The Voice

Domenic Bowen

The Voice

Why would anyone go into the woods at night? Especially on Friday the thirteenth? It sounds like a death sentence. Perhaps it is. The woods are a mysterious place at night and the dark surrounds everything. The slightest noise can make anyone jump: the sound of a squirrel climbing up a tree, the sound of a robin flying up to its nest. The scariest noise of all, though, is that of footsteps or of a speaker that cannot be seen. Was it curiosity that drove Elijah into the woods? As he sat in his room, trying to focus on an essay for English, a strange voice, somewhat grumbly, called from the woods. “Come and see me,” it echoed. Elijah knew that the voice was just in his head and that he should ignore it. It was what Dr. Coalman had told him many times at his appointments. “The voice is not real, Elijah,” he would say to him. “It is just a figment of your imagination. It will not hurt you.” He had been hearing voices since his grandfather died; the one member of his family he enjoyed being with. His grandfather had a lot of similar interests. When he came over, they would watch scary movies in the living room, but only in the day. If they watched at night, Elijah would have nightmares. The two of them would walk the paths in the woods behind Elijah’s house, talking about the music they were listening to and why they enjoyed it. They were a match made in heaven. They also looked remarkably similar. Elijah’s curly brown hair matched with his grandfather’s curly grey hair. Their eyes were the same color (hazel) and they wore the same clothes (a flannel shirt with khaki pants).

Elijah’s grandfather’s death was a mystery to him. He had not been ill previously and Elijah never even saw the body at the funeral. There was no open casket. “He is dead, Elijah. I know it might not seem that way, but it is true,” his mother told him at the funeral. After, the voice started to appear, and that’s when Elijah’s

parents brought him to Dr. Coalman. Dr. Coalman did not get rid of the voice necessarily, but he did give Elijah the notion that it was not there to harm but to exist, and that made him feel better. Tonight was just a normal night of voices coming from the woods. Elijah knew what to do. “Come and see me, Elijah,” the voice from the woods called. That was the first time that Elijah had heard his name from the voice. It had exclusively said come and see me, not with his name attached to it. How does it know my name? Why did it say my name? It has never said that before. Elijah’s legs started to shake, and his teeth chattered, making a grinding sound. He had promised his parents that he would be fine for their date night. Now he was starting to doubt that. “I’ll be fine,” Elijah assured his mother. “Go on your date.” “Okay, but only if you’re sure,” his mother replied. His father then told him as they were leaving the house to call him if there were any problems. He looked around his room, his eyes struggling to focus on the right things. Shelves with books were not going to help him. Neither was the pile of laundry in the corner. Nothing here is going to help me! Elijah’s breathing got heavier as he struggled to find something to help him. Then he saw his phone on the nightstand. Elijah went to pick it up. It was dead. “Crap!” Elijah yelled. “Why do you have to be dead now?” He went to plug his phone in, but the phone displayed that the battery was charging. It would take a few minutes before it would turn back on. He thought for a moment and then exited the room, knowing that the home phone was downstairs in the kitchen. He ran down the stairs and picked up the old white phone that had barely ever been used. He dialed his father’s number. The phone rang for quite some time. With each second that passed by, Elijah grew more and more anxious. Eventually, a female voice told him to leave a voicemail. “After the beep, please record your message. When you are done with your message, hang up or press one for more options.” Beep. “Hey Dad, it’s me. I heard the voice again and it said my name! I’m scared, Dad. Please call me back or come home soon. I don’t want to be alone.” Elijah then hung up the phone. “Come and see me, Elijah. I miss you.” Elijah jumped and looked around his house. Nothing was surrounding him except for the belongings in his house and the darkness that could be seen through the windows. The furniture was normal, and everything looked the same. He went back upstairs to his room, climbed into his bed, and wrapped himself in three blankets as tightly as possible. “Why don’t you come to see me? I’d like some company. I miss you.” the voice said solemnly. “Shut up!” yelled Elijah. He started to shake more. “I just want to say hello and chat like we used to. I won’t hurt you, Elijah.” “How do you know my name? How do you know who I am?” Elijah demanded. His teeth chattered frantically and he curled himself into a ball. “Leave me alone!” “But I want to see you. Why don’t you come and visit me?” the voice rang. “I’m here in the woods.” It is not here to hurt me, it is here to exist, Elijah reminded himself. If it is not here to hurt me, then why am I scared? Elijah exited the warm cocoon of his blankets and looked out the window. He could see nothing but the outline of trees and the darkness. When he looked to the sky, the moon and the stars shone brightly. Elijah took his gaze away from the sky and saw some sort of figure in the distance. “Who’s there?” Elijah yelled out to the figure. “Please tell me!” “Come and see for yourself, Elijah.” The figure then vanished from his view. Dr. Coalman had told Elijah that sometimes you have to face your fears, that they will not result in anything bad necessarily. “Facing your fears will help you feel better. If you don’t, the fear will be there with you for the rest of your life.” “Fine! I’ll come and see you!” Elijah was going to face his fear, but he was also partially curious. If this

voice was real, who was behind it and why did they want to see him? He was still hesitant about going. It was something he was afraid of. Time to face my fears, just like Dr. Coalman said. He went back downstairs and grabbed a large, red flashlight from the front closet. He slipped on his white sneakers, which were not as white anymore, and exited his house through the back door. Elijah turned on the flashlight but did not see the figure immediately. He saw the oak, pine, and maple trees that were native to where he lived. He saw his backyard, which needed to be mowed. The fence around his property was covered with moss and other lichens and the wood was rotting. As he shined his flashlight into the woods; a somewhat short figure was standing next to a tree. Elijah could only see the silhouette of the figure, but he was immediately frightened. It’s real! The voice is real! But why was it tormenting me? Maybe it isn’t a good idea to follow someone who hurts me. “Don’t be shy, Elijah. Come and see me. I won’t bite.” The figure vanished behind a tree. Elijah followed hesitantly, not knowing what to expect. The figure was harmless, he thought. He kept his distance from the figure but still was able to see them through the array of trees. The figure weaved through the trees and Elijah followed, curious as to who was tormenting his mind. Crack! Elijah jumped a little, not realizing that the noise was created by him stepping on a stick. He froze and shined his flashlight around, looking through the trees. The figure noticed that Elijah had stopped. “Why’d you stop, Elijah? There is nothing to be afraid of,” the voice reassured. The figure was right, Elijah thought. There was nothing to be afraid of. Dr. Coalman had said it to him many times about the voices. “Elijah, there is nothing to be afraid of. There is no reason to be afraid.” Elijah remembered what Dr. Coalman said and hesitantly continued towards the figure. He walked not as fast as before, placing his steps strategically to not make a noise that would scare him. He looked up occasionally to see where the figure was going but focused mostly on the ground. He was afraid to see the figure’s face. When Elijah looked up once more, the figure stood in a circle of trees. It was a circlular clearing ten feet in diameter, and the figure was at the far edge. Elijah stopped on the other side, afraid to go any closer. They sat in silence for a minute. Elijah did not know what to say. Why are you tormenting me? No, that’s too mean. How are you? That’s too nice. A sweat bead dripped down from Elijah’s forehead onto his nose, reminding him of the situation. “Why do you want to see me?” “Because I miss you, Elijah.” Elijah could not think of anyone who would miss him. He thought for a while, yet nothing. The figure stood in silence as Elijah thought; a menacing presence to scare him. Then, he thought of his grandfather. No! It can’t be him. He’s dead. “You are wondering who I am, aren’t you, Elijah?” the figure echoed as if it could read his mind. Elijah jumped slightly and a feeling of cold rushed through his body. Could they read my mind? No, that’s stupid. There are no such things as superpowers. “Yeah, I am. So why don’t you tell me?” He finally got the courage to speak. The figure, who was previously facing backward, turned around slowly. Elijah shined his flashlight at the figure, the excitement and anxiety about the reveal making him shake. When the figure turned around, Elijah noticed that it was a man. He saw that he was wearing some sort of checkered flannel shirt and khaki pants. He was also wearing hiking boots. His skin was quite wrinkled and spotty. As he looked up, Elijah saw that the figure had curly grey hair. Then he saw the face. “Grandpa?” Elijah exclaimed. “What…? I don’t understand. You should be dead!” His mind was going all over the place. How was he alive? Why was he trying to scare me with the voice? I can’t understand how he…

Elijah blacked out.

~Abigail Lott