Shadow

Story so far

Cries from the flooded levels drew Solo to a community kitchen, where he found a frightened black cat hiding in a cabinet. Food gradually overcame the cat’s distrust, although an attempt to pick him up brought scratches. After falling into the water, the cat climbed Solo’s leg and settled against his chest, trembling and eating another ration bar. Solo, also known as Jimmy, named him Shadow.

Shadow followed Jimmy on food searches, slept curled against him, and interrupted his reading to demand affection. His curiosity also led Jimmy to a room filled with bodies, from which Shadow fled with his fur raised. He learned to climb the refuge’s ladder, favored the heat of server forty, and darted into an attack on Jimmy that ended with the pipe-wielding attacker screaming and dropping his flashlight. He ate both fillets of Jimmy’s catch on a fishing trip and once led him to an apartment containing cat food and an electric can opener.

The companionship lasted for years. By the time Solo carried Shadow to the farm for burial, the cat’s body had stiffened. Jimmy still remembers the pressure of his claws through his coveralls, his rumbling belly, and his habit of staying underfoot. During his search for Elise, Jimmy recalls finding Shadow on a rifle-carrying trip down to Supply.

Appearance

Shadow was a black cat with a bushy tail and sharp claws. When frightened, his fur stood on end; when seeking affection, he rubbed against Jimmy and walked across his reading.

Role

A deceased animal companion whose presence made Jimmy’s isolated life more bearable and whose memory remains important to him.

Relationships

Earlier in this series

Also appears in books you've already read — spoiler-safe to their endings:

• ShiftBook 2