Noon 019

[allthekeys]

|| DAY 019: NOON The chimes of noon sound muted today, a dreary air settling over the house and seeming to dampen everything in its path. It is inescapable, pervasive, tendrils of damp air rising from the basements. Even the colour of the sky has become muted, grey clouds rolling in over the horizon. Someone has left a note in the Study: "Matches, need to see you. When/where?" The sounds in the Red Hallway rise and quicken in pace, suddenly frantic and hysteric. The laughter sounds manic, and the crying becomes overwhelming, the whispers become loud enough that one can almost make out promises of lasting love. A voice screams from behind the door to the Wax Bedroom. Desperate and afraid, like absolute terror and pain have gripped whoever calls out for mercy. There is a faint thumping sound from behind the Velvet Bedroom, a crack of leather and the harsh pounding of fists, bodies crumpling to floorboards. No voice can be heard, but the sound of unyielding strikes never fades. The door to the Silk Bedroom just barely muffles the sound of tearing fabric and a gasping but restrained sob. In the Stalker Room there is a hurried voice, frantic and far too quick to be understood clearly. It is full of urgency, and punctuated by the jangle of keys. If one listens closely they can hear the sound of someone else breathing. Anyone in the Planetarium will feel the heavy air close around them, the sky going darker and the lights all dimming, fading into nothingness. As the room becomes encompassed in blackness, there is a sense of drifting through space. They begin free falling. A moment later light refocuses and they are within the Opium Den, returned to its proper place. Only a couple of minutes have passed since the coming of mid-day. It starts to rain outside, raindrops beating time against the window panes.