Killer Geek (SLOW UPDATES)

The phone’s sharp ring cut through the suffocating silence of the house, and I jumped, my nerves already frayed from the first call. My hand trembled as I reached for the receiver, my chest rising and falling with panicked breaths.

I hesitated for just a moment before lifting it to my ear. “Hello?” My voice cracked.

“Where did you go?” the distorted voice drawled, mock disappointment dripping from his words.

I froze, every muscle in my body going stiff. “What do you want?” I demanded, louder this time, though my voice shook.

“I want you,” he said, his tone low and possessive. “You’re mine and only mine. I’m going to give you a bonus question.”

“Please,” I begged, my voice breaking. “Just leave me alone.”

“Where am I?”

The question hit me like a physical blow, the air leaving my lungs in a rush. My grip on the phone tightened until my knuckles ached. “Wh...what?” I stammered, my voice barely a whisper.

“Where am I?” he repeated, slower this time, relishing the game. “Am I at the front door? The back door? Or…” His voice dipped, sinister and teasing, “…am I inside?”

The world seemed to tilt around me, my vision blurring for a second as panic took over. I spun around, my eyes darting to every corner of the room, every shadow. My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would break through my chest.

“Wh...I don’t...please, just leave me alone,” I choked out, backing into the kitchen. My hand searched blindly until it found the cold handle of a knife in the block. I pulled it free, the blade shaking in my grip.

His laugh echoed through the line, sending a shiver down my spine. “I’ll give you a ten-second head start,” he said, almost playful now. “If you get away, I’ll leave. But if I catch you…”

I didn’t wait for him to finish. I dropped the phone, the clatter of it hitting the counter echoing in the silence. My legs moved before I could think, carrying me toward the front door.

Instinct screamed at me to go upstairs, but I knew better. Nobody ever survives in the movies when they go upstairs.

I fumbled with the deadbolt, my fingers slick with sweat, and threw the door open. The storm had finally broken, rain pouring down in sheets that blurred the world outside. Thunder cracked overhead, loud and violent, masking the sound of my pounding footsteps as I sprinted into the night.

The cold rain soaked through my clothes instantly, plastering my hair to my face and making it hard to see. I didn’t care. All I could think about was getting away.

The neighborhood was dark, the streetlights casting dim halos of light through the downpour. I darted across the yard, my bare feet slipping on the wet grass. My mind raced, trying to figure out where to go. Billy was at Stu’s, my dad was working late. No one was home.

I glanced back toward the house, and my stomach dropped. A shadow moved near the side window, fleeting but unmistakable. He was inside.

A strangled gasp escaped my lips, and I pushed myself to run faster, the knife still clutched tightly in my hand. The storm raged around me, thunder rolling and lightning illuminating the street in quick flashes.

I made it to the edge of the yard, my breath coming in short, ragged gasps, when I heard it—a sharp, deliberate whistle.

My blood turned to ice.

He was close. Too close.

I turned sharply, my feet slipping on the wet pavement as I bolted toward the neighbor’s house. The lights were off, and I knew they were out of town, but maybe…maybe if I hid, he’d think I’d kept running.