Chapter 1

It all started on a night like any other. An uneventful Saturday evening watching movies, a few cold beers to keep me company. It was no surprise then, that I woke at 2am with a full bladder. This was the first time I heard the noise.

A rhythmic thumping, maybe a few streets away. Music, I assumed, from a party running late. I stumbled to the bathroom, relieved myself, and headed back to bed. As I lay down, drifting back to sleep, I noticed the sound had stopped. I assumed someone had complained. I smiled, and fell back into a dreamless sleep within seconds.

I awoke the next night around the same time, a little after 2am. Something startled me, but I wasn't sure what. A bad dream, perhaps? If so, any memory of it was already lost. I slowed my breathing and rolled around to get comfortable again. That's when I heard it.

The same rhythmic thumping, almost like a heartbeat. I grumbled at the thought of some selfish asshole throwing a party on a Sunday night. I had work tomorrow, and didn't appreciate being woken up. But surely someone will complain soon, the sound will stop, and I'll be back asleep before I know it. But as I lay there, growing impatient, unable to focus on anything but the sound, I noticed something.

The whole time, the sound hadn't changed. I looked over at the clock. I had been awake for over 15 minutes. Either this was one very long music track, or I was hearing something else entirely. My mind started wandering, entertaining all sorts of crazy ideas about what this sound could be.

And then in that moment, almost as if someone, or something, had heard my thoughts, the sound stopped. I waited in the silence, expecting its return. Sleep arrived first.

By night three I was exhausted. Two nights of interrupted sleep were reminding me how distant my youth was. I went to bed early, hoping for a full night of rest. You can only imagine my fury, then, when I awoke at 1am.

It was back again, that dreadful thumping. But it sounded closer tonight, as if maybe it was in the next street.

Curiosity dragged my feet away from the warm blankets and onto the cold floor. I shuffled toward the curtains to peer outside. A light fog hung from the street lights, painting an unsettling view. I let out a long sigh – a mixture of both fatigue and frustration. I was just about to return to my bed when something caught my eye. Movement.

My heart raced as my breathing halted. There was a figure walking down the middle of the road.

I squinted my tired eyes. It was a woman. Her feet dragged as she shuffled sleepily along the road. I considered going out to see if she was okay, but by the time I mentally walked through the effort of finding the appropriate clothes and shoes to go outside, she had disappeared into the foggy darkness that existed beyond my view.

I dismissed any illogical thoughts, returned to bed, and slept better than I had in days.

After two nights of peace, I had almost convinced myself the heartbeat was something I had imagined. That it was some creation from a dream so deep that my mind believed it was real. I was quickly proved wrong on two counts.

First, I started seeing posters around town asking for information about a woman who had gone missing. Looking at the poster, I recognised her immediately. It may have been dark and foggy, but I had no doubt – this was the woman I had seen shuffling down the road in the middle of the night.

But I couldn't answer the poster. How would I explain that? I couldn't even explain it to myself, and I had been there. I wondered – was I the last person to see her alive? The thought was concerning. But even more concerning is the second count: that night the heartbeat came back.

Fear had robbed me of my sleep. I spent the whole night sitting up listening to the sound. Had it really taken that woman? If so, was she dead? As the morning sun crept over the horizon, the heartbeat slowly faded. Forgetting about any normal life that I once had, I slept through the day.

When I woke up it was already late afternoon. I wasted a few hours waiting for the cover of darkness to bring the sound back to me. It was almost midnight when I noticed it. A cold chill ran down my spine, and I stood frozen for several hours. Listening. Waiting.

It was calling to me. Whispers woven into the constant thumping. Unable to make out what they were saying, I stepped outside. If I could get closer, I'd know what they were saying.

The cold night air latched onto my skin, causing my muscles to tense as I shivered. But I was unable to focus on anything but the sound. It was much louder out here. Stepping off the porch, I turned to face the end of the street. There it was. Calling through the soft fog.

My feet carried me forward. As I moved closer, it started to come into view. It's hard to explain what I saw. Even now, I'm struggling to find the right words.

It was as captivating as it was frightening. I can only describe it as a floating mass of light and static. The most terrible thunderstorm, condensed into something no bigger than an exercise ball.

Pulsing. Flashing. Glitching. The sound was almost deafening now. So loud. So complex.

The whispers had been replaced by sounds unlike those ever heard. But there was a kindness to them. An invitation.

My hand reached out…

I don't remember much else from that point.

I reached toward light and found nothing but darkness. I don't know how much time has passed. I don't even know where I am, or how I'm writing this.

But if you hear the heartbeat – run.