A half moon gave enough light below the tree canopy to flee, but not to be seized. The hissing was loud at first, but my pale, slender legs kept pushing until I thought they would snap. The unnerving sound the Silents emit faded, and soon, we had ran so far it was inaudible. Uhura kept promising me, "Just a bit farther!" or "Not to long now!" I didn't mind the pain. It kept my mind away from my comrades and friends that I knew were suffering much worse fates.
The Silence, were building an army. To have an army, you needed test subjects. The people I knew were sorted accordingly. The prophecy had to end. That was the Silence Order's only concern. I could hardly remember what it was... My brow furrows as I follow Uhura.
Silence will fall when the question is asked.
That was one part. I push my mind, and I push my feet. We had this drilled into our memories. What was the rest of the passage?
The first question, the oldest question in the universe.
Surely, there had been questions before this. That is a thought I always responded with in the discussion of the prophecy.
Hidden in plain sight.
It always felt like a riddle. What question was hidden in plain sight?
On the fields of Trenzalore,
That was a planet in the adjoining galaxy.
At the fall of the Eleventh,
Eleventh hour? Day? Month? Year?
When no living creature can speak falsely or fail to answer,
A magic or science of some kind, forcing a truth serum...?
A question will be asked-- a question that must never be answered,
Every creature must answer and speak with veracity, but the question must never be answered.
But then it hits me, the end of the prophecy. Uhura screams in fright and stops dead on her heels. I skid to a cease point.
Six Headless Monks surround us.
"Why won't they register on my bio-reader?" Uhura asks.
"They have no head, they are not truly live." I tell her matter-of-factly.
The hoods face me. Maybe they recognize the scent of the Church that lingers on me. Maybe they are surprised I know what they are.
One shoots a flame from its hand towards my head. I use evasive maneuvers to avoid it. I may have devoted my life to the Papal Mainframe, but defending myself was one of the most useful things I have learned in my twelve years in the ministry. What else did I know about the Order of the Headless?
"They believe in ruling with their hearts instead of their heads." I tell Uhura. "They can be killed by a gunshot."
"To bad we don't have a gun!" She shouts. I purse my rosy lips.
It comes to me again, the final line of the prophecy. Perhaps it will scare them away...
Doctor Who?
YOU ARE READING
Pray To Forget
Bí ẩn / Giật gânThe Silence, a religious order, has gone rampant. Silents, confessional priests, genetically engineered to allow people to confess sins without remembering that they had done so, were being controlled by renegade Chief Priests. They had a hunger for...
