It didn’t matter how much he scrubbed, his hands just wouldn’t feel clean. The sink was filling with filthy water and blood which made him feel even worse. The skin of his palms looked irritated. He had heard it though. He knew he had heard it. The sound of the infant crying had been ringing in his ears all night. Daniel heard nothing. Daniel was a calming presence. He always quietened things. When Daniel was around the noise was softer and less intrusive. Vincent heard a child crying. It was the stifled calls of a small infant buried beneath the dirt. Daniel didn’t seem to hear it. He could tell something was bothering Vincent though.
“You’re just nervous about your first rehearsals.”
He couldn’t hear the infant in the garden crying to be dug up.
To keep his mind occupied Vincent drank a glass of whiskey. He sat in the sofa and imagined Daniel’s taxicab journey in his head. He would be crossing the Fullerton bridge from Filton towards Cardyne by then. He tried to imagine what small talk he would make with the taxi driver. Daniel was good at that. He would manage to fill the time with pleasantries. The soothing taxi ride became interrupted by the sound of the screaming again. He had to set them free. He had dropped the whiskey glass. He must have tried to pick up the shattered pieces without realising it. There was a great cut across his palm. Without cleaning it and applying a bandage he went to the gardens. The screaming was just too loud now. It didn’t sound like an infant anymore. It sounded like a whole choir of children, older, maybe the age of the Peterson twins. He hadn’t brought a shovel. The noise was just to great. He dug his hands into the dirt and started pulling it aside. The cries harmonised into one voice again. It crescendo and then came to a halt. There was nothing there. Now there was no noise. He was too late.
He despaired as he washed the dirt and blood from his hand. The tormenting noise had gone but the silence it had left behind was much worse.
SHORT STORY COMING SOON
Enjoy this? Check out these thrillers available now.
