Unmasking the Insanity *RANDOM CHAPTER*

PHONE CALL

The sound of his phone ringing cut through the silence like thunder ripping through a night sky. Ben glanced down at it and picked up the call from the unknown number.

   ‘Hello?’ Ben answered.

   Ben listened, with a puzzled look on his face. There was nothing but complete silence on the other end of the line.

   ‘Hello?’ he repeated, ‘Who is this?’ he asked, pressing the receiver closer to his ear.

   ‘Is this Ben, boyfriend of Zara?’ The raspy voice on the other end was male, his tone calm.

    Ben cleared his throat, ‘Yes, this is Ben. Who’s this?’ he said, trying his damnedest not to show any sign of nerves.

    There was an amused chuckle down then phone and then the caller breathed out. 

   ‘Who am I?’ he repeated derisively, ‘Well, I guess that’s a matter of opinion on what you believe and who you listen to. But, if you haven’t guessed already, then you really do lack even more intelligence than I first thought.’

   Ben frowned.

   ‘I do have a name though,’ the caller continued, ‘According to whispers and tales throughout the city. I am the Tall Man who walks the warehouse grounds. And I’m also a man who should be greatly feared by all those who have sinned, and who spread their plague across the land.’

   An uneasy pause followed his words.

   Ben began to pace, ‘F**k you,’ he said with a nonchalant tone. ‘Tall Man my a*s. Why don’t you cut the s**t and tell me who you are.’ 

   The line stayed quiet.

  ‘Still not a believer, I see. Then why don’t you take a look at the image which I have just sent to your inbox. Please…do take your time and let me know what you think.’

   Ben looked at his phone saw no new messages or calls.

   ‘At what point did I say I had sent it to your mobile,’ them caller chuckled, ‘Why don’t you try looking at the laptop instead.’

   ‘Wait a minute,’ Ben said, forcing his brain to work. ‘How did you know I was looking at my phone?’

   The man chuckled.

   ‘You really want to know?’ the caller replied with a sardonic twist.

   ‘Yes I really want to know,’ Ben dared to talk baldly, ‘Now tell me how you knew.’

   Only silence answered, and the sound of heavy breathing tortured Ben as the caller paused for words.

   The anticipation for an answer was a nervous kind of energy. A tingling sensation began seeping through Ben’s blood like a form of electrical energy. He curled his fingers around the phone as the caller spoke once again.

   ‘The answer to your question is really quite simple…’

   ‘Oh yeah and what’s that?’ Ben anxiously replied.

   ‘Because,’ the caller said in a whispered but confident tone, ‘I’m looking right at you.’

   Ben’s eyes and mouth froze, wide open.

   ‘Bullshit,’ he replied, rather startled.

   The caller on the other end started to chuckle.

   Ben frowned with apprehension, swung his body round, and looked outside the curtains. His eyes glanced around sharply, surveying the neighbourhood with hawk-like eyes. There were no suspicious vehicles, strangers lurking in the shadows or behind cars; nothing looked out of place.

   The caller’s chuckle now took on a humourless, viscous sound and seemed to dominate the room.

   He closed the curtains shut, his mouth started to part, ready to re-engage in conversation, but the callers voice interrupted and rendered him speechless. 

  ‘Did you really think that by closing the curtains you’d stop me from seeing you? I’ve always had a taste for the theatrical, but to see you like this is priceless.’

   ‘I don’t know who you are or what you want, but I’m calling the police,’ Ben snapped back and grabbed the landline phone from off the coffee table.

   ‘Tha's really not a good idea. I wouldn’t do that if I were you,’ the caller said in a threatening manner, ‘So, I suggest you put down the phone or I’ll shoot Zara in the head. Death only strikes once and then it’s gone. Now, be a good boy and place the phone back down.’

   Ben’s thread of thought began to erode. He placed the phone back into its charger and sat back down on the sofa.

   ‘Good boy Ben, good boy,’ he said in a condescending manner. ‘That wasn’t so difficult now, was it?’

   ‘Who the f**k are you and how are you doing this?’

   ‘Have you ever heard of the term….Ratter?’

   ‘What?’

   ‘Without getting technical, it’s where someone can take over your device and have complete control over your files, folders, and webcam. With me being the ratter, that makes you my slave.  So, without further ado, why don’t you open up the email I sent you so we can continue with this call.’ 

   Ben quickly logged into his email account. His breathing quickened and sweat started to glint on his brow.

   The images showed restraints, firmly wrapped around Zara’s ankles and wrists. The restraints themselves were connected to sturdy-looking metal chains, attached to the floor and ceiling on the inside of some vehicle.

   In shock, Ben sat back from the laptop, keeping his mobile to his ear. The image of Zara being chained up like some kind of animal was like a hard blow, knocking breath back into him. He fought back a wave of nausea and the caller spoke again.

  ‘Don’t be going all sick on me Ben,’ the man chuckled, ‘I know Zara doesn’t look her best, but it doesn’t get more real than this. Or, are you still in denial and still have questions about my existence?’

   Ben swore under his breath and forbade himself to tremble. Anger whipped through him like a storm.

  ‘What have you done to her you sonofabitch!’ the words exploded out of his mouth like he was spitting bullets. ‘I swear to God, if you harm a single bone in her body, I’ll…...’

  ‘You’ll do what,’ the man abruptly interrupted, ‘kill me?’

  ‘I swear to God,’ Ben said, shaking his finger furiously at the laptop screen.

  ‘If it makes you feel better, then by all means, go ahead and swear all you want,’ the man replied. ‘But in order to bring me down, you have to find me. And in order to find me, you have to play my game.’

   ‘Game, what game? F**k you. I’m not playing any game of yours,’ Ben shot back. ‘Do you hear me? I’m not playing!’

   ‘Well, in that case, we have nothing else to talk about and this conversation ends here.  So, on that note, I bid you a good day and wish you well.’

   ‘No…no... no. Wait, just wait, hold on a second.’

   No reply.

   ‘Hello…hello. Are you still there?’

   Silence.

 Ben’s mind whirled with conflicting thoughts, wondering what he had just done. He buried his head in his hands, a tortured sob escaped as he tried to bring his emotional chaos under control.

   Ben’s heart leapt as the caller re-engaged in conversation.

   ‘You really need to work on that attitude of yours,’ the man said in a cold tone . 

   ‘I’ll do whatever you want.’ Without wavering on his decision, the words flowed, unrehearsed and sorrowful, ‘Just don’t hurt Zara.’

   No reply.

   ‘Please…’

   ‘So, you’ll do whatever I want, will you?’

   The insinuating tone of the caller’s words caused another quiver in Ben’s stomach. He took a deep inhalation of breath and continued.

   ‘Yes, anything you want,’ his voice finding a glimmer of strength in its words, ‘just let Zara go.’

   ‘Very well,’ the caller replied, ‘I want you to do nothing.’

   Ben dragged his hand through his hair, and his downcast expression pleaded for an understanding.

   Ben’s head jerked backwards as if he had just misunderstood. ‘What? What do you mean nothing?’ Ben questioned, trying to sweep aside his tangled emotions, ‘I don’t understand.’

   Ben held his breath, not knowing what the caller would say next.

   ‘I want you to stay seated on that nice comfy cream coloured sofa of yours and not move from it until a countdown hits zero and reveals where you have to go. But don’t come by car, come by foot. Tonight, you will be taken to a place where they say I exist. Zara’s life hangs in the balance, so don’t be a hero. Move out of sight from the webcam viewer, or start tapping away on the laptop keyboard when I end this call. If you do anything and I mean anything that makes me twitchy or arise my suspicions, then Zara will most certainly get a bullet to the head and you will never see or hear from her ever again. So, as I end this call, I suggest you place your mobile phone face down onto that glass coffee table of yours where I can see it, and keep your eyes on the screen.’

    The caller paused for effect.

    ‘Am I making myself crystal?’

   ‘Yes.’

   ‘Good, now hang from this conversation, and watch the screen for the countdown to your next destination. As soon as it hits zero, it will be time to go. Bye-bye Ben.’

   The caller disconnected.

   Ben placed his phone face down on the table.

   An image of graveyard looking eyes suddenly appeared on the screen, quickly followed by red ticking clock counting down.

   Ben sat in shock. 

Reviews

[BBP]

Never cease to amaze me with your skills Mark. They way you can evoke fear to the reader through the character is a gift. You know how to portray the feelings that would actually go through a persons mind in a fucked up situation like this.

And as crazy as Ray is, he is still my favorite and his dialogue is so perfect for his character, it's chilling but the sarcasm keeps the laughter in there.

[Parker101]

Tall man my a*s made me laugh this is very good keep it up

[Jonathan]

Very good. The way your writing builds tension is enviable and your way of using words to create mood and atmosphere is astonishing.

[Wishing]

Mark this is marvelously imagined and I always enjoy reading an intelligent thriller.

[Anna Moore]

The twists in the plot made me gasp and the writing made me concerned for Ben and Zara's safety. I felt like the plot although very dynamic and fast paced was routed firmed to it's core. Very well done!
Is the phrase 'Boyfriend of Zara' deliberate to make the caller sound more distant and otherworldly or is the intention that it's 'Zara's boyfriend'?

[Word Girl]

One word.
Wow.
Bar grammar, this is flawless.

[Pensworth]

Oh my gosh this is fricking awesome! I love this story! Please update!

[Alan G Stephens]

I love the dialogue throughout. Ben's initial reaction to the first few exchanges are realistic enough. I'd have liked to have seen the writing express more aggression from Bens first "F**k you", however the strong stance he first took and the decay into helpless submission was put across as smoothly as was the callers rise from random nutter on the phone to a genuine and immediate threat.
The writing style was smooth and fluid, easy to read and contained no trip ups or hurdles, conveying effortlessly character, dialogue and surroundings in a believable and threatening way.
To read writing like this is exactly the reason I joined. I can see I will be learning from your work.

[Jeanette Schattenmann]

This looks really amazing. I was so mesmerized by what you wrote!

[Patrick Jinks]

I have to say I didn't think this would be my kind of read at first, but now I'm thoroughly gripped. Really looking forward to seeing how this plays out

[Rosie Brooklin]

Very well written! The characters are very interesting, and I love the personalities you've given them. The imagery is fantastic, and you've set the tone quite well for a horror/thriller story. There is a sense of realism to it that most horror stories lack these days.

My only critique is that there are a few grammatical errors every now and then, but that's nothing to worry about and is easily fixed.

I'm impressed by your talent. Great work!