I’ve never felt so alive!

  Nicolas’ heart was pulsing with excitement, sending waves of anticipation through his body. They were cutting through an alley: But unlike the last one he had run through, this alley was dark and long, like the drug dealer kind.

  Ryan’s fingers were still locked through Nicolas’ as they stepped through the darkness, making his face burn with a strange shyness. Nicolas had no idea where they were going, but something told him they weren’t lost.

  Ryan squeezed Nicolas’ hand tighter, stopping suddenly.

  “What’s wro—”

  “Kako,” Ryan hissed, interrupting Nicolas as he pulled him back the way they were coming from. He followed without protest, even though he hadn’t seen anything. He couldn’t have seen anything considering the starless sky and the moon hiding behind the clouds; but maybe Ryan had seen something. Or maybe he felt something; the way Nicolas had felt the coldness in the air the last few times he’d encountered the kako. Nicolas followed as Ryan turned, moving into a gap between two buildings, like an alley within the alley.

  They were in almost complete darkness by now, besides the pale night sky lit with light pollution.

  Once they hit a dead end, they ducked down, the silence ringing in their ears as they listened for any signs that the creature had seen them.

  They waited for what Nicolas guessed was at least ten minutes, but he hadn’t dared to check his phone, since the light would no doubt give them away. He could feel his own pulse in his head, his blood pumping in his temples and through his neck as he held his breath, half-expecting to be brutalized by some supernatural monster any moment now, but nothing happened.

  “Do you think it’s clear now?” he whispered to Ryan, breaking the intense silence at last.

  “If he saw us, we would’ve already been dead,” Ryan replied with a quiet laugh.

  Then, they carefully rose to their feet and began quietly moving out into the long gap in the city.

  The darkness made the alley look spooky, blurs of shadows lay ahead, and it wasn’t until they were almost right beside them that Nicolas recognized the shadowy shapes as trash bins.

  “Let’s hurry back before the sun rises.” Ryan pointed toward the sky on Nicolas’ left, and when he turned his head, he could see the sky beginning to change from black to an almost navy blue.

  “How long have we been out here?”

  “No telling,” Ryan replied. “I guess time flies when you’re having fun, right?”

  Nicolas smiled. “Totally.”

  ***

  A single star remained idle in the dawn sky. Nicolas guessed that it was most likely a planet: Saturn maybe?

  The little freckle of light only got harder to see as the sky brightened, the clouds causing the heavens to look like a dark blue and gold swirl of color as Ryan pulled Nicolas to the left, and finally, they were at the abandoned hotel where Ash and Kevin would be.

  I hope they haven't noticed we're gone, Nicolas thought to himself as they neared the building that looked more like a haunted house than a hotel.

  "Do you think they'd get mad if they knew we snuck out?" Nicolas asked.

  "You mean that you snuck out? I simply followed you, remember?"

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  "Yeah," Nicolas replied. "As I was sneaking out."

  "You think you're so funny," Ryan turned his head away, but not before Nicolas saw the smile he couldn't hide. "Let's just get inside before they wake up."

  They still had plenty of darkness to keep them hidden, but it wouldn't stay that way long. Ryan went ahead, moving as silent as a cat through the shadows. And combining that with his black hair and clothes, he made Nicolas stand out like a sore thumb, with his baby-blue shirt.

  Finally, they made it to the building, where they began climbing the stairs. In the hotel's shadow, it was completely dark, making Ryan even more invisible. Sometimes, Nicolas could almost make out the outline of Ryan's face or arms, but only barely.

  Nicolas' echoless footsteps were the only ones he could hear.

  They continued up the spiraling staircase until they came to the second floor, where they turned out onto the balcony walkway and began passing the countless broken doors that appeared as though they hadn’t been used in years.

  The sky was getting even brighter now, and the remaining stars had been quenched by the dull blue and gold light, and rays of sunlight were starting to touch the tops of the skyscrapers.

  Nicolas and Ryan wasted no time. They continued forward, passing various old hotel doors, cobwebs collected on some of them, while others had rust-coated handles and hinges.

  They continued until they finally came to the room, and when they did, Ryan turned around and touched his index finger to Nicolas' mouth to tell him to be quiet.

  “If they catch us sneaking in, how long will it take for them to know it's us?”

  Nicolas thought about the possibility that they might scare Ash or Kevin if they were awake, or worse, that Ash or Kevin would think they’re kako.

  Ryan turned back to the door and quietly placed his hand on the knob.

  It clicked loudly as he twisted it, making him stop in place for a few moments. Then, he carefully pushed the door forward.

  It slid open with almost no sound, letting only a thin line of light into the dark room beyond.

  Nicolas followed as Ryan tip-toed inside, moving as quietly as a feather.

  Goodbye freedom, Nicolas thought to himself, remembering how suffocating the darkness had felt.

  It was fun while it lasted.

  Once they had stepped inside, Ryan turned around, closing the door just as quietly as he'd opened it, before letting out a long breath of relief that was all too early.

  "Did you two have a good time?"

  Nicolas' heart skipped a beat as Kevin's voice pierced the silence. He flinched hard, the way he did when he and Ash used to watch horror movies together.

  "You could have at least told someone where y’all were going."

  “Sorry,” Nicolas replied, his heart still recovering from the jump scare. "I- just wanted some fresh air," he defended himself.

  "Yeah," Ryan added. "No offense dude, but it's kinda like a cave in here."

  "And what if one of those monsters followed you?" Kevin snapped, and Nicolas realized it was the first time he’d heard him angry. The tone caused Nicolas to flinch, and a pang of guilt flooded over him as he thought of those words. What if a kako had followed them? They would’ve found Kevin, and Ash, and none of them would be safe anymore.

  Neither Nicolas or Ryan answered him. Instead, they all sat there in the dark, silent hotel room for a few more moments.

  "Look,” Kevin said at last. “Obviously I can’t control what you guys do: But the kako are smarter than most people realize, and I don’t think going outside is a good idea for you.” He gestured to Nicolas as he said you. “I don’t know what you did to anger them, but whatever it was, the kako gotta be pretty mad to chase y'all all the way from Portland to here.”

  “We were careful,” Nicolas told Kevin, though he knew that there was no point in arguing.

  Kevin took a long inhale, then released it. “I’m sorry for yelling. I just… don’t like the thought of the kako hurting anyone else: Especially those I’m supposed to be protecting.”

  Nicolas wondered if Kevin was still talking about him, or if he was remembering something else entirely. “Look, just promise me y’all won't go outside alone again, okay?”

  “Okay," Nicolas and Ryan both said in unison.

  “Good.” It wasn’t until the accent had returned that Nicolas realized that Kevin had been talking without the weird, fake accent. He listened as Kevin’s footsteps grew distant, then the sound of the door to not-so-wonderland creaking closed. “Well that could’ve been worse,” Nicolas said with a sigh.

  “Yeah,” Ryan agreed.

  And for some unknown reason, Nicolas couldn’t stop smiling, and he wondered to himself if he had lied to Kevin.

  He thought about all the places in Seattle they could’ve explored, but didn’t have the time.

  But we did make a promise, right? And was that tiny rush of freedom worth putting everyone in danger?

  The logical part of Nicolas’ brain whispered as he tried to reason with himself, but as it turns out, his foolish side was louder.

  “Hey,” he whispered to Ryan, as quietly as he could. “How seriously do you take promises?”