Page 9 of Satanic Shadow
The professor upgraded everyone’s mobile phones a few days ago, which is a relief yet a curse because as much as they appear as something we mortals use, they never lose battery.
This entire school is full of firsts for me, so I guess the shock value of being surprised when powers are used, or when my bed randomly shakes while I’m trying to sleep, is fading.
Dane and his little gang don’t have that issue, I’m sure. They sleep in fancy rooms—probably have their own ball washers too.
They get special treatment here, being the offspring of the teachers and all.
I lie in my four-poster bed, situated in the middle of my dorm room, listening to the rain smack against the window and thewhistle of the wind through the trees, which must be close to being ripped out of the ground. My room falls into darkness then fills with moonlight every few minutes. It storms a lot here, and every time it does, I can’t sleep.
The crack of thunder and the flash of lightning seems to awaken the lost souls stuck in the walls, and shadows dance on the bricks while I watch. A silhouette of a woman holding a child’s hand, running from a large mass. A man sitting down and reading a newspaper while someone cuts his hair.
Sometimes they wave at me. And sometimes I light a candle and hide under my duvet and wait for the storm to end. The shadows like me; they enjoy me watching them move across the bricks. I feel them when I wake, when I walk into the room, and I also feel them trying to comfort me when I’m sad.
When I’m anxious, or debating if I should just jump from my window, or smash a glass and take myself out with a shard, the shadows shiver, and the entire room grows cold, as if they’re warning me to stop.
The phone on my bedside unit vibrates then starts to ring, and I frown. It’s the middle of the night.
I roll my eyes when I see who it is. Nearly two weeks of silence and now he wants to contact me?
I busy-tone him and lie back in bed. It rings again, and again, and again, until even the shadows in my walls tremble in annoyance.
“You want to deal with him?” I ask the gathering masses. “Go. Be my guest.”
I throw my phone at the wall, but it materializes above my head.
“Ow!” I rub my scalp, glaring at the swirling darkness of laughter trailing to my ceiling. “Stop doing that!”
It rings once more, and my patience has vanished.
“What do you want?” I snap as soon as I answer. “It’s three in the morning, Dane.”
There’s ruffling then a scoff. “Ridiculous piece of technology. How can I hear you?”
“If you paid attention in class, then you’d know. Really, what do you want? I’m trying to sleep.”
“We have to hand in our first assignment tomorrow and I…” He stops, and I know he’s gritting his teeth. “How do I send a message to you?”
I huff. “I’m not telling you. Read the manual the professor gave you. I already covered my part when I texted you. Learn something for once.”
“Listen here, mortal. If I don’t pass, neither do you. And we both want you off this island.”
“Sure. So you’ve mentioned, like a million times. It’s getting old now. Just open the app calledMessages, then click new, then click on my name. Or reply to the one I sent.”
I messaged him when we got the newer phones and knew he’d never respond. If you class a middle-finger emoji as a message.
“What do you mean?” he asks, confused. “How do I search for that app?”
Groaning, I bury my face in my pillow. “Figure it out, Dane. Like everyone else in the school, you need to actually work to pass this.”
“Oh, fuck off.”
It’s obvious that he thinks the call has ended. Faintly, I hear him muttering that I’m useless and that he wants to strangle me. His phone is far away from him, but I can tell he’s getting dressed. Metal—I assume a belt buckle—knocks against something, and Dane swears to himself then continues to ask himself where he put his shoes.
“Fucking mortals and their idiotic ways.”
I try not to laugh, but a smile breaks out across my face. I wipe it away with my palm and narrow my eyes. He doesn’t deserve anything of the sort directed at him. “I’m still here. You didn’t hang up.”
Nothing. He runs the tap in his bathroom, brushes his teeth, then there’s more ruffling.
