Hush

Chapter 1

Written for Tokio Hotel Fiction's Big Bang Challenge :)

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CHAPTER 1

What’s the first memory I have?

…

That’s easy.

The first memory Bill has is about his parents telling him about the Hush, a secret society formed hundreds of years ago. Hardly anyone, besides the members of the Hush and a handful of people, knows about its existence. He was brought up surrounded by hatred and loathing for the Hush, as according to the stories passed down through generations of his family, they committed terrible crimes and murders on unsuspecting people. 

The leader of the Hush selects citizens that he thinks has the right qualities and potential to be members, called Hushers, always a male between the ages of 19 and 27. Once the leader has chosen, a messenger from the society will be dispatched to notify the selected person of his newly appointed membership. The selected person cannot refuse the offer, or death will follow. Anyone who chooses to leave the Hush also chooses death, because the person would have known too much information about the society.

No outsider knows where their headquarters are, or the total number of members or their leader. Bill’s life had been filled with stories and rumors about the Hush from his family, especially his parents. One of Bill’s distant relatives was chosen to be a member many years ago, even before he was born, and no one has seen him since. That was what sparked the hatred for the Hush in his family.

Bill’s parents had told him that there were signs of the Hush everywhere, if you knew where to look. They told him that one of the signs of the Hush was two triangles joined together on the bottom side, with a circle inside the joined triangles, looking like an eye with pointed edges. After his parents had told him that, he had seen that symbol everywhere, inscribed on walls, woven into carpets, and even on the charm of a bracelet once. The symbol was everywhere because the members were everywhere, and displaying the symbol on them would let other members know that they’re on the same side. 

Thankfully, none of his immediate family members were chosen to join the Hush. There weren’t any family members of his between the age of 19 and 27 anyway, except him and his 20-year-old cousin who he wasn’t very close to. He would be 27 in five years, so hopefully he could avoid getting chosen. 

All this was running through his mind as he walked back from work. His house was only a couple of blocks away from the clothing store he worked in. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and bent his head low to avoid the sun’s glare. The street he was walking on was completely deserted, the shops quiet, save for a guy walking a little ways behind him in the same direction he was. 

Weird, he thought. I’ve never seen that guy before. Bill had been living near that area for all his life, and had been walking on that street ever since he started primary school and he used the street as a shortcut. He increased his pace slightly, walking quickly down the street, then taking the familiar left turn onto the park with the playground and pond in the middle. 

He glanced around and saw that the guy was still behind him. He was wearing a full-sleeved, knee-length hooded black coat buttoned up to his neck, with the hood up and casting his face into shadow. Bill thought that was the weirdest thing to wear on a hot, summer day like today. He walked faster and faster, and it seemed the guy walked faster too. Finally, he broke into a run, the guy mimicking him. He ran all the way to the other end of the park, his pace faltering. The guy kept up his speed, and was soon an arm’s reach away from Bill. Fear escalated inside him and adrenaline coursed through him, giving him the energy he needed to keep running. After he ran through the gates of the park, he kept running through the following neighborhood, the guy hot on his heels. Just as he reached the junction at where he was supposed to turn to get to his own neighborhood, he tripped on his own feet and tumbled painfully onto the ground.