Silence

Silence. That was all there was now.

Once upon a time, there were birds in the woods, chirping at one another in seemingly random symphonies. Deer rustling through the bushes, searching for something to eat. Owls hooting at night, guarding the trees as the others slept. Not anymore. Now these woods echoed a silence. The colony wars and haphazard hunting practices during the years of scarce resources and panic by poachers and eager salesmen emptied this home a long time ago. But still, the silence was beautiful.

At least to Sadie.

Sadie and Bug would come here to be alone. The compound didn't offer much for privacy and not many dared to go into what is now known as a "red-zone". A no-mans land. Even the children who lost their toys treated these woods like the backyard of an evil witch, looking for children to sacrifice. Balls, frisbees, and little army men littered the mossy floor like an abandoned daycare. It didn't always used to be this way though.

Ever since society crashed in 2035, humans have been pushed to live off the land, barter for goods, and try to work together to find solutions to simple day-to-day tasks, like filtering water, rationing food so no one went hungry, and adapting to climatic events, like acid rain, plagues, and angry wildlife that had regained the upper hand after centuries of misplacement and endangerment. Mostly, everyone did their part and understood that we had to work together to move forward. Though most understood how we got here and had learned the lesson of teamwork and the importance of community, not all students took to the material. There were some outliers that believed that they knew better, and they deserved to make the decisions for our people. The groups, known collectively as 'The Anarchists', eventually took to violence to be heard. They had been kept under control for a decade, but they had been winning as of late. They stripped the colonies across the western region down to their skeletal frames and restrictions were quickly enforced; food rations were based on the loyalty they perceived from the actions of your unit, clean water was treated as a luxury that few were worthy of, and they had banned simple things that brought pleasure to our colonies. Things as simple as colour.

Every year, when the trees were changing colour and Autumn was in full bloom, we used to have a festival celebrating colour in all its forms. People would dress up in colourful and random patterns, paint their faces, and display canvases in the courtyard. It was a time that everyone celebrated; even Bugs' dad, the oh-so-stoic leader of our little tribe on this western side of the continent. Her dad was known as a very serious leader who took himself and his role in our compound very seriously. He had curfews during times of strife and very strict rules on bartering fairly in our community. He was loved but feared. And Sadie was pretty sure that is how he wanted it.

Sadly, ever since the Anarchists took power, they not only banned the festival, but upon hearing that some were still holding to their own familial traditions regarding the event, banned colour all together. It was at this time that Sadie's dad, Sebastian, formed the rebellion. The Coalition worked to bring harmony and peace back to our lands. Those who were part of the group would wear colourful strings on their wrists and dye their socks to match. We had lost a great number of soldiers in that fight, but Sebastian had long ago said that it was better to die fighting than to live in surrender. After all the conflict and disunity, Sadie could not help but agree.

Sadie looked around the forest, appreciating the still silence that swept over the land like a dense fog. It was peaceful. Free of the struggles of the colony and the greed of man. She lay, holding Bug in her arms, spotting shapes in the clouds.

"So, what do you think?" Faye, affectionately known as Bug, interrupted. "Shall we head home?"

"I don't know, Bug. There's..” she paused, “other people there."

Bug laughed. "Like it or not, you're people." She got up from Sadie's lap, allowing the cold air to invade her cotton pants. "Plus, you know my father will send out his henchmen if I am not back before dark."

"Oh, yes. I am quite aware of your father's entourage. They burglarize our privacy any chance they get."

Bug rolled her eyes. "He's just looking out for me. For us" She caught herself. A scoff erupted out of Sadie's mouth like vomit. "What?" She questioned with a warning of irritation. "He cares about you." Now it was time for Sadie to roll her eyes. "He does!" She insisted, grabbing Sadie’s hand with a squeeze.

"Bug," she stated as she turned to face her, grabbing her by the shoulders, "he hates me. Rather he hates my father, but by extension, hates me."

"He doesn't hate your father. He just thinks that he is risking more violence to our community.” Following, in a tired voice, “We have lost too much as it is.”

“But how do you expect things to change if you don’t fight back?”

Bug threw up her hands. “I’m not having this argument again! Let’s just get back before sundown.” She said, taking Sadie’s hand once again.

As they headed back to the compound gates, they went down a narrow path, Bug taking the lead. The sun was ahead, leaving a perfect silhouette of Bug in her direct vision. Sadie’s eyes drifted around and looked back at the woods they were leaving, taking in the beauty in the silence and the never-ending landscape. Turning back to Bug, she stopped in her tracks. Bug had stopped too just a few feet ahead of Sadie. In front her, four men were standing before them, weapons drawn. Unfortunately for Sadie and Bug, guns had survived the collapse of society.

Faye had not been trained to fight, as her father did not believe that violence was the answer, but luckily Sadie had been taught the extended version of that particular melody; violence is not the answer but not everyone understands that, so be prepared.

Still. Everyone was still.

Sadie shifted her footing and, in that moment, the two men in front grabbed Bug, incapacitating her from any free movement. Sadie started towards her but was ambushed from behind by two unseen assailants. They pinned her down and tied her hands and feet together, preventing her from fighting back until the said their piece. “Tell your leader that it’s his daughter for his throne. We are tired of waiting for your people to show us the proper respect and give us what we want. What we need.”

They released her and started to flee. Sadie started on her ties they were loosely done except for one. She struggled with it until, like glass hitting the floor, she heard a blood curdling scream break the silence. Her head shot up and she saw Bug being dragged away, thrashing against her attackers. Tearing the cloth with her teeth, she stumbled up from the ground and started after Bug. Three men stood between her and Bug, and she ran toward them ready to fight for her and the men towards her, ready to do the same. It was three on one, but Sadie could not care less. Bug would not become another one of their victims. Unfortunately, years of training could not prepare her for the choreographed dance of the three fighters she was up against. They kicked her back off her feet, her head splitting against a tree. She could already feel the cold liquid running down her scalp. It was only then she noticed it in her mouth as well. By the time she had regained her footing, the men were already off to catch up to their teammates and Bug had gone quiet.

“Faye!” She screamed across the echoing arena. “Faye!” She screamed again, this time only to be cut short by the sob coming up in her throat.

She started running in the same direction they fled, ignoring the splitting headache, the taste of blood in her mouth, and the gnawing feeling of loss and grief in her stomach. After what felt like forever, she stumbled to the ground, out of breath and her lungs on fire, only her legs thankful for the break.

Panting, she looked around. Trying to find anything that could point her in the right direction. Almost lost for hope, she saw a glint of something being hit by the sun now almost down for the day. She chased after it, hopelessly trying to believe it was something. When she came up to the shining object, she stumbled once more, and her pants turned into sobs. On the ground lay Bug’s necklace. Sadie had found it for her at a flea market and she never went a day without it after that. It was a silver, heart-shaped locket. Inside there were pictures of a butterfly and a caterpillar. They joked about how Sadie was the caterpillar, always helping develop a community that prospered and build a cocoon of safety, and Faye was the butterfly, flying around just trying to spread joy and peace. The pain she had felt physically just moments before now did not register to her at all. The pain in her heart as she realized Bug was gone was immeasurable and her heart ached like nothing ever could.

Silence. Deafening silence.

Breaking through her panicked sobs, she heard yelling in the background, ridding her ears of the persistent ringing she now heard. Her heart stopped for a second, holding on to hope one last time.

“Faye!” shouted the voice. The tears started again as she realized it was Bugs’ father coming to find her. The sobs racked at her rib cage once more as she sat there on the wet, mossy dirt, clutching what she currently had left of her heart to her chest.

The yelling continued, worsening Sadie’s tears, as she knew that there would be no answer. That Bug would not respond, and she couldn’t bring herself to answer, at least not without acknowledging the reality.

There would be no response from Bug.

There would only be

silence.