Break the Silence
By: Melody Syper Carston
Prologue
"It ticks just like a Timex. It never lets up on you. Who said life was easy? The job is never through. It'll run us to we're ragged. It'll harden our hearts. And love could use a day of rest before we both start falling apart..." —Kieth Urban, Raining on Sunday
Arthur hated the rain…
Rain brought a darkness that swallowed everything in its destructive path. It's inky black tendrils would mockingly curl themselves around buildings and people, bringing them in to embrace the blackness like a long lost friend. It blended colors until one couldn't be told from the other. It sucked up every light until one wouldn't be able to see one's own hand in front of his or her own face.
Rain brought memories that screamed out in the darkness. They were splatters of bloody red on the inky walls. Memories of the Revolutionary War. Memories of the London Blitz. Memories of the Great Fire. Terrible memories that plagued his mind and twisted horrible tales. Tales that would make anyone want to cringe away.
Rain brought frustration that led to anger that brought arguments that brought breakups that brought loneliness. Arthur had learned that not too long ago when Alfred and he had gotten into a fight that had ended with the former walking out. Arthur, of course, had tried to chase after him, begging him not to leave, that he hadn't meant a word that had been said, but, alas, the American was too fast and the Briton hadn't been able to keep up with him.
Rain brought fear that grabbed you and pulled you down, down, down into the deep ocean of cries of agony. The ocean waters flashed before his eyes and suddenly he was drowning. He couldn't breathe, water filling his lungs, burning cold. The sound of rushing floods filled his ears and he could no longer hear the screaming memories. He could no longer see the deep waters swallowing the darkness around him like a monster, leaving everything blurry and ugly.
Rain brought silence that brought a sharp ringing to Arthur's ears. The silence blocked out the sound of rushing water and the screams of memories, the pains of breakups and the regrets of insults, the flood of water and the darkness surrounding it. It coated the blood-soaked darkness with a hideously pure white, leaving everything looking too sterile and untouched like hospital floors.
Arthur all of these things but the silence was the worst of all. It was the only thing that visited him anymore. His magical friends had all but disappeared and with Alfred gone, he only had his own voice to keep himself company. It wasn't the same! He hated how deafening the silence was, filling his ears with a muffled sound, as if someone was talking through a pillow.
The silence controlled him, possessed his body and left him helplessly unable to control his own movements.
He hated it.
x~*~x
Arthur entered his house, loosening his tie with one hand and setting his brief case that he had in his other down by the door. He moved towards the closet— where he hung up his jacket and stashed his umbrella— and then towards the bedroom. He made a small noise in the back of his throat as he undressed as quickly as he possibly could. After depositing his wallet, watch, and cellphone on the desk on one side of the room, he moved to the other side, grabbing the bottle of whiskey he kept by the bedside by the neck, and downing what was left in the bottle. With his usual rituals done, the Englishman stretched out his arms and flipped the bedside lamp off, curling into a tight ball and prepared to sleep the rest of the rain away.
On the desk across the room, a loud chirp was heard, announcing that Arthur had missed a call and now had a voice-mail.
The machine quickly recorded what the person of the other line was saying before shutting off.
"...Hey, Iggy...? I-It's Alfred. Look can we talk, preferably in person? I'm sorry, okay? Call me back when you can..."
But Arthur wasn't listening. He was far too asleep by that time to hear any of it.
X~*~X
"I don't see why people add disclaimers in their stories. I mean obviously they don't own it or they would be multimillionaires that actually did something with their life instead of writing things for fanfiction. If they actually owned all of this shit then it would've happened and they wouldn't even bother to think about this dumbass website." – One of my friends on disclaimers.
~Melody Syper Carston