Chapter 1
"I am Umbra"
Let's face it, not everyone reading this will think it's true. Maybe where you live, it's just fiction. Just another story written by another author, but you might start noticing things that are just beyond your understanding. And if you already do notice those things... well then, let's just say that you might not like what you see after you finish this story...
Don't say I didn't warn you...
"You..." I managed to say.
"What? You think that I would stand down? Hold back?" the gang leader scoffed.
"Maybe a little," I said. "After all, you beat on me everyday and I haven't had a decent meal in about a week."
Boy, did that get a laugh out of them. The leader punched me in the gut, I coughed, and my vision blurred for a second.
"No way, punk." One of the thugs shouted at me, he then made a big mistake, he came near me.
ADHD to the rescue, I grimly thought after I'd kicked him in the soft spot, smashed my fist into his nose, and somehow got him in a full nelson.
"Back off," I said; my voice was deathly calm. "Back off or I'll snap his neck."
"Yeah right," one of the grunts said. "You don't have the guts."
I tightened my grip, bringing the person (and by person I mean massive gorilla thug man) I was holding to his knees. "Yeah," I said; still in that ridiculously calm voice. "I don't have the guts, do I?"
They backed off, and I let go. I ducked into a small hole, jumped down into somewhere that smelled like a storm drain and ran away. The darkness of the smelly hallway seemed to heal me, just as darkness always has... It's probably because of whom I am, at least what I call myself. Umbra, the one word I can remember about my past, a Latin word meaning "shadow" or "shade" and describing me perfectly.
As I ran, I thought about the parents that I couldn't remember. Did they name me Umbra? Or was that a name I chose for myself? Did they die? Or did they abandon me? The same questions I could never answer ran through my mind, as they had for the past two years, ever since I was 13 and woke up one day on the streets with no recollection of anything (except school crap and that one word... Umbra) from my past, as if the memories had been blocked. I paused in front of a broken mirror that was standing in a shaft of light; my reflection stared back at me with the same hunted eyes you see on an animal close to death. Dark gray fur covered my body, some of it hidden by my tattered clothing, my tail flicked in and out of view as I examined my reflection, my flame-red markings on my hands, cheeks, and tail stood out vibrantly from my dark fur, around my glowing golden eyes there was the rings of pale orange, and my dark red-orange hair fell over one eye a little.
I turned away from the mirror; I was a cat-like being... But still like a human. I walked the last few feet to the opening in the wall, looked through, and decided that it would be a good idea to go "home." As I climbed out of the sewer system I got a strange feeling, the same one I always get when I'm about to be attacked. I looked around, and saw nothing but the tip of a small creature's tail whip around a corner. I shrugged, and walked to the door of an old, closed hotel. The door made a loud creaking sound, and I stepped into the dark and dusty hallway. This was where I lived, an ancient hotel that was long out of service, and need of repair.
I jumped when a loud crash sounded just behind me. I spun around and stared at a part of the roof that had fallen, and I groaned.
"Now the roof is collapsing, just another thing to add to my problems, along with increasing paranoia, annoying gangs that for some reason want to recruit me, and the Elites at school are driving me CRAZY!" I shouted, for no apparent reason.
"Who are the Elites?" someone asked, and I looked around and saw no-one.
"Where are you?" I asked. "I don't answer the questions of people I can't see."
"Oh, forgive me." The person said, and from the shadows stepped a small creature. It had the basic body shape of a cat, but its head was indescribable. Sort of like a squid, I guess. "I am Sammael."