The Shadow Creature

Chapter 11 - Vanishing Light

The leaves of a tree moved back and forth gently as the wind blew through the air. A car rushed past the tree and the leaves moved to the motion of the car. A green leaf flew off the tree and traveled throughout the air. It went up to the sky and revealed a orange lit sky with a pink outline. The green leaf came back down and brushed against the window of a house. As the leaf fell away from the window, it revealed a man sitting in front of the window, observing the leaf.

The warm light of the orange lit sky covered the man's face as it was revealed to be William's dad. He wore a blank face as he looked up at the sky. The door quietly opened behind him and William's mom slowly walked into the room. The husband sensed a presence in the room and shifted his focus to his wife. They connected eyes and she made a small smile. He returned the smile and continued to look out the window.

"Had any luck?", the wife asked, slowly approaching her husband. He looked at the table and saw his blueprints for a machine. "No, not really, I know how to build it, but I can't find what's a good source to power it", the husband explained. A hand got laid on his shoulder. William's dad looked at the hand and then up to his wife's face. 

"I'm not asking about that", the wife said. The husband sighed and looked down at the wife's hand where her wedding ring shined on her finger. "I haven't told William yet", the husband admitted. "You want me to tell him?", the wife asked. "Pretty sure he's gonna feel a little hurt when only one of his parents tell him that they're in the process of adopting a child", the husband explained.

"Especially when they didn't even ask for his opinion in the first place", the husband added with a cloud of sadness reigning over him. The wife got on her knees and looked at her husband in the eyes. "We're not perfect, honey. No doubt that we made a couple of mistakes with this whole parenting thing, but all we could really do is grow from them", the wife started to say as her husband looked down.

"We don't know how William will react when we tell him, but one day, he'll understand our choices one way or another", the wife said, grabbing her husband's hand. "And so will you", she added with a small smile. William's dad looked at her and returned the small smile. "How have you put up with all my crap over the years?", he asked with curiosity in his tone. "The same way you put up with mine", the wife said. They both chuckled softly and kissed each other.

Present

William's dad turned his hands into fists as both William and Derek disappeared. As he clenched his fists, it was revealed that he wasn't wearing the ring. White light shined out of William's dad eyes. He focused his attention on Ivan and Cindy as they looked at him back. Cindy looked around the area for William and Derek. Ivan stared down William's dad as a sinister smile appeared on his face.

"What did you do with William and Derek?", Ivan asked with anger in his voice. "I wouldn't worry about them right now", the father said in a distorted voice with his eyes closing once again. White rays shot out of his hands as he opened them. Cindy turned around and saw one of the rays headed in her direction. It struck her in the stomach and she gasped for air. Ivan yelled out Cindy's name as he reached his hands out to her. 

A white ray got shot at Ivan's head. He yelled out in pain as he closed his eyes. A flash of light appeared in the middle of the fog and Ivan flew out of it. His back banged against the bark of a tree. He then fell on the ground and landed on his chest. Ivan groaned as he looked up weakly and saw the area around him becoming blurry. He then rested his head on the ground and shut his eyes. Blood started to drip down his nose.

A flash of light appeared in a dark room and Cindy fell onto the ground. Her arms rested on the cold, hard floor as she lift her head. Hair covered one of Cindy's eyes as she looked around the room. She got on her knees and moved her hair out of her face. Cindy looked at her stomach and realized that there was nothing there.