The Insurgence: Bleeding Silver

Oblivion

Maybe this song is a little on the nose but what can I say- it is a classic. Oblivion by Thirty Seconds to Mars is one of my favorites from them.

-

If there's one thing I know about this life, I know a clock looms over our heads. A ticking time bomb. We can sit and rot in this base doing nothing while the others grow in strength and numbers. We do nothing to slow them down. It's only a matter of time before this silent, unmoving life comes crashing down.

I woke up to the sound of commotion outside my door, followed by a scream.

I sat in bed for a moment, waiting for another sound, figuring out what I should do, but it never came. It was quiet after that, and I wondered if I had dreamed the whole thing entirely.

Standing up, I closed my eyes and put my ear to my door. I was listening for any clear thoughts, and noise at all but it was dead silent outside.

"Hmm..." I backed away from my door and went to my bedside table, snatching a knife and my flashlight. I knew I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I just went back to sleep after that and woke up to find a crime scene outside my door.

And I prayed this didn't involve Ayla.

Taking a deep breath I opened my door and shone my flashlight directly in front of me. The hall was quiet, with the faint sound of buzzing in the lights. I turned the light to the left- no one was there. The left side of the hallway had a boarded up door and I quickly went over to make sure it remained unlocked. When I gave it a push it didn't budge. This is weird.

I took a step outside my door and directed my attention to the right side of the hallway. The darkness swallowed that side of the hall whole I couldn't see a thing down there.

I kept to the side of the wall with my flashlight guiding me right at my feet so I didn't step or kick anything important. There was an unnerved sinking feeling in my stomach that had left each step growing more wary. It all happened so fast- maybe someone had just slipped and fell? But why scream. I couldn't stop replaying that scream in my head.

I reached the end of the wall and sighed, shining the flashlight down the new hallway to my right just in case but it was just as still as my own. I don't know if I would've heard the scuffle so clearly if it were down this other hall.

This isn't right.

I took a few steps until I was at the middle of my hallway and shone my flashlight directly down the middle. Still- nothing.

There are bathrooms in the middle left side of the hallway- they would be perfectly out of view from the route I've taken so far. They were the last thing I could check- and I had to.

I went to the girls first, knocking on the wood door before opening. "Hello?" My voice echoed through the restroom- admittedly startling me.

Backing out I shone my flashlight into the guys restroom, nearly dropping my flashlight as I finally caught the cause of the sound.

I jumped backwards, slipping on the tile floor and landing hard on my back. I immediately sat up, my shoes shuffling before I could get myself to stand up.

It was a night watch guy- I think his name was Nicholas. He laid motionless on the floor, a look of terror on his face. There was no blood or signs of a struggle. He was frozen, alike to the state of Ayla's parents.

'Jasmine!' I raced out of the bathroom and ran down the hallway all the way to the end to the commons. Jasmine nearly collided with me, hearing my lurking.

"This better not be about your-"

"He's frozen- Nick he's... he's in the bathroom and..." I closed my eyes, rubbing my fingers on my temples.

Jasmine groaned, "Another one? Another random freezing?" She was yelling, her voice carrying through the commons.

I shrugged. "I'm sorry..."

She scoffed, rolling her nearly white eyes. "Oh please he was an asshole. What I'm concerned about is how that's the third freezing this month and coincidentally all of them have been high class power wielders."

Taking a second to remember, I realized she was right. Isaac, a telekinetic, Uriah, a dustracer, and Quinn, a mage.

There are about forty people living here, over half have low grade powers such as myself, Mavis, and even Jasmine. We can't afford to lose those powers.

"You're right," I said with a chill running through my body. "We need to tell the Headmistress about this-"

Jasmine put her hand on my shoulder, "Jack,  shut up, what is she possibly going to do about this?" Jasmine was whispering now which was enough to make me panic even more. "She keeps us as sitting ducks- standing around like statues." Jasmine backed away, chewing on her bottom lip with a faint pain in her ghostly eyes.

My legs are heavy but weak. I gulped, balling my hands into fists, using my skin as a distraction. "Then what do you want to do?" I whispered.

She closed her eyes and before the melancholy thought could leave her head I had the pleasure of hearing it first before it rang through the corridors.

"They're never coming back."

I nodded. "I know."