The Call
The Call
Kerra laughed at something her friend had just said. The conversation had been going on for nearly twenty minutes now, just casual chatter about the usual stuff, work complaints, celebrity gossip, plans for the weekend. But then, mid laugh, something cold crept into her chest. She didn’t have any friends.
The realization hit her… she never answers the phone when it rings because she never receives any phone calls. She couldn’t even remember the last time someone had called her, let alone chatted for twenty minutes about nothing in particular.
The voice on the other end was still talking, something about weekend movies and popcorn flavors, but Kerra had stopped listening. Her hand trembled slightly as she gripped the phone tighter, knuckles going white.
“Wait,” she interrupted, her voice a bit shaky. “This has been fun, but… you can stop pretending now.”
Silence stretched across the line… Suddenly the voice became demonic.
“What’s wrong?” it asked, each word deliberate and measured. “You don’t want to play anymore?”
Dark whispers began to seep through the speaker, not words exactly, but sounds that made her skin crawl and her stomach turn. Kerra yanked the phone away from her ear and jabbed the end call button with shaking fingers.
Her heart hammered against her ribs. She needed help. She needed someone real.
With trembling hands, she dialed 911.
“911, what’s your emergency?” The operator’s voice was crisp, professional and reassuring.
“I…I was talking to someone on the phone,” Kerra stammered, pacing her small bedroom in frantic circles. “And all of a sudden I was threatened. Someone was pretending to be my friend, but I don’t have any friends, and then their voice changed and…”
“Calm down,” the operator interrupted smoothly. “Just take a deep breath and…”
The voice began to shift. The professional female tone warped and deepened, becoming that same syrupy darkness that had spoken to her moments before.
“Tell me, why did you hang up on me?”
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Kerra’s blood turned to ice. She frantically pressed the end call button, stabbing at it over and over, but the call wouldn’t disconnect. The demonic voice continued to pour through the speaker, asking why she didn’t want to play, why she was being so rude to a friend.
With a strangled cry, Kerra hurled the phone against the wall. It shattered into pieces, plastic and circuits scattering across the hardwood floor. But even as the fragments settled into silence, she could swear she still heard that voice, calling her name.
She ran from her bedroom to the safety of the kitchen where her mom was cooking.
“Mom, thank God you’re here,” Kerra panted. “The strangest thing just happened…”
Her mom turned, looking concerned. “What’s wrong, sweetie?”
As Kerra began to explain, she felt the terror slowly drain away. Her mom listened and nodded with understanding. By the end, Kerra was almost laughing at how scared she’d been.
“I’m sure it was just some kids playing a prank,” her mom said soothingly. “Why don’t you help me finish dinner?”
Kerra smiled and moved to help, then froze.
There was no food cooking. No pots on the stove. No smell of dinner filling the air.
And when she looked closer… her mom wasn’t there at all.
She was standing alone in an empty kitchen, talking to nothing.
From behind her came that familiar voice: “Who were you talking to, Kerra? You don’t have any friends… or family.”
