The Midnight Caller
It was a quiet night. The kind of night where every creak of the floorboards sounds too loud. Ella sat alone in her apartment, the only light coming from the flickering television screen. Her phone was across the room, charging, as usual. But tonight, it kept ringing. Again and again.
She ignored it at first. But the ringing wouldn’t stop. A strange unease crawled up her spine. She glanced at the caller ID. Unknown. It didn’t make sense. She didn’t know anyone who called this late. With a sigh, she grabbed the phone.
"Hello?" she said, her voice shaky.
There was a pause, a long, eerie silence. Then, a deep voice echoed in her ear.
"I see you."
Her heart skipped a beat. Her fingers tightened around the phone, her mind racing. Who was this? What did they mean?
The line went dead.
The next day, Ella tried to shake off the feeling. But the unease lingered. At work, she could hardly concentrate. Every ring of her phone made her jump. She didn’t even want to check her messages, but she had to. There was something... unsettling about it all.
When she unlocked her phone during lunch, there was a new text waiting for her. From an unknown number.
"I’m closer than you think."
Her pulse raced as she looked around the crowded cafe. Who was watching her? Was it a prank? The thought seemed ridiculous, but it felt real. Too real.
That evening, Ella returned home early, hoping to get some rest. But she couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. Every rustle of leaves outside her window made her flinch. Every car that passed by seemed to slow down just a little too much.
She tried to call her friend, Sam, but the call wouldn’t go through. She tried again. And again. Nothing. Her breath grew shallow as she sat in silence, listening to the world outside her apartment. Then, the phone rang again.
She didn’t want to answer it, but something told her she had to. She picked up the phone.
"You’re not alone." The voice was back, the same deep tone that sent chills down her spine.
Before she could speak, the voice continued.
"Look outside."
Ella hesitated. Her heart pounded in her chest. Could she really look outside? Was this just a sick joke, or something far more sinister?
She stood up slowly, her legs unsteady. As she approached the window, she saw nothing. Nothing except her own reflection, staring back at her. But then she noticed something. A shadow, just at the edge of her vision. Moving.
Her breath caught in her throat. She didn’t want to look. She knew she had to. The shadow moved again. It was closer now. Almost right behind her. But when she spun around—
There was no one there. Nothing but the faintest scent of cologne. A cologne she knew all too well. It was Sam’s.
Suddenly, everything clicked into place. Sam had been missing for two days. She hadn’t wanted to admit it before, but the texts, the calls, the shadow—everything pointed to one horrifying truth.
Sam wasn’t missing. He had been watching her this whole time.
The last message on her phone popped up as she sank to her knees, shaking. The text read:
"You knew too much."
Then the phone went black. The shadow that had been following her moved again. And this time, it was not a game.