some friends and i were outside in the parking lot late last night of a hotel that was putting on a comic convention. we would have left earlier, but my friend’s car battery died and we had a mutual friend arrive to help us. it was around midnight and we had finished charging up the battery, and were just about to wrap up our conversation when it started happening. it was horrifying and i almost had a panic attack. it was outside, LOUD AS HELL, and was a strange buzzing siren-like noise unlike anything i’ve ever heard before. it went on for well over a minute too. once we realized it wasn’t stopping after a few seconds, we all quickly left. it was still going on as we were leaving the parking lot, but stopped shortly after. my friend and i speculated a bit about it on the ride home, but we’re ultimately dumbfounded. my friend suggested it could have been a fire alarm, but it honestly didn’t sound like one, and when we drove past the front of the hotel, nobody was outside as if they were evacuating, plus it sounded like the source was outside. i tried googling stuff too, but honestly couldn’t find an explanation. the only other context i have that i think could help is that we were near an airport, and about 30 minutes earlier, we saw a single police car with the lights on outside a shady motel across the street. i just want to know what the sound was, because it scared the absolute shit out all of us.

edit: it was in memphis, TN