Unmarked

Darkness.

You open your eyes slowly at first, breathing in the salty breath of the lake. Crickets are singing their mating songs. Frogs croak out unintelligible words that sound like a dirty kind of music. Technorap or thrash metal even; they all sound alike. People call this silence. It very well may be silent in that there are no human voices. No fear of embarrassment or retribution here. It’s safe to fail in silence.

The wind is blowing softly, pushing dead leaves across the soft ground. It’s always this way in autumn. The trees hang overhead like spindly-armed protectors, sheltering you from the rest of this crumbling world. You sit in palaver, perched along the lakeside. The world is still alive here, not like in the lowlands with their neon sun and cybered dreams. But the end for this place is approaching, no number of deaths can change that. It waits just beyond the shadows, the way that murky clouds wait on the horizon for days before belching out their saucy prize of snow and rain. The dark beast come round at last.

A match strikes somewhere behind you and to your right. Its short ‘chk’ pierces the ‘silence’, casting slender shadows across your ruddy face. She never smoked before.

“You ok Fairchild?”

You don’t respond. Instead you pull off your glove and poke a pale finger into the water. Algae covers the surface of it near the shore. You swirl your finger around until the algae separates and allows you to see the dark water beneath. Tonight’s autumn moonlight isn’t enough to allow you to see your own reflection. Perhaps that too is for the best.

“Do you regret it?” She asks.

You shrug. That isn’t important anymore. The image of his blue face creeps into your consciousness. A bullet hole sits upon his forehead like a third eye. His mouth is ajar with shock; flies travelling down his swollen tongue. That isn’t important anymore. Your eyes shift view for a moment, resting upon a freshly turned patch of muddy earth. It’s slightly higher than the rest.

A cigarette splashes soundlessly in the lake beside you. “Come on, let’s get moving. Talbott expects us back by ten. If we’re late, she’ll know something’s wrong.”

You rise to your feet, taking one last glance at the unmarked patch of muddy earth by the water. Not a thing is wrong. Not anymore.