Bubble Trouble

By Cassandra Hamm

The doorbell jingles. I stuff my nanocell into my khaki pocket and paste on my customer-service smile. The doors slide shut behind a woman and two men. “Welcome to the Nanotech Center!” I say.

My smile wavers at their dark clothing. They match the descriptions of the Sound, the infamous gang—and it’s only ten minutes until the store closes. What could they want?

I glance at my coworker. Thomas is bent over an ancient CD player from the early twentieth century. Some guy donated it the other day, and Thomas is obsessed with getting it to work. He won’t be any help. Honestly, I’m not sure he’s even noticed the new arrivals.

“I’m Melody.” I ball my fists to keep them from trembling. “Can I help you?”

“Yes, actually.” The woman—she’s called Pepper on the wanted posters—smiles back. “I heard you have a hyperwave speaker.”

The speaker that amplifies sound up to one hundred miles? I’m not about to let them have that. “Yeah, we’ve got the Boost,” I say casually. “But our manager has to be here when someone purchases one. Store policy.”

“I wasn’t planning on buying.” She reaches for a bulge on her hip, revealing a black gadget about the size of my hand. The BubbleNet. Before I have a chance to scream, she presses a button.

A high-pitched keening shatters the air. I stagger against a quadroscan, covering my ears. The noise tears through my brain and disbands my thoughts. I vaguely see Thomas stumbling after me.

The noise stops abruptly. Thomas groans next to me. I let my hands fall and look up. The trio has vanished, likely searching for the Boost.

“What was that?” Thomas breathes.

My stomach churning, I edge forward one step, then two. Silence—

With the third step, that horrible shrieking fills my ears again. I jerk back into the silent sphere.

“What?” Thomas demands.

“The bubble method.”

He stares.

“You haven’t heard of the Sound?”

“I know what sound is, yes.”

“Not sound. The Sound. The gang. Their methods are based on bubble-net feeding. You know, when whales use sound to corner their prey and gulp them down?”

Thomas’ acne-scarred face goes ashen. “So we’re trapped here?”

“Yep.” I wish I could see where the soundless bubble ends, but at least I have a general idea of its size—large enough to hold ten people or so.

I inhale sharply. What if the Boost could amplify the bubble method? I don’t want to think about what the Sound could do with thousands of people incapacitated.

“I’ll call the police.” Thomas yanks his nanocell out of his pocket.

“Go ahead, but they’ll never get here in time.”

“Mel.” He points at the CD player.

I blink. Could that old relic really put out enough sound to combat the bubble method?

“I’ve got a Queen CD in there right now—”

“Who?”

“—and I think I figured out how to play it. So just bring me the player, and I’ll plug it in—”

“To what?” Power outlets only exist in textbook holograms now.

“Trust me.” His eyes shine.

Wrinkling my nose, I step into the sea of sound.

The noise hits me like a hovertrain, a physical wave nearly blasting me off my feet. Groaning, I focus on the hunk of gray plastic with its tiny antennae and conglomeration of buttons. One step. Then another.

I haul the player into my arms and stagger back to the bubble. My head won’t stop humming even after the noise is gone.

Seizing the player, Thomas pulls a portable charger from his pocket. Where does he even get this ancient tech?

He plugs the CD player into the charger and presses a button. A dim glow illuminates the player’s screen.

“We Will Rock You – Queen”

The sound cuts through the air, and I charge forward, filled with sudden energy. I can still hear the shrieking, but the thumping bass and vocals cancel out the effect.

I find the gang in the back of the store. They’ve broken the plexiglass case surrounding the Boost, and Pepper rips open the box.

The men—Slick and Bear—are busy hefting the dog-sized speaker between them, so I should be able to take Pepper by myself… says the girl who has no martial arts training.

I creep toward Pepper, who’s busy admiring the Boost, and reach for the BubbleNet on her hip. She twists and brings her knee up, and I jerk back. She tugs at my polo, and I screech, grabbing for the tech belted to her body. She tries to pull away, but I’ve got a grip on her leather jacket. There should be a clasp—

There! I yank the BubbleNet off and toss it in Thomas’ direction. Pepper swears, and Slick and Bear set down the speaker, but that’s when I hear it—the relative silence. The keening that filled my ears is gone, and now Queen has my full attention.

Thomas disabled the tech. I grin.

“Why, you little—” Pepper glares. “Give that back.”

“We’ll crush it,” I say. Thomas’ face falls, but he holds the BubbleNet up like he’s about to smash it on the ground.

“You wouldn’t,” Bear scoffs.

Thomas wouldn’t. But I would. I take a step toward my coworker. “Try us,” I say.

Sirens begin warring against “We Will Rock You.” Pepper’s mouth twists into a scowl. She bolts for the door, the men hot on her heels.

I exhale. Thomas fingers the BubbleNet. “You didn’t mean what you said about smashing it, right?”

I roll my eyes. “You’ll have to give that to the police, you know.”

He scowls. “You’re no fun, Mel.”

I peer at the clock—not closing time, but close enough. Queen serenades us as I lock the door. Sure, we’ll have to give police statements and all that fun stuff—but hey, I’m getting off on time, after all.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cassandra Hamm has always been fascinated by the inner workings of the human mind. She received her B.S. in psychology and continues to apply her knowledge to her characters. Her love of writing prompts has spurred her to start blogging, submit stories to amazing websites like this one, and host flash fiction contests on Instagram. She is obsessed with cats, jigsaw puzzles, movie soundtracks, and Broadway musicals.

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