Senseless

1

Dark. The world is dark, and light will only get you killed. This is our new world, where the dark is safe and soundless, while the light brings torturous, drowned screams. My name is Penelope Holly. Our world has become treacherous, with sound and light being taken from the living. When the disease spread across every continent, it plunged the ones left into silent blackness.

They are deadly. Daylight is the enemy, and any noise above a whisper attracts them. Blood to blood contact infects you immediately. First comes the symptoms. One starts to cough blood, and their vision goes hazy. They hallucinate, becoming paranoid. The person becomes mad, screaming and thrashing around, attacking others. We call these people the Senseless.

In the beginning, we started to hear of "The Screaming Killer" as if it was some sort of person. Africa had it first, and the CDC thought they would be able to contain it. They were wrong. It kept spreading, and horrific screams filled the streets. People were ordered indoors, into the dark. Outdoors was only safe in the night. The Senseless can only see you in the daylight.

"Help! I am wounded and need medical attention!" Whisper yelling, I knock quietly on every door, any door. One of the Senseless had attacked me, tearing part of my thigh out with a metal bar. I had escaped without blood contact. My wound was still bleeding heavily, and I had used my overshirt to prevent blood loss.

Someone looked through the blinds, and it seemed to be an older woman. She peered out into the dark at me. Her eyes widened at the size of the wound, and her mouth gaped. She hurried to the door, opening it a crack without unhooking the latch. "How do I know you are not a Senseless?" She whispered.

"If I were a Senseless, I would be attacking you right now," I breathe, wincing as I touch my wound. "I really need help, they attacked me."

The kind lady gently touches the latch, weighing her options. "Alright," she says quietly, "I will let you in, but to me you are still suspicious. Don't think you have gained my full trust." The latch clicks, a little louder than intended. We both turn our attention to the street, making sure no Senseless had heard. She guides me with her hand into the house, muttering something about antiseptic.

"Mama? Can we come out now?" I hear a child's voice, though it is too quiet and dark to locate where it came from.

"Soon baby, soon," The lady murmurs soothingly, "I just need to help our guest get comfortable. Can one of you grab me the kit?" There is a scurrying sound on the wooden floor, as if a small being was running across. The lady eased me down onto a soft surface, lifting my leg onto a pillow. "Try not to make a bunch of noise, the senseless are on the streets." I heard the click of a box opening, and then I feel intense pain. The wound on my leg feels as if it had just been set fire. I grab my shirt fabric and stick it into my mouth, whimpering. She starts dabbing on a thick cream, and she wraps it up to stop my bleeding.

I manage to whimper out the fact that I am thirsty. A small hand pushes a glass into my palm, and I drink the water graciously. The woman sang softly, slowly luring me into sleep.

By the time I woke up the next day, It could have been the afternoon. My leg hurt a great deal more than yesterday, meaning my adrenaline had worn off. I could see a bit of light shining through the blinds, but not much more than that. A bowl of cereal was next to me, and it looked haphazardly prepared.

"Mama! She is awake! She is awake!" A little girl popped out from behind the sofa, looking down on me. Then, suddenly, there was 2 more sets of little eyes looking at me. They giggled quietly as the other hushed them, also giggling. Her mother came in through the room, looking distraught.

"How many times do I have to tell you to quit being so loud? The Senseless can hear you from a mile away!" Her mother whispered threateningly. The girl looked away sheepishly, while the other two pitied her. "Sorry about them," she said, "they can get a little too curious." I nod, and peer at the children. The louder one was a girl, and beside her were a boy and another girl.

"What are your names?" I ask.

"Forgive me!" The woman apologized. "I am Adison, this one here is Maya, and the other two are Jake and Leslie." The woman seems proud to say their names, smiling and touching their hair. They beamed, happy to get the attention

The quiet was interrupted by a banging. Maya squeaked in suprise, and her mother huddled her siblings away from the door.

"Mama! It's daddy! Can I let him in?" She whispered, looking through the window.

"Shhhh," Adison shushed Leslie's whimpering."We will all be fine. Maya, do not open that door! He is not your father, no matter how much resembles him!" The banging continued, for what felt like hours. Any senseless could hear the ruckus, and would come running.

There was a pounding on the window now. Our lives were endangered by the minute. Adison gathered all of the supplies around me into a pack. The first aid kit, blankets, food, and clothing all went in. She grabbed the children's small hands quickly, dragging them deeper into the house. I limped along behind them, wincing as the muscles in my leg cried out for help.

We made our way near a staircase. Adison opened a small door underneath them. We crowded our way into the small room, Adison clicking the door shut behind us. A light flicked on, and I took in the space around us. There was wood all around, and the ceiling slanted from the shape of the stairway. It smelled dusty, like it was not used often. I could feel the dense air around me, as well as the heat that radiated off of our bodies.

"Move back, move back!" Alison said frantically, stomping hard on the floor. The floor caved to reveal another set of stairs leading to the darkness.

The dark, the thing I have come used to. Yet this time I feared it, for some unexplainable reason. As we descended, you could hear the senseless breaking glass and screaming violently. From now on, there would be no going back.