A message from beyond the vail

Looking at your phone you see that you have a single text message. The number isn’t one you recognized though. Now you are no stranger to getting spam messages form unknown numbers. All sorts of crap about winning a brand new tv, or how some drop dead model wanted to send you nudes. All of whatever is promised conveniently coming with the stipulation of you needing to provide your credit card details. Yet this text doesn’t resemble anything like the usual scam solicitations you’re used to dealing with. In fact it doesn’t look like anything you’ve seen happen on a smart phone!

“What in the...?” Your eyes narrow as you look at the screen, confusion starting to set in as your baffled by what you see.

Both the display for the name of the caller, and the large text message it’s self are made up entirely of some strange symbols. Some seem to be from what looks like alchemy with you able to recognize the runes due to one them being in one mmo game you play. There’s also what looks like what might be greek numbers, and perhaps even some Arabic.

It’s hard to really tell for sure as the bunch of the letters, and symbols flicker, and change almost every second. The whole message flickering, and shifting so fast it almost hurts to look at. Instinctively you hit the power on the phone to give your eyes a break. Yet even though you pressed the off button your phone remains on all those symbols still flashing. Starting to get worried now you hold down the button this time trying to **** a shut off of your phone as you thinking this might not just be a scam text, but perhaps a malicious attempt by some one to hack you.

“Shit.. shit... shit...” You hiss through gritted teeth as press down on the power button with all your might.

As seconds tick by though you realize this isn’t working either. Your phone seeming to be completely unresponsive to your attempts to power it down. In fact to your horror the symbols seem to then spread with now even the date, and time on your lock screen turning to into a mess of flickering. In a full blown panic you hit ever button on your phone frantically trying to fixes what ever was going on, you accidentally unlocking your phone in the process as your thumb pressing the home button activates the thumb print reader. Now at Home Screen you see that the names for all the apps are shifting to. With even the text title for the App Store a jumbled unreadable mess.

A sudden burst of light then disorients you, your blood running cold as you realize the flash from your phone camera just went. Quickly you turn the phone, over but you know it’s to late. Who ever this hacker is just took a photo of you. In a finally bid of desperation you roughly yank your phone out of its protector case, and sliding out the back panel pull the battery out. This causes your phone to finally go dead, you breathing a sigh of relief as the screen at last goes black.

“Fuck what the hell was that?” You ask yourself flopping back onto your bed.

Breathing a bit heavily you wipe some of the nervous sweat from your brow with your arm. Did that really just happen, did you just have your phone invaded by some intruder from the dark web, or whatever? You’re hopeful that by you removing the battery you were able to prevent any information on your phone from being swiped.

You did have some kind of sensitive stuff saved on it. Not like credit card numbers or any thing to do with money, as your mom drilled it into you that you shouldn’t keep anything to do with money online. Her even giving you the scared straight treatment by talking about how people who she had represented as a lawyer lost their entire lively hood due to their insecure finances being stolen online.

No you’re more worried about more embrassing stuff being taken. For one there’s your porn history. Obviously one with any sort of foresight would constantly clear anything lewd they had, but you being to lazy to re-search up everything again, and again foolishly had everything saved. That in combination with your camera going of means, that potential some one might have perfect **** material on you.

“Damn, it how am I supposed explain this to mom...?” You exhale frustration out through your nose as you hold up your phone to look at the blank screen.

Surely this can’t be your fault right? It’s not like you’ve gonna on any sites you haven’t been on before. To restless to just let this lie you take the battery for your phone, and put it back in. As you turn it back on, and the phone logo appears on screen you pray to god that what ever happened didn’t permanently mess up your phone. After a few seconds the lock screen then appears. Scrutinizing every detail you see nothing appearing to wrong, at least as far as you can tell. The date, background you had, and even the time all seem to be working normally. Putting in your passcode you then swipe through your apps, and they to look to be working properly.

With that you breathe out deeply relaxing into your bed. Which is when you notice it’s suddenly gotten a lot colder in your room, the hot air you just exhaled visible in the chill. A shiver running up your spine, you wrap yourself in the covers of your bed before walking over to thermostat in your room. Thinking it must be broken as it feels like some one just put on the central air at full blast you check the temperature. You then freeze in place. Fear gripping your chest, as you see the digital numbers for the thermostat are now those flickering symbols from before!

ping

Pure dread takes hold of you as the sound of a text then goes off from your phone. It has to be the hacker again right? The air for the house is a pretty advanced system so it must have some form of wi-if. At least that’s what your telling yourself. You don’t know why, but while the hacker idea is alarming, it’s a fair easier explanation to come to grips with then the alternative...

ping

Another message goes off from your phone. Slowly with shaky hands you raise it up to look at the screen. In the mess off changing symbols a consistent lettering that reads, ‘you look cute’ is always present. At once you rip out the battery again, but this time defying all logic even with its source of power removed your phone stays on. This isn’t possible... this shouldn’t be possible... Stomach tying into knots you try to tell yourself their has to be a logical explanation, that maybe there is some residual power still left in the phone or something. Or maybe some how your phone got swapped out with some sort of special phone at some point.

ping

Another notification on your phone, this time it’s an audio message. There’s a tightening in your chest as you feel goose pimples prickle over your skin. Feeling like you have **** you gradually begin to navigate to your text messages. You can see that almost ever bit of text on your screen is those same damn flickering symbols as you swipe to the messages app. Heading to the latest message you see all of texts sent by this stranger in order. It’s all still jumbling, with the first one still unreadable. Eyes falling upon the second one though your fingers tightly clench around your phone as you see a picture of yourself. It’s not one from your photos library, and based upon the angle, and dark room behind you, it’s obviously from the camera flash that just went off a few minutes ago.

Even with the freezing air in the room you feel yourself become hot. A bead of nervous sweat rolls down the side of your forehead. The unsettling sight of your own face starting back at you envelopes your heart in terror, if feeling like a fist is clenching around you insides. The darkness of the room in contrast with the camera flash from the phone some how makes the photo of yourself even more unsettling to look at. Your mouth dry as you scroll down even further to the last message. The audio clip... Your finger hesitates for a second as you hover it over the screen, then you tap the play button.

“WOo-O-UuUuLL-L-L-D Y-YyyOOoo-OoU-Uu lLLLIiIIkKkE tt-ToO pp-PL-lLA-AyY-Yy..?”

The voice from the phone speak comes out disjointed. It crackling through audible static as it stutters, and skips like a faulty record. The pitch of the voice distorting from unnaturally higher to lower so much that you can’t even discern if it’s male or females.

“Haaaaa...”

Your whole body then locks up as you then hear, and feel some ones hot breath on the back of your neck. Sensing some sort of presence in the room with you now, you stay still as statue not daring to move a muscle. All doubt in your mind is now gone as you now believe something supernatural is most certainly happening. That you are now in the presence of some sort spirit, or entity. Which leaves you with only one question... What the fuck do you do now!?!?!