The Phone Call

Brrr-ring

The sound caught my attention. It wasn’t my cell’s ringtone, and I still had my landline device packed away. Besides, I hadn’t turned on the service yet. The telephone company said they’d be out here next Monday to install everything.

Brrr-ring

The room was small. Whatever was making that noise couldn’t have been hidden too well. The space had been empty when I brought my boxes inside.

Brr-ring

I walked toward the far corner, where the sound seemed to be coming from. I found nothing when I moved a couple of boxes. I stood there looking around and scratching my head.

Brr-ring Brr-ring

Its tone was becoming more insistent. I went to the kitchenette and began searching the empty cabinets. As were all the places you could hide anything in the bathroom. I was beginning to wonder if I was losing my mind. 

Brr-ring Brr-ring

Back in the living area, I stand looking around. Where could it be? There aren't many places to stash a phone in a New York apartment.

Brr-rinng Brr-rring

More insistent and louder, this time I could tell it was coming from the area by the radiator. With trepidation, I walked over to inspect. At first, I couldn’t see anything, but then I noticed a bright yellow cord poking from under the radiator. Curious, I bent down and picked up the object attached to it.

Brr-rringg Brrr-riingg

The little yellow rotary in my hands rang urgently, almost making me jump and drop it. There was no way it should be ringing. It was the size of a child’s toy and was not plugged into the wall. I turned it over, looking for a place to insert batteries, but there was none.

Brr-rrinngg Brrinng BRR-RRIINGG

I stood staring at the tiny phone for a moment, unsure what to do. Finally, I lifted the receiver and put it to my ear. At first I didn’t hear anything, then suddenly, a burst of static almost ruptured my eardrum. As I pulled the tiny headset away, I could swear I heard a voice coming from the speaker. I stood holding the phone in both hands, staring at it wide-eyed.

Hello? Hello? Can anyone hear me?

I put the handset back to my ear with a shaky hand. Surely I was hearing things. I held my breath.

Shawn, is this you? Please, I’ve been looking all over for you.

Was that…. No, it couldn’t be. There was just no way. I was overtired and overworked, so I was imagining things. That was the answer; it had to be. With a laugh, I started to put the toy down.

Why won’t you answer me, Shawn? Tell me, do you remember Sutton’s Place?

With a gasp, I froze. My fingers went numb, and I dropped the child’s toy. I put my fingers to my mouth and began to mumble no repeatedly. It’d been years since I’d heard about Sutton’s Place, let alone thought anything about it.

Sutton’s Place was a park in my hometown back in the early 2000s. Back before the flood came along and submerged half the town. As kids, we played there every day until the flood destroyed the park.

Now living in New York, I knew no one who had played in that park. Not one person could remember that park. Yet a new trick recording mentioned it in my new apartment. This all had to be a prank.

Brr-rring Brr-rring Brr-rring

The small yellow telephone began ringing like crazy. With each ring, the phone vibrated across the floor, inching closer to me. With each inch, I backed further into the room until I bumped the coffee table full of moving boxes so hard that I tumbled over and hit my head on the edge on the way down. The toy vibrated into my knee, and I jumped straight up, screaming about pissing myself.

Brrrrr-rrring

The phone came off the hook, leaving the handset lying upright. I stared at it in horror, a foreboding building deep within me. I swore I heard the voice coming from the earpiece again. At first, it came really faintly.

Shawn

Shawn

Shawn, do you remember?

Irrationally, I kicked out, connecting with the toy. I struck it so hard it hit the far wall and bounced back into the center of the room. A piece came off the headset, exposing the empty interior. The familiar voice was still speaking through the busted piece. In gaped-mouthed confusion, I stared at the phone.

Shawn, you have to remember it was your idea.

You know that last day in Sutton’s Place? The fun we had before the first of the water came.

Trembling, I reached towards the little yellow toy; I don’t know what I intended to do because my hand froze halfway. My eyes blurred. I could feel a seizure coming on. It’d been years since I had one, but I recognized the familiar lightheadedness and the sudden headache. I gritted my teeth. 

No, this couldn’t be happening. Not today. My pills were packed away in one of the boxes in the bedroom. They were probably outdated, to boot, since I’d stopped taking them three years ago. I’d seen no sense in taking pills when cannabis oil controlled them. Shit, I just got my license back.

Aggravated, I kicked the toy into the wall. It bounced off and hit the floor. I stared at the broken yellow phone for a few moments, then I went to get the broom to clean the mess. I’d walked only ten steps when it started ringing again.

Brrr-rring Brrr-rringg Brrr-rriiing

What the fuck was going on here? Was I going crazy? In a daze, I walked over to the pieces lying on the floor. I bent down, picked up the broken receiver, and held the toy to my ear. In dread, I waited for the familiar voice to speak again.

I know you remember that day. How the sun was shining, and we were running around, climbing on the jungle gym. We were best friends and had such a fun day at the park. Do you remember?

I slid to the floor, unaware that I was still holding the broken phone’s receiver to my ear. Tears streamed from my eyes. Why was this happening to me? Why was this happening at all? I must be having some sort of mental break.

I began to shiver uncontrollably. My chest hitched as my breath burned in my throat. My eyes blurred with tears as the next words came through the play phone’s speaker.

Julia and Louis had joined us that day. We were all playing tag. We were having a blast, for once having the whole playground to ourselves. Then she appeared. Madeline….

My shivering increased. Tears ran down my cheeks in rivulets. My whole body was beginning to burn while my breath came in huge, painful gasps.

Madeline. A name I’d not thought about in years. I’d completely blocked her from my memories because of the pain she brought with them. Now, all that damn had burst; all those memories came flooding back. Madeline.

Madeline with the fine, curly hair and wide, green eyes. Maddie with delicate features and a small, elf-like stature. The new girl in fifth grade.

Madeline. When she arrived, all the boys fell in love immediately. All the girls wanted to become her best friend. All except Jody. 

Jody, who wasn’t as trusting and didn’t fall for anyone. Jody, who was shy and had been in the school since preschool. Jody, who had been in all our classmates' houses and knew each of our parents by first name.

Do you remember the flood that day, Shawn? How it flowed down from the hills, rushing and covering everything in minutes? Do you remember Ms. Lansing hollering at us to ‘git on home’ while we were playing at the park? I’m sure you made it home in time. Did you ever think once about me?

The crushing weight of each word was bearing me to the floor. Banging my head, I cracked it on the baseboards. This just couldn’t be happening. That last day played back like a movie behind my eyes.

Jody and I went to Sutton’s Place to meet up with Julia and Louis. We noticed that it was abandoned that day; no other kids were playing there, but honestly, we didn’t think much of it. School had been canceled because of all the rain lately, but we were young; we didn’t see any danger. We played tag for a good thirty minutes, running around in the park, before we saw her sitting on top of the play fort. Madeline sat, with her tiny hand covering her dainty mouth, and giggled at us.

Madeline. We’d never seen her outside of school. We got excited and ran to the play fort to join her. Jody hung back reluctantly. When we invited Maddie to join our play, Jody didn’t seem too pleased, but she stayed. My best friend Jody stayed to play, even though Madeline made her uncomfortable. I didn’t think twice about my bff staying; I expected it.

Petite. Golden. New. Madeline was an enigma to us. A mystery that Julia, Louis, and I wanted to solve, hoping to find what was hidden. To us, she represented Aphrodite’s beauty. 

Jody. I’d known her since I was two. She was my best friend. We did homework together because we lived across the street from each other. Gawky, gentle giant Jody. Jody, who was showing jealousy for the first time. Jody, who refused to warm up to Maddie.

Near noon, Madeline suggested it. I’m surprised she didn’t have to plead harder to get us to play along. She wanted to tie Jody up inside the fort, on the center-most rail, and pretend she was kidnapped. We, of course, were the kidnappers.
We excitedly chased Jody down and dragged her into the play fort. Having nothing else, we used shoestrings and our belts to tie her up, cinching everything as tight as we could on Maddie’s orders. She wanted it as realistic as possible. Jody was struggling and screaming for us to let her go. By the time the last knot was tied, streams of snot were mixing with the tears on Jody’s face as she cried for us to release her.

None of us listened to our long-time friend. It was as if a spirit of frenzy had entered us, and we began to torture her. We poked Jody with sticks, hit her with rocks, and I’m ashamed that I sliced her arms with my Case pocket knife Daddy bought me the year before for Christmas.

Suddenly, Maddie shoved her dirty socks in Jody’s mouth, telling us she was tired of hearing her, and tied a bandana around her head to hold the socks in. I began to move towards Jody. Maybe to stop Madeline; I’m not sure. Instead, Maddie smiled, took my arm, and led us from inside the fort into the play yard, saying it was time to go collect the ransom. 

Running out of the fort, we played around amongst the playground equipment. We were having so much fun that we didn't notice the first raindrops. We didn't notice the lightning until Ms. Lansing walked across the street and told us to go home. By then we were wet.

Brr-riingg Bbr-rinngg

I looked down at the phone in my hands. The salty taste of tears was on my lips. Suddenly, I shook my head and stood. I crossed the short distance to the window above the alley and opened it. I threw the remains of the toy phone out the window. Feeling a hint of relief with an underlying sense of foreboding, I moved back to the center of the apartment, clutching my shoulders.

Walking to the kitchenette, I grabbed a beer from the fridge and went and sat on the sofa. I didn’t notice that I was rubbing an old scar on the top of my head as I sat there lost in thought. I almost didn’t hear the pinging at first. Finally, the noise broke through my thoughts, and I was surprised to hear my doorbell ringing.

Curious, I rose and walked to the intercom to answer. I pressed the switch and asked who was there. At first, all I heard was heavy breathing. Then the sounds of someone flailing and gurgling began to creep their way in. 

Sh-arg-n! Sh-arggg-nn!!!

The screaming of my name caused me to jump back from the intercom, clutching my chest. A warm trickle went down my leg. I knew I wasn’t ready for what would come next. I wanted to cover my ears, but my arms were like lead weights I couldn’t lift. Subconsciously, I barely registered the sound of a shower starting somewhere nearby; I assumed it was in the apartment next door.

I closed my eyes. I clenched my fists at my sides. I sensed my time was coming to an end.

We went home that day, each to our own houses. The storm hit with a vengeance, and floodwaters were rising fast in low-lying zones. The newscaster said the dam might not hold, and many would want to begin to evacuate. Dad said we’d be okay on our hill (and looking back, he was right; he almost always was.)

At dinner that night, the phone rang, and Mom got up to answer it. Turning towards me, she held out the phone. I didn’t think much about anything as I jumped up, took the phone, and said hello. Figuring it’d be one of my friends on the other end, I said hello. I was surprised to hear Mrs. Johannson, Jody’s mom, instead.

She was frantic in her worry for Jody. She said Jody hadn’t made it home yet and asked when I’d last seen her. In her fear, she uttered each word as if it were a bullet from a gun. 

I told her I hadn’t seen Jody since we left the park, then hung up. Immediately, I felt guilty.  I sat back down at the dinner table, but I just pushed food around on my plate. I wasn’t in the mood for Mom’s famous shepherd’s pie any longer. Dad, watching me, finally told me I was excused.

I headed straight for my room. I had some calls to make. First I called Louis, then I added Julia and connected us in a three-way call. I asked both if either had gone to untie Jody, hoping Jody had gone home with one of them. Both said they told Mrs. Johannson the same thing: they hadn’t seen her since the park. None of us had told her we had left Jody tied up inside the play fort. I could hear the shame in their voices as we said our goodbyes and hung up.

I went to bed at my regular time that night, and the rain still hadn’t stopped. If anything, it was coming down harder, and the wind howled like it never had before. I tossed and turned most of the night, conflicted between my worry about Jody and my shame at what we had done to her. Towards the wee hours of the morning, I finally fell into a fitful sleep, only to be startled awake by a loud roaring boom.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

I almost jumped out of my skin. It was at my apartment door. I started to rise to answer the knock, but then I realized I was in thigh-deep water, and it was rising fast. I could hear water overflowing the sinks. I shivered.

Shawn! Did you hear the dam break? Did you feel it when it shattered? Were you aware of how fast the lower levels flooded? Did you even care that you had left me inside that fort, Shawn?

I began to back away from the door, my head shaking while I mumbled no, repeatedly. There was no way this could be happening. We had taken an oath not to mention Jody again, who could be at my door trying to expose me now. 

I realized the water was now waist-high. I felt things bumping into my legs. I assumed it was stuff from my moving boxes. 

What felt like a hand caressed my ankle. 

I hoped it was stuff from my moving boxes. 

The water was near my chest and rising even more rapidly. I began to tread water. I felt a current from somewhere. Larger things began floating past and bumping into me.

What felt like a child’s hand took my arm and tried to pull me down.

I prayed I just bumped into some of my stuff caught in a mystery current.

I fought the pull as hard as I could, but it had inhuman strength. A child’s hand ran its small digits up my spine and wrapped around the back of my neck.  I heard a gargled susurration in my ear.

Shawn, did you even think about me once in all these years? Have you considered my parents at all? Do you know what y’all did, Shawn? You destroyed not just my life, but you crushed my family’s. You were my best friend, and you dropped me for a crush. What kind of friend does that?

Do you know what it felt like, tied to that post, Shawn? The floodwaters were rising, and I couldn’t get out. I cried for you to come back. I was sure you would. After all, you were my best friend. By the time the water was up to my chest, I was out of tears, and my throat hurt from screaming. In futility, I called out even though I knew help wouldn’t come.

I noticed the ceiling was lower than before. The apartment’s lights were shorting out. I’d been treading water for what seemed like hours, fighting the growing current, and I was beginning to tire. The child managed to pull me under, filling my mouth and ears with water. Through it all, I could hear Jody’s voice droning on. 

With my last breath, I felt what Jody felt.