Page 48 of A Silence So Divine

Rising to his feet, Curran takes a moment to stretch and pop the knuckles on his hand. Many of the remaining men leave the room.

“Emory Flynn,” Curran calls out, the empty room amplifying the volume of his words. The young boy gasps, his head whipping back and forth as he tries to decipher which directionthe voice is coming from. My eyes seek out Cecil, and I find him slowly making his way to my left. His jaw is set, his stare utterly blank. Impossibly, my heart rate increases.

“Your soul has been Damned. It is our honor to release you from the reigns of Darkness and give you the gift of mercy. Do you wish to speak?”

The words travel through my ears and down into my lungs, stealing every bit of oxygen. I begin pulling at my restraints without abandon.

Not this. Not again.

Please, please,please.

A hand grips my shoulder, but I hardly feel it as I thrash and kick. The warmth of breath hits my ear as Cecil leans in, his voice hardly audible over the chaos in my mind.

“Do not watch.”

The boy is wailing now, but he tries to speak in between sobs.

“I am s-sorry for what I a-am. I don’t want to d-die, please. I am s-so sorry.”

No one responds, and I wish more than anything that I could at least tell the boy that he is not alone.

Turning to Cecil, he stares straight ahead, a furrow between his brow the only hint that he might feel anything other than indifference. I continue to thrash, trying to turn the attention to myself. There has to be another way. If they want to kill someone, it should beme.

I can’t bear it. I can’t.

We must have mercy on the damned, Eden.

“At 3:47 p.m. on March 25th, Emory Flynn was delivered from evil.” Curran proclaims, causing the boy's cries to grow even more desperate.

A dip of Curran’s chin is Percy’s cue. In my peripheral vision, he grabs the young boy's head from behind.

As quickly as I can, I bury my face against Cecil’s shoulder and squeeze my eyes shut.

A dull snap and thud sound from beside me, and then…

A chasm in my mind opens. More despair than any one person could ever bear pours out of me, wreaking havoc on my body and mind. All the air is pushed from my lungs in an animalistic shriek. An infinite supply of agony consumes me.

All my senses have gone. I have no concept of time nor space.

At some point, everything goes black, and I welcome the nothingness.

Twenty

Cecil

Deafening screams rouse me from a stupor. Awareness is slow moving, but I realize I’m in a heap on the concrete. I attempt to stand, but the room spins when I lift my head. Did I faint? Orbs swim through my vision and I blink rapidly to clear them.

I have to get to Eden.

After what feels like minutes, I’m able to push onto my knees. Eden is still secured against the pole. Her back arches away from it, and her nails gouge into the flesh of her own arms. I push myself to stand so I can grip her face. My head feels like it’s moments away from imploding, but if I don’t stop her, someone else will.

Once I push her hair out of her face, my chest aches in concern. Lines of blood trail beneath both of her eyes and nostrils, and her face is contorted in torment. The screams are endless, no pause for breath. I peer around her and my eyes catch on the bodies that litter the ground. One of them is still, and I recognize it as Emory. Swallowing hard, I don’t allowmyself a moment to feel the guilt that waits in the pit of my stomach. Later.

Squinting, I study the man that’s on his back beside the deceased child. Percy thrashes like he’s being electrocuted. Curran stands at the back of the room, utterly pale. Traces of crimson leak from his ears.

“OH GOD! PLEASE GOD!” Percy shrieks, desperately clawing at his face. Blood covers every inch of his head, painting him until he’s unrecognizable. He looks exactly how the man beside the pond did. The only difference is he’s still alive.

Swiping at my own face, I pull my hands back to check for blood. Despite the throbbing in my head, I’m unscathed. Bewildered, I look back to Eden. Whether she meant to spare me or not, I dread what kind of conclusion Curran might come to once he realizes.