Chasing Shadows

• Title Page
  
• Chapter 1
  
• Chapter 2
  
• Chapter 3
  
• Chapter 4
  
• Chapter 5
  
• Chapter 6
  
• Chapter 7
  
• Chapter 8
  
• Chapter 9
  
• Chapter 10
  
• Chapter 11
  
• Chapter 12
  
• Chapter 13
  
• Chapter 14
  
• Chapter 15
  
• Chapter 16
  
• Chapter 17
  
• Chapter 18
  
• Chapter 19
  
• Chapter 20
  
• Chapter 21
  

Chasing Shadows

Rebecca Stoddard

Copyright © 2016 by Rebecca Stoddard

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Chasing Shadows/Graham Publishing Group

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

Chasing Shadows/Rebecca Stoddard -- 1st ed.

ISBN 978-0-9963966-6-0 Ebook Edition

To my grandparents and parents, thank you for everything and all your belief in me. I love you.

Chapter 1

This August day was just like the others that had passed—too hot. My parents wanted to take another long trip to the lake, so we were all crammed in the car. My little sister Amelia was about to begin one of her endless tantrums. I could see it in her pale blue eyes, eyes that my parents and siblings all had. Yet I somehow ended up with mossy green eyes that seemed to change colors with the scenery. I was the oddball of the family, always had been. I was short, curvy in all the right places, with dark hair and paper-white skin. My older brother Alexandier always teased me about being adopted, but I knew I wasn’t.

“AubrieAnna, be a dear and give Amelia her juice?” my mother’s soft voice shot back from the front seat.

“Got it covered, Mom. So, how much longer ’til we actually get there? ’Cause this heat is killer.” I reached down and grabbed the yellow tumbler cup from the floor, and handed it to Amelia. It always seemed to have some sort of juice in it. She was finally seven and wanted to be treated like a “big girl” but still always wanted juice like my little brother.

“Auby, we will be there in just one more hour,” my dad responded to me, using my nickname. We all had them, but I always thought mine was the coolest. Amelia’s was Melly, Alexandier’s was Zandy, and little Micheal
’s was Mickey. I nodded in response, threw my hair up into a haphazard ponytail, rolled my window down the rest of the way, and tuned in to my iPod.

Another hour passed and we were finally there, and I was coated in a film of sweat. I helped my little sister and brother out of their car seats and took off toward the water. After stumbling out of my dampened clothes, I jumped into the freezing water of Waldo Lake. When my head resurfaced, I saw Alexandier standing on the edge of the creaky old dock with his head cocked to one side and a smile so big I could see his dimples and pearly white teeth. I scrambled onto the dock and hugged my big brother. He spun me in circles, not seeming to mind that I was soaking his clothes. Gently, he set me on my feet and handed me a towel. After I dried myself off as much as possible, I walked off the dock and headed toward the hot sand of the shore.

As we walked I noticed how tall he was, just over six feet, and even how he hadn’t had a haircut in months, the way it curled wildly around his ears. His hair had more of a golden tint than the rest of our family’s, but he still looked every bit a Lukenson with his baby blues always shining brightly. We walked side by side, with a slow and easy pace. When we finally reached the sand, he bent down to take off his shoes and walked barefoot to the water’s edge. The water danced with
our toes while the boats raced by. I sat down and looked up at him, and started the sisterly questioning. “So, how was your second year at McPherson College?”
“It’s pretty easy, actually. They say college is supposed to get harder each year, but it feels like the opposite for me.” He chuckled softly. “It’s still hard being away from you guys, though, especially you. Plus, you’ve got me a little worried with all of your one-worded and long cryptic texts lately.”

I stared at him for a moment then quickly looked back at the water and the boats zooming by.

“My girlfriend is starting to worry a little bit too. She feels like she knows you so well, since I talk about you all the time. I know what you see in your dreams, Aubz . . . Some of it has come true too. All of this, Mom and Dad rushing everyone out here so quickly this summer, it has to do with what you see, doesn’t it?” For the first time in a long time, I could actually see the tightness in his face and the concern in his eyes. He was genuinely worried about the things that were in my dreams.

“Zany, I have to tell you something.” I paused for a brief moment. “Mom and Dad still have no idea . . .” I trailed off and chewed on my lip. I couldn’t look at him.

“Goddamn it, AubrieAnna! You promised me you would tell them. That was a year ago when these started up again! I cannot believe you lied to me.” His voice went quiet with disappointment.

“
I, uh, wasn’t exactly finished . . . ” I looked back up at him, swallowed a hard lump in my throat, and continued. “They’re getting weirder and worse . . . I don’t understand why I’m having them, but I am. They terrify me, and they are all about an explosion of some sort. The world is just so different afterward, almost like we were bombed with nuclear warfare. I’m scared, Zany. And I don’t want anyone to know. Please don’t tell?”

He just stared at me for a while and then hugged me tightly. It was his way of saying that everything was going to be okay and he would keep my secret to the ends of the earth.
We were best friends, regardless of the three years that separated us. He was my hero, and I somehow managed to be his.
Alexandier always protected me. This time was no different. The truth of that resonated in his eyes.

A few hours later we made our way back to the cabin. The sun was beginning to set, and dinner was almost done. It smelled of barbequed chicken and homemade mac and cheese. I shook the remaining dirt and sand from my feet and legs then walked inside. Sounds of continuous laughter came from the kitchen to the left, and the quiet sounds of a fire burning came from the living room to the right. It was peaceful, normal, and happy. I focused my entire being on the moment, committing it to memory—then it happened.

Everything was burning. No one around me was left unscathed. People screamed on the shore as large black creatures tore them apart and wreaked havoc. There were so many dead, limbs had been torn off, and their bodies burned beyond recognition. Blood was everywhere. The lake was no longer the pretty blue-green it always was; it was now tainted with so much blood that its color looked black. Fear and horror clouded my mind as I looked around. Everything around me was destroyed. And those horrible creatures were causing the damage, and laughing as they did. It took me a moment to see it; my family was trapped inside the cabin, with very few ways to get out. They were crying out for each other, for help. Little Micheal was crawling toward an open window. I tried to catch him, but I couldn’t get to him in time. Tears exploded from my eyes and my heart sank at the sight of his small body in a crumpled heap. As hard as it was to leave his body there, I had to; the rest of my family still needed help. I took deep breaths and rushed into the cabin. When I wasn’t burned, I realized it wasn’t real, but panic still welled within me, causing my lungs to work overtime. I tried to pinch myself awake; it didn’t work. Terrified, I still tried to save them. As I searched the house, it began to crumble around me. Pushing through it, I climbed the stairs and reached Amelia’s room first. I called out her name, but she didn’t hear me and continued to scream for our mom. My heart broke at the sight before me as I ran into her room. My vision went black, and the world around me faded out.

“AubrieAnna, come on, sweetheart, wake up! Please?” The tears in my mom’s voice jerked me back to reality and away from the terrible vision that had been burned into my mind.

I felt the plush cushions before I opened my eyes. Blinking the blurred vision away, I saw my mom sitting by me with wide eyes that were still wet with tears while my dad and Alexandier stood above me, with worry lines creasing their foreheads. They looked so much alike in that moment that I knew the saying “Like father, like son” was true. I reached up and rubbed my face. My hand came away wet with blood and tears. Curious and scared, I looked to my family for answers. My dad and brother hurried to help me sit up. Alexandier knew what had happened. His eyes were questioning whether or not he should tell them. I nodded, giving him permission.

“Aubz told me earlier that she has been having those strange dreams again. They are also worse than the ones she had when she was younger—end-of-the-world worse. So either you guys think she’s crazy, and if you do she’ll be going back to Kansas with me, or you can help us figure it out. This is not being brushed under the rug, not anymore. Maybe they are visions like they once were or something else, who knows. But regardless of what it is, we need to figure it out, soon. So, AubrieAnna, tell us what you saw when you were passed out.” My older brother only used my first name when it was time to be completely serious.

I inhaled deeply and let it out. Twisting and untwisting my hands, I spilled every detail of the nightmare I was forced to witness behind my closed eyes. When I finished, my parents shared a look of horror and then one of understanding.

“AubrieAnna, honey, we need to tell you something. It’s something that we didn’t expect to have to do, especially after your visions stopped years ago. We thought it was just a childhood ability, like seeing ghosts . . . ” My mother paused, and tears welled in her eyes. She looked to my father to finish what she had started.

“You are extremely different from anyone we have ever met. We never expected any of this to be true. Like your mother said, we thought it was just something you would grow out of, but apparently you didn’t . . . After you were born, something went wrong. There were going to be two of you, as you know.” I nodded, and he continued. “However, your sister did not make it. You both were just so sick, and you . . . my God, you cried so hard when they took her away from you, so they decided to keep you two together. The doctors didn’t think either of you were going to make it. You started getting worse when she got worse. We thought it would be best to let you two stay together, even though the nurses thought it was a bad idea. Then, the night before your mother was released from the hospital, your sister passed and you became healthier, almost immediately. Doctors couldn’t explain it. They kept you there at the hospital for weeks to run tests to make sure there was nothing wrong. Each test came back negative. It was a miracle. You were a miracle. We were still worried that you might become ill again, so your mom and I took you to multiple other doctors. Not one of them could find anything wrong. The last one we took you to, his nurse told us about a psychic, so we took you. Her eyes kept rolling back, and she kept talking in another language. We were about to leave, but she stopped us. She told us that you would be powerful, that your sister gave you more than life itself, she gave you magic. When I told her that was enough, she said that you would be the savior of all things good. Not just all people, but all things. We never understood quite what she was talking about, but I think we’re starting to.” My dad squeezed my mom’s shoulder and composed himself to look as calm and collected as possible.