[ WP ] Slowly , the entire world was muffled . Not a thing made any sound , not people , not instruments , not rockets .

I shook my brother awake. `` Come on Bill, we're gon na be late to class. Get your lazy ass out of bed!'' 
 
 With a small grunt and a `` shoo, shoo'' hand gesture, he was begging for his five more minutes of sleep. I kept persisting by shaking him until he was on his feet. 
 
 This was the normal routine. After a minute more of shaking, in slightly slurred speech, he finally admitted defeat and got out of bed. As he talked, he signed, `` I'm up, I'm up.'' 
 
 We ate breakfast together, just like normal. Generic pop tarts from the toaster, because let's face it, that's what college students on a tight budget can afford. The morning ritual was always wake up, take a shower, get Bill out of bed, while he took a shower I would listen to a local radio show to get weather and news, and then we eat breakfast together before running to our first class we took together. 
 
 I noticed I had to turn the volume knob a little higher than normal. `` The batteries in the radio must be dying again,'' I mumbled to myself. Bill continued eating his pop tart and reading the newspaper. He did n't care what I played on the radio or that the batteries were dying. 
 
 We grabbed our bags and started walking. It was a cool, clear morning. The frost that had settled during the night was starting to melt as the sun began to crest over the buildings of the campus. It was quieter than normal, even with the normal hustle and bustle of other students around us who were also going to morning classes. It was almost as if we were all getting ready to attend a solemn event, and only whispers were allowed to break the silence. We arrived at the lecture hall with about 5 minutes to spare. 
 
 We took our normal seats near the front. Sarah, one of the signers who works at the university to help those with hearing impairments, sat in front of Bill with a smile. She did her normal greeting, signing good morning to the both of us, and then the two of them chatted a bit in sign language. This was the routine, this was normal. 
 
 The professor walked into the auditorium and promptly began his lecture while writing on the blackboard. He always had a nasty habit of talking to the board, and not out to the students. Because of this, it could be hard to hear and understand him, but today was worse than usual. I was n't the only one who thought so either. Students were beginning to get annoyed and fidget trying to see the board and crane their necks to hear him. 
 
 I glanced over at Sarah and noticed her signs were getting further apart, as she too was having trouble hearing and understanding him, but he continued on as if no one had said a word. 
 
 I got up and approached the front. I tapped him on the shoulder, `` Mr. Smith! We ca n't hear you!'' but it came out as a whisper. He turned to me, and I saw him mouth `` What's the problem?'' but no sound came out. There was no sound anymore, no tapping noises of people's feet, no noise of scribbling notes, nothing. 
 
 I glanced at my brother, and a look of fear had come over him. I signed `` What's wrong?'' 
 
 What he signed back made me break out in a cold sweat. `` Did you hear that noise just now?''
