9:35 PM
"Hey Jane! I'm really happy to be working with you today. Before we begin, I'm going to need to ask you a few questions – these help us to better assess your situation, and provide a higher quality of care. Is that OK with you?"
"Yea...Yea, it's fine."
"Great. First of all, are you safe where you are?"
"I...I'm not really sure..."
"Right, I guess that's why you called. To clarify, are you in any immediate, physical danger? Are you injured? Bleeding? Stuff like that."
"No, nothing like that."
"Well, that's really good to hear Jane. By the way, is Jane OK or would you like to be called something else? I want you to feel just as comfortable as you can."
"Jane is fine..."
"Excellent. Then we just have one more question before we can begin, are you calling from a cell phone or a landline?"
"It's a landline...I'm in my bedroom upstairs. I thought it would be safer..."
"Well, it's not, but we can deal with that later. For now, I'm going to need you to call us back on your cell phone like usual. Trust me, when things start heating up, you'll be glad you did. When you've worked that out, just dial our number, say my name and we'll get right back to it."
"OK...What's your name?"
"Alec Kovac, and it's been a pleasure serving you so far."
9:45 PM
"Jane, is that you again?"
"Yea Alec, it's me. Sorry it took so long, I think whatever it is has managed to get into the house."
"Has it now? Did you get a good luck at it?"
"No. But I could swear that I saw it moving in the shadows while I was downstairs getting the phone."
"Yea, they do that sometimes...OK, where are you now?"
"Hiding in the bathroom."
"In the shower?"
"Yea, how did you know?"
"Jane, I do this for a living."
"Sorry."
YOU ARE READING
A Year of Stories
Short StoryThe goal: A new short story, every weekday, for a year. That's about 260 stories, for anyone keeping count. This is Volume #1, covering January and February stories. Inside you'll find a mix of Fantasy, Literary and Science Fiction, occasionally...
