Dove's alarm on her phone started ringing and she opened her pale green eyes. She reached for her phone but stopped midway when the alarm stopped and heavy breathing started.
"Stop it!" She hissed.
She sat up and ran her fingers through her shoulder long, medium brown hair while staring at her phone. This had been going on for nearly two weeks now and it kept getting worse.
"Dove!"
Her name came through her phone as a long sound from a creepy, deep voice.
"Nope, we're not doing that," she said.
She grabbed her phone and turned it off completely. She got out of bed and felt shivers going down her spine. It felt unnatural as if someone or something was constantly watching her. She kept looking at her phone while backing out of the bedroom and into the living room. A loud siren suddenly came through on full volume from her Alexa speaker. She covered her ears and looked in the direction of the device.
"Alexa, stop!" She commanded.
The command was ignored and the siren kept going.
"Alexa, stop!" She screamed.
The siren stopped but the same creepy, deep voice from her phone came through. Once again her name was being called in one long sound.
"Alexa, shut up!" She yelled.
The voice let out a laugher and then started screaming her name over and over again.
"Dove! Dove! Dove! You're mine!"
She had had enough. She ran to grab her car keys and then ran bare footed out of her house. She jumped in her car and started driving. It didn't take long before the touchscreen started flickering in black, grey and red colors. The voice came through again, constantly screaming her name. She pulled over, killed the engine, got out of the car and started running. Car or not, she was going to see the one person she had mentioned this to already no matter how early in the morning it was. She ran to his house and started ringing the door bell like crazy.
"Seth!" She yelled. "Open up!"
It took several minutes but finally she heard the lock turn. He opened while yawning and rubbing his eyes. His hair was a mess and he gave her an elevator stare. She had completely forgotten that she had run out of her home still in her pajamas pants and tank top.
"Is everything okay?" He asked.
"It's still happening," she said.
"What is?" He asked. "Oh wait, the phone thing. I still think someone hacked you and is setting your alarm to mess with you."
"It spoke to me," she said.
"The hacker?" He asked.
"It didn't sound human," she said.
He looked at her for three long seconds and then started laughing.
"Seth, please," she said.
"Oh, you're serious," he stopped laughing. "Okay, tell me what happened."
"It was screaming my name through my phone, Alexa and my car. I left my car on the road and ran here. Whatever it is, it comes through everything," she said.
"Okay, let's test that theory," he said. "Come on."
"Where are we going?" She asked.
"Inside," he chuckled. "You need a good night's sleep. This thing is wearing you out."
He grabbed her hand and pulled her into his living room and over to the television.
"Whoever is messing with Dove, speak through my tv," he said.
They stared at the tv for ten seconds but nothing happened.
"No?" He turned to face his radio. "How about my radio? Tune in on whatever station you want."
They waited ten seconds but nothing came through there either.
"See," he said. "It's a hacker who's hacked your passwords. We can fix this. We'll get someone to update your security and..."
"Dove!"
Her name was being called in the same long sound as earlier. Seth's eyes widened and he ran to his bedroom with Dove following behind. His phone was left on the nightstand and the voice came through there.
"What the fuck?" He mumbled.
"Turn it off," she said.
"It's fucking creepy," he said.
"Turn it off, Seth!" She yelled.
He turned off his phone and looked at her.
"It's online," she said.
"What is?" He asked.
"Your tv and radio are old. They're not connected to the internet. It targets me through devices that's online. You don't have an Alexa or Siri," she said.
"I have a laptop," he said.
"Don't you fucking dare turning it on," she said.
He looked at his phone again and then placed it back on the nightstand. It was best to keep it turned off for now.
"Okay, say I do believe you. What is it then?" He asked.
"You heard it. It didn't sound human, did it?" She asked.
"No," he sighed. "But that can be done through programs. Like in Scream. It's easy to change your voice."
"I left my phone at home and my car on the road. How would a person know I had come to you just minutes later?" She asked.
"Maybe I'm hacked too," he said.
"You don't believe me," she said.
"You gotta admit it sounds crazy," he said.
She shook her head no and turned around. He hurried after her and grabbed her arm.
"Don't leave," he said.
"I feel like my life is in danger and since you won't believe me, I need to figure it out on my own," she said.
"I wanna believe you, Dove. I really do. And a part of me already does but I've always been a man rooted in reality. I don't believe in ghosts," he said.
"It's not a ghost. It's something more sinister. Like a demon or something," she said.
"I don't believe in those either but maybe I'm wrong. Let's figure it out somehow, okay?" He asked.
He looked at her with pleading eyes and she finally nodded.
"Okay," he smiled. "Fuck, I'm hungry. Are you hungry?"
"Yes," she said.
"I was planning on going shopping today since I don't really have anything. Let's head to the mall and grab some breakfast there. Then we can shop some groceries and go back home and talk about it. No phones or computers allowed," he said.
"Just let me borrow a hoodie or something," she said.
"Of course," he said. "You also left a pair of sneakers back when you crashed here a month. I found them under my couch yesterday."
"I've been looking for those," she said.
He walked back to the bedroom and grabbed a hoodie for her.
"Let's go," he said. "We need some fuel in our bodies and then we'll figure this out somehow."