The Girl of Shadows [COMPLETE]

Twenty-Two

["Some people survive in chaos and that is how they grow. And some people thrive in chaos, because that is all they know." -Nikita Gill]

Somehow I managed to pass out. Not unconscious passed out, more like in the tranquil state of slumber. My eyes fluttered open to a dark room and a blaring television screen. For a minute I had to process everything, feeling the consequence of sudden sleep. My head ached, though it wasn't enough to bother me at all. I propped myself up on my shaky and weak arms and grunted from feeling achy. Then I noticed something odd, something that threw me off.

Niko was gone.

His bedsheets were messily sprawled across the bouncy surface, leaving no trace of the vanishing boy anywhere. That woke me up, that's for sure.

I frantically looked around, practically jumping out of the bed in fear. I felt so anxious that I forgot to put slippers on, instead dragging my bare feet across the dirty blue carpet. I felt a sense of vertigo as all the doors lined perfectly against the bare white walls. So even, yet so terrifying.

I speed walked down the quiet hall, feeling my feet shuffle against the roughness of the flooring below. I wanted to go back and put something on, whether that be socks or slippers. But I ignored that desire, for my brother was out of my sight and I had nothing to do about it.

Damn it, Niko, where the hell could you be? You know you're not supposed to leave without telling someone. We all know what happened last time one of us did that...

My thoughts made my anger towards him grow as much as I processed them. His disappearance was utterly frustrating.

I managed to check each floor efficiently, making a full circle to the elevator every time. The top floor was the one I had left and I was there before I knew it.

Instead of rooms, there was a lounge area, giving a perfect view of the dimly lit city that lay beyond the enormous modern style glass windows. I was mesmerized by the open and light colors of the large room, finding my attention diverted to a door cracked open to the rooftop staircase. Could it really be?

I slowly paced to the mysterious entry, intimidated by the stairs that looked steep and hefty. I gulped as my foot touched the cold stone texture of the first step. It was beyond what I imagined what I felt, acting as if enormous ice blocks served as stairs. It hurt for a while, but I made it to the summit as I blinked once. My lungs felt overworked from the mountainous structure I climbed on. And then he was in my sight.

I guess my pathetic panting startled him, as he was facing me so fast. He chuckled and motioned for me to join him in his bewildered viewing.

"So, you found me." He said. I scoffed.

"If you'd call a manhunt easy, I'd have to check you into a mental hospital," I punched his bended arm, "You know you're not supposed to be alone like that!"

"Yeah, well, you seemed so peaceful. And I know how you act when I'm asleep, so I tried to return that respectively."

"Why not ask the others?" I replied, sharp and electric-like.

"Don't know them well enough. For all we know they stole the Talisman they possess and pose as one of us. At any given moment they could pounce and it'd be game over."

"Your trust issues are a little concerning." I said, somewhat in a joking matter, though he didn't see the serious aspect of it. I guess I masked it a little too well.

"Sometimes they can be a good thing. Don't be too quick to guarantee something about someone. Hell, I barely trust our siblings. And we have lived together since the day they arrived at our house."