Chapter 20
It was not nice, River decided, to have a friend who woke you up in the middle of the night just as you fell asleep.
She shifted again, listening to Tiri's quiet breathing. Of course she would fall asleep immediately after shaking River awake to send Simon another video letter. Sighing, River shut her eyes and tried to relax, focusing on making her breathing soft and slow.
Just as she began to drift loud noises in the hall jolted her back to reality, her eyes snapping open as she glared at the door.
Hysterical laughter sounded outside the door, the sound echoing off the tile so that it was magnified. River rolled her eyes; no joke could possibly be that funny. The laughter trailed away to giggles and loud footsteps continued moving past.
Glancing over, River saw that Tiri was still asleep, her expression serene. There was more laughter and River sat up abruptly, ignoring the rather alarming creak from her bed as she swung her legs over the side and jumped up.
She walked to the door and yanked it open, not even caring if she woke Tiri anymore. Then she frowned, looking both ways down the hallway. No one was there, even though the laughter, which was getting louder again, still sounded like it was right next to her.
Shadows flickered towards the end of the hallway on the right and River started walking towards them without thinking, unable to remember why she was out of her bed again.
She turned the corner and kept walking, following the force that pulled her forwards, barely noticing as she turned corners again and again, heading deeper into the school.
There was a door on her right and she moved closer to it, hand reaching out, fingers grazing the knob. Slowly she turned the handle and the door opened with an audible click. Stepping forwards she pushed the door open and looked into the room.
It was small and plain; the walls, ceiling, and floor all a dull gray cement. A metal table took up most of the space as it sat in the middle of the room. River noticed that it was bolted to the floor.
A sound caused her eyes to flicker to a shadowed corner of the room. She froze, staring in shock and horror at the person crouched in the corner.
It was a girl, her long black hair screening her face. She was curled into a ball, her arms wrapped tightly around her knees, and she was trembling. River stepped closer, though every instinct she had was telling her to run.
"Are you okay?" she asked hesitantly, slowly taking another step towards the girl. Someone was giggling softly, and it took a second for River to realize the sound was coming from the girl.
The giggles became the hysterical laughter that she had heard earlier, the sound almost manic. River drew back a space and the girl lifted her head, the laughter becoming louder.
River recoiled. Her own face, twisted in laughter, eyes filled with madness, stared back up at her. She stumbled backwards before turning to run and slamming into someone.
Hands grabbed her arms, holding her in place. They were covered in blue gloves. Slowly she raised her head, eyes traveling upwards. Ice blue eyes stared down at her, achingly familiar and completely alien.
"You shouldn't be here," said Simon coldly. His hands tightened painfully around her arms. There was a scream and she turned and the River-who-wasn't-River was lunging, hands outstretched and eyes wild.
River sat up with a jerk, her eyes flashing wildly around the room. Vague shapes drifted in front of her eyes, and across the room she could hear the soft breathing of Tiri. She carefully laid back down, breathing a sigh of relief. It was just a nightmare, she thought. She drew the covers tightly around her and relaxed, counting her breaths again.
In the hallways, soft laughter echoed.