Chasing Shadows

-Prologue-

Evil.

It is a word commonly misused by almost all humans. Almost.

We cannot blame the rest of you for misusing the word. You cannot see what we can see.

And you will never know true evil unless, somehow, you manage to peer through the thin veil of darkness that you see into the pure blackness that we see. Unless you happen to look at a shadow and catch a glimpse of the person surely looking back at you. Unless you die, but we can't really count that one, can we?

What are shadows? I'm sure your parents taught you that they are caused by the sun. They are lying, though whether or not they are aware of their lie is something we may never know.

Shadows are caused by evil. True evil. The malice that lurks inside of humans. The viciousness that burns inside of darkness. And shadows grow larger everyday. I'm sure you don't notice. It's rather subtle.

The nights are the hardest. That is when there is darkness everywhere. Sometimes, when you are asleep, you can see the true darkness. The darkness that we see everyday. You can peer into shadows and see their faces. Their hands. You can feel their wish to tear you to shreds.

Have you ever wondered what "dying of natural causes" truly means? You do not just get old and die. Most humans have widely accepted that, for some reason. They pin it on science, don't they? Don't they say that science never lies?

What most humans call "dying of natural causes" we call Being Taken. If you are Taken, the darkness finally drags you away. It happens to all of us, at one point or another. Most of the time it happens when we are sick or hurt. It makes more sense that way. We are weaker.

But, on the occasions when someone simply dies, the shadows have decided they can wait no longer for you. They will make themselves visible to you. If you see them, you will die. If you don't, you are truly oblivious and will probably live until they make themselves so plain that they are impossible to ignore.

To think that they are always watching you from the shadows. From the darkness. Scouting you out. Observing you. Picking out your weaknesses.

You cannot escape darkness. There will always be darkness somewhere close to you.

So remember child. Shadows are not nearly as harmless as they may seem.