EMERGING
ABOVE
THE SILENCE
by
James Sandepp
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Text copyright (c) 2019 by James Sandepp
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the author.
Book Cover Concept by Aurora Dream Creative
([email protected])
Cover Art by Marie Jane Works (mariejaneworks.com).
Table of Contents
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
FOURTEEN
FIFTEEN
SIXTEEN
SEVENTEEN
EIGHTEEN
NINETEEN
TWENTY
TWENTY-ONE
TWENTY-TWO
TWENTY-THREE
TWENTY-FOUR
TWENTY-FIVE
TWENTY-SIX
TWENTY-SEVEN
TWENTY-EIGHT
TWENTY-NINE
THIRTY
THIRTY-ONE
THIRTY-TWO
THIRTY-THREE
THIRTY-FOUR
THIRTY-FIVE
THIRTY-SIX
THIRTY-SEVEN
THIRTY-EIGHT
THIRTY-NINE
FORTY
FORTY-ONE
FORTY-TWO
FORTY-THREE
FORTY-FOUR
UPCOMING BOOK SERIES
AUTHOR’S NOTE
ONE
I ran through an open grass field, my legs were beginning to hurt, my knees were bleeding from small cuts and bruises and I didn’t know who or what was chasing me, but I could sense their presence so strongly as if they were right behind me and within reach of touching me. Then, I stumbled over some rocks and fell into a large hole before landing awkwardly on a dirt floor and I heard my back crack. The pain in my back and legs were excruciating, I nearly blacked out and I could not move at all as if I was paralysed. In the darkness I heard a sound and, as I turned my head, I saw a pair of blue eyes approaching me. Initially, I panicked thinking it was some kind of animal and I was about to be attacked and eaten alive. Then, I saw a green hospital gown and realized it was Dr Liverfield. Her hair was as white as snow and she had a strange smile on her face. She had in her hands, not one but two sets of large syringes with some black liquid in them. I still couldn’t move at all and awaited my fate with her. Once she reached me she injected the syringes forcefully into my back without any anaesthetic, I let loose a sound so deafening the walls of the hole I was in started to collapse upon the both of us and Dr Liverfield laughed out loudly before I woke up.
My legs were fine, my back was okay as I rubbed my eyes and tears away and realized it was only a nightmare; the worst I could remember. I was wearing some kind of patient like gown, blue in color, and it looked like I had been wearing it for some time. My feet were bare and I didn’t see any sign of the rest of my clothes.
I was inside a room lying on a bed and, as I stood up, I moved around to find the light switch and flipped it on. The room was small and bare except for the metal bed; there was no window or anything else inside it. The room didn’t smell of anything, but appeared worn off and cold. The door in front of me was a metal, solid one with no latch from the inside.
Except for the initial encounter with Dr Liverfield and her needle, which I remembered too clearly, I tried to recall anything else since then, but was unable to.
Why couldn’t I remember what had happened to me yesterday? Was there something wrong with me?
I tried to concentrate again, but my mind was blank. It was as if my memory had been wiped clean either by someone or something. I didn’t know how long I had been in this room, but I needed to find out and hopefully it wasn’t too long. I looked around the room to check if there was any clue as to how long I had been here, but found nothing.
Oliver and Susie must be crazy worried about me, but I was glad I managed to send one message to Oliver before getting caught and I hoped the message went through and gave them an idea on what to do next and how to help me. They were my last hope right now and I was annoyed with myself for being such a loser and allowing myself to be caught so easily. I was sure neither Oliver nor Susie would’ve allowed themselves to get caught like I had. Why didn’t I think before stepping into that room?
I heard a sound, it was the door opening and I stood back and waited ready for anything. The door swung open, a young lady with black hair in a nurse’s uniform walked in with a tray of food, glanced at me briefly, placed the tray on the floor near the foot of my bed and, as she was about to leave, I grabbed her hand. The woman was startled by my action, fear replaced her calm demeanour as she stared me in the eyes and, then, I let her hand go.
“How long have I been here?” I signed.
The woman remained silent, but her eyes looked up and down and I was, initially, confused as to what she was doing, but then I understood. The brief flick of her eyes was a warning to me there was something above me probably a camera on the ceiling monitoring everything inside this room.
I didn’t dare look towards the ceiling because it would get the woman in trouble for warning me, but instead looked at the tray of food before me as the woman left the room firmly shutting the door.
How foolish of me? I was upset with myself for not realizing there could be a camera inside here. I needed to be more careful of all my actions and pretend not to alert whoever was watching me that I knew of their device.
It would have been easy to break through the metal door if I wanted to, but the presence of a camera made it impossible. There was a good chance the people who put me here knew I could make a sound, but making a sound and destroying things with a sound were two different things and I didn’t want my captors to know the extent of my new abilities.
My food tray consisted of three lumps of some inedible food I had never seen before and, although it looked pathetic, my growling stomach said otherwise and I decided to eat the crap. As I swallowed the food trying not to think of what it was I was eating, I then realized I was chewing on something rubbery. I stopped and, as I started spitting it out, I discovered it was some kind of rolled-up paper.
I pulled it out of my mouth gently trying not to damage it, kept it away from the camera’s prying eyes, placed it beneath the tray and, as I opened it, discovered the following written words: “We will get you out.”
I was puzzled and confused all at once because I wondered who was the “we” and whether I could trust these people or was this another trick by Dr Liverfield to try and get more information out of me. Or, were these people another group wanting my speaking abilities for their own agenda? I had no answer to this question because I didn’t know who I was dealing with yet.
I looked back at the tray and could not believe I had eaten most of the food, but I realized I needed strength as the icy cold temperature inside this room was sucking the life out of me. I started walking about the room to keep myself from freezing and it took only six steps before I reached the door and, as I turned around to walk back, I noticed the camera on the ceiling at one small corner of the room. It
looked like a black speck and, if not for the woman, I would never have even thought it was a camera.
Then, the door opened again, two military guards with the Council crest stamped on their uniforms entered the room as I stopped in my tracks and stared at them.
TWO
The two men carried weapons and had masks over their faces, which I found intriguing.
One of the men pointed to me with his fingers. “Let’s go now and don’t give us any trouble or else.”
I decided not to struggle with them as the man continued. “Place your hands out like this.”
A pair of electronic handcuffs was placed over my hands and I was escorted out of the room with one military guy in front of me and another behind me. Both of the men had now taken out their weapons with the one behind me pointing his one intentionally at my back.
They walked me along a series of three corridors before I reached a blue steel door. The man in front of me opened the door and shoved me inside. I stumbled inside and managed to keep myself from falling down. I recognized the room because this was where my last memory came from: where I met the insane Dr Liverfield for the very first time after getting caught in the office building. One of the men pushed me to the center of the room and I stumbled forward again until I was near the bed.
There was a long window on one side of the room, which I, at first, found to be an odd place to put a window. Then, something in my memory clicked and I remembered the window was a two way mirror and I wondered how large was my audience for today’s session. I stared at the window and smiled briefly before turning around to face the rest of the room. Next to the bed was a group of hospital equipment, which I barely recognized as I was never a big fan of hospitals nor their dramas these days.
On one side of the bed there were two machines; one appeared to be like those which tracked a patient’s heart rate and the other seemed to be connected with it a drip. The bed itself, looked worn and used and I wondered how many people, other than me, had been lying on it over the years. The two military men stood like statues near the door while I waited near the bed.
“Where am I?” I signed at the first military man.
He pointed his gun at me and I decided not to ask anything else.
I didn’t need to wait too long as the door opened and Dr Liverfield appeared in her trademark hospital gown as if I was her long-time patient instead of her prisoner.
“Good to see you again Marinette,” Dr Liverfield said.
Hearing the sound of my name again although I must have heard it a few times already sent chills down my spine and I was left with a thirst for more. Susie was right in saying the experience of speaking was a wonderful thing which could never be replaced by any amount of sign language.
“I am sure you are wondering how I can speak,” Dr Liverfield continued, moving towards the window.
Dr Liverfield touched the window briefly and walked alongside it for a few seconds with her finger pressed against it before turning back to face me. She seemed to enjoy the attention and the moment, which made her even more insane than ever.
I secretly hoped she had found a way to replicate my ability so I could be left alone to return to Thomson, my life and my friends.
“Sadly, I can make a sound because of a device implanted in me,” Dr Liverfield highlighted. “And, while it is amazing and exhilarating at the same time, it is very different from your natural sound-making ability Marinette. You are the real deal while mine is only a good copy.”
I gave her the confused, innocent look hoping she would believe I was just an ignorant girl in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Dr Liverfield eyes sparkled. “No need to pretend anymore stupid little girl. We all know you can make sounds and we know it was you who did it on the day of the car explosion incident. Robbie, why don’t you show Marinette her opening act?”
The second military man standing near the door walked towards me, pulled a mini-laptop from his backpack, opened its screen, played a video, and, to my horror, I was on this same bed making a sound as Dr Liverfield injected something into me.
“The video could have been faked and it means nothing,” I signed defiantly.
“My niece was so right about you,” Dr Liverfield smiled. “Too clever for your own good. Show her the second act.”
I had so many things I wanted to say to Dr Liverfield about her crazy niece, but I remained silent.
Robbie flipped to another video and now I was in the same room with Dr Liverfield and another person also wearing a gown and, again, I was seen making a sound; this time it was a wailing one similar to the one I had made in the kitchen when I thought Oliver had died.
“You must also be wondering why we never taped shut your mouth since the sound you make could be possibly dangerous to us,” Dr Liverfield continued with a smirk.
I didn’t show any reaction at all, but expected Dr Liverfield to talk about it anyway.
“Robbie, why don’t you show her since I am sure she is too shy to ask us,” Dr Liverfield directed.
Dr Liverfield was enjoying herself a bit too much in her role today.
Robbie bent over nearer to me and I realized there was some kind of device connected to both his ears and it now made sense as to why they never taped my mouth with something to keep me from making a sound. Dr Liverfield had covered every base in dealing with me and had a lot of experience in the area of sound since she probably had been working on getting the ability to speak back to us humans for many years.
“So, you see Marinette you have been putting on a good show of your sound-making abilities, not only to me, but my guests,” Dr Liverfield stated tapping on the window. “And, we are all very excited about you and what you can do.”
THREE
I stared at the floor pretending to show defeat as I knew I could not ignore the fact any longer that they knew about my sound-making ability. My secret was out and I had no place to hide.
Yet, in her arrogance I also realized one thing: she didn’t know about the raw power of my sound other than the fact that it was deafening and loud at times. If she did, she would have taped my mouth shut all the time, which gave me hope that not all was lost here and I still had some secrets.
“We want to help you Marinette,” Dr Liverfield said. “You are the future of the human race.”
“I don’t believe you,” I signed back. “How many people had to die before you found me?”
“People die all the time my dear child,” Dr Liverfield said. “Some die of natural causes; others die of accidents or sickness. Many of those you may have thought of died for a greater purpose, which is why we are standing here. So, don’t get all righteous on me now because your presence here was made possible due to the sacrifices of many others. You have no idea how many people sacrificed so much so that you can speak!”
“Was the woman in the car explosion one of those who died for a greater purpose?” I motioned.
“She was an unfortunate accident, which shouldn’t have happened,” Dr Liverfield replied with a slight tone of frustration.
“She was pregnant,” I signalled. “What kind of people are you?”
Dr Liverfield continued. “Do you know who I am?”
I remained silent expecting another rant from someone who was beyond borderline insane.
“I am the head of the Council here at Vinder,” Dr Liverfield proudly motioned. “But this information may be irrelevant to you. More importantly, I am your creator Marinette!”
I stepped back stunned by this new information. “What do you mean? I wasn’t born from my parents?”
Was she saying I was created through some other way and I didn’t have any parents? It couldn’t be.
Dr Liverfield shook her head. “I meant I was the doctor who brought you into this world sixteen years ago Marinette. Your parents were one of the first few candidates who underwent this special treatment and I was the younger doctor then who helped them conceive you.”
My mind was still re
eling that this monster in front of me had been the doctor-in-charge of my birth and I seriously wanted to puke on her feet, but restrained myself. How could I have been born through her help?
“I know this may be shocking to you, but this is the truth and I could even show you your birth certificate documents,” Dr Liverfield indicated.
I had no interest in seeing any documents from this monster.
“Are you also the one who had my parents killed?” I signed back composing myself again.
“Their death was an accident and whoever told you it wasn’t was a liar!” Dr Liverfield said loudly. “I loved your parents deeply and they willingly chose this treatment in the hopes of having a child who could break free from the silence. This was the ultimate purpose of the process, which I alone created.”
“What did you do to brainwash them to join your process?” I motioned.
Dr Liverfield laughed. “Nothing! My dear girl you have been listening to the wrong people who have been feeding you lies. Your parents were desperate to have a normal child and what parent wouldn’t want it. They knew the risks of the treatment and I admired their courage to take the risk. Many people these days are so scared of taking risks, which is why our society is stuck where it is. We need to take risks to advance and evolve to the next stage as a society.”
Emerging Above the Silence Page 1
