Family Secrets - Flashback

MILES' POV

I'd woken up to the strangest feeling ever. I felt both heavier and lighter than air. My head felt foggy. It was like having a morning after after a night of partying. Problem was, I'd skipped the drinking part.

I could also see shadows. Like literally see the shadows that weren't there. A friend once told me that you can't touch imaginary things so I put my hand to the wall to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. I saw my own hand and screamed in fear.

I saw my hand....and a shadow of my hand. Beneath my hand was a shape of my hand. The shape was black. Not dark, but black. Pure inky blackness. If it were possible I would have peed myself.

My door burst open and Mrs Cook, our housekeeper rushed in.

"Miles? I heard you scream." She held a golf club over her head, ready to swing at any threat.

The incredulity of my housekeeper, a woman pushing sixty, defending me from an intruder was enough to shock a giggle out of me.

"No, nothing's wrong Mrs Cook." I managed. She stared at me in bewilderment.

"Why do you have a golf club Mrs Cook?" She stared bemusedly at the club in her hands before lowering it slowly.

"Well, I heard you scream." She stared at me accusingly. I flushed in embarrassment.

If anyone else heard that I'd screamed like a girl, I would be the butt of the joke for.... for forever. "Your mum needs you downstairs"

I stared at my hands again and there was no shadow. Not on the wall or anywhere else. I decided that it must have been a figment of my imagination.

That would teach me to watch horror movies alone.

I ushered Mrs Cook out of my room and prepared for whatever torture mum and her gang were going to put me through in the name of celebrating my birthday.

That weird event was the first of many. I kept seeing shadows everywhere.

Once, a picture of Kyle and I on my dresser had toppled over. I'd stretched my hand out reflexively to stop it. I was next to the tv ---about eight feet away from my dresser-- and there was no way I could stop the frame from crashing into the floor. Stretching my hand out was just instinct.

My picture frame that should have slammed into the floor and scattered into a million pieces was floating in the air, hanging inches from the floor, covered in black.

The black ink was stretching forth from my fingers. I screamed and snatched my hands back, snapping the blackness in half.

The picture, broken from its strange black tether fell to the floor with a loud bang. The resulting smash was enough to make me jump in fear once more.

I would have gone insane if it weren't for James.

I wasn't sure how but he'd seen one of the weird manifestations and called me into his home office.

He'd stared at me intently for some seconds before asking, "Have you ever heard of The Order?" I shook my head in answer.

James had gotten up from his chair to sit on the table separating us. "Well then nephew, let me tell you a story about Carl and Shane."

He launched into a story about how my great-grandfather and his bestfriend Carl were members of a secret organization called The Order.

The Order was the judge, jury and executioner of all things relating to magic. Yes,magic. I'd stared at him in shock when he said that.

James had chuckled. "Anyway Shane and Carl were instrumental in defeating a foe of The Order and for this, the Three had rewarded them with the chance to be head of their own houses." What?

"Sorry, Uncle. I'm sure what you just said now was supposed to be English but my brain ain't computing it." He'd glared at me fiercely. It was hard to take him serious when he did that.

This was the guy who had marathon video game matches with kyle and I.

"The Three are the heads of The Order. They being The judge, The jury and The executioner."

"Sounds like the beginning of a bad movie." I snorted.

"Miles!" I flinched at the anger in his tone. James rarely got angry that it was a surprise to hear such a tone coming from him.

"Sorry. Please continue." I groveled, doing my best to look chastised.

"Houses are the tools through which the will of the order is carried out. Every member of the organization comes from a House. After the effort into bringing forth victory for the Order, your great grandfather and his friend were given this uncharted territory to lord over. You will learn more about the politics that governs The Order in due course. You only need to know now how all these affects you." Now we were talking. I sat up eagerly, willing him to continue. "There are different types of magic,but one of the most dangerous and rare being the Shadow."

"Sorry to interrupt, but what are shadows?"

"This." Then he stood up and blew my mind to smithereens.

James stood up...and stayed standing. I was confused at first because I didn't know what I was supposed to be looking at. James was standing in front of me one second and then the next I was looking at inky blackness in the shape of a human form.

Someone squeaked. It wasn't me. I would never make such an umanly sound. I hoped.

........