I'll bet you twenty bucks you don't know how absolutely terrifying it is to watch your mother pull darkness out of a shadow.

I know what you're thinking. 

Oh, darkness! It's not that bad!

No.

Obviously, you have no idea what this actually looked like, so I guess I'll have to describe it to you. 

It was pure black. If you looked at it straight on for too long, it would make your eyes go crazy. It's worse than the darkness you see when you close your eyes. It was literally sucking the light out of the room.

And it vaguely took the form of a human. No facial features, barely any fingers, and no toes. But there was a definite head, arms, legs, and a torso.

I felt like the thing was looking straight at me. I've never been more disturbed in my entire life. I was completely petrified. 

My mom threw the thing back into the shadow. I let out a little squeak as the light in the room was abruptly restored. 

"What...was...that?" I somehow managed to choke out. My dad looked at me. His eyes were cold. There wasn't even the slightest trace of fear in them. "That, my dear, was a shadow. A real shadow."

I stared at him, confused. "But...shadows are just...aren't they just caused by things blocking the light?"

My dad shook his head. "That's what the world wants you to believe. See, paranormal things would scare people, so the government keeps it quiet. Of course, they don't know very much about it to begin with."

"So...what does it mean?"

My mom sat down next to me on the couch, wiping her hand on her jeans like she had just touched something slimy. "Shadows...real shadows, are almost like people, Avery. They can think, breathe, and see. They also eat, but they don't eat regular food. 

"Shadows feed off of negative emotions. Sadness, anger, stress, fear, spite, and greed are just a few of them. Now, it seems as though the longer the world goes on, the more apparent these emotions are becoming...which means, in the simplest terms, the shadows get bigger."

I stared at her, my eyes wide. "But...does that mean every time I cry--" "Yes, you help a shadow grow." My mother cut me off. 

"So...does that mean I'm not allowed to be sad?" 

My mom smiled a little bit. "No, Avery. Positive emotions combat negative emotions. So, in the end, being sad every once in a while won't make them grow. Because you are a generally happy person." She paused. "I guess there's a better way to phrase the situation."

My dad spoke, his voice gruff. "My parents explained it to me differently. They said that the shadows grow depending on how much of the population is made up of very negative people...or just really bad people. Terrorists, murderers, people with anxiety or depression. You can't really blame someone with anxiety or depression though...they can't help it. People who are driven by spite, envy, and greed...those are the ones you can blame. The shadows grow, and they make it worse for all of us."

I swallowed. "Doesn't that mean we should be overrun already?"

Both of my parents smiled. "There are reasons that the sun still shines everyday." My mom said. "There are still good people in the world, there are still positive people in the world. The media doesn't really let you believe that...but they're out there..." 

"And," my dad added, "there are people out there fighting the shadows." 

I raised my eyebrows. "That seems a little sketchy."

My mom laughed. "I guess you could call us sketchy...but that's not our intention. We're called to protect the people."

"Why do you keep saying 'we'?" I raised my eyebrows slightly. I'm not sure why I asked the question, I practically already knew the answer. 

My father grinned, his glasses getting pushed up against his face. "Well, Avery dear, we told you all of this because we're going to recruit you." He held out his hand, probably thinking that I would shake it and thank him for this wonderful opportunity. 

Instead, I crushed his dreams.

Whoops.

I shook my head, drawing myself away from him. My dad tilted his head. "Avery, I know it seems scary...but we need you."

"No, no you don't." I replied. "I'm not worth anything, I'm not strong enough for this."

"It's not just strength," my mother reassured me, "it's positivity too." 

"I'm not feeling very positive right now."
"You'll learn."
"No no this is too much."
"Avery--"

"I can't do this I'm not ready for it!"

My mother grabbed my shoulders. "We wouldn't have told you if we didn't think you were ready." 

I opened my mouth to say something, but then there was a noise. The sound of a door slamming. My entire family froze. "Joe? Is that you buddy?" My mom called. I could tell that she was desperately hoping it was my little brother. But there was no response, only the sound of loud footsteps coming down the hall. 

My dad swallowed. "Avery, I want you to leave the house. Now," he said. His voice was deadly calm.

"What's going on?" I squeaked, backing away from both of my parents. My dad dug into his pocket and pulled out something small and shiny. A pocket knife. "Leave." He said more firmly. 

"I'm not just going to leave you here!" I screamed, anger and fear bubbling up inside of me. My dad glared back at me, opened his mouth to demand I leave, and then stopped. My mom had laid her hand on his shoulder. The footsteps were getting louder, and I could now detect something like a muffled scream. 

I was terrified, but I stood my ground. 

"Maybe we should let her stay...if this is what we want her to do." My mom said gently. My dad stared at her for a second, and they seemed to have a silent argument. Eventually, my mother won. My dad turned around and tossed me the pocket knife, which I caught with shaking hands. I just managed to avoid dropping it on my foot. 

"Use that." My father told me. I nodded, trying to keep myself steady.

My mother held up a small rectangle, only four inches long, with a button on the side. I wanted to ask what it was,  but my voice wouldn't work. Either way, I was sure my question would be answered sometime soon.

My heart slammed into my chest as the footsteps stopped. There was another muffled scream, this time much louder. I jumped, the pocket knife slipped from my hands. I hastily bent over to pick it up. Both of my parents shot me a rather cruel glare, which I responded to with a meek look. I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. 

Then a man stepped into the room. He was wearing a black cloak, his face dressed in shadows cast by the hood. Gleams of light cast by black boots were just visible through the darkness dancing around his feet. 

His hands were covered by black gloves. I couldn't see an inch of his skin, actually. From far away, if I hadn't been wearing my glasses, he would have looked like a smudge of darkness.

Except...except for the thing he held in his arms. 

A little boy, his feet dangling in the air, his hands clawing at the arm wrapped around his neck, a huge rip in his Dash costume. There was a steady dripping noise, which, once I looked down, realized was blood forming a puddle under his feet. 

My brother. Dear God it was my little brother. The mask was still on his face, but of course it was him. Why else would this man drag him, bleeding, into our house?

My mother let out a noise, somewhere between a scream of rage and a horrible sob. My father didn't move, but I could see something in his eyes. It looked almost as if someone had set his irises on fire. 

 My brother attempted to make a sound. My mother, with tears running down her cheeks, wore an expression of pure fury. "Put him down." She hissed dangerously. There was a low laugh, coming from under the hood. 

My mom clicked the button on her odd little device. Three things popped out of it. 

One was a large knife. The second was a lighter. The third was sharp spike. 

"Put. Him. Down." She demanded again, taking a step towards the cloaked man.

"No...I don't think...I will." The voice was deep and slow. He spoke as though he wasn't accustomed to using the English language.

My father moved to stand next to my mom. I stood frozen, not sure what to do. There was another laugh. "It's time..." The man said. "It's time..."

Then it went black. I knew I hadn't passed out...or at least, I thought I hadn't. I could still feel. If anything, I could feel more now. A pair of hands grabbed my shoulders. My parents, I hoped. I dropped my knife, and it landed with a clang; one that somehow sounded louder in the dark. 

There was a low rumble, and the light was abruptly restored. My mother, father, and I were all huddled together. The man and my brother were gone, the only evidence that they had even existed was the drying blood on the floor. 

Both of my parents were still gripping their weapons. I found that each of them had grabbed one of my shoulders, rather than one of them grabbing both of my shoulders. 

My father took a deep breath, my mother didn't make a sound. 

"Listen, Avery..." He said, speaking carefully. "We need to go after your brother, okay? So I want you to find someone for me. Can you do that?" 

I didn't look at him.

"Avery...can you do that?" 

I nodded stiffly.

"Okay. Find Matthew, you understand? Find Matthew and he'll take you somewhere safer."

I nodded again, my voice sticking in my throat. I had never been more confused and horrified in my entire life. 

My father kissed me on the head. My mother wrapped me in a hug. Then, before I knew it, they were gone, out the door in a matter of seconds.

I took a deep, shaky breath, steeled myself, and began walking down the hallway.