Shadows
Chapter 1 - Surreal
A/N: OOOOH, spooky. I just now came up with this idea in my room, and I won't say anything about it at the moment, because I don't wanna give anything away just yet... And, if you're a bit confused at the 69 concept, it's a return-call service. If you're fortunate enough to have it, all you do is enter in 69 on your phone and it will tell you the number of the person you just called, and you can also choose to call that person back.
Summary: London recieves a strange and disturbing phone call from a mysterious man. When he begins stalking her, will she be able to trust even those closest to her?
!#$&()+
"La di da, going back to my suite," London Tipton announced in a sing-song voice, skipping past her friend Maddie Fitzpatrick.
"Okay, but hurry back. We're supposed to be going shopping!" Maddie yelled after her.
"'Kay! I just need to go back and find my car keys," London replied, entering the elevator with a spring in her step.
The ride up to her suite didn't take very long, as she kept herself busy with humming and singing. She stepped out, bouncing along to her room, until she skidded to a halt outside. Something felt wrong about the room. It almost carried an ominous feeling. It was as though something were telling her not to go in. But, being London, she didn't listen and skipped inside anyway.
"Now, to find those keys," she said to herself, noting the pitch black of the night outside on her balcony. She felt a shiver down her spine, as she dropped her purse on the floor to lighten the pressure on her arms. She finally spotted her keys on the coffee table, as her eyes had finally adjusted to the dark. She would've turned the lights on, but the electrical wiring in her suite was complicated.
As she picked the keys up with a loud clinking sound, her cell phone began to ring loudly, scaring London out of her perfect dream world.
She jumped a few centimeters in the air and groaned, annoyed. She figured it was probably Maddie calling to tell her to hurry up. She glanced at the caller ID, but it said 'Private Number'. London furrowed her brow in confusion, noting how everyone that usually called her cell phone had a listed number.
"Hello?" She greeted, not expecting the reply.
"Ah, you answered Ms. Tipton. I am glad. I have been eager to speak with you," came the voice on the other end. It was an extremely odd voice. London definitely knew the person calling was using a voice distorter.
"Who are you?" She inquired, not trying to mask the confusion in her voice...or the ever deepening fear.
"I have many names, but you may call me Savior," the voice answered, chuckling slightly.
"Savior?" London repeated, trying to control the goosebumps rising on her skin.
"Yes, Savior. Savior Self."
"Uh...clever, but what kind of name is that?" London asked, breathing more rapidly.
"One bestowed upon me by a very knowledgable individual," the voice replied, giving London a tiny clue of something.
London snickered, finally realizing what was going on.
"Oh, you mean Cody gave you that nickname? Nice try Zack, but aren't you a bit old to be playing these silly mind games?" She giggled, feeling relieved.
"I assume you're referring to your little blonde friends. Very innocent and youthful, aren't they? Zack, I believe it is...he is very smitten with your candy counter friend. I do now realize that you think this is a mere joke at your expense. The twins you thought it was, pulling this prank of sorts? Well, answer me this, Ms. Tipton: how exactly would they gain possession of an unlisted number? You see now, don't you? I am neither a friend nor a stranger. Work your pretty little head around that logic, won't you?" The eery voice explained, leaving London grasping for answers.
Okay, so it wasn't Zack...it wasn't a prank at all. Then, what the hell was going on? London couldn't even begin to process the information. How did this person know her friends? Had he been watching her?
"What do you want?" London asked in an unfriendly tone, just wanting to hang up and never hear the voice again.
"You don't have to sound so alarmed, my dear. What I plan to do will only hurt for a short time. But, you know what they say: 'You must deal with the pain if you ever want the pleasure,'" the voice threatened, becoming more sadistic with each word.
London's eyes filled with tears as she backed against the wall near the door.
"Ugh, how did you get my number?!" London screamed into the phone, ready to tear someone limb from limb.
"Why, it's posted right on your refrigerator," the voice responded coldly.
This made London stop crying and freeze up, her mouth dropping open in shock. He could only know that in two ways: either he'd been watching her very closely, or he'd been in her room without her knowing it. Or both...
London couldn't take it anymore. She flipped her phone shut, disconnecting from the call of the mysterious voice. She placed the palm of her hand against her forehead, and realized her hands were sweating, and yet, she'd never felt so cold. Terror could do odd things to a person.
London then got an idea. She wondered what 69 would accomplish. She flipped her phone back open and dialed pressed the appropriate buttons with shaking fingers. Pressing the phone to her ear, she distinctly heard "This number is private and cannot be revealed. If you would like to call this number back, press one."
London groaned, and pressed a hesitant finger to the '1' button. She never wanted to hear that voice again, but she wasn't really paying attention to what she was doing.
However, she dropped her phone in an instant, causing the top to break off, at the sound she heard next. No sooner than she pressed the '1' button, she distinctly heard a foreign ringing noise. She realized instantly that whoever had called her...whoever had been trying to scare her...their phone was located in her bedroom. They had been calling her from the very next room and she hadn't even known until now.
London did not need to think for her next action. She threw the door open with some struggle and sped off down the hall, screaming as loud as she could. She didn't bother with waiting for the elevator. She took off right for the stairs, running down them in record time.
She burst into the lobby, screaming at the top of her lungs, earning her strange looks from all the hotel guests, as well as Carey, Zack, Cody, Maddie and Moseby. She ran straight into Cody, squeezing him as tightly as she could and sobbing all the while.
Everyone she was associated with rushed to her, wondering what was wrong.
"What happened?! What's wrong?!" Moseby wondered aloud in a worried voice, placing his hand on London's back comfortingly. London whipped around with a crazed look in her eyes. She hadn't expected him to do that. London regained her terrified expression and pointed up, referring to the upper floors.
"In m-my r-r-room. H-he's in there!" London stammered, crying. She wasn't even attempting to regain her composure.
"What? Who's in there?" Moseby asked, grabbing London's shoulders. London, despite her experience, was very alert. She noticed something.
"Why are you out of breath?" She asked, suspiciously.
"Well, it couldn't possibly be because you just came in here screaming and crying about someone in your room!" Moseby exclaimed, wanting London to go on with her story.
"What happened London?" Carey implored.
"I went up t-to my room and my cell phone r-rang. When I answered it, th-there was this really weird, d-distorted voice on the other l-line. He kept saying weird st-stuff about how he knew my friends and m-me. I asked him where he g-got my number and he s-said that he'd seen it on m-my refrigerator. I h-hung up on him and used 69 t-to call him back, but when his phone rang, it was c-coming from my bedroom! He was in there, Moseby! Someone who wanted to hurt me!" London sobbed, continuing to hug Cody.
Moseby turned to Maddie gravely.
"Call the police," he told her.
A/N: WOW, an eventful first chapter. What'd you think? Did it get your heart pumping? It got mine pumping. I'm writing this in pitch darkness at 4:00 in the morning at home by MYSELF. VERRRRRY spooky. I'm all paranoid...keep hearing stuff. ANYWAY, as for the hugging Cody, I just couldn't resist. -goofy smile- Hope you liked it! Lurve you guys. Cioa!
xoxo Trish