THE SHADOWS

At night, the Scarlet spy's shoes slapped against a puddle and ran into an alley partially lit by orange city lights. He dialed on his phone, and it rang, but no one answered. He dialed more than once, but still, no one responded. He left a voicemail and said, "Hello, is anybody there? Somebody pick up the phone now!" A can clanked and rolled on the ground. His eyes move in every direction as sweat flowed from his head. Suddenly, big green eyes appeared in the darkness, and a coolness crept up his backside. It was a black cat, and it scurried away from the alley.

He wiped the sweat from his head and said, "Listen I've got important information about the Trioscepters. I can't discuss it over the phone because they're everywhere. I'll be at Location Two to send the information to all our headquarters." As he hung up the phone, he grabbed the folder he stole and said to himself, "We've finally got you, and you're going to pay."

Near a brick wall, he hid in the shadows and spotted a car parked. A man rushed from his vehicle and shut the door as he ran into an apartment building. The spy ran from the alley and opened the unlocked car. He rushed and hotwired the car causing it to rumble.

As he adjusted his seat, someone screamed from the apartment. At the top of the building, a window shattered, and a body flew in a rain of glass. The body landed on the street in front of the vehicle, and the glass impaled the body as it rested in a puddle of blood with scratches on the skin. It was the man who owned the car.

The spy mouth dropped, and he slammed his foot on the pedal, running over the bloody man. He checked the rear-view mirrors but no cars followed him, and only the trash blew in the street. He inhaled and exhaled as he drove off.

The spy drove toward Location Two past the woods and away from the city. He went past the plains filled with shrubs and vegetation. His car headlights shined on the dark road, and no cars passed him. The gas meter was close to empty, and there didn't seem to be a gas station in the area. It finally slowed down and stopped on the street. He sighed and grabbed a revolver, a flashlight, and the stolen documents. The spy then placed the documents inside his coat.

He walked on the street with his flashlight and as the wind whistled, something rustled in the tall grass. He flashed the light on it and a rat dashed through the weeds, running across the street. He exhaled and wiped the sweat from his head.

When he got to a gas station, the paint on the walls was chipped, and the windows were broken. All the metal on it was rusted and tall weeds pierced through the cracks of the concrete. There was one parked car with its lights still on, and the car door on the driver side was open. The spy grabbed his revolver and stepped toward the vehicle with his gun pointed at the car. He hid behind a bush and said, "If anybody is in there, get out of the car with your hands up." Only the crickets chirped, and the wind blew after he spoke. He stepped closer pointing his gun and flashlight at the car, but it was empty.

In the car, he shined his light on a wallet left on the floor near the pedal. As he grabbed the leather wallet, something crackled in the back seat of the car, and he flashed his light on a black blanket with images of rockets covering something on the seat. The blanket moved, and he pinched the blanket as he held his gun with his other hand. It crackled again, and he yanked it off. It was a brunette doll with its eyes ripped out. Its limbs moved slightly and wires stuck out from its missing eyes.

The spy grabbed the wallet and cards fell from it onto the floor. He found an ID of his friend in a suit who worked for the Scarlets, and they valued him because he was working undercover in Astronon's government. He tried to start the abandoned car, but it didn't move, so he walked again toward Location Two.

The air was still, and the chirps of the crickets stopped. Lights shined from a tall lamp post in the distance from a once abandoned factory, and it was Location Two. The spy walked to the entrance of the factory, and tall fences covered the perimeter. At the gate, he found no one to greet him, so he walked past the gates and scratched his head as his shoes pressed against the gravel. Some of the bright lights that shined from the towers were off.

He walked with his flashlight into the dark factory that was filled with rusted machinery. His light shined on the wall and his eyes enlarged. Smeared blood was on the wall, and as he stepped back, his shoes pressed against something on the ground. He shined his light on his shoes and scattered bullets laid on the floor. The spy moved his light, and it reflected from something not too far away. It was a chrome mask with two black eyes to see through with an evil long grin. Something else caught his attention, and as he stepped forward, dead Scarlet guards laid on the floor covered in blood with a frightened look on their faces.

A trail of blood was nearby that led toward a closed door, and the spy twisted the cold knob, entering the room. A cold chill soared through the spy's body, and his hands shook as he stared at a horrific sight. The leader of Location Two hung with stab wounds across his body.

The spy clenched his fist, and his legs tingled and shook. Something thumped from the entrance of the factory. He bit his nails as the thumped got louder, and he rushed, stumbling on items on the floor.

He ran into a room that had a hidden secret area which was a trapdoor under a factory machine. As the spy searched for a button in the room, he found it and reached for it, but something jumped and pushed him. It was a skinny robot with two legs and two arms and on its face, was a big black circle with a red dot in the middle. The red dot moved, searching for him and it attacked the spy with its two saws which it had on each of its hands.

The spy dodged its attack, but a blade scratched his arm. He reached for his gun and shot, but it kept stepping toward him. He was pinned to the corner and the saws buzzed as they moved closer to him. He fired his last bullet but it continued, and the saws were inches from his flesh. Smoke flowed from the robot and sparks shot out of it. The red dot disappeared, and the saws on the robot's hands stopped. The robot fell on its back, and its arms twitched.

The spy closed his eyes and exhaled. He checked his gun's magazine, and it was empty. He spat on the robot and kicked it, but after he had hit it, the robot's torso opened, and a red light blinked. There was a small camera, and it zoomed in on his face. In fear, he ran toward the bulky machine, pressing the button, and it caused it to move silently, revealing the trap door.

The spy dropped into the underground area, and the machine hid the trap door. The lights were on in the hallway, and he turned the corner. Splattered blood covered the wall and on the floor, was bullet shells. A smiley face and a message were written on the wall with blood, and it read: Not a secret anymore.

The spy walked further down the hallway, and a couple of dead bodies sat against the wall. He entered the main area, and the room was filled with bloody corpses. A man hung off a pool table, and another body was inside a television screen. Men and women laid in a puddle of blood with bullets shells. Some of them had a fearful look on their faces as if they saw a ghost.

The hairs on his neck stood up, and he covered his mouth. Heat soared across his body, and he ground his teeth together, squeezing his fist. He thought, I must gather our secret documents and leave through the back exit. I must warn the others.

The spy walked toward the control room into the next hallway. It was dark and some of the lights from the ceiling hanged by their wires. The wires sparked, and the lights swung. He walked past some doors and some other bodies laid on the floor. Knobs were on the floor and bullet holes covered their bodies. Torn up pieces of wood stuck from the door and wood shavings laid near the dead.

As he walked, a knob rolled from a closet, and the spy grabbed his knife, stepping toward the door as his heart accelerated. His hands were sweaty, and he swung the door open with his knife raised, but there was nothing but mops, buckets, and dust pans. He started to close the door, but he spotted something. A black wall with a knob that stuck out. He moved the equipment and swung the other door open with his knife raised, but inside was a trembling man that sat on the floor with his hands in the air.

The Scarlet man had his eyes closed and said, "Please, don't hurt me."

The spy said, "Don't worry. I'm not your enemy."

The man opened his eyes, and he exhaled. He stood, wiping the sweat from his face and said, "Are they gone?"

The spy said, "Who are they?"

He said, "Look we have to leave quickly. They might come back, they ... they ... they might come back."

The spy grabbed him by the shirt and said, "Tell me who are they?"

The man said, "I don't know. It was dark and too fast. C'mon, we've got to leave."

The spy released him and said, "But we can't leave yet. We must gather the documents inside here. Do you know at least if they're safe?"

The man said, "Who cares about the documents. We must leave now." He tried to run, but the spy grabbed him and threw him on the wall.

The spy said, "These documents are important. If someone gets their hands on them, we'll be in big trouble."

Tears flowed down the man's eyes as his hands quivered. "I can't! You weren't here, and you don't understand." He ran down the hallway and said, "I won't go through this again. Find it on your own!"

The spy slammed his fist on the door and said, "You're a disgrace."

The spy continued walking and found a large steel door that was opened which was the control room. The room was full of surveillance computers and cabinets. Every computer screen was cracked except one, and like the other rooms, there were dead bodies on the floor. He searched the files, but they were burned in an attempt to keep the information away from the enemy. He reached in his coat, but the documents he stole were not there. He was enraged and said, "Damn! Where are they? No, no, I must have dropped them." He searched his coat again but didn't find them.

In the computer screen, the survivor ran down the hallway toward the back exit, and the spy growled. He changed the view to another room, and a black cloth swung in the corner and disappeared. His eyes broaden, and he changed the camera's view multiple times. He stopped, and a dark figure ran away from the view of the security camera. His heart raced, and he searched through the security cameras again. It was back in the hallway where the Scarlet man was at, but he was not there anymore.

He bit his nails as he searched for him through the security cameras, but as he continued, his skin went pale. From the back of the Scarlet man's shirt, something dressed in black dragged him by the collar into the darkness, and the man and the figure disappeared into the shadows. He changed the view, and the full face of a chrome mask blocked the screen. Its large black eyes and evil grin brought shivers up the spy's back. The screen turned into static, and the view changed to the back exit. There was nothing there that seemed like a threat, but his heart stopped because something stood next to the door in the darkness. Half of the mask was in the dark while the other half was visible. It was another thing in a chrome masks, and the whole face turned quickly toward the camera. The screen went static, and he said, "What was that? What's going on?"

The screen changed by itself like if it was being controlled by someone and it was zoomed in on the Scarlet man. Blood covered his face, and he hung with a rope tied around his neck. A nail was punctured through a sign and into his chest with writing that read: Hahaha.

His back was drenched in sweat. Then the power in the factory shut down, and darkness consumed the area.

The trembling spy took his knife, and he heard the beat of his heart echo in his mind. He turned his flashlight on, barricading the door and his limbs were stiff as he moved a large cabinet toward the door.

The flashlight flickered, and he replaced the batteries, fumbling as he put them inside. It was dark for a moment, but he finally got the flashlight working and turned the light on. He pushed a desk in front of the door, but then a wooden pole fell, smacking into the floor. He flashed the light, and there was an open hidden door behind him that he was unaware of. He stepped toward the open door, holding his knife and a computer dropped into the floor on the left. He turned, and something hit his head, causing him to fall straight on his face with his eyes closed.

Someone grabbed him by his shirt and dragged his body into the darkness.

The power restored and the light returned. In the control room, a black glove pressed a button, and a recording played. It said, "Listen I've got important information about the Trioscepters. I can't discuss it over the phone because they're everywhere. This information will serve us well, and I'll be at Location Two to send the information to all our headquarters."