Deadly Silence

The room was quiet. The only noise was the clock ticking on the far wall. Moonlight shone through the bare window. A couch, clock, bed, and window were the only things in the room. Zeta sat up straight on the old, torn up brown leather upholstered couch watching the door. She could hear a wailing from upstairs. She got up and slowly neared the door. 1

She stopped and carefully her hand approached the doorknob. She felt the cold metal for a few seconds and proceeded to turn it. The door creaked open and she stepped cautiously into the pitch black hall. Zeta put her hand on the wall and used it as a guide through the hall. As she continued down her eyes adjusted to the dark and she strayed away from the wall and turned down a different hall. 2

Zeta spotted stairs at the far end of the long hall. Light flooded down from upstairs. She picked up her pace and as she got closer the wailing silenced. She stopped abruptly and listened in the dark to any noise of footsteps. She heard the chains of boots walking through the hall below her. She silently sighed and continued quietly to the steps. She reached the steps and she listened once more for the chains. Nothing. She proceeded up the stairs. 3

Coming to the last step Zeta noticed a door on the far left opened to a crack. No lights were seen from the room, not even moonlight. Zeta started walking toward the room. Several seconds later she noticed that it was the only room in the hall. The rest was blank wall. Zeta placed her hand on the doorknob, it was warm to the touch. The only warmth she has felt since she has awoken. Zeta opened the door and peered in from the threshold. She reached out to the wall on her left and felt a switch. The lights flickered on. The room was bare except for the lit furnace in the corner. The warmth of the room hugged around her like she was wrapped in covers just out of the wash on a winter evening. She heard wailing once more, from outside. Followed by the screech of tires. The wailing faded in the distance. Zeta was alone. 4

Zeta’s eyes fluttered open late the next evening. She had fallen asleep next to the furnace. The lights were still on but the door was shut, and she was under a warm blanket. She specifically remembered that the room was bare with nothing but the furnace, and she had left the door open. Somebody had been light to place the blanket over her and shut the door on their way out. 5

Zeta had stood up and examined the room carefully. In the corner nearest the door was a plate of food and a glass of water. Next to the glass was a card folded and propped up against the wall. Zeta walked silently to the display. She got down on her knees and picked up the card. She unfolded it and read it. 6

Do not be afraid Zeta. You will not be hurt. Eat. You need your strength. You are not alone. There are others. Journey with caution. 7

Zeta placed the card on the ground. She looked at the food, fried chicken and mashed potatoes. She knew it was a wise idea to eat but she had other priorities at the moment. She got up and went to the door. She departed from the warm haven and went out into the cold, sorrowful hall.8

The lights in the hall were still on. Zeta followed the bare walls down and around a corner. Stairs awaited a short distance down the hall. Orange light came down from the above halls. Zeta walked to and up the stairs.9

At the top Zeta discovered that the halls were illuminated by old oil lamps. She stepped forward. The hall was warm from the lamps’ blaze. Zeta walked to one of the doors. She pressed her hand to the wood. It was ice cold. Her hand slid to the doorknob, which was even colder than the door itself, proceeded to turn and she let it creak loudly open on it’s own. The room a lit by a single desk lamp in the corner on a metal desk. The desk looked like it belonged in an old hospital operating room from the early 1900s rather than a study. Bookshelves lined the walls. The carpet was a dark, rich brown and there was a diamond chandelier hanging from the center of ceiling. The bookshelves had outdated, thick, leather bound books. The desk was bare except from the lamp on the corner. Zeta went over to the desk and placed her palm on the lamp. It’s been on for awhile. In the opposite corner the cold winter air blew into the room, casting the gold curtains adrift around the window. Zeta walked to the window and slammed it shut. She stared thoughtless at the window for several seconds until she turned to the bookshelves and examined the titles. Books like Moby Dick, Little Woman, and Pride and Prejudice made up the content of this collection. Zeta got bored and wandered from the shelves. She sat down on an olive green couch under the window. After sitting in silence while memorizing the room’s layout for a long instant, she grew tired and lay on her side and fell asleep. 10

Zeta awoke early the next morning. The room was colder. Zeta looked up to window. It was opened. She was under the same blanket as she was the previous evening. The desk lamp was off and a thick book lay open on the table. The door was closed as the last time. Also on the desk was a plate and a glass of milk. What joined them was another card propped against the lamp. Zeta stood up and shut the window, pulled the curtains back so the bright morning sun could shine into the dim room, and walked over to the desk. She pulled the chair out and sat down. She grabbed the book from the table and flipped it closed so she could read the title. Dr. Jykle and Mr. Hyde. She put the book down and opened the card to read it. 11

Zeta, my dear you must eat. You’ll need your strength later in time. As I told you, you are not alone. They are here. Stray away from dark halls. Approach rooms with caution my dear. I do not wish to frighten you. Stay here, this room I have blessed, you may not be harmed. I will come for you tonight. Listen for the chains and quiet when they are heard. 12

Zeta read the card several more times. She placed it down finally and looked at the contents of the plate. Waffles and scrambled eggs. She felt a bit famished so she eat the eggs, drank the milk, but left the waffles for later. The meal was plane. Barely a taste but it satisfied her hunger. Zeta sat and pondered for a long while at the desk. 13

A scream from outside the door shocked and frightened Zeta. Her head snapped to the direction of the door the moment the scream was heard. It was a girl’s scream. Silence followed the scream and she watched the door. After a moment blood started leaking into the room from under the door. Zeta, frightened, got up and opened the door a crack and peeked out into the orange lit hall. The body of her sister, Beta, lay bloody and dead in front of the door. On top of her sister’s body lay a note. She flung the door opened and grabbed the note without leaving the safety of the study. She read the note.14

Zeta, the room might be blessed but you need to leave the room eventually. When you do I will come after you. Beta had wandered across my path downstairs in the pitch black hall. I will kill all your brothers and sisters until I have you within my grasp. I am waiting. 15

Zeta grabbed her dead sister’s hand and dragged her body into the study. She slammed the door shut and locked it. Zeta went to the couch and pulled the curtains opened since they had fallen closed while she was thinking. It was sunset. Zeta opened the window and looked down to the ground. She was ten stories up from the ground. Zeta closed the window and looked back at Beta’s dead body. Beta was her older sister. Beta was the second born into a family of ten kids and two Greek parents. Zeta doesn’t talk much since her father, Digamma, was murdered in the family’s home. Their mother, Sampi, had decided that they should move after they came home to police line and paramedics. They’ve been in America ever since. Zeta’s eyes overflowed in silent tears. Beta was one of the closest of her sisters. Zeta worried for her two younger sisters, Eta and Theta, Zeta got up from the couch and went to the door. She opened the door and stepped through the threshold and away from her safety. 16

After several hours of walking through endless halls. She finally found a staircase with no light coming down from it. She walked slowly up the stairs and stood where there was little light left and peered into the pitch black darkness of the hall ahead of her. She stepped away from the light and into the dark and seconds after she felt somebody watching her movements. She proceeded deeper into the hall until she could not see anymore light behind her. The air got colder and she felt hot breath on her neck. Zeta froze in place, waiting for a voice to sound. She heard hard breathing behind her. Zeta finally decided to speak up. “H-hello?” Zeta stuttered. “I won’t hurt you. I promise. Your siblings are safe. They have been let free.” It was a young male’s voice. Zeta turned around. She was surprised to see a teenage boy about her age with short ruffled brown hair, a white complection, and green eyes. “Hello, Zeta.” The boy said. “H-how do you know my name?” Zeta asked. The boy smiled and held up a card identical to the ones she woke to. She stared at the card for a few seconds. “My name is Ronald.” He continued. Zeta looked up. “I’m here to help Zeta.” Ronald said. “Come with me.” Ronald took Zeta’s hand and led her down the hall. They turned a corner and Zeta could see light shining down a set of stairs. It was bright, artificial light. 17

Ronald and Zeta sat in a gas lit bedroom. They sat across from each other on a king sized bed. “Why does the chained man want me?” Zeta asked. “Your more like his daughter. Black hair with natural blonde highlights, dark, blackish-blue eyes, slightly pale skin, and a great body.” Ronald explained. Zeta looked down. “What happened to his daughter?” Zeta asked. “She had ran away with a boy. Her father didn’t approve of them dating so they both ran off together. I have no idea what the boy’s name is, he never mentions his name.” Ronald said. “Oh.” Zeta said. They heard chains outside the door. They both looked toward the door quietly. The chains faded. “Who was wailing?” Zeta asked suddenly. Ronald was silent for a moment and finally answered. “That was Sigma.” Ronald said plainly. “My cousin?” Zeta asked. “Yea. I have no idea what happened to her after they took her away.” Ronald said. 18

The next morning Zeta woke up under the covers, laying on the king sized bed. She sat up and looked up and around the room. “Ronald?” Zeta spoke out. “Over here.” Ronald said from the corner of the room. He was sitting on a black leather couch with a book lay open next to him. Ronald stood up. “Sleep well?” He asked. “Yes, I did. But what about you?” Zeta asked. “I don’t need sleep.” Ronald said simply and sat down next to her on the bed. “Why not?” Zeta asked. “I’m a protector.” Ronald said. “A protector?” Zeta asked. “Yes. It’s pretty self explanatory.” Ronald said. Zeta nodded. 19

Ronald stood up. “Come on, we have to get going.” Ronald said and waited patiently for Zeta to get out of bed. “Are you sure it’s safe?” Zeta asked. “Honestly? No, I do not. But we can’t stay inside this place forever.” Ronald said. “Where are we going?” Zeta asked as Ronald opened the door. “There is a fire escape on the roof.” Ronald held out his hand for Zeta. She took Ronald’s hand and followed him out into the hall.20

Zeta waited at the staircase while Ronald closed the large metal doors at the end of the dark hall. “How much further is the roof?” Zeta asked as Ronald finished latching the doors closed. “About twenty more floors.” Ronald said and turned around. Ronald waited for Zeta to start up the stairs. Zeta turned and went up to the next floor with Ronald not far behind. 21

Coming to the next, dim lit floor Ronald led Zeta to the middle of the hall and told her to wait. He walked over to the metal doors on the other end of the hall and closed the large doors behind him. Zeta heard the bolts lock together. She was locked in all alone. “Ronald?” Zeta called out. She heard footsteps shadowed by chains. Zeta’s blood went cold. She ran into the nearest room and locked the door behind her. The room was pitch black. She reached out to the wall on her left searching frantically for a light switch. Her hand finally brushed against one and the lights flickered on and off before settling into a dim setting on the room. Zeta screamed at what the room held. There was an operating table with a bloody corpse lay on top. A table identical to the one in the study, with bloody tools and rags. In the corner was mangled body parts stacked in a pile. A body was hanging from a noose on the ceiling fan. The body was cut in half, held together by only the noose. Blood stained the floor. In the opposite corner from the body parts was a door. The door swung and creaked back and forth. Zeta moved away from the door and slowly approached the rotting old wooden one swinging by only it’s top hinges. There was a pounding on the door that led to the hall. She heard chains and quickly ran into the other room. This room was lit by the setting sun’s light shining through the bare window. It was empty except for a small hole in one side of the wall. She peered into the dark space, when her eyes adjusted she saw that it was a tunnel. She crawled through the small opening and followed the narrow space all the way into a large space. It wasn’t a room but it had light source. A small lamp sat in the corner. Zeta could see that the space was empty. She sat in the corner, clutching the lamp and waited in silence. She heard the door to the hall shatter followed by chains. The chains grew closer and Zeta held her breath. She heard no more chains. The lamp went out and she saw nothing. It was silent. Suddenly Zeta could no longer feel the ground. Something tightened around her throat and she felt a searing pain shoot through her chest. Zeta’s warm blood trickled down her body and hit the floor. The sound of Zeta’s blood hitting the ground was the only sound in the space.