Be Quiet

Be Quiet (Short Story)

"Everyone please keep up and stay together!" shouted Mr. Finch, our eleventh grade Biology teacher.
As the entire class treaded through the woods, the environment was polluted with noise from the constant chatter of the students. I stopped in the middle of the group, looking around, trying to locate my two friends who seemed to have gone missing. They were nowhere in sight.
I shouted, "Kevin! Sarah!" and began walking in the opposite direction of the group.
I continued shouting their names, walking further and further away from the group. About a minute later, I got a reply.
"Gabby! Over here!" Kevin shouted.
By the time I got to where they were, the class was completely out of sight. Both of them had found a river and decided that it would be a good idea to go for a swim.
"You idiots better get out and let's go before we get lost," I said to them, trying to contain my anger.
"Oh, come on. Lighten up," Sarah replied with a smirk on her face.
I rolled my eyes at her and turned around, marching in the direction from which I came. They both scrambled out of the water and got dressed. Even though I walked hastily through the trees, they were able to catch up to me, laughing as they did so. After about ten minutes of walking, there was still no sign of the class or Mr. Finch.
"You guys, are we lost?" Sarah asked in a worried tone.
Kevin answered, a bit shaky, "No were not."
"I think we are," Sarah responded.
"Well, we wouldn't be if you two morons didn't go for a freakin' swim!" I shouted angrily.
We continued walking in the direction in which the group was last seen for another thirty minutes and there was still no sign of them. During that time, we all tried using our phones, but of course there was no service.
It was now completely dark. Dark and quiet. The only noise that touched our ears was the hooting of an owl. A drizzle of rain began falling, then two minutes later, it began pouring. Kevin spotted what looked to me like an abandoned house and we all ran towards it for shelter. When we got there, a soft light spilled through one of the broken windows. Sarah began pounding on the door.
"Is anybody home?" she called.
"It doesn't even look like anybody lives here," Kevin said quietly.
"Maybe we should go inside," I said worriedly, "to get out of the rain and to see if there's anyone there that could help us."
Sarah replied with fear in her big eyes, "I don't think we should."
"Well, we can't stay out here," replied Kevin, "besides it looks like there's no one home. Let's just see if they have a phone."
Cautiously, the three of us entered the creaky house very, very slowly. There was no one in sight, so we stepped further in. We then discovered that the source of the light we spotted earlier came from a little lamp on a damaged wooden counter in the kitchen.
Kevin and Sarah continued into the next room while I tried to get the telephone on the wall to work. About five minutes passed. Suddenly there was a loud thud. I let the phone hang from the hook and ran through the darkness towards the sound, tripping over my own two feet. I entered what seemed to be the living room. Before my eyes could adjust to the darkness, I felt a hand clasping my mouth shut. It was Kevin. Seconds later, a dark figure walked directly in front of us almost like a ghost. Only seconds had passed, but it felt like years. Kevin and I walked backwards out of the living room into a hallway, then back to the kitchen where there was light. His hand was still clasped firmly around my trembling mouth.
He turned to me, whispering with tears in his eyes, "He can't see us...be...quiet."
He could see the terror and confusion that flooded my entire face.
"He's blind, Gabby," he said with fear dripping from his voice. "Be quiet."
As soon as Kevin muttered the last word, we felt a familiar presence enter the room. Our heads turned hesitantly towards...him.
He was just standing there, looking directly at us. His shirt was torn in multiple places and stained with drops of blood. A long machete hung from his hand, and his head tilted slightly to the left. His wrinkled face was drenched with sweat and had traces of dirt. I looked at Kevin with tears in my eyes, for some sort of guidance as to what to do next.
"Sshh," he mouthed slowly, pressing his index finger to his lips.
The old man began moving in our direction. It was more than obvious that Kevin had been right about his eyesight. His eyes were open, but he wasn't actually looking at us, but rather 'staring off into space'. It was evident that he was angry. Kevin motioned for me to follow his lead. Whenever the man took a step forward, we took a step towards the front door.
I was already touching the knob of the door when the floorboard beneath my foot creaked. Kevin and I snapped our heads around to see the man rushing towards us, machete raised high in the air.
"Run!" Kevin shouted.
We burst through the door out into the cold night, running as fast as our feet could carry us. We ran until our feet buckled beneath us. As we sat on the cold, wet ground, trying to catch our breaths, we heard our names being called and saw beams of light from flashlights everywhere. I knew then that by some miracle, we were being rescued. Finally, I got the courage to ask the question I dreaded the answer to.
"Kevin," I whispered, tears flowing from my eyes, "Where's Sarah?"
Tears pooled in his eyes. He didn't say a word. He just bowed his head and cried.