Chapter 1
Not one of Alex’s old colleagues would’ve thought the lay-off scare would push him an inch towards madness if he wasn’t already there yet.
Once reputed but now a washed-up reporter, Alex Rivera was this close to getting laid off after the firm he worked for started down-sizing. After hours of begging and persuasion, the manager agreed to keep him employed but on one condition- Alex has to do the best possible story that could convince the higher-ups to not remove him from the roster. After weeks of drinking and a crazed-out search for a mystery, he came across a potential hidden treasure of a story- “mysterious deaths caused by a certain humming noise”. He set off at once, seeing this as the very last opportunity for him to save his career. And himself.
Reaching there was the roughest part. The streets buried 6 feet below the snow, and the penetrating cold winds which could be felt even while wearing three layers of thick clothes were some of the things that bothered Alex. Even though the weather didn’t treat anyone kindly, this was supposedly the best weather to witness and understand the phenomena, said the locals. Some ground rules had been established by the same locals- 1. never sleep with your ears uncovered, 2. never keep any sharp stuff or anything that can be used as a weapon near you. Although it was evident that Alex was not going to follow either. He set up his camp far from the locals’ village, as preferred, and always had a taser near him in case of emergencies.
As the night crawled, Alex set up every piece of sound equipment to capture and study the hum. While setting up the condenser microphone, He heard it. He heard a minute sound, but it was far too legible to be just a hum. It was like a faint whisper from the environment itself, telling the reporter to stop in his tracks and to go back. He ignored it, though, thinking it was just fragments of his imagination and that all he needed was a bit of sleep. But the sounds sharpened. It was not just a faint sound anymore; it was something truly menacing- it was like nature was trying to communicate. He waited for it to stop, only for the voices to get sharper and sharper by the minute.
Thud
a loud knock.
It couldn’t be a local since it’s 2:15 in the morning.
He moved slowly towards the door and looked through the peephole. There was nobody.
Thud Thud
This time the knocks were way louder. Alex was still at the door when this happened, and this time he FELT the knocks. He was standing by the door but there was nobody on the other side.
Just as he was about to retreat back to his room, one of the windows shattered without any apparent reason. The humming intensified, but this time the message was loud and clear:
“GO AWAY!”
Something was definitely wrong with this place, and Alex could feel it. Petrified, he started looking for anything he could use for defence if necessary. Knives. Pens. Anything he could feel safe with because whatever was behind that door could definitely not be hurt by a taser. Knives it was, and Alex crawled towards a corner of the room away from any possible entrance
Thud Thud Thud
More knocks, this time as if the entity was trying to break the door down. The wood groaned from the immense pressure from the knocks.
By this time Alex was sure that the next knock wouldn’t leave him unharmed. Alex curled up into a ball, praying to every god he had ever heard of for his life to be spared, with the knife still in his hands. The knife was nothing more than moral support now, as even he knew he couldn’t fight back if things go wrong.
The room suddenly went cold. The heater was still intact but did not seem to fare well against the sudden cold. The voices grew louder. Alex tried covering his ears to put the voices to an end, but to no avail.
Suddenly the voices stopped.
Completely shaken, Alex tried removing his hands away from his ears to see if things got better. The loud voices did stop. A little relaxed, he stood up to check what actually was by the door, with the knife still in his hands.
But there was another voice, this time not as loud but clear and concise:
“MAKE IT QUIET”
Alex dropped the knife without meaning to. His first instinct was to pick it up, but his body had other plans. Alex started moving on his own, his legs taking steps every second like they had a mind of their own, his hands locked. His mouth sewn shut, rendering him unable to scream for help. Nothing could’ve stopped him from moving. Not the snow that encased roads. Not the penetrating cold winds that felt like spears being impaled onto his body. Nothing. Alex gave up on trying as soon as he recognised the path his legs were following, it was a lake. His legs kept moving. Even when he was chest deep in the lake, he tried calling out for help. But no words left his mouth. It was only a matter of seconds till he was completely under-water.
Alex Rivera was never seen again.
