Chapter 3: Discovering the Other Side

I'm still not over to the things that girl said to me. She's not human and she's the one who confirmed it. That means, all this time, I was chasing a horrible creature. I'm entering such a mess but I'm more curious about them than before and maybe this is connected to the crimes recently. I can't let this swept by.

"You've been staring at nowhere, are you alright Auburt?" Lance was worried to my actions since the day I met again that girl.

"I'm just thinking" I started a conversation that is not usual for me.

"Hmmm?" Lance was listening.

"No never mind" I said and stood up, getting all my things and get out of the classroom.

"Wait?!" he shouted and followed me.

If I remembered, these are the things happened when she showed up at me that night.

"Huh? Maybe you're interested?" she was grinning at me.

"I do have interest of you, at first but after knowing about another being existing in this world, I'm more interested to your kind than you" I said with a straight tone and her reaction became wild when she started laughing because of what I said.

"I know what you're after, don't be ridiculous" she said and she calmed her down to stop from laughing.

"I told you to not meddle things up to our business but you still came here everyday to see if I'm still visiting this place" I heard her sighed "You're persistent not like the other humans I know"

"Tell me who are you and what are you then I'll stop whether I'm satisfied or not" I said in authority.

"If you insist then maybe this book will help. You like literature right? Then find this book at that library and read it. After reading, meet me here again this Saturday and tell me your thoughts about it"

I gave her a paper to write the title of the book. After writing it, she left the place without I noticing she disappeared.

We have short conversation that day and I'm in the library right now to search for the book she was telling me to read.

I want to ask her more of the question in my head but it looks like she doesn't want to share anything to me about the knowledge she had about them.

I told the librarian about the book I was looking for and he said I should look for the book in the historical fantasy corner. The writer is pretty well known and his book was a bestselling hit in his year so it's easy to find for it.

When I finally found the book I was looking for, it's pretty old but it's still readable.

"Lurking in the darkest side" that's the title of the book.

I opened the book and a bookmark fell from it.

I picked up the bookmark that fell and read the words written in it.

"Our worst nightmares are made by ours only"

I started reading the book.

The story is all about a researcher who believes that in this world we live in, there's always someone who lurks in the darkest places of the world.

He started searching clues about them and there was nothing to be looked for.

He still didn't give up and find more evidences that might be connected to some incidents in their town but there's nothing to find. Because of his unusual research, people think of him as a crazy person and that's what made him drift out from the society.

But one faithful day when this creature he was looking for appeared in his very own eyes. He was really happy to have finally found a support for all of he's research and he was crying in joy.

This creature knew about him and finally decided to show up and told him everything about them.

He write about all of the things that creature was saying. He didn't let every words of him go to waste.

They are called shadows and they are the creature of the night. They are not only appearing at night but that's the sign that people called them in the past.

Having a shadow beside a human being means having a contract with them. This is the only way for shadow to have its existence in the living world. This contract means lending the strength of the shadow to the human to get all what they wanted. They are like genies who can give the things the human wants.

The contract is absolute and having this would make the shadow weaker than the human.

The researcher wrote everything in his book and it was about to be published in the public when the shadow ate the researcher.

Shadows are still evil and they do things on their own accord. Having them tied with humans means doing what the human ordered them but sadly, that researcher didn't had contract with them and the shadow manipulate him just to eat him in the end.

"Is this really popular?" I was disappointed by the person who wrote this.

"Yes he is popular but this book is his last" and the girl suddenly appeared in front of me.

"When did you..."

"It's already Saturday and I thought you already stop to being a jerk and went back but it looks like you're reading the book I said" she was grinning at me.

"So how was it?" she asked.

"It's horrible" I said in monotone.

She laughed and grabbed the book from me.

"This is trash?" She asked while stopping herself from laughing.

"Yeah" when I agreed to what she said she burst laughing that her tears starting to fall from her eyes.

I don't know what's happening but did she really mean to tell me who are they or is she doing this for fun.

"You're pretty irritated by now" She said and stopped laughing. "Do you think I'm wasting your time? You're the one who choose to do this, not my fault" she said and gave me back the book.

"What's the reason why you made me read that stupid book" I said to her and I'm mad right now because she took this seriousness of mine to be only her laughing matter.

"Don't you read the book?"

"How is it connected to you?" and then I just realized what's really happening.

The book is talking about a creature that was discovered by a researcher. They called themselves as Shadow. The guy that night and the strange creature appeared right in front of me then that only means....

"That person we encountered was connected to a shadow" I concluded.

"And...?"

"He has a contract with that shadow" I said and she started clapping after I solved the puzzle.

"Now you understand who we are so you should shut up now and get lost" She said and was about to leave again when I stopped her by grabbing her wrist.

"I still had a question"

"What?!" she's already tired of everything I am doing right now.

"Tell me do you follow me when I am still young? How did you know about my past?" I let her wrist out from my grasped and heard her sigh.

She scratched her head "I just collected some information, tied it up together and done, I made a conclusion just like you did earlier. I hate humans so why would I spend my whole 17 years to follow you. And to inform you, we only met that day so you better not think I'm a stalker" she explained.

"Our real form is not visible to any human being so don't ask me how I gathered those information" she said feeling irritated.

"If you don't have any question then I'm going to leave and completely disappear" she was about to leave again when I stopped her again.

"Have a contract with me" without even thinking, I let those words slipped in my tongue and this made her more irritated than before.

----- End of chapter 3

Updated: November 3, 2018

(not edited)