Flicker in the Dark

### **Chapter 1: A Flicker in the Dark**

The city of Lumira had always been a place of contrasts—bright, bustling streets by day, and a maze of shadows by night. Aiden Cross walked through those streets, hands shoved deep in his pockets, his eyes flicking up at the flickering streetlights. Another power outage, just like every night that week. He didn't need to look to know that something was off.

"Another long night," he muttered to himself, stepping into the narrow alley that led to his apartment. The city felt alive after dark, but not in the comforting way most people might think. Aiden had learned long ago that Lumira's nights held more than just the usual crime and late-night workers. There were things in the dark—things that most people refused to believe in, but Aiden knew better.

He sighed as his boots splashed through a puddle, cold water seeping into his socks. His phone buzzed in his pocket, lighting up the alley with an eerie glow.

**Mac:** *Dude, you up?*

Aiden rolled his eyes. Mac always assumed Aiden was doing something interesting at night, probably hoping for a story that involved a shady client or a wild chase. Not tonight. Not unless you considered wet socks an adventure.

**Aiden:** *What do you think?*

He pressed send and pocketed the phone without waiting for a reply. His breath misted in the cool air, and for a moment, the street went dead quiet. Too quiet. Aiden's steps slowed, his heart picking up speed as a familiar chill ran down his spine.

The shadows shifted.

He stopped, staring at the alley walls. The flickering light from the distant streetlamps cast long, crooked shadows that moved, just barely noticeable—except to him. They'd been doing that more lately. Moving when they shouldn't.

Aiden blinked, telling himself it was nothing. He took a deep breath, willing his pulse to slow, and kept walking. His phone buzzed again.

**Mac:** *Come on, man. Naomi's gonna kill me if I'm late for tomorrow. Drinks?*

Aiden was about to type a quick refusal when the shadow nearest to him twitched.

His feet froze.

The air felt thick suddenly, heavy. He stood still, watching the shadow. It wasn't the same as before. This one wasn't just a trick of the light.

It was… moving.

Sliding along the wall, curling, and twisting unnaturally. The hair on the back of his neck rose as the shadow separated itself from the wall, rippling like ink spilled across paper.

Aiden took a step back, his breath caught in his throat.

This was new.

The shadow wasn't attached to anything. No figure, no person, just pure darkness pooling in the alley. His fingers twitched, instinctively reaching for the pocketknife in his jacket—not that it would help against something like this.

"Not tonight," Aiden muttered, trying to keep his voice steady. His grip tightened on the knife. "Not after the day I've had."

The shadow surged forward, and for a moment, time seemed to slow. Aiden barely had a second to react before it lunged at him, cold tendrils wrapping around his legs. His pulse raced, panic rising in his chest as he tried to kick free.

And then, just as quickly as it had come, the shadow recoiled, slinking back into the corner of the alley, disappearing like smoke into the night.

Aiden stood frozen, heart pounding in his ears. What the hell was that?

His phone buzzed again, breaking the silence. This time, he didn't bother checking the message. Whatever had just happened, it was something he couldn't ignore. Not anymore.

He glanced back at the now still alley, gripping the knife in his hand.

Lumira's shadows had always been strange. But tonight, something had changed.