Page 43 of The Quiet
Ella opened her eyes, forcing herself up as she pushed up against the wall. Wiping the sweat from her face, she walked uneasily out of the room and down the steps, hating the state of herself and struggling through what she should do next.
Kay and Jackson were outside near the woods as if they’d picked a direction already and were waiting on her. Jackson was still smoking his cigarette as they both faced her. She’d almost reached them when she saw an expression of horror on Jackson’s face, the cigarette falling out of his mouth before a sudden jolt shot up behind her. Ella turned in only enough time to see the black webbing of cracks climb up the base of Life, and then spiral up with so much force that it was as if black lightning burst up from the ground. The sun at the peak of the tower burst into a thousand pieces and then before their very eyes the entire structure crumbled to the ground.
Ella stared at Jackson and Kay. Kay was still staring at the rubble, but Jackson’s eyes were on her.
“What did you do?” Jackson said, his anger clear. Kay was still in shock. Jackson rubbed his face and crossed his arms, staring at the wreckage in a forlorn way, meanwhile Kay had sunk to his knees and in the moment was completely speechless, a very rare occurrence for him.
Jackson kept his mouth and nose covered but watched her closely. Without another word, he yanked Kay up by the arm. “We have to go,” he said, “now!” he jolted Kay again and before long they were running full force back into the woods.
“Where are we going?” Kay asked ahead as they broke through branches and trees. He kept glancing back at Ella who stumbled beside him.
“Away from here!” Jackson said, a rushed urgency in his voice. “We need to get away from here!”
He continued full force for several minutes, Ella and Kay both panting as they sprinted behind him. He seemed to have a specific sense of where he was going despite not having been here before, but to their surprise he eventually led them out to a small, shrub laden cavern and without another word ran inside.
“Stay close,” he said, removing his lighter and loosening the sword on his back as they walked deeper into the tunnel. Ella noticed words etched on the walls as they kept going deeper, examining Jackson’s careful pace through the cave before grabbing his shoulder and yanking him back.
The force turned them both, Ella stepping back before a hole opened up in the floor, nearly swallowing her. Kay stepped out to catch her, the floor breaking under him as he stepped near her. He fell, Jackson barely snatching Ella before she slammed against the side of the pit.
“Kay!” she shouted in a mixture of concern and pain as her wounded arm jolted against the side of the pit.
“I’m fine,” Kay groaned back, though she couldn’t see him in the darkness below.
“Kay, catch her,” Jackson said calmly, hanging far off the edge and slipping steadily.
“You’ve been here before,” Ella accused, right before Jackson let go.
Ella fell hard in the darkness as Jackson pushed himself back up. He sat and watched them in the pit.
“You knew exactly where we were going,” she accused, panting through the pain. Her head swam as she pushed herself up against the wall.
“Time runs differently here,” he said. “I didn’t know until I saw the lookout but it’s only been about a decade since the war ended.”
“What are you saying?” Kay asked, hoisting Ella up beside him.
“I’m saying,” Jackson repeated, “the war happened in this place that you all call The Quiet."
“That’s impossible,” Kay said, “we have ruins, artifacts, entire walls on our side!”
“From something sure, but it’s not the war, not our war, and you,” he directed his attention back to Ella. “You said you didn’t see anything in my memories.”
“I don’t even know who he is!” she shouted back, “I didn’t even realize it was a Strike!”
“What is happening!” Kay exclaimed, mirroring Ella’s frustration.
The only one who seemed completely calm now was Jackson, and Ella didn’t like what that meant.
“Which one is it? Yun, Avadale, Smith?” Jackson said to her.
Ella was surprised to realize that she actually knew the answer to his question, having an uncanny sense that it had been shared to her without her knowledge, “Lambspeak.”
An immediate coldness settled on Jackson’s face. A tense and dangerous silence ensued, in which Ella sensed something in Jackson’s eyes that made her want to reason with him.
“He started talking to me,” Ella said. “He healed my arm and I forced him to give me the wound back, alright? I’m not conspiring with him. What are you so afraid of?” she said as Kay helped pull her up, “What’s out there?”
Jackson moved to pull something from his belt. “The war didn’t end how you think it did,” he said and threw something down. Ella caught it in her good hand, inspecting the vial of Amnesia before looking up at him.
“Drink it and I’ll pull you both out.”
