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I winced at the sound of gunfire, squeezing my eyes shut in spite of myself. Screams rang out over the crowded bank and I immediately feared the worst; I never could stand the sight of death. Ironic, I know.
"Everyone get down or someone's gonna die!" a gruff voice shouted, and relief washed over me. I let myself open my eyes as I got to my knees. A couple of men in ski masks had the whole bank down on their knees, brandishing some kind of automatic weapons in their hands. Not sure what kind. Never was much for guns, personally.
"This vault is gonna come open," one of the men commanded, pointing the gun at a terrified teller behind a desk. There were tears streaming down her face, visible even from where I was kneeling. I wanted to do something to help her--honest, I really did--but this was a bloodless situation so far. There was nothing I could do.
But as the teller worked on getting the vault open, one of the security guards in the building tried something stupid. I saw him reaching for a gun of his own, and I clenched my eyes shut again as another shot rang out.
He wasn't that far from me. I could hear the splat of the guy's brains as his body fell to the floor. I could hear people screaming and sobbing again, their normal trip to the bank suddenly turned into a traumatic day they might never forget. I knew I'd never forget it. I remember every time I've ever used my power.
"Alright," the man with the gun went on, pointing the gun frantically across the bank. This wasn't a professional. This guy could mow down the entire crowd. He would, too, if I didn't direct his fire somewhere less harmful.
"You see we're serious," his partner continued for him. "Everyone stay down and no one gets hurt. If I see a gun, I'm gonna shoot. If I see a phone, I'm gonna shoot. Kneel there, keep your damn mouths shut, and-"
"Rise."
He froze. Honestly, I'm surprised he heard me. I have a quiet voice, if one that's a little gravelly. Somehow my one word was enough to draw his attention over all the whimpering in the bank and even over his own threateningly loud voice. His eyes were drawn to me, incredulous and angry, as he took a step forward.
"What did you just-"
More screams. His head snapped around in a heartbeat, raising his rifle in shock. Terror and disbelief shone in his eyes.
The security guard his partner had shot was rising off the tiled floor, his head still oozing blood and brains but his body swaying on its two feet again anyway. Both of the men with guns wasted no time in opening fire again, but the standing corpse took the shots without dropping. It was then I spoke my second word.
"Kill."
The dead body lunged forward with a speed it didn't have a right to, prompting screams and frantic gunfire from the two criminals as it tackled one of them and sank blunt human teeth into this throat. The other one, in panic, tried to shoot at me, instead blowing holes through the front of an old lady kneeling close to me. My eyes were clenched shut to blot out the death, but I continued to speak, my voice staying calm and steady even while my soul was screaming out in agony.
"Rise."
"Kill."
My eyes were shut, but I didn't need them to know what happened next. The dead criminal rose and turned on his former partner, grabbing him by the leg and tripping him. The same thing happened to the old lady killed beside me, as her now desecrated body ran on all fours to tackle the screaming robber. Three corpses clawed at him, his bullets passing harmlessly through their bodies and into the ceiling as they ripped him open. He never really stood a chance.
I waited until the screaming stopped, and then I stood up. People were crying all around me, sobbing at the horror they had just been forced to witness. I felt a stab of guilt for the old lady; her death shouldn't have happened. But though I felt anguish within, I didn't let my voice waver.
"Stop."
The bodies stopped moving, their rabid cannibalizing of the final dead corpse ceasing immediately. Their heads turned to look at me, and I winced at all the blood and flesh dripping from their mouths.
"Die," I said quietly. They complied at once, collapsing like marionettes with their strings severed the moment my word entered their ears. For a moment, the bank was silent, before cacophony began anew.
Me? I walked silently into a corner and sat myself there, waiting for the police. I could have fled the scene, but the court deserves to judge my case. The old woman my intervention killed and my powers desecrated... Mrs. Parks, I believe? She deserves for my case to be judged.
I caused three deaths that day, your honor. One innocent. Two guilty. Since that day the media's been calling me 'Death's Voice,' I hear. A bit on the nose if you ask me, but it suits how they see me.
But yes.
I am Death's Voice.
And I will hear your judgement.