Broken call

My name is Carol, and I’ve been friends with Britney ever since kindergarten. We didn’t really live too close to one another, but it never bothered us, since we just made our mothers take us to meet each other.

We have been friends for almost 10 years today, she knew me better than anyone else, and I knew her. We spent every evening chatting either by messages or on a call. Because of the long hour talks we had, we’d always get in trouble with out parents, but since we both got internet, we started to chat or call online.

Today was a day just like any other. We went to our class, after the class we spent hours in the mall talking about school, schoolwork, and some boys. The day itself was as simple as every other. But the evening… that’s when it all changed.

Most of the call went on as normal. “So, Britney… I saw Jack looking at you today. Is there something going on?” we both giggled. “Trust me Carol, if there was anything there, you’d know it before he did.” We both laughed at it like the cringy teenage girls in the movies. Then Britney suddenly stopped laughing. “Britney, is everything okay?” there was a brief silence, but before I could ask again, she whispered “something feels off, I feel like someone is here.” I felt a shiver run down my spine. “Maybe… maybe it’s just your stupid brother trying to scare you?” “Maybe.”

We kept on talking for an hour or so after the moment. It seemed like everything was fine, but then, from Britney’s side, I heard a deep and slow breath, it was obviously not Britney’s, but before I could say anything, the call disconnected.

I tried calling her cell, but I got the message saying, “the number you have called does not exist, recheck it and call again.” I was astounded, since I’ve called that number thousands of times, I had it saved, but I could dial it from my memory. I tried to write her a message, but just as I open the messages, I see something weird, all our messages have been deleted. It doesn’t even show that we’d ever have written anything.

Panic had taken over me by this point. I didn’t know what to do, who to ask for help. I thought of calling the police, but I didn’t really know anything. So, I decided to go and ask my parents for help.

My dad had just come back from work, he works late hours, so on days he' works, I tend to not even see him, but because of that, he tends to work 3 or 4 days a week, so we get to spend whole days together rest of the day. My mom, she used to be a teacher at my school, but when I was born, she turned more into a stay-at-home mom.

As I jumped down the stairs to rush into the kitchen, where my dad was eating, and mom was giving him some company, I unintentionally shouted “MOM, I need to get to Britney’s!” And this is the moment when my whole world started to make no sense, cause as I said so, my mom looked at me and spoke. “who’s Britney?” My whole world tumbled down… My mother knew Britney, and she wouldn’t make a joke like that… I told her, “Britney, my best friend since kindergarten.” She just sat there with puzzled look on her face. I gave up on them. I ran back up, changed into warmer clothes, and climbed out of the window. I jumped on my bike and rode off “Just wait Britney, Carol is coming.”

I rode my bike as fast as I could, I knew that it would take at least an hour to get to her with the bike, but luckily, we had found a shortcut. It wasn’t much of a shortcut, but it did save 20 minutes, but it was quite a difficult road.

I rode through the shortcut that led through the forest. Branches and bushes hitting me in my face, legs or scratching my arms. With all that, I somehow didn’t feel the pain or at least it wasn’t as painful as it should’ve been, my thoughts were focused on Brittney and why my mother didn’t remember her.

Since it was dark as hell outside, I mostly rode on luck and my memory of the road. Apparently, I had forgotten about a turn, since after riding for 20 minutes I found myself crashed down in a ditch by the road. As I gathered myself together and pulled the bike out of the ditch, I glimpse into the dark and silent forest, I could see nothing except 2 bright lights that seemed to be looking at me, but I tried not to pay too much attention and just wrote it down as my brain playing tricks on me, so I got on my bike and moved on.

The fall had made me forget where I was on the road, I turned off my phone flashlight and rode much slower along the road, trying not to miss a turn again. It took me 20 more minutes to get through the forest. I reached Britney’s house and knocked on the door. Her mother opened the door “and what is it you’re doing here little one? Are you lost?”

I was shocked by Britney’s mothers’ reaction towards me. I had met her almost every day, and yet she acts like she’s never met me before. The shock and the tiredness of the ride made me take a few deep breaths before I could answer. “I was just talking to your daughter Britney, and I thought I heard something weird, and she disconnected, so I just wanted to come by and check on her.” She looked puzzled. “Oh sweety, I think you have the wrong house. We only have out 7-year-old son chuck living with us.” Completely lost and shocked by the answer, I couldn’t manage to argue or say anything else. All I could manage out was “Oh, Okay. I’m sorry mam, good evening to you then.” I said as I turned around and left.

I walked out of their garden and sat down on the street curve. “Britney, what happened?” I remembered I had pictures of her on my phone, but as I opened them, she was blurred in every single one. It seemed like someone had gone over her with an eraser trying to remove a pencil drawing. It struck me at this point. “Nobody can remember her, no, she hasn’t existed for anyone else.” As I sat there, tears filling up in my eyes, I had given up on finding Britney, at least for today. Just as I was about to call my parents, I got a message… It was from Britney, it read “Help me Carol, I don’t know where I am, and I’m scared.”

I called my parents and asked them to come get me. “As they came to me, they were mad at me for running out, but leased that I was unharmed, except for few scratches here and there.” We got home, I got a scolding from them, and I went up to my room. I opened my laptop to listen to some music to get my head in order so I could sleep and go back to all of this tomorrow. After listening to music and watching some videos, I went to take a shower, laid down in my bed and went to sleep.

It was the middle of the night, I opened my eyes, but I for some reason I couldn’t move my body. I look around to see what is going on, and that’s when I noticed him. He was a large dark man, not the skin colour, he was just hidden in the darkness. No matter how he turned, I could never see his face. Step by step, he came closer with a bright, white and teethy grin across his face. “Well hello Carol. How are you after your crash?” at first, I didn’t know what he’s talking about, but then I remembered the 2 flashes in the forest…. He was there. “Who… who are you?” “Oh… who… I’ve gone by many names throughout the years, but the one I like the most is ‘Baba jaga’. I’m but a simple creature of the dark.” He came up to my bed and bent so low his face almost reached mine. “A better question would be, who are you?”

I had no idea what he was talking about, I was a nobody, just a girl from a suburban town. “I’m nobody.” The creature gave a deep and horrifying laugh. “You think I’d believe that? You broke the laws of this world and ours, a nobody, wouldn’t have the power to do so.”

I was left dumbfounded since I had no idea what he was talking about. What rules, what have I broken? The creature seemed to understand that I was oblivious of the situation. “Let me explain it to you. I come from a place called the shadow world. It’s a nasty place, but it’s home. Because our place exists outside of your understanding, it also exists out of your time.” None of this really made it through to me, but I tried not to show it. “So, this whole concept helps us do 1 thing, take you humans without anyone noticing. Every time we would take someone, you would forget about that person, that person’s whole existence is removed when they leave and yet…” he turned back to me and got close enough I could smell the stench of rot coming from his mouth. “Somehow, you remember, so who are you I wonder…”

Tears had filled my eyes by this time, the shock of this thing had calmed down and the fear alone remained. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, I just want my friend back.” The thing backed off and walked around. “Well, this is peculiar… I was told to come over here and kill you too…” the hair across my whole body stood still as my body got covered in goosebumps. “Oh no worries child, I don’t think that I will, I might have a better idea. How about we make a deal?”

He’s proposition made me snap out of the fear as I looked at him just standing there waiting for me to react. “You see, I want to see what makes you different, what made you break the rules, so I wish to… let’s say observe you. What do you say?” My mind didn’t want to work upon his suggestion. Cause the only thing that came to my head was either I die now, or I die later. I was figuring out that I’d just let it end now and save myself. Just as I was about to say something, “oh and of course there’s something in it for you too.” He reached out his hand, it disappeared into nothingness for a few seconds. When he pulled it back out, I couldn’t believe my eyes, it was Britney, she was unconscious, but she was alive. “See, if you agree, I can guarantee you that she will live, you… I don’t know yet.”

My mind was trying to understand what was happening. But the only thing in my mind that kept repeating was my grandmas’ old words. “A deal with the devil is never a fair one.” I was prepared to deny his deal, but as I opened my mouth, all I could say was. “I agree.”