Chapter 1

"Hey, Ashley!" Erica called her best friend, during lunchtime on the last day of school before winter break.

Ashley and Erica had known one other since kindergarten and were best friends. Erica was the most popular student in their grade, she was always an excellent problem solver, which along with her dry sense of humor was why people were drawn to her. Ashley, on the other hand, was not as popular as Erica but was happy to be best friends with someone well-liked and admired. Ashley was a person who could be trusted; she kept secrets -- as secrets should be kept. She was also a smart girl who got As on every test.

"Would you like to sit outside with me?" asked Erica.

"Sure thing!" said Ashley, with the usual bounce in her stride as she smiled.

The school cafeteria was quite large, with indoor and outdoor areas. The outdoor tables had brown wooden benches that could seat six people. The interior had regular cafeteria tables, which were white and had attached bench seats on each long table side. It was winter and snow lightly powdered everything outdoors.

As she brushed the snow off the bench, Ashley asked, "What did you bring for lunch?"

They sat down on one of the outdoor benches, and Erica replied, "Two sandwiches, some fruit, and orange juice. What have you got today?"

"I bought an apple, a cup of yogurt, and a hamburger," replied Ashley. "I'm glad that it has warmed up a bit. The sun feels nice on my back."

"Yes, it is refreshing out here," said Erica. "I'm glad we decided to come outside. We need some vitamin D."

"Erica, would you like to do an experiment with me this afternoon? We could try some new things on our phones," said Ashley.

"Yeah, sure."

Ashley and Erica had done a lot of amateur science experiments over the past few months at Ashley's house. Erica and Ashley were next-door neighbors. They often went to one another's house.

After school, Ashley ran over to Erica's and said, "Come on Erica, grab your stuff, and let's go to my house!"

"Okay, let's go," said Erica as she gave Ashley one of her rare, often suppressed smiles.

Ashley smiled back. Erica was a bit reserved and did not smile all the time. She rarely smiled at people she wasn't close to, and it was almost impossible to get her to laugh. She remained calm, even when something bad seemed imminent. Erica did not display emotions as dramatically as other pre-teens. On the other hand, Ashley continuously radiated joy. She had often tried to make Erica laugh, but failed every time. Ashley told jokes, teased Erica, made funny faces, and pulled lots of pranks, but none of her antics made Erica laugh.

They walked over to Ashley's house. The two-story house was white with picture windows on the front. Erica's house had the exact same floor plan as Ashley's, but with a beige multi-textured exterior. Ashley led Erica to her room. Ashley's room was decorated with hearts and pictures of dogs. The bedroom walls were pink. She had a white double bed in the corner of the room, her desk was on the opposite side. The center of the room had a rug with bean bags.

"So, what do you want to do?" asked Ashley.

Erica paused before answering.

"How about we try calling ourselves on our own phones," suggested Erica.

Ashley chuckled, "Well, maybe we should try..."

"Of course we should!" interrupted Erica.

Ashley dialed her number on her phone. She paused on the next to the last number.

"What's wrong?" asked Erica.

"Nothing."

"You sure?" asked Erica, suspiciously.

"Uhhh, what if," before Ashley could finish her sentence Erica said, "Just try it"

"Okay."

Ashley dialed her last two numbers and pressed the call button. On the 4th ring, someone picked up.

"Oh my god!" exclaimed Ashley.

"Did someone answer?" asked Erica.

"Yes!" Ashley said with a look of worry.

Ashley tossed her phone between them. Erica stared at the phone.

"Hello. Hello?" said a voice on the other end of the phone.

Ashley was shocked. Her mouth gaped open.

A few seconds later, Erica responded, "Hi."

The voice said, "23, 5, 1, 18, 5, 5, 22, 9, 12."

Erica quickly typed the numbers into her phone, and asked, "Why are you telling us these numbers?"

There was no response. The person had hung-up.

"That was kind of creepy, someone answered," Erica said, although she did not look shocked at all.

Ashley was still in shock by what had happened. Her heart raced and her palms were sweaty.

"Yeah, super creepy," said Ashley.

Erica kept her eyes locked on the numbers that the person had called out.

"Do you have any idea what those numbers mean?" Ashley asked Erica.

"Nope."

"Let's go out and play in the snow for a bit," suggested Ashley. "Maybe you'll think of something."

"Okay. But what if he's out there waiting for us?" said Erica in a sarcastic tone.

"Don't scare me, Erica," said Ashely.

Erica and Ashley played in the soft, cotton-like snow. Around 4:00 PM they went inside the house to warm up with some hot chocolate. Their footprints were left in the snow.

After her last swallow of hot chocolate, Erica said, "I probably need to go home now."

"Aw, can't you stay awhile longer? You can have dinner with us, and we can play some more after dinner. Since it is Friday, and it was the last day of school for the next three weeks, we need to celebrate. You can stay a bit late, right?"

"I guess," said Erica.

"Yay!" exclaimed Ashley.

Ashley's phone rang. She and Erica jumped. Ashley was more startled than Erica. She exhaled when she saw Mom on the caller ID.

"My mom said she and my dad are running late," said Erica, then, she suggested, "Want to go out to have dinner at a restaurant?"

"Sure," said Erica.

They entered their favorite pizza and pasta parlor and took a seat at a table in the back. The traditional red and white checkered tablecloth held a vintage red, glass candle holder with a white votive candle. The stained glass, tiffany hanging parlor lamp did not add much light to the table. Erica looked around and noticed a man dressed in black seated at the next table. She and Ashley gazed at one another, as to signal they both thought he looked creepy.

After placing their orders, the girls chatted about the school's winter holiday party they had attended at the end of the school day. A few minutes later, as Erica and Ashley were dining on tomato pasta with seafood, the man looked at them for a few seconds.

They had almost forgotten about the creepy man sitting next to them until he slipped a paper onto Erica and Ashley's table. It was the first time Ashley had seen an expression of shock on Erica's face. It wasn't a total look of shock, but the closest look of despair she had ever observed from her friend. There was a mix of fear and shock on her face.

The man gave Erica a stare. She took that to mean, "open the note."

Erica grabbed the note. She hesitated a bit, then slowly opened it. Instead of words, there was a series of numbers. Could they be the numbers: 23, 5, 1, 18, 5, 5, 22, 9, 12? She glanced at the paper and saw 23, 5, 1, 18... She looked away from the note, pretending to dismiss it, so the man wouldn't think she was startled.

"Yes, the dance was a lot of fun," Erica continued in her normal tone. Then under her breath with a gasp loud enough for Ashley to hear. Erica murmured, "Oh my goodness."

"What is it, Erica?" Ashley asked, in a worried tone.

Erica signaled for Ashley to come to sit beside her. She showed the note to Ashley. Ashley gasped. Erica noticed the man who had been sitting beside them, had walked away and faded into a crowd of people at the restaurant.

"Are you finished eating? Let's go," said Erica.

"Yes, please, let's go," said Ashley.

Erica and Ashley trudged in the deep packed snow on the moonlit sidewalks as they rushed back to Ashley's house.