Tales of Gloomsdale #3: Awake at Sunrise

Chapter Twelve

"Jake?" Despite my terror, I couldn't help calling out his name. I winced at the sight of my brother squirming and writhing on the floor, but it wasn't the same as last time, I realized. He looked more like my little brother after falling over or running into a wall, not a weakened spirit slowly dying.

He raised his head at the sound of my voice. I scurried to the end of the bed in fear. To both my relief and confusion, his face was back to normal, pale and smooth. So was the rest of his body, with no sign of any blisters or burns. His blue eyes regained the lively youthfulness, without the lifeless coldness or predatory glint.

"Dawnie?" I jumped as he rolled over, staring up at me with wide-eyed confusion. "What..."

He looked so fragile and innocent, so much like my little brother. I slowly shifted over to him. "Jake? Is it really you?" I called uncertainly.

He groaned, closing his eyes. "I feel like I've been asleep for days... more than asleep. Like I've been in a coma." He stretched his arms, causing me to back away, but his pale skin was unmarred. "No, not even that. I feel like I've..."

"Been dead?" I suggested.

Jake opened his eyes, staring at me in surprise. Then his eyes widened as realization struck him. "Oh, yes... I remember now. It was so terrifying... don't tell Jason I said that," he added hurriedly. I was sure it was him now. Even in his terrified state, he still worried about looking cool. "I don't know how to describe it. One moment, I was there, and the next, I was getting weaker and weaker... like my life was being taken away." He closed his eyes at the memory, shuddering. "I don't know how to describe it. I was terrified, and at the same time, I wasn't. I couldn't feel anything the more that... that thing took me. Until I was completely empty. An empty piece of air. I couldn't speak, breathe, think..."

"Jake, I..." I trailed off, not knowing what to say. Instead, I held my hand out to him.

He stared at me in surprise before taking my hand. I jumped at the contact, but his skin was warm, without the icy coldness. I helped him to his feet, letting him cling to me tightly as his entire body shook in terror. Then I slowly wrapped my arms around him, holding him close. It was such a relief to see and feel my real brother. I didn't even want to think about how he had been killed and unalive for an entire day. And it was my fault...

"Then I saw that... that thing." Jake shuddered. "It could look like me, and act just like me. It was so weird and scary to see myself, without being in my body..."

"But Jason's your twin, and you see him all the time," I pointed out.

"I know," Jake admitted. "But that's different... I don't know how. At first, I told myself it was Jason I saw, but then I realized it was that thing, pretending to be me. Even though we're twins, we're two different people. There's always something different about him that I notice. But that thing was just like me... and at the same time, not like me.."

"I noticed that, too," I admitted. "Even if you two look identical, I could always tell which one was which. I should've realized something was wrong when I couldn't tell you two apart. But the Dreamtaker was very intelligent."

"I tried to warn you," Jake pointed out. "But you're right. That thing was smart. Too smart. I felt myself fading away throughout the day, getting even weaker until I couldn't make any sound. Until I was about to disappear completely. When I felt myself disappearing, that was even worse..." He began trembling even more.

I hugged him tighter. "That wouldn't have happened. You would be a shadow... unable to speak or interact with anyone, but still trapped here. Well, that wouldn't be much better..."

"Like all of the other people who were killed?" Jake clung to me tightly.

"Yes." I pulled him closer. "But you don't have to worry anymore. The Dreamtaker is gone. She was killed by the sunlight... the dying sunlight, actually. It was sunset a few minutes ago." I turned my head to glance out the window. Even though the sun was gone, it seemed brighter than the past few nights. And not just because it was so early in the night.

"Are... are you sure she's gone?" Jake whispered, staring out the window as well.

"I'm sure," I assured. "It's no wonder she was harmed by sunlight, since night is when she's most powerful and searches for new victims. And she was exposed to the sun right between those two times. But it was because of the people she killed, too. All of the shadows smothered her after the sunlight weakened her. The victims prevented her from coming back."

"Woah," Jake muttered. "I wish I could've joined in." He glanced down at himself. "Why am I back, and not them?"

Then his confusion was replaced with elation as he realized he was truly back, not an invisible ghost or looming shadow. He finally pulled away from me and jumped off the bed, dancing and leaping around the room. I watched him, thinking I couldn't blame him. "I'm back... I really am back!"

"And I'm glad you are," I agreed. "But—"

"You don't know how terrible it felt, Dawn," Jake insisted. "I was there, but not really... just a piece of air, floating through the hotel. Having to watch as the thing that killed me pretended to be me, while you and Jason talked to it like it was me..."

"Why are you back?" I echoed his question. "The Dreamtaker took several victims... all the people we saw working around the hotel. Every maid, the receptionist lady. Even that little girl I saw. Rosa. She was the last victim."

"Like that waiter who put peanut oil in my food?" Jake muttered bitterly. "Well, that explains why he tried to poison me."

"They were all victims," I pointed out. "And the Dreamtaker took on their forms to fool us. But you're the only one who gets brought back?" I paused as realization struck me. "It's because she took on your form. When the sun hit her..."

"I... I felt the sun too," Jake admitted. "It was the first thing I felt since... since this morning. It was so warm... it made me feel alive, for the first time since I was taken." He glanced down at his body in relief. "And now I am alive."

I felt relieved as well, but also slightly guilty. Jake was the only one of the Dreamtaker's victims who had been brought back to life, all because she took on his form. Probably so I would hesitate to kill something that looked exactly like my brother, I realized. It had almost worked, except that my real brother had probably witnessed the entire thing as a ghost.

I forced the thoughts out of my mind. He was back now, and that was all that mattered.

"I'm glad you're back, Jake," I said, putting my arm around him.

"I am, too." He hugged me before pulling away. "But I can't help thinking about..."

We both froze as we heard something that made both of us jump out of our skin. A knocking at the door.