Em's GA Prompt Stories - 1. #105 — The Call

“And just what the hell am I supposed to do with this?” I asked as I stared down at the cell phone.

Emily rolled her eyes as though I couldn’t have asked a stupider question. “Return it to the owner, duh!”

“But I don’t even know who it belongs to,” I said as we made our way out of the student union building. It was late afternoon, and the sun was beginning to go down.

“Well it obviously belongs to a student on campus,” Emily responded. “After all we did find it in the cafeteria. If you don’t think anyone’s going to call the number to find it, you can just go ahead and hand it into the lost and found office.”

I contemplated Emily’s advice, before finally settling on handing it into lost and found as being the better option. The phone was one of those sleek smartphones, and I knew that if I had lost something so expensive, I would be panicking and at my wits end trying to get it back.

“Yeah Em, I think I’m just gonna go hand it in. So I guess I’ll catch you in a couple of minutes.” I said. We had finished our psychology class earlier and had gone to the cafeteria to get something to eat before heading home. Emily now had to go hand in an assignment for one of her classes before we met up again to commute home together.

“Sure Ian, I’ll meet you by the bus loop in about 20 minutes.”

As I was making my way back to the student union building in which the lost and found office was located, the phone rang.

Though I was hesitant to pick it up, I knew I should just in case it was the owner calling. Checking the caller ID, I saw that the call was from a private number.

“Hello,” I answered.

“Listen carefully because I will only say this once,” said a cool male voice that sent a shiver running down my spine.

“Umm excuse me but this isn’t…”

“Shut up!” The voice cut me off. “I don’t want to hear any excuses. Now listen to me or you will never see your little friend alive again.”

That shut me up. My heart started racing. What was going on here? Whose phone had I just found? Was I stuck in some sort of ransom situation?

The man on the other end continued talking. “I want you to follow my instructions very carefully, any misstep and your friend is dead. Try to contact anyone for help, and your friend will not only be dead, but he will be tortured most painfully before he is spent. Do I make myself clear?”

“Y-yes,” I said, shocked at what was going on.

“Now, I know you are in the student union building.”

Fuck, how did he know that! I looked around, almost expecting to see the man standing near me. But no matter where I looked there were countless students using their cellphones. The man could have been anyone of them or none of them at all.

“What do you want me to do?” I asked warily.

“I want you to head out to Buchanan Tower. You know where that is, correct?”

“Y-yes,” I replied.

Buchanan Tower was in fact the same building in which I had my psych class. Apart from the classes that took place inside, it also served as the headquarters for the Faculty of Arts. In fact, it was where the Dean of Arts had his office.

Who the hell was this guy? And did he seriously think he could commit such a crime on campus grounds and not get caught?

“I will contact you with further instructions once you arrive. You have exactly 5 minutes to get there, or else.” With that he hung up.

“Wait…” I shouted into the phone, but it was already too late.

Shit! I was so screwed. Buchanan Tower was all the way across campus; there was no way I could get there in 5 minutes. But I had to; someone’s life was at stake. So I ran, dodging numerous students and vehicles on the road. More than once I almost collided with students on their bicycles. Miraculously I made it to my destination on time with still a few seconds to spare. But I was out of breath and got many strange looks as I stood in front of the building panting heavily.

The phone rang again.

“H..hello,” I panted. “I’m here, I’m here! I made it!”

“Congratulations. You will be rewarded accordingly,” the voice chuckled evilly.

My hackles rose at the tone of his voice.

“You will now enter the building and take the elevator to the 8^th floor. Then outside of the elevator door, you will find a potted plant. Within the vase is a key. Use that key to open door number 816. Do not draw any attention to yourself. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yeah, I got it.”

“Good. Now hurry up. I will be waiting,” he once again hung up.

This was it. I was nearing the end. Making my way into the building, I was disappointed to find it empty apart from a receptionist in the lobby.

Fuck! She’s not going to be much help if I need someone to save me.

Entering the elevator, I pushed the button for the 8^th floor. My heart was pounding; rivulets of sweat running down my body. I didn’t know what awaited me in that room and I was starting to realize that this could very well be the last few moments of my life if things took a drastic turn for the worse.

Dammit, why hadn’t I called Emily to let her know? Or even alerted the fucking cops?

The elevator dinged, and my heart skipped a beat. Stepping out, I found the plant with the key just like the man had said.

The hallway leading to the room was eerily quiet. All the other doors were closed, so it was impossible to say whether they were empty or occupied. I surely hoped it was the latter. I needed someone to come to my aid if they heard my screams.

I arrived at room 816 and was struck dumb when I read the nameplate.

George R. Harrison, Dean

Faculty of Arts

“Oh shit!” I exclaimed. The man had fucking kidnapped the Dean!

With a shaking hand I attempted to unlock the door. When the click sounded, I placed my sweaty palm on the doorknob and turned it. The door opened to an office enshrouded in darkness.

“Close the door and lock it behind you.”

I jumped at the voice. I could barely discern the outline of the man sitting behind what was supposed to be the Dean’s desk. I did as I was told and waited for further instructions.

“Now strip.”

“What?” I squeaked, shocked at this turn of events.

"I said, I want you to strip. Take off every bit of clothing you have on.”

Frozen in fear, I made no move.

“Now!” The man shouted. “Or your friend will be severely punished.”

Gulping, I took a hold of my t-shirt and pulled it off. I was working on opening my belt buckle when suddenly someone started knocking on the door. I yelped in surprise, before quickly reaching back to unlock the door. I didn’t care if the man shot me. Things were getting too weird and I needed help.

The door opened to reveal an outline of a man, who reached out to turn on the lights.

I was shocked at who I saw standing in the doorway.

“Professor Welker? What are you doing here?” I asked dumbfounded.

What the fuck! It was my psychology professor for the very class that I had attended earlier today.

I then quickly turned around to see whom the culprit was, only to find myself looking at Dean Harrison.

My head went from one to the other and then back again. I couldn’t comprehend what was happening.

“W-what’s going on here?”

Dean Harrison and Professor Welker were both staring at me in shock. Like they were the ones who were confused as to why I was there.

“Why are you here, Ian?” Professor Welker finally asked.

I took the phone out of my pocket. “I found this in the cafeteria. I was going to hand it into the lost and found office when it rang. I thought someone had been kidnapped, so I was just following the instructions to set them free.”

I saw the color drain from both of their faces, before it was quickly replaced by a deep flush of red.

Dean Harrison cleared his throat. “We were taking part in some umm…some role-play,” he coughed out. His face colored in embarrassment.

It took a moment for me to understand what they were talking about.

“Oh! Ohhhhh!” I exclaimed as understanding dawned. “So no one was ever kidnapped?” I asked just to be sure.

Professor Welker sheepishly shook his head. “We had it all planned out, but I lost my phone when I had lunch at the cafeteria. I was just coming here to inform George that the plan was off.”

I looked at the Dean. “But you said that you would punish his little friend, that you would kill him,” I accused.

Dean Harrison’s face colored even further. “That’s umm…that’s our little code word for Jason’s…” he waved his hand at Professor Welker.

“For my penis,” Professor Welker grinned.

“Oh,” I said at a total loss. “Well then, I’ll just get out of your hair. You guys have a good time.” With that I quickly snuck out of the office after handing off the phone. I rushed to put on my shirt and get the hell out of the building.

“Hey stupid head! Where the hell were you?” Emily slapped my arm as I finally made it to the bus loop. “I thought you fucking ditched me. You’re like 5 minutes late!”

I was still panting, trying to catch my breath from having run so hard.

“Emily…” I tried cutting in.

“Like seriously Ian, you’re not supposed to keep a lady waiting so long. What were you doing anyway? Was some cute boy chatting you up again?”

I groaned. “God Em, you wouldn’t believe who was chatting me up!”