Fallen- Prologue

Prologue: Shadows

The boy in the back of class seemingly blended in with the background. He was quiet; he never talked, never participated, even if he knew the answer. He was quiet; people thought him weird, and kept their distance. His friends at school consisted of himself. Watching the teacher write facts on the chalk board, he felt himself nodding off. Struggling to focus on the lesson, he shook his head. As he shook his head though, his gaze wandered to the window and looked out. He froze in his place as he saw a shadow slithering across the ground. His heart sped up, and his senses began to go wild. Unsure of what was going on, he could only stare. No, that wasn't quite right. He knew what was going on. He took a breath and looked at the clock above the door to the classroom. 2:31pm. There were still fourteen minutes of class before he could leave. Something in his pocket began to vibrate, and he glared at his desk in silence. 'Not good,' he thought to himiself. 'Not good at all.' He looked back outside and watched the shadow as it grew closer to the school, crossing the street, unbeknownst to the cars passing by, unknown by the people walking on the sidewalks. He was the only one that could see it; only he could figure out what was going on; only he could stop it. He felt twitchy; he wanted the class to be over so he could get out of there. The shadow continued toward the school, picking up speed. He swallowed and looked back at the clock. 2:33pm. Time wasn't on his side today. He shook his head and rose to his feet. The teacher looked at him in confusion.

"Mr. Tulasi?" the teacher questioned, voice perplexed. The rest of the class turned in their seats to look at him. "Is there someting wrong?"

"I...need to go," he said, and began walking to the front of the room. The teacher nodded and grabbed a pass. But by the time he was finished writing it, he had already left the room.

"...Cohan Tulasi?" the teacher questioned as he poked his head out of the open door. He glanced up and down the hallway, but no one was there. "Mr. Tulasi? You need a pass!"

Cohan threw the doors of the school open and walked out, his cobalt eyes narrowed. Glancing around, he didn't see the shadow anywhere. Frowning, he pulled out a small circular device from his pocket as it began to vibrate once more. Pressing a button, he said, "Go."

"Cohan," said a voice through the device. "There is a disturbance in your area."

"I'm aware of that," he said, his voice distracted as he looked around for the shadow. 'Damn it, where did it go?' He growled in frustration and began walking around, searching desperately for it. "It's here. I saw it. But there's a problem...I can't find it. Is it possible that it knows I'm looking for it?"

"Negative," said the voice. "They have little intelligence. Keep looking, Cohan. Do you need backup?"

"...No," said Cohan distractedly. "Ah, there it is," he murmured and walked forward, the device still in his hand. the shadow was slinking toward the school a few feet away. Running, he growled deep in his throat. "I will capture it and send it to you."

"Very good. I'll be standing by for delivery. Be careful Cohan. Though not very intelligent, they are powerful."

Cohan rolled his eyes. "I know," he said. "I've done this before, remember?" he wasn't trying to be snappy, but he really didn't want to get into the conversation again. "Sorry," he mumbled. "I'll be careful. Cohan out." he pressed a button the device and pocketed it, stalking toward the shadow. There was a hissing sound, and the shadow began to back away from him while still continuing its way toward the school. Cohan growled and lunged forward. Though a shadow, it was solid. He tackled it and for a moment he wrestled it. A mouth with sharp, pointy fangs opened in the shadow and snapped at his arm. He yelped and yanked his arm back just in time, wincing as he heard the teeth snap shot in the area his arm had been just seconds before. He snarled and slammed the shadow into the ground. "You don't belong here," he growled. Taking his circular device back out, he pressed another button and aimed it at the shadow. Pinning the shadow to the ground, it was enveloped in a white light. Smirking to himself, he watched as the shadow grew transparent and disappeared altogether. He rose to his feet and pressed another button on his device. "Shadow captured. It's being sent to you."

For a moment there was static, and then that same voice said, "Shadow received. Thank you, Cohan. Your pay will be sent in the mail, as usual. That is all." and then it went back to static.

Cohan sighed and pressed a button, ending the call. He pocketed the device once more and looked at the school. He heard the final bell ring and saw people start to exit the building. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, he began walking down the sidewalk.

All in all, today had been a pretty normal day.