Chapter 4

The night of "The Great Silence" arrived.

Andrew had made it home, confused and demanding answers, but he trusted me and our father enough to wait. The three of us were gathered in the living room, the sound-dampening panels making the space eerily quiet.

We had the news on, the volume low. At first, it was just scattered reports. A mining town in Siberia gone dark. A research outpost in the Antarctic suddenly silent.

Then, the chaos erupted.

Live footage from New York City showed a street cracking open. Long, spindly limbs, like a spider's but made of glistening, black chitin, pulled a monstrous body from the earth. It had no eyes, just a massive, gaping maw that opened and closed, sensing for vibrations.

A car alarm went off down the street. The creature whipped its head in that direction and screeched, a sound that made the news anchor flinch. It moved with impossible speed, a blur of black limbs, and tore the car apart as if it were made of paper.

Panic filled the screen. People were screaming, running. Every sound was a death sentence.

The power grid flickered, then died. The TV went black.

For a moment, we sat in absolute darkness and silence. Then, the low hum of our battery banks kicked in, and the emergency lights bathed the room in a soft glow.

Andrew stared at the blank TV screen, his face pale. "My God, Gabby. You were right."

My father put a hand on his shoulder. "We're safe here, son. We're prepared."

Even though I knew it was coming, seeing it for real sent a tremor of fear through me. My body remembered the feeling of being hunted, the terror of that final moment in the water. I instinctively curled up on the couch, pulling my knees to my chest.

My father looked at me, his eyes full of a sad understanding. "They can't get in here, Gabrielle. We're safe."

We spent the next three days listening. Not to the outside world, but to the silence. The world had changed. The constant hum of civilization was gone, replaced by an oppressive quiet broken only by the distant, terrifying shrieks of the creatures.

The internet and phone lines held on for a few more days before collapsing completely. In that time, we saw the full scope of the horror. We saw people betraying each other for a moment of quiet. A mother in a live stream, taping her crying baby's mouth shut. A group of wealthy people in a high-rise, throwing one of their own off the balcony to distract a creature below.

The world I knew was gone. This was the new reality. Stay quiet, or die.

Weeks turned into a month. Our routine was simple. We tended the underground garden, checked the perimeter defenses on the silent monitors, and spent our time together as a family.

Then, one day, I got a message. It came through on a satellite phone I had purchased, a last link to the outside world.

It was from Matthew.

"Gabrielle. Please. I know you're out there. I'm sorry. I was a fool. I'm starving. My mother... she's gone. Tara is gone. I'm alone. Please, help me."

Andrew, his face a mask of rage, looked at me. "Don't even think about it. He left you to die."

"I'm not going to help him," I said, my voice cold. "I'm going to watch him suffer."