Static

“To those of flesh who lumber into slumber's depths, silence sings a tune... And those who wake, it is sure to take, as silence SHRIEKS upon def ears.”

-Unknown

White noise strummed through the air like a pluck from death's own guitar, and flooded into the room like an audible ooze... Static… Mason erupted from his sleep in a cold sweat and darted his eyes to the corner in a familiar fashion. He was panting hard as if he had just been shot point blank and was sent to the afterlife. His ears rang... He hushed abruptly and listened… His eyes widened in horror and anticipation... Static… Hands shaking, he threw the blanket to the bedside wall and hasted for the light switch just like he had practiced. “Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!” He thought through gritted teeth, trying not to speak, as he scanned his now illuminated dwelling space... Static… His mind spun in a confused mixture of grogginess and pure angst. He had questions. One question stood out among the few. What time was it? He needed to know... He squinted through the brightness over to an alarm clock that read “12:34a.m.” Next to the clock, was sitting a half empty bottle of melatonin tablets, and some tap water. Mason angrily swiped the bottle from the desk and threw a silent tantrum. He found himself slowly getting scared. In a forgetful burst of emotion, he cursed into the night. ”Shit…I wasn’t supposed to FUCKIN’ wake up yet!” Mason instantly clasped his hands over his mouth and squeezed his eyes closed in sorrowful regret... Static…

Just then, the low eerie hum of the white noise which previously occupied the room like an unwanted guest, crescendoed into a piercing shrill which filled the entirety of Mason's spirit. Mason’s skin turned pale in horror. All he could think about was how badly he had just screwed up. He KNEW the rules, but he was never told what would happen if he broke them. People just shrugged. “I don't know dude, it gets you or somethin’.” His friend Dwayne said to him once. A jarred rattling noise brought Mason‘s awareness spiraling back to the unfortunate situation he was in... Static… It sounded more alive now… Like a bunch of people whispering through an old radio system. It was talking, but not in any human language he could discern. Every organ in his body, which stood idly, practically pleaded to Mason’s brain. “Run!” The light quickly flickered from amber to bright white. Within an instant... blackness...

Masons lungs tightened and he could feel the air shift with malignant intention. His heart sank to the floor. He finally turned for the handle, then with all of his strength, he bursted through the hallway toward the front entrance. His ears began to ring even louder now, and another flash blinded him... Static… A sharp pain zipped through his head and brought Mason swiftly to his knees before he could turn the corner to the front entrance. Disoriented, he pressed his hands over his ears and let out a curdled cry. “AHHGH! PLEEASE! STOP!” A warm sensation ran from his ears and down the sides of his neck. Mason glared at his hands and felt a rush of perpetuated terror coarse through his spine. Suddenly, the noise was no more.

With hands away from his ears, Mason let out an inaudible sigh, along with a couple of equally inaudible coughs. The stream of tears that poured down his face turned to waterfalls until he was wet with despair... He could no longer hear his footsteps either, as he continued to shift his body hopelessly toward the doorway. “It gets you or somethin’.” Dwayne’s words echoed through Mason’s brain. His imagination toyed with the possibilities. It felt as though it were no longer his. He was no longer in control of anything anymore. Not even his legs would listen. They just dragged weakly alongside the stale, dark blue wall. Mason felt himself apologizing. Even with his chest heaving from the thought of what was to come, he still attempted desperately to cling to any semblance of hope that was left. The door stood bold against the daunting greyish-white light which now flickered from behind Mason like a TV that was left on. It was getting closer... Static… His heart pounded in his chest like a tribal drum, and a lump seized in his throat. Damn near paralyzed, Mason reached for the door and bawled hard as he watched his hand slip through the TV fuzz which now permeated the texture of his entire reality. To no avail, he kept on trying. Screaming now, he slammed against the door as hard as he could over and over again as the phantom behind him neared, praying that someone would hear him from the outside and then rush in to save him… but it was no good. He couldn’t even hear his own screams. Everything was black and white, and all he could hear… was static…

The air thickened and buzzed. His hair stood on end. What little light there was left in Mason's world, faded reluctantly from the windows. A disfigured, technicolored, humanoid figure stood glowing only a few harrowing centimeters from Mason's spine. Its thin legs were bent and it’s knees locked together, with long feet and lordotic posture. Its arms were poised like those of a hungry fly, with hands that locked like roadkill. Its rounded head and blank face cocked from side to side and its neck made a clicking noise. It shuttered and vibrated with a thirst that twisted Mason from the inside out. Then he suddenly felt a snap… and within a single moment, Mason’s body hovered lifeless in the air; resembling the tragic after image of a horribly failed exorcism.

The creature buzzed and contorted around the living room frantically like a disturbed insect. It seemed as though it had no rhyme or reason to it. It distorted everything in its path. Mason was still conscious. His mind was blank, but his limbs and organs shrieked in tortured agony. Blood fizzed in his throat, and he could see the creature through the back of his own knees. His body jittered similarly to the IT’S now. “It gets you or somethin’.” Mason heard the words echo in space once more as the creature continued its meticulous tirade through the house. Then everything faded to black.

To be continued…