Shadows

Rei’s slammed his back against the brick wall hard enough to knock the air from his lungs.

He slid down until his legs gave out, ending in a crouch with his knees pulled close to his chest. His breaths came fast and shallow, chest stuttering like it didn’t remember how breathing was supposed to work.

In.

Out.

Too fast.

Not enough.

“Okay—okay—okay—” Rei whispered, more to hear a human voice than to calm himself.

His hands shook violently. He pressed them against the wall, feeling the cold seep into his palms, grounding, solid. Rain dripped from the alley’s fire escape, splashing near his shoes in steady, normal drops.

Normal.

Normal.

Normal.

His vision tunneled.

The square.

The rain.

The shadows.

The way the masked man flew—

Rei sucked in a sharp breath that scraped his throat raw.

“I didn’t mean to,” he muttered. “I didn’t—I didn’t even touch him.”

His heart slammed against his ribs like it was trying to escape first.

A sound echoed down the alley.

A wet, dragging step.

Rei froze.

Another step.

Slower.

Uneven.

Someone was coming.

Rei scrambled to his feet, back still pressed to the wall. His eyes locked onto the mouth of the alley just as a figure limped into view.

A police officer.

One arm hung uselessly at his side. Blood soaked through his sleeve and dripped from his fingertips. His helmet was gone, hair plastered to his forehead with rain and sweat. One eye was already swelling shut.

They stared at each other.

Rei’s breath hitched.

“Stay back,” Rei said hoarsely.

The words came out before he thought about them.

He raised a hand instinctively, palm open and shaking. His other arm curled up protectively against his chest, fingers digging into his sleeve like he could hold himself together by force.

The officer squinted at him at his hand, then barked out a humorless laugh that turned into a cough.

“…You’ve gotta be kidding me,” he rasped. “How many of you freaks are out tonight?”

Rei’s stomach dropped.

“I—I’m not—” he started, then stopped. He didn’t know what he was anymore.

The officer straightened as much as he could, pain flickering across his face. His free hand slid slowly to his holster.

Rei’s eyes widened.

“Don’t,” Rei whispered. “Please—just—stay away—”

The officer’s jaw tightened.

“Figures,” he muttered coldly. “Another scared little freak.”

The gun came up.

The alley darkened.

Not like the lights went out—like the shadows thickened.

From the brick wall beside Rei, something moved.

A shadow peeled itself free, stretching unnaturally long, twisting into a tendril-like shape that lashed across the narrow space in a blink.

CRACK.

The officer was slammed sideways into the opposite wall with brutal force. Bone hit brick. The gun clattered uselessly to the ground.

He collapsed in a heap, limbs slack, eyes glassy.

Silence rushed back in.

Rei stared.

His hand was still raised.

Slowly, trembling, he lowered it and looked at his palm like it might bite him.

“…Did I…?” His voice barely carried. “Did I do that?”

The shadows didn’t answer.

But something else did.

A shape detached itself from the deeper darkness at the far end of the alley.

Rei sucked in a sharp breath and staggered back until his shoulders hit the wall again.

The figure stepped forward quietly.

A black hood shadowed most of his face. A dark scarf covered everything below his eyes. Over his clothes hung a cloak of black edged with deep violet, the fabric seeming to swallow light rather than reflect it.

Only his eyes were visible.

Sharp.

Calm.

Assessing.

“Relax,” the figure said evenly. His voice was low, controlled. “If I wanted you dead, you wouldn’t be standing.”

Rei swallowed hard. “W-who are you?”

The man tilted his head slightly, studying Rei’s shaking hands, the way his breath hadn’t fully steadied yet.

“Someone who noticed you,” he replied. “Your ability is telekinesis.”

Rei blinked. “What?”

“Untrained. Reactive. Emotion-driven,” the man continued. “Messy. But powerful.”

Rei shook his head weakly. “I don’t—this isn’t—”

“It is,” the man cut in. “What’s interesting is how it manifests.”

Rei glanced briefly at the unconscious officer, then at the wall where the shadow had emerged.

“Was that… Me?” He asked the hooded figure

“No, it was me, feel free to thank me whenever”

“Anyways telekinesis,” he murmured. “That’s rare.”

Rei’s chest tightened. “You said… telekinesis.”

“Yes.” The man’s eyes sharpened. “But not just any kind. Yours is strangely similar to a Freak who disappeared some time ago.”

Rei hesitated. “Disappeared?”

The man nodded once. “Moro.”

The name meant nothing to Rei—and somehow, that scared him more.

“Who are you?” Rei asked again.

The man straightened.

“Shadow,” he said simply.

Before Rei could ask anything else—

A scream echoed in the distance.

Then another.

Gunshots cracked through the rain.

Shadow’s gaze flicked toward the sound.

“…They’re getting closer,” he said. “This isn’t the night for explanations.”

Rei’s heart began racing again. “Wait—what—what do I do?”

Shadow stepped back into the darkness, already fading from view.

“You go home,” he said. “Act normal. Remember what happend tonight.”

His eyes met Rei’s one last time.

“We’ll find you later.”

Then the darkness closed in around him—and he was gone.

Rei woke with a sharp gasp.

Sunlight spilled across his ceiling, warm and ordinary. His sheets were twisted around his legs, damp with sweat.

He lay there, staring upward, heart pounding as memories crashed back into place.

The rain.

The shadows.

The officer.

The names.

Moro.

Shadow.

His fingers twitched against the mattress.

“…That wasn’t a dream,” Rei whispered.

The ceiling didn’t answer.

But somewhere deep inside him, something shifted—awake now, and listening.