Tales of Gloomsdale #3: Awake at Sunrise

Chapter Four

After a late breakfast or early lunch that was delivered to our front door by what seemed to be the only waiter in the hotel, I headed out of our room. I wanted to stay out as long as possible. But the rest of the hotel wasn't much better. It was as empty as it had seemed at night, the long halls looming ahead of me. It was as cold as last night too, the icy chill lingering behind me as my footsteps echoed through the empty hall. The shadows seemed to follow me as they shifted and flickered in the dim light. It was a ridiculous thought, but I couldn't shake the unease as I saw the dark shadows trailing behind me.

It was only when taking the elevator down to the lobby that I saw other signs of life. The woman at the front desk, her head bowed and her hair falling over her face. For a moment, I considered approaching her, asking about the sounds I had heard. But I decided against it. She was probably busy, and I wasn't confident enough to just start talking to her.

And then, she raised her head and stared directly at me. I felt a chill run down my spine as her icy blue eyes bore into me, looking me up and down. I thought she was going to say something, but she didn't. I quickly turned and walked away.

It was an awkward moment, but I was quickly overcome with unease over the emptiness. There didn't seem to be anyone else here. Who had been knocking last night?

I felt a flash of both relief and unease when I found new people. After what seemed to be endless empty halls and rooms, seeing new people was both frightening and satisfying. It was an Asian girl and her mother. My relief overtook the unease when I realized I recognized them. It was a girl from my school, Natalie Chen.

"Natalie! I can't believe you're here," I exclaimed. "I never thought I'd see you again after you moved."

She turned to stare at me. "Oh. Hi, Dawn. I'm surprised to see you, too."

"We'd better get going now," Mrs. Chen remarked. "The summer camp can't be far."

"We passed Gloomsdale, didn't we?" Natalie asked. "I wish we could've stopped to say hi to Alex."

I jumped in surprise. That was where my grandparents lived. Alex was her brother, who lived with her dad.

"Your brother lives there?" I exclaimed. "That's where my family and I are headed."

"Really?" Natalie asked. "I visited my brother there a while ago. But now I'm headed to summer camp."

"How far away is it?" I asked eagerly. "My parents want to get there as soon as possible. My grandparents live there, you know."

"Pretty far," Mrs. Chen admitted. "We drove for a while before finding this place. Then again, I think we got lost."

I sighed, disappointed. "Have you seen my grandparents there?"

"Sorry, I don't think so," Natalie said. "I only visited for a little while, and my brother's house is at the edge of town."

"Well, we'd better get going, Natalie," Mrs. Chen announced.

"Can I ask something?" I called. "Um, did you hear any... knocking on your door? I mean, aside from the maids?"

"Huh? What do you mean, Dawn?" Natalie asked.

"I mean, at night," I explained. "Did you hear anyone knocking?"

"No. I was fast asleep, thankfully," Natalie said. "I went camping recently, and I kept getting woken up by the howls in the woods." She shuddered. "It's nice to get a good night's sleep for once."

I sighed in both relief and disappointment as they left. I wasn't sure if I wanted other people to experience the same terror I had in order to know I wasn't hallucinating.