The sun beat down on her like a physical force, the light twisting and pushing under her skin. The glare of heat stung her eye, and the scar under the eye patch throbbed. Sweat slid down the back of her neck, tracing the curve of her back. The blond was laughing, his voice loud and capturing, demanding all attention. He was shoving his clumsy friend off the dock, and the splash of water echoed his slightly cruel laughter. The sea sparkled blue and the blur of the world hummed all around her. People going shopping or to work, passing by her, eyeing the blond with displeasure at the ruckus. And she was simply there, standing stock still and watching, an absence of colour.
If I am silent then I am not real
The brunette stared at the mouths moving in front of him, opening and closing, speaking. He concentrated on the buzz in his ears. He couldn't hear what they were saying anyway. Their speech took up the entire room, the noise filling and crying to be heard. He excused himself from the meeting but they just kept talking and no one noticed when he slipped out the door. Deaf people talking to each other. How amusing. He stepped away from the room and headed down the silent hallway.
If I speak up then no one will hear
She lay on her side, curling her arm beneath her head as a makeshift pillow. Loud snoring scratched at the quiet of the night, interrupting and drowning out the chirping of insects outside. Reaching out, she trailed her slender fingers through short blond hair. The figure shifted and turned away and she retracted her arm. She watched him sleep.
He blinked the hair from his eyes and brought his blade down in a swooping arc, decapitating a head and removing an arm cleanly from someone else. The battle roared all around him, and he flung spikes of icicles through the heaving mass of bodies ahead of him. Something collided against his leg and it was a small child looking up, fear etched in her eyes. She was filthy and dirt caked her skin. Her hair fell in tangles around her head and she pleaded, little mouth open wide and screaming. He couldn't hear anything but silence, so he lifted his blade again and watched her bleed.
If I wear a mask there's somewhere to hide
She bent over her work and let the pen trail loosely along the surface of the paper. The girl sitting beside her was sniggering and the person in front of her had a cocky grin plastered across his face. The blond approached the table and she looked up, but the blond leaned over her and smiled at the one sitting next to her. The ditzy girl swooned and fluttered and the blond need only to wink to reduce the girl into a puddle. He then turned to her, his jade eyes turning hard and smooth like glass. And he smiled a predatory smile, daring her to speak. He returned his attention to the other girl and she watched as the girl gloated silently at her, taunting her. She stared back and it wasn't long before the girl hurried away with the blond. She watched him exit the room, oblivious to the instructor snarling viciously at his retreating back.
If I raise my voice
He inclined his head as a raven haired girl attached herself to his arm. She grinned up at him, asking questions and answering them, chattering on about her day. He tried to listen but the buzzing in his ears simply got louder. With a slight shake of his head, he eased his arm from her and all but ran to his room. Digging into his shelves and drawers, he hunted frantically for painkillers. The girl watched, concern oozing from her eyes. His fingers bumped into the smooth cylinder and he quickly emptied its contents down his throat. The girl's expression turned to one of horror and before she could take a step towards him, he was gently nudging her out the door, requesting for some time to rest after the mission. She protested and said something about medicine but the buzzing drowned out her words and he shut the door and fell over.
Will someone get hurt?
He dreamed of rain and the grey of stone steps, darkened by the downpour. He dreamed of damp grass and sticky sand, of empty caves and rooms, taunts and fights, and of loneliness. He dreamed of a cradle in which he was in and the blurred outline of someone picking him up and singing. While the person sang, outside it rained and rained.
And if I can't feel then I won't get touched
She slashed her way through the bushes and trees, killing a couple of monsters on the way. She stumbled upon a group of cadets playing in the bushes and they scattered at the sight of a single red eye glaring out from under a coat of blood and gore. Continuing on her way, smashing through the undergrowth, she spun around and nearly took the head of the blond off as he smirked at the failure to sneak up behind her. She eyed him warily, and he shrugged as he told her about the whiny girl he had picked up from class and how she was nothing but a slut anyway. Then he slammed his mouth against hers and she closed her eyes.
If no truths are spoken then no lies can hide
He told the doctor that he just had a headache and she nodded while driving tubes into him to pump his stomach. He told the headmaster that he was tired. The headmaster nodded and assigned him to a new mission. He told the girl that he had to go on a mission and she smiled and arranged a date for that night.
Did you hear me speak
She wandered the hallways and leaned against the vending machine in the cafeteria. She had stood in this same spot countless times but now, should she be seen, she would be driven out. She was a white shadow that flitted about in the dark and trailed after a golden beam.
Do you understand
He threw up off the side of the car and the cowboy cursed about the new paint job. A blond haired woman lectured him and patted his back in what was supposed to be a soothing way. He told them that he couldn't hear them but they kept talking. They talked and he could hear nothing and everything was lost to him.
Did you hear my voice
She hadn't seen the blond for weeks and spent her days walking down to the docks or sitting on the beach. As the sand formed a crust on top of her hands in a warm grip, she wondered about the boy that she remembered sitting on the beach, enclosed in blankets of rain, clinging to his pain desperately. She wondered about the blond as a child, when he had ripped through the other's pain and tore it apart and laughed and smiled and flung him away like an old toy. She thought of the shadow that followed him, the shadow that followed him still, and let the waves hug her.
Will you hold my hand
He exited the car and dug his fingernails into his palm, drawing blood. The woman glared and fussed while the cowboy lounged around lazily. He pressed his palm to his forehead and left behind a smear of blood. Looking at his reflection in the car's window, it looked like his wounds had reopened.
Do you understand me
She watched the bleeding sun sink beneath the horizon.
Won't someone listen
He buried his head in his hands and clawed at his face, knotting his hair between his fingers.
Nobody gets in
The blond wrapped his arms around her from behind, stinking of alcohol and sweat.
My body's a temple
He smacked away the woman's hand as it wandered close to him and she glared. The cowboy drawled something. He returned his gaze inward and to his despair, saw nothing.
But nothing is simple
She woke up, once again listening to the snoring beside her. The blankets grated against her flesh and she got off the bed, peeling off the drowsy grab that enclosed her wrist. Dressing, she stepped out of the unlit room and into light.
Silence is golden
He stood at the observation deck, and the headmaster was behind him, reciting something. He looked out at the flickering lights and blaze of neon across the Garden. The woman took his blade from him and he let his eyes rest softly on his treasured blade. Then they were gone, and he kept staring out at the lights.
I have been broken
She found the lighthouse easily enough and she kicked through the rotting wooden door. If not for the layers of dust covering everything, it would have seemed that the place was still in use. Toys and blocks left lying around and drawings and crayons scattered on the table. Climbing the stairs that led to the bedrooms, she looked at the tiny beds meant for children, covers unmade and articles of clothing strewn on the floor. She kept moving and exploring, stirring up clouds of dust. There were no photos at all in what had been a home to seven children.
Something was stolen
It was raining and he let the chill soak into his bones. He was shivering and his teeth were chattering. The buzzing was gone now, drowned out by the silence of the pouring rain. He squinted against the rain and looked up. The sky swallowed him.
Safe in my own skin