Chapter 2: The Phone in the Darkness
Marcus pulled his arm away.
“Marcus: Move.””
Vanessa shook her head.
“Vanessa: You don’t know what you’re doing.””
“Marcus: I know exactly what I’m doing.””
He crouched beside the wall.
The loose panel was barely attached. Whoever built the house had never intended for anyone to find it.
Maya stood behind him, holding her cardigan closed with both hands.
“Marcus: Maya, come stand behind me.””
She obeyed immediately.
That scared him more than anything.
His daughter had always been fearless.
She used to climb trees in the backyard. She used to run through the rain laughing. She used to argue with him about bedtime.
But now she looked at Vanessa like she was waiting for permission to breathe.
Marcus grabbed the edge of the panel.
Vanessa stepped forward.
“Vanessa: Marcus, please.””
He looked back.
“Marcus: Please what?””
Her lips parted.
“Vanessa: Just trust me.””
Marcus almost laughed.
A broken laugh.
“Marcus: Trust you?””
He pointed toward Maya.
“Marcus: My daughter has a hand reaching out of a wall in my house, and you want me to trust you?””
Vanessa’s eyes moved toward Maya.
“Vanessa: She doesn’t understand.””
Maya whispered:
“Maya: I understand everything.””
The words hit the room like a stone.
Marcus turned toward her.
“Marcus: What do you mean?””
Maya looked down.
“She told me I couldn’t tell you.””
Marcus froze.
“Marcus: Who?””
Maya didn’t answer.
Her eyes moved toward the opening.
The darkness inside seemed deeper than it should have been.
Marcus grabbed the panel and pulled.
Wood cracked.
The piece shifted.
Vanessa suddenly rushed forward.
“Vanessa: Marcus, DON’T!””
Her hand caught his arm.
He looked at her.
Not angry this time.
Confused.
“Marcus: Why are you afraid of what’s behind my wall?””
Vanessa released him.
A small object pushed through the opening.
A phone.
Cracked glass.
Old.
Damaged.
Marcus picked it up.
The screen was black.
Maya stared at it.
“Marcus: Is this yours?””
She shook her head.
“No.””
He pressed the power button.
Nothing happened.
Then the screen flickered.
Once.
Twice.
The lock screen appeared.
Marcus stopped.
The hallway seemed to disappear around him.
Because the photo on the phone was impossible.
It showed him.
And a woman standing beside him.
A woman he had not seen in years.
A woman everyone told him was gone.
His fingers tightened around the phone.
“Marcus: No…”
Vanessa stepped backward.
“Marcus: Where did you get this?””
She didn’t answer.
“Marcus: Vanessa.””
Her face changed.
Not guilt.
Not sadness.
Panic.
Maya moved closer to her father.
“Marcus: Tell me whose phone this is.””
Vanessa looked at the wall.
Then at Marcus.
“Vanessa: You need to listen to me.””
“Marcus: Why?””
His voice was shaking now.
“Because whatever you’re about to tell me should have been told years ago.””
A sound came from inside the wall.
A weak breath.
A small movement.
Marcus slowly turned.
The phone screen still showed the woman beside him.
The woman he thought he had lost forever.
Then a voice came from the darkness.
“Marcus…”
He stopped.
The voice was older.
Weaker.
But familiar.
“Marcus… is that you?””
Maya covered her mouth.
Vanessa closed her eyes.
May you like
And Marcus realized the impossible truth was not hidden in the wall.
It was waiting for him.
