Tales of Gloomsdale #3: Awake at Sunrise

Chapter Nine

"Did you open this window?"

I stared out the open window, the only one I had found in the vacant room. It was late in the evening, but I could see patches of sunlight waning over the darkened shadows. The shadows outside were different from inside, remaining still instead of shifting. I leaned my head out, relieved to feel the fresh air and warm sunlight. I had been spending so long in this dark, dusty hotel that I was surprised it was still light out. It always seemed like night here.

Unfortunately, Jason seemed to want to go back  to that way. I heard him cry out in terror. "Close the window! Now!"

I quickly closed the window, disappointed as the musty darkness seemed to return right away. "What's wrong?" I asked, confused.

"I didn't open that window," Jason explained nervously. "That means somebody's already been here."

"Huh?" My eyes widened in shock.

"Probably just one of the maids," Jason assured. "But it means we should get out of here."

The room didn't look too recently cleaned. In fact, it looked like it hadn't been used in years, which added to the eerie feeling as we wandered around. I felt like I shouldn't be in here. When I found my brother, I was going to kill him.

I was glancing under the coffee table, where I had found the other twin, when I felt something hit me in the head. I glanced up, wincing as I banged my head against the edge of the table. I placed the large old candle back on the dusty surface while glaring at my brother. "Jason, that wasn't funny!"

"What?" He turned to stare at me with an innocent look on his face, but I could see the twinkle in his eyes. "What are you talking about, Dawn?"

I groaned while rubbing my throbbing head. "We're supposed to find Jake, remember? We don't have time for messing around."

"Oh, right. It was me," Jason admitted, but something about his words told me he wasn't being sincere. "Sorry, Dawn."

We both jumped as we suddenly heard loud knocking in the distance. It was muffled, but just as desperate as the knocking from earlier. I quickly got to my feet, searching desperately for the exit while drawing my arms around my trembling body. There was no sound I hated more at this point.

"Dawn, wait!" Jason called as I started to head to the door. "That's Jake."

I turned to watch as he walked over to the bathroom. "It is?"

Jason pulled open the bathroom door. I hurried over, my mouth dropping at the sight of my other brother crouching next to the sink. He stared up at his twin in surprise.

"There you are!" I pulled him up and yanked him out roughly, surprised by how cold his body felt. "I've had enough of you, you idiot. Stop running off and hiding. Do you know how worried we were, or how big this place is? Mom will kill you if you disappear again."

"Huh?" He stared up at me with a confused look on his face. "I'm sorry if I worried you, Dawn. I just thought that Jake might be hiding in here." He shivered while drawing his arms around his body. "Then I kind of froze. It was so cold in there. Like a fridge."

"Huh?" I stared at him in confusion.

He glanced at his brother. "But I guess Dawn found you. She's right, Jake. You should stop wandering off."

"Cut it out," the other twin groaned. "Don't you ever get tired of playing jokes, Jake? You're always making fun of me. And you've been acting weird ever since you left the room early in the morning. I'm glad I didn't head out with you like you told me to." Now I was getting confused as well. They liked playing jokes, but usually not on each other. They fought with each other, but worked together to trick others.