Chapter 4: Shadows

It was a good thing that Tsubame was so tiny. Shiori nearly toppled over from the extra weight of her friend on her back as she rounded a corner. Tsubame was barely conscious now.

“Ouch,” Tsubame complained as Shiori struggled to adjust her friend higher on her back. Shiori felt the bookmark vibrating in the handbag. She had just managed to gather the book, the bookmark, and the note from Motohara.

“Something’s coming for us,” Shiori explained.

“Turn right here,” Tsubame said, drowsily. There was a park that was popular after local schools let out. Tsubame was clearly out of it. It reminded Shiori of how she felt after Motohara was pulled into another world.

Shiori turned quickly, almost toppling over. She panted and needed to stop soon. Where was everyone? This was a sleepy residential corner with small roads, but shouldn’t there have been someone?

“Can you run?” Shiori asked.

“Something’s gaining on us,” Tsubame said, turning to look behind, “I don’t think we have time to stop.”

“Glowing red eyes, large claws, black as midnight?” Shiori asked.

Tsubame’s voice became panicked and higher-pitched. “There are four, no five.”

Shiori had only seen two before deciding to run.

“And they’re gaining,” Tsubame’s voice reached a higher level of panic.

Shiori burst into the small but popular park. It was big enough for adults to relax outside, but with enough play areas for neighborhood kids.

The park had remained unchanged since Shiori and Tsubame were little girls. Maybe the paint had faded or chipped, and the gravel paths were more worn down. But it looked so familiar that Shiori couldn’t remember it looking or feeling different.

And it was empty. How could it be empty? Tsubame dropped from Shiori’s.

“Where is everyone?” Tsubame asked in shock, wobbling on unsteady legs.

Shiori turned to see the inky black things scrambling over and under the metal barrier into the park. They were short, even shorter than Tsubame at under one meter. Given how thin and emaciated they looked, Shiori would have assumed them weak if not for the bunched cords of muscle animating their nearly skeletal frames.

They rushed forward, heedless of the open space. Light glinted from unnaturally long claws on humanoid fingers.

Shiori considered running, but Tsubame’s shaky legs and dizziness canceled that thought. Shiori couldn’t carry her friend anymore. She was still panting heavily.

They couldn’t stand and fight. Neither knew how, and they had no weapons, and they were outnumbered. They’d be swarmed and torn apart easily.

Shiori needed to limit the numbers advantage of these horrible things to buy time.

As Shiori grabbed Tsubame’s hand and considered her options, she realized the insanity of this situation. She was being attacked by shadow goblins in broad daylight. The book in her handbag had known it would happen.

There was no escape. These things were too fast and didn’t tire from the run. Adrenaline and fear inspired by the sharp teeth of the nearest shadow gave Shiori the strength to pull Tsubame along.

“What will we do?” Tsubame squealed as one of the things leapt forward and missed grabbing her by centimeters.

Shiori had no air left to answer. She had a stupid plan that likely wouldn’t keep them alive longer than standing to fight. It was desperate, but the only thing she could think to do. She pulled Tsubame forward as shadows swarmed around the girls. Were there really only five? It seemed like more.

The shadows would have caught Shiori if they hadn’t taken time to surround her first. She had hoped they’d do that to maximize their numerical advantage.

Shiori was going to stop that, even if it was the last thing she did. Given the situation, it would probably be the last thing she did before having her throat slit by obsidian-black claws.

“Climb,” Shiori said between pants.

“The slide?” Tsubame asked, incredulous. It felt like an eternity before Tsubame complied and climbed the stairs.

Shiori knew this park like her bedroom. As a child, the tunnel nearby had seemed magical. Now she recognized it as a concrete culvert repurposed for the playground that her tiny community could afford. The tunnel would be a death trap, either inside or atop, amplifying their enemies’ advantages.

The swings and balance beams would provide no safety. The sandboxes and jungle gyms would slow Shiori and Tsubame while allowing countless attack directions for the shadows.

Shiori didn’t have good options, but the only defensive option in the park was the old concrete slide. Shiori climbed up after Tsubame.

Tsubame stood at the top crowded next to Shiori on the highest step. Despite the height difference, Shiori could easily see over her shorter friend’s head.

The shadows paused in confusion for a heartbeat. They didn’t bother coordinating their attack. They seemed more driven by hunger than given to communication.

“Think, Shiori,” she said to herself. Could she talk her way out of this? She hadn’t heard the shadowy things say a word. Did they even speak?

The first one attempted to climb the steep ladder. Shiori remembered worrying as a child about falling backward if she lost her handholds, but that didn’t stop her from sliding down it often.

But this presented a problem for the shadows. Shiori raised a foot, ready to kick down the nearest climbing shadow. It hesitated. It had to keep its hands locked on the handrails to climb the stairs, which eliminated its weapons advantage. Shiori knew that slide’s ladder sides were entirely unclimbable. The shadows had to come up one at a time, single file, and had to keep their claws on the handrails.

The front shadow was pushed forward by the one behind. It decided to use its teeth instead of claws. Shiori readied her foot for a kick. There was a moment of pause, almost a collaboration between her and the shadow. They knew things would go poorly for her if those teeth got around her shoe, or worse, her ankle. The jaws looked strong on the atrophied, inhuman frame. But if Shiori connected with a kick, she would buy them valuable time.

Shiori feigned a kick. The shadow snapped its jaws, nearly catching her shoe. Shiori was likely to lose this fight.

She glanced behind her where she heard claws scrabbling against concrete. The slide was an old creation, older than the girls. The slide itself, like some older slides in Japan, was made of polished concrete. It worked surprisingly well for a slide, but it made it difficult to climb up backward, especially for creatures with long claws. The shadows had one real avenue of approach.

Shiori looked back to see that climbing shadow was about to bite her legs.

In a panic she yelled, “STOP!” with so much force it surprised even her. The playground went still at the single word that sounded like a bomb going off. Even the bookmark in her handbag stopped vibrating. The shadow actually stopped, going still in the instant before it would have bitten her.

Shiori kicked the shadow, causing it to tumble down and knock the others off the ladder into a pile of horrible shadowy limbs and claws. The other shadows were angry at the fallen lead shadow. They dug their claws into it, tearing it apart. It died soundlessly, bleeding out a black powdery smoke then disappearing entirely.

They climbed again, a carpet of red eyes and black claws ascending to tear her apart.