The cold night drifted in like fog, bringing the SCARECROW into the zones on their nightly watch. Ghoul and I huddled together, pulling the blankets tightly around us. Our soft breaths were the only sounds in the black room. Ghoul’s arms tightened around me as he jumped from a dream. He shifted and I held him closer.
Just as I began to get comfortable, something pulled me from his arms. I flailed and tried to hit the arms gripping me. A screams came from my throat like birds set free from their cage. I tried to feel for Ghoul but my hands gripped darkness. I felt suffocated by the thick air.
“Phoenix!”
Another scream brought me back to the present. Ghoul had turned on the lamp on the bedside table, letting light embrace us both. Shadows danced in the corners of the room. I was safe, but I still felt that heaviness in my chest. I pulled my knees to my chest and sobbed. I couldn’t shake the dreams that haunted me in the night.
Ghoul reached for me and comforted me. His quiet reassurance was enough to stop the tears.
“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked.
“They came for me again.” I whispered.
The rest of the group had given up coming to check on us both. I had had nightmares since the riot. I woke up screaming each time, thrashing at the imaginary monsters. I felt bad for waking Ghoul up in the middle of the night. It wasn’t like I could stay up like he could. My body told me it was time to sleep so I did.
“You’re safe.” He said, stroking my hair. “C’mon lay down with me.”
Ghoul turned off the light next to us and held me close. He hummed softly in my ear any tune that he could remember. My shaking slowed to a gradual hault.
And then I was blinded. I tried to block the light with my hand and see beyond it. I was standing in an empty space. A figure had begun walking towards me. I didn’t feel fear. Just warmth as if I was being embraced. Like laying in the sunlight. I continued towards this figure. My mother stood before me, looking alive and well.
“Mom?”
“Adelaide.”
She embraced me. I wrapped my arms around her and began to cry.
“You’re so beautiful.” She told me, holding me at arms length. “Who is this young man you’re with? He’s handsome. Is he treating you well?”
I laughed with tears of joy in my eyes. “I love him, mom. I love him a lot. I wish you were here.”
“Addie, you have to set us free.” She whispered.
“What?”
“Our souls are trapped in the desert. Set us free, darling. So we can move on.” She took my face in her hands.
“How? Set you free how?”
She was fading before my eyes. But I knew her last words. They rang clear through my head.
“Destroy the city.”
YOU ARE READING
Death Valley (Desert Children Series #2)
Fanfiction(Danger Days/Killjoys) - The second story in the Desert Children series. Phoenix and Ghoul are starcrossed, never meant to last. Can they survive as Better Living Industries hunts them down?
