HUM by Dan Hawley (chromebook ebook reader TXT) 📕

with the noise, matching its pitch. A D-minor, he mused, or maybe a G. Jason chuckled softly to himself.

“If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em,” he whispered and chuckled some more.

Samantha stirred and rolled onto her other side, facing away from Jason. His eyes opened wide, and he held his breath as he watched her reposition herself, praying he didn’t wake her.

All clear, he thought and closed his eyes again. The hum carried on, unwaveringly relentless in the dark room. It mingled with Jason’s thoughts. Thoughts of the crumpled cyclist, broken and bleeding from his eye. The crimson pool filled the eye socket and then overtook his face and began to swirl. Around and around, the thick, red blood turned in his face like some fucked up toilet bowl until Jason fell in.

* * *

“Jay?” A melodic voice said. “Jason.”

He stirred to the sound of Samantha’s voice. His eyes opened, and the room was bright and fresh: a new day. Something was off, though, his fuzzy thoughts determined. Confused and groggy, Jason cocked his head to see Sam standing over him, fully dressed. “What the…” he began.

Jason realized he was on the floor, curled up beside the wall. No pillow, no blanket; completely naked except for his boxers. Jason lay huddled up in the fetal position, trying to figure out how and why he came to be in this precarious position.

“For someone who says they hate that noise, you sure seem to want to listen to it a lot,” Sam said as she straightened up.

Jason looked around, half bewildered, then sat up, resting his back against the wall. He could feel the hum’s vibration prick his skin as he became suddenly aware of the thumping ache that tortured his right side.

“I do hate that fucking noise,” Jason snapped. “It’s driving me mental.”

“Obviously,” Samantha replied.

“I didn’t want to wake you, but I have an appointment, so I have to go. I’ll pick up a few things from the grocery store too. Do you want anything?”

Jason just shook his head slightly. He looked a mess. His hair had grown out and was shaggy and unkempt—it had been a while since he visited a barber. Were they even open? Damned lockdown. Damned pandemic.

His achy muscles had fallen victim to slight atrophy from complacency and smothered by a layer of fat that had become increasingly thicker since the lockdown began. The gyms had closed at the beginning of the pandemic. The thought of sweaty, muscle-bound sardines all piled on top of each other, panting, grunting, and coughing must have made the decision easy for the government. Jason had tried to continue his fitness regime at home with videos from the internet, but had lost interest quickly.

Stress and lack of sleep made him lethargic and moody, and the last thing he wanted to do was get all sweaty and out of breath. The stress and lack of sleep showed easily on his face. Plump, dark bags hung from under his eyes as he stared at nothing. “Ok, I’ll be back later. Maybe a shower will help you feel better? You have time before work.”

Samantha turned and left the bedroom, leaving Jason sitting against the wall in a daze, unmoving.

CHAPTER 13

Chester smiled and waved as Samantha passed his office in the lobby. His door was open.

“How are ya holding up, dear?” he said from behind his tidy desk. Samantha stopped in the doorway. She usually cringed when strangers called her by a pet name—it just seemed so fake—but a name like dear, coming from a man like Chester, just felt normal—good even. He had a favorite uncle vibe to him that Samantha had liked right away, and she enjoyed his presence.

“Good,” she said, half lying, but who answers that question truthfully? How are you? Good. That’s how it was supposed to go.

The big man stood and walked closer, but not too close; there was a pandemic and social distancing to consider. He stopped about four feet away; his mask bobbing as he talked.

“And Jason?” He eyed her reaction to the name closely.

“He’s good too…a little stressed and a bit stir-crazy, I think,” she said with a polite smile that Chester couldn’t see under her surgical mask. Cautiously satisfied with her answer, Chester’s posture relaxed a bit.

“He seemed a bit stressed when I spoke with him the other day. Hopefully, this thing blows over soon, and we can get back to normal. You know what helps me?”

Chester raised one emphatic bushy, grey eyebrow.

Samantha raised both of hers. “What’s that?”

“I do a little bit of meditating in the morning.”

He raised his hands as if to fend off a physical attack. “I know, I know. I’m not the Dalai Llama or anything. I haven’t attained enlightenment or gotten ‘woke’, as my niece would say, but it does help a lot.”

Samantha knew he was the favorite uncle and suddenly remembered the time.

“I will suggest it to him; we both could probably benefit from it. He laughs when I ask him to do yoga with me. Oh well. I have to run, though, Chester. Thank you for the suggestion and concern; we are fine, really.”

Samantha bowed slightly, and Chester returned the gesture in kind. A slight nod or bow had become the new handshake in this touchless world.

Her appointment wasn’t far from the apartment; just a few blocks. She took her time, walking casually in the sunlight. Usually, it was so wet and miserable that everyone hurried everywhere to avoid the weather. Today though, there was a calmness to the people in the streets. There was an easiness to the conversations Sam overheard as she passed by. There were more vehicles now than at the beginning of lockdown. The government had started allowing more places to open due to pressure from small businesses and their patrons. You couldn’t go to the movies yet, but you could get a haircut.

Jason could use a visit to the barber, she thought. He could use a lot of things; some exercise,