Shadow Six: The First Book in the Trilogy

By Vaden

“ You can never outrun your own shadow. ”


Everything’s changed ever since it struck…
Everyone’s dead. And now they’re lurking. The higher ups have abandoned the others below. People are to fend for themselves now, together or alone, or die.
There’s nothing left but a battle for survival in this world.
Kaito, an emotionally distant 16 year-old, has
been hiding in the
shadows ever since he left everything behind. After that
stunt he pulled.
One day, a mysterious girl, with no memories, stumbles into his life, all alone.
Feeling sympathetic, he takes her in so she could have the chance to start anew.
The same chance that he got long ago.
However, it’s all about to end because little does he know, all that he’d escaped from has followed close behind her. She appears to be more than just a girl with amnesia.
TO HIDE? OR TO SEEK?
Shadow six tells the action-packed story of a boy who does whatever
it takes to protect what he has left, while staying hidden. And a girl who slowly discovers who she really is and what she’s capable of. Both by any means necessary.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Singapore
• Release date: Jan 18, 2022
• ISBN: 9781543768169

Book preview

Copyright © 2022 by Vaden.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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www.partridgepublishing.com/singapore

Contents

Chapter 1 Kaito (Kaito’s POV)

Chapter 2 Eva (Eva’s POV)

Chapter 3 Fated Encounter (Eva’s POV)

Chapter 4 How It All Happened (Kaito’s POV)

Chapter 5 Bonding (Kaito’s POV)

Chapter 6 First Battle (Eva’s POV)

Chapter 7 Unknown Power (Kaito’s POV)

Chapter 8 Mistake (Eva’s POV)

Chapter 9 Here They Come (Eva’s POV)

Chapter 10 Invasion (Kaito’s POV)

Chapter 11 Escape (Eva’s POV)

Chapter 12 New home (Eva’s POV)

Chapter 13 Promise (Kaito’s POV)

Chapter 14 Hidden Discovery (Eva’s POV)

Chapter 15 The Monster That Lurks Outside (Eva’s POV)

Chapter 16 (Kaito’s POV)

Chapter 16.5 (Eva’s POV)

Chapter 17 Move Out (Kaito’s POV)

Chapter 18 Pursuers(Eva’s POV)

Chapter 19 Monster(Eva’s POV)

Chapter 20 Murder (Eva’s POV)

Chapter 21 The Lab (Kaito’s POV)

Chapter 22 More Of The Lab (Kaito’s POV)

Chapter 23 Answers (Eva’s POV)

Chapter 24 Not Who He Seems (Eva’s POV)

Chapter 25 Final Battle (Kaito’s POV)

Chapter 26 Reality (Eva’s POV)

Chapter 27 Past Sins And An Old Friend (Kaito’s POV)

Chapter 28 0 0 1 (Eva’s POV)

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Chapter 1

Kaito (Kaito’s POV)

Don’t let him escape! It’s all over if he gets out!

Shoot him with the tranquilizers!

Quick, seal the exit! Armed soldiers were yelling commands. Gotta move now! I ran aimlessly as fast as my legs could carry in the hallway until I saw something. A figure in the dim light. Was that a person? The exit? A trap? I didn’t know what lay beyond that light, but I didn’t care. The soldiers were following close behind me as darts skimmed past my face. They were aiming at something. But what? Or who?

Screw this! I sped up and made a beeline towards that light, towards that figure, reaching out my hand as I jumped into it.

Ah!... wha… whe… I wake up from that dream with a heavy breath. Panting, grunting. In out, in out, gasping for air before I finally calmed down. Damn it! Can’t sleep in peace, I mumble. I get out of bed and realise my body is dripping in cold sweat as I sit on the side. The door creaks open and a boy my age walks in, his longish brown hair fluttering in the wind. Does he not know how to knock?

Nightmare? Again? What’s wrong with you? Is having nightmares your favourite hobby or something, Kaito? The boy jokes at me with his blue eyes.

That’s right, my name is Kaito. The clown in front of me is Zack, one of the people that I am living with for now. Did he say favourite hobby? Hell no! They’re dreadful, annoying. And I despise them so much! I roll my eyes and ask, What’s up this time? Why do I always happen to see your face everytime I wake up?

I don’t know? He shrugs casually. Why so grumpy? It’s only morning.

By the way, we have an issue… Meet us outside. Oh and I know this is none of my business but… Put on a shirt. We have girls outside. Don’t want Hazel screaming at us again for not wearing clothes, Zack says as he turns to leave the room, closing the door behind him as it creaks again. I really hate that squeaky noise. But there’s nothing I can do about it. The house is old and rundown, hence the door.

Once in the living room, I ask, So? What’s the matter?

Oh good morning, Kaito, a girl with dark blue, waist-long hair and violet eyes greets. We’re running out of food. I’d say it can last us until the day after tomorrow. Someone should get it now while it’s still quiet outside.

That’s Grace. She’s in charge of organizing and checking on our food supplies. We all listen to her since she’s resourceful.

Grace is right. Someone’s gotta go out there and find something. Lucas and I went out already last week. Following the plan, it should be your turn, Kaito, another girl says. This one has angry-looking yellow eyes, and blond hair with a twin-tail hairstyle. Her name is Hazel.

She’s right. I’d go with you but we can’t risk only having Zack, Grace and Hazel defend the house all by themselves, if ‘they’ suddenly attack, a boy agrees as he walks out of the kitchen, Zack following close behind him. Pretty sure you don’t need any help anyways.

The kitchen’s where we store all our foods and water. His name is Lucas and he has short orange hair, and a pair of green eyes. He looks like an orange.

All five of us assemble in the living room, like it’s a political meeting. Everytime we discuss our plans for the day, the atmosphere always becomes dense. Maybe that’s mostly my fault. They did mention that I am the most intimidating-looking one out of the five of us when we first met. They even said I always emit an aura of a killer. Maybe they’ve started catching it too, since we have been living together for quite some time now.

Coincidentally, we are all 16 years of age. We are something you would call a family. Not necessarily the happiest one, but this is all I’ve got. And I’m more than satisfied. At least it’s quiet here.

All I can hear is the gentle breeze and rustling of the trees. So? You up for it? Zack breaks the silence first.

Yeah, I reply, not even a hint of hesitation. Once that’s done, they all go back to doing what they were doing a while ago. Hazel goes back to staring outside the window, looking out for any dangers lurking in the empty streets. Lucas, Zack and Grace go back to the kitchen to continue checking on what we have left to divide them equally among us. I grab my backpack and put a bottle in it. A bottle is all I need. I don’t need any weapons.

On second thought, maybe bringing a small knife wouldn’t hurt. With the knife in the pocket of my jacket, I leave the house. The sun’s so bright outside that I can barely open my eyes. I look around to make sure there’s nobody watching before setting out.

Chapter 2

Eva (Eva’s POV)

Darkness. Emptiness. That is all I am seeing now. Am I even seeing? I don’t even think my eyes are open yet. What’s that? A growing light in the distance? It’s getting bigger and brighter. Am I going to heaven?

My eyelids fidget, and my dry and gritty eyes finally open, but not fully due to the intense bright light from the sun. I use my hands to shade my eyes, which are hurting so badly my ears start to ring. Is this the first time I am opening my eyes? I hope not. How long was I out? Once my eyes have adjusted to the brightness, I look around.

Nothing but trees, rocks and bushes. So, it appears that I am in a forest. I turn my head to examine what is behind me. A huge rock. A boulder? I think that’s what it’s called. I look closer, squinting my eyes to focus on the distant image. At the top edge of the boulder are red stains. Seems like blood. Dried blood that’s been left under the sun for I don’t know how long.

Suddenly, a sudden jolt of pain spreads across the back of my head. I reach behind and lightly tap it. It feels like an electric shock. Oh god, that hurt! Ow! There is no blood on my fingers, thankfully. It seems that the wound must have already healed. Or at least most of it, I guess.

Think...Think...Where am I? Hold on a second. Who am I? My name? My birthday? Parents? Friends? Where do I live? I can’t remember. It’s hard to think with the headache. So I whack my head, hoping that it helps to trigger something. Ow! That was dumb. Why did I hit my head? It only escalated the pain.

Okay, calm down. So, it seems that I have no memories of anything before waking up. Great! I know what life is supposed to look like. I can count. I know what’s 1+1. That’s one. I know English too. A B C. That’s two. And that’s all. Welp, better than nothing I guess. At least I can communicate a little.

I get up on my feet and move. It is difficult at first, but I soon get the hang of it. When was the last time this pair of legs were used? I wonder. Wandering aimlessly in the forest, I start to look for some help.

After hours of walking, my legs feel like strands of noodles, and the sweat keeps dripping from my forehead. I’ve already gotten used to the throbbing pain at the back of my head. Now I can barely feel it. That’s how long I’ve been walking. My pants are covered in dirt and the right sleeve of my shirt is torn. My stomach has been growling non-stop. How long has it been since I’ve eaten? I’m so hungry that I can feel my stomach digesting itself. Come on! How much longer? Food… Food...

Wait. What’s that? Is that...a building? I’ve finally exited the forest. I gleefully punch into the air to celebrate for myself. Now onward to find some help!

All of a sudden, something jolted through my mind. No, it isn’t pain from the head wound this time. It feels more like… a memory?

Eva...EVA! You need to go now! They’re coming. Please keep them safe. I’ll buy you sometime. Go...GO!

What was that? A woman. Who was that woman? She was wearing some sort of white coat, with a name tag. It was blurry and fuzzy so I couldn’t make out the words. Who’s them? Who was coming? I am so confused right now. But what I do know is that she was talking to me and she addressed me as Eva. So my name’s Eva… I mumble to myself. That should be useful. No need for any thoughts of that memory for now, my priority is to get some help. And some food and water.

The streets are strange. If I am not mistaken, places like these are supposed to have people. Lots of people. All the windows of stores are broken. The walls have been vandalised and stained in multiple ugly looking colours. Cracks on the road and the walls. There are no running vehicles either. Only completely destroyed ones. What on earth happened here? Where is everyone? I walk into one of the stores. The crunching of shattered glass under my feet.

Hello? Anyone? I almost yelled, hoping for some sort of reply. As expected, graveyard silence. I continue to walk around to explore the streets for about 30 minutes before something catches my attention.

It’s moving. There’s someone. No wait, there’s more than one. I finally see actual people. I’m saved!

I enter the large room they are in. They are acting a little weird though. They look like highschoolers, wearing some sort of armour, I think.

Heeeeeyyy! Excuse me! What happened here? I say as I run towards them. I’ll admit that that was kind of rude, considering that they are a bunch of strangers I have never met before. Now that I think about it… Maybe that was a bad idea. What if they attack me? Looking back at the situation, I don’t think this is normal, isn’t it? As I approach their proximity, I slow down to make sure I don’t get too close to them.

They stare at me for a while before deciding to turn to one another and huddle. Come on... A helpless person is in front of them and they still need some huddling time to discuss. I was right. This isn’t normal at all. There are three of them. With their matching outfits, they kind of look like triplets.

Some time passes before the one in the middle speaks first. Hi there, are you lost? Still keeping my guard up just in case I needed to run, I nod.

Okay, we can help you out. Let’s team up! he says eagerly. Team up? What do they mean team up? Is there some sort of game? I give them a puzzled look. Despite the suspicion, I still feel eternally grateful that they can help and I finally relax. Keeping my guard up is tiring, especially since I’m still on an empty stomach.

Yes… Yes! Team up! We can find your group together and work together! the one at the back exclaims. All three of them fist bump each other in excitement and relief. What’s up with them? Is it really that big of a deal? To team up?

Umm… I’m sorry but… I still don’t get what you’re talking about. I don’t have a group. I don’t even know what’s happening.

They suddenly go silent. They’re facial expressions change from excitement to disappointment almost so quickly that it’s kind of disturbing.

So… You’re all alone. Completely alone? No food? Nothing? You’re just wandering around by yourself? the third guy who hasn’t spoken yet finally speaks. I nod, completely unaware of the change in their mood and tone.

Tsk...disappointing, the three of them whisper under their breaths.

It’s ok… we can still use her, the guy in the front says. Hold on, what did he just say? Use me? The three of them glare straight into my soul menacingly. I can feel it. Such murderous intent.

Okay… I think I’m gonna go now, I try to turn tail and run but it is too late. The two guys in front pounce onto me like a pair of lions. The third one grabs a rope and starts to untangle it. He’s going to tie me up.

One manages to grab onto my legs. I try to kick free but it’s no use. He’s stronger than me. No, that’s not it. I’m just out of strength due to hunger and depleted energy from all the walking. The other places both his hands on my throat. His grip tightens and blood begins rushing up my face. My cheeks swell, my face turning blue.

Please...stop…let...me...go… I manage to force out some words. However, they fall on deaf ears as he continues. I grab onto his wrists and try to claw him, sinking my fingernails into his arm, hoping that the pain will at least make him loosen his grip enough for me to breathe. Of course, it is also futile since I don’t have enough strength to inflict any real pain.

That hurt, you bitch! Stop struggling… he grunts, trying to maintain his power.

Hey… Hey… Don’t kill her. Just make her pass out so we can use her as bait. They’ve already infested the supermarket we saw just now. But if we use her, we can probably retrieve the food inside. Her screams should be more than enough to lure them away. Ha Ha Ha, the guy at the back reminds the other two.

Supermarket? Food? Oh great there’s food. Except, I’m probably not gonna get to eat anything. I’m basically on death’s door right now. How can they do that? Aren’t we all humans? Aren’t we supposed to help each other?

I can feel my