Chapter 13 - Night Terrors
The first week at the cabin went smoothly by day, but the nights tested everyone's endurance.
It was 2:14 AM when Ryan woke up to a sharp, choking sound echoing down the narrow hallway. He kicked off his duvet, scrambled out of bed, and rushed across the hardwood floor, throwing open the door to Chloe’s bedroom.
The room was bathed in the pale blue glow of a nightlight. Chloe was thrashing violently beneath her blankets, her small hands clawing at the air as muffled screams trapped themselves in her throat.
"No... no, dark! Please don't put me back in the dark!" Chloe sobbed hysterically, her eyes squeezed shut in the grip of a terrifying flashback.
Ryan sprinted to the side of the bed, dropping to his knees. He didn't hesitate; he scooped her up, blankets and all, pulling her tightly against his chest.
"Chloe! Chloe, honey, wake up. Look at me, you're awake, you're safe!" Ryan whispered urgently, rocking her back and forth as her small frame shivered with violent tremors.
For a terrifying thirty seconds, she didn't recognize him. Her dark eyes stared right through him, locked on the imaginary walls of her prison. Then, the familiar scent of his flannel shirt and the steady, heavy beat of his heart finally pierced the fog of her nightmare.
Chloe gasped, her arms flying around Ryan’s neck, nearly choking him as she buried her face in his shoulder.
"Daddy! Daddy, I was back in the wall... it was so cold, and nobody could hear me," she cried, her tears soaking quickly through his collar.
"I hear you, sweetheart. I'm right here," Ryan murmured, his own voice breaking as he kissed her tangled hair over and over again. "Look around the room, Chloe. Tell me what you see."
Chloe sniffled, slowly pulling her head back to look around the dimly lit bedroom. "I... I see the window. I see the mountain. I see my stuffed rabbit on the dresser."
"That's right," Ryan encouraged softly, wiping a tear from her cheek with his thumb. "And there are no walls around you. There are no vents. The door is wide open, and I am sitting right here on your bed. Nobody is ever going to put you in the dark again. I promise you, on my life."
Chloe leaned her head back against his chest, her breathing finally beginning to slow down to a steady rhythm. "Will you stay here until the sun comes up?"
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"I'm not going anywhere," Ryan whispered, pulling the heavy blanket up around her shoulders.
He sat there in the quiet dark for the rest of the night, holding his daughter, realizing that while physical rescue had taken an hour, emotional rescue would take a lifetime.
