Twinlight

Chapter 18: The Shadow Organization

Night had deepened into pitch. Elian Thorne moved through the tree belt flanking Administration Drive, the tall oaks providing scant cover. The adrenaline-fueled tension, the frantic pounding of his heart, only began to ease after he'd looped through countless blocks. Compared to Traveling into Penitentiary-18, tonight felt like his first genuine brush with lethal peril. He couldn’t identify them or fathom their intentions. The chilling fact was, mere suspicion had been enough to trigger their surveillance. It felt like being shoved out of the sheltered greenhouse of school and into a world teeming with predators. Or perhaps, this was the world finally revealing its true claws.

Back near his apartment on Administration Drive, Elian waited in the shadows for half an hour, scanning the darkness for any sign of a tail before finally approaching the building. The crisp autumn air held a bite, yet his shirt clung damply to his back. As he walked, he pulled out his phone, searching for the streamer Pixel. Had he posted any new guides about Umbra?

But Pixel, who’d promised an 'Umbra Overview' tonight, had vanished. Fans flooded his channel demanding answers, but Pixel remained silent. Had the shadow organization taken him too? How many such agencies operated across the nation? Elian had no answers.

Suddenly, the wail of sirens pierced the quiet. A police car screeched into the complex, pulling up right outside Elian's building. From the second floor, a woman’s choked sobs tangled with a man’s agonized screams. Neighbors spilled out, forming a loose circle on the pavement. Elian melted into the crowd, watching silently.

"What's going on? What happened?" an elderly man asked, bewildered.

"You know that guy in this building? The one who… well…" A woman bounced a baby on her hip, her voice hushed. "Hits his wife. Honey, he put her in the hospital last time, and he still wouldn’t stop. She tried to leave him, and he beat her again. Threatened to kill her whole family if she dared divorce him."

"And tonight?" someone pressed. "Did he finally…? Though it sounds like he's the one screaming."

"Spot on," the woman nodded emphatically. "I went up to try and stop it… only this time, she was the one doing the beating."

"What?" Gasps rippled through the crowd.

"The fool came home drunk, spoiling for his usual fight. You heard about all those Travelers, right? Seems she came back… changed. Took the hits at first, like always. Then… something snapped. She shattered both his legs. Poor little Luna, caught in the middle…" She trailed off, shaking her head.

Elian felt a grim knot of tension loosen in his chest. He felt no pity for the man; only a cold sliver of satisfaction. What’s more pathetic than a man who beats his wife? And now? He couldn’t. Who's the pathetic one now?

The family lived directly above Elian. For two years, he’d often seen the woman huddled on the stairs, clutching her daughter and weeping when he returned from school. Neighbors whispered that the man flew into a rage if she so much as spoke to another man. This reckoning was long overdue.

Police were already upstairs taking statements. The man, limbs bent at unnatural angles, was carried out on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance. Elian noted the clear fractures before the doors slammed shut. As the ambulance pulled away, officers gestured for the crowd to disperse.

Elian headed inside. As he reached his landing, he found a small figure curled up like a shadow against his door.

"Elian?" A small, tear-stained face looked up. "Mom told me to wait here. I knocked, but you weren’t home."

The girl, Luna Reed, wasn’t a stranger to seeking refuge at Elian's place. He wasn't one for meddling, but one night, after a particularly vicious fight upstairs, he’d found her sobbing alone on the stairs. He’d been returning from late study hall. As he passed, the man had stormed out looking for her. Luna had pleaded, "Can I wait at your place? Just for a bit?" He’d relented. That night, he’d whipped up soy-sauce fried rice (his specialty) and played cartoons on his phone until the storm passed. Later, Luna's mother, Elena Reed, learned of it. During subsequent fights, she’d send Luna down. Elena had once offered hesitantly to do Elian's laundry, but he’d declined, wary of provoking the ticking time bomb upstairs.

Elian ruffled Luna’s hair. "Eaten?"

"Some crackers. Still hungry," she whispered, her stomach giving a tiny rumble.

"Come on. I haven't eaten either. Fried rice it is." His recent supply run had cleaned him out, but his pantry overflowed with rice and seasonings. "Once you're full, things should be calmer upstairs. Don’t be scared. Your dad... he won’t be winning any fights now."

"Can I... still come here?" Luna asked suddenly, hope warring with fear in her eyes.

"Of cour—"

Elian's reply froze. His head snapped towards the street. He fumbled for his keys, yanked Luna inside, and slammed the door shut.

Luna stared, wide-eyed. "Elian? What’s wrong?"

"Shh. Just a sec," he hissed, adrenaline surging back as he rushed to the window. He snapped the curtains shut, leaving only a hairline crack to peer through.

Outside, an SUV pulled up – one he’d seen earlier at Cresthaven Heights. They were here. Probably responding to reports of a Traveler. Elian’s heart hammered against his ribs like a trapped bird. Their speed was terrifying.

Two figures jumped out: one in a black hoodie, the other in a grey jacket. The very same pair who’d tailed him. Dread coiled icy in his stomach. Talk about rotten luck.

As if sensing the scrutiny, the hooded figure glanced directly towards Elian’s window. Elian jerked back into the shadows, pressing himself against the wall.

"What is it?" the companion asked.

The hooded man shrugged, a faint, unsettling smile playing on his lips. "Nothing. Just checking. Felt eyes on me. Probably imagining things. Let's go. Business upstairs."

Elian’s worry instantly shifted to Elena. If they took her... what would happen to Luna? Father hospitalized, mother vanished? The thought chilled him to the bone.

Ten tense minutes crawled by, each one an eternity. Then, the two men reappeared. They climbed back into the SUV with unnerving efficiency and drove off. Elena hadn’t been with them.

What? Confusion warred with relief. Weren’t they rounding up all Travelers? A sliver of hope, fragile and sharp, pricked him.

Eventually, the last police car departed. A tentative knock sounded on Elian’s door, soft and uncertain.

He opened it to find Elena Reed standing there. Her hair was a wild tangle, a smear of dried blood crusted near her split lip. She seemed suddenly aware of her disheveled state, swiping a trembling hand to tuck loose strands behind her ear. A flicker of exhaustion and something harder – resolve? – showed in her eyes.

"Sorry... to trouble you again," she murmured, her voice raw and thick with unshed tears.