House of Broken Silence

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

            Tension coursed through Stanley's veins.  He was driving down Evergreen Road with Andrea in the passenger seat.  Past the light produced by the car's headlights, all he could see was darkness.  It sent chills up his spine.  Darkness is all that is ahead.  The car swerved and almost hit a tree.  Stanley was terrified because it sounded as though someone had said those words to him from within his own mind, just like that afternoon.  "Stop the car!" Andrea exclaimed.

            "Andy I'm-"

            "Stop the car right now!"

            Stanley pulled over by the side of the road.  The two of them switched seats. 

This road always made him uneasy after dark.  There was forest on either side of the road that seemed to lead into eternal darkness.  He always had the feeling that something would just jump out of the black woods and maim him. 

When Stanley looked at the road again, he realized that the car was moving.  Far away, he could see two red eyes that were locked with his.  As the car grew closer to the glowing red eyes, Stanley's heart beat grew faster, and faster, and faster. 

When the eyes were not four feet from the vehicle, and Andrea muttered, "oh fuck," under her breath, Stanley realized what the red eyes really were: the taillights of a silver Chevy Impala that was at the back end of a long line of cars going to the grand re-opening of the Chestercoine Theatre; the place where the talent show was being held.

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            It was twenty-four minutes past seven.  Stanley and Andrea were supposed to arrive at the talent show at 7:00 PM, although their minds were not as focused on their tardiness as it was on the little time they had to not miss their performance.  Backstage, Stanley was practicing the end of the song and Andrea was checking if her guitar was in tune.  When the two of them were finished preparing, the third group of contestants was already performing.  It was a quartet singing The Yellow Submarine. 

            A chorus of noises sounded backstage: contestants practicing their instruments and singing, people talking to one another, and the occasional sound of Stephen Garcia, the manager of the first annual Chestercoine Talent Show, telling everyone to quiet down. 

"The next performance is Gerald Harbringer performing stand-up comedy!"  Applause followed the giddy host's announcement of the next performer. 

"We're up next, Stanley," Andrea told him.  Stanley was tense, yet he couldn't help but smile at the thought of an entire crowd cheering for him.    

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            "And now, I would like to present Stanley Telligent and Andrea Gonzalez performing Tainted Love!"  Stanley walked onto the stage, and his heart beat instantly increased.  He was overwhelmed and excited with such strong emotion, that he thought he would cry.  Andrea sat on her stool next to him.  Calm down.  Breathe.  You can do this.

            Andrea began playing her guitar, and Stanley his flute.  A stream of sweat slid down his neck.  Andrea began singing the song.  Stanley forgot completely that she was going to sing.  She told him she didn't want to sing in front of another person, so she didn't sing in front of him when they rehearsed their performance.  Of course, he asked Andrea why in the world she would sing in front of the entire population of Chestercoine if she couldn't bring herself to sing in front of one of her dearest friends, but after about an hour of arguing he gave up.

            Her voice echoed through the theatre.  Stanley, silently admiring her voice, realized something.  I love you.  He almost fainted, and did feel quite lightheaded for at least three minutes, but was surprised that no one in the crowd seemed to notice.  He couldn't believe that he hadn't realized how strongly he felt towards Andrea before.  That was when his senses betrayed him.  Everyone in the theatre wore Andrea's face; man and woman.  But that was not as disturbing as the following: all of their eyes hung out of their sockets.

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            Stanley stopped playing his flute a minute later, recognizing the beginning of Andrea's guitar solo.  He was hyperventilating.  It should be known that Stanley was a very smart man with years of experience and knowledge, and he used this to lead himself to the conclusion that his paranoia was causing him to hallucinate.  It was plausible enough, and it explained the voice in his head, as well.  After this talent show, it would all be over.  But, that couldn't be farther from the truth.

            Stanley was silent even when Andrea's guitar solo ended.  He couldn't move; he was frozen with fear.   And then, all at once, the crowd started booing.  There was pure malice in the spectators' taunts; malice so strong that Stanley felt pain from head to toe.  Stanley knew how this story would end, and he sobbed.  His own voice was not his own anymore.  It was the voice of fear itself, and it sounded as vile as the far reaches of his imagination could comprehend.  He knew this was not real, but oh, it was.

            Look at them.  Look at the people that came to see a performance, and instead, they got to see a grown man cry because his daddy isn't here to tell him it's okay and then give him a good, love-filled, father to son fucking.  Didn't you love those?  Don't lie to yourself.  You came on him harder than you ever would with Andrea.  Even when you were a teenager, you begged him to fuck you, and cried when he didn't.

            Stanley screamed.  He knew what this was; he knew where he was.  He recognized that the tears on his face burned through his skin like highly corrosive acid.  He thought to himself, This is hell.