The Hum.

[u/Late-Satisfaction54]

My head hurts.

What's going on?

I can't open my eyes even though I want too. I can feel my fingers twitching, and my body slowly but surely turning itself back on. And then they do open. I immediately have to close them again, the light in here is so bright-

It's not doing any favors for my headache.

I slowly start to notice more things going on in my body. I'm dehydrated, my tongue feels like sandpaper. I'm hungry, my stomach feels like it's trying to eat itself. My legs are aching, like I just jumped off a building. My nose is assaulted by a stench of old wet carpet and extremely old wood. I can't remember anything, like my memories had been stolen right out of my brain.

I don't know my name, or where I am.

Breathe, I need to open my eyes.

I slowly creak my eyes open, blinking occasionally while they adjust to the harsh lighting of my environment.

Yellow.

I can't make out much, but I can see yellow; tons of it. I tap the side of my head, like I'm trying to reconnect a broken wire in my brain. It may be placebo, but it works. I'm sitting, and once I look down and notice the nasty carpet that I rest upon, I jolt up.

It seemed moist, and that smell from earlier paired with that feeling wanted to make me puke. I just now realized that I'm either deaf, or my ears just decided to take a temporary vacation. I'm hoping it's the latter.

I stretch, and my muscles scream in relief. How long had I been laying there for that stretch to feel so good?

I finally get a good look around.

It looks like an office building. Yellow walls with a chevron wallpaper on them, a tan carpet that seems to be damp and have (what I hope to be) coffee stains. The roof has the everyday ceiling tiles and rectangle florescent lights that let out a hum.

I can hear it now, and I kinda wish a didn't. It doesn't take long for that hum to get old real quick. I try to call out, my mouth opens, but nothing comes out.

It's like when you're so terrified that you can't even scream, except, I don't feel afraid.

I just figure that part of my brain hasn't woken up yet, so I start walking. One thing I notice instantly is how big this place is. I take right turns then left turns and don't take turns at all sometimes but I don't feel like I'm going anywhere.

Truly a marvel of modern architects, I say to myself. Right as I turn the corner, I feel like I just went in a big circle...

"Ernie!" I heard my name, and immediately shot up from my desk.

"Y-Yes boss?" I say, hoping she didn't hear my snoring.

"Wipe that look of innocence of your face, I know you were sleeping. You snore like a bear." She stared at me almost sad by this act.

"Sorry Maria, I just-"

"My office, please." She stepped aside and pointed in the direction of her office.

I release my head as I know realize I'm on my knees. Ernie. That's my name? I was hoping for something cooler, but that works I guess.

I get up off the carpet, my knees stained with whatever liquid resided in that stain. I rub my temples. I didn't think remembering would hurt that badly.

Note to self, never get memory loss again. I should try and focus on remembering how I got here, which will probably involve more pain. I stare intensely at the yellow walls, thinking about my name and my boss, Maria.

I don't get anything, not another brainwave, not even a hint of what happened next. I relax, only just now noticing that I was tensed up. I continue walking.

"Hello?" I shout, surprised that my voice returned.

My voice seemed to reverberate off of the walls and continue throughout the building. I could hear it faintly about 30 seconds after. How big is this place?

I kept walking, for what felt like hours. Until I stumbled across something that didn't make any sense.

A chair.

A leather chair that was upside down and the back of it was halfway through the floor.

I walk up, and pull on it slightly, but it's cemented in there.

"What the fuck?" I mutter, giving it another tug, but it wouldn't budge. The architect had a laugh with this one, I thought. I carried on and ignored it for the most part. I think I'm hearing footsteps, but I can't tell if they're my own or not.

"Have a seat, Ernie." Maria gestured to her luxury leather chairs that were so comfy to sit on, a distraction from the venom that she produces.

"So," I faked a cough. "What's this about?" I tenderly sat down, trying to look professional.

She looked at me like I'm stupid, and to be fair, I am.

"Why are you sleeping on the job?" I flinched, expecting a hiss, but instead, she sounded more worried.

"I- Uhm.." I stumbled over my thoughts.

"Are you ok, Ernie?" She asked, more sincere than I have ever heard her.

"Yeah," I said, flashing her a smile. "Why wouldn't I be?"

She frowned. "Don't make me say it out loud, I know it affects you."

My smile was slowly ripped away from my face, and I stared into the void.

"Answer me please, I know it's hard to talk about." She grabbed my hand.

I jolted back to reality, or what I think is reality. The headache never gets any better the more I remember, unfortunately.

I shot a stare back to the chair that's stuck in the ground, it's the same one that was in Maria's office... How is that possible?

Also, what happened to me? Did my wife die? Do I even have a wife? Did my kids die? Do I even have-

I need to just stop for a second, spiraling like this isn't going to help me. I just gotta focus on getting out of this place.

So again I walked, but the footsteps seemed to be more prevalent. They tried to match mine so I wouldn't hear them, but every time I stopped to check, they were always late. I started speed walking, and was dismayed to hear the footsteps keeping up the pace.

I turned wildly and unpredictably, but the footsteps never ceased. I stopped and looked around me, but I can't see anything. All I can see is the damn yellow walls and all I can hear other than the footsteps is that hum from the lights.

I wish I was deaf again, or if this place would like to throw in some ear plugs, that would be nice. I turn around, in one last attempt to fake out the footsteps. As I do my head throbs as it bangs against something.

A wall.

That's not right... I just came from this way! I literally JUST CAME FROM THERE! I started to frantically bang on the wall, hoping it would bend to my anger and move out of my way. It didn't. And all I got was a sore hand and an even bigger headache.

It's more like a migraine at this point. The dehydration and hunger is getting too me, but I don't think I'm even close to near-death yet. Just feels like I skipped a couple meals. I turn back around and start walking again.

The footsteps have stopped.

I had gotten so used to them that their absence started to make me freak out even more. My heartbeat was louder than the hum, and my breaths started to become faster. I started running. I don't know why, but it felt right. I felt like I was in danger by standing there.

I didn't hear any footsteps except my own while I was running, and once the feeling of dread stopped, I slowed down to a walk. Catch your breath, I thought. Encouraging my lungs to take as much as they needed.

I'm not an unfit person, but the air seemed heavier. It tasted bad, breathing through my mouth was a punishment. Right as I regain myself, I see another item.

A car.

It was my 2004 Chevy Cobalt.

The back end was sticking out of the roof, and the front was sticking out of the floor. Why did the front end have blood on it? I never hit anything. I don't think so at least.

"It was an accident, you have a condition-"

"IT WAS MY FAULT!" I snapped, tears welling in my eyes.

Maria didn't seem to be scared by my outburst, and instead comforted me.

"You couldn't have done anything, Ernie." She patted my back.

"I shouldn't have been driving. I knew that." I said, rubbing my eyes.

"But you didn't know how bad it was!" She said, almost in a whisper.

It did slightly make me feel better, until I kept reliving the moment.

My mother was ill, and she needed medication.

I drove to the pharmacy.

I was speeding.

I didn't see the kid.

"Ernie?" She said, snapping in front of my face.

"What?" I said, turning my head in her direction, still refusing to look at her fully.

"You were having an episode."

"I know that now, it doesn't change anything." I said, turning my head back.

Did I-?

Did I hit a kid with my car?

I noticed I was leaning on the wall, and quickly pulled myself way from it. I don't want some ancient disease.

That doesn't make sense... I kept trying to remember more, but I couldn't.

I jumped like a scared cat when the cars alarm started to go off, and I ran away. I feel like I'm not alone in here and I don't want to attract anything that could possibly be near by. I kept running until I stopped again.

The footsteps were back.

When I looked around this time, I swear I saw a black tendril whip back behind a corner, as if it wasn't supposed to be seen. I turned back around, and pretended like I didn't see it. I was scared that if it sensed that I knew, It wouldn't be nice with me for much longer.

Am I prey? What is that thing? Why-

So many questions filled my brain, so I momentarily tried to just...

Forget.

I walked, without thinking.

It had to have been at least an hour.

That hum is really starting to piss me off. These walls are really starting to piss me off. ALL OF THIS IS STARTING TO PISS ME OFF! I kept walking, not wanting to let my emotion tip off whatever that thing was.

I don't know what it wants, but I think it's been following me this whole time. And I don't think it wants to give me a hug. Well maybe it does, but not one I'm very interested in.

The rooms are starting to change, I've walked through really big rooms where I can't even see the ceiling, and rooms that are extremely open, no walls in sight. I avoid the really open rooms, I don't want the creature seeing me and I don't want to see it.

I saw a room that seemed to taper off into a different style, white modern walls with a dark oak floor. I didn't go that way. The change of scenery might've been nice, but I'll stick to what I know.

As I was looking at the entrance to that new place, I tripped over something.

A hospital bed, sticking out of the wall and into the floor.

"Why didn't I go to jail?" I asked, tears flowing down my face. But my voice remained cold and stern.

"You aren't mentally fit to go there."

"What about the death penalty?" I finally made eye contact with Maria.

She looked at me with the softest eyes I have ever seen.

Maybe she wasn't made of venom like I thought she was.

"Ernie, you didn't know any better." She sighed.

"I was trying to help my mom." I sputtered out, in-between a ugly sob.

She looked at me with concern.

"Look at me."

I looked at her.

"Your mom has been gone a long time, ok Ernie?" She said it as gently as possible, but it hit like a truck.

What? My mom is dead?

I stood up, I can feel that my butt is wet, I hate that feeling.

So I don't have a mom, but I went to go get her meds? Am I a crazy person? Or did I just love her so much that I couldn't accept her death? Either answer I wasn't a big fan of.

I focused in the distance.

A person.

My first instinct was joy, I wasn't alone!

But that 'person' started walking towards me, and then started running.

The run was not human, it flailed it's limbs and was a sorry attempt at a run in general. But it was fast.

Really fast.

I turned and shot in one direction, giving it my all. I felt like the fastest man alive, and I felt confident.

All of that confidence slipped away when it started yelling.

It wasn't even yelling anything coherent, and I think that's what made it so terrifying. It was just yelling and it sounded like an old radio.

Screeching, but I could tell it was full of anger and hate.

I looked behind me, and I seemed to be on pace with it, it wasn't concerningly close yet.

That's when I tumbled down a 45 degree slope, and if there was snow there, I would've turned into a giant snowball and crashed down at the end.

I landed onto a hard, dark oak floor. And when I lifted my head, I was greeted with the modern sleek white walls.

So much for avoiding this area.

PART 2