[ FF ] - 250 Words ; 2 months Reddit Gold prize

4:36 A.M. Another night lost to the muffled screams beneath my backyard. They reach up and buzz in the back of my head and reverberate in my chest. I've been awake now for 143 hours and wo n't take any more. I am beyond fear and anguish. The earth needs to scream and I'll give it its mouth. 
 
 In the shed is a big spade, big enough to release these demons and I do n't care what happens when they're free, I just need to stop the hellish screams that grip my mind and my body. 
 
 In the backyard, I plunge the spade deep into the earth and dig feverishly to exorcise the madness. My body activates into a digging frenzy and my mind shuts down, it needs the rest. 
 
 Finally my arms exhaust themselves thirteen feet down or so and the screams cease. The silence is overwhelming. I sob but can make no tears. My body sinks with fatigue and collapses. I close my eyes. Yes, no more thoughts. 
 
 Dirt sprinkles my face, then lightly on my arm. A mound slaps me across the face. I open my eyes: at the opening of the hole I am burying myself. 
 
 `` Do n't shut me out!'' I yell below, but I do n't stop. 
 
 `` Just enjoy the silence, ” I say hurling dirt at myself in disgust. 
 
 I am right. I obey and drift into a deep slumber below while above I bury myself so I can finally be silent.
