Chapter 5: The Hum and The Hush

Desperation drove Leo out of his apartment for the first time in over a week.

The scratching at his door had returned three more times, always in the early morning hours when exhaustion made him most vulnerable. Each incident lasted longer than the last, and the sounds grew more complex—not just scratching now, but what sounded like whispered words in a language he couldn't understand, spoken in a voice that mimicked human speech but carried an inhuman cadence.

Sleep became impossible. Food ran low. His laptop battery died, and he was too afraid to plug it in, terrified that the electrical current might somehow attract the creature's attention. The walls of his apartment seemed to close in tighter each day, transforming his sanctuary into a tomb.

But it was the silence that finally broke him.

It had come the night before and lasted for nearly four hours—the longest yet. During those endless minutes, Leo had huddled in his bathroom, the only interior room with no windows, listening to his own heartbeat and wondering if he was going insane. When normal sound finally returned, he'd made a decision that felt both necessary and suicidal.

He had to go back to where it started. He had to see the bridge again.

Leo waited until mid-afternoon, when the sun was high and bright, before venturing outside. Even then, every shadow seemed pregnant with threat, every distant sound potentially the herald of returning silence. He drove slowly through town, taking main roads and avoiding the industrial district entirely.

But eventually, inevitably, he found himself on the highway that led toward the old rail crossing.

The gravel road looked different in daylight. What had seemed like a hidden entrance to sanctuary now appeared to be exactly what it was—a forgotten access road leading to abandoned infrastructure. Weeds grew high on either side, and recent rain had carved deep ruts in the gravel.

Leo parked at the mouth of the road and sat in his car for several minutes, gathering courage. The electrical substation hummed in the distance, its steady drone audible even through his closed windows. The sound that had once comforted him now filled him with dread.

Just a quick look, he told himself. Find some evidence. Something concrete to prove this is real.

He left the engine running and the driver's door open—ready for a quick escape if necessary. The walk down the gravel path felt like approaching his own execution, each step carrying him deeper into the creature's territory.

The bridge looked smaller in daylight, less mysterious and more decrepit. Concrete pylons rose from the shallow ravine like broken teeth, supporting nothing but air where the rail line had once crossed. Graffiti covered the lower sections—typical teenage rebellion in spray paint and marker.

But as Leo approached the base of the nearest pylon, he noticed something odd about some of the markings. Mixed in with the standard tags and profanity were symbols he didn't recognize—angular scratches that looked less like graffiti and more like claw marks.

Leo pulled out his phone and activated the flashlight app, using the LED beam to examine the strange markings more closely. They were definitely carved into the concrete rather than painted, gouged deep enough to suggest tremendous force. The symbols seemed to follow some kind of pattern, repeating sequences of lines and curves that hurt to look at directly.

He photographed everything, moving methodically around the base of the pylon. The normal graffiti was concentrated at eye level and below, the kind of height range accessible to teenagers with spray cans. But the carved symbols extended much higher, some reaching nearly ten feet up the concrete surface.

As Leo documented the markings, a new detail caught his attention. The carved symbols were layered over older graffiti in some places, suggesting they were more recent additions. But in other spots, spray paint had been applied over the carvings, indicating the symbols had been there for some time.

How long has this been going on? Leo wondered. How many people have seen these and just dismissed them as vandalism?

He was photographing a particularly complex cluster of symbols when his phone's battery died. The LED flashlight cut out abruptly, and Leo realized how dark it had become beneath the bridge's shadow. The sun was still bright overhead, but the concrete structure created a pocket of deep shade that seemed to absorb light.

Leo hurried back toward his car, clutching his dead phone and fighting the urge to run. Behind him, the electrical substation's hum seemed to grow louder, more insistent, as if responding to his presence.

Back home, Leo plugged in his phone and waited impatiently for it to charge enough to access his photos. When the screen finally lit up, he scrolled through the images he'd captured, zooming in on the carved symbols.

They were definitely not random scratches. The patterns were too consistent, too purposeful. They reminded him of something—not quite writing, but not quite pictographs either. Something between language and warning.

Leo opened his laptop and began searching online for similar symbols. He tried reverse image searches, archaeological databases, even occult websites. Nothing matched exactly, but he found enough similar patterns to confirm his suspicion that the markings represented some form of communication.

It was during this research that he remembered the paranormal forum where he'd found information about "The Hush." ElectricDreams47 had mentioned the 1987 electrocution incident and suggested the creature might be connected to the historical significance of the area.

Leo navigated back to "Strange Frequencies" and created an account. He spent several minutes crafting a post, trying to strike a balance between providing useful information and not sounding completely insane:

"Looking for information about symbols found near electrical substations. Have photographs of what appear to be carved markings on concrete structures. Possibly related to local folklore about entity known as 'The Hush.' Any help appreciated."

He attached the clearest photos of the symbols and hit submit.

The response came faster than he'd expected. Within twenty minutes, he had a private message from a user named PowerGrid_Walker:

"Those symbols match descriptions I've been collecting for months. Where exactly did you find them? More importantly, have you experienced any unusual phenomena in the area? Periods of silence, unexplained sounds, feeling of being watched?"

Leo's hands shook as he typed his response, telling the anonymous user about his experiences at the bridge and at his apartment. For the first time in weeks, he felt like someone might actually believe him.

PowerGrid_Walker's next message arrived almost immediately:

"You need to be very careful. The markings are territorial markers. The entity you encountered uses them to define its hunting ground. Based on your description, you've moved beyond casual observation into active stalking behavior. This is extremely dangerous.

"The creature is drawn to electrical infrastructure because it feeds on electromagnetic energy. But it also feeds on human fear and desperation. The more distressed you become, the stronger its connection to you grows.

"I've been tracking this thing for two years. The 1987 incident ElectricDreams47 mentioned was real, but it wasn't the beginning. Records suggest similar encounters dating back to when the power station was first built in the 1960s.

"The entity appears to be the remnant of someone who died in contact with high-voltage electricity. The trauma of electrocution may have created a psychic imprint that feeds on similar energy sources. It's drawn to people experiencing psychological distress because negative emotions generate electromagnetic signatures similar to electrical discharge.

"Whatever you do, don't try to confront it directly. And stay away from areas with high electrical activity, especially after dark. The creature's power seems to peak during nighttime hours when electrical grids are under less load."

Leo read the message three times before responding:

"It's already found my apartment. It comes at night, scratches at my door. The silence happens even when I'm miles from the substation. How do I make it stop?"

The response came quickly:

"If it's expanded its territory to include your home, you're in immediate danger. The entity becomes more aggressive as it establishes dominance over an area. The scratching behavior suggests it's testing your defenses, looking for ways to gain access.

"You need to leave. Tonight. Find somewhere with minimal electrical infrastructure - camping, a remote cabin, somewhere off the grid. The creature's influence is tied to power sources. Remove yourself from the electrical grid, and its ability to track you should diminish.

"But be warned - others who've tried to flee have disappeared entirely. The entity doesn't like losing prey it's already marked."

Leo stared at the screen, his mind racing. Leave everything behind and run? It sounded like madness, but what alternative did he have? Stay in his apartment and wait for the creature to find a way inside?

Before he could type a response, another message appeared:

"There may be another option. The original incident in 1987 - the vagrant who was electrocuted - his death was covered up by the power company. There might be records, evidence that could help us understand what we're dealing with. I've been trying to access those files for months, but I need someone local who can investigate in person.

"The power company kept offices in the old Municipal Building downtown. Most of the records were moved when they modernized, but some older files might still be in storage. If you're willing to risk it, we might find answers that could help both of us."

Leo considered the offer. Stay and hide, leave and run, or dig deeper into the mystery and risk everything on the chance of finding a solution.

Outside his covered window, he could hear the normal sounds of evening approaching. Soon, darkness would fall, and the waiting would begin again. The silence, the breathing, the scratching at his door.

He typed his response:

"Where is this Municipal Building?"

As he hit send, Leo realized he'd made his choice. Running felt like cowardice, and hiding had already proven ineffective. If there were answers to be found, if there was a way to end this nightmare, he had to try.

Even if it meant walking directly into the creature's domain.

The hum of his laptop's fan seemed unusually loud in the quiet apartment, and for a moment Leo wondered if it was his imagination or if the silence was beginning to descend again.

But the sounds of the world continued around him, and he allowed himself to hope that maybe, just maybe, he'd found an ally in his fight against the thing that hunted him.

The creature had marked its territory with ancient symbols carved in concrete.

Now it was time for Leo to venture into that territory and discover what secrets lay buried in forgotten files and covered-up incidents.

The Municipal Building awaited, and with it, perhaps, the truth about The Hush.