A Shadow's Game

by foreversmiles7

The apocalypse has occurred on earth. Only the shadows of eternally sleeping humans have survived. But their survival has not gone unnoticed by a group of life beings from another world. These beings have made their proclamation "Only two will join them" the rest have been condemned to death. *This is not directly Hunger Games or Matched, it is mixing the ideas of both novels*

Chapter One

As dark flits across the sky like the midnight beat of the wing of a bat I slip from my hiding place and look to the sky. I'm correct, the gather is tonight. I stay against a wall and look into the window, a human sleeps in a large emerald green arm chair. Her raven hair splays across one of the pads, but her face blurs, shadows can never see humans well, especially their own.

I skit around my human's resting place and continue on my journey to the gather. I race along the walls, getting closer, losing my form, becoming closer to human in some ways. Peeling off the wall, feeling my bare feet pounding against the packed soil of the earth below me, running through benches and barrels, though, instead of over them like I am sometimes able to do. I can feel the wind now; this is the kind of night that rushes through me. The kind of night I come alive.

I skid to a stop, the Round is empty. He has not arrived yet. I sit on the ground, wrapping my arms around my knees becoming a burn mark against the dull, red brick wall and wait. Sometimes I think waiting is the hardest part of being me. I feel like a tuft of flames sometimes always moving and other times I feel like a dull stone in a stream resisting the tugs of the currents. Then next to me a laughing voice smooth and small whispers in my ear "Senge, it's because you're so unpredictable."

I nod "True enough, Rizelle. But that doesn't mean eavesdropping on other peoples thoughts is right."

Her slight figure appears next to me "When you read minds, what else is there to do?" Rizelle says mock innocence filling her tone.

I hold back a snort and look out at the Round again. The Round is a circle and all alleyways from Willow Avenue to Main Street lead here. By each opening there is a grand tree and in the middle of the Round is a risen circle of pure black like obsidian. We gather at the edges of the Round and I slide up one of the oaks followed by Rizelle. Sliver, our leader, stands on the top of the black circle. He is the most human of all of us and on these nights he can stand in a 3 dimensional sort of way. We all listen intently as he begins to speak.

"It has been 17 full moons since the last human has slept without waking," he says, "The scouts have returned and we are alone. We have survived the apocalypse."

Noise broke out among the area. The wind picks up and begins to blow violently. The moon is blocked for a second and when it is removed figures streak the rooftops. One of them shouts "Sliver, you have not survived, yet." for some reason I like the way she snaps her yet in an evil way. Rizelle shivers and whispers to me

"They want to kill us," she whimpers, "Or at least some of us."

I straighten myself and try to stay calm. One of them jumps from the rooftop and lands so close to Sliver that he shrinks back into a wall. She has black, shiny hair that flows down her back in an unbroken wave. Her skin is ice blue and she wears a tight black jumpsuit that clings to her body with a forest green shawl that blows with the wind making her look she had wings. Her piercing violet eyes sting holes in us and her small mouth is pursed and thin.

"Make a line." she says icily and everyone crowds against the wall closest to her. She sits on the ground and motions for the first person.

By the time it was my turn there are two groups, one group bigger than the other. I stand in front of her and our eyes meet; I immediately knew I would need to be the fire inside me right now. Her eyes softened

"Sit." she says with no venom in her voice. I settle on the ground in front of her and wait.

"I am Snag." she says her voice steel again "Who are you?"

I shrug "Senge."

"Well Senge," Snag says as if tasting the name "Who do you think should survive?"

What? "Why are you asking me?" I ask suspicion lacing my voice.

"Answer the question." Snag says simply picking at her nails.

"Rizelle!" I huff after a few moments standing up angrily.

Snag raised her eyebrows but then pointed to the smaller group and I angrily walked over there and climbed a tree. I wait for Snag to go through the rest of the names. I hate waiting, so, so much.

Finally Snag finished. I searched for Rizelle in my small group and caught sight of her in the other group. Our eyes met and then she let out a scream a second before a blinding light hit her entire group. Disintegrating them all.