The Shadow Creature

Chapter 10 - Reunion

8 Hours Before The Event

The door of a dark room opened, making the darkness disappear from the light outside. The shadow of a person was seen on the ground as they stepped into the room. The mysterious person turned the lights in the room on and all of the darkness from within the room disappeared. The mysterious person was then revealed to be Derek. He looked outside the room to see if anyone was nearby.

He focused his attention back to the room and saw a laptop in the back of the room. Derek walked over to the laptop and opened it, turning it on. A lock screen popped up and he typed in a seven-digit password. The screen switched from the lock screen to the home screen, revealing the same picture that Ivan saw earlier. Derek took a few moments to acknowledge the picture and a soft sigh escaped his mouth.

"They're onto us", a man said from the entrance of the room. Derek looked up from the laptop while closing it. He turned around and saw Devin at the entrance of the room. "They know something's up", Devin added, walking into the room. "Really? What gave it away? The fact that we kidnapped them?", Derek snapped, taking a few steps toward him. "We were saving them", Devin stated, closing the door behind him.

"But, they don't know that. They think we're just random people that were lucky enough to escape the fog, but we know better than that", Derek explained. Devin cocked a eyebrow at the boy. "You're having doubts, huh?", Devin asked, looking at the laptop in his hand. Derek looked at the laptop and stood quiet for a few moments.

"I don't wanna lie to him anymore", Derek admitted. "I wanna tell William that we're brothers", he added, looking Devin in the eyes. "You can't do that", Devin said, shaking his head. "Wh-why not? Don't they deserve to know the truth?", Derek asked. "We can't be the ones to tell them, they need to figure it out on their own", Devin explained.

"Says who? Why can't we just come clean to them?", Derek argued. "Because I made a promise to both yours and William's dad and I am failing it right now", Devin exclaimed. "I told him that even after he's gone that I was going to keep both of you safe and now this fog is gonna take you away?", Devin explained in a furious tone. The boy looked at the man with a speechless look.

"You never told me about that...", Derek said in a soft voice. "There are many things that I can't tell you yet", Devin admitted, calming himself. "But, I need you to trust me on this", he added. Derek sighed and set the laptop aside. "How longer do we need to keep quiet?", Derek asked. "For as long as we can", Devin responded.

Cindy sat in a chair inside the lab while looking at the computer. It showed the analysis was halfway completed. She turned her attention to the entrance of the room as she heard footsteps. William and Ivan appeared in view and walked into the room. They both looked at Cindy as she got up from the chair.

"What did you guys have to tell me?", William asked, sensing a serious tone in the atmosphere. "Well, we were doing some snooping around-", Cindy started to say. "You nosey-asses, I swear", William said, shaking his head. "You're gonna be glad that we are though", Ivan stated. "Why? What did you guys find that was so important?", William asked, emphasizing "important".

"A picture of you and your family", Cindy concluded. William turned serious as he looked at Cindy. "With Derek in it", Ivan added. William looked at both of them and scoffed. "No, you guys got this wrong-", William said, backing away. "Hey, hey, no, listen to us", Ivan panicked as he grabbed William's shoulder to keep him there. "There's something called photoshop, you know?", William offered while looking at both of them.

"But, that doesn't explain why they have a family picture of you", Cindy argued. "Well then-", William started to say. "Will, think about it", Ivan interrupted. "These random people kidnap us and give us information on a supernatural fog? That doesn't sound suspicious?", Ivan stated confused. "They're called rapists that are high, Ivan", William explained slowly as he put his hand on Ivan's other shoulder.