The Shadow

Ten men, in masks, considerably armed, all worked together to carry crates from the warehouse to the big-rig. None of them knew what was in the packages, only that a big pay day awaited them after the job. Two men carried one crate at a time, and they moved in and out of the warehouse like clockwork... until the lights went out. Everyone stopped. Nick started to back up, his partner (Jerry) followed, until Nick backed into something that wasn't there before. Nick dropped the crate onto his feet. Jerry was paralyzed in fear. Behind Nick stood a dark figure, wearing a dark cloak with a hood. The hood masked his face with a shadow. No one had ever seen the face of the Shadow, as he was called. The image was haunting. The Shadow covered Nick's mouth with his hand until he passed out.

Jerry finally came to and pulled out his gun and aimed for the figure. The Shadow opened up his cloak and a thick cloud began to envelop everyone. The doors of the warehouse closed trapping everyone inside momentarily.

Outside the building, the driver and four movers panicked. The engine was not starting up, and no one could see anything in the dark. As the all started to run, the Shadow showed up. He came out of nowhere, hitting the leader of the pack in the jaw. Instant knock out.

The next thug pulled out his semi-automatic and fired, but the bullet bounced off the mysterious cloak and hit another thug instead. The Shadow rushed the thug, enveloping him in the cloak then spitting him out. It all happened at lightning speed. Shadow then attacked the thug to the left as the thug began to draw his gun. Shadow turned to his two remaining opponents. He approached slowly, as they lowered their weapons and laid down on the ground.

Back inside the warehouse, all the thugs had their weapons drawn. All windows had been sealed off and no light came inside. Jerry's eyes were adjusting, as one of his comrades was thrown across the room into him. Jerry went to scream, but a hand covered his mouth, emitting an interesting smell that he wouldn't remember when he woke up.

The remaining four thugs waved their guns around. One saw something move. He fired. Missed. Fired again. Kept firing until he was out of bullets. One of the other thugs screamed. He had been hit by one of the bullets, and fell to the ground. The trigger happy thug didn't see Shadow behind him. Shadow covered the thug's face, until he too passed out. Outside, one could hear the police sirens. The remaining two thugs saw the wraith-like figure standing over their comrade's body. Just a simple, ghastly, dark cloak with a face engulfed in the shadow of the hood. The thugs watched the Shadow float upwards and away. Then floodlights came on in the warehouse, blinding them, and the doors opened up, letting the cops in.

Thirty minutes later, the cloaked figure landed on the roof of an apartment building. An identical figure was already there. They both removed their hoods to reveal... two regular guys. No names would be needed. They could have been anyone. Both were under 45 years of age. Both of them were upper-middle to upper class economically. Both in shape. Both males. Both happened to be Caucasian.

"What brings you to Island City," asked the shadowy figure whom our short story follows.

"Inspection," answered the other man, who was superior in rank to the first. You see, the Shadow was not one man, but a national association of vigilante crime-fighters, each under their own jurisdiction. Each of them was trained and groomed from a young age to be the people they are today. Each of them takes flexible and high-paying jobs. They then combine their wealth to fund their crime-fighting network.

"Well, you'll find I run a tight ship here, even in the absence of my local ally."

"Well, then I'll get right to it. We are concerned with your careless behavior. Two of your opponents were shot tonight."

"Not by me."

"No, but you could have avoided these things. This isn't the way we taught you. We don't kill."

"That was not my hand."

"But it was a product of your carelessness. It could have been avoided."

"I'm not sure that's necessary."

"Listen, if you can't comply to our code, we are going to need to enact disciplinary measures."

The superior stepped out onto the ledge of the building and then plunged over the edge.