Silent Beat Novels & Stories

"It’s called silence. People used to pay a lot of credits for it back in the Old Era." "It feels like being hollowed out," Sofia whispered, pushing herself up. Her muscles groaned, a slow, dull ache that felt entirely too real. "I keep waiting for the pulse. That rhythmic thud that tells me the grid is active. Now, all I hear is my own heart. It’s slow. It’s... pathetic."

" Shane closed his eyes in pain. His head hung low, and his voice was hoarse. "I know it's all my fault. "I just hope I can stay by your side. "I don't mind being treated like a stranger. I'll just watch over you two in silence." I said nothing. After turning around, I walked to the window and watched the sky gradually turn dark. "Leave, and don't come back." Shane stood frozen there for a long moment. Only when I repeated my dismissal did he stagger away. His silhouette with the scenery of sunset behind him looked lonely and desolate.

He blushed as he was congratulated. One spectator from afar didn't like any of it. "Fast. Ingenious. Tsk. But he's still deaf. He's useless."

----------------- “Savvie? Savvie? Hello, hello—are you there? I can see you and you’re just standing there. I am waving at you right now... Savvie, have I mistaken you for a human being or are you a really hot store mannequin?” He heard her laugh. Aha. Keep going, Matt told himself. Recover from the terrible joke. “Or part of some performance thing like that guys like me don’t understand? Because I really don't understand the silence. I'm getting a little bit freaked out" he said. She suddenly folded and bent over laughing. He breathed a sigh of relief. Sweet! He thought. Good thing he hadn't pissed her off with that stupid joke from hell.

He's building a server. Silas threw an image onto the main screen. It was a frequency analysis of the Gray Zone. Usually, static looks like random noise a messy scribble of lines. This static was patterned. It looked like a barcode. Repeating. Infinite. "The Silence isn't empty," Silas whispered. "It's full of data. Petabytes of it. Streaming directly into the minds of the people trapped in the Dead Zone." "What kind of data?" I asked. "Noise," Silas said. "Short, looping bursts of sensory input. Colors. Sounds. Dopamine

"Can you stop? You're making my head spin!" Celestine, who had been pacing back and forth, fell silent and looked at Lilyana with annoyance. "Lily, come on! You're telling me to stop thinking? While you just relax," Celestine grumbled. "You're so cruel. Don't you respect my heartbreak? I just got cheated on, Cele! And turn off that annoying phone of yours, it keeps ringing!" Celestine snorted. She then slammed the tab in her hand onto the bed Lilyana was sitting on.

Cosmically The void itself bends inward around its attention. And suddenly A single crack appears across absolute silence My eyes widen. Because that crack Sounds like a heartbeat One slow. Ancient. Impossible beat. BOOM Reality shakes violently. The First Silence goes completely still. Then the voice whispers: “What is this feeling?” And somewhere deep inside existence Something ancient begins waking up emotionally

How many more lives must he take before he’s satisfied? I sat with Silas until the room grew quiet again. The sun had begun to set, casting an orange glow through the cloth-covered windows. A soft breeze stirred the herbs hanging from the beams. Silas stirred. It was subtle at first. A twitch. A shift in breath. Then a strained sound left his lips. I leaned closer. “Silas… I’m here. I’m right here.” His eyes didn’t open, but his lips moved. A whisper. Ragged. Barely audible.

" Silence fell on the other side of the camera. I gave a wry smile and picked up my tray to continue working. It wasn't until 2:00 am that I dragged my exhausted body out through the bar's front door. The woman approached me again. "Julian, do you need the money because you're in some kind of trouble? I might be able to help you." The moment I looked up, blood suddenly gushed from my nose. A cry of alarm came from behind the camera. "Julian!"

Bubbles curls beside me, her heartbeat steady against my palm. Somewhere in the distance, I think I hear Silen singing again. It sounds low and mournful, but beautiful. A siren song meant for no one. It drifts through the walls like a promise. And for the first time in days, I sleep.