Sounds that frighten.
A thick blindfold pressed against my face. It was scratchy and tight, forcing me into a darkness that felt thicker than sleep. I tried to move, but my arms and legs were bound to a chair. The cuffs bit into my skin when I pulled against them.
My breathing picked up, shallow and loud in the silence.
The floor under me was metal. I could feel the vibrations of the room humming through it. Somewhere, water dripped. The sound echoed, over and over, until I thought it was in my head.
And then I heard whispers.
I couldn’t tell what they were saying. I couldn’t tell if they were even real. My hearing was sharper than normal again, but it still seemed strange and unreal.
I've never been able to hear clearly since I was born. I had learned how to communicate with sign language as a child. When I turned 16, my hearing got slightly better. From the usual static, I could now hear the faint whistle of the wind. The doctor had said that my deafness wasn't absolute, it was partial. Then, I got my hearing aid.
But this was totally bizarre. The way my hearing had been amplified seemed scary.
I tried to calm myself. Focus.
Through the blindfold, faint light glowed. I managed to see a shadows. Then there was movement.
The shadow stopped moving. Someone was outside this room, standing and watching me.
My chest tightened. Crest. It had to be him. He knew I was so close to the truth and he wanted to silence me before I left his ass in the open.
My ear buzzed. Pain shot down the side of my face, and then suddenly I could hear something else.
A low groan as if someone was in pain.
Kellan.
My heart dropped.
“Kellan?” My voice was hoarse, too weak. He did not answer.
I heard the voice of a woman. She seemed to be in the same room with Kellan.
“You brought this on yourself, you know,” she said. “You never do as you are told. That is the difference between you and him. You always think you are right. You always want to spread your filth and contaminate the rest of us with your stupid ideas.”
Her words dripped with anger. And hate.
“We could have been something real you know,” she went on. “Something divine. If only you had obeyed the damn rules.”
I heard the crack of somethinglike a whip. Then Kellan’s scream cut through the dark. I flinched so hard the chair rattled under me.
“No!” My throat burned from the shout. “Stop! Please!”
He must have heard me, because the next sound I heard was his strained and tired voice.
“Let her go. Please. I will do anything you want, just let her go.”
The woman laughed.
“Oh, how touching. Looks like you found my replacement so quickly.”
Replacement? What did she mean?
“If you want her safe, you know what you must do,” she said. “Take the mark of allegiance and retùrn to the squadhouse.”
I shook my head, even though they couldn’t see me. I dod not fully understand the situation but the condition he was being given sounded dangerous.
A few moments later, Kellan’s scream ripped through the air again. Then the hiss of metal against skin. It was burnt flesh. The smell of it made my stomach turn.
“No,” I whispered. “Please no.”
More screams. More searing. Until my chest ached like I was the one being branded.
The screams were barely over when the door to the room I was held opened. Boots shuffled across the floor. They were close. I held my breath as if that could make me invisible.
The woman’s voice was right next to me now, hot against my ear.
“You pretty little thing,” she whispered. “You will be reunited with your newfound pet soon. But before that, let me leave you with a warning.”
She paused, and I could hear the smile in her voice.
“Whatever you think you are digging up… it's not gold. It is your grave.”
“You can keep searching,” she said, “but you will never find anything.”
Suddenly, the scent in the air shifted. A sickly sweet aroma filled my nose. The one that had knocked me out before. I tried to hold my breath, but it forced its way in, burning and heavy. My limbs sagged against the chair.
Somewhere, far away, I heard her again.
“Take him to the squadhouse before dawn. Then drop her at the creek after.”
Boots scraped against metal. Chains rattled.
Then the dark swallowed me whole.