Part 3Whspers Under The Bed

He had a background in computer science, and I heard he once hacked into some pretty serious websites.

I thought with his skills, making the smart speaker malfunction or causing the lift to break down wouldn’t be an issue.

With that thought, remembering how scared I had been, my anger flared up.

Just then, Tom called again.

Once I picked up, I exploded, “Are you out of your mind? It was just an argument! Do you really need to scare me like this?”

I could imagine Tom on the other end of the line, laughing uncontrollably, which only made me angrier.

But Tom sounded bewildered. “What’s wrong? How did I upset you?”

“Was it you who messed with the smart speaker and the lift?”

“What do you mean? Wait, calm down; the police will be there in ten minutes,” Tom said, sounding a bit exasperated.

He actually called the police?

If he was just trying to scare me, he wouldn’t have done that.

I hung up with doubts and dialed 999 to verify what he said.

“Hello, this is 999 emergency services…”

“Hello!” I interrupted, “Did you receive an emergency call about something happening at the Oasis estate?”

“Yes, I took that call; we are already on our way. The caller stated that a female resident in flat 2503 was in danger.”

That female resident was me!

“Yes, that’s me! Please hurry!”

“We are on our way; we’ll be there within ten minutes. Please stay on the line, find somewhere safe to hide, and contact us if you’re in danger.”

He actually called the police!

Which meant I was truly in danger!

But the police wouldn’t arrive for another ten minutes—where could I hide?

I had given up hope on the fat man and banged on the door across from me, but got no response.

Maybe there was no one living there.

I had to try another floor.

I thought about taking the stairs, but the corridor was pitch black, and the lift offered some sense of safety.

So, I bravely pressed the lift button.

The doors opened, and there was no one inside.

I swallowed hard, closed my eyes, and stepped into the lift.

I only dared to open my eyes after I heard the doors close behind me.

Nothing seemed amiss in the lift.

I relaxed a bit, hesitating, before pressing the button for the ground floor. The security office by the entrance seemed like the safest place!

As I stepped out, the estate was eerily quiet and dim, with only scattered lights that barely illuminated the path ahead.

I made my way toward the estate’s entrance.

I was almost convinced I had encountered a ghost, but as I walked out and down, I hadn’t been harmed. Perhaps the ghosts in my flat and the lift were harmless.

With that thought, my fear lessened somewhat.

When fear stopped overwhelming me, I remembered something else.

How did Tom know I was encountering a ghost?

I had only told Rachel about it; if Tom knew, it could only mean they were together!

What were they doing alone together in the dead of night?

No wonder they weren’t answering my calls!

No wonder Tom got angry and left when I said a few trivial things yesterday!

My phone rang again—it was Tom calling.

“How are you? Are you okay?” he asked with concern.

I didn’t respond and instead asked, “How did you know I was encountering a ghost?”

Tom paused for a second before saying, “Because… because Rachel’s phone card is with me; she’s been dead for two months.”