Kiss Of Death (Are You Afraid Of The Dark)

15

Now that Rachel was the only girl left in the group, she got the one bedroom all to herself. Though it was only about midday, everyone in the group decided to lay down for a little bit since most of them had not slept well ever since the disappearances started happening. The thing was, Rachel couldn't fall asleep nor try to rest at all. Her mind would not slow down as it thought about all her friends that had gone missing in -- how many days had it been? She wasn't exactly sure. It felt like forever that this had been happening, but maybe it had only been three days. Or two. Could it have been one? Her exhausted mind couldn't comprehend time anymore.

The hotel bed was large and uncomfortable. Rachel could stretch out as far as she wanted, but it still didn't change the fact that she shouldn't have been in a hotel bed in a random city in Washington. She should've been in her own bed at home, not having to worry or deal with whatever was happening to the two groups of the Midnight Society. 

Rachel thought she was done with the supernatural after she defeated Mr. Tophat. She wanted a nice life with her mom, boyfriend, and friends, where she could tell scary stories in the dark and not have to live through them. Was it too much to ask for? Was there something out there that decided that she needed to live through more than one life threatening situations? It wasn't just her, though. It was her other friends that were going through this, too. However, half of them were now missing, and it was up to her and the rest of the group to find them all. 

Soft sunlight streamed through the slightly open blinds, keeping her wide awake. She stared at the popcorned ceiling above her. The bed was hard beneath her, and for some odd reason, the room was getting colder by the second. It started as a gradual decline, but then the hairs on Rachel's arms started to stand on end. She tried to move off of the bed, but there was a pressure on her chest, like something was stopping her from getting up. 

Dark tendrils circled the bed, slithering up over the side of it. Terror gripped at Rachel's heart, and a scream rose up in her throat, but the pressure stopped her from letting it out. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a shadow lurking by the edge of the window. There was something unnatural about it, like it was an animal standing on its hind feet. Her eyes widened when she saw its lips curve upward into a terrifying smile, extending further than normal.

And then the light from the sun went out. Rachel was submerged in darkness, and it took a while for her eyes to adjust. Once it did, she noticed that the unnatural being was now in her room, closer to her than before. The thing was different, though. It looked more human, more natural, and yet . . . even scarier. The being seemed familiar to her, like she had met it before. A soft yet haunting piano melody rose up as she stared at the being. She couldn't place it. She couldn't figure out why the music sounded so familiar to her. She didn't want to place it. 

The being drew closer to her, and she tried to squirm away from it. There was no use. She couldn't move a single inch. Her heart rate shot up as the being got closer, running a hand up the side of the bed. "Are you afraid, Rachel?" the voice whispered to her. Tears sprung to her eyes when she realized who it was. Mr. Tophat had found her. "I know you're scared of me, but what's your deepest, darkest secret?"

Rachel had finally found her voice. She let out a scream, and just as quickly as everything came, it disappeared. Sweet sunlight was cascading through the window, the reds and oranges of the sunset painting a picture on the wall behind her. She sat up in the bed, breathing hard, trying to remember if it had been nearing sunset when she laid down. Had she fallen asleep? Was that just a bad dream? The events started to drift away from her mind, but she knew one thing was certain: they were being followed by whatever was taking their friends. 

There was a soft knock on her door, and the sound of it nearly made her fall out of the bed. She shakily ran her fingers through her hair, trying to make sure that she looked presentable. "Come in!" she called, hoping the person didn't hear how scared she sounded.