"The Shadow" pages 7-8

Brian was nearly at the end of the hall when I went out.

"Brian, wait up!" I called after him.

Brian stopped and turned around to see me. He waited as I ran down the hall to catch up.

"What was going on with everyone?" I frowned.

Looking just as confused as I was, he replied, "I don't know."

Then a thought occured to me--what if it was all just a joke? I suggested this to Brian.

"If it is, it's a cruel one, and I wasn't let in on it," he answered.

"No kidding!" I agreed.

"We should probably still go to the office, though. Maybe we'll find out what's happening then."

We walked down the halls in silence; each wondering what on Earth was going on. Finally, we arrived at the office.

As we stepped in, we stumbled across the principal speaking solemnly to the vice principal.

"Yes, that's right. Her mom was just going home to retrieve a document she had forgotten for work. They found her dead, just lying cold in her bed. No one knows the cause. Her eyes were wide open, staring up at the ceiling; she was completely frozen.

"Poor Eva," answered the vice principal, "She was a good student."

I backed up in horror, not believing a word. Brina seemed shocked as well, and he was staring at me in disbelief.

Just then, the principal noticed us standing there... Or noticed Brian, anyway.

"Oh! Brian!" he said with surprise.

He must have seen the look on Brian's face, because he chose his next words carefully, "You didn't hear that did you? I'm sorry; I didn't mean for you, or anyone else, to find out that way. We were planning to announce it in an assembly tomorrow. Could you keep this quiet until then?"

Brian just stood in shock, and I didn't move either. It didn't make sense... What was going on?! How could Brian see me then?

Then something from the other side of the window across the office caught my eye. It was the hand of a Shadow, slowly appearing.

(Stacy)

This is the final piece of this story that I plan to post. This is how the original story was set up. Later on, I created more, but it needs a lot more revising for me to consider presenting it to the public. Hope you enjoyed the story.