Page 6 of Black Hollow: Awakening

September 3 | Tuesday

The sound of an alarm.

Will slid to the edge of the bed and reached for his nightstand, trying to find his phone. When he finally managed to turn off the alarm, he let out a long yawn and…

Confusion washed over him. He sat up, trying to recall the previous day. He remembered school. And he remembered walking home from it, but nothing after that. For a moment, he was ready to believe he’d had one of those disturbingly realistic dreams and that yesterday hadn’t actually happened, but the display on his phone clearly showed September third.

He got up and peeked into Danny’s bedroom. Danny wasn’t there. So Will went downstairs to the kitchen, where Danny, busy scrambling eggs, was singing happily under his breath.

“…and I’ll never forget you… In my dream, in my dree-ee-eam… Together forever, something something, just us, just usss…”

The song was called Nocturne, and it was the best piece of music Will had ever heard in his life, though Danny wasn’t exactly doing it justice with his off-key singing.

“Danny,” he said uncertainly, sitting down at the table.

“Hey. Figured I’d beat you to it today,” Danny smiled widely at him, turning off the burner. “Want some?”

“Yeah.”

A moment later, Dan placed two plates of scrambled eggs on the table. He sat down across from Will and immediately started digging into his portion. Will was building up the courage to ask his question, but he was plagued by doubts, still trying to remember what had happened. He’d never experienced anything like this before.

“What’s with the long face?” Dan was quick to notice something was wrong.

“Why are you in such a good mood?” Will decided to change the subject for a moment. A singing, breakfast-making Danny was not a common sight.

“I got the job.” Danny beamed. “I think it’s permanent. I mean, long-term.”

“Congratulations.”

“Thanks.”

A moment of silence fell between them. Will bit his lip nervously, then finally worked up the nerve to ask:

“What time did you get home last night?”

“Hm? Sometime after ten.”

“Was I here?”

Dan gave him a puzzled look.

“What do you mean?”

“Were we doing anything together?”

“No. You were asleep.”

Will swallowed hard, a knot of anxiety tightening in his stomach.

“What is it?”

“I don’t know. I don’t remember.”

“Don’t remember what?”

“Part of yesterday. I remember walking home, and the next thing I know, my alarm was going off.”

“So, you were so tired yesterday that you just came home and crashed immediately?”