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8. The Investigation Begins

The first light of dawn seeped through the curtains, casting a dim glow over Jamie's desk. Her fingers tapped rhythmically against the wood, eyes scanning the scattered documents in front of her.

"This isn't the first time something like this has happened." Sandra flipped through her notes, her expression grim.

Jamie took a sip of her now-cold coffee and nodded. "Right. I searched through some forums and old reports and found that 'The Whispering Call' urban legend actually surfaced over a decade ago."

She slid a faded newspaper clipping across the table.

"Mysterious Calls? Midnight Whispers Take Four Lives!"

Dated 2009, the article detailed a chilling case—

Four young people received an anonymous call at midnight. Each heard their own voice whispering:

"Don't turn around."

Days later, they vanished. Their bodies were found one by one, under mysterious circumstances.

And the eeriest part—

On each victim's phone, the police found a final, cryptic message:

[Next time, you won't escape.]

Sandra's brows furrowed. "So this thing has been around for at least ten years?"

"Maybe longer." Jamie flipped to another page. "One of the victims, Zheng Hao, had a girlfriend who told the police something strange before he disappeared—"

She paused before reading aloud:

'He started acting strange. Day or night… his shadow didn't match his movements.'

Sandra's eyes sharpened. "Shadow?"

Jamie nodded. "Yes. And that's exactly what happened to me—my reflection in the mirror smiled when I didn't."

Closing the file, she met Sandra's gaze.

"This isn't just some cursed phone call. Something is trying to replace people."

9. The Distorted Footage

To confirm her theory, Jamie decided to run an experiment.

At midnight, she set up a camera in her room and recorded herself for an hour—just sitting at her desk, doing nothing.

When she played back the footage—

Something was wrong.

At the 37-minute mark, the video showed her sitting perfectly still, staring at her laptop.

Then, all of a sudden—

She smiled.

But Jamie knew—she hadn't.

A slow, unfamiliar grin crept across the Jamie in the recording.

Then, in the video, she stood up—and walked out of the room.

But in reality, Jamie was still sitting there.

Sandra's fingers curled into a fist. "…What the hell is that?"

Jamie's voice was eerily calm. "It's trying to replace me."

She paused the video, pointing at the figure leaving the room.

"If I don't stop it, soon… it won't be just my shadow. It'll become me."

10. The Watcher in the Window

3:00 a.m.

The wind rattled the windowpane, making the curtains sway slightly.

Sandra was deep into researching ancient texts, looking for any form of countermeasure.

Jamie sat on her bed, phone clenched tightly in her hand.

She was waiting.

Waiting for the phone to ring again.

Minutes ticked by. No calls.

But then—

She felt it.

That strange, suffocating sensation of being watched.

Her breath hitched. Slowly, she turned toward the window.

Outside, the streets were empty, swallowed by darkness except for the occasional flickering streetlamp.

Her heartbeat quickened. Then—

Her gaze lowered to the glass reflection.

She froze.

In the reflection—she was standing.

But in reality, she was still sitting.

The 'Jamie' in the glass tilted her head.

Then, she smiled.

A grotesque, stretched smile—too wide, too unnatural.

Slowly, 'she' raised a hand and pressed a finger against her lips.

Shhhh.

Jamie's blood ran cold.

She whipped around.

Nothing.

The room was empty.

When she turned back to the window—

The reflection was gone.

Instead, her phone vibrated. A new message flashed on the screen:

[Don't turn around.]

11. The Final Confrontation

Jamie had enough.

This thing wasn't just mimicking her—it was trying to erase her.

"No more waiting." She stood up. "We need to end this."

Sandra closed her book, her expression set in stone. "Agreed."

She pulled out an aged talisman, lighting a small candle beside it.

"If this thing is using your presence as an anchor, then we need to break that connection."

Jamie's gaze sharpened. "Meaning…?"

Sandra held up the burning charm.

"We make it lose sight of you."

The candle flickered, casting elongated shadows on the walls. A chill crept through the room.

Then—

Jamie's phone lit up.

[Unknown Caller]

Sandra exhaled. "It's here."

Jamie gripped her phone and answered.

The voice came immediately—

"…Don't turn around…"

She closed her eyes, lips curling into a smirk.

"Fine. Then come find me."

Silence.

Then, the room plunged into darkness.

And they knew—

It had arrived.

12. Reality or Illusion?

The silence on the other end of the call didn't last long. Soon, a low, rasping chuckle echoed through the speaker—like something forcing itself to laugh through a throat filled with gravel.

"Do you... really want to see me?"

Jamie gripped her phone tightly, her voice cold. "I don't want to see you—I want to end you."

The moment the words left her lips, the lights in the room flickered violently. The temperature plummeted, an unnatural chill creeping into every corner.

A sharp, piercing hiss filled the air, like the distorted frequency of an old radio struggling to tune into a signal. The noise drilled into Jamie's skull, vibrating through her bones.

Then, she felt it—her shadow, writhing unnaturally beneath her, stretching and contorting as if trying to break free.

Sandra reacted instantly, her voice cutting through the air: "Hold still."

She pressed a burning talisman against Jamie's shadow.

WHOOSH!

The paper ignited, flames licking across the floor. A screech tore through the room as black liquid seeped from the burning shadow, staining the wooden floor like thick ink.

But the shadow didn't vanish.

Instead, it began to rise.

Its form elongated, distorting grotesquely until—

It became Jamie.

"Finally…" The figure smirked, its voice eerily identical to Jamie's own. "I can fully become you."

13. The Imitator

Jamie's breath hitched.

"What the hell are you?" she demanded.

The shadow tilted its head, its expression unsettlingly familiar.

"I've always been here." It spoke as if stating a fact. "Every time you look into a mirror, I watch you."

"Every time you answer the phone, I whisper in your ear."

"I am you."

Jamie's stomach churned with unease. "Bullshit."

Her fingers curled into a fist. Without hesitation, she grabbed the nearest mirror on the vanity and smashed it onto the floor.

CRACK!

The moment the glass shattered, the shadow convulsed violently, its features twisting in pain.

"You think that will stop me?" Its voice became a guttural growl, a chorus of overlapping tones, all speaking at once. "You already are me!"

With a sudden, unnatural lurch, the shadow lunged straight at Jamie.

14. Breaking the Curse

"Move!" Sandra's voice rang out.

Jamie barely dodged as Sandra lifted a bronze mirror—one far older than the shattered one on the ground.

She tilted it toward the shadow.

But instead of Jamie's reflection, the mirror's surface reflected a void of absolute darkness.

Sandra's fingers tightened around the mirror. With a sharp bite to her fingertip, she let a drop of her own blood fall onto the glass.

She muttered an incantation—

WHOOMPH!

A wave of unseen force surged through the room, slamming into the shadow. It let out a soul-piercing shriek, its body distorting violently as if it were being ripped apart.

Jamie seized the moment.

She pulled a dagger etched with ancient sigils from her coat and threw it with precise force—

THUNK.

The blade buried itself deep into the shadow's forehead.

A deafening scream erupted as its body splintered, cracks spreading across its form like shattered glass.

The blackened silhouette erupted into a flood of inky liquid, disintegrating into nothingness.

Silence.

The air was still.

Jamie exhaled sharply, sweat trickling down her temple. "Is it over?"

Sandra studied the floor, where only faint scorch marks remained. After a long pause, she nodded. "At the very least, it can't imitate you anymore."

Jamie's gaze lingered on the dark stains, a shadow of doubt creeping in.

Was it truly gone?

Or was it simply lying in wait for a new host?

15. The Final Call

One week later.

Jamie and Sandra archived the Whispering Call incident, listing it under Unresolved Paranormal Cases.

Neither spoke much about it.

Until—

That night, Jamie's phone rang.

The screen lit up.

[Unknown Caller]

Her stomach twisted into knots.

Her thumb hovered over the accept button.

Beep—Beep—

She answered.

A faint whisper trickled through the receiver.

"Are you sure... you won?"

Jamie's pulse slowed.

Her lips curled into a knowing smirk.

"Come find out."

The call disconnected.