“Background Noise”

by Cecile Husserl

At first, Will thought it was his alarm clock.

But it continued long after he had smashed the silver button on its infernal, shiny, surface. “Stop.” He called, his voice muffled by the pillow he had pulled over his ears. The beeping didn’t listen to him. It was audible over every sound, including the loud groan he made as he pulled himself out of bed.

Usually he didn’t get up so early on weekends, but this was an exception. He groggily searched his room for any sign of the beeping.

The sound seemed to chuckle in his ears. A menacing, sharp chuckle.

Something was definitely wrong. Will rushed into the living room of his apartment and swiveled his head in search of the noise. Was the microwave broken again? Were the smoke alarms going off? There must have been some kind of mistake.

Beep.

He couldn’t find a single thing that could possibly be the source of the annoying noise. Maybe it’ll go away by itself, he thought. Maybe this is just a silly dream. He sat on the worn leather chair in his living room, deep in thought. Suddenly, he heard a knock that startled him out of his wits. He made his way towards the door, and opened it half-heartedly.

His sleepy eyes darted across the thin corridor outside of his apartment. A woman with dirty blond hair and an accusing expression stood there, silently judging him.

“Come on, Will.” She said, “We have to go. I don’t want to miss Natalie’s birthday.”

Will was completely bewildered. Birthday? Natalie? The beeping increased its speed, resounding fiercely in his ears. Wasn’t she his… girlfriend? Natalie was her sister, right?

“Yes…”

He stammered, trying to remember who Natalie was.

“I’ll be ready in just a second. And, I’ll bring a… present.”

“Don’t worry about getting her a present, I have one in the car.”

“…Okay”

A few minutes later, he was riding with his girlfriend, Kate, (Wasn’t that her name?) The beeping was still there, but she seemed unfazed.

“Kate,” He said, staring at the road ahead. “Do you hear it? The beeping noise?”’

Kate sighed and blew a wisp of hair from her face. “No Will, I don’t hear any beeping.”

He paused, bringing a hand up to his ear.

“It’s just… I’ve been hearing this strange beeping sound all morning.”

Kate laughed.

“You can be hilarious sometimes. Beeping?”

He grimaced internally. Doesn’t she hear it? She obviously thought I was joking…

They didn’t see the truck in time. Maybe if they had, they could have avoided it. Kate screamed and tried to swerve, but it was too late. The mass of metal collided into their tiny car with full force, and the whole world seemed to shatter around them. For the second time that day, his eyes opened, only to be met with the stark white of a hospital room. Now the beeping was all around him, so fast it solidified into a single sound. Then it stopped.