Hush Now,
A sudden quiet fell over Storybrooke. Normally, Emma would rejoice this fact, as it didn't happen often. It seemed like there was a new world-ending threat every single week, and, to be frank, she was getting quite tired of it. However, this silence was unnerving, somehow. It was night, and many people were sleeping, but there usually was something happening. Someone walking their dog late in the evening, a brawl at The Rabbit Hole, vampires roaming the street, the howling of the town's werewolves in the distance… But tonight, there was nothing. Not even a breeze to rustle the leaves on the street. This silence that had fallen over Storybrooke like a thick blanket was not natural. And, Emma felt in her bones after she noticed she did not even hear her own footsteps, not even her own breath, that was definitely not good.
Don't be scared,
Emma had, in her life, quickly learned that, although the presence of sound was scary indeed, the true absence of it was hair-raisingly terrifying. Sure, the sudden sound of a car alarm was startling, and the sound of people stronger than you shouting at you was scary as well. And Emma had most definitely been afraid when Elsa's ice monster had attacked, or when the ogre had attacked, or when those flying monkeys had flown over Storybrooke screeching. But those were fleeting fears for fleeting problems, ones she could solve, or at least run away from. No, the truly scary moments were those of complete and utter silence. When men were so angry they couldn't speak, when she hadn't heard that fugitive come from behind to grope her, when Henry collapsed after eating that turnover, the moment before the second curse hit and she and Henry had left town, the many, many times she saw her Killian collapse before her and had to wait for precious, precious moments with her ear pressed to his chest, trying to find a heartbeat that might or might not be there. Yes, those moments were the truly scary ones. They weren't fleeting, and she couldn't escape them. Those moments of complete and utter silence were the ones that returned in her nightmares. And those moments were what the current state of Storybrooke reminded her of. And that, Emma realised, was not a good sign.
Through this tide of darkness.
Emma had never been afraid of the dark. There were, after all, enough other, real things to be afraid of in this world. But when, in addition to the sudden silence, Storybrooke went completely dark, Emma was well and truly afraid. One moment she saw the quiet Main Street right in front of her eyes, the next she was completely blind. This was not just the darkness one would expect after a power cut, or when a particularly thick cloud covers the bright moon. No, it seemed like someone had transported the entirety of Storybrooke, Maine to a cave in the middle of the earth, where no natural light could ever reach. Emma could not see her hands in front of her face. Could not see anything of her own body, really. She stepped forward, but it might as well have been that she had no body anymore at all. She did not hear her footstep, nor see her leg move. 'What the hell' she whispered, and, immediately following that, breathed a sigh of relief as she realised she could hear her own voice, although she did not hear the sigh that followed. 'So I can hear my own voice, just nothing else. Can't see either.' She concluded, speaking to herself in order to somewhat break that pressing silence. In order to, as she dared not admit to herself, confirm she was, indeed, alive and not going completely mental. Although she honestly could not be sure about that latter part.
Shadows may march,
One would think that when it is so completely and utterly dark that one cannot even see one's own body, one could also not see someone – something – else's body. Emma Swan soon found out that that was not true. From the corner of her eye she saw movement, a shadow in the shadows. Not necessarily a lighter colour, but not darker either. But definitely a shadow, something different, something moving.
'Hello?' She turned, facing the figure. 'Who are you?'
It was too dark, too vague to perceive the identity of the thing.
'I'm sorry, I can't see you clearly, everything is so dark. Can you tell me who you are? I'm Emma Swan, the Sherriff.'
Not that she needed to introduce herself in this town, as everyone had a pretty good idea of who Emma Swan was. She stepped forward but stumbled over a – curb, probably? It's not like she could see what exactly she tripped over, in all this dark. With a flick of her wrist Emma conjured a small light in her hand. Or at least, that was her intention, but nothing happened. She tried again, and again, but in vain.
'Bloody Hell' she whispered, taking over the curse of a certain pirate. 'Okay, my magic doesn't work, it's totally dark outside and the only thing I can hear is my own voice. Okay. Stay calm. Breathe in – breathe out. Just like Archie told you.' It was weird, however, doing these breathing exercises when she couldn't hear her own breath at all. It also did not help that she saw the movement again. And again. And again. It seemed like an entire army of shadows had infiltrated Storybrooke, and there was nothing she could do against it.
Thunders may roar,
We have already previously established that the complete absence of sound is much more terrifying than loud noises. This, as it stands, remains true. However, the combination of both, together with a little dash of hopelessness, is enough to scare even the bravest of souls. That was why Emma, when a sudden thunderclap sounded right next to her, let out a very un-saviour-like scream. A sudden sound in silence sounds like the previously described startling car alarm, but this was different. First of all, she still couldn't hear her own sighing or her own heartbeat or her own footsteps. Secondly, the sound seemed to have no source, but instead come from everywhere and anywhere. Not only from all around her but seemingly also from below her, where the hard asphalt under her feet did confirmed she was still standing on something. That did not seem to stop the sound though. The thunder – or, at least, she hoped that roaring sound was thunder – continued, rumbling and bellowing and booming right above her head. With her hands pressed against her ears, Emma carefully stepped forwards, finding her way to her parents' house by memory.
But peace will soon prevail.
She did not know how long it had been since she had started walking, but it felt like hours. Every step she took she had to take very carefully, and she only occasionally used her hands to feel around her as the thunder continued, nearly shattering her eardrums. She was lucky she still remembered where she had been when the darkness had come, and she was happy her parents lived so nearby. Eventually, she had found the building, unlocked the door in a not-so-very-legal way and slipped in. As the door closed behind her the thunder silenced, and it took Emma a while to get used to the sudden light around her. It seemed that only the streets of Storybrooke had been affected and that the houses inside were safe from whatever was going on outside. 'Mom? Dad?!' she shouted, her surroundings still blurry from the sudden brightness. 'Emma!' She heard the cheery voice of her mother reply from somewhere in the house, followed by footsteps on the stairs and a warm embrace. 'Mom!' And, although she did not exactly know why, Emma burst into tears.