Good Night | Dreamcatcher [COMPLETED]

26

i'm sorry it's been such a while! i'll try and update faster next time :P

The black silence fractured, hisses and murmurs slipping through. They were voices, not many, but enough to send a shiver of wakefulness down her spine. Slowly, each sense began to wake, too. Prickles slithered down her fingertips and the heavy, spongy feeling around her head was lessening. She could hear. She could feel. An eyelash flickered. She could see.

But it was numb. Oh, so numb.

A whisper, 'Siyeon's awake.' Speaking about her, but not to her. She got the feeling that no one was talking to anyone yet, not really. Words were exchanged, but the air was thick and clogged with tension, and no one had cut through it yet.

It took her a moment to actually see where she was. A dark room with stone walls that seemed almost cave-like, with chalk drawings of crescent moons and half-moons and full moons, and eclipses. The floor was littered with seemingly random objects; old books, weird trinkets and ornaments, bits of loose thread, jars of...

She swallowed the bile coming up in her throat and looked away. Looking away seemed to be the easiest option at the moment, anchoring the numbness to her body. Feeling would hurt too much now.

'How are you feeling?' The gentle voice belonged to Handong, who sat next to her on the floor. She was holding Dami's hand, who to Siyeon's relief was awake, albeit ashen-faced and dazed. The middle of the floor was empty, but there were people sitting around it. On Siyeon's left, there sat some unfamiliar people (six of them), opposite her was Yoohyeon, and alone in the corner...

Jiu. She was hunched over, hugging her knees with pale arms and unmoving. She faced away from everyone, staring blankly into the dark wall. Her face was expressionless, but her eyes held a haunted look, and the darkness cast shadows over her face. She looked so small, her head partially tucked into her knees.

The whole room screamed misery. Looking away was the easiest option, but there was no away. Everywhere she looked there was pain. She could feel eyes on her, especially the ones opposite her, but she avoided their gazes and stared at the grey floor. It was grey upon grey, with a hint of grey. She realised, it was what she was feeling right now.

'Grey,' she replied tonelessly, and it was the truth. There was no other word to describe how she felt. Reluctantly, she looked to her right, and Handong's big, shining eyes stared back at her. No, not eyes — eye. Siyeon startled. 'W-what happened to your...'

Handong instinctively lifted a frail hand to the eyepatch covering her left eye, but shook her head, gaze flickering to Jiu. Siyeon opened her mouth, then closed it, the reality of how much she didn't know dawning on her. She'd been through a lot, but what had happened to the others during that time? The forest had ripped them apart, and Siyeon was sure there were some things she'd never find out. So she sat in silence.

'Everyone's awake now,' said Handong suddenly, fixing a piercing stare on the six guys sitting at the side. With a jolt, Siyeon realised that they were dressed exactly like the people who had chased them through the forest, except now they were unmasked. So that meant she was sitting in a room with not just one, but six more vampires... She supressed a shiver, wishing her heart would stop hammering her chest. Handong continued, 'so that means you're going to tell us everything about this forest, N. Everything.'

'N' narrowed his eyes, and Siyeon noticed his face was bloody and bruised. Handong's tone wasn't gentle, and Siyeon had a horrible feeling that they knew each other somehow. They seemed to have a quick tug-of-war with their eyes, and then N took a deep breath and spoke:

'I'm assuming you are all familiar with the story of the Garden of Eden. How the serpent tempted Eve, and how she and Adam brought sin and punishment upon mankind. Not a lot of people are religious nowadays, and neither am I, but I know for a fact that this particular story is real. But what most people don't know, is that after the couple were banished from Eden, it turned into something else. It was no longer an idyllic paradise, but an evil, supernatural hell, rife with sin. And it was also no longer a garden, but a forest. A forest which at first glance is normal, until the thorns grow and block the exit, and until you are directed to the House of Nightmares.