“What do you hear?” Stone pushed.

“I can’t-”

“You can, Len,” he pushed. “I am right here.”

Hear? I tried to listen, the sound of footsteps falling next to my head. 

Leaves. 

The footsteps fell on leaves. 

What else? There had to be something, any bit of information to help Stone. There was a cool breeze against my skin, a consistent pounding in my head. The music, though distant, rang through my mind. 

Music?

That should be impossible. I walked away from the pub. 

“Music,” I rasped through broken breaths.

“Music?” Stone repeated back to me.

The music was so low, I barely could hear it. One voice, a low tune reached my ears, a sound that would haunt me the rest of my life. One single voice raked against my memory like claws dragging along my skin. 

“No,” I said, even more confused.

“Take a breathe, Len,” Stone reminded me. “What exactly do you hear?”

I put myself back into the memory. The voice was distant yet close all at once. I tried to focus on it, but I couldn’t grasp it. It wasn’t something I could hold on to. It was low, unrecognizable. There were no instruments or words to it. 

“Humming,” I said, and realized it was the killer.

My heart raced and my chest ached. I couldn’t continue like this. I needed air, to get out of the pub.

“Len, I’m here. It’s okay,” Stone said, and I heard the worry growing in his voice.

“I need to get out,” I said, standing and finally opening my eyes.

The entire memory fell away, the darkness retreating right back to where I kept it locked up. I hurried past Stone, whose wide eyes were on me. I couldn’t stay; I had to get air.

I barely made it outside before I collapsed, my back against the side of the building as I slid to the ground, my vision darkening. My hearing was fuzzy, and I let my head fall into my hands.

Strong arms wrapped around me, and before I knew what was happening, Stone was holding me. He guided my head to his chest, and I listened to the steady beat of his heart.

“I’ve got you,” he said. “I’m here, Len.”

“No one was there,” I said, tears falling down my face. “I was alone. He should have been there. Someone should have been there.”

“I know,” he said.

“No one stopped them. How did no one stop them?” I cried into his chest.

“I will never let them harm you again,” he promised, and I almost believed the words.

“You can’t promise that,” I whispered, trying to wipe the tears trickling down my cheeks.

“I am promising that,” Stone said.

We sat for a few minutes before I heard footsteps.

“You can’t loiter here,” a male voice said from above us, and I glanced up to find someone sneering down at us.