I'm Lost

“Hello?” comes a voice, piercing through the layers of my subconscious, rousing me from a lovely dream filled with warm sandy beaches, beautiful women, and a never ending supply of Corona’s.

“Can you hear me?” comes the voice from across my room, which is rather dark, and what I can see is fuzzy.

“Who’s there?” I ask groggily, wishing I hadn’t taken the Ambien before bed.

“I’m lost.”

The voice is familiar but I can’t place it. It sounds like someone my age, a male in his late twenties.

“Who are you?” I ask the darkness across my room, though I get no response, and as my eyes adjust to the room I notice that there doesn’t seem to be anyone there.

“What the-” I stutter out, wondering what the hell was going on. Wasn’t there someone in my room just now? Or was this the Ambien?

“Can you help me?” This time the voice is echoing from outside my window. I sit up to look outside but I can’t see anyone due to the dark. I climb out of bed and make my way to the window, looking outside towards the road where the streetlights shone brightly. I don't see anything else, just open road, and darkened houses.

I decide that while I am up I will use the bathroom, people are weird, best not to get involved, and afterwards I will go back to bed.

“Hello!?” This time the cry is a little hoarse, but it sounds like it’s coming from the other side of my bathroom door. It makes me leap to my side and into the wall, I slip on the carpet and fall to the floor. Thankfully I was finished, but nonetheless, that scared the shit out of me. I grab my plunger, pretty much the only thing in my bathroom I can use as a club on such short notice, and move to the door.

“You better leave!” I cry through the door before throwing it open, brandishing the plunger like some kind of club or mace. However, no one was there.

“I’m lost.” the voice says again, but it’s coming from somewhere in my house this time. “I’m lost!” it repeats with a little more urgency.

This is the ambien right? Just a hallucination right?

The walls vibrate, pictures on the wall shake as the voice cries “HELP ME!”

If this is a hallucination I may just have to ride it out. There is silence for awhile, and I use this time to get dressed. I’m scared enough now that sleep was going to be impossible anyhow.

“Hello?” comes the voice again, but it sounds like it’s coming from far away.

I dont bother answering, maybe it’s some kid playing a prank on me from outside somehow? I throw on my shoes and make sure my porch light is on before stepping outside to have a look around.

“Can you hear me?” Come the voice one more time, however it sounds like it’s coming from my side yard. I slowly make my way over to it, to see if someone is just looping around my house pranking me. I dont hear or see anything however, and I speak hoping to draw someone out of hiding. “Who’s there!” I shout, but to no avail.

I step through the gate of my side-yard and walk around to my back porch. There doesn’t seem to be anyone around. My yard connects to a small thick of tree’s, nothing like forest or woods, just an expanse of tree’s that developers haven’t bothered to take down yet. From there I hear the voice again.

“I’m lost.”

I walk towards the edge of my yard and the copse of trees cautiously.

“Who are you? Where are you?”

It takes a few for a response, and in that time I take out my cell phone and turn on the flashlight. Still I see no one, I don't even hear movement but the voice is deeper in the tree’s now. “Can you help me?” it says, sounding scared.

I dont answer, instead I take a step into the dark copse of trees. The flashlight seems to dim as I do so, the air turns cold. There’s no other words from the unseen person, but as I step further in I think I am hearing whispering. The flashlight dims further, darkness encroaches around me and I begin to hear the whispers rising in volume, but I can hear what they are saying. It sounds like the same voice over and over again.

“Hello!?” I yell at the voices swirling in the darkness around me, my voice beginning to sound hoarse. But the voices just echo the words back to me. I begin walking again, the flashlight barely giving off any light now. Where was I? I didnt think the copse was so big. The voices continue to swirl and I do my best to ignore them as i try and make my way back to my backyard.

I stumble around for a few minutes but I cant see any light, everything is dark, the flashlight has gone out and I keep running into tre’s and shrubbery. Where am I? The whispers start to fall in volume. I begin to realize that I have no idea where I am or how to get home.

“I’m lost.” I say aloud. “I’m lost!” I exclaim to the voices.

As if waiting for my shout they whispers increase in volume.

“HELP ME!” I cry to the voices that then disappear. I stay still, I stay silent, and I begin to hear the sound of someone breathing peacefully.

“Hello?” I ask

“Can you hear me?” I ask as the breathing becomes huskier

“I’m lost.” I state simply to nothing in particular.

There’s no reply, the breathing has stopped, and the whispers move back in repeating my words back to me. I huddle on the ground and cover my ears. Somehow this makes them louder. I listen to the familiar voice of the whispers only to come to the realization: The voice had been mine the whole time. Everything I have said was first said by the voice. We have come full circle. I am just calling to the past now.

Then I hear them. Footsteps. I look up and see the dark figure of a man approaching. I stand up and wait for the figure to come closer, just barely being able to make out its form amongst everything else in the darkness. Maybe they can help me.

“Can you help me? I’m lost” the figure says the suddenly… in my voice.