CREEPYPASTA

Thumps

It's funny how things work. We have giant metal vehicles that fly through the air. We have HD video that you can carry in your pocket. We have music that can be accessed any time from devices that use touch screens. But when something like this happens... something so stupid... something so simple... there's nothing to be done. Nothing that can be done, even with our advances.

I woke up three weeks ago in this place. It's a medium-sized room with concrete walls, floor and ceiling. In spots, the concrete is stained and cracked. A single light bulb hangs from the ceiling and sometimes it flickers. It's not a very powerful bulb, but enough to see by.

I woke up next to a woman. I didn't recognize her, but that didn't matter. I didn't know where I was. I didn't even know how I'd gotten here. There didn't seem to be any doors or windows or openings of any kind. Just a concrete box with me and a sleeping woman in it.

I woke her up after a few moments of dazed confusion. She didn't scream, which was my worry, and instead asked questions calmly.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"I don't know."

"How did I get here?"

"I don't know."

"Who are you?"

I smiled. Finally, a question I could answer. "I'm Tom," I said. "Tom Greene. I woke up here just a minute ago and I was hoping you'd have an idea about it. But since you don't... well, we may as well get acquainted. You know my name, what's yours?" I stuck out my hand.

She shook my hand. "I'm Melissa," she replied. "Melissa Dobbs. Last I remember, I was--" she froze and creased her eyebrows. "Did you hear that?" I listened but didn't hear anything. I shook my head. "What was it?" I asked.

"It sounded like... I don't know... a thump."

We sat in silence for a few minutes, listening for another noise. There was nothing but silence as long as we sat there. After so long, I just shook my head.

"I don't think there's anything there, Melissa," I said. "But if you did hear a sound, that means we're close to the surface."

"The surface?" She repeated. "What do you mean, the surface?"

"Well, the way I figure, we're probably underground. Where else would someone keep a concrete box? Another thing I'm wondering is how they even got us in here. It all seems like a dream, you know?" I sighed and leaned my back against the wall. This couldn't be happening, not really.

"I know what you mean," Melissa said. "It just doesn't seem real. This doesn't just happen. This can't just happen. I--"

This time I heard the noise, too. It was like a thump, but a squishy thump. Like if you hit an animal with a heavy object. Images of bleeding animals flashed in my mind, pictures of infants being hit with hammers and baseball bats. I almost jumped, I was so surprised. Why would I think that? That wasn't normal. None of this was normal. This place and that sound and these thoughts. None of this was right.

"Did you--"

"Yeah, I heard it," I interrupted Melissa. I started to ask if she saw things, but... she would think I was crazy. Being here was making me a little stressed, sure, but crazy? No. No, and I wouldn't let her think that.

Melissa and I spent the rest of the day discussing the situation and listening for the noises. It seems they came at regular intervals, once every ten minutes or so. I thought maybe we were near an automatic machine. Sometimes when the sounds came, I would have the flashes of terrible things. It was disgusting and wrong, but it happened. I couldn't help it. I wondered if Melissa had the flashes, but I didn't dare ask her. If my only companion thought I was crazy... well, I didn't think it would end well.