Rumbling Noise When Driving Novels & Stories

She matched it. The ride to the docks was too quiet. Engines growled against the night, tires crunching gravel, radios whispering static, but the silence inside the vehicles was louder than any of it. Men checked their rifles for the third time. Fingers drummed against knees. Breath fogged the air in shallow bursts.

I rasped, my jaw aching from how hard I had been clenching my teeth. Down the alley, the SUV’s engine roared to life with a sick, metallic rattling sound. Congo backed the massive vehicle out of the smoking crater, the bent front bumper scraping along the asphalt with a sound like nails on a chalkboard. The headlights flickered once, twice, before cutting through the dark, casting long, frantic shadows against the brick walls surrounding us. "We are good to go!" Congo yelled out the driver's side window, his face illuminated by the green glow of the dashboard lights. "Engine temperature is holding, but we need to move before someone comes looking for the source of that blast!"

My hands are trembling while holding my keys, I can’t open the engine, my fingers are too weak. “F*ck!” I cursed again as I punched the steering wheel, I tried to calm myself when all I can see is black already. Even my feet are trembling, I put my forehead on the steering wheel. My eyes are open but I see nothing. I can hear the rain from the outside that makes me more weak. As I calmed myself a bit and slowly got my sight back, I started driving despite the ache in my head. I can’t stop whispering while I’m speeding the speed of my car in order to get there immediately.

Metal crumpled, glass exploded everywhere, and the world spun. The car spun out of control, the tires screeching, the sound of metal grinding against metal reverberating in my ears. I couldn’t catch my breath, couldn’t focus. I slammed my foot down on the brakes, but it was too late—the car kept spinning, sliding sideways. The sound of the engine sputtering mixed with the high-pitched ringing in my ears, drowning everything else out. My vision blurred and snapped back, everything spinning in a disorienting frenzy.

The tires squeal as I make a sharp turn at the end, tearing off down the street. I drive fast, accompanied only by the steady thrum of the rain on the windshield, the squeak of the wipers, and the frantic beating of my own heart. My excitement only grows as I follow the meandering road through the six-pack territory, my anxious thoughts pinging around my brain a mile a minute.

I swipe at my something stinging my left eye and realize I'm bleeding. I hear squealing tires just before the sound of an enormous impact, steel tearing, glass shattering, followed by an eerie silence. Closer to the source of the noise, I can pick out the tick-tick-tick of the engine cooling in the January air, the hiss of steam from the radiator.

Then, the silence of the valley was shattered. The low, aggressive growl of a high-end engine echoed against the hills, a sound entirely out of place in this rural landscape. Caro’s heart didn't just beat; it hammered against her ribs like a trapped bird. She knew that sound. It was the purr of a custom-tuned engine, a sound that belonged to the paved streets of Rome, not the gravel paths of a farm.

My voice is a low, cold vibration that cuts through her nagging like a razor through fine silk. The driver’s eyes meet mine in the rearview mirror for a split second. He immediately presses his foot down. The powerful engine roars, a sound that vibrates through the floorboards and into my very bones. I feel the force of the acceleration push me back into the seat as we weave through the late afternoon traffic like a ghost. The world outside becomes a distorted mess of colors, but inside, I am focused on one thing: the girl waiting at home.

I might have to grab a snack sooner than I thought. I leaned my hand to the side to grab my phone from the passenger seat when a loud noise caught my attention and I screamed. I didn't notice a rocky road before but the car is shaking vigorously and I find it hard to maneuver my way around this. It's like I'm not even driving! Oh my God. Is the brake loose? What is wrong with this car? Is it the tyres? I can't tell but this is getting riskier by the minute. A scream escaped my lips at the loud noise that erupted from the car. I don't know what happened but my body was quivering and hitting the car door with each bumpy ride. I'm trying to change direction and get out of here but it's barely w

Running feet and another scream. Then just the sound of the engine, the rumble of tyres, Scruffy's barking. And later, the screech of brakes, the swing of the car, throwing me sidelong, jarring my head again against metal... Ben's cursing and the clunk of a car door... What happened? Something... The smooth vibration of a cruising vehicle changes to the jolt and tumble of uneven ground, the engine grinding down to a lower gear. Rocked one way and the other, I can't avoid the impact of my knees and head against bodywork.