Author's Note: Bet you weren't expecting this for my story about the Silence.
Bet you weren't expecting a whole bunch of things about this story, actually. Perhaps that's one of the reasons I love this story; because it's not what you expect.
(Okay, maybe you'll all jump in and correct me, saying this was *exactly* what you expected a Silence story to be. I'm not saying that's impossible. I'm not perfect, after all. It's just that somehow... I doubt it.)
By the way, to all you people from Quebec out there... hello! Thanks for allowing me to poke some fun at you! My dad's from Quebec, so I figured I was entitled to it.
Enjoy!
It had been a normal day.
Leah woke up. Got dressed. Brushed teeth. Left home and went to the office, doing hair and makeup on the hovertrain. Picked up a Danish and coffee from the break room. And sat down at her desk.
Less than half an hour later…
The woman with the sunglasses walked in.
Sharp, short black dress, heels that clicked against the marble floor, and a pair of sunglasses perched on her head, holding back her hair. That gorgeous mahogany hair that flowed down her back, catching the sunlight as it cascaded through the windows. Her brown eyes twinkled.
"Leah DeGrout," she read off the nameplate. Smiled. "I've been to Grout. Love the language. They say it comes from a mutated version of Québécois. Which is, of course, why no one in the known universe can understand it."
"Who are you?" Leah demanded, closing her datapad. "What are you doing here? You need a badge to get into this building."
The woman laughed. Leaned over the desk, and whispered, "I'm God."
Leah blinked.
Then blinked again.
"Wait, you're… a god?" Leah said.
"No, I'm God," said the woman with the sunglasses. Pointed to the ceiling. "You know! Big guy upstairs. The one and only! King of Kings, Lord of Lords, the Almighty, Blessed-are-you-Lord-Our-God, Burning-Bush-No-Sandals-Holy-Ground — the whole deal!"
"You're…"
"The one you damn when you stub your toe and the one you bless when someone sneezes." The woman grinned, then posed. "That's me! Impressed?"
Leah nodded, slowly. Then tried to think up the best way to back out of the room.
"But enough about me," said the woman, pulling up a chair that had come, seemingly, from nowhere, and sitting across from Leah. "You. You're interesting."
"I… I'm gonna call my supervisor," Leah said, turning. "Whoever you are, you can't—"
"Tell me about them," the woman said.
Leah stopped. Froze.
Then turned back, slowly. And when she next spoke, her voice came out as a squeak. "Who?"
"So I was right — it is wearing off," said the woman. "You know what I'm talking about."
Leah's eyes narrowed. "Get out of here."
"Have they been in your nightmares?" the woman asked. "Do you feel like there's something you should remember, just out of reach, and you can't find it?"
Leah jumped to her feet. "Get out!" she screamed. "Get out! Get out! Get out!"
The woman with the sunglasses said nothing for a few moments.
Then nodded. Got up from her chair.
"It's time, Leah," said the woman. She turned, headed out the door. "Don't find me. I'll find you."
Then left.
Leah hadn't wanted to think about the Sunglasses woman.
But the meeting kept bothering her.
Kept spinning through her head, like there was something she was missing. No… there was something she was missing. Something she couldn't remember. Something important. Something she'd done, or…
No.
Someone she'd met.
A week ago. Yes, Leah was sure! A week ago, she'd met someone. Two someones. They'd been looking for some organization. Something about… doctors…
But that was it.
That was all that she remembered. Not their names or what they looked like or how they'd gotten here. All Leah knew was that she'd met them.
And if she told anyone, she'd be dead.
Seo came to.
Chained.
An evil-looking woman with an eye patch was staring down at her. Like she was a specimen waiting to be dissected.
How had she gotten there?
"And again," Mrs. Eye Patch said. "Fascinating."
Seo went very still. Her mind struggling to remember what had happened, just before. "Aunt Dawn," she said. She'd been with Dawn. She'd been running… with… "Where is she? What did you do to her?"
"No recall at all," said a man — also with an eye patch — standing close by. "Impressive."
"Not as impressive as this." Mrs. Eye Patch raised up two fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?"
Seo stared. "I'm sorry?"
"Answer my question," said Mrs. Eye Patch, "and maybe I'll answer yours."
That seemed ridiculous.
But Seo figured there was no harm in answering.
"Two," said Seo. Narrowed her eyes. "Now my turn. What did you do to Aunt Dawn?"
Mr. Eye Patch's lips twitched into a smile. "Remarkable. She can see right through them."
"She doesn't even know they're there," Mrs. Eye Patch replied. "Perhaps that has something to do with her reaction to them. The complete lack of recall at all times."
"Would you stop talking about me like I'm not here?" Seo demanded. Shook her head. "And what's with the eye patches? Is it Dress-Like-A-Pirate Day? Or did your marketing department decide this look would be the best way to brand your company as evil?" With a small grin. "As if your mission statement isn't enough to give that away."
"She knows…?" asked Mr. Eye Patch.
"Of course I know what you're planning to do," Seo interrupted. "I came here looking for you. I came here to stop you. So you'd better think twice before—"
"One of his companions, we assume," Mrs. Eye Patch told her colleague. "Long-term memory isn't affected. She always knows who we are."
"If it's his companion…" Mr. Eye Patch winced. "You don't think… this is one of his traps?"
"Not a very effective trap," Mrs. Eye Patch replied. Looked over her shoulder. "Flip the lights!" Then back at the man. "Now, if you watch—"
The lights went out.
Leah walked aimlessly around the park by her home, that evening.
It kept bugging her. The lack of memory. Leah struggled to put the pieces together. She'd met... two people. She was even starting to picture their faces, now. A blond girl, enthusiastic and young and bubbly. And the other — brown hair, blue eyes, serious expression.
Leah had met them. She'd been helping them!
Helping them… with what?
Leah sighed. She couldn't remember, and it was getting late. She turned around to head home.
And froze.
A creature stood behind her. Tall. Slim. Large, bulbous head with sunken eyes and skin tight around a nonexistent mouth. A black suit from which protruded long, bony fingers.
Leah shuddered back.
"I've… seen you before," she realized. Her heart hammering in her chest. "I remember you."
And she did. All of a sudden! Remembered them from her nightmares. From those flashes of memory when Leah had met those other two. Remembered them from the darkest depths of her soul, and she remembered being terrified of them.
The creature advanced towards her, as the lights began to flicker from nearby street lamps, electricity buzzing through the air and gathering around the creature's thin body.
Leah turned.
And ran.
Ran as fast as she could, feet pounding the pavement. Ran like her life depended on it. Ran through trees and grass and past benches and smooching couples, ran down…
A hand caught her arm.
Stopped her, pulled her aside. "It's all right. I got you."
Leah stared in surprise. It was that same woman, who'd come into her office, earlier that day. The same woman who'd claimed she was God, and had asked about the creatures from Leah's nightmares. She was back.
And was now wearing her sunglasses over her eyes.
"Is it them?" the woman whispered. "The ones from your nightmares?"
Leah nodded. Couldn't speak.
The creature was still lurking closer and closer towards them. Its body building up more and more energy.
The woman thrust a long metal pole and a pair of rubber gloves at Leah. "Put those on," she said, "and hold that against the ground. Then follow me." Then sprinted out into the open, and pointed her finger into the distance.
CRACK!
A bolt of lightning flashed through the sky, arching at the perfect angle to strike a tree hanging just over one of the main power lines, causing it to topple and crash down.
The power to the city flickered out.
Plunging them into darkness.
The horrible creature sent a bolt of electricity hurtling towards the woman with the sunglasses, but Leah raced out, held the rod out in front of her, with the rubber gloves...
And dropping it in alarm, as the energy arched towards the rod, and it grew red hot in her hands.
"Leah," said the woman, turning on her heels. "Run!"
Leah didn't hesitate, this time.
Just ran after the woman, fast as she could. Tried to keep up, as the woman flipped her sunglasses back on top of her head, squinting into the distance and belting through the park.
"What… how…?" she asked.
"Lightning grounds the electrostatic charge in the air," the woman replied. "The power outage means they can't absorb electricity from anywhere else. Perfect solution."
"I mean the lightning!" said Leah. "How'd you do the lightning?!"
The woman shrugged. "Told you. I'm God."
Leah surged forwards. Grabbed up the woman's hand, where she discovered a small gizmo inside the palm. "God with sophisticated lightning-creating technology," Leah countered.
The woman tugged back her hand. "Who said God was a luddite?"
They ran into an alley, and the woman shushed Leah. Closed her eyes and listened, carefully. Then nodded in approval, confirming they were gone, and gave Leah a small grin.
Leah crossed her arms.
"So if you're really God," said Leah, "what interest do you have in me? And what interest do those… creatures have in me?"
"You have information," said the woman. "I told you. Information you can't remember. Information they want."
"What information?"
The woman looked right into Leah's eyes. "For a start," she said, in a very quiet voice, "you're the only one who knows the location of Dawn Summers."
