Trey Dowell [Dowell - Nightlight

Nightlight

By Trey Dowell

Copyright 2013 by Trey Dowell

Cover Copyright 2013 by Dara England and Untreed Reads Publishing

The author is hereby established as the sole holder of the copyright. Either the publisher (Untreed Reads) or author may enforce copyrights to the fullest extent.

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This is a work of fiction. The characters, dialogue and events in this book are wholly fictional, and any resemblance to companies and actual persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

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http://www.untreedreads.com

Nightlight

By Trey Dowell

I like your watch, Kayla says.

The voice is quiet, soft. The little girl swipes an arm across her face and tears absorb into the folds of her pajama sleeve, leaving behind clean trails on reddened cheeks. The fear, though, is not so easy to erase.

Ben knows it clings to her with frustrating tenacity, even in the daytime. He saw fear lurk above the hesitant smile Kayla wore upon arrival at the Stafford Sleep Clinic. Though his usual jokes extracted laughter, her green irises never synced with the chuckles. Ben wondered what those eyes witnessed in her dreams. What nightmare, fierce enough to drive a nine-year-old to a sleep clinic? What inner horrors so frightening, the scars carried over to the real world when Kaylas gaze turned outward?

Even now, awake and aware of her surroundings, she isnt calm. Ben doesnt need the heart rate monitors or EEG to tell him the extent of her anxiety, but they record the unfeeling, clinical picture of Kaylas brutal night: pulse and blood pressure spikes, a burst of brain activity during rapid-eye movement, and the termination of alpha-wave sleep.

Ben sees both less and more: a little girl wakes up screaming. He offers comfort that the electrodes and monitors cannot.

Thanks. My parents gave this watch to me. His smile isnt fake. Wanna see?

Kayla sniffles and nods. Ben slips the watch into her hands. Her fingers run over the silvery-gray band, then trace circles around the crystal face. Its so light. Doesnt even feel like metal.

I know. Thats titanium. But its strong enough to stop a bullet.

Kayla twists her head and looks at Ben sideways; the skeptical glance of a child used to being lied to. Serious?

Serious. And you want to see something really cool?

Kayla nods hard and fast. The fear doesnt retreat, Ben thinks, so much as curiosity jumps in front. Either way, her undivided attention makes him grin.

I have to turn off the bedside lamp, first. Is that okay?

Kayla crosses her arms and frowns. Just because I have nightmares doesnt mean Im a baby, yknow.

Ben tries to match her solemn expression. Fair enough, he says before clicking off the lamp. The instant the light vanishes, a small hand grips his forearm. Kaylas pronouncement has more bark than bite. Its okay, honey. Look here.

He points to the watch. The dozen hour markers on the face, as well as the hour and minute hands, glow in the dark room. As Bens eyes adjust to the low light, the ghostly green rays illuminate Kaylas face. Her smile threatens to beam as bright.

Cool, she whispers. I used to have glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling in my bedroom, but they didnt shine like this.

Lemme guessthe stars glowed for a little bit, then faded away?

Kayla nods. Yeah. They lost their juice pretty quick. I had to shine light on them again to make them work.

Right. Well, my watch isnt like that. See all those markers around the dial? Those are actually miniature glass tubesand each one is filled with gas that always stays lit, no matter what.

The little girls head tilts. Gas? Like for a car?

Different kind of gas, sweetie. But the coolest thing is that the gas in those tubes will stay this bright for at least twenty years. Can you imagine? Thats way older than you are.

Is that older than you, too?

Ben laughs as he puts his watch back on. I wish it was.

* * *

Kaylas breathing and pulse return to normal. Ben tucks her back in.

Mr. Gardner?

His brow crinkles at the mention of his last name, until he remembers the nametag. Call me Ben.

Ben, could you stay with me while I sleep?

Honey, I have to watch from the observation room, where all of the testing equipment and machines are. Its just down the hall, but dont worryI can see you the whole time. He points to the white camera nestled in the corner, near the ceiling.

Kayla lies still beneath the smoothed sheets. With electrodes stuck to her temples and wires leading off behind the bed, she looks like a nervous cyborg. Okay, she whimpers.

Ben reaches the door and pauses. He knows what to do: give a reassuring smile and return to the monitors. Hes a technician, not a psychologist. The data gleaned from Kaylas stay will go in the hands of someone far more qualifiedsomeone who can ask the right questions. Questions like the one which slowly, inexorably pulls Ben away from the door, back to the frightened girl.

What do you dream about, Kayla? Whats so scary?

He brushes a lock of blonde hair from her forehead.

Monsters, is all she says.

Id tell you theyre not real, but I guess a few people have said that before, huh?

Kaylas eyes narrow and she turns her head, defeated. Everybody.

Okay, so I wont be everybody. Tell me about them. If you want.

She rolls back, and Ben sees the fear in her eyes come alive.

They live in the dark places. Under my bed, in my closet, in the basement. When I dream, thats where they wait for me

Ben rests his hand on one of hers, a bump submerged beneath the covers.

I try to run. I try really hard, but its like I cant remember how. Like Im slow and stupid and cant get away. They come after me. And theyre really hungry.

Standard nightmare stuff, Ben thinks. Nothing out of the ordinary. Not that it matters to a terrified kid, but still.

You always wake up before they get you, right? he says.

Yes.

Then you know theyre never going to actually eat you, right?

Yes.

So why be scared, even when youre not dreaming?

Kayla looks around the room, teeth clamping down on her lower lip. Its as though shes debating some great issue, weighing the pros and cons. Finally she turns back to Ben and whispers.

Because sometimes they come when Im awake.

* * *

Words may paint pictures, but Ben knows medical files to be poor artists. Hed scanned the report before Kayla arrived:

Subject presents repeated night terrors

Chronic pattern of sleep disturbance

Delusions related to loss of mother

The last symptom clangs in Bens memory and suddenly hes strayed into waters far too deep for a technician. He cant help but focus on the one worddelusionsand long for the simplicity of the observation room. The monitors and machines do not cry, nor do they wear anxious eyes or wavering lips. Most of all, they dont believe in monsters.