Free Where Silence Gathers by Kelsey Sutton

about. And Emotions will be there. So many Emotions. Disorienting and constant, relentless and meddlesome.
    I think of Missy’s face in the glow of the television last night, and how Saul avoided my gaze this morning. They’ve already lost hope, and Franklin High eventually stops bothering to call when a student skips too many times. That’s how things work here. Why keep fighting when I’m not sure I want to fight at all?
    Of their own volition, my hands yank the steering wheel to the side and I’m turning onto Halbrook Lane. No one comes this way anymore, but the dirt remembers when men rolled over it in their trucks every morning and night. Grass doesn’t grow. Trees surround the road, green-brown blurs as the miles pass. Then the signs begin appearing. Bright, rusted warnings. DANGER. MINE SITE. NO TRESPASSING.
    There it is.
    The opening is black, empty, expectant. There’s more than one entrance to the mines, but this is the biggest and the safest. Someone put up a fence and another sign, both easy to ignore. I park and get out. Despite the mist, it’s warmer today. Spots of sunlight touch the ground and birds call. I stay by the car, staring at that wide mouth and remembering when Dad took me down there. The damp walls frightened me and the low ceilings were terrifying. I lasted twenty minutes before crying and begging him to take me back up to the surface, where everything was bright and safe and familiar. He did, and he never expressed any disappointment or impatience. I didn’t see the Emotions, either. In many ways, Dad really was perfect.
    And then he was taken from me.
    The quiet is too loud, so I tap an erratic beat on my thigh. After a few minutes, I know I can’t go in there. My movements jerky, I yank the passenger door open to grab the gun. The handle is freezing on my skin. The door slams shut again with a hard kick from my boot. I spin around, close one eye, and pull the trigger.
    Bang . The thunderous echo vibrates through the woods. The bark of a tree explodes. My ears ring.
    â€œYour aim could use a bit of work.”
    I jerk at the sound of Revenge’s voice. Before I can turn, he comes up behind me and I feel the furnace of his skin as he plays with my hair. My limbs lock into place.
    â€œRelax your grip,” he whispers. He’s careful, so careful not to touch me. But he could. He’s just a inch away, so close. He could. I could.
    Once again Lust sidles up next to me, a creature with full lips and yellow hair. She’s not the one I want, but her touch has all the same effects Revenge’s would. She taunts me with that vicious mouth, brushing them over my cheek, my jawline, my ear. “My, my, Revenge,” she purrs. “This one really wants—”
    â€œYou’ve done your job. Now get lost,” I hiss, breaking my own rules by acknowledging her. She smirks at me before leaving.
    In the silence that follows, a blush ebbs through my face; there’s no way Revenge didn’t see her. Hear her. I close my eyes and breathe. Parts of me still quiver and tingle. Talk about something, instinct urges. Anything.
    â€œRevenge … ” I make myself face him as if nothing has changed. His expression gives nothing away. I clear my throat, silently telling my pulse to calm. “I’ve been … I think I’m going crazy. I just thought I should warn you. In case I start going rabid or something.” How does the gun feel so hot now, when moments ago it was so cold?
    Revenge’s eyes soften in a way that makes the breath catch in my throat again. “You’re not going crazy, Alex.” His voice is strangely tender.
    â€œHow do you know?” I manage to ask.
    He shrugs, as if it’s so obvious. “Because I know you.”
    Overhead, a bird calls to another. The canopy of leaves—still recovering from the long sleep of the past few months—struggles to hide them. Then one bird takes