Silence

CONTENT WARNING: This piece contains some profanity, tormenting internal monologue, and a little bit of blood. Viewer discretion advised.

“A dangerous eclipse. Have you ever heard of something so absurd?” Shelley is laughing beside me as we stroll into the park. 

“Can’t say that I have,” I reply. “The most you have to worry about is the sun, and that’s only before it’s total.”

I flip open my messenger bag and pull out two pairs of eclipse glasses, handing one to Shelley.

“Before one of us goes blind,” I smile.

Any number of things take up every inch of open park space, be it a person, a picnic table, a bag, a tree, a bike, a pet, or anything of the sort. Kids haul themselves up on tree branches to be closer to the sky, tangled up in the lush green leaves. Groups of adults chat while sipping from red SOLO cups, occasionally calling out to remind their kids not to severely injure themselves because they’d rather not drag them to a hospital. The older kids relax on tabletops and benches, absorbed in hushed discussions far from adult ears. Dogs bark over music and chase each other through the crowded park. Every few minutes, without fail, someone puts their glasses to their face, looks up at the sky, and reports on their findings.

“Not quite yet!”

“A little less than halfway.”

“It’s barely changed! This is so slow!”

Shelley takes my arm and pulls me over to a picnic table with just enough free space for us to sit. I slide my messenger bag to the damp ground. Shelley presses her glasses to her face to check the status of the phenomenon for herself.

“Well?” I prompt.

Shelley takes down the glasses and turns to me to report that the eclipse still wasn’t there yet. 

“The moon isn’t going to move at the speed of light,” I shrug. “Why else do you think all of this got set up?” I loosely gesture to the scene around us.

“I know,” Shelley sighs, “but God is it a painful wait!”  

I open my mouth to reply but am interrupted by a man shouting about a barbecue he had set up. Shelley jumps up from her seat and yanks me up as she sprints over, joining the excited children and nonchalant adults. My reply is lost to the joyful chaos.

———

I pick my messenger bag up and out from under the table, finally escaping from the crowd of adults and kids around a few trees. I pull out a worn hoodie in light blue and slip it over my shoulders—the temperature has dropped fifteen or so degrees. As I secure the bag again and stand up, I press my glasses to my face to check the eclipse. It’s a little under halfway. An indigo ring surrounds the moon and seems to pulse softly with light.

Has that always been there?

I present the question to Shelley when I return, who gives me a strange look.

“An indigo ring around the moon?” She questions, to which I nod.

I hold her plate while she presses her glasses to her face and looks for herself. Her face morphs from confusion to wonderment.

“Oh, shit,” she breathes, a smile playing on her lips. She takes down the glasses.

“I don’t think that’s ever been there,” she confirms. 

“Exactly!” I exclaim.

“Maybe it’s because of the eclipse?”

A new voice joins the conversation, asking, “Maybe what’s because of the eclipse?” 

The newcomer wears a college hoodie, his dark hair falling unevenly over his shoulders. I suspect he’s no older than nineteen.

“There’s this indigo ring around the moon,” I explain. “Look!”

The boy puts up his glasses and gazes skyward. He has a curious look on his face when he takes them back down again.

“Yeah, that’s odd,” he remarks, taking a bite of his burger.

“The scientists were talking about a dangerous eclipse…” I begin. Shelley cuts me off.

“Hey, I thought we agreed that was stupid!” 

“I know,” I exasperate, “but maybe they were onto something! I mean, why the hell would there be an indigo ring around the moon?”

“There’s an indigo ring around the moon?” Someone shouts, and the new discovery spreads like wildfire across the crowds. People press glasses to their faces to marvel at the light. I cast my gaze to the ground.

———

The sun is a slim crescent against the moon. The park’s lights flip on as we’re gradually blanketed in darkness. Kids run about with sparklers and a few of the many drunk adults remind them not to start a fire at the same time the more sober ones are starting a controlled bonfire to roast marshmallows. People pull jackets and blankets over their shoulders as the temperature continues to drop, and the hot July night steals January’s cold.

“It’s almost there!” Shelley squeals for the third time in the past quarter of an hour.

“I want to go home,” I groan, flopping down on the free patch of grass I’d discovered some half an hour ago.

“Oh, Alaina, don’t be like that” Shelley tears her eyes away from the sky again to glare at me. “You said you’ve never seen a total eclipse before!”

“I haven’t,” I huff, “but if I’d known we would be here all damn day, I would have just stayed on campus! We could see it from there!”

Shelley scoffs and retorts, “God, you’re no fun!”

It doesn’t take long for her to disappear into the crowd of drunken adults, bored teens, and wired kids. I stare up at the sky—not at the vanishing sun— for a while. My arm brings my glasses up to my eyes to check the eclipse. The indigo ring has not faded, but has strengthened. My stomach twists at the sight of it.

“We’d like to warn eclipse viewers,” the scientists had said, “about new, potential dangers surrounding this year’s total solar eclipse. Our research has detected forces and energy we have not detected in years past. We are actively working to figure out what these forces may be and how they may affect this year’s eclipse. Eclipse viewers are warned to stay alert and keep their phones on in the event of an emergency. We also advise against being outside during totality, as these energies seem to be getting stronger the closer the moon moves to the sun. If you do choose to be out during totality, you must take all necessary precautions and be prepared to quickly leave the area in the event of an—“

My soul ejects itself from my body at an uproar of the piercing, grating, unmistakable blare of the emergency alert system. Yelps and cries of surprise replace excited chatter with frantic reading of the alert following. I fumble my phone out of my pocket to shut up the godforsaken alarm and read the alert.

“ALL CITIZENS MUST SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY. IT IS NO LONGER SAFE TO BE OUTSIDE. DO NOT LOOK AT THE ECLIPSE. THE ENERGY DETECTED BY SCIENTISTS IS AN IMMEDIATE THREAT TO HUMAN LIFE. THIS IS NOT A TEST. SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY. DO NOT LOOK AT THE ECLIPSE.”

“Shelley!” I shout, jumping to my feet, hoping she can hear me over the ensuing panic. “We have to go!”

Water is thrown over the bonfire. Parents yell for their children. Teenagers shout for their friends. Not seeing Shelley, I start sprinting for my messenger bag. Beside me, a light flickers out. Up ahead, two more flicker to darkness. 

“What the hell’s going on with the lights?!” Someone shouts.

“No clue!” Someone screams in response.

As the lights flicker out one by one and our visibility lowers, our panic increases. People’s legs slam into picnic blankets. Every yelp of pain has a hasty apology to follow it. People scream for each other. Kids shriek and wail for their parents. Pets desperately cry for their owners. I run into an abandoned toy and crash into the grass.

“Shelley?!” I shout, pushing myself up off the ground. “Shelley!”

The final sliver of sunlight vanishes and we plunge into darkness. My second call never reaches my own ears. 

Shelley?! My mouth forms the syllables yet I receive no sound. The surrounding chaos is non-existent. The leaves don’t rustle in the breeze. The bonfire isn’t hissing as it dies. The grass isn’t scrunching under my feet. 

Silence.

I find myself standing and desperately whipping around to find some sign of life, yet the darkness is suffocating me. Icy claws dig into my skin and freeze my bloodstream. My hands are shaking as I pull my sweater tight around me. I cry for Shelley again, but it dies in the silence. In a panic, my eyes turn skyward. I’m met with a ring of vibrant indigo light where there once was a sun. Strings of glittering energy break off the edges to disintegrate into the darkness. 

What are you? I want to scream. What the hell are you?! I want—no, need—an answer. 

What did the scientists say again? The eclipse was exhibiting odd sorts of energy as it grew closer to totality? If it was that dangerous, why didn’t they issue a shelter-in-place this morning? Do they even know what this is?!

My hands slowly pull my phone from my pocket again. The screen awakens, revealing a frozen clock and a new emergency alert bearing two words: SUPERNATURAL INTERFERENCE. 

What the fuck is that supposed to mean? Cold tears slip down my cheeks.

What is supernatural interference?! Are they talking about magic? Magic doesn’t exist! The silence squeezes my chest and blocks air from entering my lungs.

What else is this eclipse going to do to us? The first alert said it was an immediate threat to our lives. Oh god, we’re dead!

My thoughts spiral into madness, breaking from the eclipse and attacking the recesses of my memories. 

I should have apologized to Vincent—he probably still thinks I stood him up the other day. Why was I so embarrassed to tell him my car broke down? 

Fresh tears sting at my eyes.

I’m going to die here and my mom won’t even know. She’ll see me on the news in a list of other victims. She’ll cry—oh, I can’t watch that!

My knees buckle and I sink back to the ground. A new revelation strikes me.

I should have gotten help, should’ve gone to a doctor. I should have switched my major, should’ve done something I loved. I should have stuck to my promises. I should have stopped hesitating.

I should have taken back my life.

Freezing tears dance between my fingers and vanish into the ground. My stomach twists with nausea as thought after thought hounds my mind, threatening to rip me clean apart. My gaze flicks up to the damned eclipse once more. I stop.

The indigo ring is twice the size of the dark moon and rages like a wildfire. The sparks of glittering energy breaking off of it are sudden, increasingly violent lashes of power unknown to any living being. They attack with sharp bites that pull back at the last second. My mouth moves to make a noise, yet only serves to remind me that it’s an impossible task. The light burns my eyes, but the prospect of closing them in an already silent world brings bile burning up my throat. 

If there’s a God… I begin to plead.

The cursed ring explodes.

———

“Alaina?!” Shelley shouts, pulling me free of my torrent of thoughts.

Shelley’s…shouting. Shouting!

I scramble up from the damp grass and look up to the sky. A sliver of sunlight peaks through the moon as it finally begins to drift away. 

“Alaina?!” Shelley cries again. Other people are starting to shout out for their friends and family as well. Pets are beginning to whine again. Leaves on trees rustle in a gentle breeze. The grass beneath me scrunches when I scramble to my feet.

I open my mouth to shout to Shelley yet come up with a coughing fit instead. I double over and put one hand up to my mouth as coughs tear at my throat. Warm blood splatters into my hand and spills through the spaces between my fingers. I can almost swear there are darker undertones to it.

“Alaina!” Shelley’s hands seize my shoulders and she spins my body around to face her. 

“You’re all right!” She cries, pulling me into a tight embrace that I return with my clean hand. “I couldn’t hear anything and I had no idea where you went…! Alaina, what the hell was that?!”

My eyes find their way to my bloody hand again, and fresh terror rips away my relief and nearly stops my heart. As the sunlight reawakens, it illuminates hints of glittering indigo shimmering in my blood. I fight to keep my voice steady.

“I don’t know.”