Hikari/Yami
Chapter 5: Encounter in the Dark
by HA
As night came to Toronto, Kendra sat in the living room watching anime with a bag of potato chips on her lap. Her parents were out, leaving her in charge. Actually, Spinner was supposed to be in charge, but he hadn't come back from work and Degrassi. He had told her he'd be stopping by there to plead his case to Mrs. Hatzilakos. So far, he hasn't come home, and he hasn't called.
"Where the heck are you, Spinner?" she said before popping a chip into her mouth.
While Kendra was wondering where her big brother was, he and Jay were hiding in cupboards at Degrassi Community School. Thanks to the Shadowmyst, they had snuck into the school when everyone had left. Spinner discovered the small statue could turn anything you wanted into mist, and in that form, he and Jay made their way into their current hiding places.
"Think the janitor's gone?" Jay whispered fom his hiding place.
"He's gone," Spinner answered.
"How do you know?"
"I heard him leave and lock up for the night."
"What?"
Spinner grinned in the dark as he looked at the Shadowmyst. "This thing gave me super hearing too."
"Damn," Jay muttered. "If it's clear, let's go."
Both boys got out of their hiding places. They stretched and surveyed their new playground.
"So, what do you want to do first?" Spinner asked as he looked at the Shadowmyst.
Moments later, they found themselves in the gym throwing toilet paper rolls around the gym. Jay watched as Spinner used the Shadowmyst to throw a roll across the basketball court.
"Damn, man. What can't that thing do?" Jay held out his hand. "Can I try it out?"
"No!" Spinner glared at his friend and held the Shadowmyst tightly.
"Okay, okay," Jay said, waving his hands. Without saying another word, he picked up a toilet paper roll and tossed it towards a basketball hoop. It fell short of its goal. "Awww..." Then, the roll stopped before hitting the ground, and Jay watched as it flew upward and arched perfectly through the hoop.
"I believe that's three points for me," Spinner remarked.
By the time her brother and Jay decided to throw toilet paper around in the gym first, Kendra was getting worried. While they stacked chairs in the hallway and goofed around the school, she was bordering on becoming frantic. She wanted to call Spinner's friends, but then she realized they probably wouldn't know where he was or care. She paced around the living room for a half-hour before making her decision.
"Damn it, Spinner," she muttered as she scribbled a note to her parents. After taping the note where her parents could see it easily and finding her housekey, she darted out the door and only after a minute did she come back to lock up. Without a second thought, she ran into the night towards Degrassi Community School.
At a motel parking lot, the girl in the blue jacket looked at the night sky while leaning against her van. Through her sunglasses, she made out the twinkling stars. After a while, she closed her eyes and reopened them after a minute.
"About time," she muttered. She looked around, and seeing that everything was clear, she broke into a run.
"What do we have here?" Spinner said as he looked at one of the yearbooks he had found in the boxes of a classroom. "Degrassi: A Year of Memories," he read from the cover before flipping through the yearbook. The Shadowmyst stuck out of his pants pocket.
Jay frowned as he looked at his copy. "I said something worth something." He sighed as he started flipping through its pages. "I always like counting how many times I'm in this thing. The way I see it, the less, the better." He stopped on one page. "Oh crap, one. The last thing I want to see is me smiling goofy and hanging off my bestest friend." He continued flipping pages until he stopped. "No, two. I'm a freak! A failure. Nothing compared to you though. I mean, you're...you're all through this thing."
Looking through the yearbook, Spinner saw the truth to Jay's statement. As he looked at page after page, he saw pictures of him with his friends. There he was with Paige, his now ex-girfriend. There he was with Jimmy in a happy moment. There he was again and again and so on. One page even had "Friends Forever" in golden latters over some pictures. He closed his eyes, slammed the yearbook closed, and threw it to the floor as hard as he could.
"You all right there, Spinster?" Jay asked, staring at him.
Spinner opened his eyes and looked around. He knew what he had to do. "Follow me," he told Jay. "Grab some more."
Kendra leaned against a lamppost and caught her breath. She felt her legs were sore, but she didn't care. She was almost to the school. She was sure her brother was there. She didn't know why, but she was sure. Letting go of the lamppost, she got ready to walk.
"Kendra?"
Kendra turned around sharply and gasped at the person standing there. "Henrietta?"
Wearing green trousers, pink sneakers, and a purple windbreaker over a red shirt, the frizzy-haired girl stood before Kendra. "Hello," she greeted with a little wave.
"What are you doing out here?" Kendra asked, staring at the other girl.
"Had a feeling," Henrietta answered. "My housekeeper went to bed early, and I went out. Left a note saying I was going to see you." She smiled. "At least she can't say I lied."
"A feeling?" Kendra asked.
"Yes," Henrietta said. "A bad one." She looked around the street, and Kendra saw she was shivering a little. "So what brings you out here?"
"My brother," Kendra said. "He said he'd be stopping by Degrassi after work, and he hasn't come home yet or called."
"You think he's still at the school?"
"I'm really not sure."
"Then why are you heading there?"
Kendra shrugged. "Not sure. Just going with a feeling."
"Looks like I'm not alone," Henrietta said. "Shall we go together?"
Kendra nodded, and the two continued walking to the school. They had not walked for a few minutes when Henrietta stopped.
"What is it?" Kendra asked, but she felt a chill go through her.
Henrietta shook as she spoke. "Darkness..."
"Yes, darkness..." a soft voice echoed around them. It was almost like a whisper, but it conveyed a hint of malevolence.
Both girls looked looked at each other. "Did you hear that?" Kendra asked.
"I did," Henrietta said.
"Good," Kendra said. "Either it's real, or we're both going crazy."
"You children are brave to be out here to confront the darkness."
Kendra looked around the barely lit street. She really didn't want to deal with creepy voices. "Come on! Show yourself!" she shouted, trying to stay calm.
"As you wish."
Then, both heard footsteps and a tapping sound. In the barely illuminated night, Kendra could make out a person in a coat. From the outline, she saw a tall hat and a cane in the other's hand. However, the other person stayed out of any direct lighting, meaning no other details could be made out. He walked into the middle of the street, where Kendra and Henrietta couldn't make out anything save his outline shrouded in shadows. Kendra felt cold suddenly, and she did her best not to shiver. She saw that Henrietta was starting to swoon, so she reached out and grabbed her arm.
"Hang in there," Kendra said, squeezing the other girl's arm.
Henrietta willed herself to stay on her feet as she beheld the shadowy figure. "Darkness..." she whispered.
"Yes." The shadowy figure grinned at the two girls. "Welcome to darkness."
Suddenly, all became very dark. Not even the light of the stars and streetlights could be seen.
Standing next to the pile of yearbooks he had brought, Jay was wondering what Spinner was up to when he saw him reappear. "Yo, where'd you disappear?" he asked his confederate as he reappeared in the hallway.
"Science lab. I got fluid of the lighter kind." Spinner held up a plastic bottle. Unscrewing the top, he started pouring its contents onto the yearbooks. Looking at the soaked books, he pulled out a lighter.
Jay stared at the other boy. "Seriously, it's bonfire night?" All right, he found a little toilet paper being thrown around and some chairs stacked in the hallway were good enough, but burning school property seemed to be...overkill. "Look, I know math wasn't your strongest subject, but yearbooks plus fire equals the whole school up in flames. Oh yeah, and us in jail. Put the toy away, fliphead."
"You're stopping me?" Spinner said, his eyes wide with surprise.
Jay reached out and smacked the lighter out of Spinner's hands. It clattered to the floor away from the pile of doused yearbooks. "Shocking, but true," he said, keeping his gaze on Spinner as he picked up the lighter.
"You're a freak in the same way that I am!" Spinner yelled, glaring at him. In his pocket, the Shadowmyst once again emitted a red glow from its eyes.
Jay pocketed the lighter. "Yeah, well...at least I'm not torching the school." He patted the pocket where he put the lighter. "Now, let's use that thingamajig to get out of here and..."
Spinner looked at the Shadowmyst. "Thanks for reminding me."
"What?" Jay walked towards him. "Spinner..."
Spinner grinned and pulled out the Shadowmyst. "Look what else this thing can do." His grin widened as a blue fireball appeared over the Shadowmyst. "Hey, look at this!"
Jay stared at the fireball as it grew to the size of a baseball. "Oh..."
Spinner chuckled as he aimed the Shadowmyst at the pile of yearbooks. "Not a bad idea, burning the school down." He kept his gaze on the pile, and the fireball grew to the size of a basketball.
Within the darkness, Kendra stood her ground as she held on to Henrietta. "What's going on here?" she demanded loudly.
"I'm just showing you how futile it is to fight the darkness," the mysterious person said somewhere in front of her.
"What?" Kendra said, trying to see the speaker while she heard footsteps and the tapping of the cane.
"It's all around you," the mysterious person said from behind the two girls. TAP TAP TAP. "Darkness exists in all hearts. That is undeniable." TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP. "All hearts are ruled by darkness."
"No," Henrietta said softly. Kendra felt her getting steadier. "That can't be true." She waved Kendra's hand off her arm. "That can't be true!" She stood on her own two feet. "There is still light in the human heart, and it can outshine the darkness! Darkness can be overcome!"
A cruel chuckle echoed around them. TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP. "You know nothing. Your pathetic light is no match for the darkness. You humans are living proof of this."
"Oh yeah?" Kendra looked around with her hands balled into fists.
TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP. "Throughout history, humanity has given in to the darkness on many occasions. You have fought and killed each other over many trivial things." TAP TAP TAP. "Your cruelty to each other is...delicious. How large the number of ways you've come up with to inflict pain on each other!" A cruel laugh. TAP TAP TAP TAP. "So tell me," the mysterious figure said in front of Henrietta, "if humans do have the ability to overcome the darkness, why is it there is still so much hatred and violence in the world?"
Kendra took a swing at where the voice was coming from, but her fist swung through thick air. "Show yourself!" she yelled.
The cruel chuckle. TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP. Kendra looked in front of her and made out the mysterious person's outline. "It is useless to resist the darkness. Your brother is learning that right now."
"My brother?" Kendra glared in the direction of the voice. "Where is he?"
"You know where he is," the other answered.
"He's at Degrassi, isn't he?" Kendra said.
"I told you you knew."
"Do you have him?" Kendra asked.
The cruel chuckle again. "Not yet, but he will belong to me soon."
"What?" Kendra's fists tightened. "What do you mean by that?"
"All hearts are ruled by darkness." The mysterious person stood still before them. "Your brother will belong to me."
"No!" Kendra yelled.
The cruel chuckle yet again. "Feel free to try to stop me, but it is useless."
"Give me back my brother!" Kendra yelled, ready to pounce.
"You should worry about yourself," the mysterious person said.
The darkness around them swirled rapidly. Kendra shielded her face with her arms while Henrietta did the same to protect themselves from the resulting wind. When they lowered their arms, they saw everything back to normal and the man gone.
"Okay, this is getting seriously weird," Kendra said. "You all right?" she asked Henrietta.
The other girl nodded, then gasped and pointed behind them. "Kendra!"
Kendra looked to where Henrietta was pointing. Dark puddles were emerging from the ground, and some of them were sliding towards them. As the puddles got closer, they could see the pair of red eyes each one had.
"Kendra..." Henrietta said softly, her lip trembling as she moved closer to her as something rose from one of the puddles.
At first, it looked like an incomplete, not fully formed pile of black clay being turned into a statue with its limbs still being formed. Then, its shape solidified, and a pair of pointed rabbit-like ears shot out of its head, which had a pair of red eyes. It hunched over as its long clawed hands formed. A mouth with sharp teeth formed below its eyes, and it let out a little evil chuckle as it looked at the two girls. Behind it, its fellow creatures were forming from their puddles, and soon a large horde stood before the two girls. They laughed at them and began to march forward in unison.
"The creature from before..." Henrietta began.
"Times maybe a hundred," Kendra said as the horde got closer.
"Get them," one of the creatures in front said with a hiss and a grin. Soon, the others were whispering "Get them" repeatedly amongst themselves as they advanced while flexing their sharp claws.
"Run!" Kendra grabbed Henrietta by the hand and ran towards where she knew Degrassi Community School was. Behind them, the shadow creatures scampered after them.
