He would go to sleep. He would make himself do it. He would figure out more in the morning. Now was not the time. That's what Aaron told himself as he scurried back to his room.

There was something about the face, the feet, the door, that scared him. Really scared him.

And it almost felt like all the shadows on the walls was watching him, waiting, spying. This motivated Aaron to walk faster to his room, dashing up the stairs and climbing back up the bunk bed ladder.

But, before he fell back asleep, he took one glance at the bed below him, wishing that Mya could just be there. She still wasn't. Her form was nowhere to be found in the dark masses of blankets splayed out on the bottom bunk below him.

Why can't she be there?

All the blankets on her bed were scattered about in a frenzy as if she had flung them aside in a hurry. They were all crumpled everywhere.

Aaron hadn't seen or heard anything else in the house except for the sound of the drill and the feet. It was all so very suspicious. Where could she be?

Aaron felt his heart thump faster with fright. His fingernails drove hard into the wood of his bed frame.

No. He needed to calm down. This wasn't the time to worry. If he could just go to sleep and wake up everything would be fine again.

"Please." He muttered, lying back down in his bed and shutting his eyes tight. "Please just let me go to sleep."

And, as soon as Aaron's heart slowed and as the tension lifted from him, his wishes were met, and he fell into a deep sleep. And, yet again, he woke into a dream.

His eyes flew open and he sat up, hoping that he had woken up to a morning with the birds singing. Hoping that he could look down and see Mya resting peacefully, blankets curled around her.

Unfortunately, he did not wake up to that. Instead of morning light filling his vision, only a vast expanse of impenetrable blackness filled his vision, leaving him feeling cold once again. The things that scared him the most were its menacing silence, the feeling that it watched him, the feeling that it was alive. It filled every space around him except for one in front of him. Aaron wasn't the only one in this expanse.

In front of him, hands and legs bound by ropes to a tiny red chair, was his little sister, Mya. She sat there, motionless, a large, gray square of duct tape placed over her mouth. Her normally bright, strawberry red hair was dull like rust and brittle. Her face reminded him of Lucy's frozen, colorless face. She looked so skinny, like a stick, so fragile. And she looked lifeless, dead, eyes closed and skin pale. She looked sick, and that cold feeling intensified as Aaron stared, horrified, at her.

"Mya? Mya!" Aaron yelled, panic rising within him. Why wasn't she moving? Why did she look like that?

Breathing heavily, Aaron dashed over to his sister and skidded to a stop when suddenly, she woke, her glassy eyes shooting open. It seemed an effort for her to pick up her head. She tried to struggle against the ropes that tightly bound her, twisting and turning. Although her struggles were no use since she was too tired and weak.

Aaron saw tears like pearls gather at her eyes and race down her cheeks like stars. She knew she couldn't get out. She needed Aaron's help.

For a moment, Aaron stood there dumbly, something sharp piercing his heart at the sight of his sister bound that way. He felt hurt, so deeply hurt inside that he he was frozen.

But this was a dream. He had to remember that. None of this was real. And yet it felt strange, so vividly real.

The sound of his sister trying to scream despite the duct tape covering her mouth woke him from his thoughts. He had to help her. He had to save her.

Aaron started walking toward Mya, then sprinted. He was almost there, almost there to untie her and return her safely back home. If he could reach out he could probably touch her.

Just as Aaron ran up to her something suddenly blocked his way. Something swelled within the blackness, like a ripple in the expanse, before surging out like a wave in front of him. A black blob stood in front of him, pulsating like a heart.

Except it wasn't a blob. It shifted into a tall, lanky form with long, shadowy claws instead of fingers. Branch-like growths emerged from its head, sticking straight up like spikes. Its form shifted like fog in and out of the blackness around itself. And there-there were its two white eyes. Eyes that glowed at him bright as daylight and as dark as a moonless night.

They didn't just stare at him, its eyes watched him, they knew him, they wanted him. Aaron could see the evil in its eyes, it's a hunger for others pain.

Aaron felt the cold sensation stronger than he ever had before. It was like ice has closed around him, pressing hard against his skin so he felt cold and numb. He couldn't move in its presence. It froze him as its eyes met his.

Whatever it was, it reminded him of death.