The Call

Chapter 2

"Hello?" I said.

"Hey." replied a young girl, barely audible.

I felt a tingle down my spine, a snake slithering around my spinal cord. Shivering, I quickly set up the phone tracker, just in case.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Emily. My... My name's Emily." The girl stuttered.

"That's cool, my name's Emily too, but everyone calls me Emms. What's going on?" I said happily.

I heard light footsteps on the other end of the phone, followed by heavy breathing.

"Emily? Emily? I need you to talk to me." I questioned, trying to keep my voice calm.

"I think someone is trying to get into my house." Emily whispered.

I paused, words escaped me, as I'd they never existed in the first place. For the first time in my life, I was speechless.

"What's your home address? Where are you know?" I said, panicking.

"Uhm... I don't know, I'm not sure." She whispered, her voice was raspy.

I heard a continuous knocking. Knock, knock, knock... Followed by glass shattering.

The phone went silent, still active but silent. Salty tears dripped down my pale cheeks, sliding through my lips. Listening carefully, expecting to hear Emily pick the phone or even her voice.

"Carl? We have a problem." I cried, tearing up. "We have a break-in, a young girl is on her own." Pausing, breathing heavily. "Was on her own."

"Did you do a trace?" He replied, never taking his eyes off his own screens.

"The moment I knew it was a child." I said, wiping away a few tears. "I'll send someone to her location the moment we have it." I continued, turning back to my monitor, I hit a few switches and tried to pinpoint her location.

Elsewhere, two hours and fifteen minutes ago.

In school, she'd been known as "Quiet Em," the girl that never spoke to anyone. Thanks to her quietness, she knew more than most, eavesdropping on others, a ghost. Emily had always been nosy, leading to her dangerous curiosity. One day, she overheard a group of older kids playing a schoolyard game, one she'd never heard of, but she knew them all.

"Oh look, it's Quiet Em." One if the kids mocked, covering his mouth.

The school knew these kids as the Troubled Crew, a group of hooligans that picked on outsiders. You could recognize them by their muddied hair, each morning they would rummage for the best dirt and use it like grease. Their "iconic" gang look, they looked like idiots in reality. Dogs that did the same thing looked better.

Forming a circle, gathered around a stack of playing cards. The Troubled Crew was known for their card games. Gamblers would struggle to win against any of them. Only a cheating gambler stood a chance, playing dirty was their trademark.

"Wanna play Kings and Jesters? Kyle's a wimp and won't play." Said another kid, chewing some gum.

Emily took a step forward cautiously, pausing momentarily, then nodded with a smile. Placing herself comfortably at the edge of the circle the others had formed.

"Do you know how to play?" Kyle said, playing a pebble, tossing back and forth.

Emily looked around the playground, empty, disserted. In the corner of her eye, she caught the ringleader, glaring at her with fiery, mad eyes. Making eye contact, was as if her soul left her body, her happiness dragged away into his eyes. Pleasing him. Pulling her gaze away, she slid her hands in between her legs, something she did when she was scared. She didn't know any of their names or wanted to. She tended to be dragged into situations like this daily, an unbiased onlooker, yet they never bullied her.