The Masked Killer - A.T Ben Saad || English

Chapter 6: Oliver

"Have you completely lost it?!?" Noah yells. He rushes toward me to grab the phone out of my hand, but I'm too quick for him and spin around in a feint.

"Good morning, what is your emergency?" a deep male voice comes through the phone. Noah gestures for me to put it on speaker. I nod.

"Morning, there's been a murder here and—and we're being threatened." My voice trembles and sounds hoarse. There's a brief silence on both ends of the line.

I look at Noah, who gestures to me that I need to explain more about the situation.

"And in that threat, we were told not to call the police, but we're at our wit's end," I add quickly. The dispatcher sighs.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid..." He clicks his tongue disapprovingly. Noah and I exchange confused glances.

"Sorry, what did you say?" I ask.

"You should have just listened, you wimp." His voice sounds dark and angry. Our hopeful expressions change in an instant to sheer terror.

"Turn it off! Hang up!" Noah yells. His eyes are wide open as he grabs the phone from my hands. "Fuck you!" he shouts into the phone before slamming it down.

"Guys..." Matthew's voice sounds hoarse. "Where are Levi and Henry?" The question drives us all crazy.

"Shit! No!" Noah tries to run into the hallway but is quickly stopped by Lola.

"Noah! You don't know where they are. Don't go looking for trouble!" She grabs Noah's arm. He hesitates, but seeing Lola's worried face, he nods and walks away from the hallway.

It's dead—absolutely dead silent in the house. We all wait, anticipating what will happen next. Adrenaline surges through my body. Soon, everyone will be dead, and it will be my fault! Why am I such a selfish idiot?

"Guys, sorry—I'm sorry—I—" My hoarse voice is cut off by my all-too-familiar ringtone.

"Don't answer it," Matthew says, looking at me fearfully. I glance at the phone.

"Don't do it," his voice trembles. Maybe this time it really is the police, and we could be saved. I pick up the phone and press the green button.

"No!" Noah cries.

"Hello?" I say softly.

"I-Is this the police?" I ask. Please tell me this is the police. Oh, I'm begging God now. I'm not religious, but surely there must be a God who has pity on us?

"Look behind you," the same ominous, heavy voice says again. Noah, Matthew, and Lola's eyes widen. They look at something behind me. I slowly turn around and look at the window. I stare directly into the eyes of the person who killed my girlfriend. They're standing behind the window in a black robe with a large knife in hand. I drop my phone in shock. Before it hits the ground, the man with the deep voice hangs up. My heart is in my throat, and I feel faint. No, this must be some kind of dream—more like a horrible nightmare. Everything seems to be in slow motion. I turn to Noah, Matt, and Lola.

"Run!" I scream. The terror in my voice is palpable. We sprint into the hallway at breakneck speed. I hear glass shattering behind me. Some shards land on me. A piece of glass lodges in my leg and another in my shoulder. I barely feel the pain, as the adrenaline coursing through my body numbs everything.

Once in the hallway, Noah shuts the door. The killer kicks and pounds against it, but Noah manages to keep it just barely closed. Matthew signals to the crawl space. Everything has to be done in silence—literally everything. I nod. He opens the crawl space. I want to jump in immediately, but Matthew holds me back and lets Lola go first, then it's my turn. I don't climb in; I jump. I land hard on the coarse sand. A sharp pain shoots through my legs.

"Noah! Get in!" Matthew shouts. I can see Noah is struggling to hold the door. Noah signals to the vase by the front door. Matthew rushes over and hands it to Noah. Once Noah has it, he opens the door and hurls the vase straight into the killer's face. The killer recoils and growls angrily. Now Noah has a chance to slam the door shut quickly. He blocks it with a small cabinet and then jumps into the crawl space. He manages it much easier. Matthew is the last one to jump in.

We hear banging, but it's not the pounding of our hearts; it's the killer trying to break the door open. "Close it! Close it!" I whisper in panic. Noah presses a hand over my lips and silently mouths the word 'quiet'. I nod. Matthew closes the crawl space quickly.

Here we are, in this pitch-black space, waiting for our fate. I really hope we won't be found. With every bang, Lola huddles closer to Noah. While Matthew and I have no one to cling to for comfort, Noah does his best to console Lola. With the final and loudest thud, a small whimper escapes Lola's lips. I hope the killer didn't hear it. Loud footsteps make sand fall from the ceiling. The footsteps get closer. Sand gets in my eye. Damn it! With every step, my life flashes before my eyes. The killer runs away, up the stairs. A sigh of relief escapes my lips.

"We can escape through the front door now," I whisper.

"No way! He'll see that!" Noah replies. There's a brief silence. All I can hear is my heart and the rumbling above. We all think hard.

"We've had enough of your antics. Why don't you go yourself?" Noah breaks the silence. Should I do this? If I get out, I can go to the police and save the others. I sigh.

"Okay, then open it," I reply.