Maggie dropped the phone in shock. Jay was dead. He hadn’t answered the phone; he couldn’t have. Once I got over the initial fear, I knelt down and picked up the phone. “Who is this?” I asked. “Uh… I’m Alex. I don’t know why I just told that to a stranger on the phone, though.” I took the phone away from the side of my face. “It’s someone named Alex. Not Jay.” I saw Maggie’s face drop. I picked up the phone again. “Hi, Alex. My name is Elias. Can I ask you a few questions?”232Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq2ZCdWCLEK
“Sure, I guess.”232Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4baXr2HuDX
“Thanks. Where did you get this phone?”232Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt77ZHf00R1
“I found it in the woods, like, two hours ago. It was laying in the middle of the path, so I took it home.”
“Why did you answer this call, but none of the others?”
“I don’t know. At first I thought it would be an invasion of privacy, you know? But then curiosity got the better of me, and here we are.”232Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1HBbe27B3z
“Did you see anything else in the woods? Go into as much detail as possible, please.”232Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHbZMvhij9p
I heard a sigh coming from the other end of the call. “Look, I don’t mean to be rude, but why should I answer these questions? I don’t even know you.”
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I took a deep breath as I tried to formulate a response. “I understand your concerns. This phone belonged to my good friend, Jay. He died in the woods a few hours ago. So please, what else did you see?” I could practically hear the gears turning in Alex’s mind. “There wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. Some of the dirt and stuff on the ground was pushed around in an outline that kind of looked like a body… oh. Your friend. There was also a ton of this weird ash-like stuff. I don’t know what it is, though.” Alex stopped talking. “Meet me on the ground floor of the brick in 30 minutes. There is nothing else I can say here. Be there. Or don't be. The choice is yours.” With that, the phone clicked off.
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I handed the phone back to Maggie. “I guess we’re going on a field trip to the Brick.”232Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5Fyum6DKq2
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25 minutes, and 2 cups of coffee, later, Maggie, Sammy, and I were standing by the entrance of the Brick. I pulled open the door, and we stepped inside. The ground floor of the Brick looked like a massive warehouse, but completely empty. We hung around for a few minutes, and at 5:45, exactly 30 minutes after the call, a stranger strode into the Brick. I’d pictured Alex as a scrawny teenager, maybe 15 years old. My image wasn’t that far off. He was tall and long, like a twig. It looked like a single breeze could blow him over. He appeared to be in his mid-20’s. He wore gray jeans and a shirt with a band name I didn’t recognize.
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He walked over to us, his stride long and steady. “Are you Elias?” I nodded. “I’m Alex. I brought some stuff you might find useful. Come on. We shouldn’t discuss this in the open.” Alex started walking away. I looked at Sammy and Maggie, shrugged, and started after Alex. He led us to a doorway. After a few rough tugs, the door opened. We walked through it and down a flight of stairs. As we descended into darkness, I thought of how this probably wasn’t the smartest idea. I was following a random person into a dark place I’d never been before. What could go wrong, I thought sarcastically. Alex closed the door at the top of the stairs, and for a moment, everything was pitch black. Then I heard a click and light flooded the area we were in.
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It was a small room, maybe 15 meters by 15 meters. It was about 6 meters tall. There was a table and plastic chairs stacked in a corner. Alex took a chair from the stack and sat down in front of the table. Maggie, Sammy, and I followed suit. As we sat down, Alex took some items out of a bag and spread them on the table. A phone, a plastic bag full of ash, and two sealed envelopes.
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He handed me the phone. “That’s the one I found in the woods. It was right on the side of the path.” I turned it over in my hands. The phone case was still intact. I turned it on, and saw the wallpaper. It was a black and white picture of our friend group at the treehouse. I put the phone into my pocket and moved onto the plastic bag. “That’s the ash stuff I was talking about,” Alex told me as I opened the bag and took out a piece. Or, I tried to. As soon as my hand touched the substance, I felt a burning sensation. There was a flash of light, and then I saw no more.
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