Light in the Darkness (English)

Chapter 15

Leon

I woke up to a familiar, gentle voice. 

"Leon, it's time to wake up," Mark said as he ran his fingers across my face. Opening my eyes, I caught sight of his beautiful face. His blond hair slightly hung in his eyes as he smiled down at me radiantly.I took his hand, brought it to my lips, and kissed it. 

"Good morning!" 

"My morning is perfect."As I sat up, the boy moved closer to me. He placed his hand on the back of my neck. I drew closer too, our bodies fully touching, yet even this didn't feel perfectly close enough. He kissed my forehead, my cheeks, and then my lips. 

"Hurry up!" Oliver's urgent voice came from the door. "It would be good to leave on time!"

"Don't shout, you idiot! The rest of my family is still asleep." 

"Sorry!" 

I rolled my eyes, and Mark just laughed. He gave me another quick kiss, then went to my wardrobe and pulled out the clothes prepared by the Camp. 

"Dress up! We'll wait for you outside the building. I'd love to stay and watch you change, but unfortunately, we don't have time for that now, if you know what I mean," he winked at me, then left the room. 

I stood there smiling for a moment, then remembered everything that happened last night. Everything I saw last night.I tried to push the terrible images out of my head. 

"I must not think about this," I whispered to myself. I won't let it happen. 

I won't let Mark die. 

I washed up, changed clothes, grabbed an apple, and headed out to join the others.

Alex

The next morning, I got out of bed early. The last time I slept this poorly was three years ago, on that particular day when all this began. 

Actually, I hardly slept at all then. This one can be compared to that. All night long, I tossed and turned, either thinking about Ana or Ethan. 

I wonder if Ana is okay? Did she hurt herself or someone else? Ethan hasn't returned? Did he hurt someone else too?

These thoughts kept me awake, and even if I managed to fall asleep, I was haunted by terrible dreams. By now, I don't even remember them, but I always woke up terrified from them.

A silence settled over the house; Piper and my sister were surely still asleep.

I headed towards the bathroom, intending to splash my face with cold water. Hopefully, it would wake me up a bit.

And I'll need coffee too.

After taking care of these, I quickly changed back in my room, then stepped out of the house. The fresh morning air filled me with a pleasant sensation.

A few elderly people were strolling around the neighborhood. A woman was approaching me, accompanied by a young Labrador puppy. Sometimes, it ran off farther, sniffing things, then returned to its owner. When the dog noticed me, it ran towards me. I crouched down to pet it.

"Hi, beautiful! What's this cute dog's name?" I asked, looking at the inscription on its collar.

"Oh, so Joey."

At the sound of his name, he barked once. His owner called him, and Joey wagged his tail as he ran back to her. The woman waved at me with a smile, to which I responded with a smile too.