The World Gone Quiet Monologue
The World Has Gone Quiet
My lungs fill with cool autumn air. Breathe in, breathe out. In, out. In, out. As I breathe, I begin to walk. My head doesn’t know what my destination is, but my legs carry me. Down the road, turn right onto Meridian Street. The only sound is the wind in the trees, my feet on the ground. My shoe scraping softly against the pavement. It’s quiet. Too quiet. Somewhere, I can hear a bird’s hushed call. It seems like that’s the only living thing out here. The town of Pittsboro, Indiana has always been a quaint little place, but never anything like this. No cars, no people. Just me and the air and the leaves on the ground. The elementary school, usually packed full with buses and cars and students, is abandoned. …show more content…
A quiet cry, coming from the door on my left. Desperate to see another living being, I stumble into the room. A young woman, in her mid-twenties, sits in a corner, sobbing, surrounded by the papers of her students. She doesn’t hear me enter. I start to approach her, frightened of what awaits in the coming moments. Maybe she’s lost her sanity. “No, no, no..” she says, fighting through her tears. I am only feet away from her now. Her breathing is ragged, it catches in her throat as she inhales, rattling as she pushes the air out. Gently, I touch her right shoulder. She gasps, wheels around, and there’s a stinging sensation in my arm. A glint of silver shines in her hand. The knife that just cut my arm open is resting between her fingers. “What the hell happened?” She screams at me. Her brown hair is falling out of its bun, her blue eyes crackling with fear. “I don’t know either! I’m trying to figure everything out.” From the way she looks at me, I know she doesn’t trust me. I keep my eyes trained on the knife in her …show more content…
Hopefully then she won’t stab me in the heart. That seems like something this lady would do. Through tears, she begins to explain. “I had to go to the workroom to make some copies. I heard some kids screaming, but I just thought it was coming from kids playing in the gym. When I got back to the classroom, the kids were…” She stopped for a moment, let out a racking sob, then proceeded. “My kids were gone. They had just… they… disappeared.”
She breaks down crying again, falls to her knees against the cold tile floor. I begin to ask how long it’s been since they went missing, but decide against it. It would just harm her more. Instead, I settle on something more reassuring.
“Hey, it’s fine. You’re fine, we’ll find your kids.” That’s the only thing I can think of saying to her. It’s a lie, we’re not fine, but maybe it can make her feel better. She snaps her head up and our eyes meet. She stares at me, her eyes bloodshot and unmoving.
“Get out.” her voice is eerily calm.
I have two options. I can figure out exactly what’s happening, possibly risking my life in the process of talking to this deranged woman, or I can heed her instructions and leave, gaining no
My lungs fill with cool autumn air. Breathe in, breathe out. In, out. In, out. As I breathe, I begin to walk. My head doesn’t know what my destination is, but my legs carry me. Down the road, turn right onto Meridian Street. The only sound is the wind in the trees, my feet on the ground. My shoe scraping softly against the pavement. It’s quiet. Too quiet. Somewhere, I can hear a bird’s hushed call. It seems like that’s the only living thing out here. The town of Pittsboro, Indiana has always been a quaint little place, but never anything like this. No cars, no people. Just me and the air and the leaves on the ground. The elementary school, usually packed full with buses and cars and students, is abandoned. …show more content…
A quiet cry, coming from the door on my left. Desperate to see another living being, I stumble into the room. A young woman, in her mid-twenties, sits in a corner, sobbing, surrounded by the papers of her students. She doesn’t hear me enter. I start to approach her, frightened of what awaits in the coming moments. Maybe she’s lost her sanity. “No, no, no..” she says, fighting through her tears. I am only feet away from her now. Her breathing is ragged, it catches in her throat as she inhales, rattling as she pushes the air out. Gently, I touch her right shoulder. She gasps, wheels around, and there’s a stinging sensation in my arm. A glint of silver shines in her hand. The knife that just cut my arm open is resting between her fingers. “What the hell happened?” She screams at me. Her brown hair is falling out of its bun, her blue eyes crackling with fear. “I don’t know either! I’m trying to figure everything out.” From the way she looks at me, I know she doesn’t trust me. I keep my eyes trained on the knife in her …show more content…
Hopefully then she won’t stab me in the heart. That seems like something this lady would do. Through tears, she begins to explain. “I had to go to the workroom to make some copies. I heard some kids screaming, but I just thought it was coming from kids playing in the gym. When I got back to the classroom, the kids were…” She stopped for a moment, let out a racking sob, then proceeded. “My kids were gone. They had just… they… disappeared.”
She breaks down crying again, falls to her knees against the cold tile floor. I begin to ask how long it’s been since they went missing, but decide against it. It would just harm her more. Instead, I settle on something more reassuring.
“Hey, it’s fine. You’re fine, we’ll find your kids.” That’s the only thing I can think of saying to her. It’s a lie, we’re not fine, but maybe it can make her feel better. She snaps her head up and our eyes meet. She stares at me, her eyes bloodshot and unmoving.
“Get out.” her voice is eerily calm.
I have two options. I can figure out exactly what’s happening, possibly risking my life in the process of talking to this deranged woman, or I can heed her instructions and leave, gaining no