So we were given random papers today to write a quick story based on a prompt. Mine was “write about a noise or a silence that won’t go away.”

Here’s what I came up with…
With only five senses to rely on, having any assaulted is nearly unbearable. Torture usually exploits this weakness in one way or another, and the ringing James could hear was no different. Endlessly clanging in his head, he sometimes couldn’t tell if he was still hearing the noise, or if he just thought he could. He remembered seeing many movies where an explosion left a long deafening tone penetrating people’s minds, and now empathized greatly with those that suffered the effect.

The punishment was excruciating and unending. Covering his hears had no effect. Grabbing the pillows from his bed and pressing them to his ears only served to slightly reduce the pain that continued to overwhelm him. All sense of time slipped away as minutes became hours and felt like weeks. James couldn’t remember the last time he could really concentrate for any period of time on a thought that popped into his head before it was drowned out by the constant siren.

His body started to bead with sweat, and he found it hard to breath. The noise had become a physical presence in the room, and it was closing in around him. Curling into a ball on the concrete floor, James sighed and whimpered. There was no escape, no end in sight, only the noise.