I Am Ezra (Complete)

Death

There is a memory that floats through my mind, even though I am The Silence now and I see the world it lingers. Donny, the boy who I am. The memory is like a dream. Something intangible, yet I can grasp it. It's like being in a dark room. You have no idea where you are or what you are doing, but you know that there exists objects in there with you. I can reach out and touch things, but I have no idea what they are. It's almost like a distant dream, fading in the back of my mind as I wake up fully. I am looking down at all of my toys. I am proud with the way I have assembled them. The green carpet feels coarse and rough, and a brown couch is behind me. My back is propped up against it, and there are shelves of antiques everywhere. My mother resides in the dining room just behind me. She is talking on the phone about something. My dad is in the kitchen, making something. I think it is lunch. I look down at my action figures and pick one up, studying it. The valiant knight. I set him down and pick up the damsel in distress. She can take care of herself, I think. Why does she need a knight? Maybe she likes the dragon. I set her down in the tower. Perhaps I can switch the roles. The knight has taken the princess captive, and the dragon must save them. I look at my orange dragon action figure. I put him up against the knight. He destroys the knight with a swoop and let's the princess go. There is no romance, there is nothing between the princess and the dragon. The princess simply thanks the dragon and goes about her life. Does the dragon want that or not? I do not know. I am not the dragon. My dad walks over and pats my head. I look up at him and he smiles down at me. Mr. Dagon, the man behind this all. The reason I am having these memories right now. He reaches down and picks up the dragon figure, pretending it is alive and flying it around my head. I hear myself giggle and pick up the knight. We fight and I win. I have to act like I follow these roles, anyway.

I open my eyes, and I am back in the world. I feel sad for Donny. He could have been so much more, he could have done great things. I wonder what he would have been like if he were a grown man. Would he be like me? Would he scale a mountain, climb a tower, and fight one of the greatest enemies to mankind? I start to walk, and I walk faster than ever. It's almost like I am floating through shadow. But I am, aren't I? I walk towards where I came from, and I pull The Silence back. Emerging from the wall of shadow, I see the house still intact. There the four of them are, Logan is screaming into the radio. But Jenny hits him on the back. He looks up at me and steps back a little. I advance towards them, the shadow wreathing around me and hissing like snakes. I make it go away, and I am just Ezra. They look relieved, and then all of them clap. This is it, my moment of glory. But for some reason I do not want it. I do not want to be celebrated. I have just killed someone. Someone who did not want to be killed. I know that most people do not want to die. But The Silence was begging and pleading me not to do it. Like a cold blooded killer I smashed his face in, and crushed his heart. I approach them, and Jenny's dog bounds toward me. I kneel down and scratch behind it's ear. What an innocent creature. Soon I will breathe life back into the world. Perhaps I can even bring Donny back from the dead. I sigh and look at everyone. A smile plays at the corner of my lips and I sigh happily.

"I did it" I say to them.

Everyone cheers around me, but for some reason I have this empty feeling inside of me. I look back at the mound of shadow just behind me and I am reminded of what I have become. I have become The Silence, and there is nothing that I can do to reverse it. My heart is filled with fear at this point, and I bite my lip in fear. Should I take the shadow away? What will happen if I do? A thousand thoughts run through my head per second and I look around at everyone else laughing and hugging each other. The world has been saved. The Universe even. I should be rejoicing. But there are still problems to deal with. The city is no doubt overrun by now. I walk past everyone saying nothing, and The Silence follows in my footsteps. Everyone steps back, and some of them scream. I look back at the wall of shadow. I suppose I must call it back to me. I try my hardest to focus all of my energy within me, but nothing happens. I gulp down some fear. This is the catch, isn't it? This is what The Silence was trying to do. It was trying to warn me of this danger. Once you are The Silence, you have an obligation to enact its rumination. I must defeat the Nanobots, however. Perhaps I can figure out a way to recall it, but not now. The entire group looks at me, and I stare back at them emotionless. This is for the greater good, I tell myself. I continue to walk and they all start following me. They try to stop me, but I push them away. The wall of shadow follows me closely, licking at everyone's heels.