Silence

Charlie was all alone in his own bedroom, sitting on the edge of his own bed, looking out the back window at the carriage house, wondering what Meg was doing. There was no way he could see her from here, partially due to the heavy drapery that covered the windows of the second story across the yard, but he imagined she was resting or possibly reading a book. He wondered if she felt all alone when there was no one with her or if she was suffering from the same sensation he was experiencing.

The voices wouldn’t stop. Even when other people were talking to him, even as he formulated responses to their questions, he could hear the constant noises of screaming, crying out, in the back of his mind. While having other people nearby lessened the effects to some degree, it never made them stop. When he was completely alone as he was now, there was nothing to dull the effect, and he could distinctly hear the individual voices, make out what they were saying, and envision their fa