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The Call (1) : An unknown number calls you. Maybe you pick it up, maybe you don’t, but the message is the same–someone on the other line is warning you about something. They seem to have details that give credence to whatever they’re warning you about, but there’s something particularly unbelievable about it all–because, they sound like you. And they know things only you would know. And then, the line drops, and you’re left alone. If you try to call the number back, it’s been disconnected. If it was a prank, it was a good one. But, maybe there was something more to it.
Bryia stared at her phone, her finger hovering over the glowing screen. She rarely answered calls from unknown numbers, but something about this one made her reconsider. She wasn’t sure why, maybe it was because she already dealt with one strange incident today with the moon.
"What the hell, why not?" She pressed the green button and brought the phone to her ear. “Hello?”
For a moment, there was nothing but static. Bryia pulled the phone away to check the signal. Full bars. But just as she was about to hang up she heard a voice from the other line.
“Bryia.”
Her breath caught in her throat. The voice was... hers. Not just similar, but it sounded exactly like hers. Her mind raced, trying to figure out if this was some kind of prank. But before she could say anything, the voice continued.
“You need to listen carefully. Something’s coming. Something you aren’t ready for.”
Bryia’s heart pounded in her chest. Her instinct was to scoff, to dismiss this as some sick joke. But the more she listened, the more unsettling it became. It wasn’t just the familiarity of the voice—it was the way it spoke, as if the person on the other end knew her not just as a civilian but as Sailor Child.
“I know you’ve felt it,” the voice said. “The darkness creeping in. The moon, the shadows, the sensation of being watched. It’s all connected, Bryia.”
Bryia’s hand tightened around the phone. She hadn’t told anyone about the moon, about how it had stared at her from the sky with that twisted grin. Yet, this person, this voice, knew. Her voice knew.
“How... how do you know that?” she asked, her own voice betraying the cool front she usually wore.
“Because I’m you. And I know what’s coming.” There was a slight tremble in the voice. “You don’t have much time. You need to get out of the city. It’s not safe here anymore. You’re not safe.”
Bryia’s pulse quickened. A part of her wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all, to tell herself that this was just a prank—someone messing with her. But there was something in the way the voice spoke, something that gnawed at her instincts. It wasn’t just the voice that was her own; it was the urgency and fear she heard through the static.
The line went dead, leaving nothing but silence.
Bryia pulled the phone away from her ear, staring at the screen in disbelief. Her fingers were trembling as she scrolled through the call log, searching for the number. It was there, but something about it made her uneasy, the area code was unrecognizable and didn't have a 1-800 either.
With a sinking feeling in her gut, she dialed it back.
The phone rang once. Twice. Then, beep, the automated voice of the service provider informed her that the number had been disconnected.
Bryia lowered the phone, a bitter laugh escaping her lips. "Disconnected. How convenient."
She sat down heavily on her couch, her mind racing. If it was a prank, it was a damn good one. The mention of the moon, the eerie sensation of being watched, the creeping darkness she had felt for days.
Her fingers brushed over the screen of her phone as she replayed the conversation in her mind, trying to make sense of it. The voice, her voice, had sounded so real. So desperate. And the warning... was it possible? Was there something truly coming? Something she couldn’t explain?
She stared at the dark screen, her violet eyes narrowing as a cold dread settled in her chest. Whether it was a nightmare or a trick, something was wrong. Something was watching, waiting.
And now, she had no choice but to be ready for whatever came next. "I wonder if Sylene got the same warning." Surely she'd call if she did, wouldn't she?
(643 words)
