Portents of Fear is a horror fiction podcast which is intended for mature audiences. Discretion is advised.
Welcome, Fearlings, to another weird and horrifying tale made just for you. I am your host,
Michulhu, and I'll be your guide into the macabre and mysterious. Everyone has at least one wish,
but are you sure it will be what you expect? Maybe you can decide if you ever hear the seventh bell.
Before we get started, take a moment to like, subscribe, and ring that notification bell so
you don't miss a single terrifying story. The sound of the city never stopped. It pressed
on Gregor from all sides and fueled his anger. He knew this sound. The cars, subway, and general
hum of humanity would never stop. He had tried headphones and earplugs, but they only muffled
the noise. He could still feel it all around him, waiting to rush back in and cause his stress.
Why not move from the city, one might ask? Go to a place where the world is quieter? He couldn't,
at least not now. His mother was living with him, and she grew up in the city and wanted to spend
her twilight years there. She was homebound and sick, so Gregor kept saying to himself,
when she dies, I can leave. He did wonder, though, if silence was even possible in the country.
The rural areas had their own sounds and a different type of people, ones he saw in the
news and never understood or liked. No, it wasn't just sound he hated. He hated humans,
the mass throng of undulating humanity that had spread across the world like a cancer.
He couldn't get away from it. He woke up to the sounds of the city just outside his window.
How can there always be road construction? How can it always be garbage day, he thought,
as he got ready to take two subways and a bus across the city to his job. His mother started
to cough again, that low hacking cough with wet lungs like a drumbeat he wished would stop. He
grabbed her medicine and pretended to be concerned, but after five years of waiting to be free,
caring was getting harder. Sweetie, I need you to pick up my medicine when you are at work today.
Oh, and don't forget to go to the store tonight. We're out of everything. Don't forget my mints.
Her voice annoyed him so much that he had to get away. Okay, mom, I need to go. I love you, dear.
You too, mom. He used to feel bad about wanting her to die. She was his mom after all, and it was
the sign of a deranged mind to want your mother gone. But the coughing, loud TV and constant need
for his care had worn Gregor down. He wasn't the problem. She was. He just wanted a life.
When he left the apartment and stepped out onto the street, he heard a bell. It was a clear tone
above the noise of the city, a perfect sound. He looked around, but all he saw were people walking
and talking. Had he dreamt it? It had seemed so real for that moment. He shrugged it off when
his cell dinged. A text from work. Get coffee, it said. It was from his boss, Betty. He rolled
his eyes and started the journey. For the next hour and a half, he made his way across the city,
jammed into two packed subways and a bus. The sounds here were the worst. People watching videos
on their phones without headphones or playing music or talking loudly about things no one cared
about or needed to hear. Gregor felt boxed in as if he was climbing through a tunnel that was getting
smaller and smaller, slowly squeezing the breath out of him. A second bell rang out. This time,
the world became quieter for just a moment. The tone of the bell had been louder, but then
everything became slightly muted, balancing out the train. Was there something wrong with his
hearing? Maybe if he could stop hearing all these people and their loud lives, he could be happy.
When the moment ended, he looked around trying to find who was striking the bell. But again,
there was no one. His stop came and the train ejected him and the other riders out onto the
platform. Gregor moved quickly. The bus was late and it had made him late for the first train.
So he had to wait for a new one. And now he had five minutes to make his next train, one station
over. He ran across three streets to the next station, went down the stairs and through the
turnstiles just in time to watch his second train disappear into the tunnel. He looked at his phone.
The next train wouldn't arrive for 30 minutes. That would make him very late. He was already a
little late. He turned back to walk up the stairs and hail a taxi. A third bell rang. He stopped and
looked around again. Where was this coming from? He thought Gregor was sure it wasn't just in his
head. The sound calmed him, which was odd because he hated sound. And again, the world became muted.
He heard even less with the chime of the third bell. He turned to see a man at the end of the
platform holding a golden bell with a tiny hammer. This bald man had a ghostly white complexion,
wore an ill-fitted suit and a grin across his face. Gregor called out to him while walking closer,
but the man with the grin faded away and the world became loud again. At the spot where he
stood was a business card that just said, the third bell. Gregor bent down and picked it up,
relieved that at least the card seemed real. The man had disappeared in front of his eyes and no
one else on the platform seemed to notice. Am I seeing things? Bewildered, he went back up the
stairs and hailed a taxi. During the ride, he looked at the card, rotating it in his hand.
No numbers, no names, just the third bell. Maybe he was losing his mind. The cab dropped him off
next to the hospital and he ran into the coffee shop. He got another text from Betty. Where are
you? I need my coffee, Gregor. We have 98 procedures today. I need my coffee. Sorry, long line at the
cafe, just waiting my turn. Strange, because I just saw you run in there after jumping out of a taxi.
The hospital doesn't pay you taxi money. Wait, you're out smoking again? Didn't they tell you
not to do that in front of the entrance? Yeah, they did, but there's a shortage of nurses,
so they can suck it. Why didn't you just get your own coffee if you were down here? Because I wanted
you to do it for me. You're not going to get a promotion based on your arrival times and clock
outs, so you must get me coffee to prove you are worth a promotion. You know, I could report you to
management. You could, but like I said, there's a shortage of nurses making me a god. Yeah, yeah,
be up soon ordering now. Betty was his boss and his friend. The other nurses were okay as well,
but Betty was like an older sister who let him steal supplies and meds for his mom.
She was cool, even if he didn't like admitting it. The coffee shop was busy and like the rest of the
city, loud. He was just about to order when he saw her sitting at a table. A tall black woman with
long braided hair and a red dress you would see at some important function gazing at him.
In her hand was a gold bell. The fourth bell rang. He left his place in line as the sound filled the
room, pushing out every other noise. She gave him a sweet smile as he drew near, but by the time he
reached the table, she too had faded away. He then heard himself yelling no and could feel the rest
of the cafe turned to look at him. Gregor did not turn around. He instead picked up the business
card on the table. It said the fourth bell, so there had to have been two other people ringing
the first two bells, but for some reason I didn't see them. They were hidden. Why, he thought,
running out of the cafe, second card in hand. I don't see any coffee and your shift started half
an hour ago, Gregor. Are you trying to get fired? There's a nurse shortage. Remember, he said
sarcastically as he got to the nurse's station. That's my superpower, not yours. I put you in
with Dr. Hazel today. Oh, come on, Betty. We just broke up two months ago and if you want your pick
of doctors, you need to get here on time with my coffee. Come on. You know I can't work with her.
Sorry, but at some point you must work with her and today is that point. Now I need to get coffee
and eat part of your lunch as a punishment for failing me this morning, Betty said while walking
off with a smile. Gregor went to the medical bay where he was going to have to spend the day with
his ex-girlfriend who happened to be a doctor who was also perfect and way out of his league and
who dumped him because after four years he hadn't shown much drive to do anything. I have drive,
he thought. My mother has just been using a lot of it. Hey there, stranger. Her voice was like honey.
Hello doctor, he said coldly only briefly looking up. Really? You can't look at me? I was hoping we
could be friends. I still care about you. I'm being professional and as for caring about me,
well you could have let me know what you needed instead of just leaving. I did often. I wanted to
marry you, prick, but you never could get it together. There was always a problem and it was
always someone else's fault. Dr. Hazel frantically swung her arms at Gregor while saying all this.
You are so negative. You hate the world. You hate it if anyone is near your bubble at all,
let alone your whole noise thing. You can barely stand taking care of your mom. I did everything
to try to help you and after a while I just couldn't anymore. Jolie, that's Dr. Hazel. Now go
get our first patient. She went to the computer and started to go over the day's schedule.
The fifth bell was different. It made Gregor feel light on his feet. All his cares went away in that
moment and it was the first time he had ever known actual silence. Not a sound could be heard, not
even his own breath. He floated past people, feet literally off the ground, but they didn't notice.
He did shrooms in college, but this was better. When he arrived in the waiting room, the effect
had faded and the sound of humanity churning around him returned. To his left was a tall gray wolf.
Floating in front of it was the bell and a small hammer. The vestige frightened him, but he turned
and walked towards it. Thoughts that he may well be losing his mind went through his head. This thing
could swallow him whole and he was relieved when it disappeared like the others. He picked the card
up and it said the fifth bell. He put it with the others and then asked his patient to follow him
and acted like nothing had happened. He thought about each person or ghost he had seen so far.
A bald pale man in an ill-fitting suit, a stunning black woman dressed for a night at a gala event,
and now a gray dire wolf. Was there a connection? If there was, he could not see it. The day went on
just about how he expected it to, poorly. Dr. Hazel had dropped any attempts to make peace and
was biting with her instructions. When the day was done, he felt like he had been flogged bloody and
dipped in salt. She didn't say anything to him when she left. That bridge has been burned for good,
he thought. It's not what he wanted, but he figured he asked for it. The thought of going home was
torture. Returning to his little room watching tv with his mother and pretending to be happy,
the noise of the world never stopping. It never lets you go. It just wears you down till you die.
He liked what the atheist said about death. You blink out of existence. You are no more. Once
people forget about you, it is as if you never lived. That felt comforting to him at the moment
as he got on the first train. The sixth bell rang. Gregor found himself floating in gold and blue
space surrounded by large chunks of land that constantly changed into different landscapes.
Sometimes they had whole civilizations on them, only to be destroyed and gone in the next moment.
The cosmic soup churned around him but made no sound. He floated through this place for what
seemed like hours. He saw creatures flying along with him from time to time. They did not seem to
notice him. Had he died on the train? If he did, he would be okay with it. No sound, no pressure,
just floating in a sea of ever-changing matter. He woke to find himself in front of his door with
all the groceries and a pizza from down the block. How, he thought. He went inside and checked on his
mom who had fallen asleep. He put away all the groceries and found a little business card at the
bottom of the bag that said the sixth bell. He added it to the collection of strange cards and
woke his mom up for dinner. After not having to deal with the people on the train or on the bus
or at the store, he didn't mind her coughing or her questions about his day. They sat, ate semi-cold
pizza and watched John Oliver together. It was a nice time, he thought. He said good night and
went to bed. At midnight, he was awoken by a sudden panic. He didn't remember the dream that
caused him to bolt out of bed, but his heart raced like he had seen something terrible.
In front of him stood a man dressed in strange clothes of black, purple, and gold, smoking a
cigarette and watching him. His eyes were stars and his hair was a waterfall of angel tears that
glowed a pale yellow. He was smiling and holding the golden bell. Sorry to wake you, Gregor.
I was hoping we could have a chat, he said smoothly. Are you the seventh bell, Gregor replied,
worried about his mother for the first time in a very long time. Very good, yes I am. Did you
enjoy the other bells? Gregor sat up more in bed. The moonlight lit the stranger's face up,
making random colors dance around the room. Um, yeah, I did. The sixth bell was amazing. Good,
good. Here's my offer. You get to ring the seventh bell and never hear anything again.
You get to roam the realms, all of them, forever. And let me guess, for this gift I have to give you
my soul? You got it, the seventh bell grinned. No, come on. You're the devil? That seems so cliche.
I know, the books, the movies, the plays, it's all made it much harder to make deals these days.
Stupid Faust. Used to be I scared the hell out of people. I have hair made of angel tears and
you're just sitting there unimpressed. Oh no, I think you look amazing, but in more of a cosmic
being way than the devil. I'm trying new looks to see if I can drum up some more business,
which is why I'm here. What would you think of never having to hear a thing again? Nothing to
put you on edge. What about my mom? She died in her sleep about an hour ago. Talk about cliches,
have a heartwarming evening and then she kicks the bucket. Wow. What? Gregor felt horrible about
every bad thing he ever thought all at once. Now, now don't act like you're upset. You've been
wanting her to die for the past two years. Wanting her to die? Yeah, I guess that's true. I do or did
love her. That cough and the neediness. It is terrible when someone becomes a burden in your
life and doesn't have the good grace to die fast. That's not what I meant. I, I, Gregor felt like
the worst son. The devil was right. His mom had needed him and he hated her for it. It's okay,
Gregor. Look, tomorrow when you wake up, you will have to call the police, deal with your mom,
plan a funeral. You're the only two in the family, so it will be a thin affair. Meanwhile,
the world and this city will get louder as you age. You will think of moving, but no matter where you
go, you will hear this city. My deal for your soul is a strong one, Gregor. It's your best shot at
being happy. I don't want to be tortured for all eternity in hell. And you won't be. In fact,
there is no hell. Souls are energy, nothing more. God and I get power from them. That's it.
When you die, you turn into energy and everything that makes you you is gone forever. It doesn't
matter who gets your soul really. Yeah, but you're evil. He's good. Trust me, his body count is way
higher than mine. Wait, why are you laughing? Nothing. Sorry. So no tricks, no lies from the
King of Lies. I get silence and I can roam the realms. Yup. This is a new era and with it,
a new devil. I give you something you really want, no strings, and you give up your soul,
which you're not really using anyway. Gregor thought for a second. He weighed what had been
said. Without his mom, he was free. He could go anywhere, but would he? Maybe if he worked
hard enough, he could win back Jolie. Like all life, the future was full of maybes and we'll sees.
But what the devil offered was something he knew and it was wonderful. The silence of the ages.
But what if it was a trick? What if he wanted to hear again to interact with the creatures he saw
in the different dimensions? Your offer is tempting, but what if I want to hear sound again? Can I?
Sure, but it can't be turned on and off. You could choose a time to turn it on, say, 100 years from
now. I think that would reset your clock. That seems like a long time. Not in relation to all
eternity. Remember, when you turn the sound on, it can't be turned back off. Can't you just give me
the power to turn it on and off? Every extra I give you in the contract is a little more of my
own power gone. I'm willing to give you a set amount of time, but I'm already paying a premium
for a soul I'm going to get more than likely when you die. Why would you say that? You're no saint,
Gregor. You're wanting your mom to die, did you forget? But you're in luck. I want that soul now
and you're in need of release from this prison you call a life. But you need to decide now.
All right, but not 100 years. Let's say after 25 years. I want the ability to turn on sound again.
I understand that once it's on, I can't turn it back off. Wonderful. You have made a great choice.
All that is left is for you to ring the bell. Gregor stood and crossed the room, took the
little hammer and struck the bell once. The sound wave transported him to the dimension he was in
before. He floated peacefully and could hear nothing. Absolute silence. The minutes ticked away
and at first it was bliss. Everything he ever wanted. But Gregor didn't understand something.
The human mind does not deal with absolute silence well. It only took 45 minutes for him to realize
that he'd made a mistake. That his brain needed sound. It needed that cancerous humanity he loathed.
He had so easily walked away from everything. Total isolation from the world drives humans mad.
He realized he had given up his life to float in the ever-changing dimension of absolute
deafening silence. He was told he could go anywhere but not how. He started to scream,
but no sound could be heard even in his own head. Instead, he just saw the words of his thoughts
type out one letter at a time. Soon he started to forget how they sounded in the first place
as the silence erased even the remembrance of sound from his brain. He was cursed with immortality
to drift forever in silent insanity. If Satan is giving out wishes for souls, make sure you
remember to be very specific or you might end up like poor Gregor. Maybe he should have just
bought some noise-canceling headphones. What would he wish for? He would have been able to
hear the voice of his own soul. He would have been able to hear the voice of his own soul.
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