I found myself staring into the distance contemplating my approach for a hill I wanted to skate down, it was hot, but the passing clouds offered solace from the sun and living in a forested city, shade was easy to find.
The wail of sirens could just be heard through the consistent ambience of traffic and birds through the air. Sirens were a normal thing to hear in my area, we had crime and some places could even be considered dangerous. So I thought nothing of it and continued to go through the logistics of how to ride down the hill as fast as possible, getting enough pumps before the lip of the hill, staying low and keeping a straight path was how I ended up approaching it.
As I made my descent I could feel my speed increasing and the wind started to lash around me, it was exhilarating and that’s why I loved it.
Riding home I noticed even more sirens and as they got louder they turned a corner and came into view, two police cars, an ambulance and a fire truck raced by with ear piercing tones and then faded into the distance. Curious, I stopped in a parking lot and sat on a curb to check my phone and started to look through local news reports to see if there were any recent events that might be the cause. One in particular seemed out of place so I delved deeper into the article and found a statement by the local sheriff:
“There are now four reports of cardiac arrest in victims in our local area from the past four hours, so far there is no correlation between them regarding age, gender or race. However, witnesses claim that all four people had their Television on and were displaying static. Further investigation is needed and we urge everyone to keep your televisions off until we find out more on this matter.”
At first I honestly found that report amusing, maybe it was my edgy nature or disbelief in the absurd conditions. I brushed it off, got up from where I was and continued home. It wasn’t until later that night I began to figure out how twisted these events would become. Browsing social media and blankly gazing at my phone I saw videos of people reacting to this news and one caught my eye which showed a group of people huddled together, some sobbing, and a security officer trying to manage them.
Shortly after, I received a phone call from my aunt, we were very close and I could sense something was wrong. She explained that her husband died of cardiac arrest earlier today and she was informing all of her family members. I asked her what had happened and she said he was watching tv, flipping through the channels and all of the sudden he started to seize up.
Looking back at these events with the knowledge I know now, I still would have called a liar to anyone claiming this was connected.
Later that day one of my friends burst into the apartment excitedly claiming they found it, the channel every tv was on when those people died. He said he was watching interview after interview and one in particular from a low ranking officer seemed to let the channel slip while discussing the details.
64.2
With neither of us knowing what to actually do with this information I suggested we form a plan to really test if these deaths and some dead channel were really connected.
Cautiously, we cleared out a room in my apartment and left nothing but a tv on a stand and a phone set on a tripod to record the events. With the equipment all in place we only had to turn the TV on and switch to the channel. Stupidly, or maybe by the grace of god I stepped out of the apartment for a smoke before we started. I knew nothing would happen and didn’t want to cloud my judgement so I started to clear my head and listen to the sounds of the outside. It felt nice, I almost got lost in the outside ambience when I heard a noise coming from inside and could only really tell what it was after a minute of listening
Static
I opened the door and ran down the hall and while I grasped the handle I took a deep breath and my mind was thinking of what I would see in there but nonetheless I opened it.
My friend was dead, laying there face down on the ground. His arms were clasped towards his chest and his face showed a terrified expression
Without a second thought I closed my eyes and made my way to the tv to unplug it. As long as I didn’t see it then I would be okay I thought to myself. The room went dark except for the slight glow of the phone that was still recording.
I took the phone and hid it in my pocket. I called the police and then sat next to my friend, now in complete darkness. I still question to this day why we thought this would be a good idea and everyday I mourn the people I lost.
When police arrived they almost seemed to be understanding. They claimed it was the fifth that day and they made a grave error publicizing the channel number. They asked if I had any information, report it to the police and keep your TV off.
After they left I took out the phone and pulled up the video. Maybe by instinct or paranoia I covered up the tv with my thumb while watching and observed my friend pressing the power button and attempting to walk away but within seconds he came to a dead stop, facing the camera he just stood there. It wasn’t until I turned the volume up did I realize the full picture.
“She stole us” the words and the static seemed to become fused together “Stuffed us into here” Everytime they called out I could feel a pain in my ears “Drowned us in static” the static became increasingly louder until one last sentence caused complete silence “Watched us rot”
I turned off the phone and tried to grasp what happened, who were those voices, I still don’t know. Afterwards I turned in the phone as evidence claiming I forgot, they didn’t believe it but they seemed to understand and said this video will be extremely crucial to solving this.
So far the police cannot figure out why this is happening and I’m just as clueless, I know there were victims and I know someone is responsible. I just don’t understand it, yet. I urge you all never to visit channel 64.2 but if you do. Gather as much information as you can.