Silence Falls

The black van stopped at the town’s church as the rain poured down in heavy sheets over them. Two of the men dressed in black and two of the muscle-heads got out of the van. One of the men dressed in black started heading up the stairs to the cathedral.

Bam was drenched in rain for the second time that night, his body feeling like jelly as the muscle-heads dragged him out of the van and onto his feet. Bam spent the entire ride there staring into the eyes of his dead wife. Was she really dead, he had asked himself over and over again? It was all unreal to him, more like a realistic dream really. There was no way what happened had actually happened. There was no way that Emma could be dead, no way that she was now a part of human history just like everyone else that dies. There was just no way.

Bam was dragged up the steps by the two muscle-heads, and could only manage to take three steps on his own because of their towering height.

"Bring him in." Bam heard a voice shout out to them from behind two of the now open heavy doors of before he found himself being tossed onto the church floor. The two muscle-heads that carried him each grabbed ahold of the one doors and slammed it shut, leaving Bam alone by himself. Bam looked around and gazed at the white, red, and gold décor of the cathedral. The pews were beautifully polished and gleaming, and the open bibles on the pews looked well taken cared of, not a wrinkled page in sight. The red carpet below him was soft and looked as clean as the day it must have been installed in the church. The candles surrounding the place glowed brightly, and the large cross at the back of the church felt like it could penetrate souls with how intensely the man on the cross was staring down upon his flock. The place looked like one of those expensive churches from Rome that tourist pay to see.

Below the cross was a long table overlooking the vast rows of pews, and sitting at the table were several of the elderly folks of the community that were also the most respected citizens in town. One of them spoke up with a surprisingly strong voice for how frail he looked. "Come forward, Brandon Cole Margera."

Bam glared at him defiantly from where he sat on the floor, before one of the men dressed in black came up behind him and yanked him up by his short hair. "Stand up when the Council addresses you, boy!" The masked man hissed at Bam. Blue eyes clashed with the eyes hiding beneath the mask.

"Fuck you asshole!" Bam growled as he spat on the man’s mask, before earning a backhanded smack across the face. Bam fell over from the force of the hit, but quickly used his feet to push him back and away from the guy in case he decided to attack him again.

"You little fucker!" The man dressed in black yelled at him with burning hot hatred.

"Do NOT speak that kind of language within the house of God, Jeremiah!" An elderly man sitting at the far right of the table shouted over at them, causing the man dressed in black to immediately back away from Bam like a scared kitten.

"Yes, my elder. Forgive me." Jeremiah shamefully bowed in apology to his elders, before making a grab for Bam's arm and dragging him down the red carpet behind him so that he could kneel before the town council.

"State your name, young man." An old lady in a white robe with gold trimmings, demanded. She and everyone behind the table were all wearing the same white robe, except for who Bam presumed was the leader due to him wearing a tall white hat to go along with his attire.

"He already fucking said my name you hag. Now tell me why the fuck I'm here!” Bam spat at her, causing the old lady to gasp in offence.

"You will not use those words in the house of God, is that understood!?" The leader of the council shouted at Bam, his fists clenched around the gravel as he slammed it twice onto the tabletop. Instant silence was all that was heard in the cathedral after the gravel’s echo had faded. Even Bam kept his mouth shut, and opt for glaring at the ancient skeletons sitting behind the table instead.

"Good. Now, bring her in." He said to his minions in black who each nodded and left the room.

Bam was usually the rebellious type and didn’t like following other people’s orders, but tonight was different. Now being placed between the council and himself, was the body of his deceased wife, Emma. The sheet was opened enough to reveal Emma’s face and her heavily pregnant belly for everyone in the room to see. Bam eyes were fixated on Emma, and only Emma with her pale skin, wet stringy black hair, and pale blue lips. He didn't plan on allowing anyone else to see the emotions that were going through him at the moment, especially the old corpses sitting behind the table staring at him. Sadly, with her body lying right there in front of him, they pretty much could get anything out of him, and they knew it by the way he was staring at her.

"Let’s try this again, shall we? What is your name!?" The leader asked him quite impatiently.

"Margera, Brandon Margera," Brandon spoke in low and shaky voice, already accepting defeat now that they called the shots.

"You just moved here, haven't you Brandon? You're not from around these parts."

"No, I moved in to live with my parents for a short while." Brandon went on to say, his eyes still glued to Emma’s face.

The old man looked to one of his minions in black. "Have his family been dealt with yet?"

"Yes sir, the parents have been drugged. We placed them on the couch so it'll give them idea that they had fallen asleep. When they wake up they won't remember a thing." Jeremiah answered confidently.

"Well, that’s good." A withered old lady sighed, her hands shaking as she readjust her glasses.

“And what of the evidence?” A farmer looking gentleman questioned him.

“That too has been dealt with, sir. Every evidence has been destroyed. We even took the liberty to pack up Brandon and Emma’s things and cleared out any sign that they had been staying there. As far as they know, it was only a dream.” Jeremiah informed them, hoping to make them even more proud of the decisions he had made as leader.

"Well done my son, god is smiling down upon you with pride." The old priest assured him with a contented smile on his face, before turning his attention back to Bam.

"Why did you come to this town, young man?" A librarian old lady asked him as she peered down at him like he was an ant.

“I got myself into some trouble back at home. I came here to avoid police...told Emma I missed being home with my parents. She agreed to take a trip down to go and see them. She was actually looking forward to going into labor while we were down here so my parents…just so they can witness the birth of their first grandchildren.” Bam recalled to himself, remembering the excitement in her lively eyes when she’d talk about it with him. It was hard to believe that that was only hours a few days ago when she was still alive.

"So you came here to avoid getting arrested for whatever trouble you got into back where you came from. Hmm. How far along was she?" A pharmaceutical looking man asked him.

"Seven months." Bam whispered, swallowing hard at the thought of how close her due date was and how quickly it took to prevent that day from every happening.

"You monster," the old lady in a flowery dress hissed at him in disgust.

“Why did you kill her? Why would you do something so horrible to a pregnant woman!?” The librarian woman asked, horror written on her face.

Bam looked up at them with a look of confusion on his face. He almost didn’t catch that last question, but was glad that he did. "How do you know if I’m responsible for this? You weren't there, none of you were." All these people, none of them were there. No one knew what had happened in that house, but Bam and his parents.

The leader shook his head and smiled. “Oh no Brandon, that’s where you're wrong. I saw it happen. We all did. There isn't a single thing that goes on in this town without the council knowing about it, even behind closed doors.”