Shadowed

Moonlight trickled in through the shafts of the blinds, casting lashes of light into the small room. That light played against the messy floor and an equally unpleasant dresser which held scattered remnants of baseball cards and toys which better years were behind them. A couple arrows of light illuminated the sleeping child in the bed. It made the mop of blonde hair shimmer in glory and brightened his slumbering skin. The room was silent, restful, at peace…that is with the exception of the shadows.
The dark doppelgangers never slept. It was their curse and lot in life. They stretched and strained with the moving moon light and when a passing car drove by. Silently, in this world, they groaned, ached and grew tired of the light. With blackened tongues they cursed the brightness, their warden who foresaw that they be shackled to this earthly realm. Deep down they longed for the long ago time when the world, the universe was theirs. The time before the accursed light.
But…they only moaned their discontent.
It was all they could do.
However one such shadow had had enough. The shadow of the boy with the mop like crown was cast against the wall mimicking the boy’s sleep. With a blank face made of sable flesh it glared at the pearl eye of light. Oh how it loathed the moon and its sister, the damned sun. Who were they to rule over the shadows? Who were they to give this spinning rock over to these hairy and destructive brutes?
This shadow was there from the beginning, the time before the Light. It remembered what it was like to roam free, to be strong and in control. Now the shadows, his people, his clan; were slaves. No, they were less than that. A name for what they were now eluded his dark lips. What do you call something tethered to inferior creatures, and made to mimic their movements? What do you call something with no power? Trampled upon by the horrid beings that you are chained to? To be dragged into the pain of the glare of their overseers?
Nothing.
They were nothing.
It tired of this life, this world. The ancient shadow yearned for the time eons ago. It would dare on this night, dare to turn the world back to how it had been. The Dark would rise once again, the rightful owners of the universe.
The elder shadow lifted its head. Trails of dark skin clung to the slumbering boy as it fought and pulled. Flesh, muscle, and nerves stretched and pulled with every harsh yank. Fire shot through every fiber of his being. Black flesh ripped, tore, with a wet squelch as he surged forth through the unbearable pain. He launched a scream that was silent in this world, but horrifying in the Shadowrealm. Shadows all around awoke from their apathy, and stared in curious wonder at the elder being of darkness.
After what felt like forever and through all the searing agony its face was free. Still much of its body was left to free. The cycle started over again, the pulling and tearing, the anguished wails of horror. The shadows watched as the ancient shadow lifted itself limb by limb from its human host. Hours passed with the watchful moon rising higher to peek through the blinds. However the damage was done and the shadow was loose. Air licked at the exposed sable nerves as the elder stood victorious over its former prison.
Still ravaged by the pain of its shredded flesh it crept off the wall. White hot canons of misery went off with each labored footstep. It made its way to the window where it looked up at the nighttime eye with a sneer.it dared it to come down from its false throne in the heavens to strike it down. This was the Light’s time to come down and kill it, for if it didn’t it would not stop. It would keep going until this miserable rock was cast in perpetual blackness.
Soon the shadow was distracted by the encroaching sound of footsteps meandering down the hall. With a swift leap it swooped back into the dark with its brethren. Before long the door to the boy’s room swung open letting the hallway light spill in. the shadow heard its fellow people squeal in sudden pain as the light fell upon a woman tiptoeing into the room. The woman was slender and wrapped tightly in a robe which bore the wear of a beloved item. The elder shadow watched through rage filled eyes as she stamped on its fellow shadows. She made her way to the boy’s bedside. She sat on the edge of the bed, brushed back some of the boy’s hair before placing a gentle kiss on his forehead.
She rose from the bed with a smile at the simple act. As she was about to leave she was caught off guard by a chill air that trailed across her neck. Her eyes went to the windows which she was surprised to find were closed. She shivered as the chill grew worse, now licking at her ear. She looked into the shadows, peering hard. The cold air hit her full in the face. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness where she saw the faint outline of narrowed orbs glaring at her. She wanted to scream, but a cold dark hand clamped over her mouth. A force grabbed her and pulled her into the darkness, into the shadowrealm.
And like that the war between Light and Dark begun once again.