The Sound at the End of the World

The sound that heralded the end of the world was the most annoying thing ever heard. A high pitched warbling that repeated the same handful of notes over and over, it cut through the thoughts of everyone, jack hammering into their brains. The sound that came before that was rather more interesting. And the sound that came after was easily a million times more interesting. But then compared to the sound at the end of the world, just about anything would be.