Darkness swallowed the last echo of Autumn's laughter.
And she screamed.
She didn't ease into it.
She forgot to breathe. Panic surged through.
The scream tore out of her in ragged pieces…like a raw, animal cry that scraped the inside of her throat.
"KIERAN!"
The name ripped out of her and vanished instantly…not into distance…not into silence,
but into something that literally ate up the sound.
Nothing came back.
Not even an echo.
Slowly… painfully slowly…
her breath returned.
She tried again, louder.
"Kieran! KIEEEEERAN!"
Still nothing.
It was like yelling with a pillow pressed over your mouth.
Here the darkness pressed against her mouth, pushing her words back into her.
Her pulse hammered in her ears…the only proof she was still alive and not dead.
Her hands flailed out, searching for anything…a wall, a floor, the bed she had been sitting on…Kieran's shirt, her children's hands… anything…just something real… but those were more distant than a dream…
