Sincerely, Jennifer x

I heard it in the woods. Just lightly at first, barely noticeable, but soon, it was all around me, and inescapable. 

A sound that would end life as I knew it. 

A sound that would separate me from my sister. 

A sound that will one day separate you from everyone that you love. 

A sound that signals death. 

You will hear it too, one day. It travels, you see, and you cannot run from it or hide. When it wants you, it will always find you, so I suppose there is no use in me telling you, but I’m telling you all the same, just in case there is even a sliver of a chance that someone could be saved. 

It came from the woods, but it could strike anywhere. I wish I could tell you that there was a way to escape it, but I know now that there never could be. It’s natural. It is the order of things, that’s what they say. One day, you will hear it too. Everyone will, until there is nobody left. Maybe I just need to believe that it had to happen. Maybe it really did? I don’t know. That is what will happen, I am certain of it, so there is really no use in me trying to save you, but I have nothing to lose, nothing to gain, so no reason not to. 

As I said, I heard it in the woods. My sister Chloe insisted on going camping at the same time every year, and I was always dragged along with her. Something about the woods had always freaked me out, but I couldn’t bear the thought of Chloe going alone, so I had no choice but to follow in resigned, uncomfortable silence. 

The fire crackled in front of our tent as I finished my sandwich. Chloe had insisted on cooking and it was grim, to say the least, so I was grateful to have packed sandwiches, just in case. She never listened to me about her lack of cooking skills. She never listened to me about anything, really, and she refused my sandwiches without a word, in some kind of silly protest. The burned sausages lay, trailed across the floor, and there was nothing but the quiet song of the flames and the gentle whispers of the night air in the trees. 

That was when I heard it. A low drone rang out. The air began to fizz all around us as the sound pulsed, repeating over and over. The sky fell into darkness and the fire dimmed to a few, fearful embers. 

As it began, my sister froze, instantly, her eyes wide and full of fright as she stood from the floor. Her body began to shake as she turned away from me and began walking away from where we’d set up camp. 

“Chloe?” I called into the cool air. It was like she couldn’t hear me. I reached out to her but her hand slipped from mine instantly. The sky darkened as the drone surrounded us, magpies circled the trees above us, first, just a few, but then tens, and finally, inexplicably, hundreds, just flying round and round as the clouds crackled with the sound of thunder, lightning shooting across the dark sky. “Chloe!” The noise was almost like humming, constant, tuneless, without melody or whimsy, just a low hum, droning on and on as she began walking. 

My ears began to burn, and I clutched my cold hands to them, struggling to follow my sister for a moment while I retained my balance. 

Her steps were clumsy and muddled, as if she was fighting for each one. I ran in front of her face but it was vacant, her eyes empty as she plodded forwards, walking out towards the entrance of the forest. I followed, waving my hands in front of her face and calling out but nothing would stop her or draw her back. 

Something was stealing my sister. Away she went, without a word, and as I followed her, led out of the forest and into the car park, I saw others chasing after dead eyed people who marched, along with my sister, into the road. 

Cars swerved and skidded to avoid them, and the cacophony of crushed metal soon joined the thunder, flapping wings above us, and the constant, incessant humming all around us. 

I tripped on a branch, clattering to the ground, gripping Chloe’s sleeve as I fell, but she didn’t even look back. The air was murky and dense, and my throat ached with a tightness that I could not escape, but on she walked. She, and the others, gathered together and walking without a word. 

I watched them walk, silently, with still gazes, struggling to my feet to follow. 

The magpies met me as I gave chase, gathering all around me and fluttering until I could barely see. I reached out, grabbing for my sister, or any of the growing crowd of silent, stomping people as they walked, in a scattered formation towards a bright light that bled down from the dark sky. 

A swirling light seemed to swallow up the sky, until it was all I could see, glowing with an eerie, unnatural brightness that cast strange shadows across the ground. The humming grew louder, reverberating in my chest, shaking the very air. Chloe and the others walked straight toward it, eyes still empty, bodies stiff and unearthly. I screamed her name again, but it was swallowed by the deafening noise. 

The light above pulsed, expanding, and as the crowd got closer, the ground itself seemed to lift them. My heart pounded as I watched Chloe rise, her feet no longer touching the earth. 

They floated up, one by one, as if plucked by invisible hands. The sky rippled, warping with the sheer force of the strange sight before us. My legs trembled, my knees giving out, but I scrambled to my feet, desperate to grab hold of her. 

“Chloe!” I shrieked, clawing through the air, reaching out in a final, desperate attempt. My fingers slipped through empty space. She was rising higher, her body tilting slightly as the portal yawned open, revealing a void behind the blinding light. Darkness, endless darkness that seemed to go on forever. Slowly, they began to be swallowed into the darkness—her, the others, even the birds—and the hum became deafening, as if the entire world was about to collapse under its weight.

The light stretched wider, pulling everything it could reach into its gaping maw. The sky shuddered. I stumbled back, shielding my eyes from the unbearable brightness as the last of the people vanished.

And then, just as suddenly as it had come, the light blinked out. The sky returned to its normal, starless black, and the hum stopped, leaving only the echo of my heartbeat pounding in my ears.

Those that remained were still. Silent. Empty.

A small crowd, slowly staring around, as if trying to comprehend the impossible. One small sniffle of distress. A scream. A crushing realisation. 

Chloe was gone, and so many with her, as if they’d never existed at all. 

I called the police. They must have had so many calls. I watched the ones left behind, one after the other, pleading with the police to help them, but they acted like we were crazy. 

They listed Chloe as a missing person after a few days, but they’re not looking for her. I know where she is, in a sense, but I don’t know why, and I don’t know how to get her back. 

They don’t care. It feels like I really am crazy, because nobody but me, and a handful of people who saw the truth actually care. 

Someone heard it in America too. I read about it online, and nobody believes him either. India. Brazil. Australia. People are hearing it, but nobody is really listening. 

Please listen. It could be the last thing that you ever do.