The Shadow of Gloom

Chapter 6 - Dream Within a Dream

I floated midair, pitch dark all around me and the voices of hundreds of people filled the blackness. I couldn't see, couldn't move, and worst of all I couldn't escape the pressure bearing down on me. My body felt worn and tired, like I'd dragged boulders for miles and the boulders were sinking me down.

Black ink pooled at my feet and began to rise upwards, past my calves, my knees, up my thighs. My heart thudded loudly in my ears, the only noise drowning out at the faint screams and whispers around me. I struggled against the depths, straining my legs, and wiggling my body, but my only option was to sink and drown.

As the ink came up to my neck, I tilted my head back, trying to gasp for the last bits of air, and right as I went under, my lungs burning with fire, I gasped awake.

I blinked wide-eyed at the room I was in, lit only by a single dying candle on the nightstand. Sweat beads rolled down my forehead and a chill coaxed its way out of my body through a shiver before I finally moved, feeling safe again... or as safe as I could.

That had been dream, of course, but a dream within a dream seemed far-fetched. How could I have been there when I was already in another dream? Then you couldn't sleep in a dream, except I had. Was it possible that this place Laelmos wasn't a dream and I'd been transported to another dimension? That was crazy to think... but what if?

The what ifs were killing me at this point.

"I see you're awake."

I flinched and gasped at the sudden baritone voice. "Motherfucker." I placed my hand on my heart and glared across to Gloom. "Do you like giving people heart attacks?"

"It wasn't my intention to," he mumbled.

I settled but with a close eye stuck on him. Had he been watching me sleep this entire time? Creep. He had sat on the edge of his bed across from me. His hands were settled in his lap and his head drooped every now and then. He looked ready to pass out until he would suddenly straighten up. It was like watching a child fight sleep.

We'd left things on a rough note before he'd vanished earlier, leaving me to eat in boredom then overthink before I had passed out in bed. He'd been probing into my life here in Laelmos, but I didn't have a life here. I couldn't have a life in a dream.

After moments of silence ticked by, I wriggled around onto the side of my bed, legs hung over the edge, and stared across at him. It was uncomfortable to gaze into nothing and not be able to connect with a pair of eyes, and it was even worse that I couldn't put a name to a face. Sure, I had said he probably was ugly earlier, but I couldn't ignore how curious I was as to what he looked like.

"Do you have a habit of watching people?" he asked, making me scoff quietly. Hadn't he been watching me sleep?

"No, not really," I replied, keeping my comments to myself. "I was just wondering why you haven't shown me your face yet."

"You don't need to see it," he replied bluntly before he reached into his cloak, searching for something in his pocket.

"Why not? I'm sure you'd make everyone within a mile jealous of your looks," I stated in a teasing tone, blatantly aware of my flirting. I wouldn't be if Candance hadn't brought it up a hundred times about how I casually would flirt with men all the time. It was a habit I needed to curb.

He said nothing in response, only took a vial out from his pocket and took the cork off of it. He downed whatever was in the vial before he stashed it back into his pocket. I had believed that had been what Saint had given me to give to him earlier, some kind of sleeping pill... or liquid.

"Believe me, August, nobody would be jealous of me," he replied gruffly.

I frowned. "That's no way to talk about yourself." I had no room to talk considering I hadn't seen him myself yet. Even then, everybody was beautiful in their own way.

"You shouldn't speak of things that you don't understand," he stated, making my heart sink a little.

Maybe I'd been wrong about him being rude and a creep. He seemed to have more shit going on than what I had first thought. I had to remember that everybody had their own problems and that it wasn't just me, myself, and I. I struggled with that bit...

After a moment, I huffed before scooting back onto my bed with my back to the headboard. It was hard to think with the sensation of his eyes drilling into the side of my face. I was trying to piece together if this dream was a test of my flaws or not.

"Where do you come from?" he asked suddenly, breaking the silence between us.

I sighed in annoyance, but I realized I couldn't escape this forever. "Why does it matter? This is a dream. This shit won't exist once I wake up."

He silenced at my words; a dead silence that made me swallow hard. I shuddered from an abrupt chill before he stood, making me pull back, scared he was ready to kill me. Right as I thought he'd pull out a knife and start stabbing me, he reached out his hand.

"Give me your hand," he demanded, and I gawked at him with knitted eyebrows.

"What—"

He snatched my hand without my consent, then forced my palm face up. I flinched at the warmth of his touch against my chilled flesh, then shuddered when he ran his fingertips up my wrist, sliding my tunic's sleeve up. My jaw tensed when his fingers kept moving upwards, creating tingles and heat that I wanted to pull away from.

I didn't like whatever he was doing because it felt like something inside me from moving, like I had butterflies in my stomach or a lump in my chest.

"What are you doing?" I asked, eyeing his fingertips when he drew them back down my arm in a straight pattern.

He didn't respond instead he withdrew with a heavy sigh. When he moved back to his bed, I yanked my sleeve down and tucked my arms around my chest. I had to admit I felt a little violated.

"What the fuck was that about?" I asked again, louder this time.

"This isn't a dream," he replied finally, stern, and straightforward. His words only made me chuckle before he stood and took a giant step towards me, making me swallow my laughter. "This is not a laughing matter. You cannot think this is a dream, doing so will get you killed, and you will never see your home again."

For once I couldn't say anything. I found myself at a loss for words. Part of me didn't want to believe him, but everything seemed too real to be brushed off as a dream anymore. I'd just have to wait and see then if his words panned out.

"We will discuss this further another time, along with who you are. For now, it's best you get some rest," he stated as he retreated to his bed and sat on it.

I blinked blankly across at him before I forced a stiff nod and then began to slip under my blankets. Before I laid down, I checked across to him to see him still sitting up, refusing to lie down. I couldn't be the only one sleeping here, he needed it as well.

"You should sleep too," I muttered, and then slid down onto my back.

I waited for him to listen to my words, but as I did, my eyes began to droop shut. The last thing I had thought was how he might be right and how I was in deep fucking trouble if he was.