Shadows

A Story by yttehs1

Write a descriptive passage entitled Shadows. In your writing bring out a sense of mystery and suspense.

There comes a time in a man's life when he's forced to follow the devils path. That time had arrived in my life. To prove my innocence I had no choice but to push aside my sweet and tolerant side. I had to shove away all the good deeds I had done till now. I...I had to bring out the beast.

Dark clouds covered the days sky. I was hidden in the central market crowd. The market area was a buzz, nothing short of a fish market. The first glance of my target; He was sitting in a noble chariot led by two black stallions and the rider. The rider whipped the horses as he commanded them to pull forward and the chariot jerked into maximum speed. The rider felt a presence in the crowd, as if he was being watched. He turned his head around only to see the regular market crowd going about their daily business and continued on his path. I had vanished, vanished from the human eyes line of sight. I was now on stealth mode skipping from shadow to shadow. I was doing what I was taught to do, I was not following the shadows; I was being the shadow

I was moving like the wind. Never before, had I ever felt so agile: sprinting on the tip of my toes, movements so smooth and swift, and vision like that of a hawk. Sprinting and jumping from shade to shade like an assassin. I was in pursuit. Pursuit of the man who destroyed this country, the man who now runs the country on his greed and the man who dishonored my name.

The chariot was now on an empty lane, surrounded by run down three-storied building that were made from red sandstone bricks, splashing past muddy puddles. I was right behind them, zig zagging my way from one building to another. The air became thicker and harder to breathe in as I progressed further. I could feel the weight of the air gaining on my chest. The air suddenly had this dampness about it. I could feel the moisture in the air condensing on my face and cooling my lungs whenever I inhaled. The air here was different, it had a fresh wet muddy smell to it. I was in synch with the chariots movements. As it slowed down, I slowed down. As it speeded up, I accelerated. As it turned, I cut across dark alleys to keep up with it.

The chariot came to a halt. So did I. I was left exposed in the middle of the street and as quick as a reflex, I swiftly skipped into the cover of a shadow behind a plundered building and quickly jumped and took grasp of a black rusting railing of a balcony and pulled myself up. I had to get myself to the top of the building for a better view, and with no time to spare for second thoughts I jumped across the dark alley onto the balcony, which was one floor higher, of the building besides me. And like a spring I continued to do so till I reached the top. I spotted my target as he left the premises of the chariot. After a few skipping steps I quickly lunged out and rolled into the safety of the chimneys shadow before the rider who now stood guard could spot me. My eyes shifted focus towards my target and saw him being accompanied by another fellow noble man into the opposite building.

With a quick turn I accelerated through the air, aimed for a breathtaking jump from the roof I was on to the roof of the building on the opposite side of the lane. The edge of the roof was filled with rainwater from the previous night and as I made the jump I set my last step on a puddle splashing water into an alert atmosphere. The sound of the splash was enough to catch the riders attention as he drew his head towards the top of the building only to see a chimney. I was gone, already on the other side but that that was too close for comfort.

I slow approached the edge of the building as my heart started to beat faster. I could hear my heart pumping. I now had a direct over head view of my target. This was my best chance. Without further ado I slashed out a knife from my sheath, ever so slowly bent my knees and sprung myself into the shafts of light under the cloudy sky. As I started to descend downwards I straightened my legs and pointed my feet downwards ; I lifted my arms up and cut through the air like an arrow.

The riders eye caught me but it was too late. I was only an inch away from the restoration of my honour.