Read The Quiet Ones: A gripping psychological thriller for Free Online Page B

‘Hello?’ I ask again, my throat on fire.
    Nothing.
    ‘H-E-L-L-O?’ My last attempt.
    Nothing.
    But then I think I hear something distant. A whisper. Muffled.
    I wait again, holding my breath.
    Then the line goes dead.
    Just before I collapse onto the carpet, white noise echoes down the line.
     
           I wake up to find my face buried in the living room carpet. My neck aches and my arm, which is tucked awkwardly beneath my body, is numb.
    Slowly I sit up. The ceiling and walls feel as if they are closing in and I look around the room that feels foreign to me. For a few seconds, I am lost but then I notice a photograph on the wall. I see Charlie and I on our wedding day and I’m brought back to earth.
    Gingerly, getting up onto my wobbly legs , I make my way towards the picture hoping to find comfort. It helps to calm me but I am scared. What is happening to me? I keep losing time. How long was I passed out on the carpet? My mouth tastes of metal and I realise I’ve bitten the inside of my cheek. Blood and saliva gather in the corners of my mouth and I wipe it away with the back of my sleeve, trying to focus my attention on Charlie’s face.
    For the first time ever, I notice the age gap between us. He looks happy and handsome, but old. His face is creased while mine is pale and fresh. It doesn’t bother me, but it feels as if I’ve woken up in an unfamiliar world.
    What was I doing before I collapsed?
    Moving over to the couch, I flop down into the cushions and look up at the ceiling. A wispy cobweb dangles from the ceiling being blown by a draft from an unknown source. I really must try harder at housekeeping.
    A cold shiver runs through my body starting at the top of my head and working its way down to my toes. The small hairs on my arms point north and I shake myself warm. This is ridiculous. I need to get a grip.
    I get up, still feeling a little like Bambi and decide I need to see a doctor. Something is wrong with me and I need to get to the bottom of it.
    Just as I reach for the phone, it begins to ring and a strange sensation falls over me. Remembering the cold caller, I answer warily.
    ‘Hello?’
    ‘Hello. Can I speak to Josie please?’ The voice sounds shaky.
    ‘Speaking.’ I say trying to place the familiar female.
    ‘Oh, oh Josie. Gosh, I didn’t recognise you…’ There is a long pause. I rack my brains trying to place the voice.
    ‘Margaret?’ I take a punt.
    ‘Oh Josie, I…’ It is Margaret. Her voice is breaking and all of a sudden, I feel faint. Something bad has happened. I sit down on the sofa.
    ‘What is it?’ I swallow down the lump in my throat.
    ‘It’s your parents, Sweetheart…. You need to come home.’
    ‘What’s happened?’
    ‘I…’ She stops again. There is another voice in the background talking to Margaret. I can’t make out the words. ‘You need to come home, love.’
    ‘Tell me what’s happened. Mum, Dad, are they alright?’
    ‘The police are here.’ She offers as an explanation. I am none the wiser.
    ‘ The police ? Why?’
    ‘Your parents, oh I don’t know how to say it. They, I’m so terribly sorry but… they are dead.’ Her thick Gloucestershire accent has faded to a whisper.
    I hold the phone to my ear. She must be mistaken.
    ‘Josie, love, you need to come back.’
    ‘What do you mean? I don’t understand.’
    ‘I went there this morning to clean and when I got there. Oh Josie, it was awful. I called the police and now they are everywhere. I saw, people carrying a body out of the house. I didn’t know who it was. Then this detective came over and questioned me. He said there had been a break in and two bodies had been discovered in the house…’
    I feel strangely calm as she tells me her story.
    ‘… I told them the only people who live in the house are your parents. They asked me if I had any contact details for the next of kin. I came home and gave them your address. They are on their way to you, now. I… I shouldn’t have