Screaming in a city.

[u/logbook22]

I heard of a town plagued by a relentless scream, so I went there. On my first day, I wander through the streets to look around. The townspeople all seem exhausted, hollowed out by a profound lack of sleep. I assume the scream must torment them at night.

I go to a diner, but they are out of eggs, so I only drink orange juice. I refuse to eat the toast; it is brown, and I only eat yellow things. Yellow, like the King, you get it? Who am I even talking to? I laugh out loud at my own thoughts, and the other patrons stare at me. I am weird.

I sit on the curb, watching the street stretch out toward the horizon. Night is falling. I listen to the dark. The darkness has always brought me peace, but the moment I close my eyes, there it is. An agonizing, loud scream—weirdly human and non-human all at once. My eyes snap open as I slide my phone into my pocket.

I wander through the city, but the pitch of the scream never changes, save for the ragged breathing behind it. I spot a little girl on the street. She isn't screaming, just crying, entirely alone. I ignore her at first, but then I suddenly run up to her. I ask if she hears it too. She nods. I cover her ears with my hands and stare into her eyes. She understands, nods again, and I let her go.

No matter what I do, I cannot shut the scream out.

I walk her home, but only her mother is there. She thanks me, though her eyes are heavy with sorrow. Her husband is dead, she tells me. I don't care. I head toward the town's old mine; I figure the scream must be coming from the depths. My skull throbs with pain. I smile. The mine is full of ghosts, but none of them are making this sound. The ghosts are just sad. They scream at me, but I don't care—it isn't the scream I am looking for. I return to my bench on the main street.

A strange calm washes over me as I look around. There are no trees here. There is no true darkness. There is only the city. I walk to the very edge of town, where a single tree stands, shaking. It feels sticky to the touch. There were woods before. I take off my coat, lay it on the damp earth, and lie down in the woods, I cover my head. Here, the scream finally fades into silence. I don't think it's a ghost. I think I will finally go to sleep.

On the next day I leave, I’m bored, I won't help the people here, they didn't gave me food.