The Hidden Gemstone

Chapter: 24

They both woke up screaming.

Xander was sweating, his hair sticking to his forehead despite how cold he actually felt. Thunder boomed outside, raindrops rattling against the window of his bedroom.

He looked around in the darkness and his breath hitched. He shut his eyes in fear of the demons he expected to emerge out of the dark. Fear racked his nerves and his body was numb with it. He knew that even a single ray of light would help him overcome the demons present in the dark, but he felt as if he wouldn’t be able to react fast enough if he tried switching on the nightlight.

Behind his closed eyelids, his father’s face flashed, the image as fresh and vivid as it had been a few hours ago. With uneven breaths, Xander pulled his legs up to his chest defensively and his hands reached up to either side of his head, grabbing a fist full of hair.

He tensed, trying to escape the demons and the nightmares. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw his father with that knife, pushing toward him, blinded by rage. But whenever he opened his eyes, fear enveloped him, urging the darkness forward. He felt as if the darkness was a door to his demons and if he stared into it for too long, they would come and devour him.

He felt like a little kid who was afraid of monsters and the dark – except all of it felt too real. His skin prickled and he stifled a sob.

Leave me alone, he wanted to say to his demons, but his voice wouldn’t work.

As his fear intensified, he jumped up from his bed and raced for the door, feeling a rush of adrenaline. He now understood how his fear was different from a little kid’s. His demons weren’t living under his bed.

They were living inside his head.

Meanwhile, across from Xander’s room, River gasped as she jolted awake and her eyes immediately searched her surroundings, looking for her sister.

She’s dead, said a voice inside her head. A drunk and scary voice. Her father’s voice.

No, she thought, immediately knowing what that voice led to. Panic and fear descended upon her. No, no, no, not you.

She’s dead! The voice hissed. I’m all there is. You can’t escape me, River. After all—

The voice dissolved into a feminine one but much more venomous and deadly. It was her demon’s voice.

—you can’t escape your own mind, can you?

River sobbed, clutching the blanket at her sides. Her neck was wet with cold sweat. Every time the thunder roared outside her window, she only heard the sound of the empty wine bottle breaking on her shoulder.

She wanted to run to someone who would hold her and protect her. Someone who would tell her they wouldn’t let her get hurt. That they wouldn’t leave her side.

But who would do that for her? Hannah was gone. Dead. There was no one in the world. Alex wouldn’t hold her as Hannah did – she was already too troubled.

How long is it going to take you to understand? The voice hissed again; this time, it wasn’t just inside her head. Her demon was beginning to take its form in front of River’s eyes. No one is going to protect you from me.

River fumbled to stand up from her bed but ended up falling off it instead. She felt for the floor, got to her feet, and bolted out of her room, hoping her demon wouldn’t follow.

Outside her room, all she saw was darkness which was the easiest path for her demon. So, she looked for light. Her eyes scanned her surroundings, looking for even a single ray of light, the slightest flicker—