The Calling Card [Keith Erickson]

[The Master]

The weather above was not very appealing; the dull grey clouds seemed to drift aimlessly within the limitless sky. The weather as of late had not been great, the rain had made an appearance more than a few times during the week and area had still not recovered. Meaning there were numerous puddles spread throughout the small village of Devize, it was not uncommon, yet it did not make it any better.

It was evening time and the wind was starting to pick up, sending bitter chills down the backs of all those not wrapped up in some sensible clothing. The streets are almost silent, if it was not for the odd car passing by on the road or the echo of footsteps from the odd pedestrian. You yourself are out in the streets, be it coming back from work, getting a can of soup from the shop or just enjoying a quick walk. Your pace is sluggish as you move through the bitter winds, passing a few shops you know and a few recognisable areas. Yet none of this really registers within your head, there is one thing are the fore front of your brain. The calling card, it had been in the news for the past week or two now and had caught the attention of most of the world. Seeing as people that attain these cards normally end up going missing, and for that reason a £ 100,000 pounds have been put up as a reward for anyone that can figure out the connection between the cards and the disappearances. Whatever is the connection between the two you are not too sure, perhaps you do not care, though for a reason you hold onto the card. Be it the chance of excitement, or the mass amount of money up for grabs.

You carry on with your walk with little interruption, then as you come to the corner of the road you hear it. The ringing of a phone, though not your mobile. For a moment you are still as you listen to the sound, and eventually you turn to face where the sound it coming from and perceive the reason for the racket. Now you see the payphone, it seems like any other, with its bleak exterior and the odd bit of graffiti upon it. The only difference being the loud ringing sound it made as without reason, now only you lingered on the street with this phone box. Now the image of the calling card lingers in your mind, after all, many people say it looks like a payphone card.