Slaughtering Silence

Submitted into Contest #91 in response to: Set your story in a library, after hours.... view prompt

29 comments

Fiction Teens & Young Adult

I shouldn’t be here. But that doesn’t stop me. It’s a dangerous thing being out after hours. After curfew.

My mother always warned me, “Stay inside. You don’t need to go out now. It can wait until morning.”

My Father always chided me when I came back late— or early, depending on your point of view. I never listened, and They took it out on my family.

My three sisters are gone. My four brothers, gone. My loving parents… they’re gone too.

And it was my fault.

Who is They? You ask. It’s a secret.

Why? You ask. I’m not telling. It’s also a secret.

You beg. But I can’t speak. Revealing a secret quells the need to press further. Maybe I like it when you are curious. It’s fun. Some sort of taunting game.

I’ve played games before, but not like this.

I don’t gamble with lives. I gamble with money. So how I end up at this table tonight I cannot tell you.

Of course I could tell you if I wanted to. But I don’t. I’ll let you wonder, draw your own conclusions.

They say no talking in the library. These people take the warning seriously. I do too, of course, obeying is a first for me. But we all know what happened to little Penelope when she screamed. She’s gone. No one has seen her since. Am I going to tell you what happened to her?

Of course. What happened to her is relevant to this story. The question is, how shall I begin?

Perhaps… “It was a dark and stormy night.”

“Call me Ishmael.”

“It was a pleasure to burn.”

I think I would like to start with my own opening line, but I can’t seem to think of one, so I will go with the classic. “Once Upon a Time.”

Once upon a time in a far off place that wasn't very far away, there lived a guy. That guy was me. I seemed to get into trouble a lot. I go to the library after hours to study... things. No, don’t ask, I’m not going to tell you.

It’s always quiet there, but especially so after hours. I’m alone in our fated library. I love it. There is no temptation to make a sound. I always go after hours. Of course that didn’t help Their decision to take my family either.

I always got into trouble. My whole existence was geared towards trouble. It might as well be my middle name, but it’s not, my middle name is Rhett. You didn't need to know that, but I told you anyways.  It's unimportant. I find it fun to give you useless information. It's like another game.

My habit of getting into trouble begins with the laws. Mostly the fact that the laws were stupid. They are trying to alter people’s will and agency. I didn’t like that. So of course being my pertinacious self, I had to put a stop to it. 

And of course a protest only works when multiple people join your cause. But everyone is terrified of Them. No one will join me. So I must live with the consequences of my one sided rebellion. 

They don’t like to punish the one who commits the crime— what that crime is, I won't say— but their families and loved ones are the victims of your supposed punishment. People often don’t care about themselves as much as they should. They wouldn’t have had to touch my family. I’m a selfish person, they don't know that. 

But back to Penelope.

She was my neighbor. I never spoke to her, save for one occasion. She was an angelic child, but like most sisters, she didn’t get along with her brother. The library is a place of silence. Everyone knows that. So when she screamed at her brother, no one questioned why she was suddenly gone.

They took her. They took my family. They’ve taken our voices.

What’s next?

As I accept my cards, I sincerely hope I don’t become one of Them. Toying with everyone else like they are rag dolls. Just puppets to be ordered around. But if I win, everyone goes free. If I lose, I become a humble servant.

I don’t think “humble” is a word in my vocabulary, and I know the word “servant” has certainly been banished from it.

When They agreed to this game, They all exchanged glances and smiled with vile undertones. 

I made them promise to play on one condition, it had to be at the library. Here was the only place more powerful than Them. I keep one eye on each of them, I know they will try to cheat. The only way to con a swindler is to play like them, so I set them up. 

The invisible choking silence weighed down on everyone. Of course we were all nervous. One peep and we would be gone. Just like Penelope.

I know I say They are the ones who have taken everything, and it’s partially true. But there is something that robs us most, silence. That is the true thief of voices.

They are just a pawn of silence and quietude. Eventually the tranquility will drive a man mad. They still took my family and Penelope, and I would avenge them. I want to. But I know it would be fruitless, and what can I say. I’m selfish.

One look at my cards tells me I have a potential winning hand. It just depends on what everyone else has. 

I survey their grotesque faces. They are actually quite handsome. But their oily grins turn my insides out.

What do they know that I don’t? I'm the one setting them up, I should be smug. But maybe they don't know that. maybe the think I'm the one about to be swindled from our deal.

Is gambling with lives, rather than money, different somehow?

I don’t see why. But maybe that's my problem. I don’t see.

We all show our cards. All four of them first. It looks like my hand is a winning one, I must win three in all to win my people. 

The process repeats itself.

I hear my mother’s voice begging me to be careful in my decisions. To not make any stupid mistakes like usual.

Too late.

I have a winning hand again. But If I win, They might get suspicious and think I rigged the game. I did of course.

Why? I’m fairly sure it’s obvious.

I like to think I’m an honest person. I’m really not.

I lost this time, but that's alright. I’ll win the next two, then lose the last. 

All goes according to plan. I win the next two, lose the last, just as I say. They don’t suspect a thing, but they are angry. 

One of them gets up, his expression livid. They don’t want to give up their control. “How did you—”

But he only gets that far, before the silence envelops him. We all know, you're not supposed to talk in the library. Especially after hours.

April 25, 2021 01:40

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29 comments

Cole Lane
22:08 May 03, 2021

Wooooow! I love this story! So thick with atmosphere and just the tip of the iceberg of world-building, enough to tease my imagination. The main character is a sly, law-breaking guy with no regard for others, or so it seems? Still, here he is risking himself for his family and little Penelope, you know there is some heart in there. Doesn’t mean he won’t immediately go out and swindle someone after all this lol, but we aren’t all perfect. I really like the voice this guy has, his casual way of telling, or not telling, parts of the story it’s ...

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Charli Britton
22:49 May 03, 2021

Thank You so much. This has to be one of my favorites and it was so different from my usual writing style. I really want to use him again in another story, but I don't want to ruin it you know? Again, thank youuuuuu!!!

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Cole Lane
23:11 May 03, 2021

I really think he could take us along into some crazy predicaments. He has seen and done things he won't tell, but they might just come back to bite him, or try anyway!! ;P

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Charli Britton
23:31 May 03, 2021

I will keep it in mind! Thank You so much for your comments. I really appreciate them. I will work on reading more your stories as the contests continue, and I hope you will leave feed back on my other ones if thats not to much to ask?

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BiChronicler XYZ
15:55 Dec 18, 2021

I loved how you wrote the protagonist here. The suspense and the thrill of reading this were unmatched. I was on the edge of my seat throughout the entire story. And the ending was so satisfying and perfect, in part because it explained the title of the story so well. Question: have you written a sequel for this story? I know it is part of the mystery, but I would like to know who "They" are and why/how they took Rhett's family and Penelope. P.S.: I especially loved the part about Rhett giving us "useless information" for fun.

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Charli Britton
14:19 Dec 22, 2021

Aw thanks! :) No there isn't a sequel. I would like to write one, but so far nothing has come to the perfectly satisfying ending I want. I kind of like where it's at. I think the whole mystery adds to the story, and never getting to know adds to it as well. idk. time will tell, Merry Christmas and thanks for ur comment. :)

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BiChronicler XYZ
09:08 Dec 24, 2021

You are most welcome. I agree that the whole mystery adds to the story. But as you said, only time will tell. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! :)

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Charli Britton
18:22 Dec 24, 2021

Merry Christmas to you too!

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A B
15:41 Sep 10, 2021

Great story loved the tension and suspense!

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Eliza Entwistle
20:41 Jul 12, 2021

This is an amazing story! The suspense in the writing was so well done, and the character's voice is so interesting. I'd love to read more!

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Charli Britton
21:37 Jul 13, 2021

Thank You! Sadly I don't have another story lined up form this particular character, but I would love if you checked out more. I will be sure to read some of your work soon.

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Eliza Entwistle
21:42 Jul 13, 2021

Thanks, I'd appreciate it if you did! I'll check out some of your other stories too

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Ryan LmColli
14:21 May 11, 2021

Great story: Pls join this link... https://www.guilded.gg/i/6pR8goy2

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19:01 May 09, 2021

hey after a good nights sleep and some work I'm back with some fresh eyes. Good lord what a ride. Ok I'm going to look at every peace one at a time. this is a story in second person present progressive that changes half way through to second person past tense. The narrator is one Ishmael Rhett no last name given (is this a reference?), a strong willed teenager/young man who likes games, and who stayed out past curfew studying forbidden knowledge in the library causing "Them" punish him by taking away his brothers sisters and parents. So he...

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Charli Britton
11:39 May 10, 2021

One thing I struggle most with is staying in the correct POV. I will work on that for sure. I quite enjoy your comments by the way, thanks. I took the risk for him to be so casual and out front with everything, if I do a sequel, (which I really want, only I don't want to mess it up) I kind of want to expose his emotions and WHY he is so out front and stuff.

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Nainika Gupta
16:56 May 05, 2021

Wow, amazing Charli! I loved the second person and I loved the pacing of the story...it was really interesting and kept me wanting more. One thing that was a little confusing was at the beginning when you said 'who are they? you ask.' I would recommend putting that in italics, and then the answer, like 'it's a secret' would be better on another line. It just makes it flow even better! other than that, amazing story!

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Charli Britton
18:31 May 05, 2021

OKay! Thank you for your feedback! It means a lot :)

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Nainika Gupta
19:22 May 05, 2021

my pleasure! :)

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Rheo Graham
14:14 May 04, 2021

Really interesting! I don't often read anything in the 2nd Person and I liked how you paced out the reveal of the point of the game 🙂

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Charli Britton
14:18 May 04, 2021

Thanks, that means a lot. it was such fun prompt to write!

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Elizabeth Inkim
05:17 May 04, 2021

Great story; I absolutely loved the dialogue and the characters. The setting was lovely and the tension was good I wrote a story for this prompt too, it's called "Hide and Seek" and I think you would like it. If you stop by make sure to let me know what you think in the comments. Oh and I think you might like my stories "Ouroboros" or "An Heir of Shadow" too.

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Charli Britton
11:25 May 04, 2021

Well they sound good so I will definitely check them out. My other favorite story "Luminescence" if you wanted to read that...

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Elizabeth Inkim
12:16 May 04, 2021

Sure thing, I’ll try to pass by soon.

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Loxie Oaks
17:20 Apr 30, 2021

So amazing! I loved the ending!!

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Charli Britton
18:10 Apr 30, 2021

Thanks Loxie!

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Corey Melin
22:32 Apr 28, 2021

Quite the thrilling read. It left me speechless. Total silence on my end, which is a good thing when it come to this read. Love a story that keeps you reading and reading like eating your favorite food.

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Charli Britton
11:01 Apr 29, 2021

Thank you so much! This story was one of my favorites to write. Im gad you liked it. :)

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Monica June
01:48 Apr 25, 2021

CHARLIIII I LOVED THAT ENDING I think I literally got chills. I love how different this is from your usual whimsical characters. Rhett is probably my favorite of your characters yet, and I want to see more of him! Maybe he can make an appearance in future prompts? :)

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Charli Britton
01:50 Apr 25, 2021

I'll definitely think about it! I would love him to appear in more stories as well, but at the same time I'm not going to write something forced. It must flow from my infinite source of ideas in order to happen. xD But yes! He will definite try to make a come back. Unless he speaks in the library of course. :) Thanks Monica!

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