Chapter 11 - The Choir of the Ridge
Mrs. Gable didn't lunge or attack with physical violence. Instead, she opened her mouth, and from her throat came a sound so piercing, so sharply tuned to a specific acoustic frequency, that it hit Sarah and Thomas like a physical shockwave.
Sarah screamed, dropping to her knees as a blinding flash of white pain erupted behind her eyes. The sound waves were vibrating at a resonant frequency designed to destabilize human neural pathways, forcing the brain into instant compliance.
Beside her, Thomas collapsed onto the gravel, clutching his head with both hands, his body wracked by violent tremors as the acoustic wave threatened to reactivate the dormant neural pathways in his ear.
"Fight it, Thomas! Don't listen!" Sarah cried out, gritting her teeth against the agony as she forced herself back up onto her feet.
She couldn't use physical force against an elderly woman who was merely a puppet of an alien frequency. She needed to break the connection.
Remembering the parasites, Sarah realized that the silvery filament trailing from Mrs. Gable’s ear was the physical anchor of the broadcast. If she could sever that connection, the signal would snap.
With a desperate burst of adrenaline, Sarah lunged forward past the disorienting wave of sound, tackling Mrs. Gable gently to the ground. The elderly woman let out a sharp, surprised gasp as they hit the gravel. Sarah’s hands moved with practiced precision, grabbing the delicate, glowing filament trailing from Mrs. Gable’s ear and giving it a sharp, decisive yank.
A high-pitched, metallic shriek echoed through the clearing.
Mrs. Gable’s body went completely rigid for a split second, then slumped backward into the grass, her eyes fluttering closed as consciousness returned in a rush of ragged, natural breaths.
"Sarah...?" Mrs. Gable murmured weakly, blinking up at the starry night sky, confusion replacing the vacant stare. "What... what am I doing out here in the cold?"
"You're safe now, Mrs. Gable," Sarah panted, helping the elderly woman lean against a sturdy pine tree out of the path. She turned back to Thomas, who was slowly pulling himself up from the ground, his breathing heavy but his eyes clear and focused.
May you like
"Are you okay?" Thomas asked, wiping a trickle of blood from his own ear.
"I'm fine," Sarah said, helping him steady his footing. "Let's move. We're close to the summit."
