Chapter 2: The Call That Shouldn’t Exist
Cole had faced storms.
He had faced fights.
He had faced moments when every instinct told him to run and every bone in his body told him to stand.
But he had never felt fear like this.
Not from a stranger.
Not from a phone call.
Not from a little boy holding a cracked receiver at an old roadside gas station.
The afternoon remained bright.
That was the strangest part.
The world looked normal.
Cars moved along the highway.
The gas station sign buzzed softly.
A motorcycle engine cooled with quiet metallic clicks.
But Cole felt like the ground beneath him had shifted.
Bear stepped closer.
“You know that number?””
Cole didn’t answer.
His eyes stayed locked on the payphone.
The boy was listening.
Waiting.
Hopeful.
Bear’s voice lowered.
“Cole.””
Cole finally looked at him.
“That’s Nia’s private number.””
The words sat between them.
Heavy.
Impossible.
Bear’s expression changed.
He knew Nia.
Everyone in their circle knew Nia.
She wasn’t just Cole’s daughter.
She was family.
She was the person who used to walk into their garage with a coffee tray and tell a room full of dangerous-looking bikers that they needed to eat something healthier.
She was the person who laughed when Bear tried to act intimidating.
She was the person who disappeared.
Years ago.
And left behind a silence nobody knew how to fill.
Cole looked back at the phone.
“No.””
Bear watched him carefully.
“What?””
Cole shook his head.
“No. That’s not possible.””
The boy looked over.
“Sir?””
Cole didn’t hear him.
His mind was somewhere else.
Not a memory.
Not a flashback.
Just a name.
Nia.
A name he had repeated silently so many nights that it almost stopped sounding real.
Bear stepped beside him.
“Cole, talk to me.””
Cole ran a hand over his beard.
“That number was private.””
“You’re sure?””
“I gave it to three people.””
His voice cracked slightly.
“My daughter. Her mother. And me.””
Bear looked toward the boy.
The boy lowered the phone slightly.
“She said call it.””
Cole’s eyes moved to him.
“Who said?””
“My mom.””
The answer was simple.
But it created a hundred new questions.
Bear crouched slightly so he was closer to the boy’s height.
“What’s your name?””
The boy hesitated.
“Eli.””
“Eli, listen to me. Your mom told you to call this number?””
Eli nodded.
“She wrote it down.””
“Where is your mom now?””
Eli looked toward the parked car.
“My mom is inside.””
He pointed.
“She fell asleep.””
Cole looked at Bear.
The way the boy said asleep bothered both of them.
Bear asked gently.
“Eli, when did she fall asleep?””
The boy squeezed the receiver.
“I don’t know.””
His voice got smaller.
“She was driving. Then she pulled over. She said she felt dizzy.””
The gas station suddenly felt colder.
Cole looked at the car.
“Why didn’t you call emergency services?””
Eli looked down.
“My mom told me not to call them.””
“Why?””
The boy’s lips trembled.
“She said if something happened, I had to call this number first.””
Cole stared.
“Why?””
Eli didn’t answer.
Because he didn’t know.
He was just a child following instructions.
The phone suddenly made a sound.
A click.
Everyone froze.
The line had connected.
Eli lifted the receiver back to his ear.
“Hello?””
Silence.
Then—
A breath.
A weak, shaking breath.
Eli’s eyes widened.
“Hello?””
Cole moved closer.
Bear raised a hand slightly, stopping him.
Not yet.
Let the boy speak.
A woman’s voice finally came through.
Weak.
Barely there.
“Eli…?””
The boy’s face changed.
Relief.
Fear.
Confusion.
All at once.
“She knows my name,” Eli whispered.
Cole felt every muscle in his body tighten.
Bear turned.
“Cole…”
But Cole was already moving.
The voice on the phone came again.
“Eli, are you—”
The sound broke.
Static filled the receiver.
Eli pressed it tighter against his ear.
“Hello? Hello?””
Cole took one step forward.
His voice was almost lost.
“Nia?””
The woman on the line went silent.
Not disconnected.
Silent.
Like she had heard his voice.
Like she knew who was standing there.
Cole’s breathing stopped.
Bear looked between Cole and the boy.
Nobody spoke.
Then Eli slowly lowered the receiver from his ear.
His frightened eyes moved toward Cole.
“Who are you?””
Cole couldn’t answer.
Because the next sound didn’t come from the phone.
It came from somewhere else.
A small vibration.
A noise inside the old payphone box.
Something had fallen behind the metal panel.
Eli looked down.
Bear stepped closer.
And Cole saw something underneath the phone.
A small folded piece of paper.
With a name written on it.
May you like
His daughter’s name.
Nia.
