It was just another typical night for Mark. He was a dispatcher for their small urban community and he had been at his job for a few years and really seemed to enjoy the work. It had its moments but he was always happy to help others who were in need when no one else was there for them. It was just another typical Sunday night, lots of emergency calls mixed with drinking coffee that should have been dumped out but no one had the time to make a fresh pot of it. It was half way through his shift when the emergency button lit up on his phone and he answered it. “Hello. What is your emergency?” The other end of the line was deathly quiet then a voice whispered into the phone “Help me” followed by the sound of heavy ragged breathing. Before he was able to ask any questions the line went dead and he sat there confused and frustrated. He told his supervisor about the call and he was told it was most likely a prank and they were short staffed. “Let it go and move on,” his boss said. He tried to finish the rest of his shift but the call haunted him. Who was the person on the other end of the line and were they really in trouble or was it just a prank.
His shift finally comes to an end and he grabs his work bag, heading out to his car exhausted. All he wanted to do was get home and finally relax although he knew he had to work the next day. Finally getting home he kicked off his shoes, poured himself a glass of water and headed down the hall to his bedroom flopping onto the bed, setting his phone on the table next to him, ready to close his eyes and finally get some rest. Just as he is about to drift off to sleep, he hears his phone buzzing on the table and he glances towards it and the caller ID reads an unknown number. For anyone that may have known Mark, this was unusual because he was a very private person, did not use social media and very few people had his number. No one would call him in the middle of the night so the fact that it was an unknown number unnerved him. He sat up in the bed, his hand over the phone as he debated if he should answer it or not, then it stopped ringing and let out a sigh of relief till it began to ring again. Slowly he picked it up, his thumb hovering over the swipe button before he slid it across and lifted the phone up to his left ear, not quite sure what he expected to hear.
At first there was nothing then heavy breathing, the same sound he heard while he was at the station then a deep voice speaks "You forgot to clock out of work tonight and you seemed a little tired when you got into your car" The other end of the phone goes silent enough for him to think that they hung up but before he can respond or even ask who it is they speak again you might want to be careful where you leave your keys and you haven't set your alarm yet. You wouldn't want to be late for work in the morning" Mark hears the click on the phone line as the caller hangs up and he sits there shaking knowing it was more than just a prank. He must be slowly losing grip on reality but some one had been watching him from inside the dispatcher’s office because he had indeed forgotten to clock out and they had to have been standing outside of his car to know how he looked after he left work that night. Now they spoke of him not having set his alarm for work and that his keys were missing. What terrified him the most is the very idea that some one was in his bedroom with him in the darkness.
This felt insanely silly to him because he knew he left his keys on the table by the front door and not possible that someone could have come into his home because he did not hear the front door open and there was nothing in his room when he came in, but he had not checked either. He switched on the light on the night stand and quickly looked around before sliding his legs off the side of the bed and tried to regain some of his composure before standing. He was not easily scared but this had him rethinking a lot about his life. He tugged on the curtain after peeking outside, closing it more securely before he crossed the room to the door and slowly opened it cautiously heading down the hallway towards the front door. He quickly flipped the light switch and stopped in his tracks…his keys were gone.
Mark is now terrified because whatever made the phone call was watching him, it had been close enough in his bedroom that it could see him on the phone, knew he had not set his alarm yet when he turned on the light there was nothing there. Now his keys were missing and there was no sign that anyone or anything had come inside since the front door was still locked yet something was in there with him. At first all he could hear was the sound of the refrigerator humming then the jingling of keys as if someone was lightly shaking them. It seemed to be coming from the living room where there was no light and then there was that heavy breathing once more. He felt paralyzed as if his feet were glued to the floor, unable to move them in any direction. He was close to the front door so he could easily unlock it and run out the door but where would he go without his keys, his phone or having clothes on. Should he risk returning to his room to grab his phone to call for help? The jangling sound of the keys got a bit louder as if whatever or whoever was holding onto them was moving across the room and slowly getting closer to him.
Finding the strength he didn’t know he had, he darts down the hallway as the sound of the keys gets to the edge of the living room right at the doorway. He leaps into the room and slams the door shut, leaning his back against it as his heart is pounding in his chest. All he has to do now is grab his phone and hit 911 to beg his co-workers to send him help. He presses his ear against the door and he listens for the sound of the keys but it is eerily silent but only for a moment. The heavy breathing breaks the silence as if it is inside his head now and then the voice “There is nowhere for you to hide Mark” Hearing those words, he runs from the door and throws himself across the bed, reaching for his phone. He grabs it and manages to dial the dispatcher's office and his co-worker Glen receives the call.
He stares at the phone as he hears a whispered voice say “Help me”…followed by heavy breathing then a click. Glen reports the call to his supervisor and is told “It was a prank. We are short staffed. Move on to the next call.” The call continues to haunt him for the rest of his shift. There had been 7 nights of the same mysterious calls and the 7 dispatchers who answered them went missing. The supervisor had no choice but to call the police to investigate and when they listened to the recordings of each night, the calls that were reported as prank had nothing but static on them,all but one. The very last recording was silent for about 5 seconds before a maniacal laugh pierced the silence then the sound of a click.
The calls had stopped but the men had vanished without a trace.
Conversation
Be the first to join the conversation.