The air in Mercy's room felt colder than it should. It always did after midnight — after the phone buzzed with those messages that shouldn't exist, those whispers from someone who was supposed to be buried six feet under.
Mercy sat cross-legged on her bed, the glow of the cracked screen illuminating her wide, exhausted eyes. The latest message blinked at her, simple but enough to freeze her veins solid.
"Did you think I wouldn't find you?"
She re-read it for what felt like the hundredth time. Her thumb hovered over the reply button but didn't dare press it. The phone — that stupid, cursed phone — had become her obsession, her anchor, her chain all at once.
Some nights, she convinced herself it was just a cruel prank. That Liam — or whatever was left of him — wasn't really behind the flickering words and ghost calls that came through the static. But then the messages would twist too personal, too sharp — secrets only Liam could've known.
A soft knock at her bedroom door made her jump so hard the phone slipped from her fingers, thumping against her blanket.
"Mercy?"
It was her sister, Kara, voice muffled by the thin wood.
Mercy scrambled to shove the phone under her pillow. "Yeah?" Her voice cracked. She cleared her throat. "Come in."
Kara poked her head in, her wild curls spilling into the room before she did. She frowned when she saw Mercy perched on the bed like a startled cat.
"You okay?" Kara asked, stepping inside. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
Mercy almost laughed — but it came out strangled. "Funny."
Kara sighed, folding her arms. "Seriously. You barely sleep anymore. I swear you haven't eaten since Tuesday. Talk to me, Mer. Please."
Mercy's throat tightened. She loved her sister — more than anyone left in this world — but how could she explain this without sounding insane? She patted the mattress beside her. Kara dropped down with a dramatic sigh, the old bed squeaking under her weight.
"Okay, so?" Kara pressed, nudging Mercy's knee.
Mercy forced a shaky smile. "What if I told you… I think someone's trying to talk to me."
Kara raised a brow. "On the phone? So block them. You always do this — you get attached to freaks online—"
"It's not like that." Mercy's whisper sliced through the ramble. "It's not a random stranger. It's… it's Liam."
Kara froze. The silence stretched, heavy and awkward. Kara's eyes darted to the pillow, as if she could see the phone pulsing underneath.
"Mercy," Kara said softly. "Liam's dead."
"I know."
The words hung there, heavy with all the things left unsaid — the way Liam had died, the way they'd buried him closed-casket, the way the police never really answered her questions about what they'd found — or what they hadn't.
"I think he's… I don't know," Mercy whispered. "Stuck? Or maybe he never really left."
Kara grabbed her hand, squeezing it so tight Mercy's knuckles went white. "Please, don't do this to yourself again. You spent two years trying to find out what happened to him. It almost killed you too."
Mercy's eyes brimmed, but she didn't look away. "Maybe that's why he's talking to me now. Because I never stopped looking."
Kara pulled away, raking her hands through her hair. She stood up, pacing like a caged cat. "Or maybe you're just sleep-deprived and paranoid and your mind's playing tricks on you."
Mercy bristled. "It's real. The messages, the voice — they're real."
Kara turned back, eyes shining with frustration and something softer underneath. "Then let me see. Prove it."
Mercy hesitated. The phone felt hot under her pillow, like it knew someone else was here. Like it didn't want to be seen.
"Please," Kara repeated, voice breaking. "You're scaring me, Mer."
Slowly, Mercy reached under the pillow and pulled it out. The cracked screen flickered to life at her touch. Kara leaned over her shoulder, peering at the chat window.
There it was. The message still glowed: Did you think I wouldn't find you?
Kara read it, her frown deepening. "Could be anyone—"
Before she could finish, the phone vibrated violently in Mercy's palm. The ringtone — that old, haunting melody that had played at Liam's funeral — filled the small room like a cold wind.
Mercy's breath caught. Kara's eyes widened in horror.
"Answer it," Kara whispered.
Mercy stared at the screen. No caller ID. Just a single word: LIAM.
With a trembling thumb, she slid the green icon.
The silence on the other end was worse than any scream. She could hear faint static — like someone breathing underwater. Then, through the crackle, a voice. Ragged. Hollow. Familiar.
"Mercy."
Kara slapped a hand over her mouth. Her wide eyes locked on Mercy's tear-streaked face.
"Liam?" Mercy choked out. "What do you want?"
The static pulsed. Then the voice, softer this time, but clearer:
"Come back. You left me."
Mercy's whole body shuddered. "I didn't leave you — you died! You — you—" Her voice broke.
The line went dead. Just like that. Silence.
Kara backed away from the bed like it might swallow her whole. "Mercy, what the hell was that?"
Mercy stared at the phone, her mind spinning. Her chest burned with panic and dread — but beneath it, something else throbbed too. A horrible, flickering hope.
"He wants me to come back," she whispered. "Back where?"
Kara shook her head. "Don't. You are not doing this. Whatever this is, you have to stop. Block the number. Smash the phone. Burn it if you have to—"
But Mercy barely heard her. Her eyes were locked on the screen. A new message appeared, so fast she almost thought she imagined it.
"Find me where you lost me."
Mercy's mind reeled back through old memories — the bridge, the woods, the frozen lake where they'd found his car but not his body.
She stood, pushing past Kara, who grabbed at her arm.
"Mercy! Where are you going?"
Mercy's voice was quiet, but it cut through the fear. "To finish this."
Outside, the night swallowed her whole. The wind whipped her hair around her face as she slid into her old, dented car. The phone buzzed again — another message. This one was an address. Deep in the woods. The place the police had searched and sealed off after Liam's disappearance.
Mercy started the engine. The headlights cut through the fog like a blade. Kara ran out onto the porch, screaming her name, but Mercy couldn't stop now. If she did, she'd never know.
The trees swallowed her headlights as she drove into the darkness, gravel crunching under bald tires. Her hands gripped the wheel so hard her knuckles ached.
When she reached the turnoff, her stomach lurched. The dirt path was overgrown, barely a trail anymore. The same path they'd walked together that night — the night she'd lost him.
She killed the engine. The forest pressed in — alive with whispers only she could hear. She clutched the phone like a talisman, its screen flickering with static.
"Liam?" she whispered. Her breath curled in the cold.
The phone buzzed again. One last message.
"Behind you."
Mercy froze. The wind died. The forest went still. Slowly, heart hammering in her ears, she turned.
There, at the edge of the trees, stood a figure half-shrouded in mist. Familiar. Broken. Smiling.
"Liam?" she gasped.
The figure stepped forward — and the world went dark.