Sunlight

Chapter 3: Thirst

//------------------------------//
// Story: Sunlight
// by The Albinocorn
//------------------------------//

Sunset’s alarm went off, and she slapped it until the sound stopped. She rose from her bed and stretched her arms out, yawning loudly. Aside from the odd taste in her mouth, she felt great! She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and pushed herself onto her feet. After sleeping for an entire day, she thought her muscles would be weak and stiff, but she felt incredibly limber.

“I knew it was nothing.” Sunset smirked. She threw open the blinds and recoiled at the unholy light of the morning sun. An involuntary hiss escaped her lips, and she snapped the blinds shut. “Okay, still sensitive to light. Noted.”

After the spots vanished from her eyes, Sunset wandered into her bathroom. Perhaps it was her imagination, but looking into the mirror, her face seemed a bit paler. Of course, she had been shivering under her covers for the last twenty-four hours. Her hair was a knotted mess, nothing a hot shower wouldn’t fix.

Speaking of hot showers, Sunset noted she was still particularly cold. Not freezing like yesterday, but enough for her skin to form goosebumps. A shower, and maybe a bowl of soup for breakfast. The thought of food, however, made her stomach turn. All right, just the shower then.

Sunset peeled off her fetid pajamas and stepped into the steaming curtain of water. While it drove the goosebumps away, she still felt cold deep inside. She swallowed some of the hot water to chase it away, but it only alleviated the cold for a few seconds. Sunset ignored it and took to washing her hair and pulling the knots out of it.

The water felt so soothing that, were it not for school starting in half-an-hour, Sunset might have stayed in the shower all morning. She stepped out, dried herself off, and prepared for the day. When she finished grooming and dressing, she stepped over to the window and carefully pulled the curtain back.

A large group of clouds had blocked out the sun, making the light tolerable. Sunset still scrunched her nose. Perhaps she had just been inside too long and needed to slowly get readjusted. Either way, she hoped the clouds would keep the sun covered for a while.

She gathered her school supplies together and slung her bag over her shoulder. Before she stepped into the kitchen, she poked under her bed for the bat.

Nothing.

Sunset scratched her head, wondering how it could have gotten free. The shoebox was one thing; how did it get out the apartment. Sunset shrugged. It wasn’t her problem now. She paused in the kitchen, trying to determine if she was hungry. Her stomach made an unpleasant flop again at the thought of food, so Sunset went on her way.

The muted light still made Sunset shield her eyes. She waited a few minutes to see if her eyes would adjust. If anything, the longer she stood outside, the more they seemed to burn. She ran back inside and grabbed the sunglasses she kept in her drawer. They had been a little gift from Flash when they had gone to the beach, though Sunset had only worn them that one time. She wasn’t sure why; they were pretty stylish.

Sunset slipped them on and the light became bearable again. Checking her phone, she found she had twenty minutes left until the first bell, and rushed to her bike. Perhaps it was the spike of adrenaline she had from realizing she might be late, but Sunset felt like she had practically glided down the stairs and across the pavement to her parking spot. It couldn’t have taken her more than five seconds.

Whatever. She started her motorcycle and raced down the road. Ten minutes later, she arrived at the school parking lot, having gotten lucky with the stop lights.

With the first bell imminent, students were beginning to flock inside the building. Sunset followed the crowd and broke off to her locker to put away her books. The locker next to hers belonged to Octavia Melody, who was currently rummaging through it with a sullen expression.