Tales of Gloomsdale #3: Awake at Sunrise

Chapter Eleven

Darkness.

I opened my eyes in surprise, my heart sinking as I realized my mistake. Darkness filled the hotel room, the sunset obscured behind the ragged cloth. I was so panicked, I had pulled the curtain in the wrong direction.

I turned my head as I heard Jake's soft laughter. No, the Dreamtaker's laughter. There was a vicious, pleased grin on my brother's face, no trace of the agonized pain from before – which was probably only slightly exaggerated. Clearly, she thought she had succeeded in fooling me.

She practically had. I couldn't believe I had been so stupid. I watched as my brother's form headed over to me, seeming to lose all pain and weakness the moment the sunlight was gone and the shadows returned. There was an eager glint in the icy blue eyes, like a predator gaining on its prey. I was the prey.

I clutched the curtain tightly, both to steady myself and fix my mistake. Maybe it wasn't too late. But I had a feeling it was. I had waited too long, been distracted by the Dreamtaker's act for too long.

"Thank you, Dawn." I jumped at the sound of my brother's voice. It sounded just like him, despite the depraved appearance. For a moment, his features relaxed into a soft smile, as if genuinely grateful. It distracted me for a moment, but I wasn't fooled this time. I knew what a good actor the Dreamtaker was. My heart sank as the shadow began growing. My real brother, trapped.

I jumped as a ray of dim light spilled into the room despite the curtain. The rays from outside had suddenly flared up, making the raggedy curtain glisten. The tattered ends looked as if they were on fire, lit by the setting sun. Almost done setting, flaring up while resting on the horizon.

I regained the determination to yank the curtain, this time in the opposite direction. And sunlight finally poured in. Bright, blinding light.

I heard the Dreamtaker's scream of terror and anger. The fiery, glowing haze filled the room like flickering flames, causing me to shield my eyes. I briefly felt panic overtake me. The explosion of light was as warm and bright as a fire, my eyes stinging from the heat.

As the fierce haze died down to a soft glow, I slowly removed my hand from my face. Then I realized the glow hadn't abated. There was another glistening, pale light, piercing through the burning haze. It was almost soft, like the light from a flashlight, except much stronger. Then I realized what it was.

The Dreamtaker. It was sunset, the bridge between night and day, the time between her transformations. And she had been exposed to the sun's dying light. Now this was her dying light.

As the shimmering light increased until it was almost as piercing as the yellowish haze, I shielded my eyes as I fell back onto the bed. I could see the white behind my eyelids, slowly taking over the dying sunlight until it was the only light remaining in the room.

My heart sank as I realized the sun had finished setting. Then I realized the Dreamtaker was fading, too. The bright light flared and flickered on and off, as if struggling to remain. But it was slowly put out, replaced by darkness. Replaced by shadows, I realized. The shadows smothered annd snuffed out the light, the victims overtaking their killer until the light was gone..

Finally, the room was dark and silent again. But not as dark as before. There was still a dim light, a soft glow from the night sky outside I could see beyond my eyelids. It seemed to illuminate the room in a way it never had been before. My eyes ached from the piercing lights even though I had kept the closed the entire time. My heart pounding frantically in my chest, filling the silence of the room. I lay on the bed, too afraid to move. I covered my face with my arm, hoping this was all a terrible dream.

I opened my eyes in shock as I heard sounds from below me. Soft, pained groans as somebody struggled on the carpet. They were familiar, and at the same time, they weren't. They weren't as inhumane and animalistic as last time. It really sounded like a child in pain. Like...

I was afraid to look below, afraid of what I'd see. But I had to. I glanced down... and gasped in shock.

It was Jake. The body of my little brother, lying completely still on the floor while his brown curls fell onto the carpet. Then, he began to stir.