Shadow
Shadow was the black cat whose companionship relieved Solo’s years of isolation and whose death left him grieving.
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
Sources — 35 recorded facts, by chapter
- An unidentified source of whimpering is audible inside the flooded levels.
- An unseen creature’s cries initially sound like an infant to Solo.
- A dark creature with claws and a bushy tail jumps from a kitchen counter into an open cabinet.
- The creature hiding in the kitchen cabinets is a black cat.
- The cat initially hisses and retreats when Solo opens its cabinet.
- The cat gradually accepts ration-bar pieces directly from Solo’s palm.
- The cat sinks its claws into Solo’s arm when he tries to pick it up.
- After splashing into the water, the cat climbs Solo’s leg.
- The soaked cat trembles in Solo’s arms and rubs against a dry part of his coveralls.
- The cat eats a second ration bar while perched against Solo’s chest.
- Shadow is a black cat named by Jimmy.
- After Jimmy feeds him beans, Shadow begins following him during food searches.
- Shadow curls up against Jimmy while they sleep in the lower farms.
- Shadow remains Jimmy’s companion for years after his rescue.
- Shadow interrupts Jimmy’s reading by walking across the book and seeking affection.
- Shadow can abruptly attack Jimmy’s wrist when Jimmy rubs his belly.
- Shadow mews and scratches at a closed door in the cafeteria until Jimmy investigates.
- Shadow flees the room of bodies with his fur standing on end.
- Shadow learns to climb the ladder but initially cannot get past the closed hatch.
- Shadow likes resting on the intensely hot server number forty.
- Shadow sniffs and licks the stains where a man Jimmy shot had died.
- Shadow darts into the attack on Jimmy, after which the pipe-wielding man screams and drops his flashlight.
- Shadow follows Jimmy up the ladder despite being told to stay behind.
- Shadow mews at the replaced hatch at night.
- Shadow eats both fillets of the fish Jimmy catches.
- Shadow normally interrupts Solo’s work by rubbing against his arm and stepping on what he is doing.
- Shadow is absent while Solo makes and releases paper parachutes.
- Shadow helped Solo find food over the years.
- Shadow once led Solo into an empty apartment containing canned cat food and an electric can opener.
- Shadow became excited when Solo first operated the can opener.
- Shadow’s body has stiffened by the time Solo brings it to the farm for burial.
- Jimmy remembers Shadow’s claws pressing through his coveralls and his rumbling belly.
- Jimmy imagines Shadow looking down at him and batting a paw.
- Jimmy remembers that Shadow usually stayed underfoot.
- Jimmy remembers finding Shadow during a trip down to Supply with a rifle.