Judy picked up her basket of dirty laundry and headed towards the washing machine out in the garage. As she passed the kitchen, she heard a little ‘ding’. “Someone sent me a text”, she thought, setting her basket down. Judy picked up the phone, but didn't like what she saw. The message said, “don’t go in the garage”. The words scared her, but that wasn’t the worst part. It appeared that the message was sent by her sister, Diane. That would have been fine, except that Diane had died more than a year earlier.
Judy had no idea what happened to Diane’s phone after the funeral. She assumed it was given away or donated, but now figured one of the people who came to the house after the service had stolen it. “What a rotten thing to do”, she thought, and resolved not to be afraid.

She walked to the door that led to the garage and then paused. “Wait a second, how did they know I was planning on going out in the garage?” Now she was scared again, and while standing there there not knowing what to do, the door knob jiggled. It jiggled louder. Someone on the other side was trying to open it. Luckily it was locked, but a moment later there was a loud crack followed by the sound of splitting wood. Judy stepped back in shock. There was another loud crack and the tip of a crowbar appeared between the door and the wood frame. Whoever was out there was doing their best to break in.

The phone in her hand dinged again. She looked down and read the message. “HIDE”. The text jolt her. She dropped the laundry and rushed to the back of the house. The sound of breaking wood grew louder, followed by the door slamming open. There was no time to plan, so she ran back into her bedroom and hid in the first place that came to mind, under the bed.

Heavy footsteps were close behind. Within a minute whoever it was had checked the other rooms and made their way into Judy’s. She prayed not to be discovered, although it was in vain. the skirt along the bottom of the frame lifted and a gruff face glared at her. Judy screamed as he grabbed her arm and roughly drug her out into the open.

The stocky, angry looking man gripped her throat strongly with both hands. The phone, still in Judy's hand, dinged again. He ripped it  from her and read the text. An odd look came over his face, then he grunted, dropped the phone and once again squeezed Judy's neck with both hands, cutting off her air. Just then there was a loud thud from behind the closed closet door. The intruder scrambled to his feet and brandished his crowbar. The knob on the closet door turned and the door cracked open. He gripped the crowbar tighter and nervously shifted his weight from foot to foot. There was a loud creaking sounds as the door slowly, painfully, opened a few inches farther. Unable to control his nerves any longer, the the man bolted out of the bedroom, down the hallway and back out through the garage.

Judy lay on the floor trying to catch her breath, not taking her eyes off the closet. The door slowly opened the rest of the way, revealing nothing but clothes and shoes. There was no-one inside. Shaking badly now, Judy picked up the phone. The message on the display read “im right behind u”.
The phone chimed again as a new text arrived. It said “dont worry judy. hes gone”. She began to cry. As soon as she had calmed enough, she typed into the phone, “who is this?”. After several minutes without an answer, she tried again, “Diane is this really you?” But whoever or whatever it was never replied.
- J. Sparry