Lucy was the one at the other end of the call, trying to check on Tom… but Tom was already awake.Her voice echoed faintly in his mind even after the call ended, as if it was still ringing somewhere inside him.
Later that day, Tom made a decision.He had to visit Lucy.
He needed answers—about the nightmares, about the strange voices, about the things he kept seeing that didn't make sense. Nana tried to convince him to rest, but Tom insisted. He threw on a hoodie, stepped outside, and the moment he crossed the doorway…
…everything changed.
The world around him shifted.
Streetlights flickered.A parked car blinked its indicators without anyone touching it.A toaster inside a neighbor's house buzzed loudly even though the window was closed.Every technological device around him felt… alive.
Tom froze.He wasn't just seeing them.He could hear them.Feel them.As if the machines were whispering to him. Calling to him. Reacting to him.
The noise only grew.
At the start of the day, he realized he could hear and see what people were doing on their phones—even miles away.Voices, chats, notifications, camera flashes… everything blurred together like a radio stuck between channels.
Then one voice became clear.
A woman, somewhere far away, was sitting in her car, arguing with her husband on a video call.Tom didn't know how… but he could see the inside of her car as if he was standing right there.
The woman turned her head, seeing something strange.She shivered, looking directly through her windshield.
At that exact moment, Tom—back on his street—accidentally stared in her direction, drawn to the signal he was hearing.
The woman gasped."Honey… there's a creep staring at me. I think he's one of those bad armed robbers."
Tom's eyes widened.She could see him?Or… was he projecting himself through the call?
His heart hammered.
People on the street were staring at him.Whispering.Pointing.Backing away slowly.
Some thought Tom was losing his mind—muttering to himself, covering his ears, flinching at things no one else could see.
But how could they understand?Every phone, every camera, every microwave, every digital screen around him felt alive and screaming.
The signals were getting stronger.Louder.Uncontrollable.
Tom stumbled forward, trying to breathe through the chaos bursting inside his skull.There was only one safe place he could think of:
Lucy.
He forced his legs to move, step by shaky step, until he finally reached her street.His vision blurred.The world twisted.The voices merged into one deafening wave.
He banged weakly on her door.
A second later, the door swung open.
"Tom?" Lucy gasped, her eyes widening.
She didn't even get the chance to ask what was wrong.
Tom's knees buckled.
The last thing he saw was Lucy's terrified face before everything went black.
He collapsed right in front of her door.
"Tom! Tom!" she shouted, dropping to her knees.
But he was already gone—passed out, swallowed by the overload inside his mind.