Skyline Gang: Trial of Darkness

Chapter 8

Thanks for the 100+ reads!

The morning came too soon.

After his horrific night terror, Dude could barely sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he woke back up at almost every noise. He jumped at shadows, unable to keep it together for one night. He kept staring at that spot where Dawn was, as if she were to just reappear. By time Dude finally got to sleep, his alarm went off about three hours later. He wanted to sleep but his usual routine kicked in. He got up, got dressed in a tracksuit, and went for his morning run. Staying in routine seemed to help a little. Running cleared his head, it made him forget a little. Running by the sea, being almost hypnotised by the sound of waves was more than enough. It reminded him that he was awake, and no longer was surrounded by darkness.

However, that feeling changed when he returned to the house. The waves could no longer comfort him. They reminded him of how close to him that witch was when he awoke. He still didn't understand. Dawn had not been mentioned for months. No one needed to think about her for a while. And yet, Dude still had that haunting nightmare about her. He was the closest to being killed out of everyone by her. She laid the honey of the trap. She made him and the Gang compete for their lives, and yet she tried to kill them all, with Dude being choked and the others were almost impaled. They were lucky enough to still be alive thanks to the spirit of the old Skyline Gang's leader showing up to stop her. She was defeated, gone.

So why can't she just stay that way?

Dude took a sip of water, trying to forget even further of his nightmare. Rainbow was standing right next to him since he was accidentally woken up. Dude couldn't focus on him. He just needs to clear his mind. Think back to his run. Think back to his routine. Just remember the waves. Use that to keep everything locked in. Keep it together! Just keep it all away! Don't think about it! However, there was this feeling that persisted him. There was this noise in his ears. Such an awful rumbling. A pulling sensation. His vision was starting to blur. His nightmare still plagued him.

Dark. Why was it so dark? Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!

"Dude?"

A small scream came from Dude. That voice was tired, but strong enough to reach him. Rainbow jumped back from his reaction. He spun around, almost expecting to see Dawn right behind him. Only she never called him by his name. Just "pipsqueak". His heart slowed to a steady pace when he saw Mimi standing in the doorway. She was wrapped up in her dressing gown and her hair was tangled after just waking up.

"Oh! It's you, Mimi." Dude panted, hand over his heart. "What are you doing awake?"

"Believe it or not but I'm usually up at this time. Do you not know how long it takes for me to get ready in the morning?" Mimi frowned, inspecting a messy tangle in her hair. Dude honestly couldn't say that he was surprised. Mimi put a lot of pride in her looks, especially if she had such fabulous standards. However, it didn't divert her attention from Dude's shocking actions. "Are you okay?"

"Fine. I'm fine." Dude automatically said. No, he wasn't fine. He was kicking back into a bad habit. Before everything calmed down with Dawn, he always bottled up his stress and worries. He even started doing it out of reflex and had no control over it. It almost cost him everything. Since defeating Dawn, he started to not hold everything in so much. He had gotten better at it. He'd open up every now and then when it started to get too much. However, his nightmare suddenly caused him to take several steps back. Now all of a sudden that instinct to hide had reared its ugly head. Mimi seemed to notice the change. She stood right in front of Dude, folding her arms impatiently. Rainbow stood next to her as insurance for Dude to stay where he was standing.

"You're a terrible liar." She concluded.

"That obvious?" Dude raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms similarly to Mimi.