Tales of Gloomsdale #3: Awake at Sunrise

Chapter Six

I opened my mouth to scream, whether out of terror or to try to alert others, but my voice caught in my throat. I raised my arms around my trembling body, shaking all over.

The sun must have set by now. For some reason, that thought surfaced to the front of my fear-addled mind as I remembered Rosa's words. The sky had been darkening outside. And I had been in this elevator for who knows how long. It must be night by now. And that's when...

I tried to force the thought out of my mind, tried to tell myself the Dreamtaker was just a legend. But as another low knock surrounded, my paranoia returned. I forced myself to calm down, to speak to the person knocking. Maybe they were a completely normal person who had come to help me. They could be my savior.

"Hello?" My voice was low and shaky, filled with terror. "Can... can you help me?"

I jumped out of my skin as I heard a voice from outside. A woman's voice. Then I began to relax. I was right. Someone had come to help me. I had been overreacting for no reason. I felt a wave of relief wash over my body as I realized it was the receptionist lady. Then some of my unease returned as I processed the tone of her voice.

"I know how you can open the door." There was no warmth or concern in her voice, just unemotional, authoritative coldness as she gave out orders. But I supposed she was used to dealing with emergencies like this, even if there weren't many guests at the hotel. And she was trying to help me, even if she sounded like a robot. "Locate the buttons on the elevator. Press against the Open Doors symbol. Multiple times if necessary, until the doors open."

Her words caught me by surprise. Was it really that easy?

I followed her instructions, running my hand up and down the walls. I jumped as I felt my fingers brush against something, jutting out of the cold smoothness. The elevator buttons. I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of it before. I felt like an idiot.

I crouched down, observing them closely. There was a faint glow emanating from the panel in the elevator, but it barely pierced through the darkness. I struggled to make out the symbols. I leaned closer to the buttons, but that just hurt my eyes the more I tried to concentrate on them. I quickly pulled away.

I ran my hands over them, trying to decipher which was the correct one to press. I couldn't believe it was that simple. While I was panicking and freezing in terror over being trapped here, I could've already been out. Or could I have been?

"Are... are you sure?" I called uncertainly. "If I just find the right one, the doors will slide open and I'll be out of here?"

"But of course." I jumped at the changed tone of her voice. She sounded eager, almost excited. Somehow, it was even more disturbing than her robotic voice. "You will come to me. Come out!"

The way she said that made me shudder. Her voice hardened, almost lowering to a snarl as she forced out the last two words. Then she went silent.

I could've sworn I felt the temperature in the elevator drop, too. It had been almost uncomfortably warm and musty before despite the cold dread shrouding my body, like my bed upon waking up in the morning. But now it was colder and icier, like my bed late at night when every movement made my hairs stand on end. Maybe it was just my paranoia.

"I... I can't find the right one," I said, spreading my hands over the buttons. Truthfully, I thought that I had, but I wasn't sure about pressing it. "Which one is it?"

For a few moments, there was silence. Heavy, uncomfortable silence. I wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or even more panicked.

Then I heard another voice. A warm, familiar voice that made my entire body sag in relief. "Dawn, is that you? Are you in there?"

"I'm here, Mom!" I called, beginning to bang on the doors again. "I'm trapped!"

"Dawn, stop that!" Mom scolded. "You're just going to make it worse. I can't believe you trapped yourself in the elevator."

"Mom," I groaned. "Can't you save it for later?"

"Okay, okay," Mom agreed. "Did the front desk lady help you? I heard you speaking with her, but then she just disappeared."

I winced at the mention. "She... she just told me to press one of the buttons here. Then the doors would slide open."

"Well, try that," Mom suggested. "If that doesn't work, I'll find her and ask—"

"No!" I interrupted. I felt more confident escaping now that she was gone and my mom was here. I quickly pressed my shaking hand against the dimly glowing button. Then I closed my eyes tightly, praying I'd chosen the right one.

I let out a sigh of relief as I heard the doors slide open. I was too relieved to feel like an idiot for not figuring the solution out sooner. When I saw Mom on the other side, I ran into her arms. I hesitated at first. She and the receptionist lady looked kind of similar, with the same long blonde hair. But Mom was much warmer and softer.

Mom stroked my hair while I clung to her tightly. "Thank goodness, Dawn. Are you alright? How on earth did you get trapped in that elevator?"

"How should I know?" I muttered. "It should be obvious, shouldn't it? The old elevator is almost falling apart."

"I suppose you're right," Mom admitted.

When I pulled away, I heard faint sounds in the distance. The steady patter of rain. I groaned. That was just great. Usually, I liked the sound, but now it was just a reminder that I would be stuck in this place for even longer.

"Are we leaving soon?" I pleaded. "I don't want to stay here any longer. Let's get to Gloomsdale as soon as possible."

"I don't really like this place either, Dawn," Mom assured gently. "But I meant to tell you. Your father's almost finished fixing the car, but... I just called his parents, and they're not doing so well."

"What? Why?" I demanded.

"They've... well, they've gotten ill," Mom admitted. "Very ill. They caught the flu from each other, and they've been confined to bed for the entire day."

"That's horrible!" I exclaimed.

"They were worried about spreading it to us as well," Mom explained. "Since we're already at this hotel, we might as well spend a day or two more here until they get slightly better. Besides, it has started raining." I winced as the patter increased to a downpour. Even the usually soothing sound set me on edge.

"Do we have to?" I protested.

"I know, Dawnie." Mom ran her hand over my hair. "I want to get out of here as soon as possible, too. But it's only for a little longer. We might as well stay until the rain and your grandparents' illnesses die down a little. I'll just have to tell the receptionist."

"That is, if she hasn't disappeared again," I muttered.

I lay awake in bed that night, listening to the patter of rain in the background as I went over the strange events of the day. I hadn't caught sight of the mysterious girl again. I barely saw anyone in this place aside from my family. Sometimes, the sight of a stray waiter or maid wandering the halls was more unnerving than the emptiness. I never saw two or more at once – just one of them wandering around. The receptionist seemed to look slightly different every time. I even caught sight of the chef once, a chubby, pink-cheeked man who was in too much of a hurry for me to talk to him. Then I never saw him again.

I began to think Rosa had been a figment of my imagination. I couldn't see or hear her family anywhere, or find their room. Whenever I worked up the courage to ask someone about her, they'd stare at me blankly. But then, I remembered what my mom had said. She had heard Rosa knocking against the wall. So she couldn't be my imagination.

This place was giving me the creeps. I didn't know if I could handle one more night. I tossed and turned under the covers while the rain crashed down outside. Usually, the sound comforted me, sometimes even lulling me to sleep, but now, the heavy pattering just put me even more on edge. I squeezed my eyes shut, desperate to drift off before the knocking returned.

And then, my eyes shot open as I heard it.