The Trials of Project 27

The Call

  The ordeal began on a Friday night. I suppose it was just as good as any other Friday night; in fact, it was better, seeing as I was enjoying a relaxing sleepover at my friend's house. There was no way I could have anticipated the events to come.

  Zoe and I laid sprawled across her bed, propped up on our elbows and staring fixedly at the screen of her iPad. I really enjoyed staying at Zoe's house; it was pretty sizable, compared to my comfy, two bedroom apartment. But the real reason I liked being there was Zoe, who was always so refreshing to be around. As per our usual sleepover protocol, we'd spent a lot of that evening watching anime. Oh, the joys of sharing common interests with your friends.

  At eleven o'clock that fateful Friday night, Zoe and I were watching an anime called "Beelzebub," which was one of my favorites. Since I'd seen it already, I found myself watching her more than the show, curious about her reactions to the jokes that cracked me up. I flopped onto my back and giggled a bit at a particularly witty Japanese pun (or the memory of figuring it out and explaining it to my mom).
  As I was thinking about how low stress it was to hang out with someone as laid back as Zoe, I heard something vibrating. I snatched my phone up off of the bedside table and saw that my friend, Morgana, was not only calling me, but FaceTiming me. As I answered the call, I mumbled irritated remarks under my breath, wondering why on earth she'd FaceTime me at this hour.

  All traces of annoyance fled my mind when I saw Morgana's face. There she stood, trembling, in a cramped, decrepit bathroom. Her hair stringy, her skin pale and covered in a film of sweat. There was a bruised lump at the top of her forehead, with dried blood matting some of her hair and smeared around her face. Tears streamed from Morgana's bloodshot eyes, even as she struggled to hold back her hiccuping sobs. She looked so shaken, so utterly horrified, so different from her usual, boisterous self. The whole thing gave me a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.

After a short moment (which seemed pretty long, but was probably around five seconds), Morgana gave a deep, snorting sniffle, gained a sliver of control, and started shouting urgently. The desperate look in her eyes, along with the rapid rise and fall of her chest, showed that the matter was dire. The connection was rather poor, so I didn't catch everything she said.

"It's an emergency! We don't- *static crackle* -much time, so listen. We're trapped in- *static crackle* -somewhere in N-new Mexico. You know the place where we- *static crackle* -last summer. We're trapped! Lily... She's here, too... Not doing too well..."

Morgana walked across the little bathroom and switched cameras so we were looking into the shower in front of her. In the tiny, gloomy shower was Lily. She was barely standing, hunched over and slumped against the tiles for support. Her usually tan complexion was rather sickly, her face contorted in misery and gleaming with tears. I could see bruises and cuts scattered across her sweating skin, and what looked like a mixture of old and new puke matted her hair and clung to her clothes.

"Elise... *sob* w-we need your help... *sob* IT'S AN EMERGENCY!- *static crackle* -only one who can stop the- *static crackle* -SO FUCKING HORRIBLE!" Lily paused to heave a sob, "MAKE IT STOP! But b-be careful... Dangerous... The... It hurts..." Lily was silenced by the vomit forcing itself up her throat. As I watched her projectile vomiting all over herself, shaking with terror and crying hysterically, I felt a strong determination. I didn't know who had broken the spirits of two of the toughest people I knew, but they had to be one twisted motherfucker to put Lily and Morgana in such a state.

"I promise. Morgana, Lily, I'll be there as soon as I can. You have my word," I said, in the most confident voice I could muster.

I heard loud banging, and suddenly I was looking at Morgana again. She cried silently as she whispered, "They found us. We're in trouble."

I heard a splintering crack- which I'm sure was the sound of the door being broken down- and my friends started to scream hysterically. Someone knocked the phone from Morgana's hand and onto the floor. I couldn't see anything but legs as I heard heels squeaking across linoleum and nails scratching at the walls, as Lily and Morgana were dragged from the room by unseen assailants.

"NOT AGAIN! PLEASE! STOOOP IIIIT!" I heard Lily wailing as she was dragged off.

"JUST LET US GO! WE'RE BEGGING YOU!" I heard Morgana pleading.

I put my phone down, so the camera was facing the ceiling. I heard heavy footsteps and a vaguely familiar voice. "Looks like the bitches tried to call for help," I heard her say. "Too bad whoever this is was smart enough to get away from the camera and hide their pathetic face." And with that, I saw a high-heeled shoe come crashing down from above, crushing Morgana's cellphone camera and ending the call. I couldn't put my finger on who that sadistic psycho was, but I had a gut feeling that she was important.

A quiet voice in the back of my head warned me not to get involved; after all, anything that could rob Morgana of her prideful fighting attitude, or break Lily's strong, enduring spirit, was not something to be taken lightly. But I ignored the little voice's warning. I had to get Lily and Morgana out of there...

Even though the call only lasted a few minutes, I felt like it aged me a few years. I finally turned to my side, remembering with a start that there was someone in the room with me. Zoe looked back at me with wide eyes, and I knew she had been watching over my shoulder the whole time.