Sneak Peek: The Phone Call

An excerpt from Marcy Westcott’s upcoming new book, Searching for Sanity.

I bolted straight up in bed when I heard the phone ringing. It was 1:27 in the morning. That was too early for him to call me unless…something was wrong. It rang again. I wanted to answer, but I couldn’t move my body. My freeze response was locked in. Who was calling at this hour? The question struck me like an angry viper.

Silently, I shouted at myself. Pick up the phone! Again, the question. Who is calling me?!

My inner dialogue went back and forth like two boxers trading punches. Most likely it was him—my husband, Ron. A wave of dread rushed over me.

Finally, my hand lurched forward. I grabbed the receiver and managed to force out a weak, frightened “Hello?”

All I could hear was static, intense, and thick. I recognized it as the same static we fought through each time he called me. Sometimes, our conversations were cut short because of it. Sometimes, our yearning to hear each other’s voices willed us through, but it was always there.

“Hello? Hello?” I kept repeating into the phone. I pleaded, “Honey, is that you? Say something!” 

A few seconds passed before I could make out voices. They sounded far away, unintelligible in the background, but they were there. I was baffled by these distant voices. None of them sounded like Ron. Each of my quivering hellos was a disturbing combination of frustration, irritation, and fear.

Suddenly, my attention pounced on the sound of someone breathing rapidly. It grew heavier and then morphed into gasps for air. Instinctively, I knew. It was him. He was on the line.

“TALK TO ME!” I screamed. The only response from the other end of the phone was static and gasping.

The voices grew louder, still too distant to make out what was being said, but I could sense their urgency. A palpable intensity engulfed the line. In a split second, that turned into a clear emergency. Out of nowhere, a panicked voice I didn’t recognize screamed in my ear. It was so loud and piercing I winced in pain. The voice shouted, “ILLEGAL CHECKPOINT! ILLEGAL CHECKPOINT!”

Abruptly, the static stopped. The phone line went dead…