An uncomfortable atmosphere washed over the city as the unexpected storm clouds rolled over the mountains; and in result, the pedestrians of the city left the streets abandoned, more or less, for their own last-minute reasons to rush back home. There were several meetings that were postponed because one of the members, after looking up at the sky, suddenly remembered that they left something in the oven, and the other members scattered just as quickly. A group of rambunctious teenagers were just preparing to release the rubber band on their slingshot, about to release the water balloon among one of the quickly dispersing crowds loitering on the sidewalk. Then they were overcome by an indescribable form of melancholy before admitting to one another that it was getting late out and bidding each other farewell, heading home as fast as their baggy pants would allow them to.
Eventually, every one of the remaining citizens ceased their daily activities and left the streets unoccupied, a rare sight especially for a bustling city. But there it was, utterly empty and nothing to prove of the people ever being there aside from the few slices of untouched pizza forgotten on the tables next to the snack stand. It remained that way for a minute or two, the bizarre silence creeping its way through the streets, consuming and silencing everything in its path. One would think that the city was vacant, when in reality, the people were cowering deep in their homes with fear, unsure of what was really frightening them. Was it the sudden intrusive feeling that out of nowhere raided the pleasant bustling aura of the city? Or was it the unpredicted storm that rolled over the jagged mountains and dampened the atmosphere in and of itself, as well as surrounded it in a gray eerie haze?
Then the silence was succumbed when the sound of rapid footsteps approached the center of the once crazed metropolis. At first, it was an echo, like that of a creaking, dripping pipe from a ceiling threatening to collapse into itself. After a few long seconds, a figure emerged from the shadows of a vandalized alleyway, bursting from the shadows and refusing to show any signs of slowing down. And as strange as it seemed, it started to rain; at first, a gentle tapping as the fist few fell to the ground, only to intensify to a merciless downpour just as quickly as it had begun. This wasn't all that surprising for the girl, though it did cause her to trip and fall a few times as she desperately tried to flee from what appeared to be nothing. And as she ran, her black hair down and her gray clothing drenched with sweat and blood, the voices came from the shadows surrounding her.
Don't run.
Come back!
Why are you running?
Promise we'll play nice! Honest!
Don't make us come out there.
You don't want us to come out, do you?
It was at this moment that the shadows in front of her manifested into distorted beings who, after tremendous effort, pried themselves from the darkness and stumbled after her hastily, making quite a traumatizing effect as they tailed behind her. The girl's small hands were clenched into quivering fists, which began to shake not only from the cold but from the fear that crept down her spine; and she could feel it, the monster's eyes penetrating through hers and feeding off of the fear that had no choice but to reveal itself through her unstable, shaky demeanor. She hadn't thought for a second that it was possible, how these creatures effortlessly manipulated the surroundings that pertained to them, and used them against their will.
What these creatures were capable of was beyond any human's apprehension.
Luckily, she wasn't human.
Still, no matter how many times she'd seen their tricks, their illusions, it always scared her into running off, town to town, city to city. It didn't matter where she hid, who she pretended to be, how she blended in - they always found her. It was only a matter of time before they cornered her and took back what was rightfully theirs, which had been undoubtedly stolen and given to her as a gift, or something as sly as the sort.
But none of that mattered; all that mattered to the fifteen-year-old girl was safety, a sanctuary that would fend off these horrifying creatures, at least for now. All she wanted, more than anything, was to rest. To stop for a second, take a deep breath, and regain her esteem and energy before going off into hiding again. But more than this, she wanted reassurance. She wanted other people around her to say, "I see them, I see what they're after, and I have the answers." Again, this was as unlikely as being granted a break. The girl, as the tears ran down her face and blended into the rain that pelted her from high above, wanted more than anything to be reassured that others were seeing these creatures as well, running from them, thinking the same thoughts that she was thinking now. It didn't take long to realize that, no matter how much she prayed for something like this to happen, it wasn't true.
She was the only one facing this.
And as much as she wanted to deny it, she was alone.
It was that moment when she realized that she was running straight toward a dead end, and quickly fumbled around and took to the left, still being chased by the shadow creatures, whose long arms dangled and dragged behind them as their large steps drew closer to her. The girl was breathing heavy now, after all, running for a full half an hour (half of which she was running from nothing) doesn't cope well when you don't get a break. The rain made her torn gray tank top look like a faded black, and the blood seeped through from the cut on her left side of the waist, and for a second, one could see the deep gash through the hole in the back.
One would think that after that long running, her pursuers would've given up and faded back into the shadows they had came from. But no, they had actually sped up, seeing that their target was limping and she was exhausted. It didn't take long for the girl to notice this, and she grabbed nearby trash cans and boxes and toppled them over to block their path. This didn't do any good; they walked right through them. They were shadows, after all. The voices grew louder, from harsh whispers to a deafening shouting sound.
Please don't go!
Turn around!
We're gonna get you!
Don't trip, don't fall now!
Look out - we're gonna get you!
Laughter and taunting echoed in the vacant streets and alleyways, repeating themselves over and over again.
You would think that someone would step outside to see what all of the shouting was about, to see what exactly the girl was running from and maybe even call the authorities to report all of the noisy hullabaloo. But this never happens, you see.
These creatures, these voices, they reside on a different dimension than our own. The reason we all live in harmony is because we cannot see or feel one another, and this is why we still barely hold on today.
But all that is about to change.
The girl looked back once more and glanced at one of the long arms reaching out to her. In a frantic effort to try to escape the creatures once and for all, she flipped all the way around on her heels and, much to the shadow beings' surprise, burst right through them and headed toward the edge of the city, where the city came to an abrupt halt before it led to the body of water that softly edged up along the jagged rocks of the shore bordering the beach. In a swift, sudden movement, the girl got a running start, leaped off of one of the boulders, and cannon-balled into the water. The creatures, after seeing what she had done, let out a howl of disappointment and anger before slinking back into the shadows and allowing themselves to slowly fade back into the background, where they kept a watchful eye on her as she slowly bobbed back up.
After a few minutes of barely poking her eyes over the water and looking around at her surroundings, she weakly swam towards one of the rocks barely prodding out of the water and climbed upon it, resting her stomach on it, soaked to the bone and struggling to regain her breath.
"Going for a swim, are you?" Somebody asked behind her on the shore. The girl flipped around and nearly tumbled back into the water, letting out a squeak of surprise before someone grabbed her by her arm and pulled her on her feet on top of the rock.
"It seems that you are one of the jittery types. Pity," She looked up frantically, praying that if it was a shadow creature, it was dissolving in the water this very second. Luckily it wasn't. Still, it was a tall, odd-looking man in a black suit, a strange mask that had a glossy half black and half golden pattern. It was peculiar, in a creepy sort of way.
"What's your name, child?" he asked in a deep voice, summing her up from head to toe as she shot him a questioning look.
After a quick pause, she responded.
"Y-yours first."
The man chuckled, even though you couldn't necessarily see his face to confirm it. He paced on the wide platform-like rock and spoke to himself, a trait they both seemed to share. "You know how to play your cards right. This will help you further into the future. My name is not of much importance to you; thoroughly speaking, I'm not a man of concern, nor a man that should be disregarded as just another roaming the streets. I am well-known, but am discreet about it. You?"
The girl looked down and bit her lip.
"Um…Giat."
"How unusual…now why don't you tell me your first name please. I really don't appreciate the games, and for now, your middle name serves no use to me."
The girl clenched her jaw, angry that he knew of her own tricks of the trade. She remained silent.
The man who wouldn't give his name crossed his arms.
"Fine then. Tell me something about yourself. I have already told you something about me, it is now your turn."
The girl chuckled. "Sorry, I thought you didn't appreciate games. But, if you say so…" the girl looked off into the distance and took a deep breath.
"I'm mad."
"Mad?" He questioned, looking out into the water. "One can not be mad, for it is a state of mind. Therefore, you're not mad, per say, but you are lost in a state of madness." the man replied.
"That's reassuring," she commented, looking awkwardly into the shadows behind him.
"It seems you were preoccupied with something before I came along?" the man noticed her obsession with the shadows.
"Yah, playing tag with my imaginary friends." she replied dryly. "And they're cheaters."
"And they can't come into the water?"
"Nope. They dissolve. So I'm stuck here for the most part."
The man looked off into the distance. "Have you ever considered trying to seek refuge on an island? If my eyes don't deceive me, there's an island right over there, a fairly good distance from the shore if you wish to remain untagged. Look."
He wasn't suggesting for her to look. He told her to do so. He pointed directly out towards a lone island with a large building in the shape of the T built upon it. She inspected it curiously. "I-I don't know…they always find ways around. They never leave me alone."
"A word of advice, my dear child," he said, leaning in closer to better emphasize its secrecy.
"If you don't know the rules, don't play the game."
The girl looked at him with a quizzical expression, wondering if this was the mad one here and she was just the bystander.
Or the victim.
"What? That doesn't even make any sense!" she cried with irritation. She never liked it when she didn't understand something. "What do you mean by the rules? It's my game, so how would you know anyway?"
The man took a step forward.
"Here, let me spell it out for you."
With unexpected and with impossible speed, the man had lifted her up by the collar of her shirt in an instant, and thrown her with unbelievable strength towards the shore of the beach neighboring the rocky shore, sending her into the icy cold water.
The girl hit the water with so much force it felt like a slap across the face, and sure enough, by the time she mustered up the strength to swim back up to the surface, the man was gone. "Thanks for the advice, jerk." she whispered under her breath, shivering in the cold water before taking a deep breath and swimming back to the shore. All the while, her mind was reeling. Perhaps that man wasn't mad at all. Maybe he was honestly providing her with something that will help her lose the shadow people?
She doubted it though; after all, she was most likely seeing things. "That's it," she said to herself as she pulled herself up onto one of the rocks farthest from the area where she saw the man who wouldn't give his name. "I'm just hallucinating now." She stared off into the sunset, and the silhouette of the 'T' shaped building stood out. Maybe he did mean to help her not get tagged. Maybe the people in that building could help her? She didn't ask herself any more questions, because just as the sun slowly descended the sky as if it were stairs, she drifted asleep.
Slade couldn't help but to look back at the girl from the top of a building not too far from the shore. All in all, she was smart, knew how to deal with things, knew how to keep and obtain information. All she needed to learn was how to hold her tongue. Then, maybe, she could be of use when it came to the pesky Teen Titans. He also thought about what she had said to him about the shadow people that were following her. Slade wasn't a psychologist, but he certainly knew how to mess with people's minds, as well as what mark it left. There wasn't a traumatizing event that could've made her imagine these creatures.
He knew all too well that they had to be real.
"Rest for tonight, child," he said to himself, the wind suddenly chillier than it was before. "Because as of tomorrow, you're going to be playing one of my games. And I have a very fun one in mind…"
Author's Note: Hey all of you TT fans! This is my first TT fan fiction, so any constructive feedback is appreciated. I'm also writing two other Regular Show fanfics, and planning to write an Adventure Time fanfic and a Where The Wild Things Are fanfic (I know I have all these ideas crammed inside of my head and I'm running out of room lol). I actually wrote this out of boredom, since school testing is finally over and I can finally relax since I've been under so much pressure. I think I bombed it though, because I'm not the greatest when it comes to math heh ^^; Sorry if the last line sounds a bit pervy. ._. So if its any good, please let me know and I'll carry on, if not, eh, I've other stuff I'd like to finish anyway.
~Toxin~