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Hush
23 Aug 2002
by Mayqueen
(Be warned - this supernatural chiller has its gruesome moments...)
 Night
has fallen over Ambridge. The Bull has long closed for the night and it
will be a few hours yet before those in the dairy industry will raise
their sleepy heads.
Along the road come
six figures. They seem to glide effortlessly and a closer examination
shows that, marionette-esque, they are indeed gliding, about a foot above
the ground. The closer examination also shows just how sinister they look.
Dressed in black suits, white shirts and black ties, the gentlemen stand
tall and slender. Completely bald, their skin is a wrinkly deathly grey,
their eyes lie in dark sunken pits. Lips pulled back in a hideous grin
show blackened metallic looking sharp teeth, creating an effect that would
strike terror in anyone that saw it. With them are six goons, hunchbacked,
straightjacketed, hyperactive things.
The gentlemen head
for Arkwright Hall. Inside, they open a carved wooden box. After a few
minutes a fog enters the hall and moves into the box. A withered grey
hand shuts the lid. If we had been looking we would have seen that this
fog is in fact the breath sucked out of every Ambridge inhabitant.
A few hours later Ruth Archer awakes. Quietly so as not to disturb her
sleeping husband who does not need to get up for another half hour, she
gets up and goes outside to greet the cows who were already massing at
the gate waiting to be led up to the milking parlour. She opens her mouth
to greet the beasts, which she cares for almost as much as her own children,
but to her horror no sound comes out. She tries again, but again silence.
Instinctively, she opens her mouth to utter two immortal words so loathed
by the nation. Again silence.
The nation cheers.
 It's
later now. Others have awoken and discovered their voices lost. Emma is
one of them. She had dreamed about this, the night before. A little girl
holding a carved wooden box singing a song.
"Can't
even shout, can't even cry
The gentlemen are coming by
Looking in windows, knocking on doors
They need to take seven and they might take yours
Can't call to mum, can't say a word
You're gonna die screaming but you won't be heard."
Quickly Emma
dresses and goes downstairs. Susan tries to stop her to ask her about
her weekend away with William again but not being able to speak (again
a nation cheers!), she is easy for Emma to dodge. Neil isn't talking to
her anyway on account of her seeing a Grundy "so no change there"
she thinks. She makes her way over to Brenda's. Opening the door into
the kitchen Fallon finds Mike at the table head in hands. Betty is at
the cooker crying. Brenda comes into the room and Emma motions to her
to come outside. They walk through the village hearing only birds and
a dog barking. They make their way over to Greg's cottage. Making use
of a pad by the phone Greg says he has no idea what is going on.
Later that
night, the door of Arkwright hall opens. The gentlemen glide out in pairs.
With each pair are two of the goons. Smiling their chilling smile, each
pair of gentlemen go their own way. One pair head towards Greg's house.
Helen, unable to sleep has got up to fetch a glass of water. As she stands
at the sink, one gentleman glides past the window. Startled, she drops
the glass in the sink causing it to crack.
Elsewhere
in Ambridge, two gentlemen knock at the door of the stables. A sleepy
Shula appears. She tries to struggle and scream as the goons hold her
down, but they are strong and she is now mute (hoorah!). From their breast
pockets the gentlemen produce scalpels. They lean over their victim. In
the silence, the sound of the incision is sickeningly loud.
A while later,
the gentlemen meet again at Arkwright hall. On the table around the wooden
box are seven jars. Four are empty, but three, three contain human hearts...
The next day
Emma and Brenda make their way back over to Greg's cottage. On the way
they see an ambulance and police outside Glebe Cottage. They also pass
a surprisingly happy looking Freda and Higgs. Surprising to them as they
fail to realise how the two are enjoying watching everyone else have to
cope with the curse that they suffer with permanently. William turns up
at Greg's too and turns on the radio. Wayne Foley is discussing the latest
news from Ambridge. Shula, Jill and Janet are all dead, their hearts have
been cut from their chests with what the police are saying is surgical
precision. Helen draws a picture of the man she saw last night. Greg examines
it and suddenly looks for a book of fairytales. Looking through it he
finds what he is after and shows the others.
The story
tells of gentlemen taking the hearts of seven people. Brave knights try
and fight the gentlemen but no sword can kill them. In the end the only
thing that kills them is the scream of the princess.
"Seven"
writes Brenda,
"They need four more then" replies William, always quick off
the mark.
"How do i get my voice back?" wonders Emma.
No one is
surprised she thinks she should be the princess.
The group
agree they need to find where the gentlemen are hiding and hopefully they'll
think of a way to get Emma's voice back. They figure they must be somewhere
uninhabited. St Stephens is unlikely. Lynda Snell is in the middle of
rehearsals at the village hall so that too is ruled out. Arkwright Hall
is a possibility, so is the cricket pavilion. They check the latter first
but find nothing.
As they reach
Arkwright Hall, Brenda spots something moving in the shadows. Before they
can investigate further they are set upon by two goons. Greg and William
try and hold them off so the others can check the hall. Days spent in
the open air, patrolling the estate, checking the birds mean they are
able to put up quite a fight even if William's coordination leaves a little
to be desired.
Inside the
hall Emma and Brenda are faced with two of the gentlemen. Armed with scalpels,
the pair decide the girls' hearts suitable. They make their way towards
Emma, grinning menacingly. Brenda spots the jars and box on the table.
With the gentlemen distracted she grabs the box and smashes it against
the floor, shattering the silence. The fog of voices that we saw enter
the box bursts out. Emma screams. The gentlemen hesitate, they stop smiling,
then collapse in heaps on the floor before evaporating. Outside, the goons,
who were - not surprisngly - winning against Greg and William, also collapse
before evaporating.
The fog of
voices travels its way through the village, growing smaller as each is
returned to its owner. However there is a fourth who will never speak
again because unfortunately Brenda and Emma were not quick enough.
Susan lies
still. Her heart, cut from her chest, lies on the floor next to her.
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