Young Writers Society

Immaculate

Part Two: Hope

I arrived at Vanessa’s house. The silence continued. I approached the front door and pressed the doorbell. There was no response. Each growing moment of silence ripped me up inside. I felt as if I was beginning to break. The silence just grew and grew. I know the concept of silence growing sounds impossible, but it is absolutely true. I don’t quite understand how, but the silence was getting bigger. Soon the world would be mute and the essence of sound would be irrelevant.

I tried again and again. The sound of the muffled bell ringing in the house gave me slight satisfaction. The muteness hadn’t won yet. I tried the doorknob, but it wouldn’t budge. I spun around to the back of the house and tried the rear entrance, but it wouldn’t budge either. I now had a decision to make. Continue to pursue my journey into Vanessa’s house or leave now. I already knew what I would find once I got in. They would all be dead. Wouldn’t they? No, I did not know. I had to be certain. I could not leave without knowing the fate of Vanessa. I grabbed a patio chair made of some sort of wood and swung it against the window. The glass shattered on the first try.

“Sorry,” I whispered as I stepped into the house through the broken window. I don’t know why I was sorry. There was no one for me to apologize to. They were all dead, weren’t they? Ruining people’s property was no longer a crime. It was no longer their property. In fact, yes, perhaps it was my property now. The entire world would belong to me. I’d just shattered my own window.

I arrived to her room and knocked. I knocked because the sound gave me hope. The silence was becoming unbearable. Noise was becoming a psychological need. I hesitated just for a second. I knew this was it, the moment of truth. I opened the door.

Her bed was empty. A glimmer of hope fluttered through me. Perhaps she was still alive and she had left her house. Perhaps she was searching for him too. Perhaps—no, she wasn’t still alive. My hope was snuffed out as my eyes reached the floor. She was sprawled out across the floor; a pink notebook with a lock was clutched in her hand. It must have been her diary.

I grabbed the diary and shut the door. I couldn’t stand the sight of her body. I walked down the hallway why I played with the book in my hands. The curiosity inside me grew. I hated the sight but I desired confirmation that they were dead. I didn’t care too much for Vanessa’s family. I opened the door to her sister’s room. Dead. I continued to walk down the hallway and reached her parent’s door and opened it. To my surprise there was nobody inside. I arched my eyebrow. Where were her parents? I walked around the bedroom and found no one. I crossed into the adjoining bathroom. Nobody was there either. Why weren’t her parents here? I examined the entire house and did not find them. I decided I didn’t care anymore and I returned to my car. Her parents were probably out at a party when whatever happened had happened. Perhaps they had gone to the hospital for some emergency or left to have crazy kinky sex in the park? There were several explanations as to why her parents were not home. I sighed and started the car. I threw the diary in the passenger seat.

I don’t know where I was headed to. I just knew I was leaving.