Eve responded. Tomorrow we go to the queen's place. She took a deep breath.
Are you sure? Naomi asked.
Eve slowly fell asleep at the edge of the room. The kind of sleep where your body shuts down but your mind won't let you rest.
Naomi and Soren stayed awake.
The silence took over until Naomi broke it.
You just don't sleep ever. That sounds painful.
He deflected. Aren't you supposed to be sleeping? Should I be scared?
Stop avoiding the question, Naomi said.
Honestly, it seems fine. Not as bad as people make it sound. I get my rest with minimal movement. Days I do nothing feel like sleep to me. Though I do wish I could. He said the last part with a small laugh.
At least we have you awake watching us. I'll have better dreams knowing you're watching than with Eve. Even in my dreams she's a nightmare. Naomi laughed too.
She took a deep breath. The cold of the night covered the room. The crickets sounded like they were screaming.
What do you think about saving the sanctuary? Do you think we can?
He paused. She could tell he hadn't expected that question.
It took him a while. Long enough for the crickets to talk.
When his voice filled the room again, he replied:
I don't know if we can. Two weeks ago I didn't think I'd die in someone's cabin. But here I am, trying to save lives. All I can say is my papa will be proud of me. Wherever he is.
Naomi responded. Yeah, but it's better than doing nothing.
Also, your papa. What do you think happened to him?
As she said those words, she could tell it made him uncomfortable. She quickly wrapped it up, her voice filled with haste and regret.
Oh, it's late. Very late. We can continue... with a voice that wanted to take back the question.
Soren was confused. He kept telling her it was fine, but she felt uncomfortable for making him uncomfortable. She stood up to go lay next to Eve.
Eve woke up feeling someone next to her. Naomi closed Eve's eyes and whispered, Shh. Sleep. It's me.
Eve responded in a grumpy sleep voice. Get off. Ugh. Mmm. Shh.
As Soren watched, he felt a little less heavy. More lightweight. Like he'd just had sleep. But he stayed up through the night, talking to himself. At least that's what someone might think.
He saw the woman watching over the sisters. He decided to step outside and take a walk.
The cricket noises felt like a whole conversation he was interrupting. He could hear every insect's footsteps. To him, night still looked like day. He only knew it was day or night based on what people started doing.
He took a long walk until his legs failed him.
A few steps from where he rested, he could see a figure training. He stared for a couple minutes, trying to figure out if it was a threat. But one thing was clear: the bright pink hair. He remembered.
Before he could interrupt, a loud sound caught his attention from the storage area. A view away from where he was. He decided to go.
At this moment, he felt something. Someone trying to stop him. The ghosts present, trying to communicate.
In their eyes, literal dread. Something they wanted him not to see.
But their words fell flat. Or was it that he couldn't hear them? He still followed his curiosity.
As he turned to look back at the pink-haired figure, she was gone.
As he got closer to the storage, his heartbeat grew louder. His breathing filled the empty space. Anxiousness drawn on his face.
The closer he got, the less he could hear the sound.
His string of thought broke. He felt like his head was playing tricks on him.
As he turned to walk away, a doll ran out of the storage room. With something.
But he didn't notice. He decided to keep walking. He kept talking to himself with no responses. And on the ghosts' faces: relief.
They talked within themselves. But not to him. Or was it to him? He couldn't hear them.
As he slowly got lost in the darkness.