“Edith?” The boy said the name with the hint of a question. His voice was croaky, like he hadn’t spoken in quite some time.
“Yes. You lived next to her on Wood Street for a year or so. Do you remember that?” Taylor asked him, trying to keep her tone level.
He nodded. “I remember.” Trevor nodded at the lights around the room, and then at Taylor. “He can’t get me now.”
Taylor took a gamble. “You mean the shadow man?” She kept her voice nonchalant.
He perked up at the name she gave the creature. “You know of it?”
“I do.”
“They tell me it’s not real. That I imagined it, but I didn’t, I swear. My brain… it’s like I’m under water,” Trevor said.
“That’s the medication they have you on. They don’t believe you because they haven’t seen it. I have, Trevor. I’ve seen it up close.” Taylor felt her eyes filling with water, and she wiped away a leaking tear.
“When?” Trevor was getting scared now. Taylor had to calm him down if she was going to learn anything valuable. If he started to cause trouble, Taylor imagined an orderly would come in and give the boy something to calm him, which meant he’d be comatose in minutes.
“It’s okay. It was a long time ago. Way before you saw the shadow. I was a little girl.” Taylor decided to tell her story, albeit a slightly toned-down version. Trevor crossed his legs and leaned forward on the bed, turning toward her. “I was eight. My dad was back, packing up the house you and your mom rented a few years ago.”
His eyes were wide. “He lived there?”
“He did. Until he was eighteen and left for college.”
“That must have been scary,” Trevor said. Taylor wanted to ask him why, but she held it in, wanting to tell her story before he got to his.
“He doesn’t remember it that way. Or, at least, he didn’t.” Taylor pulled her hair back, taking an elastic from her wrist to make a ponytail. “Anyway, my mom and I came to Red Creek to see him. We were living in LA at the time. Long story.”
Trevor didn’t ask, so she kept talking. “The shadow took me from outside Chuck’s. You know the restaurant on Main?”
He nodded. “It took you?”
“Grabbed me by the arm and dragged me away. I was so scared. It moved so fast and carried me like I weighed nothing. It felt like I was floating; a helium balloon being tethered to the earth by a string.” Taylor turned her arm over so he could see the tender part of her forearm. Light, almost imperceptibly pink scars bumped out of her skin. He ran a hand over them and held her gaze with tears in his eyes.
“It never took me. Why?” he asked, almost as if he was at fault for its lack of follow-through.
“I don’t know.”
“What happened to you?” he prompted.
She sighed. “The Smiths owned the orchard outside of town. I’m sure you heard all about them.”
“I saw the documentary. They never mentioned a shadow. The kids at school joked about it at times, but I didn’t believe them. When it first came to me, I tried to tell my best friend about my experience, but he told me I was crazy. Ironic now, isn’t it?” Trevor looked around the bright room; a tiny cackle escaped his lips.
“The Smiths control it somehow. I’m here to find out how, because there’s a chance it’s back.” Taylor paused as the boy’s face contorted into something grotesque. He was so scared. “Don’t worry. It can’t get you here. It wouldn’t anyway. You’re too old now. It wants children.”
“Why?” Trevor asked, his voice a harsh whisper.
Truth was, she had no idea. “It’s supernatural, and I can’t begin to understand the reasoning. There are a lot of theories out there on the internet about soul suckers, extending their lives by drinking the life force of children. Or they eat their livers, hearts, brains, anything else you can think of to live. But most of the research I’ve seen on the eaters says they’re flesh and blood monsters. We both know this Schattenmann is no such creature.”
“What’s a Schattenmann?” Trevor asked nervously.
“It’s German. That’s where it comes from. ‘Shadow man’ is the literal translation.”
Taylor expected something far different than what Trevor did. He pumped a fist in the air.
“You’re going to kill it. I can tell!” He was shouting now, and Taylor glanced to the door, hoping the orderly didn’t come in and stop them.
“Shhh. That big guy’s out in the hall waiting for an excuse to come and force pills down your throat. We need to be cool about this, okay?” Taylor asked, and the young man nodded his understanding.
“What do we do?” he asked.
“We?” she threw at him.
“I want in on this. I’ve been here for two years, and no one ever comes to visit me. I’ve become my family’s pariah, and they all think I’m clinically insane. As long as you’re not a figment of my imagination, then you prove I’m not crazy. Though if you are a creation of my brain, then kudos to me, because I’ve never seen such a beautiful girl in person.” He said the last quietly, and his gaze averted, looking at the bedspread.
Taylor laughed and set a hand on his arm. “You’re not crazy, Trevor. I’m going to see this through, then you won’t have to be afraid anymore. We’ll get you out of here.”
Now tears flowed down the young man’s face, making him seem even younger than sixteen. “Do you mean that?”
“I do,” she said honestly.
“How did you get away?” he asked while he wiped his cheeks.
“The deceased sheriff shot the old man, Conway Smith. And my dad took me, while his friend torched the entire orchard’s underground
