Free A Silence Heard by Nicola McDonagh

further, I noticed that a series of windowed cubicles lined either wall. I counted at least twenty-five such places to the left and to the right. I could not see into them clearly for they emitted but a faint glow, barely revealing shadows that resembled some sort of folk.
    There was an eerie silence that filled the place and I felt a shiver pass though me. Followed perhaps by that telempathy again. For I was sure I heard faint noises. Firstly from inside my noggin, then as I cocked my ear to murmurs most def without. There were sounds coming from inside the strange half-glassed dwellings. Muffled voices, crashes, bangs, whooshes and all other manner of low din seeped out.
    We paused at the entrance, anxious and unnerved. I looked to Eadgard. He straightened, poked his head inside and the place blazed with light.
    The cubicles went black.
    Eadgard stepped back, fingered his trouser pocket for his Leatherman, and drew the knife. Behind him, I saw two Agro guards leap from chairs that rested against the nearest cubicle. They fumbled for their weapons that lay on the ground. But before they could pick them up, Marcellus dragged Alfred in front of him. His right arm tightly wrapped around the Agro’s neck. “Put weapons down, or he dies.”
    The guards looked at each other, at Marcellus, then at the rest of us.
    “I’d do it if I were you, my dears,” Kendra said and held out her puke bomb. I did the same with mine and we stepped into the room. The Agros carefully placed their guns onto the ground.
    “On your knees,” Eadgard said to the guards and swung his blade in front of their noses. “Hands behind your heads.”
    They did as they were told and thunked down hard onto the polished floor. Wirt walked over, pushed them flat so that they fell spread-eagled, and picked up their guns.
    I noticed a movement at the back of the room and saw two more guards holding long, black tube-like weapons. One let a slow grin spread across his bearded face. The other, smooth of skin, took a step towards us. Except for the whiskers on one of them, they looked exactly like the outside guards we met when first we came to this vile place. Not being sure that my friends had noticed their sinister presence, I stood in front of Eadgard and pointed. “There. Do you see? Wirt, Eadgard, look. Do you see them?”
    “I see them,” he said.
    The whiskered guard aimed at my chest.
    “Down!”
    I ducked.
    From my squatting position, I lifted my head and saw Eadgard throw his Leatherman. The blade hit and stuck smack in the middle of the bearded ones throat. Red squirted from the wound. For a moment, I wondered if the guard realised that he had received a fateful blow, as he stood unwavering. But then he screwed up his face, grabbed at his neck and slumped to the ground.
    Eadgard let out a yell, hurtled forward and smashed into the other guard’s stomach. He fell splat onto his back and Eadgard sat on his chest.
    From my hunched up position I could not see what happened next, but I heard something snap.
    I lifted my gaze and saw Eadgard stand. He kicked the limp body he had straddled away from him. Then he went over to the dead as dead guard, flipped him over with his foot and pulled out the knife. He wiped the blade on his trouser leg and winked at me.
    “Ye are a whiz-bang with that knife of yer’s,” Wirt said. He gave me his hand and I let him pull me up.
    Wiping his brow, Eadgard walked over to the other two Agro guards, who remained face-down on the floor and grabbed one of them by his shirt collar. He yanked him to his feet. “Disarm the cams.” The guard gulped. Eadgard pressed two fingers into the side of his neck and he choked. “You, get up.” The other guard did and quickly too. “Disarm the cams or your friend will join the others.”
    The male shook his head and said, “I have not the power to do this.”
    Eadgard gave his prisoner a swift jab in the throat and down he went. He stared at the remaining guard. “Disarm the