The revealing sound

Content and pride swelled in Martha Ford's chest, a third grade teacher as she marked her students maths scripts.

Although she'd be grateful with a few more A's and B's, none of them was below average and that was something for Martha. The kids were definately improving.

She was thinking of what she could do to reward all of them when she heard a noise briefly. She raised her head and looked around. None of her students seemed to have heard it.

Then it came again. Louder. It was like someone was ringing the town's church bell right inside her head. She rose up, hoping to ask Mr. Bennet in the other classroom if he'd heard anything, but she fell when the sound came again. Pounding painfully in her head.

She closed both hands tighly on her ears, struggled to get up and ran out. The noise increased and she bit her lips to keep from screaming.

No one was acting like anything unusual was going on, so she ran past Mr. Bennett's class and straight for the ladies room. She fell to her knees and groaned painfully.

Then it stopped suddenly, she crawled to the toilet and threw everything in her stomach up. When she felt steadier, she rose to her feet gently, and opened the tap.

Then she let out a blood curling scream as she saw her face in the mirror. It looked like she had been scalped, and the missing skin was replaced with a large lump of oversized bloody flesh which sagged hopelessly. Her brows hung low over two red gleaming eyes and her nose was a wadded lump of meat. She screamed again, but this time it was muffled because a large hand had closed over her mouth.

Something hit her on the head and the world went dark.

******

It was the headache that woke her. Her eyes were blurry and her brain foggy. Where was she? What happened?

Then she remembered and tried to sit up, but a hand pressed her down.

"Wher' ama?" she managed, then she saw the Mayor sitting in front of her.

"You lied." He said simply. "What do you want in my town?"

Martha looked confused. "Sorry?"

The Mayor's eyes sparked with anger. "Don't you dare pretend. You heard the sound, and it affected you. Why?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about."

His eyes closed to slits and he nodded at someone behind her. Martha screamed out when the first lash of whip tore through her back and drew blood. The whip landed again across her face and thigh as she curled to protect herself.

"What have I done?" She cried as her body throbbed with pain.

"Don't ask me that." the Mayor shouted rising to his feet. "What do you want in my town Martha? Are you are reporter?"

Her arms raised to protect her face as Zenko kept lashing the long whip on her body. "No, no. I'm just a teacher" she cried, I didn't lie to you."

"LIAR!" he bellowed and brought a gun from his holster, aimed at her knees and shot. The pain almost blinded her. The person with the whip didn't stop, and Martha was about to beg for her life again when everything went dark again.

"Wake her up" The Mayor said fiercely and sat back. A bucket of cold water was emptied on Martha's head.

She coughed and her eyes fluttered open.

"Now, you were telling me the kind of reporter you are" The mayor said calmly, although Martha could see the pulse beating angrily at the base of his neck. "Who sent you?"

Martha shook her head wearily. "No... one."

She curled when Zenko raised the whip in his hand, but the Mayor stopped him from bringing it down.

"Then why did you hear the sound? We use it to get intruders and that's just what you proved to be."

"No, I'm not an intruder. My dad..." Her voice was so weak, it was a surprise she didn't black out again. "...is a native. I swear to you."

The Mayor smiled. "Don't worry, I know the truth. Someone got to know about this town and the curse that afflicts it, and you were sent down to spy on us. Then you'd write a full story in your papers. Right?"

Martha shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "I don't know about any curse." She swallowed against the pain in her knees and continued, "I just needed a job. My dad..."

The Mayor slapped her, nodded at another man who flicked out a knife from his pocket. Zenko held her head tightly and the man pushed his knife deep into Martha's sockets, popped out her left eye which rolled to the Mayor's legs. He squished it with the sole of his boot and watched Martha struggle as she screamed.

"If your dad was a native, and his blood runs in your veins, you wouldn't react to the sound."

The pain was too much. Martha just begged for it to pass quickly, she didn't mind dying now. Anything to stop this agonizing pain.

The Mayors gun fired again, and she felt the bullet hot and searing, pass through her skull. She wished she had the strenght to tell him she was adopted her, but bullet did its job and she fell into a final darkness.