A Neophyte's Tale: A Netherwalker Short Story (Prequel to Cloak of Shadows) Read online

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  “Run!” Her mother’s frail body flashed in her mind and startled Abbey awake. She realized that she must have passed out. Trying to stay warm and dry she tugged her hoodie down further over her face, but it was no use. The rain had already seeped through the fabric and she was soaked and freezing.

  How long have I been here? How many days? Abbey took a minute and finally surveyed her surroundings. Even in a daze, running away from her mother’s body and the strange sensation from the cop, she had still ended up in a familiar alley. She remembered the sun setting and rising at least once. She was extremely tired, but closing her eyes again and seeing her mother’s dead body was not an option.

  A shimmer of light caught her eye. Crazy Carol’s stash of whiskey was behind the dumpster next to her. Abbey could see the glass bottle hugging the same brick wall she was. That would warm her up and numb everything else, at least for a little while.

  But then what? Abbey shook her head back and forth trying to make sense of it all, but her brain still seemed clouded by a fog. A haze of doubt was clinging to her subconscious. She wasn’t sure what was real or imagined anymore. Did I really see that shadow turn into a monster? And what about that strange buzz I felt around that cop? I felt it down in my bones. What the hell was that? OMG, am I freaking turning into spider girl or something? What’s happening to me?  She rubbed her eyes ferociously, as though it would wipe away the image of her mother’s withered body. That had been real. She was certain. What am I going to do? I’m all alone!

  Sounds of happy school kids walking down the street drew her attention to the alley’s opening far in the distance.

  The strange buzzing started to resonate through her body again, just before one of the kids slowed their pace. What the hell? Abbey thought.

  A boy with floppy brown hair tripped over his own feet as if he, too, had felt something. He stopped and looked down the alley.

  Abbey gasped, cowering deeper into the shadows waiting for him to leave.

  The boy and his friends looked like snooty rich kids, all dressed up in their school uniforms and plaid ties. They even had umbrellas with their school’s name on them; S.B. Devere Academy.

  “Humph, sounds stupid,” Abbey whispered.

  “C’mon Muddle!” another boy shouted. And with that, the curious boy turned and walked away.  

  As the group of students continued their journey, Abbey’s senses seemed heightened.  She could still make out some of their conversations and she could feel the buzzing dissipating the further the kids walked.  

  “... I don’t understand. Why can’t I just have my driver take us to the museum?  I cannot get out of this neighborhood fast enough.”  

  Abbey imagined the boy who responded was the same one who almost spotted her, “Headmaster Frobisher said it would build character…” Their voices finally faded into the cacophony of the busy New York street.

  She may have imagined the strange shadow creature, but she was sure the tingling she felt was real now and she knew exactly where she was going to go to get answers. Her brain was screaming for her to follow her instincts.

  Abbey placed her uneaten sandwich next to Carol’s bottle of whiskey, dried her tears, got up, and walked out of the alley.

  Hope Rising

 

  Abbey’s instincts led her to the alley below her apartment. The smell of burnt popcorn assaulted her nose, but was comforting and familiar somehow, just like her little word. Standing in the alley, Abbey kept her back to her own apartment, there was nothing left for her there. Instead she only looked forward, up through the pouring rain into her neighbor’s open window on the fifth floor. Above her head there was a fire escape ladder on the second. Finally being so close to Bernie’s apartment, she could feel the same faint buzzing in her bones that she felt when the cop had grabbed her arm and when the school kids had walked by. I knew it! she scoffed.

  Whatever it was that had happened while her mom lay dying, she knew it had awoken something within her. The buzzing seemed almost second nature to her now, like breathing in a warm familiar scent, like home. Abbey felt as though she were on the verge of discovering a hidden world that these unnatural encounters had opened up to her, like a cloak covering her eyes had been lifted and she was finally seeing the world as it truly was.

  Taking a deep breath and a leap of faith, she jumped, grabbed the ladder, and pulled. It came down to the ground with a rusty squeal. She couldn’t help the chuckle that filtered through her rain soaked tears as the burned popcorn’s scent came towards her again. Mr. Alley Cat Dude, I think you forgot to check your microwave.

  Feeling like the scrappy little black kitten herself, Abbey took another deep breath and started to climb. With every rung she knew she wasn’t just leaving the city’s alleyways behind but her sewers of despair and addiction as well. She knew she was climbing towards her little word and her future. The word was with her now. It was becoming a part of her with every rung she climbed. She knew she was climbing towards her fate.

  When she reached Bernie’s balcony she crouched down, peered through the open window, and began to panic. What am I going to say? He doesn’t even know me--

  A soft chuckle reminiscent of Saint Nick’s came from the couch. Then Bernie, and the scruffy black kitten curled up beside him, looked up towards the window. The kind hearted man waved Abbey in from behind his bowl of popcorn, “Hiya, hon. Come on in. Welcome home.”