The Sweetest Dream of the Spectral Boy

Chapter 7

Nightlight knew he was going to burn out.

Not in the sense that he would run out of energy to get by, but rather that he was literally running out of light to produce. He and Kozmotis took to hiding from the fearlings as often as possible while still searching the ship for other survivors, of which there had thus far been none. Everyone had either escaped on a pod or been cannibalized by the scourge.

They had just made their way into the hold where food was kept when a tiny squeak could barely be heard from behind a crate. Nightlight shared a look of apprehension with Kozmotis, worried that it may be another fearling, but nonetheless they cautiously pressed forward until they could see the top of someone's head- a small, quivering child with somewhat eccentric features that made it clear she was from the same planet as Kozmotis' own.

As soon as she saw them, tears started to fall from her eyes as she burst toward both of them, holding on to each of their legs and clinging as though her life depended on it. Without hesitation, both Nightlight and Kozmotis fell to their knees in attempts to comfort and quiet her, all the while fearing that the noise would bring the fearlings to them.

After many hushed words of 'it's okay, we're going to keep you safe' and similar platitudes from Kozmotis, she calmed enough to wipe her face off with her sleeve, looking to Kozmotis as she finally spoke actual words. "W-what's the-.....where's dad?"

Dread built in Nightlight's heart as the situation began to clear itself and connections were made. Granted, this was a large ship and he didn't know for sure yet, but her features and Nightlight's gut instinct were hinting that her father was...

One look to Kozmotis confirmed that this was, no doubt, the child of Kozmotis' dead friend. The absolute horror and clear understanding on his face said everything. Perhaps the worst of it was that Nightlight knew Kozmotis had to be the one to tell her, not only because he knew him, but because Nightlight was incapable of speaking now. One of the many moments that truly made Nightlight wish he could have his voice back, even if just to ease the stress on Kozmotis.

Unfortunately for everyone involved, such a thing was not to be, and they were stuck with Kozmotis' somewhat blunt answer. "Your father is dead. It's just us now, Emily."

Emily did nothing but stare blankly at them both for a few seconds, her gaze switching between them a couple times before it landed definitively on the floor, where it stayed. "I'm hungry." Her words were subdued, and she leaned her head against Kozmotis' chest, though her hand still refused to let go of Nightlight's leg, despite his attempt to pull away.

Since she seemed so keen on keeping it, Nightlight gave up getting away and instead maneuvered himself back up and reached over toward the crate Emily had been hiding behind, pressing a button on it's side to release the lock and opening it up, revealing the jars of food hidden inside as Kozmotis spoke gently. "Okay. Nightlight's getting you something, but for now, we have to keep our voices down, alright? We're going to protect you, but we all have to stay in here and not make too much noise or we'll all be in a lot of danger. Understand?"

Emily nodded her head as Nightlight handed her an opened jar, which she pulled away from both of them to grab and reach into, ravenously stuffing the somewhat lumpy and gooey substance into her mouth.

They traded the jar around occasionally, though neither Kozmotis nor Nightlight had much of an appetite. By the time the jar was halfway gone, so was Nightlight's glow. They could hardly see one another anymore, even though when they walked in, he'd lit up the room with his presence. Emily was finished eating, so she set the jar down and looked up at Nightlight, standing up and holding her head high. "Are you dim because the sun's gone?"

This question clearly caught Nightlight off-guard, but he answered nonetheless with a few affirmative nods. Kozmotis stared at him in surprise. "Your light is powered by the sun?" Another nod.

Kozmotis looked to Emily in astonishment. "How did you know that?"

Emily just shrugged proudly. "Dad said moon lights secretly run on starlight."

Truthfully, she was only half-right. Nightlight was definitely running out of light because of the lack of sun, but just being in the sun wouldn't cut it anymore with this amount of drain. There was no way he was going to get that light back once it was gone.

And it was certainly going to be gone very soon, if he wasn't careful.