She told me

Chapter 1

The voice is terrifying. It chills me to the bone every time I hear it. The voice is beautiful, it is soft and gentle, like its owner is trying to soften the impact of the words she whispers to me, but it doesn't work because I don't know who she is. The girl who's been speaking to me almost every day for the last few months, the girl who no one else can hear. The girl who begs me to save them.

"Lucas"

I tear off my headphones as a figure approaches. I don't know who he is or how he knows my name but that is on me, I should have been paying attention to my classmate's introductions on my first day, instead of tuning in to the voice's ranking of her favourite ice cream flavours.

I force a smile as he stops in front of me, hoping he doesn't notice the wire of the headphones flapping loosely against my abdomen. He grins at me, "you run here often?"

"Sometimes" I reply, "my mom is not a great fan of me playing video games all day"

He chuckles and I feel a rush of happiness, maybe this town will be different, maybe I'll actually have friends here.

"Well, I have to go" he says, "see you in class tomorrow"

I nod and slip my headphones back on as he sprints ahead of me. The voice had been unusually quiet through our entire exchange, but she starts up again as I resume running. Something about how computers suck and should be destroyed. I sigh and begin the long run back home.

                                                                                  ******************

I pull out my keys and unlock the door of the two-bedroom house I share with my parents. Not that they spend much time at home. I step inside, enveloped by the familiar darkness and distinct lack of their presence. There's a note on the fridge, detailing the process of warming up the casserole that is my dinner. I sigh, one time you almost burn down your kitchen and everyone just assumes you're going to do it again.

I settle down at the kitchen table with my meal. Normally, I would sit in front of the TV but since the voice is keeping up a steady stream of chatter, I figure this is the better option. The truth is, the voice can be comforting sometimes, kind of like having a friend in your head. Plus, once you get used to her, she can be pretty fun. Its only when I wake up in the middle of the night in cold sweat to her screaming, that I realise that there are downsides to her presence.

She's always screaming at me to save them, sometimes yelling, sometimes begging, but the message is the same, Save them. She usually yells for about half an hour, before quieting down and letting me get back to getting some beauty sleep.

 I wash my plate and set it out to dry, making sure all the appliances have been turned off. I'm a light sleeper but still the idea of waking up to a burning house isn't very appealing. As I crawl into bed, I realise I don't know the name of the guy I met on my run. 'Well, there's a good chance he'll pretend I don't exist in school tomorrow' is my last thought as I drift off to sleep.

"They're in danger"

I snap awake at the sentence and groan as realization hits. "One day" I mutter, "just one day is all I ask"

She continues repeating the sentence, the panic in her voice increasing, as usual, oblivious of my request.

I sit up in bed, knowing from experience that the only thing to do is to wait it out. At the twenty-five-minute mark, she suddenly stops. As I settle back into my pillow, she sobs, "please"

I freeze. She's never cried before. She's been on the verge of tears before but she's never cried. I sit back up as she goes silent. I wait there in the silence for a few minutes, closing my eyes. But there is nothing. I lie back down, still feeling uneasy. I don't sleep peacefully that night.