The Shadows' Empress (Part 2)

Roland turned off the TV. He planned on watching the rest of the Olympic games that would be shown on the local news channel; however, he didn’t feel like watching thirty minutes or so of the news. Besides, none of the events he wanted to watch would be aired, and he was getting incredibly tired. Roland hadn’t actually done too much during the day aside from some assignments for school, which he had all day to do. His father allowed him to stay home from school thinking Roland’s nightmare that morning was caused by some issues his son refused to talk about. Maybe having the day off to destress would do him some good.

Whether it did or not was yet to be tested. Roland finished his assignments early that morning and spent most of the day drawing and watching highlights from the winter Olympics. Having so much time to himself made him more anxious than anything. All day, he could only think about the dream he’d had the night before. Or rather, his nightmare. As much as he wanted to forget about it, something about it seemed too real to ignore. So, he tried drawing the woman he dubbed the Shadows' Empress and wondered if there was a way to force himself to have the same dream again. Though, he didn’t count of it. Roland’s best friend, Connor, once mentioned that he could control what happened in his dreams—something he called lucid dreaming. That didn’t sound like what Roland was going for, so he didn’t bother trying to learn how to do it.

The teenager stared at the television, looking at the reflection of the kitchen behind the couch where he laid. For a second, he wondered where the light was coming from that caused the line of light that shone diagonally across the tv, before realizing that the light in the kitchen was on. He had forgotten to turn it off when he’d gone in to get s a root beer.

“Last one out, get the lights,” he said, quoting his science teacher from freshman year—the year before.

Roland stretched, extending across the couch, and stood up, walking toward the kitchen and turning off the light. He turned back around to head upstairs with the sudden feeling that he was being watched. He used to get the feeling often, despite there being no one watching him. Roland looked through all of the windows on the first floor. Seeing no one he turned his attention to the locks on the front and back doors, which were visible from his spot on the third step.

“Ugh…I should stop looking around,” Roland said to himself out loud. “There’s never anyone there.”

Walking past his younger siblings’ bedrooms, Roland took a moment to check on them. He did this often. Now that his mother wasn’t around to do the things she used to do for him, Roland took it upon himself to do them in her place. They were sleeping, which Roland found amazing with as much energy as they had just before their bedtime.

“Hey, Dad. I’m going to bed,” Roland said as he came to his father’s bedroom door. “Goodni—”

“Stop bothering my family. They’ve done nothing to you.” Roland heard Jacob say.

“Okay…I’ll just see you in the morning,” the confused teen muttered under his breath.

Roland continued to his room, shocked by what he’d heard. He wondered about who his father could have been talking to, but was too tired to let it concern him for too long. Instead, he stripped to his boxers, and got into bed. His mind immediately drifting back to the Shadows' Empress. This time, though, he only thought about how cool he thought her new title was.

‘There it is, again.’ He thought. ‘That feeling like someone’s stalking me.’

“Fuck it. Nobody’s ever there.” Roland rolled onto his left side, trying to think more about what his dad had said. But he couldn’t. He felt a strong presence behind him but was too sleepy to see who was behind him. And his eyelids seemed heavier than they were a few minutes ago.

Everything was completely dark, again. Roland looked around but couldn’t see anything. He began to panic. Something wasn’t right, and he could tell that whatever he’d gotten into, it was bad. He frantically began to walk in different directions, hoping whatever was going on would stop and he could wake up in his bed.

Roland stopped. ‘I’m asleep. I think…’

He began to pace in the darkness as he spoke to himself—his way of making sense of things. “I don’t remember going to bed, but that’s nothing new.”

Roland calmed down as he realized that he was in familiar territory, despite not being able to see where he was.

“In my nightmare last night…I fell into a hole at the end, and it closed up over me. Maybe I’m still there, and my nightmare’s just starting from this point.”

He chuckled to himself. “That’s actually kind of bad-ass! Bet you’ve never done this in your dreams, Connor!”

Suddenly, there was a feeling of wind blowing into Roland’s face, and the smell of salt water.

“You’re back. It’s nice to see you again so soon.”

Roland whirled around to see a small light illuminating a hole in the wall. And just inside it, the Shadows' Empress. Roland’s heart felt like it skipped a beat.

“I didn’t know you could stand in the light,” he said. “…Even though you were technically in the light when we first met…” He felt his cheeks burn as the blood rushed to them. ‘Blushing again? Hopefully, she can’t see it since I’m standing in the dark like a creeper.’

“If you don’t want to stay in this hole forever, I suggest you follow this tunnel to a much less…lonely place.” The Shadows' Empress spoke slowly, and calmly as she did before. With a hint of familiarity.

‘Who is she?’ Roland asked himself. ‘Why do I feel like I know her?’

“Why should I follow you?” he asked, not meaning to be defiant. Can you blame a boy with trust issues?

“If you wish to stay in the darkness you’re welcome to. But do mind the Nitris. They do not enjoy visitors in their caves.” The Shadows' Empress walked away through the tunnel until Roland could no longer see her.

“I’m not looking for a fight with some shit I’ve never heard of before.”

Roland walked to the opening of the cave and, before entering, took the candle held in a sconce on the left side of the opening. He took a deep breath and forced himself to continue walking.

“It’s only a dream,” he told himself. “Right?”