The cold air bit at my cheeks as I walked up Billy's driveway, my breath misting in front of me. It was a quiet, gray afternoon—one of those days where the sky looked heavy, as if it could collapse at any second. I knocked on the door twice before Billy flung it open, grinning.
"Took you long enough," he said, stepping aside to let me in.
"Some of us don't live five steps away," I shot back, shaking off my coat. Billy laughed and disappeared into the living room, already glued to his phone.
Billy's house always smelled faintly of popcorn and cinnamon, a weirdly comforting combination. I settled into the couch next to him and pulled out my phone. We'd planned a lazy afternoon of scrolling, swapping memes, and playing a new game that everyone was hyped about. Nothing weird. Nothing haunted.
At first.
It was maybe an hour in when I noticed it. My phone screen flickered—just for a second. I frowned, thinking it was nothing, and tapped it again. The home screen loaded fine. Then, without me touching it, the screen lit up on its own.
HELLO.
The word appeared in white text on a pitch-black background.
I froze. "Billy—"
"What?" He didn't look up.
"Look at this." I turned the phone to show him, but as soon as he glanced over, the screen went back to normal.
Billy shrugged, smirking. "Wow. Your phone says hi. Very spooky."
I frowned, feeling uneasy. "It's not funny. I didn't do that."
"Maybe it's a glitch," he said, typing away at something on his own phone. "These updates mess things up all the time."
I wanted to believe that. I really did. But a chill had settled into my chest, and I couldn't shake it. I stared at my phone, willing it to act normal, but five minutes later, it happened again. This time, there was more.
HELLO. CAN YOU HEAR ME?
A shiver ran down my spine.
I whispered, "Billy…"
He glanced over, about to tease me again, but the look on my face must have stopped him. "What?"
"It's happening again."
Billy put his phone down and leaned over to look at mine. The screen was black, the words glowing faintly like something out of an old horror movie. We stared at it together, neither of us saying a word.
Then, the phone spoke.
It wasn't a voice like Siri or Alexa. It was warped, hollow, and distant, like someone speaking underwater.
"Can… you… hear… me…"
I dropped the phone, my heart pounding. It landed face-up on the carpet, still glowing, still waiting.
Billy jumped back. "What the hell? Did you download something weird?"
"No! I didn't do anything!" I grabbed the phone, my hands shaking. The screen flickered again and went back to normal, showing the game we'd been playing earlier.
For a few minutes, we just sat there, staring at each other.
Billy was the first to speak. "It's gotta be a virus or something. Maybe you downloaded a bad app?"
"I don't think so," I muttered, scrolling through my apps to make sure. Everything looked fine. My phone wasn't even acting laggy like it usually did with bugs.
Billy rolled his eyes, trying to lighten the mood. "Or maybe your phone's haunted. You gonna call the Ghostbusters?"
"Shut up, Billy."
But the joke didn't land. Not with me, and not with whatever was watching us through that screen.
The rest of the day passed in uneasy silence. We tried to keep playing our game, tried to pretend nothing happened, but every time my phone lit up—even for a notification—I flinched. Billy noticed.
"You're being paranoid," he said as I put on my coat to leave.
"Maybe," I muttered. "But this doesn't feel right."
---
By the time I left Billy's house, the sun had set, and the streetlights buzzed faintly in the evening dark. My phone stayed silent the entire walk home, but I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched.
When I got to my room, I tossed the phone onto my desk like it might bite me and collapsed onto my bed, staring at the ceiling. It had to be a glitch. That's what I told myself, over and over, until I almost believed it.
Then the phone buzzed.
I sat up, staring at it from across the room. Slowly, I stood and picked it up. A single notification glowed on the screen.
DO NOT IGNORE ME.
My pulse quickened. The screen flashed again, and a distorted voice echoed from the speaker.
"Please… I need your help…"
I swallowed hard. "Who are you?" I whispered.
The voice paused, as if thinking. Then it answered.
"I am trapped…"
"Trapped where?"
A new message appeared, clearer this time.
THE PARK.
I felt a chill go through me. "What park?"
No answer. I waited, staring at the screen, but nothing happened. Finally, I set the phone down and took a deep breath. I was being stupid. Talking to a phone like it was some kind of ghost? Billy was right—it had to be a virus, a prank, something stupid.
But as I lay down and pulled the covers up, I couldn't stop thinking about the words. About the voice.
THE PARK.
What park? And who—or what—needed help?
I didn't sleep much that night.
---
End of Chapter One