Chapter 1
The 2:00A.M CALL
At exactly 2:00 a.m., my phone rang.
The sound cut through the silence of my room so suddenly that I nearly jumped out of bed.
I stared at the phone beside me.
Unknown Number.
For several seconds, I didn't move.
My room was dark except for the faint light coming through the curtains from the street outside. Everyone else in the house was asleep. At least, I thought they were.
The phone kept ringing.
I pulled the blanket closer to my chest and watched the screen.
One ring.
Two.
Three.
I knew I shouldn't answer.
Something inside me kept saying, Don't.
But another part of me was curious.
Who would call someone at exactly 2:00 in the morning?
And why from an unknown number?
The phone stopped ringing.
I breathed out slowly.
Then it rang again.
This time, I reached for it.
My fingers were trembling.
I stared at the number one more time before pressing the answer button.
“Hello?”
Nothing.
I sat up.
“Hello?”
Still nothing.
There was only silence on the other end.
I was about to hang up when I heard breathing.
Slow.
Quiet.
Almost like the person was trying not to be heard.
My heart began beating faster.
“Who is this?”
For a few seconds, there was no response.
Then a voice whispered.
“Don't trust anybody.”
I froze.
The voice sounded unfamiliar.
It was low and almost emotionless, but there was something about it that made the hairs on my arms stand.
“What?”
The line went silent again.
“Who are you?” I asked.
No answer.
“Why are you calling me?”
Nothing.
I looked at the phone screen.
The call was still connected.
Then the voice returned.
“Don't trust anybody.”
This time, I could barely hear it.
“Wait—”
The call ended.
I stared at the screen.
My hands had started shaking.
I immediately tried calling the number back.
It didn't connect.
I tried again.
Nothing.
I checked my network.
It was fine.
I tried a third time.
The call ended before it even started.
“That's weird,” I whispered.
I put the phone down.
For some reason, I suddenly felt as though someone was watching me.
I looked toward the window.
Nothing.
I looked at my bedroom door.
It was closed.
I pulled my blanket around myself and tried to convince myself that I was being silly.
Maybe it was a prank.
Maybe someone had dialed the wrong number.
Maybe the person had simply wanted to scare me.
But there was something I couldn't explain.
The caller had known my number.
And whoever it was had specifically chosen 2:00 a.m.
I picked up my phone again and looked at the time.
2:04 a.m.
I swallowed.
I had always loved horror movies.
I used to laugh whenever my friends became scared while watching them. I would tell them that nothing on a screen could hurt them.
But lying alone in my dark room at 2:04 a.m., I wasn't laughing anymore.
I was scared.
I turned on my bedside lamp.
The sudden light made me feel a little better.
I reached for my bottle of water and took a sip.
Then I heard something.
A sound from outside my room.
I stopped drinking.
There it was again.
Footsteps.
Slow footsteps.
I stared at the door.
Someone was walking down the hallway.
I held my breath.
The footsteps came closer.
One step.
Then another.
Then another.
My heart pounded so hard that I could hear it in my ears.
I wanted to call my brother.
I wanted to call my mother.
I wanted to scream.
But I couldn't move.
The footsteps stopped directly outside my door.
I stared at the doorknob.
It moved slightly.
I almost screamed.
Then the door opened.
“Aunty?”
My shoulders dropped.
It was my aunt.
She stood in the doorway wearing a long nightdress, her hair loosely tied behind her head.
“What are you doing awake?” she asked.
I couldn't answer immediately.
She looked at me carefully.
“Are you okay?”
I nodded.
“Yes.”
She walked into the room and closed the door behind her.
“You look frightened.”
“I had a bad dream,” I said quickly.
It was a lie.
She looked at me for a moment.
I expected her to ask more questions.
Instead, she simply nodded.
“It's okay. It was only a dream.”
She walked toward my bed and sat beside me.
I looked at her.
My aunt had always been kind to me and my brothers.
She was the person who would bring us food when we were hungry, scold us when we misbehaved, and laugh with us when something funny happened.
She was family.
Someone I trusted.
So why did the voice suddenly come back into my head?
Don't trust anybody.
I shook the thought away.
It was ridiculous.
My aunt noticed my expression.
“What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“You're sure?”
“Yes.”
She smiled.
Then she looked at my phone.
“Were you talking to someone?”
My stomach tightened.
“No.”
She looked at me again.
For just a second, something changed in her expression.
It was so quick that I almost thought I imagined it.
Then she smiled again.
“Okay.”
She stood up.
“I'll stay with you for a little while.”
I nodded.
She sat back down.
Neither of us spoke for a few seconds.
The silence felt strange.
Then my aunt suddenly said,
“You shouldn't have answered that call.”
Everything inside me stopped.
I slowly turned toward her.
“What did you say?”
She looked at me.
“You shouldn't have answered the call.”
I couldn't breathe.
“How did you know about the call?”
Her face became completely still.
I waited for an answer.
She didn't give me one.
“Aunty?”
She looked away.
“I just know.”
My heart began pounding again.
“How?”
She stood up.
“Go back to sleep.”
“No.”
She stopped.
“You need to tell me how you knew.”
She turned around slowly.
For the first time that night, I saw something in her eyes that I had never seen before.
Fear.
Not anger.
Not confusion.
Fear.
She walked toward the door.
“Aunty, wait.”
She placed her hand on the doorknob.
Then she looked back at me.
“Whatever happens tonight,” she said quietly, “don't tell your brothers about the call.”
I stared at her.
“Why?”
She didn't answer.
She opened the door.
“Aunty?”
She stepped into the hallway.
Then she stopped.
Without turning around, she said,
“And if the phone rings again…”
My throat felt dry.
“What should I do?”
There was a long silence.
Then she whispered,
“Don't answer it.”
She walked away.
I remained sitting on my bed, staring at the open doorway.
For the first time, I wasn't wondering who had called me.
I was wondering something much worse.
How did my aunt know?
I reached for my phone.
The screen was dark.
No missed calls.
No messages.
Nothing.
I was about to put it down when the screen suddenly lit up.
A new message.
From the same unknown number.
My hands went cold.
I opened it.
There were only five words.
SHE KNOWS YOU ANSWERED.
I stared at the message.
Then another message appeared.
DON'T TRUST HER.
I looked toward the hallway.
My aunt was gone.
But before I could move, my phone began ringing again.
2:00 A.M.
The screen showed the same unknown number.
I stared at it.
The phone continued ringing.
And this time, I knew one thing for certain.
The first call had not been a warning.
It had been the beginning.
