SHAHEEN: THE SHADOW WALKER
Episode 9 – The Memory
The mansion shook again.
BOOM!
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Ali immediately looked toward the corridor.
"Everyone, move."
Zayan nodded.
"Stay together."
The team rushed out of the hidden chamber.
Noor followed them, but she kept looking back at the glass container.
The words were still visible on it:
HE IS NOT THE FIRST SHADOW WALKER.
HE IS THE LAST.
Ali noticed her hesitation.
"Noor!"
She turned.
Ali pointed toward the corridor.
"Now!"
Noor quickly followed.
They reached the main hallway.
Everything was dark.
Too dark.
Ayesha switched on her flashlight.
"Where did that explosion come from?"
Zayan looked around.
"Upstairs."
Hamza checked his weapon.
"Then why do I feel like we're walking exactly where someone wants us to go?"
Bilal looked at him.
"Because we probably are."
Ali suddenly stopped.
Everyone stopped behind him.
"What?" Ayesha asked.
Ali raised his hand.
"Listen."
Silence.
Then—
Footsteps.
Someone was walking upstairs.
Slowly.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Zayan whispered,
"Someone's there."
Ali looked toward the staircase.
"Stay here."
Zayan immediately shook his head.
"No."
Ali looked at him.
"I'm going."
"So are we."
Hamza nodded.
"Team rule."
Bilal sighed.
"Apparently."
They started climbing the stairs.
Halfway up—
Ali stopped.
His hand moved toward his head.
A sudden pain shot through him.
He closed his eyes.
And the mansion disappeared.
He was somewhere else.
Five years ago.
Rain was hitting the windows.
The same staircase.
But this time, the mansion wasn't abandoned.
There were people everywhere.
Men in black clothes.
A younger Noor.
The previous Shadow Walker.
And Ali.
A much younger Ali.
He was standing at the top of the staircase.
The previous Shadow Walker was speaking to him.
"You have to leave."
Young Ali shook his head.
"I'm not leaving."
"They'll find you."
"Let them."
The man stepped closer.
"You don't understand what they want."
Young Ali stared at him.
"Then tell me."
The man remained silent.
Young Ali's expression hardened.
"You brought me here."
"I deserve the truth."
The previous Shadow Walker finally said,
"You weren't brought here."
"You came here yourself."
Young Ali froze.
"Why?"
The man looked toward Noor.
"Ask her."
Young Ali turned.
"Noor?"
Noor looked terrified.
Young Ali stepped toward her.
"What does he mean?"
Noor couldn't answer.
Then—
A loud alarm started ringing.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Everyone in the mansion began running.
The previous Shadow Walker grabbed young Ali's arm.
"There's no time."
Young Ali pulled away.
"I'm not going anywhere until I know who I am."
The man looked directly into his eyes.
"You are Ali Shaheen."
Young Ali frowned.
"That's my name."
"No."
The man's voice became serious.
"That's the name they gave you."
Young Ali went completely still.
The memory suddenly broke.
Ali opened his eyes.
He was back on the staircase.
Ayesha was holding his arm.
"Ali!"
Ali looked around.
"What happened?"
"You stopped walking."
Zayan stared at him.
"Then you started shaking."
Ali looked at Noor.
She immediately looked away.
Ali's expression changed.
"You saw it too."
Noor whispered,
"Yes."
Ali stepped toward her.
"You knew."
Noor shook her head.
"I knew something."
"Not everything."
Ali's voice became cold.
"Then start telling me."
Noor looked at the others.
"Not here."
Ali stared at her.
"Fine."
"Then upstairs."
They continued.
When they reached the top floor, the footsteps had stopped.
The hallway was empty.
A door at the end stood open.
Ali slowly approached it.
He recognized the room.
His eyes widened.
"This room..."
Noor stopped behind him.
"You remember?"
Ali shook his head.
"I don't know."
He entered.
The room was almost empty.
A broken mirror.
An old chair.
A small table.
And a wall covered with strange symbols.
Ali walked toward the mirror.
His reflection stared back.
Then—
The reflection changed.
Ali saw himself as a child.
He stepped back.
Ayesha whispered,
"Ali?"
The mirror showed another memory.
A young Ali was sitting on the floor.
Someone was standing behind him.
A woman.
Her face wasn't visible.
She placed her hand on his shoulder.
Then she said:
"One day, you'll have to choose."
Young Ali looked up.
"Choose what?"
The woman whispered,
"Who you want to become."
The mirror went dark.
Ali stared at it.
"Who was she?"
Noor didn't answer.
Ali turned.
"Noor."
She looked at him.
"Who was that woman?"
Noor's eyes filled with tears.
"I don't know."
Ali didn't believe her.
"You do."
Noor shook her head.
"I swear."
Suddenly, Zayan noticed something on the table.
"Ali."
Ali looked over.
There was a small black notebook.
On its cover was the same black circle.
Ali opened it.
The first page contained only one sentence:
PROJECT SHADOW WAS NEVER ABOUT CREATING A WEAPON.
Ali turned the page.
The next sentence made him freeze.
IT WAS ABOUT FINDING THE PERSON WHO COULD CONTROL THE SHADOW.
Ayesha stared at the page.
"Control what?"
Ali turned another page.
There were photographs.
The first showed the previous Shadow Walker.
The second showed Noor.
The third showed Ali.
But beneath Ali's photograph was something different.
SUBJECT S-01
Ali's face hardened.
"That's what was on the container."
Noor whispered,
"Yes."
Ali looked at the final page.
There was a handwritten message.
S-01 WILL FORGET.
S-01 WILL RETURN.
S-01 WILL CHOOSE.
And beneath it—
THE SHADOW WILL FOLLOW.
The room suddenly became cold.
The broken mirror cracked.
CRACK!
Everyone turned.
A black mark appeared across the glass.
The same black circle.
Then words appeared slowly.
REMEMBER THE NIGHT OF THE FIRE.
Ali's eyes widened.
The moment he read those words—
another memory hit him.
Fire.
Rain.
The mansion.
Young Ali running through a burning hallway.
Noor shouting his name.
The previous Shadow Walker fighting someone.
And a man standing in the doorway.
Ali couldn't see his face.
But he heard his voice.
"Take the boy."
The previous Shadow Walker shouted,
"NO!"
Young Ali turned.
The man in the doorway looked directly at him.
Then said:
"Your memory belongs to us."
Young Ali screamed.
The memory shattered.
Ali collapsed to his knees.
"Ali!"
Everyone rushed toward him.
He slowly opened his eyes.
His breathing was heavy.
Zayan crouched beside him.
"What did you see?"
Ali looked toward Noor.
His voice was barely a whisper.
"I remember the fire."
Noor went completely still.
Ali continued,
"And I remember the man who took me."
Noor's face lost its color.
Ayesha asked,
"Who was he?"
Ali looked toward the broken mirror.
"I don't know his name."
He slowly stood.
"But I remember his voice."
Suddenly—
The lights went out.
A voice came through the room.
The same voice from the mansion.
"Then perhaps..."
A pause.
"...you remember me."
Ali froze.
The team turned toward the doorway.
A tall figure stood there.
His face was hidden beneath a hood.
Noor stepped backward.
"No..."
Ali stared at him.
The figure slowly removed the hood.
Ali's eyes widened.
He knew that face.
Not from the past.
Not from a photograph.
But from somewhere much closer.
The man smiled.
"Hello, Ali."
Ali whispered:
"You're alive."
The man replied:
"I was never dead."
Then he looked at Noor.
"And she still hasn't told you the truth."
Noor's eyes filled with fear.
Ali turned toward her.
"What truth?"
The man smiled.
"The fire wasn't an accident."
Silence.
Ali's expression hardened.
"Then who started it?"
The man looked directly at him.
"You did."
Everyone froze.
Ali's face went blank.
"No."
The man stepped backward into the darkness.
"You'll remember."
And then he disappeared.
Ali stood completely still.
Behind him, the broken mirror slowly revealed one final message:
THE SHADOW WAS BORN THAT NIGHT.
To Be Continued...
