In The Shadows by Jenn Pynke (books for 7th graders txt) 📕

The rain pounded down outside as the clock tolled midnight. A man silently watched from his perch on a filthy fire escape in the shadows of an alleyway. People were running through the rain, either to escape the rain or the felling of someone watching them he didn't know. He knew that the majority of these people weren't necessarily afraid of the dark. Just fearful of what was hiding in the pitch black of the night.
He had taken care of the street lights a few nights ago. No one would see anything that happened now. The man looked down at the people, who seemed to be appearing in less numbers than earlier in the night. Most had already made it to the clubs and he had let them pass.
Silently he watched for hours. Waiting. Watching. Studying. Silently he fought the monster inside himself, willed himself to turn and leave before he lost control and did something that he shouldn't. He stayed.
The night wore on as his internal struggle continued. He knew that it would only take one slip on his side. He should leave. He should let these people continue on their own path, whether their path was disgusting and vile or not.
He was slipping.
The thoughts started speeding through his mind, these people are merely throwing away there lives. They don't deserve the life that has been gifted to them. They destroy themselves with sex, drugs, and alcohol.
He told himself to stop this train of thought. That he had no right to turn these people into lifeless corpses. They could change, they could make something worthwhile of their lives.
It wasn't working.
The amount of people thinned even more. Three people stumbled through the streets, slurring their words and using each other for support.
These people don't deserve to live.
The three men stumbled into the alley.
The man's body tensed up.
One of the men leaned against the wall of the building opposite of where the man was perched on the fire escape and puked. His friends laughed and waited for him.
This is the opportune moment. All he had to do was jump. He could easily hit the two laughing men as he fell and then he could easily take care of the last one.
But no. He was still in control, if only barely. He would not hurt these men. He would not have their deaths weighing on his already heavy soul.
The men stumbled out of the alley and into the street. Safe for the moment. The man let out a despondent sigh. He had almost lost his careful control. Had almost killed three men. Men that he had never met, men that could have a wife, children, a family.
Do they deserve it? Do they deserve any happiness in this life? No his mind played these were the type of men that would cheat on their spouses without any thought or regret. He had seen their type before. It disgusted him. It angered him.
Again his control was slipping. Just the thought of what those men had done while in one of the many filthy clubs that lined the street made him see red.
Suddenly he was on the ground. Silently moving in the direction that the men had gone. He watched as the men moved down the street. He listened to their crude language and dirty jokes. He gained ground easily, without effort. He walked like he had a mission. The men turned back as they heard his steps.
They shouldn't have done that. They had stopped at the mouth of an alley. The man grinned at them. They shivered visibly. He enjoyed their fear and took a step forward. They stumbled back into the alley and his grin grew even larger.
They were at his mercy, and he wouldn't be merciful to them.

"THREE MEN FOUND DEAD IN ALLEY. THE SHADOW KILLER STRIKES AGAIN?"

The newspaper really didn't do them any justice.
Not that they had deserved it anyway.
The man threw the paper into the garbage and walked quietly through the streets.

Publication Date: 03-02-2010

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