Hushed

When people predicted what the apocalypse would be, they often said we would go out with a BANG… They could not have been more wrong. The end of society came as quietly as the silent void of space. Some think it was virus, others think it was a government experiment gone wrong , but everyone agrees it was hell. I guess it didn’t really matter how it started, but we called it The Hush. One day, before I was born, people started waking up with progressively worse hearing until they went completely deaf. Governments tried containing it, but no one could figure out how it spread. Eventually, the whole world had been affected, and not a single person was left with the ability to hear. At first, society adjust easily with their sophisticated technology, but things soon deteriorated. The 3rd world countries were the first to fall as people went mad from the silence. Soon enough others around the world began losing their minds too. Most lost their minds in the loneliness and they committed suicide, while others went so crazy they became maniacal killers. The latter would form groups of savage animals we called The Maniacs, they’d go around taking all their rage out on other people, even their own. However, a small percentage kept going trying to carry on what was left of society, my parents included.

My name is Patricia Longview, but everyone calls me Trish, and I live in Millennium City. We live inside a walled off portion of an old city, with other people who wanted who only want to survive. We survive on what little food we can grow, but we do have minimal electricity. When power plants stopped running, the only source of electricity people could find was solar panels. They don’t produce much but it’s enough to get by on. Life is simple; stay inside the walls and survive… and most importantly DO NOT GO OUTSIDE THE WALLS. Outside the walls, chaos runs rampant from Maniac tribes and their wake of destruction as well as overgrowth of nature and animals in humanities absence. Every few days, a scavenger team leaves to find supplies for the town, but they are trained to make sure they don’t lead anything back here. Of course, being kids we didn’t always follow the rules and would often sneak out. The fresh air, the beautiful biota, the change of scenery, these were all things we needed to keep sane. At the time we were young and mindless children, unaware of consequences. But we would soon learn our lesson.

I wake up to my best friend, Carolyn, rocking me back and forth violently. She hands me a note that’s says “Let’s go outside”. It’s 1:02am, so no one is up awake stop us, plus sneaking around when no one can hear is easy. I was hesitant, but it had been several days since we had gone beyond the walls and there was sparrow’s nest I wanted to check on. Within minutes I had thrown on clothes and grabbed my bag. Our secret tunnel through the wall was an underground tunnel that was covered with a heavy metal cover in the ground. It was covered in debris so nobody had noticed it until we were playing hide and seek one day. Carolyn had decided to crawl under the debris and found the hole in the ground and since then we have kept it a secret from the adults. We quickly made our way through the tunnel, which seemed to go on forever in every direction. I start climbing our usual exit from when Carolyn starts tugging on my leg and points further down the tunnel. I shake my head no to convey that I think it’s a bad idea, but she starts going anyway. I realize there is no stopping her so I climb down and catch up to her. The tunnel twists and turns but we eventually find another ladder to climb. We push the metal cover up and find ourselves in a place we’ve never been before. The buildings tower over us covered in vines and falling apart. Without thinking, Carolyn runs off to explore with me right behind her. We enter one of the tall buildings and start digging through everything to see what we can find. Most of it doesn’t look very cool, but then I come across a heart shaped locket. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, it’s silver with gold engraving, so shiny you could see it from miles away. I put it in my pocket and catch up to Carolyn who is already moving on to the next building. After a few hours, we get tired and decide to head ho- did I just see something move? Must be eyes playing tricks on me or maybe a small animal. We run as fast as we can to the hole that leads to the tunnel and as I descend, I put the metal cover back. In the corner of my eye, though, I see something move. This wasn’t my eyes playing tricks on me, I saw something move I’m sure of it. Ignoring it, we quickly make our way back home before anyone notices we are gone. Later that morning I wake up to the smell of breakfast being cooked by mother. I jump out of bed and grab a piece of paper. I write “I love you” and put it with the locket I found so I can give it to my mother. I put it in her room and then hop down the stairs to eat whatever smells so good.

Again I am woken up by someone rocking me, but this time I can see a red warning light flashing out the window. To my surprise it’s my mother who is waking me up and she looks scared. The warning lights are only supposed to go on in an emergency so it must be serious. I look at her and raise my eyebrow with concern, trying to figure out what is happening. She hands me a piece a paper with a single word written on it: Maniacs. I fill with dread and look at my mom as if to ask “What do we do?”. She doesn’t respond and instead starts packing my bags. Clothes, food, water- everything one needs to survive. I’m still putting my shirt on as she pushes me out the front door. We make it to the the emergency exit, but so has everyone else, and we get stuck in line to leave. With every minute that pass, the horde of maniacs tears through town getting closer to us. Then we see it, a group of people running towards us, terrified. Behind them… a sea of disaster, a monsoon of death. It’s too late. Everyone panics and runs in different directions. My mother grabs me and we run for the nearest building. In the silence of the chaos I can almost hear the screams of the victims and panic as people flee for their lives. Through a window I see the pile of rubble that hides our tunnel. It’s the only exit that isn’t blocked, our only chance of reaching safety. How do I tell my mother about it? In the heat of the moment I can’t think of how to communicate with her so I just tug on her arm. The doors start shaking. Maniacs on the other side are trying to break through, so my mother throws herself against the doors to block them. I keep trying to show her I know a way out but she doesn’t understand, how could she. The door is slowly but surely being broken down, we have only seconds till they are in. With one arm she grabs me and with the other she hands me something, the heart shaped locket. As silent as ever, she says the first words I’ve ever heard “I love you”. And with that I know what she wants me to do. I take it and run to the secret exit, looking back just in time to see the doors give way. And with that, I head down the hole never to see her again.