The room was quiet.
Besides the soft breath that whispered into my ear, I couldn’t hear or see a single thing.
The breath dulled my senses, yet somehow made them sharper, as if I were standing inches from someone I couldn’t see but could feel. The weight of the presence pressing against the dark.
I felt the pounding of my own heart, ringing inside my ears.
The call stretched every nerve in my body to its limit, like invisible threads pulling tight across my skin.
I sat frozen in my seat, thoughts emptied, letting the breath speak and the silence swallow everything else.
The silence felt as though it stretched on forever.
And just as my nerves pulled taut like an elastic band stretched to its limits, ready to snap…
—Hello…?
The breath turned into something else.
A voice.
Male? Female? I couldn’t quite tell. I could hardly focus on the voice. I wanted to reply, but held myself back.
’No, not yet. I need to understand the situation better.’
—Is anybody there?
The voice whispered again.
I chose to remain silent.
But…
—…I need your help. I… just barely managed to get the phone working. I can only call three times for a minute each time. Please help me.
The voice whispered. This time, it felt more desperate.
—I don’t know where I am. Concrete walls… I’m underground. I think. I hear water, but… it doesn’t drip right. It echoes too long.
There was a pause, filled by a noise I couldn’t place… Like meat dragging across tile. The voice swallowed hard.
—I hear something moving. I’m crouching under a shelf… I hope it doesn’t hear me.
The call paused.
All I could hear was the heavy sound of the caller’s breath.
It was rougher than it was before, and the darkness around me suddenly seemed to stretch. In that moment, it almost felt as though my surroundings had changed.
As if…
I was actually there.
—…It smells like copper.
My nose wrinkled instinctively.
It was faint at first, but then… Yes.
I smelled it too.
I… also started to smell the copper.
—….Like blood left too long in the air. I need your help. G-et me out of this place. I really need you to help me!
I opened my mouth.
But just before I could get the words out.
CLANK!
A loud metallic sound echoed.
“….!?”
I flinched.
It seemed to come from before me as my head flicked up.
But all I saw was darkness.
My body tensed, and I slowly reached for the knife on the table.
—O-oh god. I… something is in front of me. I can feel it. Please don’t find me. Please…
The voice became more hurried. I could hear the panic in the caller’s voice.
But then…
—….
The noise ceased.
Thump!
The single sound of a step.
Not from the phone, but from before me.
I shivered.
’Footsteps? Is there someone in front of me? …No, that can’t be. It must be from the call.’
My heartbeat, which I had managed to settle just before starting, started to race, and my body tensed involuntarily.
The darkness was dense. Thick enough to swallow even the outline of my own hands. I gripped the knife tighter, my knuckles aching, and instinctively began to crouch.
The space around me felt like it was shrinking, walls bending inward, pressing me down. I slid under my own desk.
My breathing slowed, falling into rhythm with the caller’s.
It was shallow, quiet, barely there.
I forced myself to stay as silent as possible.
’…I’m not imagining things. It’s really in front of me. I know there’s something in front of me.’
The darkness made it impossible for me to see, but I could feel its presence. It stood right before me. Looking in my general direction.
I clenched my teeth, feeling my stomach starting to churn.
’How long is this call going to last? What am I even supposed to do?’
I felt an endless number of questions in my mind, but I could only throw the questions away for later.
I held my position, breath steady, every muscle tense, waiting for the presence before me to vanish.
…Or at least, for something to happen.
Every second felt agonizing.
But then—
BANG!
I heard the sound of something slamming above me.
“….!?”
It suddenly felt as though my heart had given up on me. Whatever figure was above me, it had sensed me!
My breathing continued to sync with the one on the phone as I could hear the panic and fear on the other end.
I was no different.
Holding onto the phone tightly, I held onto the knife with my other hand and pressed my back against the bottom of my desk.
BANG! BANG!
The banging continued.
It was louder than before.
Pieces started to fall on my face as I closed my eyes and tried my best to ignore it.
BANG!
I heard a crack, and the table shattered.
My expression changed drastically. I felt a shadow appear above me, hovering its head over the hole above to stare at me.
Unable to bear the pressure any longer, my body tensed and snapped into action. I lunged forward, knife aimed blindly at the shifting shadow.
“Ha—!”
But just as I moved, the call cut off.
The line went dead.
Du. Du.
Everything turned quiet as I paused mid-motion.
Flick!
The light turned on, and I found myself sitting in my chair, hands clutched against the armrest, while the phone was positioned perfectly in front of me.
“I…”
I blinked a couple of times, unable to understand the situation.
’I could’ve sworn I had moved under the desk. I could’ve sworn that…! No, stop.’
The first thing I needed to do was calm my mind as I took several deep breaths before leaning against the chair. My back was drenched in sweat while my hand continued to tremble.
Staring at the phone in front of me, the only thing that I was able to see was the [Unknown Caller] ID.
It was the only thing that was on the phone.
I thought back to the previous conversation that we had, and pressed my lips tightly.
I couldn’t focus then, but I could do so now.
’…He said that he can call only three times, for one-minute intervals each.’
I looked at the time.
One minute exactly had passed.
’This was the first call. He’s most likely going to call again since he has two tries.’
I closed my eyes and focused.
’…The goal is to help them get out of the place they’re in. They’ve already given me a few clues. Underground… Concrete walls. Hears water that doesn’t drip…’
I thought long and deeply before a sudden thought came to my mind, and my breath paused.
’If I’m right, they’re probably hiding deep within the cult’s base, the very place I’m supposed to uncover. The mission isn’t just about listening; it’s about using these calls to piece together clues, to track him down, and ultimately locate their headquarters.’
I bit my lips while staring at the phone in front of me.
The more I looked at it, the more I was sure of my assumption.
And as the idea settled in my mind, an unknown feeling settled over me.
…One that I couldn’t quite explain.