A/N: I am SO sorry for such a long delay, y'all. I promise, I'll get better about this. Two years, though... I really don't have any excuse for myself except college and work, lol. I haven't written creatively in a fairly long time, so I apologize if this isn't up to par, but I promise I'll run back over it. I just had a spurt of energy for this sucker and had to upload. Love you all, and I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 2: Whispers
Screaming. Not the fake horror-movie type of wailing, but the sound of complete and utter fear; the pure unadulterated sound one makes immediately before he is about to die. It's different, unique to each individual. I had memorized this one scream since the night after I'd first heard it, and even still, it raked harsh shivers up my spine like nothing else could. Maria. I dreamed about her death as often as physically possible.
I'm such a masochist. Yet again, I shot straight up from my prone position, every nerve a complete livewire thanks to countless hours of training ground into my mind and body. After the first few times, I remember I didn't have to tell myself to bring my hands up to protect my head and upper-chest. They were there in that moment, fists clenched as tightly as possible, the right prepped to fire into an enemy's throat, the left held closer to my body to protect. Panting heavily, I scanned the room, cold sweat dripping from my matted quills, a few droplets teetering on the edge of my jaw. Nothing's here. Inhaling raggedly, I forced myself to lower my fists, a soft pang coming from either of my palms where my close-cut fingernails hadn't been enough to keep myself from digging little crescent-shaped markings into the softer flesh of my palms.
I looked around the room, noting the lack of light coming in through the window, then glancing to the TV clock, finding only blackness in the outline of the rectangle.
Shit… power must be out. Sighing heavily, I pressed my hands to my face and pushed them up into my quills, allowing for a moment of calm. Okay, now call the power company. My living room wasn't too much of a mine field, so getting to the phone on the opposing wall proved to be fairly easy. I picked up the receiver, cradling the phone between my shoulder and ear, and pressed my index finger to the first few digits of the number. Somewhere between five and eight, I realized I couldn't hear a dial tone, so I depressed the phone hook a few times and waited for a response. Nothing. Could the phone lines have been cut too? This was abnormal; every time an outage had occurred, there had been no interference in the phone service.
I briefly wondered if other parts of the city were also experiencing this phenomenon, and needed to know in order to plot my next maneuver. While an outage typically wouldn't be that big of a deal, someone needed to inform the power company or the problem wouldn't be fixed for days on end. Since most of the other residents of my apartment complex were elderly or ignorant, I knew I would have to be the messenger. Huffing in a bit of agitation because "why do I have to be the one to run all the way to the fucking power company", I stumbled around the living room until I uncovered my pair of Jet Shoes beneath the coffee table, then half-shoved it out of my way as I stormed to the window.
A soft orange light glowed innocently through the cracks in the blinds, which had either just developed or I had completely missed previously. Slowing, I slipped two fingers in between one of those cracks at eye-level and pressed my face as close as I could get to peer out, instantly but shortly blinded as a result. Blinking rapidly to clear my vision, I hissed softly, retaking the effort and glaring into the light. I could only just make out one of the skyscrapers several blocks away gracing the city skyline with a fall so fiery it would have made Prometheus proud. People were below in the streets. People! Soon, the dust and debris from that fall would reach them and they would suffocate in the cloud of grey matter headed their way. Without hesitation, I practically ripped the blinds down as I tore the window open.
"HEY! GET BACK INSIDE, YOU'LL BE KILLED!" That was when I heard though, as if for the very first time again, what a true scream sounded like.