Chapter 3 - The Ringing Deep
The shrill, electronic ringtone cut through the heavy summer afternoon like a jagged blade. Martha froze, her eyes locked on the skeletal fingers protruding from the murky brown water, gripping a sleek black device that flashed with an incoming caller ID. The screen illuminated the surrounding sludge, casting a pale, ghastly glow against the sparkling turquoise edges of the pool.
Julian dropped the pool vacuum hose with a heavy plastic thud. He stared at the glowing screen, his face turning the color of chalk as his own name blinked in bold letters across the display: SON - CALLING.
“Pick it up,” Martha choked out, her voice barely a whisper as she retreated another step toward the patio table. “Julian, don’t you dare touch that.”
“It’s ringing from underwater,” Julian said, his voice entirely devoid of emotion, sounding hollow and detached from reality. “How is the battery even holding a charge after all this time? Unless... unless someone was down there recently.”
He didn't wait for Martha to answer. With a sudden, decisive lunge, Julian dropped to his knees at the edge of the coping, plunged his arm past the elbow into the freezing, contaminated sludge, and wrenched the phone from the bony grasp. The skeletal hand slipped back beneath the surface with a sickening splash, leaving behind a swirl of dark silt.
Julian pulled the phone close to his face, his thumb hovering over the screen. The call had just stopped, but the notification center displayed a single unread text message received exactly three minutes ago, just as Martha had emptied the vacuum hose.
“Read it,” Martha demanded, her fear finally overtaking her anger as she clutched her patterned blouse. “What does it say?”
Julian’s eyes scanned the glowing text. His breath hitched, and the phone slipped from his trembling fingers, clattering onto the hot concrete.
May you like
The message on the screen read: “I told you she would try to drain the truth, Julian. Now help me dig out before the tide comes in.”
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