Shadow Born by Jamie Sedgwick

Author:Jamie Sedgwick [Sedgwick, Jamie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General, Fiction, fantasy
Publisher: Timber Hill Press
Published: 2011-01-23T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 22

Reeves gagged as ice-cold water struck him in the face. He sputtered, trying to catch his breath. Like a diver gazing up at the surface of the ocean, consciousness seemed to loom over him, just out of reach. He heard voices, broken and distorted, and tried to make sense of the meaningless sounds that his brain could not interpret. Then vertigo overwhelmed him and he started to slip away.

He heard the sound of a slap, like a snare drum echoing down a long tunnel, and his body slowly acknowledged the pain. His eyes fluttered open, and struggled for focus.

“Mr. Reeves,” someone said. It was the voice of a young man. Too young. That was odd. Reeves had been interrogated before, but never by a child. His brain struggled to pull it all together into something cohesive and sensible, but it wasn’t working.

“John Reeves, if that really is your name,” the voice continued. “You see, your driver’s license says ‘John Reeves,’ and so does your health insurance card. Even your library card says ‘John Reeves.’ But somehow your fingerprints and DNA belong to a man who doesn’t exist.”

Reeves’ head lolled as he listened. Of course there were no records; that was the whole point. He couldn’t have done the things he used to do if there were records. Everybody knew that. This was the most boring interrogation he’d ever had. It was so boring, he thought he might just go back to sleep.

He started to slip away again, but then he recognized the dark chasm that threatened to swallow him. That chasm was death, not sleep. The very acknowledgement that he was close to the edge was enough to clear his head. He pulled back, struggling for consciousness.

“You see, I have certain… let’s call them friends who work for various government agencies around the world. You know the ones I’m talking about: FBI, NSA, KGB, Secret Service. There’s more. Lots more. But that’s not the point. You see, my friends tell me that their databases store records on over ninety-five percent of the people in the world. Isn’t that amazing?”

“Shadowfriends,” Reeves mumbled. He raised his head, and stared into his captor’s face. A boy, Reeves thought. Can’t even be eighteen. A child shadowfriend. Great.

“Well, yes, that is what they are,” the young man said. “Though I think it’s in bad taste to actually use that word, don’t you? Anyway, my friends, with all their resources, have no record of you. Isn’t that funny? So tell me, who are you really, Mr. Reeves?”

The young man stepped closer and Reeves gazed into his eyes. Well, one eye. The other was all covered by that shaggy bleached mane. Reeves remembered the new wave hairstyle. Back in the eighties, it was a popular cut with pop musicians. The bleach, the hair gel. It was awful. “Time to update that hairstyle kid.” The words came out slowly, and a bit slurred. Reeves had taken a pretty good beating.

“Very funny. I wonder if you’ll still be cracking jokes when the Shadowlords are done with you.

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