Silo

Pg. 3

The searing feeling brought tears to my eyes; blood was streaming from the edges, the bin's bottom, and the grains themselves. The interior of the bin appeared as if a can of red paint had exploded, smearing the bulk of the walls.

"He's... he's not here," Argon whispered. I took a step back and swung around to find him fumbling around on the ground, his eyes wide, his fists clenched, and his body shaking.

Mushka followed by murmuring inaudible phrases, then dropped and began shaking as if she were undergoing muscle spasms. She winced as her whole body began to shudder, bubbles bursting from her mouth, and I caught myself grimacing, baffled by the set of circumstances.

We stood motionless, clueless to the bizarre events unfolding around us. The medics then hurried Mushka into the ambulance, where she was sent off to a nearby hospital. Argon burst into muted tears and laughter out of nowhere.

My other coworkers were already displaying indications of frustration as he mumbled phrases we didn't quite comprehend. We had no idea what was going on with them, enough that he yelled at the top of his lungs before dropping out on the ground. I instructed the subsequent team to head back and seek for the man's body by leveling the mound.

I had no idea what had happened, so we kept looking for the man's body. This time, the police force arrived, along with the removal crew to take care of the situation. "It's nowhere to be found, sir. There's no trace of the man's body, and nothing except his blood has been recovered. "

Hearing her remarks made me nauseous, not because of the strange scenario, but because of the vibe. I felt sick to my stomach and couldn't say anything, so I just nodded.

I was crushed simply witnessing how distraught she was by the news since the wife looked to have lost her mind. She collapsed to her knees and began yelling, "No, no, no! Please don't." She was accompanied by the police, who consoled her shattered heart. Argon had awoken this time.

As I passed through the grains, he was sitting beside the ambulance. "It devoured him." I came to a complete halt in the middle of my path. I turned my head in his way and found him gazing at me straight in the eyes.

I had no idea what was wrong with him, but his look made me shudder. "It ate him, something ate him." I groaned and ran my hand through my hair. I knew these circumstances might occasionally be scenes that made us question our sanity. My steps were heavy for the first time in my life as I neared him. "I know that surprised you, pal, but it's possible the machine-"

"I told you it wasn't the machine; there was something in there!" He leapt up and gripped the collar of my suit as he stood up. He continued to shout inaudible and unintelligible phrases while pointing in the direction of the bin.

Cops apprehended him and dragged him away as he wailed, strapping him back into the ambulance's stretcher so that he wouldn't jump out.

I caressed my throat and trembled slightly. "Are you all right, sir?" One of the officers inquired. I merely nodded and walked back to our vehicle. Argon's actions prompted a gnawing concern in my head: this was without a doubt our most disastrous operation in our years of service.

We abandoned the situation to the authorities while they conducted their investigations; things remained mysterious, but we didn't meddle much. When we came back, we felt sluggish, no one cared to converse and everyone appeared fatigued.