[ STRY-duhr ]
Noun
- A harsh, grating or creaking sound.
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** Either a story beginning, a story ending, a piece of flash fiction, a poem, painting, dance move—inspired by the word, stridor, where does it take me? Where does it take you? Learn more about “The Word” here.
The noise came from somewhere beneath her feet, vibrating the floorboards slightly, so she felt the sound as well. Lara turned to her boyfriend, and his face echoed the answer to the question in hers. He heard it too.
“What was that?” she asked.
“No idea…” he said, looking down at the floor.
Lighting flashed through the cabin windows, and the cracking thunder followed almost immediately. There! She felt it again beneath her feet but didn’t hear it over the thunder.
“You felt that?” she said.
Tommy nodded, clearly afraid.
“We need to find out what it is. It’s probably nothing…”
“That’s what they would say in a horror movie,” Tommy quipped, but the flicker of laughter left his lips too quickly.
They walked towards the back of the small cabin where a door led to the basement below. The light switch was broken, so Tommy grabbed a couple flashlights from the kitchen.
“Definitely a horror movie,” he said, as he handed her the flashlight.
Lara didn’t wait for Tommy to be a gentleman and led the way down the stairs. Might have to rethink this relationship, she thought as Tommy didn’t object. The harsh, grating sound grew louder, and the vibration of the wooden steps grew stronger, as the thunder faded into the distance.
As she reached the bottom of the stairs, the sound pierced her ears, causing her to wince. Lara turned every which way, shining her flashlight in earnest towards each corner of the basement in a frantic search. Tommy remained on the last step. Definitely rethinking this relationship…
Lara’s muscles tensed as she braced herself for whatever they would find. The sound filled the room once more as her flashlight fell upon…
“What the hell?” she said.
On the basement floor stood a large speaker with subwoofers attached to the beams leading to the floor above. A large square sign hung from the ceiling overhead. It read:
“Got ya! Enjoy your stay.”
“You gotta be kidding me,” Lara said as she walked over and switched the speaker off. Thunder echoed distantly above them.
Notes/Thoughts/Ideas
I wanted to end this somewhat comical, but not sure if it lands. There’s a creepy sound created by something innocuous. I thought of a burst pipe, or an actual person living down there, making noises for fun.
Have you ever seen—I think it’s from college humor—the video of a couple who create crazy noises for, what they believe is, the enjoyment of those living in the apartment below them? It’s hysterical. I’ll find it and link it here. It’s two minutes long… enjoy : )
That’s kind of what my thought was, but more like a person who rents out cabins and spends his days coming up with odd ways to scare them. But…
What do you think of Stridor?
How would you finish the line, “The sound filled the room once more as her flashlight fell upon…”? What other comedic things could Lara find?
Leave your thoughts, your own story beginning/ending, flash-fiction, or whatever in the comments! Where did stridor or my story take you?
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