Part 8: The Sound of Silence

The Promised Land:
(Part 8) The Sound of Silence 

“We have to keep moving,” Caden said as he walked ahead. He didn’t answer Eden’s question. He didn’t want to. He was tired of being interrogated. Most of all, he was tired of her. Eden was everything he wasn’t: talkative, whiny, annoying, helpless, and selfish. The last two were what really got to him. “If there’s anything worse than a blue, it’s a grey,” he thought to himself. “Who knows how many people were killed in Jericho and she doesn’t even care. She doesn’t have a clue. What if those soldiers reached- No. Don’t think about that. I’m sure they’re just fine. These attacks aren’t as rare as they used to be. Now the Atari is involved. We need to complete our mission before it’s too late.”

Caden continued walking in deep contemplation. Behind him, Eden pulled out her slider phone and texted Shiloh again.

“What’s his problem?”

“He’s probably still upset about the bacon.”

“What’s really wrong with him?”

“Nothing. Maybe he’s just mad because you keep speaking. Talkative people sort of annoy him.”

“So I talk too much?”

“Not to me, I enjoy the company. When you’re not yelling, that is.”

“Thanks, I guess... You know what, kid? You’re all right, but your brother’s got issues.”

“Don’t mind him too much. He’s not so bad once you get to know him.”

“If you say so.”

“I’ll go talk to him.”

Eden nodded and tucked the phone into her pocket after Shiloh handed it back to her. She watched Shiloh increase his speed until he caught up with his brother.

He walked along for a few moments before swatting Caden’s arm to get his attention. From there, the two proceeded to communicate with each other.

Had Eden been able to understand the various hand gestures, she might have been able to pick up pieces of the conversation. As far as she was concerned, it just looked like Caden and Shiloh were preforming a strange air guitar battle. Every now and then they would point back at her, but neither one looked in her direction.

Eden wasn’t happy that she couldn’t understand the conversation, especially since it seemed to involve her.

“Somehow,” she thought, “people talking about you in front of you is just as bad as if they were talking behind your back, especially when you don’t know what they’re saying. I bet they’re still planning to ditch me at the next town.”

Eden decided to focus on something other than the two teenagers in front of her. The scenery hadn’t changed all that much. The sky had a little bluer tint than it did before, but it was still overcast and dreary. The trees still had leaves clinging to the branches, though most were brown or deep red. There were a few scattered buildings here and there in the distance, probably old houses that were once ransacked and left for nature to take over. Where are all the people? Where are all the animals? Eden wasn’t sure she enjoyed the dead silence. In fact the longer they walked in silence, the more she loathed it. Even the wind had died down to nothing but mere whispers. Eden was glad she chose to stay with Caden and Shiloh, even if she did question their methods and sanity. She dreaded the thought of being in this dead silence all by herself. An icy shiver ran up her spine, but not from the cold. Again she redirected her thoughts, this time to Jericho. “I wonder how many ‘infected’ are there. I hope that guy wasn’t really serious about putting them out of their misery. Is being Infected really that bad? Is being Pure any better? I wonder if there are zombies…”

After a while, Shiloh slowed his pace to walk beside Eden again. Resuming their phone conversation, Eden typed, “What did he say?”

“That you’re grey.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“Not exactly. He doesn’t like greys.”

“Oh. What did you tell him?”

“To give you a chance.”

“Is he going to?”

“He might.”

Going against her better judgment, Eden decided to pester Caden again. “How much father do we have to go?”

Caden stayed ahead of the two, but raised his voice so he wouldn’t have to turn around or slow down. “Jericho is still about 20 miles away.”

That meant nothing to Eden, other than it should be a 20-minute car ride. Or at least it would have been had they not lost the jeep. “… How fast are we walking?”

“Not fast enough to get us there in less than five hours.”

“FIVE HOURS?!” Eden unintentionally exploded. “Are you kidding me? How are we supposed to walk that long? What about stopping for food or rest? My feet can’t possibly last that long!”

Caden ran a hand through his dark hair with a deep breath. “We don’t have to worry about food. All our provisions were in the je-”

“And resting? We have to stop some time!”

“Then it will just take us longer to ge-”

“But that’s FIVE hours!”

Caden turned his head just enough so he could see Eden. “You have a bad habit of cutting people off, you know that? Walk faster.”

“But I’m getting tired.”

“Already? We haven’t been walking that long.”

“Can we stop soon?”

“Are you serious?” Caden threw his hands into the air. “We haven’t even walked a whole hour yet!”

“I was up early this morning.”

Caden’s palm slapped his face so hard, Eden wondered if he would knock himself unconscious if she kept talking. She looked to find Shiloh shaking his head, shoulders juddering with concealed laughter.

“Why?” Caden asked through gritted teeth. “Why won’t you stop talking?”

Eden let the question linger until the silence sunk in for a few moments. She solemnly whispered, “It’s too quiet. How can you stand it?”

Caden didn’t answer. If there was anything Eden really didn’t want right now, it was the silent treatment. They were coming up on what looked like another bombsite. Charred buildings and pieces of heavy machinery littered the ground. The closer they got to the ruins, the slower Caden walked. He stopped when they reached a semi truck lying on its side.

“Stay here,” he whispered. With minimal sound, he slid his bag off, drew two pistols, and slunk around the front of the truck. Eden moved to follow him when Shiloh grabbed the arm of her coat.

Eden whispered in protest, “I just want-.” Shiloh’s green eyes stared back intently as he shook his head. As soon as she heard gunfire, Eden slid out of the sleeves and made a run for it, leaving behind a bewildered Shiloh and empty coat.