Silence too Loud to Bear Part 2

Silence too Loud to Bear Part 2

By: Emily Ishida

An eerie silence fell upon Yamato. Whatever that thing was, he knew it had dragged Sora off. He couldn't help but shiver with fear. No matter how many times he tried to hold it back, a single tear traced his cheek, soon reaching his chin and falling soundlessly to the moist soil below. All around him was silence, and the only thing accompanying him was loneliness. Forcing his legs to move, Yamato took a step forward, gritting his teeth at the stinging of the cut he had received earlier from tumbling. Yamato's eyes stung from the tears, yet he was determined to go on.

Where could he have taken her? I hope she's still alive, Yamato thought sadly. Right now nothing could bring up his spirits. Soon he began to think of what could happen to Sora if he was too late. The thought itself scared Yamato to death, and he panicked. "SORA!" Yamato cried, falling down on one knee, hands on the ground and gasping for air. All this had really token his breath away, and the stress made his body feel tense. Now that this Digimon had captured Sora, he began to think back to when he and Sora promised to protect one another.

~Flashback~

"Yamato, being out here in the tropical forests sure makes me feel more adventurous than I usually am!" Sora beamed, sighing a deep sigh while shifting her position on the tree branch she and Yamato were sitting on, leaning her back against the trunk and closing her eyes.

"Yeah…but the jungle can be a dangerous place, you know that," Yamato replied, pulling himself towards Sora to where he was facing her.

"I know that," Sora sighed. "But I still love the thought of doing new things that are exciting."

"Well, let's make a promise then. Let's vow that no matter what, we'll fight with all our might to protect each other from any danger. Promise?" Yamato suggested, holding out his fist towards Sora. Sora smiled.

"Promise!" Sora agreed, putting her hand on top of Yamato's fist, and then with her other hand shook his free hand. Softly she gazed into his ice blue eyes, and kissed him softly. Both laughed and climbed down the tree to chase a nearby monkey.

~End of Flashback~

Remembering this, Yamato's heart burned with pain as he remembered how Sora had trusted him. He knew it was his fault…he was weak…he actually fell unconscious when he hit ground instead of being strong, and he couldn't even save his girlfriend. His chest ached from holding back the tears, and he turned to see the spot that Sora had laid. There was a spot of blood…not much…probably from falling. Yamato's eyes widened as he saw something gold glimmer in the moonlight.

There on the ground was a pin. It was an angel pin, the one he had given Sora when she gave him an angel pin. Both pins were different; the pin Sora gave Yamato had a diamond body and head with sapphire wings and a gold halo, and the one Yamato gave Sora was a tiny bit larger that was a detailed gold one with a face, dress and feathered wings. Yamato's hands trembled as he lifted it from the dirt.

Sora never went anywhere without that pin. Guilt overcame Yamato; for he never wore the one Sora had given him. Instead, he kept it in his pocket. With a heavy heart, he pulled the pin from his pocket and examined it. Feeling love towards Sora, he placed the pin on his navy blue shirt above his right breast, and hid the other pin in his pocket securely. Now he was ready to look for Sora.

When Yamato was walking uphill, he wondered where to start. He had no clue where the thing had token Sora. Not a single clue had been left for him. Yet he still wondered why the thing didn't claim him while he was lying motionless and unconscious on the ground. Was there something about Sora that Kyle didn't know? Did Sora hold a secret?

Hours and hours had past since Yamato had left to look for Sora. By now he was weak on strength, but strong in determination. As Yamato walked aimlessly through the depths of the jungle, his eyelids grew heavy and he was nodding slightly. Three times had he almost gave in to sleep. Yet he saw a tree nearby and walked towards it, stumbling as he walked, knowing that if he slept Sora would only be in worse danger. But since it looked so tempting, he gave in.

 

Slowly, Yamato leaned wearily against the tree, listening to the gentle, 
rhythmic breathing of the wind. He wished he could fall asleep, too. Yamato
was so tired...he felt like he'd been walking forever. It didn't change the 
fact that he was drop-dead exhausted.

He tried listening to the sounds of the jungle instead of the wind's steady 
breathing, and with a start he realized there was nothing at all to listen to. 
No birds, no small animals, not even any insects…nothing at all. The jungle 
was completely lifeless. Now that he thought about it, the jungle had 
always been this quiet at night. Yamato just hadn't actually focused on it 
enough to notice before now. Part of him wondered if Sora had realized how 
devoid the trees were of life, and the other part, the part he didn't really 
want to acknowledge, wondered why there were no other humans here 
besides him, Sora and Ron. Maybe they knew enough to stay away...maybe 
they knew something Yamato and Sora didn't. And another thought disturbed
him as well. Why was that Digimon on Earth?



Even these disturbing thoughts faded as Yamato's eyelids seemed to grow 
heavier, until he was fighting an uphill battle trying to keep them open. 
Eventually, he lost. His eyes drifted shut, and sleep claimed him.

When Yamato had woken up again, he jumped in fear for how late it was. 
During all that time he had been asleep, Sora could possibly have been 
tortured, forced to do things against her will, or crying in pain. This all 
scared Yamato, and he immediately got up to search again. But as he 
quickly stood up he fell back on the ground with a thud just as fast. 
Obviously he had stood to quickly, for the blood flow was too slow and it 
made him dizzy. Yamato stood more slowly, then sped off down the 
nearest trail to search.

When Yamato had begun his search, it was late morning. Now he was late in the afternoon, when the sun set off a radiant glow against towering trees, which scattered rays of light across the shady path that Yamato desperately scanned as he searched. Not too long after his search he grew hungry. But since he was in such a hurry to find his missing love, he hardly acknowledged it. Yamato was just now feeling the pain of hunger, and figured it was just another burden to carry, so he left it alone.

Hours later, Yamato couldn't handle the temptation. He looked around, seeing nearly nothing eatable. All he could see was little insects, birds, foliage, and monkeys. Yeah, like he was going to eat a monkey. Shielding his eyes as he glanced up towards the roof of the jungle, he noticed some kind of fruit entangled within the branches of the ancient trees. But there were no supporting branches to help him climb. Yet since he was so hungry, he was determined to try.

Yamato scanned the ground for any sign of a vine or anything relevant to such. After a few minutes he found one, nearly missing it because of it's clever hiding place. It was old and probably extremely unstable, but because it was the only thing handy at the time Yamato didn't care. Swinging it around the trunk of the old tree, he wrapped the ends tightly around his wrists a few times and pulled with a jerk to determine stableness. After he was sure of his check, he lifted his right foot to the tree and pushed himself up, using the vine to help him climb. Because of the rough texture of the tree bark, it held the vine quite nicely.

As Yamato climbed, he realized there was more to listen to than the night before. Birds were singing constantly back and forth to birds far away, insects were calling out to others, and many other animals made their natural noises. All the noises Yamato heard felt like a jungle song, keeping a steady rhythm while sounding so relaxing and natural. Twice Yamato had nearly fallen while enjoying the tranquility of the jungle's music.

"Come on, Yama," Yamato mumbled to himself continuously. "You can get those fruit. You're no idiot!"

After a while Yamato reached the roof of the tropical forest, where he felt victorious for his long climb upward. His muscles ached and his forehead was dappled with tiny beads of sweat, but he had made it and was now ready to pick the fruit he had been climbing for.

Yamato reached for a fruit, and as he picked it, he started to feel the urge to just bite it immediately. But he collected himself as he picked a few and stuffed two in each pocket, and then sat among a stable-looking branch to enjoy his prize. Nothing had tasted so heavenly at that moment. It felt like paradise had found its way inside Yamato's body…at least it felt that way.

"Ahhh," Yamato sighed, leaning against the trunk while feeling completely satisfied. But just as he was ready to begin searching again another dilemma took place…how was he going to get down? Yamato looked down, noticing the incredibly uncomfortable height he was at. "Shoot," Yamato groaned.

A knot formed in Yamato's now full stomach, and fear overtook him. But he didn't let any reach the surface. Keeping his cool, he decided to use the same technique he used to climb up. Swinging the vine around the trunk yet again, he jumped outward while holding the vines, which were tightly wrapped around his wrists. He landed with his feet on the trunk, and he jumped again. Soon Yamato had succeeded to maintain a steady rhythm; jump, stop, jump, stop.

Nearby, a monkey had been watching Yamato's movements. He was curious, of course, and couldn't help but wonder what this strange being was doing. The monkey gave a yell, which caught Yamato off guard. Yamato slipped, and lost grasp of one end of the vine, which caused him to fall, down towards the solid ground below, where he was certain he was a goner.

As Yamato's heart pounded fiercely, knowing he was done for, he felt leaves on his back, which was facing down. He could feel it…he was going to die. But he didn't. In fact, he didn't even hit ground. Instead, he fell right through, down into a cold, dark place, falling into the depths of nothing, darkness entirely engulfing him. Every animal scurried into secure hiding places as he fell, knowing the danger he was in. Once again, even in broad daylight, the forest held an uncomfortable silence…too uncomfortable.

A/N: Liked it? The next chapter is coming!