The sharp sound sliced through the frozen silence.
Davi froze, eyes wide, staring at the floor. His heart hammered against his ribs. He pulled the weak flashlight from his cartoon hero toy out of his pocket and switched it on.
Except, this wasn't a toy.
The beam revealed the source of the noise: a crushed plastic blister pack, its silver foil ripped in several places. He moved the light slowly, reading the names printed in tiny, ominous letters:
"Ambien"
"Xanax"
He crouched, fingertips hesitantly brushing the cold plastic. He gathered the two empty packs and, with the weight of that silence in his palm, walked toward his sister.
"Hey, sis..." he whispered, nudging her.
Nothing. No movement.
"Si-iis..."
The only sound in the room was the steady hum of the air conditioner. Davi's skin prickled under the exaggerated cold. The display, a pale-blue dot in the dark, glowed fifteen degrees, set to maximum power.
"Ketlen...?" His voice was barely a breath swallowed by the icy air as he poked her again.
It was instant. No yawn, no blink. She didn't move, but her eyes snapped open, wide.
Her gaze struck him: glazed, unnervingly fixed, pupils locked in the dark. They were faintly bloodshot, as if unblinking for hours, and devoid of sleep or awareness. It was a mute, animal-like alertness.
Ketlen drew in a rasping gasp.
"Mom... MOM...?!" Her trembling hands clutched her head, her breath heavy and erratic.
"No, stupid! It's me!" Davi let out a shaky laugh, trying to break the spell.
"MOM... HE—" A violent cough cut her off, and she covered her mouth.
Davi's laughter died. Confused, he focused on her wrist, which had slipped free of the blanket.
The soft skin bore a fresh, sharp mark, nearly invisible in the gloom, but framed by a halo of dark, dried blood. Suddenly, her left eye closed, slow and reluctant, as if no longer obeying her.
"Hey, sis... are you hur—?" Before he could finish, she grabbed him. Her grip on his arm was fast, painful, desperate.
"I'M SORRY... I... I PROMISE, I PROMISE, I'M SORRY... I DIDN'T... I..."
The repetition was a frantic prayer. The strength in her hand was terrifying.
"Sissy...?" Davi was crying now, eyes wide, watching terror and panic flood her face.
"Mom... I-I... I..." Her voice faded into a broken murmur of surrender.
Her right eye finally closed, and Ketlen collapsed heavily onto the pillow.
A nauseating unease coursed through Davi's body. Clutching the blister packs, wrapped in fear, he longed desperately for her consciousness to return.
CLACK!
A dry noise from the wardrobe jolted him with sudden fright. His breathing was now as ragged as hers.
"Si-is! Sis!" He shook her frantically, tears streaming.
This time, she opened her eyes slowly, with a chilling calm.
"Davi...?" Her voice was weak, hoarse, but it was hers.
"Yes! It's me... protect me from the—"
She tried to reach for him again. The tremor in her hands was unmistakable. Ketlen tried to push herself up on her elbow, but her arm gave way, limp, unresponsive, and she sank back into the mattress.
The soft, almost absurd sound of her body slumping onto the pillow shattered the spell of fear. Davi let out a hoarse, relieved laugh. The world hadn't ended after all.
Ketlen straightened up in bed, adjusting the blanket with a deceptive quickness.
"You shouldn't be here..." Her voice was a hoarse, defensive whisper.
"Why?" Davi tried to pull his arm away, but her grip lingered, residual and strong.
"Davi... is that really you?"
"Yes! Let me go, please..." She released him suddenly, the gesture sharp.
"Sorry... I'm sorry... I shouldn't have done that... he made me do it to... to prove something to him, Mom..." Her eyes welled with panic, fixed on an invisible point in the room.
"Did you have a nightmare too?" Davi asked, innocently.
"Huh?" Ketlen looked back at him, confusion cutting through her hysteria.
"It's just... your eyes are red and your hands are shaking! When I cried and had a nightmare last week, I looked the same."
Ketlen stared at her brother, frozen. His innocence was a blow.
"And... I saw you took melatonin, too!" He held up the empty blister packs with black labels.
Her eyes widened. Reflexively, she snatched the plastic from his hand.
"Where... where did you get these?!" Her breathing grew ragged.
"On the floor... sorry... It's just that Mom said we can't take herbal supplements every day... and... I... I also saw your arms... they're all sweaty!" He pointed at the damp stains on the blanket. "And this one is hurt..."
The moment Davi's small finger brushed her wounded wrist, Ketlen recoiled as if shocked. She covered the wound instantly, crushing it with the grip of her own hand.
"What do you want?" Her voice was hard, impatient.
"I had a nightmare, sis... I wanted to sleep with you... sorry..." He turned his face away, ashamed.
Ketlen took a deep breath. Her heart was racing, her hands still trembling.
"Fine, Davi. Lie down here next to me." She shifted, making space for him.
"Yay! Okay!" He leapt onto the bed, curling up beside his sister.
"Davi. If you tell..." Ketlen's voice came from above, more hoarse and commanding than ever. "IF YOU TELL THEM ABOUT THE PILLS..."
"What pills? Isn't it just melatonin...? That weak little three-milligram one?"
... Ketlen pressed a hand to her forehead, the sudden relief almost as strong as the earlier panic.
"Nothing. Just don't say I took melatonin tonight, okay? Or that... or that I'm hurt."
"Okay!" He smiled, the fear finally replaced by the comfort of being beside her. "Sis... if you ever need anything, just call me! I'm lightning-fast! Just like in that cartoon! I'll rush over to protect you!" He made a quiet engine noise.
...
"You don't need to be afraid, okay? I'll stay here with you. I learned from the movie... we never leave our friends behind! We're a team..."
...
"Sis...?" The silence thickened again.
"Who... is here?" Ketlen's voice was slow and dragged, completely disoriented. He looked at her face, strangely smooth, expressionless.
Her pupils were enormously dilated, two dark wells of drowsiness.