xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Shadows in the Moonlight

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"We're never going to find him."

A shift in his stance, his right arm bent across his chest to firmly grab his other arm. Hair was blowing across his eyes.

"Don't say that. We're practically identical – our brains think alike!"

He was pretty happy, but then again, he always was.

Three shadows played across the ground as footsteps echoed across the street. Blackness was around them – it was around midnight.

A lone streetlamp stood out, houses dancing in its light.

Sunglasses were falling down a nose before being pushed back up. "Dude, we've been down this street already."

"Yay, then it's something familiar!"

"We're doomed! We're lost… lost forever before we all shrink up and die on the pavement."

A shadow moved off the path. "Look, there's flowers!" Stem broken, the flower was now in his hand. "You can have it, if you want. It will cheer you up!"

"I'm allergic to flowers – are you trying to kill me?"

"This really isn't workin'."

"I want to go home! What if a car comes and hits us in the middle of the street?"

"There are no cars at midnight, bogus brain."

A little shutter traveled up the road. A crack. The light went out. Broken lights followed their path everywhere they went.

"I like the dark! I think it's pretty!"

"I'm afraid of the dark! I just know I'll fall in a pothole!"

"I really need to get away from you losers."

"I'll hold your hand so you won't fall."

"I hate touching people."

A hand found its way inside another all the same.

"I'm walkin' with a bunch o' pansies."

"Hey, I love pansies!"

"Pansies give me hives. They're an omen of death."

A clock was ticking. Snores were heard behind a door. Nothing could be heard from in the houses from their position on the street.

"I wonder if Jimmy will be happy to see us!"

"Of course not… he tried to kill us with ice. He'll probably try to kill us again!"

"I'll punch him out if he does anythin'."

A hand pointed up.

"Look at the stars! Aren't they beautiful?"

"What's the point of looking at stars? Pretty soon all the stars will go out and the earth will be covered in darkness."

He hung his head. His shoes dragged on the ground.

"Whatever happened to those other two punks?"

"They went down another street, remember? Now we'll find Jimmy even faster!"

"What if they're dead? What if death finally caught up with them?"

"I can beat up death."

"No one can beat up death! We're all gonna' die – it's inevitable!"

"I wonder if death is pretty."

Silence was everywhere. Was the question stupid? An obvious yes, but not the reason for the silence. Silence was simply engulfing everything.

"I hope Jimmy's house is pretty."

"We've been there before."

"We're going there to meet our ends. The final frontier… the great sleep…"

A new crack. The next light had gone out.

"We're being followed by an evil spirit! Our souls are going to be sucked out!!"

"I'll bet he's a nice spirit!"

"He can't get close to us when I'm around." A punch was mocked in the air.

The trip was imminent – a single rock sat on the road. Uncanny bad luck it was.

When he fell, it was into another's arms, held tightly around him. "Yay, I caught you!"

"I'm destined by the fates to die tonight, I just know it." His shirt was lifted up from behind and his feet soon were in contact with the ground.

The lifter spoke. "Hey, I recognize this street… but not from tonight."

"Hooray, we found Jimmy's street!"

"I've never gone back to somewhere I've been before on purpose… what if I fall?"

The three shadows moved towards a familiar house. The streetlamp didn't go out.

Grass grew thickly across the lawn, some of it crushed as feet walked through it. Heads turned towards a second floor window.

"He's asleep. He'll never wake up – we'll be stuck out here forever."

"I just know he'll sense us and wake up!"

"I'll throw a rock at the window."

Clicks, small clicks. Rocks fell from the sill into the grass below. Two rock-grabbers blundered about in the street.

"I can't find any more rocks…"

"There's rocks everywhere! You can find some in the cracks, and by the curb, and in the driveway…"

His head fell forward. He was depressed. When wasn't he?

Footsteps walked over to him.

"You can have some of my rocks!" A quick kiss, soft and light. Rocks were pressed from hand to hand.

He wiped his mouth. "Now I'm going to get germs!"

A balancing of rocks had ensued. The two shadows moved to join the third, a hand once again slipping into another. There was no complaint.

"Took you long enough."

More clicks against the window. One rather large thud – a small piece of concrete fell to the grass.

The window opened. A rather odd sound as rock and head collided.

"Yeowch!"

No more rocks.

He was surprised, that was for sure. A moment to register before he remembered everything.

"What are you three doing here?"

"There was nothing else for us to do!"

"We wanted to come see you, Jimmy!"

"The light from your window is hurting my eyes! What if I go blind?"

A short conversation – the boy upstairs came downstairs and the new group of four headed towards another door.

"You guys will have to stay down here until tomorrow at least… then I'll figure out what we're going to do."

They were left in a softly darkened room. The lab would be a safe place to stay.

"I need ta' get my beauty sleep!" The sunglasses were removed and on the floor he went – his head resting on his arm.

The two remaining sat.

"I'm tired and cold and the floor is too hard! I'll probably have serious back problems tomorrow!"

"I like it in here! It's so cozy!"

"It's like a cave of doom… none of us will probably even wake up tomorrow!"

"I can't wait to get up tomorrow! I'll probably be just as wonderful as today!"

"This is the worst day of my life!"

A frown on one a smile on the other.

"Let's go to sleep! I want to have a great dream!"

"All my dreams are nightmares…"

"Dream about me! I'm not a nightmare!"

"I might die in my sleep…"

He reached forward and kissed him again. There was no wiping away this time.

"You're so cute when you're depressed!"

He was always depressed.

"I'm going to get mono now!"

"I'll dream about you tonight!"

Arms were found tightly around the other, both lying on the ground. A sigh from one – a happy smile on his face, a sigh from the other – a frown on his.

"I'm so happy."

"I've never hugged anyone before – what if I fall?"

The ground stayed under them, right where it was.