Shadow

Doug! Who was he? What was he and where did he come from? They say that when you get to Heaven there will be a man up there whose name that is written on his leg is a name that no one knows and he will only reveal it once Christ has returned from His Second Coming and all are gathered inside the Gates. Some have guessed who he is and what his name is but none have succeeded! Until now! Is he good or is he evil?

"Mission Log 3704. The date is August 5th, 1971. Presently I'm hidden in a cornfield and am stalking a house that I've seen repeatedly in my dreams. I've been sitting on this house for a while as you can see from the camera. Nothing exciting has been happening but today that has changed. Blue fire is skyrocketing from the house and gathering in the clouds above. The clouds are opening. It looks like a portal but too what? What's coming down? I can't see. I have to get closer. The ground starts to shake violently and fire is rising faster and in a bigger quantity. The rock statues I'm hiding behind break and turn to rubble. They start to fly everywhere. Tractors, vehicles, tools, and grass is uprooted and tossed into the raging storm that surrounds the house. I struggle to remain on the ground while the storm is trying to pull me in. I close my eyes then *BOOM*! The house explodes and I fly backward hard into a boulder. I'm left unconscious for a bit but I regain focus. Time slows as I peek my head above a pile of rubble and debris and what I see is unbelievable. A man forms from the dust and rises into the air. I zoom my camera in as far as it can go and froze.

Thoughts race my mind and everything comes back in a flash. The man from my dreams."

"Canticum sum rex ab altiore princeps Stryker. Ego veni ut repetere possim, quod mea. Pater, da mihi, si habes me dignus sectam et insuperabilis. Cum autem per latus meum: si te erunt, reges non nisi Deorum omnis creaturae!"

I could tell he was looking for something and I knew what. There was only one thing here that was worth more than anything. The suit! What every man has been searching for for years. This suit is no regular suit. This suit has true power of all. This suit comes from No name himself. This suit was no easy thing to get so many put out bounties and games to see who could kill it. I'll give you a visual. Dark Phoenix from X men. You know when you get a card all is is is that, a card. You have to activate it and with this suit, there is only one. He has to authorize it. Next step before the card can be used is that it has to be signed stating that you and only you will do everything in your power to protect that card. Only difference is is that this suit can't die. It changes new people every so often to stay hidden. How do I know so much about this suit and how he hasn't found the suit yet? Cause I'm the suit. I'm the ultimate writer.

My foot snags on a loose branch and Stryker turns his head. I duck down but it is too late. He saw me. A tractor is hurdled at me and coming fast. I dodge the first but the second one connects. I get pummeled backward and crash into a nearby tree, breaking it in two. This kid has no idea what he is about to unleash. One more crucial hit like that and Shadow will come out. I can already hear him gurgling in my body. But until that happens I'm the same as any other man. I have to get out of here.

I take off on a run as projectiles fall from the heavens all around me. I'm fast but he's gaining on me. I pick up the pace and so does he. It is like he's some kind of animal. I trip on a log and my foot is stuck. I try to wrench it free but it won't budge. I look up just in time to catch a huge stake pierce through my ribs. The pain is unbearable but pain is just weakness leaving the body. I'm wounded but have to keep moving.

He's gaining on me and I fall again. This time I don't get up. He towers over me and I clutch the stake trying to pull it out.

"Here, let me help you with that."

He takes hold of the stake by two hands, grins, then drives the stake in deeper, smiling as he sees me squirm and whimper. Blood gushes freely out onto his boot. He pins me down and squeezes. My mouth starts to foam. I let out a gasp of air and pull harder on the stake. It slides slowly. I need to give him a reason to hurt me again harder before I die. Gun on his left side holster. I have to try. The dragon within me roars and Stryker withers back, clutching both his ears tight with his hands. I'm not letting him escape me this time. I pull the stake-out and drive it as hard as I can into his chest blade. He struggles to pull out his gun but he gets it out. I make no attempt to flee. He gets a shot off. The moment it hits me I vanish.

It has been years since that incident but it feels like it was yesterday. Today I'm at a diner for my morning cup of coffee but also to meet someone very special. Jordan talks about him a lot as if he is a mysterious creature. I have to see to believe. I sit at the roundtable and wait. Stan the man is here as well. I thought he was the one but although he has a creature in him it is not the one I'm looking for.

A dishwasher boy walks out and our eyes connect. We lock and time stops. He looks so familiar like I know him from somewhere but I can't place my claws on it. My name is Doug and I....am.....SHADOW!!!!!