Her book was tucked in her armpit as she hobbled down the street. Lining the massive buildings around her, she could tell that the sun was setting. Great, spent the entire day with looters instead of getting supplies. Casey stayed within arm's reach of any sturdy support as she attempted to find Jenny and Emily. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to give them the head start they deserved. While she glanced around for street signs or notable landmarks, the need for her shadows disappeared and her eyes blinked away to green once again. As she staggered down the street, her heart was beating incredibly fast and an occasional twitch or shiver passed her body. That bolt of electricity was baffling; she had no idea such power could be controlled. How was she able to harness that electricity? Why wasn't Casey able to read anything about it in her book? Maybe she wasn't as powerful as she thought.
"You've got to be kidding me!" a heavily accented Spanish voice shouted in frustration. Casey immediately followed the source and turned a corner to find Jenny loomed over broken police barriers. Emily was sitting like a sack of potatoes at the foot of her Latina friend. "Those fuckers are already out? I told that crazy-ass girl to come with us."
"I'm here!" Kris hushed to her friends.
Both altered their gaze to her; Emily had puffy eyes and a red face while Jenny held an esteem of attitude.
Kris shook off more of the electricity current through her body and rushed over to them.
"How did you get away?" Emily asked through silent tears.
From the increased momentum and the lasting effects of such an electrical burst, her entire body had a spasm and she collapsed onto the street just in front of her friends. Jenny jumped from her small perch and slid to her side. Emily simply sat and covered her mouth with her hands. Kris' body stiffened and her muscles began to convulse. While on her knees, Jenny placed her hands on her arms, attempting to sooth the spasms. For a moment, Kris' eyes glazed over and rolled into the back of her head; she was having a seizure.
"Shit, shit shit!" Jenny pushed her hair back behind her ears as she watched helplessly as Kris was suffering. "What do I do?" Her initial question wasn't directed at anyone. "What the hell do I do?!" Jenny turned to her sobbing friend in need for answers.
Emily only covered her ears and began to shake her head.
"Damnit! You've talked to those nurses for hours, what do I have to do to stop this?"
"I-I can't be here. I want to go back-"
Jenny broke Emily's train of thought and shouted Spanish swear words at her. "Help me!"
"I don't know!" she confessed with large beads of rolling down her cheeks. "I"m just a damn housewife! This isn't suppose to happen to me!"
"Well, it's happening right fucking now!"
"I can't do anything!"
"What the nurses tell you if someone has a seizure?!"
"There's nothing you can do," a third voice emerged. Around the same corner as Kris, Lindsay appeared and slowly walked towards the three girls. With Kris powerless, Jenny and Emily were left to defend themselves. Jenny hopped up and immediately stood in front of her friends. That didn't hinder the long haired woman, she continued, "Seizures have to work themselves out. Nothing you can do will help her now."
"Get the hell outta here!" Jenny demanded.
"I have nothing against you two-"
"The hell you don't! You were going to let those pigs have us! That's sick!"
"It was our agreed upon terms. I can't go back on my word," Lindsay took another step. Jenny obviously flinched and held up her fists. "I don't want you two hurt," her eyes darted from Jenny to Kris, "Her, on the other hand. She's evil. Born from the darkness shadow and raised in fire. If you knew what I know, then you would not defend her."
Jenny didn't have a quick answer, so the only thing they heard was Emily crying behind them. Lindsay kept her large eyes narrowed at Kris, half-expecting her to jump up and attack again. The Hispanic woman followed her gaze and stared at the seizing woman, praying that she would have black eyes and protect them once more. The Shadow Stranger had finally stopped violently twitching and simply remained on her side to take in shallow breaths. Thankfully, her eyes closed and she looked less terrifying than when her eyes were rolled back.
"Please step aside," Lindsay's happy tone was harsh and commanding.
"No," Jenny centered herself between them.
"I don't want to hurt you, but if you help that witch, then I will have no choice."
"Who are you to judge her? You know nothing about her!"
"I was chosen from God to cleanse the world of the likes of her. Did you not see that she was carrying that book? It belonged to me, and she has stolen it. She is guilty for worse crimes."
"Then you will have to go through me first."
"Then, I am deeply sorry, Jennifer."
Before Lindsay stepped again, she made eye contact with the Hispanic mother and inhaled loudly. Her large eyes blinked once and the pigment immediately changed to glowing yellow. Staring directly into her eyes held the same effect as if Jenny was looking into illuminated light bulbs. Realizing the sudden demeanor switch, Jenny instinctively held up her fists again, however she was nearly petrified. Seeing Kris' black eyes was one thing, but Lindsay's eyes were literally glowing with power. What was she suppose to do?
The crazily-driven woman with glowing eyes lifted a slightly flexed hand towards the three girls. With a blank face and straight posture, the tips of her long hair lazily stood up around her. Jenny held her breath and watched intently as to what was about to happen. Emily had bit her tongue and ceased her tears for a moment. If Kris was awake, then she would have stood tall to protect her friends; alas, she was still suffering from the after effects of the seizure. For a moment, the world stopped; everything seemed to move in slow motion as Lindsay focused her electricity throughout her body and concentrated to the tips of her extended fingers. There was a small crack of thunder as lightning shot from her manicured nails.
Then, there was a shift. A swirl of wind uplifted trash and small debris from behind the police barriers. The footsteps were soundless and the movements were swift and precise. In a fraction of a second, Jenny, Emily and Kris' death was certain; and then it wasn't.
Lindsay had slipped up by her uncontrollable urge to "rid the world of darkness," as there was a second threat. If she wasn't blinded by her rage and righteousness, she would have sensed something rapidly approaching her.
He lunged at her from the shadows and baring teeth. The speed was unfathomably fast and as a result, Lindsay's lightning strike altered its course and struck the police barriers. The three women were saved; for the time being.
From the bolt of nearby lightning and this new presence, Kris jolted awake. She gasped for air as if her head was held under the water. A throbbing head and slight disorientation did not stop her from rolling onto her belly to quickly jump up. It was a strange sensation; like a bad feeling from the pit of her stomach. Her shadows were warning her that someone was close, but who? Her inner darkness sprang to life as her eyes blinked to black and her mind immediately pointed out every shadow on the street. However, her defensive habits did not prepare her for what she was faced with.
Mere feet from her, Lindsay was being pinned by an unknown creature. Razor sharp fangs were clearly visible along with its piercing white eyes. Everything about this beast was pure darkness; it seemed to have no physical shape, as bits of black smoke lingered around the edges of the creature and faded away. What Kris assumed were the muscles were bulging and thick, while the joints of the knees were twisted backwards. The legs were lean and long, which indicated that it could run incredibly fast. The arms were wrong; two sets could be identified, but trying to see where they were attached was impossible. The core, torso, or chest of this shadow creature was nothing less than a ball of unfocus shadow. On top, almost as if it was levitating over the shadow mass, was a horrific head. Large, undefined features, and an unnecessarily stretch of fangs lined inside the massive mouth. A unhinged jaw of a snake would be a better description.
Using two hands, the shadow creature had Lindsay against the base of a building. Kris saw how close they were and hesitated on her next move. Jenny and Emily were both stunned to silence as the beast leaned in close to Lindsay and roared. Immediately, Kris recognized the sound; this was the same thing that attacked the red and gold soldiers by her house. She could never forget such a roar from this creature. At the end of the deafening sound, the beast seemed to hiss at the yellow eyed woman; the change in the tone snapped Kris out of her daze enough for her to come to one conclusion. Get Jenny and Emily back to their camp.
Without missing a step, she grabbed Jenny's forearm and yanked her back. Luckily, both of their attention was on the shadow creature and Lindsay, so Kris quickly willed the nearby shadows into a long distance portal. "Go, go," she quietly demanded to them. The two were fear-stricken to the point of absolute silence and easily followed her orders to walk through the police barrier into the spa level of their skyscraper. Emily resorted to crawling through while Jenny stepped backwards to ensure her eyes were still on the unknown beast. Just before Kris was going to join them, she glanced back at the two monsters locking eyes. She saw Lindsay's hair begin to rise again, however this time it was much more dramatic. Not wanting to risk her safety, or her friends, Kris obtained her nearby book and jumped through her portal.
She nearly landed on Emily, but Kris rolled around and quickly cut off her shadow connection between the spa and the police barriers. Her portal swirled away just as Lindsay's voice shouted in rage. Outside the spa windows, there was a blast from a few streets over. A lightning strike shot upward into the hazy clouds and a shock wave of electrical energy expanded outward to the far reaches of the city. Once the shock wave hit the building, the structure shook and the glass rattled and shattered. The light bulbs exploded and the outlets seemed to shoot out little bits of electricity. The three woman fell to their knees and covered their head from the freshly destroyed glass. Over head, a few panels of dropped ceiling tiles fell off their support and broke upon reaching the floor. The wave passed within a minute and although it was powerful, the building's structural integrity was able to withstand the shock. Outside, high in the sky, the clouds were having small bursts of lightning in miscellaneous places.
Inside the spa, Kris, Jenny, and Emily waited a while before they felt it safe to remove their hands. Kris was the first to lower her hands and began to glance around her surroundings. Jenny's back was dotted with blood from shallow shards of glass. Emily was wrapped in the smallest ball she thought possible. Thankfully, Kris couldn't see any sign of injury on her. Blinking away her shadows, she placed a hand on both of them.
"It's okay," she whispered, "We're good. We're back."
Jenny peered under her messy hair and examined the area. After a moment of realizing where she was, she turned to Kris. The Shadow Stranger shifted a little at the look Jenny was giving her; she couldn't tell what the context was regarding her eyes. Before she could vocalize her question, Jenny sprang up and wrapped her arms around Kris in a tight hug. She was muttering in Spanish again, but she was able to tell that she was grateful. Finally, Jenny broke down in tears.
"I would never let anything happen to you-"
"Anthony," she released Kris and pushed herself up, "Gracia." Jenny began to call after her children as she staggered to the fire exit and down the stairs.
"Emily," Kris altered her attention from the door to her remaining friend. "You can look now, we're safe." The woman was crying again, and this time Kris wasn't sure why. Her immediate thought was that she was hurt from whatever that shock wave was; so she helped her to lean against the wall. Kris checked her clothes for blood stains, searched for broken bones, and gently combed over her scalp to see if she hit her head; there was nothing. Well, she sustained minor bruises from when the men were holding her down, but other than that, she was fine. "What's wrong? Tell me what hurts."
"We're not safe," she whispered under her breath.
Kris raised an eyebrow at her friend from her pessimistic observation.
"We'll never be safe."
She wasn't dealing well to the creature and Lindsay's eyes. Hell, she was handling this situation quite well considering her husband had brainwashed her into believing her that The Avengers weren't real. This woman was sheltered her entire life from the hardships, poverty was never an issue growing up, never relied on public transportation, and definitely never felt helpless. She faced one of the most horrible sides of humans; it was no wonder she was traumatized. However, she was correct, they were not safe. Seattle was now a lost city and they had to get out. Not because of the looters, but because of Lindsay and that beast. Kris knew she was just as bad as those two, but she continuously chose to spare lives rather than take them. Seven hundred and eighty six was enough.
"C'mon, let's find your husband," Kris wasn't sure how to handle her break down, so she reasoned that her husband, the college professor who teaches psychology, would be more qualified to help her. And the back of her mind, all she wanted was to find Bucky.
Aiding her out of the fire exit, Kris practically carried Emily down the stairs. She wouldn't have mind so much if she wasn't suffering from a bolt of electricity and a seizure. But, anything for her friends. Their footsteps were heavy with fatigue and broken spirits. By the time Kris and Emily touched onto the office floor, a small horde of people were already at the door. Right in front was Barnett, muttering a prayer of gratitude to God. Kris wanted to put him in his place, to explain that she was the one who brought them back, not anyone else. However, she Barnett embraced his wife, Kris' body wasn't expecting the sudden absence of her and crumpled into the frame. Hazy spots covered her vision and her ears began to ring loudly. With a shallow breath and uncoordinated limbs, she rested her head the best she could and nearly passed out from exhaustion.
Before her mind drifted away, a pair of large hands grabbed her forearms and lightly shook her. Kris' green eyes were barely open just as she was pulled into a tight hug. She was too weak to return such an embrace, but she attempted to lazily wrap her arms around whoever was hugging her awake. Her nerves seemed extra sensitive to the touch as she got chills from this person. At first, she thought it was little Marissa, but the body was much too big for that. Lightly rubbing the back, she felt tough muscles and something slightly raised around the left shoulder. She pried her eyes to open more in order to see who this stranger was; it was no surprise that it was Bucky. More energy shot through her body as she realized and pressed her arms harder into him. She had never felt more relieved. This was the first time in a long while that she was crying for a positive reason. For the first time in years, she felt safe.
"Princess!" the innocent voice of Marissa was heard over Bucky's shoulder, "Why are you crying?"
The two pulled apart a little; Kris glanced to the child and Bucky to examine her eyes. "I'm just really happy," she answered with a tired smile. She then looked at The Winter Soldier; he was intently studying her face and he seemed a little confused.
Just as she was going to ask him his emotions, outside the building, there was a deafening howl. Everyone in the fire escape and office floor froze and glanced outward to the source. Kris knew that it was from the beast. Did that mean he had won or lost? Was Lindsay still alive or did she escape? Kris wanted to know exactly how many monsters they had to deal with. Then, she remembered her book.
While the group was muttering to themselves, Kris lightly tugged on Bucky's shirt to gain his attention. Once he turned to her, she quietly asked, "I need to show you something, in the spa," she nodded upward.
"Can you walk?" It seemed like a stupid question, but there was no way Kris would be able to climb all those stairs again. So, she shook her head. Without another word, Bucky easily scooped her up in his arms and began to step upwards.
With his strong legs, it didn't take long before they entered the spa. Glass was scattered on the ground of this floor as well as the office and any other landing. Kris guessed that all of the windows in the immediate area of the shock wave were shattered. She was still fascinated by the immense power Lindsay had. Too bad she would never get a chance to figure out how to harness the power of electricity.
"You used your shadows," Bucky seemed to point out rather than ask her.
Casey sighed deeply and felt on the approaching disappointment from him. "Yes, I had to. Otherwise, Jenny and Emily would have gotten hurt; in more ways than one."
He was silent. Casey knew that he was always quiet when he was angry or upset. For a moment, he stood still with her in his arms in the middle of the wreckage of the spa. She expected this response, but it was hard to accept his speechlessness this time. His demeanor around him was enough for Casey to understand that he was frustrated with her. It was okay; Jenny and Emily were alright for the time being.
Bucky remained quiet as he took a step to the couches in the lobby. Gingerly, he lowered Kris onto the sofa and slid his arms away from her, but loomed over her. She glanced up with big eyes; she was not ashamed of her actions. He knelt close to her but she didn't flinch. They were alive because of her shadows.
As fate would have it, she quickly realized that he wasn't upset; rather, his sudden passionate kiss surprised her. Cupped her head in one hand, Bucky gave much needed support for her. It wasn't a long kiss, but it was definitely relieving to Casey. After the intimate moment, they rested their foreheads on each other and took a moment to simply enjoy each other's company.
"I thought you would be mad," Casey confessed.
"Because you saved people?" he asked sarcastically.
"You made me swear not to use my shadows," she defended.
"My judgement was wrong," he admitted.
"Damn straight," she reclined her head in order to look him in his blue eyes.
He took a minute to easily gaze into her green orbs; Casey could sense him relaxing. When he finally spoke, he had choose to change the subject, "What did you want to show me?"
She glanced around the glass shards and found her book lying upon the debris of ceiling panels. "There, the book." She pointed at the large dark mass.
Bucky quickly retrieved it and began to look all over the cover.
"The looters had this woman named Lindsay. She's off her shit, absolutely crazy. Saying insane stuff like she was chosen by God to find me and kill me. I'm not sure how, but she was able to get my book. But, she was reading it. I don't know if you remembered when I showed that to you the first time, but only one person can read it at a time. And," she swallowed her fear and stammering to continue, "I think I'm going to die. She was able to use electricity and I haven't reached that far in the book; so, I think she's my successor."
Bucky thumbed through a few pages, traced the back spine of the book, then shut it. Turning to Casey, he raised an eyebrow at her. "Your successor?"
"It was written that when a Shadow Master can no longer control the darkness, a successor will be chosen. It wasn't clear what happens to the previous Masters."
"How?"
"How, what?" she repeated. "The book picks anyone at random."
"No," he walked over to her and sat on the opposite edge of the sofa, giving her room to stretch her tender legs. "I mean, how can she be your successor when she can use electricity? You're a Shadow Master. It's that kinda the opposite?"
Casey pondered this thought for a moment. Her eyes darted back and forth, hoping to find the answer among to the broken glass. Honestly, that question never occurred to her. "But, she was able to read it-" then she caught herself, suddenly unsure of her initial idea.
"She can't be, she would need to control shadows, right?"
"Unless she's already more powerful than me." It was a weak argument, but it was all she had.
Bucky simply shook his head and held up the book. "I might not remember all of our time together in D.C., but I recall being in that basement. The book on your table was not this one. It was heavier, thicker, and a different material on the cover. The pages even feel wrong."
Finally, the dots were all connected.
"Oh God, there are other books."
((So sorry for the long wait my loyal fans! Please, accept this chapter as a token of apology :3
Hopefully I'll have more time for the future chapters rather than a 5 month hiatus .'))