Verba: My Story Without Words Daisy Walls Words. Hey were something I took for granted before the Word Counters came along. I remember the days, back months go, when I would say “Hello” to everyone I came across but now a smile is all I can muster some days. Another year of torment passed I called “Goodbye” to my friends leaving the classroom after the bell hindered my thoughts. A light gleamed in my perineal vision, Seven Words Left, shone explicitly. I vowed I would never find out what happened after they apprehended you … what if it can’t be helped? My teacher surpassed the limit and that’s when they came. They apprehended her, they laughed while she struggled and no one showed anguish. I began the trek home still pondering. What exactly happens? Who are they? Unaware of the three inconspicuous silhouettes behind me, I felt a rough hand seize my arm. I flinch away, the skin where the Word Counter had been inserted, just weeks prior, still tender to touch. They pulled me to the ground, I looked up at the hooded figures before me. “Give us everything!”, a deep voice spoke from the shortest member standing on the right. Sixty-Five Words Left showcased across his wrist. “No”. The grip on my arm grew stronger. I spotted the irrefutable Six Words Left. “Excuse me? What did you just say?” The woman poised on the left asked, her wrist I could not see. “I said no”, ‘WARNING: Three Words Left’ “What are young….” And just like that, they appeared out of nowhere. Unlike my teacher, I didn't return. No one dared search. Schoolgirl, thirteen declared missing, read the newspapers
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