When I moved into this house two years ago, many of the previous owner’s belongings were left behind. Hangers, gas detectors, and blinds were there, as one might expect. But there were also buckets, a fairly nice set of knives, and a full dining room set tucked away in a corner of the basement. I shrugged it off and let it go. I replaced the gas detectors with those that I could monitor with my smartphone, but I utilized everything else. One night, I was taking a bath and watching television when I began to hear consistent beeping; several minutes in between each one. It didn’t sound like what I thought my detectors were supposed to sound like, but perhaps I just misremembered. I stood under the main floor smoke detector and waited. When the beep came once more, I could tell that it wasn’t that one. I crouched down to the carbon monoxide detector, but it wasn’t that either. I opened the door to the basement, hoping that I wouldn’t have to go down, but when the beep came, I couldn’t be sure. Irritated, I slipped on some socks and shoes and walked down the steps. Not that one either, but maybe there was an old detector in there that I hadn’t noticed. There was an alarming number of smoke detector wall connections, most of which weren’t in use when I arrived, so that wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. I shone my flashlight, looking for it, all the while running into cobwebs. Another beep, but I was sure now that it was from upstairs. I went back up and continued to look for the source. A childhood nightlight my parents had me take even though I had no use for it? Of course not. My electronic book reader? Not a chance. I hadn’t picked that up in months, so it was well dead. This thing I don’t know what it is? Still can’t identify it, but no. Then I thought to check the antique chest I use as a coffee table. Inside were boardgames, quilts, and stuff I forgot about. When I opened it, I found all the old smoke detectors. I recklessly cracked one open. Now, I’m no electrician, but I found both the logic board for the detector, and what I could only describe as a bug. Someone had been spying on the previous owners. I was astonished and frightened. As I was inspecting it, the beep came once more, but not from the bug. It was above me, in the ceiling fan. I stood on the chest and reached up to a small video camera. As I drew it down, it interacted with the radio waves surrounding my phone, which meant that the camera was still operational, and even sending out a signal. I was the one being monitored.
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My name is Nick Fisherman III. It's not my real name, but that's not because I'm trying to hide from my former agency, or something. I named myself after someone I've known for most of my life, and he chose it in honor of his late best friend. I took up writing when I found myself failing 8th grade science, and realized I might never reach my dream of becoming a biochemist, a meteorologist, and a quantum physicist. I started developing my canon after a scouting trip to an island inspired what I thought would be my first novel. I founded this website upon the advice of many people, who told me I needed to get my work out there, and not wait for an agent to accept my manuscript. You can expect one new story every day. Weekdays are for microstories, which are one or two paragraphs long. They're usually only thematically linked, so you won't have to read one to understand another, but they do sometimes tell a combined story. Sundays are for my continuous longer story, The Advancement of Mateo Matic, which I started in the beginning, and won't end until 2066. Saturdays are for long series, most of which take place in the same universe as Mateo, and add to the larger mythology.
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Microstory 208: Alarming
Labels:
alarm
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basement
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bath
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books
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camera
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coffee
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electricity
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games
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home
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house
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light
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microfiction
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microstory
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