Through The Eyes of Our Horror

Chapter Eleven: The Phone Call

Finally, Nicole had the house to herself for the weekend. Her parents went out on a two-day cruise, which meant she had the place to herself. They had given her money for pizza and anything else she needed. Her parents were genuinely caring and looked out for her, but sometimes she just needed time alone. She had the tv set up with her favorite horror movies arranged on the coffee table.

There was more than enough to last her the night, then some, which was perfect. All she needed to do now was pour some bagged popcorn in a bowl and grab that two-liter bottle of soda she had saved. Her parents were big health nuts, the absolute worst. They didn't let her have anything she wanted, so she had to hide her snacks. Standing by the kitchen, the phone hanging up on the wall rang.

"Okay mom, you don't need to check on me," She said to herself as she took the phone from the wall. The number was unknown, but she answered it just the same. "Hello?"

"Hello? Can you hear me?"

"Uh, yeah? You called me. Who is this?"

"Hi, my name is Brent Laughton. Can you help me?"

Nicole grabbed the soda from the counter with one hand and kept the phone up to her ear with the other. "I don't know. Can I?"

"Please, this is serious. I'm in a lot of trouble, and I don't know who else to turn to. Can you help me?"

"That depends on the trouble? Have you tried calling the police? I don't know what else to tell- "

"Please!" Suddenly, the boy's voice became hushed. "I don't know where I am, miss. There's a man that picked me off the street and brought me here. This is his phone, please help."

Nicole froze. This was serious. "Wait, wait. What's your name again?"

"Brent, miss." He was whispering into the phone now, and the sound of creaking floorboards nearby were heard. "Please track this phone, I think he's going to kill me."

Suddenly, there was the sound of a struggle, and then the call was disconnected. Nicole hung up the phone and stood still. That was strange. It could have been a prank, or maybe it was real. Either way, her heart was racing and she felt like she needed to call him back, but when she checked the number, there was none.

Her phone was a flip phone, and it had a history. But the last call was to her parent's cell phone, the one they were on now. Maybe it was them calling her back, but that didn't explain why it came up unknown. Then the phone started ringing again, and she quickly answered it.

"Miss, are you there?" The boy's voice came through the phone. This time, it sounded like he was hardly able to breathe, his words and breathing coming out in wheezes. "Help me, please."

"Yes, yes, I'm here. Where are you? Who took you? What does he look like?"

"I'm...I'm not sure. But I don't have much time. Please, please save me. I don't want to die, please."

Nicole could feel her heart beating out of her chest. Was this really happening? The boy's voice was pleading, desperate. Something wasn't right, and she needed to find out where he was. But then the sound of static was heard on the other end, slowly growing louder and louder until a shrill scream cut through it. She had to close her phone, ending the call, but now felt petrified.

This was a lot more than she bargained for, and the night had just started. Now she was thinking she should have gone with her parents after all. Her legs started moving her towards the front door, and once she got there, she grabbed her jacket off the coat hanger and slid her shoes on. Maybe some fresh air would help, maybe it was the junk food or the fact that she took her medication at a weird time that this was happening.

She wasn't sure, but as soon as she opened the door, she saw something outside that made her blood run cold.

It was a boy, his skin ashen gray and his eyes glowing blue. His body was twisted in parts, those parts bloody and bruised with skin torn in places. When she looked at him, he looked up at her, his mouth opening to speak, and out of it was the sound of the boy's voice. But it wasn't real, all that came out was a scream, a scream of pure agony and petrified horror.

She slammed the door shut, her back pressed against it, her heart threatening to beat out of her chest. It wasn't real. She knew that. He wasn't real, and neither was that phone call. Yet the phone rang again, and she hesitated to answer it. This was becoming a nightmare and she wanted it all to just end. "H-hello?"

"Please, please, help me! He's coming back! I'm scared, I'm scared, I don't want to die!" The boy screamed on the other end, the sound of banging and thumping on wood was heard in the background. But then the banging was heard inside her own home. It was as if the knocking sounds were synchronized.

Nicole's whole body froze.

Then, the banging became a loud pounding. It was so strong that it was shaking the walls. A framed photo hanging up fell off the wall, shattering on the ground. Inside the frame, there was a piece of paper sticking out with a phone number. Just as she dialed the number, she was about to press call, but heard a man's voice on the other side of the wall.

"Nicole? Nicole! Help!"

That was her father's voice. She knew it was.

She opened the door and found nothing but the night. There were no dead boys, no men or anything.

That was, until the door was slammed shut behind her, locking her outside. Panicking, she looked around and tried to make sense of what was happening, even though she was scared. She began to rush over to the shed that was sitting next to the driveway. Closing herself inside, she hoped that whatever forces were messing with her wouldn't follow her in.

Then she answered his call, and the sound of a boy's voice was heard.

"Hello?"

"H-hi, I need your help. I think he's going to kill me."