she heard the familiar click of the knob being locked. She closed her eyes and prayed to Yoba that their lives would be spared.

"Keep those children safe," she whispered into the door. She turned around and leaned on the door, letting her eyes scan the room. She could just barely make out the edges of the tables and chairs. But only one thing stood out: there were no glowing eyes. They had not come in yet. It was only a matter of time.

She sucked in a breath and pushed herself off the door. With nothing at her back, she felt exposed. Her body begged her to run, to hide, but she stood and waited, listening.

She saw their eyes first. Then she heard the door knob jiggle and turn. The door swung open silently as two pairs of eyes entered the room.

"Where are the children?" a voice like smoke hissed at her.

"G-gym," she stuttered. "They're in the gym waiting for their buses."

The eyes seemed to exchange a look and scanned the room quickly before settling on her once more. Penny froze as an icy hand wrapped around her arm. She pulled back, but the hand was stronger than she expected. The grip tightened around her as the creatures murmured and hissed.

"Take her," a voice said.

She twisted and shrieked as she felt material cover her mouth and nose. She blinked as the glowing eyes blurred and quickly disappeared.