Children of the Beloved

Chapter 3 - Do You Hear the People Sing?

  

   The beat of a drum-like instrument sounded throughout the streets of downtown Esmeralda as residents and bystanders filled the narrow roads and sidewalks. As much as everyone knew that what was happening outside was likely trouble, they were still filled with curiosity and questions. This was no exception when it came to the five friends.

   Nova was the first to find herself outside of the cafe, not wasting a second after she heard the sound that could easily be called a drum. The leader in her kicked in and she wanted to scope it out before anyone else in her group did.

   Soon after Nova made her way outside, Nash and Sarai followed. They were equally as curious of the sounds and wanted to know what was going on.

   Declan was going to go out as well, but Isla seemed rather hesitant to join her friends, so he stuck behind with her for a moment.

   "Hey, you okay?" Declan asked Isla. Her entire demeanor had changed to that of a nervous or anxious one as she gnawed on her lip gently. He noticed that it almost looked like she was stuck in her own mind, something that Declan was very familiar with.

   Obviously the drumming noise didn't sound good. It violated everything that their lives were built off of- music was forbidden. Isla quickly broke out of her train of thought, "Oh, yeah! I'm fine. It's probably nothing, they could come get us if-"

   Before the shorter ginger could finish her sentence, Nash quickly opened the front door to the cafe with force.

   "Come outside! You have to see this."

   With slight hesitance, Isla nodded to Declan and the two joined their friends outside.

   It was chilly outside that night. Not only the air, but the atmosphere as well. It seemed as though the world stopped around the soft beat of the drum. There was something else that could be heard softly in the distance, and it was one of the first things Isla noticed when she came outside.

   "Do you hear the people sing?"

   Tall buildings lined the streets with only a few intersections at sight. Downtown worked as such: there was one long road that had most of the popular shops and restaurants placed alongside the buildings. Above these restaurants and shops were many of the middle class apartments, similar to the ones that Isla and Nash lived in.

   The only reason that this was pertinent was because the first thing that Isla saw when she got outside was a large group of people filling up the entire street and walking towards them. They were far, but the drums and voices echoed powerfully off of the sides of the large cement buildings.

   The group of people looked like what a tsunami was described as in the textbooks that the students read in their science classes: a large wave that radiated force. In front of them, the street cleared out with ease, just as a tsunami does with the water. This is an obvious sign of danger: the current pulls back, run.

   But something about the large group of drumming and chanting individuals intrigued the group of friends and clearly everyone else who remained in the streets of downtown Esmeralda. It almost entranced them.

   "Singing the song of Angry Men?"

   "Uh, guys..." Nash finally broke the filled silence after realizing they were simply staring in awe. It took a moment for anyone to respond, as all they could do was hold their breath and observe the scene that was happening. Isla, more than anyone, was tuned into what was happening down the road from them.

   Her eyesight had never been the best, so the large group of people that stood about half a mile away from her looked like a blob, but there was a soft chanting that intrigued her the most. She wanted to understand what they were saying, but the echo of the drums and her now talking friends made it almost impossible for her to hear anything.