Children of the Dark Dwelling

Skeptical Liar

It looks like I woke up in the middle of the night again, but I've been having these weird lucid dreams lately so I might still be dreaming. I blink a few more times, trying to adjust my eyes to the surroundings. Everything looks so different — did I sleep at a weird angle? Maybe I woke up with my head on the foot of my bed again; I always become disoriented when that happens. The light looks different too, and I know it's not the light coming from the lamp in my room. It's dimmer and a little more...yellow, like what a candle would give off.

I fix my eyes at the wall just above my head, and I can see the shadows move like someone just walked behind me as I am still laid down on my side, facing the wall. Wall that's in a different shade from my bedroom's light pink one.

I don't feel sleepy anymore, and now I'm sure this is not one of those weird dreams I'm having. I slowly turn my head to look around, suddenly alert. It looks like I'm in a school clinic and there's no electricity around. I look up, and there's no light bulbs; the only light in the room is coming from three lighted candles on a candelabra. With the partition curtains drawn aside between beds, I can see the bed beside mine and the people sitting on it. One of them is a girl who's grin is impossibly broad, it almost seems like her lips are going to rip apart from too much stretching. The other one is a boy, and he's covering his eyes with his hair that he's now combing over his forehead.

"Hurry up, she's awake! Why did you have to sweep it aside, anyway? We can't let her freak out more than enough," the girl grumbles.

"The hair's tickling my face, you know. You should try to be in my shoes for once."

"No, you should try to be in my shoes for once!"

"Then it would be a pleasure. Everyone's envious of you, just so you know. They want to be like you."

"Don't say anything more, she's listening!" She covers his mouth with her hands. Both turn to me, and I quickly shut my eyes, pretending to be asleep. Just pretend you didn't see that, just pretend you didn't hear anything, I thought over and over, trying my best to maintain an even breathing.

"You can open your eyes, we already know you're awake," the boy says. He now has his hair completely covering his eyes, but I know I'm not mistaken by what I saw mere seconds ago.

"Yes, and drink this," the girl gives me a glass of water from the desk nearby. I sit up, the bed creaking with the movement. I reach for the glass, and it's like I'm touching ice so cold it starts to feel like it's on fire that I almost drop it. I examine it gingerly, making sure if it's really safe for me to drink.

"Golly! Here we go again. Just drink it already!" The girl exclaims.

"What?" I lift my head up to look right at her gray eyes shaped like saucers. "What's going on, exactly? Why aren't I in my room? You kidnapped me, didn't you?"

"Just drink the water, and we'll answer your questions," the boy says calmly. That makes me fume. I'm starting to shake with both anger and fright. "You think I'm gonna fall for that? Maybe you put something in the water, if that's what really is in this glass."