Shades of Fear ~ 1 - Unease

     Names are important.  

     At least, they are important for those who have lost their shadows. 

     In the Silver City of the Shadow Lands, most people lost there shadow when the Shadow King disappeared from his throne... when the Burning Man came.  Most were injured from the flames, and the black smoke that came from the fire made others horribly sick.  Most passed out from the explosion that happened at Pride Castle, and the smoke spread through out all of the city.  Everyone passed out and when they started to wake, all of their shadows were gone, as well as their memories about themselves.  

     However, most people could remember other people.  So names where given from others memories and had to retell names to the forgotten and what they use to do as a living, having to relearn what they did.

     That was seven years ago.  Most people have learned new skills and have continued with their lives.  Some became vendors and preformers in the streets, selling services and items from the other lands.  The worst though had become heavily infected with there regrets and past sins, becoming monster-like with whatever they were most known for.  These poor souls were separated into four different types.
     'Warriors' are people who were filled with anger and gained immense strength and sometimes power.  Most of them stayed near the Coliseum or had taken jobs collecting rare items from the other lands, fighting whatever would get in their way.  Some had just become pure monsters, fleeing to the darkest corners of all the lands and waiting for others to hunt them done. 
     'Dealers' are vendors who have an extreme need to sell items, food, and services.  Most of them are transformed in a way that hinders them in some way.  The three most common are the Cooks, the Sellers, and the Lusted.  The Cooks were people with extreme hunger, trying to make the most delicious foods but could never taste anything from either a lack of a mouth or tongue.  Sellers were people who wanted nothing but to collect certain items, but there desires would suddenly change after time.  Lusted were usually... well, their services depended on whatever dark desire their clients wanted.
     The 'Envious' could also be considered a vendor, but only the desperate and cursed dealt with them.
     The worst though, are the 'Walkers'.  Walkers could never sleep and had to constantly move.  Most of them were used at the Sleepers Hotel to turn the power generators and used as personal timers.  
     And it is at the hotel were this name is remembered.

     His name was Captain, for it was what the group called him.

     Captain woke up to his room rumbling and a warm light shining from his window.  He didn't groan or turn away from the light, but stared at it with a sigh and started to get up.  He knew work had to be done.
     With a simple shirt and pants, he started to put on his boots as he looked outside the revolving window. If you had spent any time in the Shadow Lands, you learn quickly not to expect any sunrise to happen for the morning.  But the view showed a bright light of the lava river that naturally flowed or the far side of the city.  The volcano area had been a natural place for the Lusted to take their unusual favors to sell, but the hotel had another use for it for a natural timer. 
      Captain finished tying his boots and grabbed a few items before heading out of his room.  He paused as he looked out of the walkway near the stairs, where he could see more rooms around the hotel and the pillar of light coming straight from the middle, illuminating everything around.  The hotel reminded him of a large, tall black obelisk.  He couldn't feel the moving when he was in the room, but as soon as he started to walk out, he felt an unease of slight movement.  He had seen the place where they had kept the Walkers once, and it had shaken him to a point where he couldn't forget.
     Forget.  How he wished he could forget that sight and remember the memories he had once.
     As he started to walk down the stairs from his room, he could remember the black smoke.  His last memory of his old life was waking in the ruined Pride Castle, alone and hurt.  When he crawled out of the wreckage, people called him Captain and helped him recover.  But unlike others where they could remember a little about their past, that was the only thing they would remember about him, the name Captain.  No one knew who he was a captain of or to who?  Was he in the military?  Was he some kind of pirate?  No one could tell him. 
     But he did find out what he was good with.  A gun, a sword, and his fists.
     He made his way to the bottom floor and walked out of the hotel and into the busy streets of the Silver City.
    
     As he tried to walk thru the crowd, he noticed that as usual the main street was full of people.  Shoppers and vendors as well as performers filled the entire street with laughter, wonder, and horror.
     Captain sighed.  It was the usual.  After being here for so long, it all just sort of made it dull.  The shock and surprise of the fire breathers turning a lamp light into a serpent or bats just didn't have the same effect as it did years ago.  People calling out deals for coins just sort of mixed into the yells of screaming of both delight and fear.  It gave Captain a headache trying to find a way around all this.
     Captain cut through one of the alleys, trying to make it throw the crowd.  Compared to the main street, the alleys were almost dead, with only a handful few nearby.  And for a good reason.  Cause no one wanted to meet one of 'them'.
     He walked through at a steady pace, looking for an end near the Coliseum. 
     And then he saw one. 
     Names mean something here.  And the name given to these people were the 'Envious'.  Most of them were in the corners of the city, in the alleys and the dark.  You could easily tell who they were from how they dressed- Loose fitting rags, bandages wrapped around a missing body part, and there eyes, the dark blank eyes.  You could only notice if they stared at you, but they only did that if you talked to them.
     And someone was talking to it.  Someone with a familiar hat.
     "Aw, come on, man.  Do you know anyone who has any left?", the stranger asked an Envious.
     Envious had another title.  Traders.  They could always find the dark stuff in the lands, from mystical plants to mind alternating drugs that would effect anyone nearby who uses it.  You can have the ultimate potion for eternal life or the best painkiller in the world... but for a price.  The Envious were always losing body parts and always wanted a trade for certain ones. 
     A cigarette could seriously cost a lung, or a liver.
     The Envious looked at the stranger, but instead of giving him a hard stare like most of them do, he looked away and answered with a low voice.  "The only one who controls most of the Demonbane is the Witch of the Black Road."
      Three words in that sentence was enough to get the Captain's full attention.
      Demonbane was a powerful poison and painkiller.  It had the power to kill anyone with a simple injection or any kind of blood contact.  However, in small dose to the tongue, created a pain free experience that seemed to make it all worth it.  Highly addictive.  However, it was very rare and only the foolish tried using it, and not for long.
     'Witch' and 'Black Road' were another attention getter.  That could only be Dechesis.
     Dechesis was someone Captain had little experience with, but he knew what she was.  Someone very powerful and someone who deserves respect if you want to keep your life.
     The stranger took no surprise in this.  "No shit, I know the Old Bitch has it, but where is she?  I've been looking for her for the past few days and no one wants to tell me where she went to."
      "I... don't know.  She probably went home." The Envious responded, still trying to avoid eye contact.
      The stranger gave a blank look and scratched his head next to his hat.  "The Old Bitch went home?  Damn it, that's what everyone else says.  I was hoping not to deal with her there..."  He turned and the Captain finally got a good look at him.  His long coat was covered in patches that seemed to be sewn by an amateur, and he was smoking something that gave the smell of burnt lemons.  He lifted his head a bit more and Captain could see that he only had one eye which gave off an heated feeling.  The other, like as Envious, was missing, but instead of bandages it was stitched closed.
     The stranger, who the Captain had the sudden urge to call 'Patches', walked towards Captain and was about to pass him till he noticed he was being stared at.  Patches looked up at Captain an gave a blank look.  Captain stared back, looking at him straight in the eye and feeling like he was staring into a fire, but he kept his stare. 
     Patches then gave a smile, tipped his hat and walked away towards the crowd with what the Captain thought was a large sigh.
     The Captain let out the breathe he was hold and looked towards where the Envious was, and saw that he was now alone.  He shrugged it off, knowing he had another place to be and continued towards the Coliseum.   



End of part 1~

I definately need to re-edit this, but I had been working on it for awhile so I thought I would put it out.  I'll re-edit it when it's all finished like I did with my other stories.
Debating if I should continue or finish the other story I started with.  Choices, choices...