At least I’m still alive. That’s got to count for something.
The excavation got off to a good start; the team was in high spirits. Then we started to uncover runes that none of us recognized. The village had been part of a polyglot empire, but the writing wasn’t recognized by anyone on the team who between them knew dozens of dead languages.
Natasha Anisimova discovered the first rune in Quadrant 9L. Almost immediately, we all noticed a faint sound. Hard to describe. Muffled cicadas? Less than a minute later, Natasha tripped on a rock, fell, and the handle of a trowel went through her left eye into her brain.
We should have abandoned the dig right then but our hubris convinced us to continue, in Natasha’s honor. Dozens of equally cryptic runes were found within an hour of that decision. The sound got louder and seemed to come from everywhere. And then people started dropping like flies. Charles Cloutier choked on a chicken bone. Broki Jokela got stung by a wasp and stopped breathing minutes later.
Screams and moans surrounded me. No thought of helping others, I turned and ran. But if anything, the sound is getting louder.
Written for
@jayna’s challenge at @jayna/2t0xdpo3g5
and for
@mariannewest’s Day 500 freewrite at @mariannewest/day-500-5-minute-freewrite-monday-prompt-sound
Prompt = sound
Word count = 199
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