The beeping from below


It was hard.

Pressed against my face.

I canโ€™t say how long.

Cold. It was cold.

Erm, how long I had been there.

I canโ€™t say how long I had been there.

I woke up on the bathroom floor. I donโ€™t know if it was the hardness or the coldness that woke me, but Iโ€™m glad it did. For then, that was when I heard it.

It.

The beeping.

I donโ€™t know why I decided to go to sleep on the bathroom floor in the first place, but Iโ€™ll leave that for another day. For now, Iโ€™ll go on about the beeping.

It wasnโ€™t constant, but regularly random. One beep. A gap. Two beeps. Another gap. Another two beeps. A longer gap. Three beeps. A gap. One beep. Two beeps. And so on. Irregular.

It wasnโ€™t my alarm clock, although that does make some strange sounds as it tries to wake me very early in the morning.

It wasnโ€™t outside the building either. It was inside. Down below.

And thatโ€™s the odd bit.

I always thought there was nothing down below.

Down the staircase is the front door, with various other doors going off in various places around the foyer. But under the bathroom, thereโ€™s nothing. Just a wall. To the outside. Or so I thought.

You know this Mansion of mine is an odd shape. You must know that, with different rooms popping up every now and again. Well, itโ€™s just got odder.

I approached the wall, and the strange beeping was still coming from the other side.

I tapped the wall.

Wooden.

I was actually tapping a door that had been wallpapered over, very cleverly, to make it look like an alcove in the wall. Another nook.

I peeled back the wallpaper, and revealed the door, thinking it would open out towards me. It opened inwards. No hassle.

The room beyond is like something from a science fiction movie.

Computers, gizmos, monitors all around the walls of the room. An old 1970s computer unit in the far corner, with two tape discs that appeared to have seized working long ago had a sticker on the murky glass.

UKSA โ€“ the United Kingdom Space Agency. No, Iโ€™ve never heard of them either.

One of their computers has somehow activated itself, which was the reason for the beeping.

But why?

A warning? A message?

And for who?

This is the first part of a three-part storyline, for part two, click here, and for part three, click here.

14 responses to “The beeping from below”

  1. penpusherpen avatar

    OOoo, I wish my house was like your mansion, Sir Aquatom, but mine’s so boring. Beeping eh? As you say, why suddenly start? and for who, or should that question be for whom the beeping erm beeps? Great mystery to end my Saturday night, just before I watch Match of T’Day. (I shall look into the UKSA, you never know what I might find ) xxPenxx

    Like

    1. Tom Merriman avatar

      It was a mystery, Lady P, but the pieces of the puzzle came together quite quickly once things started to unravel – the next two posts reveal a little more.
      Hope you enjoyed Match of the Day…
      And UKSA… well… (reply to be continued!)

      Like

  2. Visionkeeper avatar

    Oh yes….here we go….Not the cellar but a hidden room. Don’t leave us hanging TL…Now that you’ve peaked our interest, you must keep going….Thanks! VK

    Like

    1. Tom Merriman avatar

      I’ve posted another two parts for this one, VK. I’m not sure if there will be any further parts to come as yet, but you never know. This Mansion may bring something to the front!

      Like

  3. Diane Henders avatar

    So that’s what’s been causing all your WordPress problems… ๐Ÿ˜‰

    Like

    1. Tom Merriman avatar

      Now you come to mention it, Diane, you could be right!

      Like

  4. prenin avatar

    Hmmm… The UK DID once have a space agency, but the government decided there was no commercial value in satellites.

    The latest in a long line of foul-ups by successive governments…

    Big companies still use magnetic tapes to this day as back-ups to the computers hard drives, so it might need a bit of cleaning, but it SHOULD work!!! ๐Ÿ™‚

    God Bless!

    Prenin.

    Like

    1. Tom Merriman avatar

      As it happens, the tapes weren’t needed this time, Prenin – but you never know.
      And I never knew the UK had its own space agency… you learn something new every day!

      Like

  5. Sue Dreamwalker avatar

    Another Secret door… .. UKSA… Now this must be one Undercover Secret Agency Tom…. It must be a largish secret room too… those old computer systems were huge!… all that binary code.. .. no wonder you heard all that bleeping! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Like

    1. Tom Merriman avatar

      There are loads of them, Sue… and they keep on appearing (secret doors, that is!)
      And yes – they were very secret indeed (UKSA, that is!)

      Like

  6. europasicewolf avatar

    This is very exciting! I love the way your mind works ๐Ÿ˜‰ And I love these types of posts! ๐Ÿ™‚ HooOOOOooooWWWWwwwwwLLLLLIngly mysterious and cool with so many possible options to purse ๐Ÿ˜€

    Like

    1. Tom Merriman avatar

      Thanks, Icewolf… pleased that you like them.
      And lots of possibilities, like you say. Especially when things may change, unexpectedly… hmmm… ๐Ÿ˜‰

      Like

  7. Soul Gifts avatar
    Soul Gifts

    UKSA ?!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Tom Merriman avatar

      Indeed, Raili. I’d never heard of them either!

      Like

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