Upon arriving home I ran straight upstairs to get changed. The smell of burning pizza drifted upstairs so I assumed that Mum was cooking tea. Cooking never was her talent, hence the familiar burning smell! As I sat and ate with my younger brother I made a list of any relevant work that needed completing this weekend. At least this way, I would be able to keep organised, unlike previous attempts where revision books and notepads have ended up strewn across my bedroom floor.
Mum reminded me before I set off to make a good impression and not to have any friends round while babysitting (he is the local doctor after all). Mum mentioned that she had heard rumours that the house is huge and they have a maid to do the cleaning. I decided that if I’m going to be looking after their children, it’s only fair to have a sneaky little look around the place. The doctor and his family only moved into our street six months ago and I am the first person he has approached to look after his children so I feel quite privileged (or maybe they were just desperate!). I found myself wondering what the decorations would be like and whether the inside is as extravagant as the outside looks. The garden is beautiful and they have their own landscape architect (that’s a gardener to me or you).
On approaching the house I began to feel slightly nervous. I still had Mum’s “Make a good impression” comment on my mind, so had jogged the majority of the way in order to arrive early enough to be able to meet the children properly. The house is actually a converted church that has been totally refurbished and modernised. To enter the grounds I had to press a button next to the gigantic gates which are electronically operated but look very old fashioned, like they could be wrought iron. I thought to myself that if the property was originally a church, maybe these could be the original gates intended for the graveyard and surrounding land. Possibly the couple may have wished to retain some of the key features. The gates were very gothic looking in appearance; they reminded me of some of the vampire movies I had seen previously. Above the gates; I noticed a silver cloud of mist, highlighted against the raven black sky. As the mist slowly drifted across the sky, I experienced a cold chill which made my body tingle all over. I felt a strange sensation, like somebody was watching and examining every move I made. I remembered that I had also had this similar feeling when I was walking home. I impatiently pressed the intercom button as I was anxious to get indoors and forget these strange instincts. I was probably being nervous unnecessarily, but something didn’t seem quite right and I couldn’t work out what. I kept getting the recurring feeling that I wasn’t alone but couldn’t explain why.
“Hi Frankie, come straight up, I’ve left the door open” said the voice coming from the intercom. I heard a click and the gates gradually began to separate and beckon me inside. I expect this voice was Amanda; Briony had previously encountered the doctor’s wife at the local Post Office which her father manages. Briony said that Amanda seemed like a genuinely lovely person, but the reason that she distinctly remembers her is because she was quite surprised to see her smoking as she did not expect a doctor’s wife to have any bad habits.
I was astounded at the overall length of the driveway. It took the same amount of time to reach the door as it does for me to walk up our whole street. The gravel crunched beneath my feet as I got closer to the house. I decided that it was a shame that it was winter as I could not appreciate the views of the gardens in this black, blanket of night that surrounded me. All I was able to recognize were the eerie shadows protruding from the statues. As I marched past the sculptures, I noticed that they had been constructed from solid stone. I was aware of how heavy they must be and curious to know how they arrived here. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that the statues had been constructed in the shape of enormous gargoyles. I decided that if I ever have my own house, I would decline these imposing ornaments as they are extremely unattractive. Their monstrous silhouettes towered above me and I began to worry about the consequences of one of them toppling over. Each time I tiptoed past one of the huge structures, their eyes seemed to follow me, inquisitive to distinguish who this intruder was that had interrupted the silence. I could almost hear their thoughts; accusing me of trespassing on their territory, curious to identify what my intentions were. I rushed past, but all the time the gargoyles maintained their furious stare, as if questioning who I was and what I was doing here on their property, an imposter who had disturbed the calm of the night.
Upon reaching the actual house I noticed how symmetrical it. The building was swamped in shadows from the cluster of trees that surrounded it. It seemed very dark and uninviting but I proceeded walking regardless. The only shimmer of light was from the moon but there was something unnatural about that tonight.
I arrived at the front door and entered as asked. I shouted “Hello” but did not dare go in search of anyone in case it was perceived as rude to walk in uninvited. Luckily, Amanda must have felt my hesitation as she popped her head around one of the many doors and ushered me to “Come this way, I let the kids stay up to meet you.” The children were sat at a table in what must have been the kitchen; but appeared to be the size of our garden and garage combined. Amanda had already dressed them in their pyjamas; they were finishing supper while Amanda was applying her make-up. Amanda told me that luckily for me, the children had been to a play park in the afternoon and were both exhausted and ready for bed. I was secretly quite glad as my plans had not involved entertaining them for hours. The doctor entered the room and Amanda introduced him as “Mark” which I was appreciative of as I’ve always known him just as “doctor.” The children both received kisses from their parents and were sent up to bed. Mark gave me his mobile number to contact him in case of any problems and showed me how to work the necessities (the fire, fridge and remote). I needed his tuition as well as everything in the house was so expensive, but so complicated with it! The seats reclined, the fire was controlled by a remote and even the lights had various different settings.
After the voices and footsteps had dispersed and I realised I was alone in this unfamiliar mansion, I felt a sense of unease and loneliness. I tried to occupy myself by having a general nosy around a selection of rooms, but the more I persisted, more overwhelming was this feeling of discomfort I was experiencing. It was quite unexplained and I had never suffered from this before, but I began to feel tormented by sensations of nervousness and panic for no apparent reason. Even though I knew full well that the central heating had been activated, there was an eerie chill surrounding me. Every so often, a mysterious breeze brushed past my legs even though I was positive all the doors and windows were locked. I began to feel restless and unsettled so decided it would be more appropriate to sit next to the fire and concentrate on my course work as previously intended.
I had been writing for 15 minutes when the phone rang. I jumped initially but then smiled when I realised it would probably be Mark and Amanda checking that the children hadn’t got out of bed. I picked up the receiver. “Hello”. The only noise that greeted me was a shivering silence and then “click”, as if somebody had hung the phone up at the other end. I presumed it was somebody who had lost their signal and as it was cordless, took the phone into the lounge where I was studying in case they called back.
I was correct, after 15 minutes the phone rang again and I picked it up. “Hello”. This time I could hear what I thought was the muffled breathing of a male.”Hello” I repeated but the person on the other end hung up once more. I decided it must be Mark and Amanda. After all, they were at a party and the noise and music must be making it difficult for them to hear. I went to the kitchen and retrieved Mark’s mobile number from the fridge. I was concerned that he may be trying to contact me for something important so resolved to return his call. “Hi Mark, its Frankie, have you tried calling me?” I said. His response was “No Frankie, why has somebody been calling?” I went on to tell him about the phone calls but told him not to worry and that it was probably the wrong number. I told him to enjoy the rest of his night but from the way he was slurring his words it sounded like he didn’t need any encouragement.
In an attempt to try to solve the puzzle and confusion I pressed 1471 to try to trace the number, but the recorded answer phone message informed me that the caller had withheld their number. Very Helpful!
I tried to return to studying but felt myself becoming increasingly distracted with the anonymous caller. The possibility that my friends had managed to get my number through directory enquiries crossed my mind. It would be expected of them to try playing a practical joke on me while they’re at the fair. I concluded I would try to catch them out if they persisted with their game.
After another 15 minutes, the phone rang again. I picked it up but was feeling very nervous and uneasy. “Hello.” I was met with the same prolonged silence and heavy breathing. This was getting really antagonizing. I hurriedly rushed to close all the curtains plus make sure the doors and windows were locked as I suddenly felt very exposed in these unfamiliar surroundings. I checked the windows, they were all closed. I checked the back door but that was also shut tight. I went to try the handle of the front door, I pushed down on the handle but that was locked too. I desperately racked my brains trying to think of all the possible exits and entrances but it was really difficult being in unfamiliar surroundings. I retraced my steps back to walking up the driveway and remembered I had seen a patio door which joined on to a paved area near the front of the house, overlooking the garden. I found the patio door and cautiously put out my hand to test the handle. As I pulled on the handle the door slid open. My heart stopped. I raced upstairs to check the children but they were sound asleep. I looked in every single room I could find but there was nothing, no signs of a disturbance or break in. Everything remained still and quiet and I determined that either Mark or Amanda must have accidently left the door unlocked. I decided to return and try to concentrate on figuring out who could be making the nuisance calls.
The calls repeated themselves seven times before I snapped and decided to call my friends and work out whether this was their idea of a prank. I called Briony’s mobile but could hear the music from the fair down the handset so I knew it couldn’t be them. They sounded like they were really enjoying themselves and I regretted not going with them. Instead I was alone in a creepy, deserted house and my only company seemed to be a maniac who liked the sound of my voice.
I tried to think of all sorts of situations which could result in somebody not being connected properly but came to the conclusion that somebody was intending to make these malicious calls, otherwise why would they withhold their number? I sat and wondered whether this had happened previously, but surely if Mark and Amanda were aware of it they would have let me know.
The calls continued until half eleven at night, by this time I was feeling so anxious that the only sensible option I could think of was to call the police. I had considered all other possibilities and come to the conclusion that whoever was on the other end of the phone, fully intended to frighten me. This psycho was probably sat somewhere out there getting a kick out of frightening teenage girls and he had to be stopped.
My thoughts were interrupted by a vague creaking noise that was coming from one of the upstairs rooms. It was followed by a smash as an object smashed onto the floor. I ran up to the children’s room and woke them up. I didn’t have time to get them dressed so I found them each a coat and gave them some shoes to wear with their pyjamas. They were asking lots of questions but I knew I didn’t have time to respond, I was just aware that I may not be alone in this house and needed to get out fast. I carried the toddler downstairs in my arms and practically dragged the older child by his hand, all the time expecting this presence to emerge from his hiding place.
I called the police on my mobile and told them of the incidents. I was gasping for breath and the policeman could probably sense how terrified I was from my voice. I told him of the entire situation and that I was babysitting alone with two young children. He tried to reassure me which worked momentarily, until the house phone rang again. The policeman on the end of my mobile told me to ignore it this time but if it rings again to answer it and to leave the person on the other end of the phone for as long as possible. In the meantime I went upstairs and got the children out of bed as a precaution. My intentions were to leave Mark and Amanda a note explaining that we had gone to stay down the road at Mum’s as I couldn’t cope with this. The policeman stayed on the end of my mobile to monitor the situation which helped me remain calm. He told me that he was going to trace the call next time it rang and that there was an officer on his way to pick me up and take me round to my Mum’s where we felt safe. That’s the good thing about living in such a small town, everybody seems to know each other and my parents also know members of the police.
As the kids and I were standing near the front door waiting for our escort, the phone rang again. I did as the policeman had advised me and left the caller on the phone for as long as possible. I even tried to ask him some questions to make sure he remained on the line. “Who are you?” “Why are you doing this?” “Where have you got this number?” but was greeted with the exact same spine-chilling stillness. While I waited for the appropriate time to enable the police to trace the call, I prayed and prayed that this man would be caught so he would not be able to terrorize any teenager like this again. At last, I could hear the distant but completely recognisable sound of the police siren and knew that somebody was on their way to collect me and the children.
The considerate policeman had stayed on the end of my mobile all this time and I put it back to my ear to say Thank-You for being so caring and thoughtful. As I began to speak, he interrupted me abruptly and I noticed that the reassuring tone of his voice had now changed to panic.
“Frankie, you need to get out of there quick, we’ve traced the call and he’s on the upstairs extension.” I took the kids to stand next to the front door and wait for the police. I was getting impatient and wondering why they were taking so long. Then I remembered the gates and realized they would need me to press the intercom button to enable them to enter. I told the kids to remain stood exactly where they were and not to leave each other. I told the older child to hold the toddlers hand and not to let go. He promised me he would. I ran into the kitchen and could hear the police clicking frantically on the intercom. I pushed the button and told the police “Please come quickly, there’s somebody in the house.” I ran back through the hallway towards the children, making sure I had closed the kitchen door firmly behind me. I tried to comfort them as I knew they were panicking and very frightened.
I could hear the familiar sound of gravel crunching under car tyres. I have never been so overjoyed to see the police. I could hear the sound of footsteps running up the drive. It was suddenly interrupted with another recognisable sound. A sound I had heard earlier. My eyes darted towards the kitchen door. I could see the handle moving down slowly and knew why I recognised the creaking noise. My gaze seemed transfixed to the door handle. All sorts of thoughts ran through my head. I woke up with a start to a banging noise. It was the police knocking on the door. “Frankie, it’s the police, open the door.”
