Anita heard the man with the vodka say something to her, "Those wont help, trust me".
She watched as he walked by, curious yet scared to what he meant. Did he think she was a drug addict? How embarrassing. She felt the headache leaving her head but she also felt a cool, silky sensation on her back where she was leaning against the brick wall. Shadows licked and pulled her into them, and she stood still, curious as to what they were doing to her. Instantly the darkness pulled her into the shadows in the wall and she was concealed. Everything around her was darker, as if she was wearing sunglasses.
In this form she could move with the shadows and slowly come back out again if she wished. She found it interesting and calming how the shadows synchronized with her body and emotions, how easy it was to move. Her whole body felt light and weightless when she was melded with the shadows.
She came out of the shadows again, somehow she felt a little better and found she didn't mind that she was insane. Anita slipped out of the alley and went to cross the road, but found her head feeling fuzzy again. She stopped somewhere, unable to see or register any sounds. She managed to open her eyes wide enough to watch what happened next.
A small delievery truck speeding down the street didn't see her until the last minute. She was standing in the middle of the road. In an instant the moment happened, the truck that was supposed to hit her instead went over her...for a moment she thought it flew over her but instead she realised the shadows had reacted in a last minute attempt to save her life. She was pulled in the shadow of the truck and instantly spat out onto the road lying down. The truck halted behind her and she wasn't exactly sure what had happened. The silky feeling happened in a second.
A stranger ran up to her, asking her questions but her head was dizzy. He seemed panicked but she managed to stand and assure him she was okay, she ran quickly, stumbling into people, poles, buildings.
Her head was a fuzzy mess, she wanted it to go away...while nobody was looking she sunk into the shadows of the afternoon sun reflecting off the shops and her mind shut off.
---
A mysterious figure sat quietly at a polished oak desk. He was writing something, a report of some sort...but he was bored, tired of writing reports and dealing with papers. But he knew he had to fund the place somehow, though he was starting to doubt the organization, starting to doubt their motives and he began to doubt his beliefs, the things that had started the organization in the first place.
He read letters of strange happenings, stories by ordinary people with nothing to do. He was beginning to think they were all just imaginative stories made up by silly people who wanted to believe something was wrong or different in their lives but really, there wasn't. They've investigated so many stories, so many reports and they were all false. Nothing led to anything.
While lost in thought a man in his early twenties entered the room, holding a bunch of folders and looking rather flustered.
"Mr. Johannas! Theres been a strange sighting," he held up a photo, it was dark but a large dinosaur looking figure was flashed in the middle, a glowing eye looking somewhere ahead "They saw it last night! There are other photos...this is true!"
The man was egar to show Mr. Johannas, but he didn't take much interest "Kaleb, what did I say before about doing this?"
"But sir! We've searched, we've looked everywhere...we are sure this is a real thing. Readings on our thermometers tell us that something out of this world, almost magical, have been occuring throughout the night and day! I will show you. There are witnesses and everything, you have to believe me,
this is real!"
The tall man, in his late 30's, stood up. He took some interest in what Kaleb said. He looked at the photo closely and saw it looked like a dragon.
"Come on, let's take a look then"
---
Shadows licked at Deaths attire and instantly vanished. He walked quickly amoung the dark, smooth corridor with Norke welcoming him and following. He had been out all day on business. There were so many lost souls recently, he couldn't save every one but deaths were frequent and he was flat out trying his best. Tortured souls, sorry souls, angry souls, broken shards of souls, souls once redeemed but soon turned to rust...some he could reason with, others he had to destroy because of their rage. He couldn't do much, there was so much anger and sadness in the modern world. So many people, so much death and loss.
Norke filled him in on certain events, how fights were happening within the kingdom of the Otherworld. Everyone was restless, he needed assistance and bad. He just hoped that his dearest friends, the messengers, would pull through...that the children, created by his power, would accept their task.
He came upon a large door, covered in gears and cogs. A bony hand pulled out and touched the door, and the cogs and gears worked together and opened. Only Death could open this door, one of the most important things in the world.
Norke waited outside, no one was permitted unless Lord Death said so, it was an extremely precious room. As the doors opened, a billion little hourglasses could be seen on massive, ongoing shelves, stacked in lines. He said one final thing to Norke, "I may have to call upon the messengers soon. I have some very important information for them."
The doors shut close, and he resumed his business in the Hourglass Room.
