"I was afraid," you whisper. It's hard to admit it, even to yourself.\n\nAva takes a hold of one of your hands, waiting for your to continue.\n\n"I thought I'd be putting you in some kind of danger if I told you," you say, your voice shaky. "And I guess I was afraid you wouldn't want to be around me."\n\nAva kisses you abruptly, breaking your train of thought for a moment. It would seem that at least one of your fears isn't going to come true for the moment. She pulls away for a moment and looks at you, a serious look on her face.\n\n"I'm not going anywhere."\n\nYou can't help but smile. A smile that doesn't last long. At that moment, you hear a scream coming from outside.\n\n[[Tell Ava to wait inside while you go have a look.]]

You get Ava to stay inside while you have a look. She looks like she wants to protest, but she doesn't say anything. Maybe she realizes that you'd rather not be argued with at the moment.\n\nYou get a little closer to where the sound was coming from. Eventually, you realize that the early morning air feels too familiar to the atmosphere of that night a week ago. Sure enough, once you get close, you find a familiar sight.\n\nOne of those creatures cut from shadows, and a man pinned beneath it. You almost panic, but something strengthens your resolve. You're ready this time. A fireball launches out of your hand.\n\nThe creature withdraws, and an indescribable noise pierces your ear drums as it turns on you. You tense in preparation before it's struck by something else. A spike of what appears to be ice pierces where you guess a head would be, and the creature shortly evaporates into nothingness.\n\nYou turn to the direction the spear came from, and sure enough, Claudio is standing there. He says nothing at first, but eventually he finds the words.\n\n"[[Well... I guess we have a lot to talk about don't we?]]"

Ava's grip on you intensifies. She begins to speak, her voice quiet.\n\n"Oh my god. Oh my god it's true," she says in a shaky tone of voice. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?!"\n\nYou begin to speak, but your thoughts are interrupted when you hear a scream coming from close by.\n\n[[Tell Ava to wait inside while you go have a look.]]

The message screen is blank for several minutes, but sure enough the reply eventually comes through. \n\nAva: <What r u doing awake?>\n\nYou: <Nightmares.>\n\nAva: <Poor bby :(>\n\nYou: <Can I come over for a bit? I need to get out of my house.>\n\nAva: <It's so early though D:>\n\nYou: <Please?>\n\nAva: <Ok, since you asked nicely.>\n\nSatisfied with that answer, you pull a semblance of normal clothes on and go downstairs. A quick cup of coffee and a piece of toast later and [[you're in your car]]...

Your girlfriend is a nice girl named Ava. She tries her best to be there for you, but you're a naturally distant individual even without all of the shit that's been going on lately. Right now though, you feel like reaching out to someone and knowing Ava, she's probably already gotten a good night's sleep.\n\nYou type a short message, "Hi honey, r u awake?" into the text window and [[hit send]].

You wake up with a start early in the morning. It was one of those lovely nightmares that leaves you in a cold sweat until you blissfully forget what it was even about.\n\nThe past week has been one you never thought you'd experience, like something torn out of a fantasy novel. At first it seemed like a dream. The cuts and bruises, however, told a different story.\n\nNot eager to go back asleep anytime soon, you paw around for a pair of pants and a t-shirt.\n\nYour cellphone is on your night stand. Maybe you should [[text someone]]

The sound came from the middle of an intersection. You'd heard people scream before, but never like this. You recall the fog suddenly disappearing, as if a hurricane wind tore it from the world.\n\n"There, in the middle of the street was this... thing. I don't even know what I could call it, but it was attacking someone." That "thing" haunts your nightmares now. It had four legs and a tail, but other than a gaping mouth filled with teeth, you couldn't make out details. It was like a silhouette, something carved out of the shadows.\n\n"I don't know if I had screamed or if I had started to run, it was all a blur. Whatever happened, I got its attention."\n\nThe creature tackled you to the ground. You remember it felt like someone dropped a boulder on you, as the thing was monstrously heavy despite being no larger than a big dog.\n\n"I remember it opening its mouth, like it was ready to start chowing down," you say, clinging to Ava a little bit tighter. She still says nothing, as if she's not sure what to think.\n\n"Then something [[even stranger]] happened."

"It was about a week ago," you pause for a moment, your mind going back to the events of the day your mood turned sour.\n\nIt was dark. You were out for a walk shortly after sunset, but the night was unusually dark. The streetlights didn't seem to help much with illuminating the sidewalks. It was a little foggy, which was not unusual, but something felt different that night. The fog made everything feel thick; walking was taking more energy than it should have.\n\n"I was stretching my legs around my area a little bit. When I decided to go back home, it was dark outside. It felt like it was taking forever to get home," you explain to Ava. She's listening intently, her eyes locked to yours.\n\n"I was a few blocks from my neighborhood when I heard [[screaming]]."

"I wasn't sure if it was a dream at first," you say, thinking back on the morning after that night. You refused to believe it to be true for many days.\n\nAva takes a hold of one of your hands, waiting for your to continue.\n\n"I wanted it to not be true, but the cuts and bruises said otherwise. It was days before I could bare trying it to make fire again," you say. You can feel yourself trembling involuntarily as you explain.\n\nAva kisses you abruptly, breaking your train of thought for a moment. \n\n"I'm here for you. You don't have to do this alone," she says.\n\nYou can't help but smile. A smile that doesn't last long. At that moment, you hear a scream coming from outside.\n\n[[Tell Ava to wait inside while you go have a look.]]

As it raised its head, the creature burst into flames. You looked down at your hands and panicked when you saw them on fire. This only lasted for as long as it took to notice that you couldn't feel it.\n\nAs your breath slowed down, the fire slowly put itself out.\n\n"So yeah, that's a thing that happened. Over the past week, I've been experimenting with it. I can control it a little better. I haven't seen anymore of those things yet. [[I'm hoping I don't]]."\n\n

"Well, this all started about a week ago," you pause for a moment, your mind going back to the events of the day your mood turned sour.\n\nIt was dark. You were out for a walk shortly after sunset, but the night was unusually dark. The streetlights didn't seem to help much with illuminating the sidewalks. It was a little foggy, which was not unusual, but something felt different that night. The fog made everything feel thick; walking was taking more energy than it should have.\n\n"I was stretching my legs around my area a little bit. When I decided to go back home, it was dark outside. It felt like it was taking forever to get home," you explain to Ava. She's listening intently, her eyes locked to yours.\n\n"I was a few blocks from my neighborhood when I heard [[someone screaming]]."\n\n

Cut From Shadows Prologue: Waking With a Start

You hold up your index finger and let a tiny puff of flame extend out from the end of your finger. It only lasts for a moment before you make it disappear.\n\nAva's eyes widen and for a moment all she does is stare. It doesn't take long before she clings to you tighter. She begins to speak, her voice quiet.\n\n"Oh my god. Oh my god it's true," she says in a shaky tone of voice. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?!"\n\n[[I was afraid.]]\n\n[[I wasn't sure if it was real or not.]]

You met Claudio when you were both in diapers, and to your great surprise he still puts up with you. You have a lot in common and you often comiserate when life gets to be a bit much. In light of the past week, you think it's time you had a chat.\n\nYou type a message into the text window. It reads "[[I know you're awake.]]"

"Let's go outside for a moment," you say. You're worried about what will happen if you try to show off in her house. She nods and the two of you walk out of her front into the chilly air. You hold up one of your hands and stare at it.\n\nA fireball flares to life in your palm briefly, holding a coherent sphere until you stop focusing on it, allowing it to extinguish. Ava stares at you with wide eyes.\n\n"[[I guess I should elaborate a little.]]"

To be continued\n\nhttp://acidreign.tumblr.com

As it raised its head, the creature burst into flames. You looked down at your hands and panicked when you saw them on fire. This only lasted for as long as it took to notice that you couldn't feel it.\n\nAs your breath slowed down, the fire slowly put itself out.\n\n"So yeah, that's a thing that happened. Over the past week, I've been experimenting with it. I can control it a little better. I haven't seen anymore of those things yet. I'm hoping I don't."\n\nAva just looks at you, conflicted. She's clearly concerned about you, though it's obvious she doesn't know if she should believe you or not.\n\n"Would you," she says, "mind showing me maybe?"\n\nYou suppose it was inevitable.\n\n[[Ask to go outside.]]\n\n[[Hold up your index finger and make a tiny ball of fire.]]

On the drive over, you're thinking of how the hell you're going to explain what's bothering you to someone who wasn't there to see it. You figure it's going to require a demonstration, which makes you even more nervous than the fear that people will just think you're insane.\n\nAva is waiting for you outside when you pull up. She greets you with a hug and drags you inside. The two of you sit together on the couch, silent as her coffee pot works its magic. After a few minutes like this, she finally turns to you and speaks up.\n\n"So, are you finally going to tell me what's bothering you?"\n\nYou nod your head silently. You wish you had thought this out a little better than you did, but now you're here.\n\n[[Try to explain what's happening.]]\n\n[[Ask to go outside and offer a demonstration.]]

The sound came from the middle of an intersection. You'd heard people scream before, but never like this. You recall the fog suddenly disappearing, as if a hurricane wind tore it from the world.\n\n"There, in the middle of the street was this... thing. I don't even know what I could call it, but it was attacking someone." That "thing" haunts your nightmares now. It had four legs and a tail, but other than a gaping mouth filled with teeth, you couldn't make out details. It was like a silhouette, something carved out of the shadows.\n\n"I don't know if I had screamed or if I had started to run, it was all a blur. Whatever happened, I got its attention."\n\nThe creature tackled you to the ground. You remember it felt like someone dropped a boulder on you, as the thing was monstrously heavy despite being no larger than a big dog.\n\n"I remember it opening its mouth, like it was ready to start chowing down," you say. At this point, Ava walks up to you and wraps her arms around you. She still says nothing, as if she's not sure what to think.\n\n"Then [[something happened]]."

You pull your phone open and begin scrolling through your contacts. Considering it's 5 a.m. on a Saturday, you can only think of two people who would possibly be awake.\n\nShould you text [[your girlfriend]] or your [[best friend]]?

You spend a few minutes waiting for a reply before you finally get one. You unlock your phone to read the message.\n\nClaudio: <Now's not a good time, but we need talk to me later today.>\n\nYou: <Alright. Thanks anyway.>\n\nYou put the phone down, disappointed. You'd rather not have to worry her this early in the morning, but you decide to text [[your girlfriend]].

"Let's go outside for a moment," you say. You're worried about what will happen if you try to show off in her house. She nods and the two of you walk out of her front into the chilly air. You hold up one of your hands and stare at it.\n\nA fireball flares to life in your palm briefly, holding a coherent sphere until you stop focusing on it, allowing it to extinguish. Ava stares at you with wide eyes.\n\nJust then, you hear a scream coming from across the street. \n\n[[Tell Ava to wait inside while you go have a look.]]

AcidReign