The Phone Call (Halloween Special)

https://rumble.com/v5fn7ad-the-phone-call-by-ray-bush.html

 The Phone Call

By Ray Bush

“Hey babe, how was the store?” Lyle asked his wife as he answered the phone, “Did you remember my peanuts?”

“Of course I did,” Mckai answered, “I will be there in ten minutes. Can you preheat the oven for me?”

“No can do darlin,” Lyle answered but Mckai could hear the laugh hiding behind the words. “I’m in the middle of a race, you’re gonna have to wait. Anyways I don’t even know what preheat means. I think preheat means cold or something, you know pre means before, so maybe it means warm. So what comes before heat? I don’t know babe this is some confusing shit.”

“Would you just shut up and heat the oven?” She put a little extra emphasis on the word heat. “You’re wasting precious seconds.”

“Girl you know i’m gonna heat the oven,” Lyle loved teasing Mckai, honestly she loved it also. “You just need to hurry your ass up, papa bear is hungry.”

“Like seven and a half minutes away,” she answered, “I’m over by the Ouija house.” Lyle’s stomach sank, he hated that house. The story of those three kids kept him up at night, then there was Miranda also. They said she went crazy but Mckai knew her and swore that couldn’t have happened to her. Lyle had never been a fan of ghosts, what was said to be in that house was much worse. Everyone said it was demons.

“Why would you go that way?” It was a few minutes out of the way and he was pretty hungry. He never could understand how she liked that place. “I can’t stand that damn place.”

“You know I love that stuff,” Mckai answered, “Plus one day I’m gonna see what took those kids and got in Miranda’s head. They still have the doors boarded up and the tape across as well.” Lyle would never understand why she would want to see a demon. “Do you think anyone will ever live there again? I don’t think they’ll be able to give that house away. Do you know what happened to Drew?”

“They took him to the asylum too,” Lyle answered, “He lost it after a night in jail, personally I think he was faking.”

“Who the hell is that?” Mckai asked more to herself than Lyle, “Babe there are some pretty sketchy guys blocking the road. They look cracked out.”

“Where are you exactly?” Lyle was instantly terrified, he was already on his way to the truck. He didn’t turn off his game or the TV. “If they try to stop you just fuckin hit them.”

“I’m passing Betty and Steve’s house,” She answered, Lyle hated the fear he could hear in her voice. “They’re moving, they're just taking their sweet ass time.” Lyle heard a loud bang followed by a scream from Mckai.

“What the fuck was that?” Lyle was fifty percent pissed and one hundred percent terrified. He was already in his truck. “I’m on my way.”

“Baby it’s ok, I sped through and they’re gone,” She said while looking in her rearview mirror. Mckai didn’t see the boards laying across the road. In the boards were long thick nails, like a ghetto police spike strip. The car bounced and her tires popped, all four of them. “Babe something happened,” she now saw the spike strips in the rearview. “They popped my tires, what do I do? Babe, what do I do?”

“Son of a,” that was a horrible development, “Can you get to Betty’s? Do you think you can get there?”

“I don’t think so,” she answered, “They’re between me and the house. They’re walking towards the car babe.”

Lyle floored his truck in reverse out of the driveway, he also didn’t see the boards with the nails in the gutter the width of his driveway. “God dammit,” Lyle said, he jumped out of his truck in a flash. “They popped my tires too, this has to be a setup. Get the hell out of there. Run home and I’ll find you, and no matter what, don't hang up your phone. Did you recognize any of them?”

Mckai began to sob, “Babe I need you to get here. They’re coming, they’re really coming to get me.” Lyle knew he had to get there, he was already on his way.

“I’m on my way,” Lyle had his phone on speaker and in his breast pocket, with the button buttoned so it wouldn’t fall out. “Try to circle back to Boo’s, even if you have to jump fences in backyards.” Boo was Betty’s nickname and the name Lyle knew her by. 

Lyle heard the car door open, a rustle, then the door shut. “That’s her,” a distant voice hollered, “Get that stupid bitch.”

Mckai ran down the street and hopefully in the dark shadows of the neighborhood. Each block only had two street lights, one at either end. The middle of the blocks were pretty dark most nights. She could hear the four men giving chase, they were closing in much too quickly. 

“Mckai,” one hollered after her, “There’s nowhere to go bitch?

“How the hell does he know your name?” Lyle asked, it was getting very obvious that this was a setup and someone was trying to get to her. “What the shit is going on?”

“I don’t know babe,” Mckai was starting to breathe heavily but the good news it sounded like she was sprinting. She couldn’t wrap her mind around what was going on.

“Where are you now?” Lyle asked, he was a bit hard to understand. He was breathing hard and his phone was bouncing. 

She turned left and was now running on the short side of the rectangle blocks. There were seven houses per block on the streets running north to south but only two on the roads running east to west. “I’m on 2450 heading east towards the park,” That was just south of the Ouija house. “They’re coming for me,” Mckai sounded terrified. 

“Can you get to the Richardson’s house?” Lyle asked hopefully, “They have those bushes you could hide behind.”

“I don’t know babe,” she answered, “They’re pretty damn fast.” She cut between the two houses on the short block, then jumped a fence into their backyard. She sprinted across the lawn and jumped the fence dividing this house with the house behind it. The fences were only belly button height to her so that part was easy. She did drop her phone after the second one but Mckai picked it up quickly. 

“Mckai?” Lyle asked nervously, “What happened? Are you ok? Fuck me this sucks.”

“I’m good babe,” she was halfway across the lawn when she heard the group jump the first fence. “I just dropped my phone for a second.” The backyards were very dark and Mckai wanted to use that to her advantage. She clicked the button on the side that locked her phone so the light would no longer shine. She turned left , then sprinted west towards another fence and was over it quickly. 

“Now where are you?” Lyle asked, he was about two minutes away from the Ouija house if he kept up this pace. He prayed to a god, he didn’t care which god heard he just needed Mckai to be okay. 

“I’m in the backyard across from the house,” she was panting hard, “across from the Ouija house.”

“Is there somewhere you can hide until I get there?” Lyle asked, this early in the morning those men would be on her if she tried to get someone to answer their door. “Like behind a shed, or under a trampoline. If you can get to Aaron’s house you can hide in his garage.” She didn’t think she would be able to, they were only two yards away. 

The chain link fence rattled to the backyard that she was in,” I’m behind a shed.” Her voice was nearly inaudible.”I’m gonna stop talking.” Lyle was happy she was going to stop talking, he just hoped she didn’t hang up.

Lyle slowed his run to a fast walk for two reasons, one was to hear better and two was so he could catch his breath a bit. He could hear people walking around through Mckai’s phone, but they were still distant. The crickets around him seemed to be chirping like crazy while he could hear none through the phone. 

“Do you see her?” A man’s voice asked, “I know she’s in this yard somewhere. I watched her jump the fence.”

“Turn on your flashlight,” another man said, “Olie olie oxen free,” They were getting close. “Come out, come out wherever you are.”

Lyle vaguely recognized the voice, like when you see an actor that played an insignificant part in a movie you watched like seven years ago. Mckai had no doubt who the voice belonged to. It was her ex. They had a very ugly breakup after he lied five times about quitting meth, and six times about sleeping with other woman. 

The lightbulb lit above Lyle’s head, it was that fucking meth head. Lyle heard the two worst noises he had ever heard. First he heard the unmistakable sound of a shotgun cocking, second was “Is that her right there?” He had to do something, he made a circle with his thumb and middle finger, put it over his curled tongue, then let out a loud whistle that echoed through the neighborhood. 

“What was that?” This was a third voice, “Do you think someone saw us?”

“It was someone whistling, dumbass,” Mckai’s ex said, “What the hell do you think it was?”

“I know asshole,” the third voice said, “I meant who the hell would be whistling. It’s one thirty in the morning.”

Everything was completely silent for about thirty seconds, Lyle wondered if Mckai was holding her breath. “Dude, I don’t think she’s back here,” this was yet another voice. Lyle wanted to smack the shit out of all of these pricks, but four men with at least one man armed with a shotgun was probably a bit much. And by “a bit much,” he meant, “way to fucking much.”

“She must’ve went straight,” her ex said, “I wish it wasn’t so fucking dark. Where is the fucking moon?”

Lyle heard the steps moving away, and finally Mckai let out a soft exhale. “But who whistled?” The same third voice asked.

“Who cares?” Her ex answered, “We’re here for her, screw anybody else. She has to be close, I only heard her jump one fence.” 

As of right now they were right, Mckai had only jumped one fence. She hoped they would not notice the cinder block fence separating this backyard from the candy lady’s back yard. She was called that because kids could go to her house at any time of day and get some candy. Not in a scary or creepy way, she was just a lonely woman who enjoyed kids but was never able to have her own. 

Lyle was more relieved than he had ever been when he heard the sound of the four men jumping another fence. They hadn’t found her and they were moving away. That was the best news he got all night,  maybe things were going to be ok.  

“Who’s backyard are you in?” Lyle had to be getting close to Mckai, the Ouija house was just a block east. “Are they still too close for you to talk?” His voice was barely audible, “Breath once if they are still too close.”

Mckai puffed a soft, quick breath into her phone's mic. Lyle covered the pocket holding his phone and let out another loud, echoing whistle. He heard talking through her phone but it was getting further and further away. He was not even able to understand what they were saying. Lyle guessed it was almost the exact conversation as after the first whistle. He picked up his speed to a light jog. When Mckai heard the four jump another fence, she moved to the cinder block wall. She could tight rope it between the houses putting her in front of the Ouija house. She guessed that is where Lyle was headed. The wall was about shoulder height, but she was still able to get her up easily. As she pulled her second foot to the top a hand grabbed it and started yanking. Mckai let out a quick but loud scream. 

“I got her guys,” this was a female voice. Where the hell did she come from? This disappointed Mckai, how could a woman help subject another woman to what these men would do to Mckai. Yet here this hag was helping men abuse a woman, she was probably one of the whores her ex cheated with. 

Lyle heard this so he started to sprint. Luckily Mckai’s shoe slipped off easily and she was on top of the wall. The unfortunate thing is now the men knew exactly where she was. 

“Stupid bitch,” Mckai said, she wished she had five minutes alone with this crack whore. Mckai would kick this girl's ass if she had that chance. 

Mckai made her way on top of the wall between the houses, she would come out across from the Ouija house. Lyle was at the end of the block, five houses away from the house. Mckai crossed the street and into the front lawn of the demon house. 

“Mckai,” Lyle yelled but she didn’t slow at all, she had to have heard him. “Mckai, I’m right here. Where are you going?” He hoped to go in the backyard of the Ouija house but he didn’t think so. “Mckai!” She crossed the lawn, Lyle was only three houses away. She still didn’t slow, “Mckai no!”

She jumped on the porch without touching the stairs. The wood  that blocked the door came off much too easily. Mckai was in the house and slammed the door behind her. It was like the house wanted her to come in. Lyle dreaded following her in the house, he hated the paranormal. He stood in the road staring at her through the front window but she didn’t seem to notice him at first. She spotted him with empty, confused eyes then waved an awkward wave, almost like she was being controlled by an unseen force. 

Then the force made itself seen. A large shadow materialized from the shadows behind his wife. Two red eyes glowed and seemed to look, uncomfortably, into Lyle’s soul. He wanted to run in and help her but his feet seemed to be cemented to the blacktop street. The figure was now taking a vague shape. Lyle could see its face, it looked like a bat with the longer narrower snout of a ferret. It was so much larger than Mckai, Lyle waved his hands and pointed behind her. She mimicked his movements and he wondered what the hell she was doing.

“Run!” Lyle yelled, but Mckai just yelled it right back to him, "Babe get the hell out of there.” Again she said the same words at the same time as him. Yet she still did not try to run.

Lyle’s heavy feet lightened so he moved to run towards the house. An arm wrapped around his neck and something sharp poked into his back, Lyle thought he felt blood trickle down. 

“We got you bitch,” it was Mckai’s ex. Lyle didn’t care about himself, he barely even heard what he said. He couldn’t take his eyes off Mckai and the demon behind her. “And they have her so this is a good night.”

Lyle watched as a shadowy arm wrapped around Mckai’s neck. He tried to break free but someone punched him hard in the side of the head. Lyle’s vision cleared in time to see Mckai being drug off into the darkness of the house while he was drug off into the darkness of the night.