The silence was deafening, a void that pressed against her ears and made her heartbeats sound like drumbeats in a hollow chamber. It wasn't the comforting stillness of a peaceful night; it was a sinister quiet, as if the world had held its breath, waiting for something unspeakable to happen. Every shadow seemed alive, every creak of the floor a threat. The absence of sound carried an eerie weight, amplifying the pounding of her blood and the soft rasp of her own breath, which she tried in vain to stifle. In that oppressive hush, her mind conjured horrors that the darkness might hide, each more terrifying than the last."