The Shadow in My Hand

My name is Caleb Vance, and I am fourteen years old. Most kids my age worry about school tests, soccer games, or what to eat for dinner. I worry about staying alive in District 4, a noisy, dirty city filled with smoke, flashing neon lights, and bad people.

Right now, I am standing behind the counter of The Rusty Anchor, wiping up spilled beer with a dirty rag. The air smells like fried fish and old sweat.

Hey, kid! Move faster!" Jax shouts from the front door.

Jax is the bouncer here. He is a huge man with a thick beard and a heavy robotic arm. That arm has exposed cables and sparks blue light every time he flexes it. Jax acts like my friend. He gives me leftover food and covers for me when I drop trays. But today, his voice sounds hard. It makes a cold knot form in my stomach.

I ignore him and look down at my right hand.

On my ring finger sits a heavy silver ring. It has strange lines cut into it. I have tried to pull it off a thousand times. I pull until my skin turns red and my finger hurts, but it will not budge. It feels stuck to my bones.

And then there is my shadow.

I glance down at the floorboards. The overhead lights cast my silhouette right beside my feet. But my shadow is not copying me. While I stand still with my rag, my shadow is lifting its arms. Its fingers stretch out long and sharp like claws. It sways back and forth, moving to a beat I cannot hear.

"Stop that," I whisper.

My heart beats fast. My shadow freezes instantly, copying my exact posture once more. I let out a long breath. I am just tired. I work too many hours here.

Caleb! Table four needs ale!" Jax calls out again, banging his metal fist against the wooden wall.

Coming," I say.

I grab two mugs of foamy beer and walk toward the back booths. The tavern is loud. People are arguing, laughing, and drinking. District 4 is a rough place. If you show weakness here, people will take everything you own. My parents are gone, and this tavern is the only home I have. I have to work hard to survive.

Suddenly, the front doors shatter.

The loud crash cuts through the music. Everyone stops talking. Mugs drop and smash on the floor.

Three people step through the broken door. They wear dark coats, but I do not look at their clothes. I look at their faces. They have no eyes. Where their eyes should be, bright white lights glow and spin like mini suns. They hold long, glowing blades that hum in the air.

The people in the tavern scream and dive under tables. I drop my tray. The mugs shatter, and beer splashes across my shoes.

The leader of the strange people points a finger straight at me.

"There he is," the man says. His voice sounds flat, like a machine talking. "Grab the master of the dark throne. Do not let him escape."

I take a step back. My back hits a wooden post.

Me? I think. I am just a tavern helper.

The three strangers rush forward. They move so fast they look like streaks of light. Their glowing blades slice through the air, heading straight for my chest.

Panic hits me like a bucket of ice water. I do not want to die today.

I raise my hands to block them.

The silver ring on my finger suddenly gets boiling hot. A sharp pain shoots up my arm. Bright white light bursts from the ring, filling the entire room. A massive wave of wind blasts outward from my body.

The blast hits the three attackers. They fly backward, crashing through the wooden tables and smashing into the front wall.

I stare at my hands. The ring pulses with blinding light. My shadow tears away from the floor, rising up behind me like a giant wall of black smoke.

"What is happening to me?!" I yell out loud.

I turn around and run toward the kitchen doors. I have to get out of here.

I burst through the kitchen and into the back alley. Cold rain hits my face. I run as fast as my legs can carry me, dodging trash cans and steam pipes. The sirens start to wail in the distance. Red and blue lights flash across the wet brick walls.

I run around a corner and skid to a stop.

My sister, Elena, stands right in front of me.

I gasp for air, grabbing my knees. "Elena! Thank goodness. You have to run. Some crazy people with glowing eyes just attacked the tavern"

Elena does not move. She does not smile. Her face is completely blank.

"Elena?" I ask, standing up straight. My voice shakes.

Slowly, she raises her right hand. A small screen hovers in the air above her palm. She taps it, and a bright red light shines on her face.

"Subject C-14 is outside the primary containment zone," Elena says. Her voice sounds robotic, like she is reading from a script. "Initiating lock down."

"Stop joking around," I say, taking a step toward her. "It is me. Caleb. Your brother."

"You are not my brother," Elena says coldly. Her eyes suddenly flash with a bright white light, just like the attackers in the tavern. "You are Project Seven. And your time is up."

Heavy footsteps echo behind me in the wet alley.

I whip around.

Jax stands at the mouth of the alley. Water drips from his dark jacket. His left arm is raised, and the metal plating has slid back. A large, black cannon barrel points right at my face. The end of the barrel glows with a deadly blue charge.

"Sorry, kid," Jax says, his face dead serious. "Orders from the council. You were never supposed to wake up."

The blue cannon begins to hum, charging up for a blast that will blow me to pieces.