#SciFriday Challenge 14 - Oblivion

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By the fifth, I would have been better dead.

When I heard the first ring, I was walking through the street. A quiet night, a quiet walk. Chimes melody, and two small words. 'Follow me'... From this moment onward, all had seemed unreal, blurry, monochrome.

I lost my nose at that time, but I found only with the second ring. The music came from a flower bed in the park. I picked the phone and thought the colourful buds would have smelled really good. Only when listening to the same two words, I realised I couldn't smell anything. It felt odd. I used to love wandering through the park, roaming the alleys of trees and bushes. All the bright and refreshing odours of the woods and flowers always brought me some peace of mind. Now I was deprived of it and I felt myself slowly getting annoyed... apathetic.

The third 'Follow Me...' found me in a restaurant. The clam chowder tasted like nothing... literally... I remember wondering what would be the next sense to wither away. I thought touch would be the third I'd lose. Well, not that I hoped to lose any other, but it seemed logical in all its nonsensical reality.

'Follow me...' a fourth time... As expected, when I took the phone, it fell on the floor. I couldn't feel anything under the tip of my fingers. It took a lot of effort and adjustment to finally bring the handset to my ear. With this call, either my hearing or my sight would vanish. I couldn't be optimist anymore. I knew it would continue, the fading, the fall to oblivion...

I recognized the music. It was this doomed ringing. The fourth ring had taken my sight, only my hearing remained to lead me to the phone. 'Follow me...' Those two words again, following me mercilessly... my nemesis. I was at loss. Completely lost. And then, my hearing. This fifth ring took the last straw of my sanity. My own nightmare, I was living it, unable to escape the silence... the deafening silence shredding my soul...



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A/N

This challenge was proposed by @JamesClare

The prompt: "You are outside and your phone rings. When you answer, the caller says nothing more than 'follow me' before hanging up. A phone rings ten meters in front of you, then another phone rings further ahead. You are being lead somewhere and the breadcrumbs are phone rings."

The story had to be written in 2000 character max, so it could fit in a comment.

Somehow, the prompt brought me in some weird places inside my head... I hope you enjoy it... :)

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