Disturbing Dreams: A Collection of Short Horror Stories

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Jake flicked through his text messages on his phone. One from his ex, another from his mom, and another spam message. He sighed miserably. His phone was almost never active. Why did he even have one? At that moment, the phone vibrated. He received a short text from Nick, his friend. "Call me", it read. Nick was a friend from freshman year of college. Kind of annoying, but a good friend when required to be. Suddenly, Nick's number popped up on his bright phone. Jake accepted the call. Nick's freckled face appeared on the screen. "Hey man, where are you? Party starts in 20 minutes!" Nick cheered, pointing the camera to the crates of alcohol in the back of his car. Jake groaned. "I know, I know, don't rush me." The two were polar opposites, Jake was almost always late, but Nick tended to be really early. "Fine, but you better be here soon." Nick pouted. The phone bounced up and down. Nick's face turned pale. "I-I think I just ran over someone." Jake stared at his friend. Nick got out of the car and checked. "Never mind!" he yelled back to the phone. "False alarm! Just a tree branch!" Jake rolled his eyes. "See you in 20," he told Nick. He hung up before Nick could respond, and tucked his phone into his back pocket. Jake threw on a black jacket and his most comfy pair of jeans, and closed the front door behind him.

A gust of air greeted him as he walked out the door. The night air filled his lungs. There was no noise. Jake walked to his car until something held him back. Yelping, Jake swatted the air behind him, but his hand made no contact with anything. Looking around, there was nothing there. Jake looked at the back of his pants, where it had caught. The back pocket was ripped. Jake shrugged. It was fine, he had more pairs of jeans anyways. It must have gotten caught on like a lowhanging branch of a tree or something, there were plenty of those in his yard. He kept walking and got into his truck.

He arrived at the party after 10 minutes. Toilet paper littered the yard and people were hanging off the big oak tree in the front. He walked in, and saw Nick, holding a beer in one hand, and some girl's hand in the other. "Hey, Jake!" Nick greeted, his voice slightly slurred. Nick ran up to him and slapped him on the back. "Where you been? Party started like an hour ago!" Jake laughed. "Maybe for you! I was actually the one on time this time." Ben, one of Jake's other friends appeared out of the crowd. He seemed even drunker than Nick. "Whassapppp Jack??!" he said, practically falling on Jake. Nick laughed. "I think he needs to go home," he said. 

Jake groaned. "You're probably right. I'll call an Uber." He looked at Ben fondly. "Couldn't you hold it together just a BIT longer? Come on man." Jake patted his pockets for his phone. The familiar lump that was his phone wasn't there. He shoved his hands into his pockets. No luck. He looked at Nick. "Can I borrow your phone to call my phone? I'm sure it's around here somewhere." Jake asked. Nick reluctantly handed his phone over. 

Jake typed in his own number and he strained his ears, trying to hear his loud ringtone somewhere in the house. People bumped into him, and the music, blasting rap, was too loud to hear his phone ringing. Someone tripped over his foot and spilled their drink all over his shoe. Jake sighed. That would be a mess to clean up. Suddenly, Jake heard someone pick up on the other end. 

Confused, he listened, not knowing who would have picked up his phone. It was silent on the other end, so it wasn't at the loud party. "Who is this?" Jake ventured. He watched Nick, who was now trying to balance multiple (some sharp) objects on his curly-haired head. "Is someone there?" Jake tried again. Nothing. Jake started to get annoyed. "Is this a prank? Who are you? I'm warning you, I will find out who you are if you stole my phone."

Jake started. A raspy giggle and then heavy breathing came through on the other end. "Who is it indeed?" The voice said, a lilt to its voice. Jake gave up. He hung up on the caller, it was probably nothing anyway. He handed Nick his phone back, who promptly attempted to balance it on a candle (non-lit). "That was super weird." Jake mentioned to Nick. Nick replied, "Whassat??" Jake gave up trying to talk to him. 

He wandered down the hallway, colorful lights pulsing. Trying to find a place that was quiet, Jake opened one of the doors. A couple was in there, getting down to business. Jake quickly shut the door. Thank god they didn't notice him. He looked around at everyone. At this point, Jake didn't want to wake up with a hangover. Glancing at Ben, who was passed out on the couch, Jake suddenly didn't have any desire to get drunk. Nobody would miss him anyways. He sighed at the thought of his warm, soft bed at home. He could just explain to Nick tomorrow, Nick was the party animal, not Jake. Nick would understand. 

Jake wandered out onto the lawn, which had gone from a trashed mess to a couple's haven. Avoiding eye contact, he got in his car and began driving home.  As Jake pulled into the driveway, he noticed something. The door was open. He was fairly certain he hadn't left it that way. Sighing, he walked inside the doorway, closing it behind him. He walked to the small living room, and then into his bedroom. Jake grabbed some blankets, but something caught his eye. A small glowing phone was on his bed. It was his. 

Something was off. Jake KNEW he had put his phone into his pocket when he left. A small "ding!" was heard from his phone. A sense of dread came over him as he walked slowly towards the phone. He stopped and looked around, as the lights flickered, and then shut off. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was in like a horror movie. The only source of light in the room was his phone. As he walked over to his phone, fear crept over him as he read the text.