THE GIRL WHO CALLED FROM THE DEAD

PART 2: THE THING WE BURIED

At 2:17 a.m., Daniel received a phone call from his dead mother.

But his mother was sitting right in front of him.

She was drinking coffee, smiling peacefully, as if nothing had happened.

Daniel looked at the phone.

Then at her.

Then back at the phone.

The screen showed three words:

MOM — CALLING…

His hands began to shake.

“Mom,” he whispered. “Don’t move.”

She slowly lowered her coffee cup.

“Daniel, what’s wrong?”

The phone kept ringing.

Then his mother smiled.

Not a normal smile.

Her lips stretched too far across her face, revealing teeth that looked almost black in the dim kitchen light.

“Answer it, sweetheart,” she said.

Daniel ran.

He burst through the front door and sprinted toward his car. Behind him, he heard his mother’s voice echo through the house.

“YOU CAN’T KEEP RUNNING FROM YOUR FAMILY!”

He jumped into the driver’s seat and locked the doors.

His phone stopped ringing.

A text message appeared.

UNKNOWN NUMBER: YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED THAT NIGHT.

Another message followed.

UNKNOWN NUMBER: YOU WERE THERE, DANIEL.

He stared at the screen.

“I was there for what?”

A final message appeared.

UNKNOWN NUMBER: YOU WERE THE ONE WHO OPENED THE BASEMENT DOOR.