The Amber Shadows

Chapter 4

The Amber Shadows - Chapter 4

It's her. The same woman I see nearly every night. She looks like she always does, with beautiful, long blond hair, puppy dog eyes and soft pink lips. She stares into my eyes and I into hers. For a split second, everything seems fine. It's peaceful. There's no noise, no people. Just me and her. I want to speak to her so badly. I try so hard to open my mouth and ask her who she is, why she's here, but my lips are stuck together. I try to move towards her, but before I know it, she disappears, and I'm falling into a pit of darkness.

***

I moan and roll onto my side, as the soft sound of the wind brushing against trees fills my ears. I feel so warm and cosy. I just want to fall back to sleep. Maybe I could stay here forever, in my bed. That would be nice... My body starts to wake up when the smell of bacon hits me, and my stomach rumbles. Dad must be making lunch or something... But Dad doesn't cook.

My eyes flutter open. The room I'm in is dimly lit. I can see the shadows of trees outside slowly dancing in the wind. I'm lying in a bed in the corner of a small room, which I can hardly see. I make out a small wardrobe next to me, a bookshelf on the left and a large rug that covers almost half the floor. The door opposite me is slightly open, letting through a small amount of light coming from the next room.

My heart speeds up. This isn't my bed and this certainly isn't my room. As I try to get up, my head instantly starts spinning, pinning me back down to the bed.

What the hell? My whole body is sore and aches. I push the thick bed sheets to the side. I feel awful. My arms and legs are heavy, my neck can hardly hold up my head which is aching and spinning madly. My heart speeds up again, as footsteps sound in the room next door.

Using the small amount of strength left in my arms and legs, I stand up. I'm still wearing my pyjama pants and this awful green sweater. My feet shuffle slowly across the wooden floor. Slowly, I push the door open.

On the other side is a small and rather cute little vintage kitchen. The cupboards and walls are all painted a light shade of green and there's a small table, which is covered with plates of bacon and eggs and bread.

"Finally," says a voice next to me. "I was about to wake you up by throwing a large bucket of water over your head. Good thing you got up before."

I turn and see a tall, dark figure standing over the stove cooking what looks -and smells- like sausages. When he turns, my eyes go straight to his. Everything comes back to me. Last night, my Dad, the truck, the ghosts, the demons, the scars, the Hunters – and Jake.

"Jake..." I murmur under my breath.

"Well done, extra points for remembering my name. Now sit down and eat."

He's quick to reply. Jake empties the sausages onto another plate before and adds them to the collection of food already on the table. He takes one of the two chairs and sits down.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" he asks in a sarcastic voice.

I catch a glimpse of the scar on his hand. It hits me.

"It was real. I was all real," I say.

Without even looking at me, Jake starts piling loads of food onto his plate. He grins and says:

"Yes, demons and ghosts exist and you're a Hunter. Oh, and your Dad's missing. Now get over it, sit down, and eat."

I stare at him for a moment, whilst he starts to eat most of the food on the table. Finally, I grab a chair and sit. Jake smiles and looks up at me.