Sound Quality

I was driving down I-95 toward Michigan, listening to my usual pop and rock playlist on the radio. Suddenly, the music faded and a faint beeping started up. As I got closer to the football stadium, the beeping grew louder. I tried to ignore it and keep going, but then it faded again. When I circled back past the stadium, the sound got louder and more intense. I started worrying I’d be late for work, but it felt like the sound was pulling me in, almost calling my name. It almost felt like I needed to be here.

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I parked and got out of the car. Once I turned it off, the noise stopped. I figured it had to be the radio, so I opened the radio app on my phone to check the station, but there was no beeping there either. When I started the car again and got back in, the beeping came back. The only way to figure out what was drawing me to the football stadium was to drive onto the field. I passed pictures of past championship wins. This team was pretty good. I thought to myself.

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I hoped no one was on the field as I drove in, moving slowly and watching for security guards. I thought, Explaining this to the guards or cops would be tough, especially if I had to say a beeping noise made me do it. Once I got my car onto the field, the beeping got so loud it felt like my ears might burst. I left the car running and stepped out. The noise was loudest right in the middle of the field, but there was nothing there. I looked around, trying to figure out what I was supposed to see. Then I noticed one of the white lines looked different, with patches of paint missing on purpose. I walked over, dug through the turf, and found a hidden cellar underneath. How has no one noticed this before all the football games here, and how did no one hear a thud or anything as they trained and ran across the field?

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I walked slowly into the cellar, going so far that I couldn’t hear the beeping from my car anymore. Where am I? I wondered. There was no light, no sound, just darkness as I went deeper. I thought about how I might lose my job for being late. This isn’t like me, I told myself, as my mind raced. Then I saw what had been calling me. It had been here all along. The stories my parents told me were true. Maybe everything else they told me was true, too. I’d always kept those stories in the back of my mind. I thought if the stories were true, it might call to me one day, but as I got older, I stopped believing. Now I wondered, why now? I’d worked in Michigan for years, but only this year did it happen. My parents said this would happen. I wish I’d started a family way before now.

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I walked back out of the cellar, but my car was gone. The football field was gone too. All I could see was darkness. A faint silhouette appeared, looking like a person. I heard a clear voice say, Hey! What are you doing out here? Then the silhouette vanished. Goal achieved, a robotic voice echoed in my head. I kept walking, surrounded by more darkness and emptiness. The world kept fading as I walked. Was any of it my world, my job even real? At least I’ll get to see my parents again.