Sadly I don't own A Quiet Place.
Please let me know what you think of this story. Please bear in mind the conversation here is signed, so it's 'spoken' differently.
All your fault.
-Are you alright?- Marcus signed to Regan, although the sorrow in both siblings faces showed. -You've been…quiet for weeks.-
When she translated what her brother had just signed at her, Regan mentally snorted. She didn't know whether or not to laugh that thanks to the things which had taken over Earth and hunted by sound, the entire world had been forced to become silent. It meant nothing to her; Regan was born deaf, and while her family had needed to adapt to the needs she had, it was still so unusual the world had needed to become silent so nobody and nothing would be slaughtered by those things.
She knew her brother was being ironic; ever since Beau's death, Regan had been blaming herself for it since she had given their little brother that stupid rocket toy and he had put the batteries back inside. But she hadn't noticed a thing. Thanks to her deafness, Regan, who'd been closer to Beau than all of them, had heard nothing. It wasn't until she'd seen the look of horror on her family's faces and how dad had rushed towards her that Regan had realised something was wrong, but thanks to her deafness she hadn't realised what Beau was doing and she had been paralysed with horror.
If she had gotten control over herself then maybe Beau would still be alive.
If she had realised her family were looking at a point behind her maybe Regan would have gotten over herself quickly and thrown that stupid toy away.
If.
If.
If….!
Regan looked into her brother's face. -No. No, I'm not alright.-
Marcus' expression crinkled curiously -Why what's wrong?-
Regan sighed as she turned her head away from her brother. Her mind was fixed on the memory of Beau's death, her lack of response and how she was responsible for giving him that stupid toy again. -It's my fault-, she admitted, signing to her brother.
Marcus frowned for a moment before the penny dropped - Beau?- he signed.
Regan closed her eyes and nodded. She didn't see the point in signing in the affirmative.
-It was not your fault.-, Marcus signed.
Instantly Regan argued back, and he realised she had been waiting for this. -Marcus, it was my fault. I was closest to him, I should have run towards him…For fuck's sake, I didn't even realise something was wrong with Beau until I realised everyone was looking behind me…
-That was not your fault, Regan-, Marcus interrupted, signing firmly after grasping his sister's elbows, holding onto her for a moment so the two siblings could stare into each other's eyes. Regan wilted at the hard but sorrowful solemnity in Marcus' eyes. When he felt she would not interrupt him, only then did Marcus let go. For a moment the two siblings regarded each other, Marcus mentally composing what he was going to sign to his sister while hoping it went in.
-Okay, now listen; you gave Beau the rocket ship back, but when your back was turned, he took the batteries and slotted them back inside. That was his fault; you just gave him the toy, reasoning it was safe because you knew the batteries had been taken out, correct?-
-That doesn't excuse the fact I could have stopped him from being killed!-
-Regan, it was not your fault, just like it's not really dad's fault that he couldn't stop Beau from being snatched like that. Do you really think mum and dad don't likely blame themselves; dad for not getting there in time, or mum for freezing? Hell, I couldn't do anything, but even if I was able to help, I think I might have frozen on the spot. Beau never really seemed to take the invasion seriously, we both do because we're older than he was and we had a different perspective on the world. You know how he rushed around, making small noises despite mum and dad trying to make him understand the danger. Sure, he did as he was told, but he did slip up occasionally.-
Regan bristled visibly at the perceived slights about Beau, although inwardly she remembered all the times Beau caused trouble simply because he was too young to know any better -You can't blame this on all on Beau. I should have known something was going on with him, but I didn't realise it-
-That's not your fault. You weren't the only one to leave it to dad. I did as well, and I doubt I would have done anything if I was not sick. I'm terrified, Regan-, Marcus signed, although what he had just signed was hardly a surprise.
They were all terrified. Every day the Abbots like millions of survivors were forced to eke out an existence in a world where they were being hunted by monsters who only attacked if someone made a sound. -I'm scared out of my mind, scared every single day that we'll make one mistake, despite all the steps mum and dad dreamt up to keep us safe when we learnt how they hunted. I don't know if we'll find a way to fight back or not. I hope we do, but I am so frightened we'll make some kind of mistake, and they'll hear us.-
Regan looked down. -I know how you feel,- she signed back, -I don't know if any of my friends are still alive, or if they managed to get away from here in time. With the internet down it's impossible to be sure. All we can do is hope.-
Marcus nodded in total agreement. In the early days of the invasion, many people had tried to flee from the things, but at the time nobody realised how the things hunted. Marcus himself knew hundreds had died in those early days, but nobody knew if there were survivors. He hoped so. He missed his own friends, but he didn't know if he would ever find out what happened. It was increasingly rare for the family to meet other people, but even then there had to be precautions.
These days most people just avoided one another beyond the unspoken rule to inform the others they were still alive. Right now Marcus and Regan knew there were only four more different families who had survived, and they were living a quiet existence like the Abbots were. But it was easier for each other to steer clear of each other.
-I know, Marcus-, Regan signed. -But is hope enough?-
-It keeps me going.-
-I think dad blames me for what happened-, No matter what Regan seemed obsessed with that horrible day they had lost their younger brother.
When he translated what she had just signed Marcus felt angrier than he had done recently. Why the hell would she think that?
-Why do you think that?- he demanded, not even hiding his emotions from her.
Tears sprang to Regan's eyes. -Because I froze up, because I didn't help…-
-Oh, Regan, I thought we'd been over this. We were all stunned, horrified by what Beau was doing. What made it worse was we didn't dare call out and make him stop playing with that stupid rocket. If anything, you've saved us-, he added to stop this debate, although he was troubled himself. What if their father did hold Regan partly responsible for what happened to Beau? She had been nearby, but it wasn't her fault she was deaf.
Regan leaned back. -What do you mean?-
-If it wasn't for your deafness and how we needed to learn how to sign, we'd be dead right now. Regan, I'll tell you again; we were terrified and frozen stiff when Beau played with that toy. I was scared. Mum was horrified, but I know we likely wish we had moved with dad to stop Beau from getting killed,- With that Marcus stood up and he walked away, leaving Regan to her own thoughts, but he was also worried as well.