Show Me the Locket

"If we become separated, then reunited, how will I know whether I've found you, or a Shifter?"

Nine-year-old Samson reviewed the scene in his head again. The day the sun never set all the way, 7 months ago, he and his older sister, Amelia, spoke in half-whispers sitting on the tile floor of their family's little kitchen. It was the only time he felt afraid, because Amelia had no answer. It had been a day they'd never hope to live again. There was dark stillness in their home. Power was lost weeks prior, which they knew was a sign, but now it was happening. Low-light lingered in the sky. It looked as though nature had a ceiling; everything outdoors was oddly tinted with a greenish-brown shadow. The sky was hauntingly overcast with very low, rolling lavender-gray clouds that hid the sun. There had been theories this day was nearing, but no way to know. They called it "The Dim." After The Dim started, the world would go mad. Some people would disappear, mostly adults; others would see things they couldn't explain.

There'd been reports of shocking paranormal sightings... people morphing into different people, right in front of others' eyes, like something from a horror film. They were called Shifters, and their existence meant nobody left on the earth could be trusted. Shifters had the believable behavior of a human, the tired, empty eyes of a zombie and the evil-spirited intentions of a supernatural, destruction-craving creature. They'd been known to charm anyone into trusting them with their humanlike deceptiveness. Nobody knew where they came from or how they were generated; only that when The Dim happened, Shifters would re-populate the earth, replacing all who'd vanished.

It had been getting late that day, and neither Samson nor Amelia could find their parents. There was no explanation. The siblings sat across from each other on the dark kitchen's floor in silence, anticipating what this absence of energy suggested. It felt like an unsettling dream. They watched the clock- 9:00pm... 9:30pm... 10:00pm... through one small window, they saw the strange color still hanging in the air. The world remained half-lit, while every clock kept ticking. An eerie feeling thickened with every tick of the second hand, and Samson, Amelia, and all of humanity, knew The Dim had begun.

They had to find their parents. There on the floor, seventeen-year-old Amelia knew she was now responsible for her family's survival. Though she sunk inside with such a heavy awareness of the alarming new weight on her shoulders, she stayed composed and together on the outside. She was now all Samson had to rely on; she mustn't show weakness, and certainty not fear.

They both knew they didn't have much time before they'd need to vacate their home, unsure if it would still be there when they returned. But that didn't matter now; what mattered was that they stayed together. They needed to travel as far north as they could. That's where the grown-ups were said to be held, in something called "The Chamber." With no way of knowing how long their journey would be, or if they would even make it to The Chamber alive, they knew they must try. Their parents had prepared them best they could, and told them what to do if The Dim were to happen, leaving no trace of their parents. It was predicted it would happen this way; it was only a matter of time.

They packed everything they could into backpacks, knowing to trust only each other, as any of the other kids looking for their parents may be Shifters- not kids at all. Samson and Amelia were both gifted with strength and a bright mind, and those may have been the very things that would enable them to survive the journey, the world being more dangerous now than ever. They knew they may be met with challenges such as severe, drastically changing weather conditions, obstacles across land and water, and other possible encounters with creatures that couldn't be trusted, like the Shifters. But Samson felt confident that his sister could protect them, and Amelia had an unmatched spirit of endurance that she believed could withstand most anything.

One thing troubled Amelia, as they prepared to begin the journey to The Chamber: Samson's question. If they should get separated, how could they differentiate one another from a believable Shifter? Not having an answer bothered her deeply. There had been talk of Shifters being able to tap into the minds of those they impersonate, giving them access to any code-words, information or encrypted languages that may be premeditated between two people. Few knew this, but Amelia did her research in the days before the world-wide power outage. Then she remembered something. Shifters could intrude into ones mind, shape-shift into a false appearance of ones body, but they could not obtain or duplicate a tangible item someone possessed if only one of the item existed.

"Wait here," Amelia told Samson before stepping through the doorway into the unprotected outside-world. She ran into her room, thrashing over-filled desk drawers open, frantically rummaging through them and forcing them closed. It was dark; her only window was on the opposite side of the bedroom, barely providing any light from the partially-lit outdoors. "Yes!" Amelia coiled up a chain in her fingers and gripped it tightly in her fist, running back to Samson. Samson was quiet and observant, eager to see what Amelia got. She held up the chain, revealing a small, tarnished brass heart-locket charm dangling between her fingers. There were intricately-carved designs on the front, tiny hinges on the left of the heart, and a clasp on the right.

"This is how you will be able to tell me apart from a Shifter." Samson looked closely, his genuine eyes focused. There was a click, and the heart opened like a book. On either side, ever so small, was a glass casing. On the left, a very old photograph of their father, and on the right, one of their mother. The pictures were yellowed, but their faces glowed with youth. "If we get separated, then reunited again," Amelia looked very intentionally into Samson's young, innocent eyes, "you must know you can't trust that it's me right off. A Shifter can fool you so smoothly, reading peoples' thoughts and playing seamless tricks with your head. Samson, if this happens, you are to say these words:" Amelia's expression stone-hardened, "'show me the locket'. If it's really me, I must reveal this very locket, exactly as you see it now. If not, I will have no such locket to show you. I'll wear this safely around my neck; do not believe a lie that it was lost. Shifters can be convincing, but they cannot physically separate me from this necklace. Do you understand?" Samson nodded. "I understand."

Samson flashed back to the present, becoming aware of his surroundings. He had no idea how long it had been since he and Amelia had been violently separated in a hideous storm; a meteorologically impossible one, combing dust, snow and hail with lightening and unbearably strong winds. The days all melted into one, never turning to night. It felt like months, though he knew his perception of time could not be depended on. He hadn't seen one soul since that day, and wondered if Shifters had been a hoax all along. He and Amelia never had seen one themselves, they'd only heard of them. Samson was so weary and desperate to find any sign of life, he almost didn't care who or what he encountered, if it meant interaction with another being and preservation of his sanity. His food ran out weeks ago; he was living off the earth's provisions, which were becoming more scarce as the woodlands thinned. He kept replaying the last moments he and his sister had shared back home. He remembered the dangling locket, burning every detail of it into his mind.

Suddenly two unidentifiable arms seemed to appear from thin air, snatching him from the very spot where he stood. He had opened his mouth to scream, but something restricting was wrapped tightly around his head, covering his mouth before he could let out a sound. Panicking, his already weakened muscles could not fight the force of his arms being twisted behind him, wrists tied together. Frozen with fear, he breathed shakily through his nose, still unable to free his mouth from what he gathered was duct tape. Slowly the owner of the snatching arms walked out from behind Samson, gripping his arm tightly. Samson lifted his eyes from their gaze at the dry ground, meeting a pair of tired, yet familiar eyes. Amelia's eyes; looking even more sleep-deprived than his own must've looked. A title wave of relief sent new blood rushing through his limbs and into his face, tears from his welling eyes flickering like fireworks. But Amelia's face held a different expression, one of sternness. She rushed a finger to her lips, signaling for him be immediately silent, making no sounds, moving no muscle in the audibly dead leaves.

"They're watching," Amelia whispered, ever so softly. Samson's eyes became cautious as he peered around him, looking for whose presence his sister was privy to that he was not. His eyebrows narrowed in confusion as he looked again at Amelia. Who's watching? He saw only trees. He followed her eyes with his, hoping to see whatever she saw. That's when his eyes happened to fall on her neck. There was no locket. Almost interrupting his thought-registration, Amelia whispered "I know you're looking for the locket. Don't worry. It's at my hideout-spot, safe in my backpack. The chain was caught on a branch a while back and broke, so the necklace is not wearable. But I have it, with the photos of mother and father." Another wave of relief. He knew only one chain with a heart-locket carrying their parents' photos existed. Overwhelmed with mixed-emotions, he was confused still as to who was watching them, joyful to see Amelia again, thankful she hadn't lost the locket when the chain broke, and irritated with the uncomfortable restraints still around his mouth and wrists.

Amelia turned to him, "If I take them off, you must remain perfectly quiet; the guards hear everything. Make no noises or sudden moves. I'll take you somewhere safe, where I've been staying. We'll hide there until they leave." She whispered so faintly, but he understood. She freed his mouth from the tape and unbound his wrists. Samson whispered, "who's watching? I see nobody."

"Gatekeepers. Of The Chamber. We're close, but we must be careful. Follow me." He followed as she crept through a winding unmarked path into a moss-covered slump of earth and fallen tree trunks, deepening into a dark, cave-like structure. Samson admired Amelia's impressive hideout-spot. They sat on the ground across from each other, similar to how they sat in the kitchen the day The Dim started. So similar, in fact, that it triggered intense Deja-vu in Samson's mind. Suddenly, like a hazy dream, he was in the little kitchen with Amelia. Another flash- they both stood at the doorway, studying the locket. Amelia's voice echoed between his ears: "You are to say these words..."

His dropping heart jarred him out of his vision. He looked at Amelia in the low-lit cave. Struggling to find his voice, he barely uttered the words.

"Show me the locket."

"It's right here, see?" Amelia's voice was tender. She looked down, gesturing at a small object in her hand, but it was too dark to see it.

"Let me hold it." He held his hand open in the darkness before him. Amelia placed the object in his palm.

For one fleeting moment, he was relieved. He turned the heart-locket in his hand, feeling for the intricate carvings he remembered so vividly, between the tiny hinges and clasp.

Then, all the blood rushed out of his face.

He was holding a rock.