Piercing Through the Silence

by James Sandepp

  I nodded weakly but the last thing I wanted to hear now was about the sound and the silence breaker. I couldn’t care less about it right now and if I could trade the burden of being a silence breaker for Felix’s life I would do it in an instant because I didn’t want to be able to make sounds anymore. It had brought so much sadness into my life and I really didn’t want the responsibility of being a silence breaker. I didn’t care for helping this society because all I cared about was Felix and having our lives back.

  “I want you to know this,” Felix continued. “I am so proud of you Marinette. You are such a brave girl who has grown up so well. You coming into my life is one of the best things for me which I will always treasure….”

  He passed out and I tried desperately to shake him awake but he didn’t move.

  I could not control myself because Felix, my guardian and my only father, was gone. Not caring about anyone or anything I let go of holding back on my emotions as a wailing sound pierced through the house. I sensed Oliver take a few steps back which wasn’t surprising as it was the first time he or anyone else had seen me make a sound.

  After a few seconds I stopped the sound but didn’t dare to look at Oliver. Felix was motionless, and I heard the sound of the ambulance getting louder.

  “We need to get out of here M,” Oliver signed. “We cannot do anything here now. The paramedics may be able to help Felix.”

  Tears still streaming down my face, I stood up, nodded and out of the corner of my eye noticed the windows in the kitchen had cracks. Did it happen because of my wailing sound? I didn’t have time to think about it and, fortunately, Oliver hadn’t noticed it.

  I seriously despised the sound. Why couldn’t I have made the sound a few minutes earlier? If I had, maybe Felix wouldn’t be unconscious and Oliver wouldn’t have suffered as much as he did. I turned to face Oliver and seeing my tears he didn’t say a word but, instead, grabbed my shoulder and pointed to the back door.

  As we ran out I looked over my shoulder at the bodies of the only father and mother I had ever known lying in a large pool of blood.

  TWENTY-SIX

  Since leaving by the front of the home was no longer an option we ran to the back fence and climbed over it and, as we finished getting to the other side, I heard the ambulance and police cars arrive at Mrs Wills’ home followed by doors slamming shut and many footsteps. My last hopes for Felix’s life, if he was even still alive, were in the hands of these men and women of the Magistrate.

  We both remained quiet as the fence shielded us and we didn’t expect anyone to chase us. I tried to look a bit over the fence, but Oliver warned me to stay low.

  “We should put some distance from this place,” Oliver signed. “They might start sending people all over the area to look for whoever shot Felix and Mrs Wills.”

  I wanted to stay a bit longer to find out whether Felix was getting help but I realized the risk was too high.

  I nodded and we both slowly moved away from the fence and, after a short while, started walking down another street as the sound of sirens faded away.

  Oliver pointed to an old gas station on the opposite side of the road which wasn’t an unusual sight in this town and we walked over to it and went behind the station to keep away of any gossiping passer-by. Thomson was really a tale of two eras: the modern sleek neighborhoods and the older establishments, which this gas station was a part of. Fortunately, at this hour the gas station was closed and there was no one around making it a good place to think of our next move.

  “We need to split up,” Oliver indicated.

  “I agree,” I signed. “It is too dangerous for us both to be seen together. They will be looking for us eventually because Felix’s body being there will lead them back to me.”

  Talking about Felix in the past tense made me want to puke but I restrained myself.

  Oliver looked at me. “I didn’t get a chance to say it earlier M but I am really sorry about Felix. I know….”

  I interrupted him. “I don’t want to talk about it now. I know what you mean and thank you for being there with me because I don’t know what I would have done without you there.”

  Brooding over this now wasn’t going to help anyone and at the right time I know I would let it all out, but this wasn’t the time although I felt a bit bad for cutting off Oliver.

  “More likely they will be chasing Mr Wills,” Oliver gestured. “Since his fingerprints are on the gun in the end.”

  I hope they didn’t catch Mr Wills because, truth be told, he was the reason I was still alive. I didn’t know what Mrs Wills would have done if not for Mr Wills and it was quite sad what happened to their family. Although Mrs Wills shot Felix I still felt, at some level, for her because I knew the fault lies at the door of the Council and they would one day pay for it.

  “Do you think Mr Wills will give up our names?” I motioned.

  “I don’t think so,” Oliver signed. “There would be too many more questions to answer if Mr Wills were to say we were also in their home. Most likely they will think the Wills took matters into their own hands and it went out of control.”

  “I am sure Josh is aware by now of what Mrs Wills tried to do,” I motioned. “The police would have alerted him.”

  “And he won’t be happy at all,” Oliver gestured. “This kind of incident draws attention and it is the last thing the Magistrate wants.”

  For a few seconds my thoughts went to the innocent young girl caught up in the middle of this: Mrs Wills’ child. I didn’t know where she would go now as she had lost her mother and her father was on the run. What would happen to her I didn’t know but I doubted the Council would keep her any longer once the news got out.

  “There’s a place we can meet at,” Oliver signed showing me the location on his phone. “Let’s meet at this place by tomorrow evening.”

  “Is it safe?” I signaled.

  “My friend and his parents who live there are away for three weeks I think,” Oliver replied. “No one will think of this place and this older friend of mine doesn’t go to our school making it near impossible for anyone to trace him back to me.”

  “And if I don’t get there by tomorrow....” I signed.

  It was a sign of my life right now when I had to start planning all the what-if scenarios.

  “I will wait for you there M,” Oliver indicated. “If I don’t see you I will camp around the area and check in at my friend’s place every few days. I think there is nothing else I can do for now. Don’t worry M I will not give up on you. I am here to stay.”

  I smiled at him knowing he would keep to his word because it was one of many things Oliver was always good for.

  “When we split up from here try to stay low M,” Oliver motioned. “I don’t know the reaction of the Magistrate to today’s incident, so you need to be careful because I expect a reaction.”

  Oliver continued. “Also, do not use the phone to contact me. The Magistrate could by now be tracking our phones I think and if they don't they will probably start doing it soon.”

  I hugged Oliver and he walked from the back of the station into the adjoining field and disappeared into the grass leaving me on my own again.

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  I started walking in the opposite direction to Oliver along a side road for a while and, as I passed another neighborhood, I heard dogs growling and kids playing. This neighborhood seemed to be more alive than the one the Wills lived on and at the end of the stretch of homes was a convenience store.

  I was hungry and, fortunately, Felix also passed me a reasonable amount of cash. Thinking of Felix made me stop because I knew my only family is gone, there was nothing left to go back to at home and I didn’t know if I could even live in my home again because being underage I may not be allowed to stay there anymore and could be thought of as homeless. Was this the end for me or would they send me to a homeless dormitory?

  The homeless dormitory, built over the years, had been Thomson’s solution for the homele
ss and the Magistrate had put them all in a designated area of town which, of course, was as far away as possible from the better neighborhoods. These dormitories provided food and shelter, but they also had armed guards to keep the people inside and while there were things to do in the dormitories, I heard they were more like prisons. Oliver once said it was a way of society hiding away its problems and no one knew what happened to all those people in these dormitories. If I ended there after all this was over I didn’t know whether I could survive it or not.

  I pushed away these dark thoughts as I entered the convenience store noticing two cashiers serving customers at the front and a few people shopping alongside me for food and other things.

  My eyes were drawn to the monitor on the ceiling as the Magistrate breaking news flashed on the screen. I immediately recognized the front of Mrs Wills’ home as the newscaster reported on a murder shootout although he didn’t mention who was killed but only highlighted the homeowners were involved in the incident.

  The next thing the monitor displayed shocked me because two photos were plastered on the monitor: one of me and another of Oliver. The newscaster indicated the murderers were these two teenagers and people should avoid them as they were considered armed and dangerous.

  Armed and dangerous! Were they serious? The Magistrate had been very busy because it hadn’t been an hour since the police arrived at the Wills’ home and, yet, they were able to create such a fake news story so fast. I remembered Felix’s words of the Magistrate being all powerful in Thomson and this news report clearly showed it. I recognized the two photos as they were from my school photo gallery.

  Then I realized what was going on here as there was only one person who could be behind these photos. It had to be Josh, and this was his new way of trying to catch us by using the murder as a reason to flush us out to the open and it seemed he and the Magistrate no longer care about the attention they were attracting since a murder wasn’t something they could hide away any longer.

  I got a cap from my backpack, pulled it over my head and noticed many people glued to the monitor which wasn’t surprising since murder was something new to Thomson and I didn’t think I had ever heard of one here before.

  Since no one was looking at me I decided first to go to the back corner of the store to get some drinks. Once I reached the end I realized the people's eyes were still glued to the monitor and was stunned by what the monitor closest to me was now showing. It was a video of Mrs Wills teaching in the classroom followed by another of her playing with her child. Where did they get all these videos from? The Magistrate knew how to manipulate people's feelings and I admit it was effective as an older man in the front of the store stamped his feet and waved his hands in anger.

  I needed to get out of here fast and decided to give up on buying any food and trying the lock of an ‘employees only’ door near the back I discovered it was locked. My only option was to leave from the front of the store but as I was about to head out two older women joined the older man near the entrance and started an intense conversation.

  “What is going on with the young people these days?” the older man signed. “My grandchild attends Mrs Wills’s class and she always says how she is the most caring teacher ever!”

  “How could the boy and the girl do such a thing to a wonderful teacher?” one of the older woman motioned. “What a pity. This town has lost a great teacher because of these two teenagers. The Magistrate should put both of them away for a long time!”

  The three of them were not moving away from the only exit in the front of the store making it very hard for me to leave without them noticing me since the monitors were still showing our photos. Wasn’t there any other news to show? Why wasn’t the breaking news changing? The Magistrate really wanted everyone in Thomson to remember our photos.

  Oliver was right in warning me about the Magistrate’s reaction to the murder because they were using the news, not only to increase the tension level throughout Thomson, but as a way to catch us more quickly.

  Someone tapped my shoulder and, as I quickly turned ready to run away or do something, a girl slightly older than me wearing the convenience store t-shirt stared at me.

  She looked at me first. “Is it you Marinette?”

  I was baffled and suspicious by how she knew me.

  She must have seen my confused face. “Oh, my name is Amelia. I am from your class at school.”

  I still couldn’t remember her and wondered was she really from my class or a Magistrate spy. I was still ready to run but I knew it would attract too much attention in the store.

  “You don’t know me,” Amelia smiled. “Because we have never spoken before. I have been sitting two rows behind you in class for the last six months.”

  I smiled at her briefly although I didn’t know who to trust now after what happened with Mrs Wills.

  “I recognized you the moment you stepped into the store,” Amelia gestured. “I was one of the cashiers.”

  I was annoyed with myself for not being careful but, then again, at the time I didn’t know the extent of the Magistrate’s plans to flush us out.

  “Anyway, I don’t know what the news is saying about you,” Amelia motioned. “But I am here to tell you I don’t believe it at all and I am sure there must be some mistake.”

  I wanted to believe her, needed to believe her and gave into my need.

  “Thank you,” I signed. “Actually, I need to get out of this place quickly. I was wondering if ….”

  “Ohhhhh…. Of course, I understand,” Amelia glanced around.

  “I know this is going to sound crazy,” Amelia signed. “But I can help you get out of here. I know you don’t know me but looking around I may be your only option.”

  I nodded as Amelia smiled.

  Amelia continued. “I just finished my shift. I will unlock the back door. Why don’t you go out and wait for me next to the red car? Give me about 5 minutes and I will be out soon.”

  I nodded, walked out the back door slowly and was relieved to get out of the store without anyone following me and cleared my head with the fresh air. I was actually feeling claustrophobic in there as the monitors with my photos were suffocating me.

  I saw a red car parked nearby and I debated whether I should wait for Amelia or run away from this store now. The truth was I didn’t know Amelia at all and, if I did disappear, she would never find me but since she did help me escape I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and let my heart trust again.

  She came out from the same door a few minutes later and walked over to me.

  “Thanks for waiting,” Amelia motioned. “I wasn’t sure if you would or not. Do you need a ride or a place to stay? I stay in my own place and it is quite safe.”

  The news report drama had put my plans to meet Oliver on hold and everyone in town would recognize me by now and I realized it was best for me to stay off the roads for a while.

  “Yes, I could really use a place to crash a bit and change my clothes if it is okay with you,” I signed.

  “I am glad to help you,” Amelia motioned.

  I was taking a risk putting my trust in someone I had just met and who I only spoke with for the first time despite sharing a class with her for nearly six months. Amelia got in her car and I followed her.

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  Amelia was not the driver any parent would be happy to let their child go home alone with since safety seemed a much lower priority for her on the road. She appeared to love honking at other drivers on the road even when it was not their mistake and despite this she impressed me with her driving skills weaving in and out of the traffic and pedestrian crossings like a race car driver. She probably only got her license about a year ago, but I didn’t think I wanted to share a car with her again though. We reached her apartment parking lot in under ten minutes.

  “Welcome to my place,” Amelia motioned as she opened the door to her apartment.

  I was surprised she could live in her own place althoug
h she was still going to school and the place looked quite decent and wasn’t your typical teenager’s place. Amelia appeared to be the rare teenager who had broken through the barriers of independence and freedom and was living the life most of us would never even dream of.

  Thomson wasn’t a wealthy town, but of the group of towns surrounding Vinder, it probably was one of those towns with more middle-class people which was pretty good considering it didn’t have any natural resources like some of the others. I heard in one town there was so much natural resources they didn’t even need people to dig it up but instead anyone could pick them off the ground anywhere and the poorest in this town even had homes bigger than mine.