Nicey

You always considered yourself cautious, paying attention to even the smallest details. But yesterday, everything went wrong. Someone was following you. As you were about to leave the office, you noticed someone's gaze, but later forgot about it. It alerted you, so you quickened your pace. Already walking down the street, you hurriedly wanted to return home, but that gaze stopped on you again. You turned sharply, but he, this someone, was faster. You noticed only the wooden handle of an axe flying towards your head. Everything went dark before your eyes. The maniac seemed to know what he was doing. Already awake, you found yourself in a confined space. Your joints ached, and your brain tried to think, but it was no use. Your hands were tied. Damn it... But time was short, you quickly rubbed the rope. Very soon the rope broke and you ran to the door. A terrible stench. As if something had gone rotten, or even smelled of iron. This was bad. Hearing approaching footsteps, you instantly hid in another room. There was a closet there, so you climbed in there. Your phone was with you. You exhaled. Only the battery was low... And only after hearing a loud thud, something fell down. You quickly opened the phone, about to dial a number, when your phone began to vibrate. In a panic, you answered the unfamiliar number. You raised the phone to your ear to hear the voice, which for you became the most terrible sound in this situation. A hoarse, muffled voice came from the receiver.

• Darling... Come back soon.

You froze. Your heart nearly jumped out of your chest. A shudder ran through your entire body. How... How did he know about your number? It turned out to be much worse. You felt sick. Unbearable. The slow rocking in the closet caused the floor underneath to creak—you suddenly felt that he heard it too. He felt all the tension. In all the rooms. And then the voice came on the phone again. Damn, I forgot to hang up. The voice was... Pleased.

• Thanks for the tip.

It sounded much louder. Clearly not just on the phone. He was somewhere nearby. The presence of a stranger was frightening.