when jim picked up the phone, he heard nothing but noise. static.

it was strange, because he was aware he should just hang up, and yet, he kept it to his ear, listening to the sounds for a moment. he realized, after a few minutes of just standing there, that there was a slow rhythm to it.

someone was breathing heavily into the mic.

shivers ran down his spine. "hello?" he said quietly.

"hello, jim," the voice replied, the words so slow and drawn out, distorted and noisy but still unmistakable.

"who is this?" he asked.

"don't worry about that..." it droned. "just keep listening... you can't stop listening, can you? or else you would have already hung up."

of course he... could have stopped listening, if he really wanted to. he stared blankly at the wall, the phone still pressed to his ear, his thoughts feeling progressively more slow and distorted, the more he listened to it.

"who are you?" he asked again, knowing he should be asking something, but not really knowing what else to say, where to even start.

"you're not going to worry about it, jim. it feels nice to just listen, doesn't it? it feels so nice..."

an odd sensation spread through his head. his body felt heavy. he couldn't just keep standing there - he had to sit down.

"that's it," the voice murmured. "just sit down... just lie back... just relax..."

why did they know he sat down? maybe they could hear it.

still, he could hardly dwell on that question, when he was more focused on the heavy drowsiness overtaking him.

he shouldn't have kept listening. he didn't really understand what was happening, but it seemed like it would have been more reasonable and safe to just hang up. to move the phone away from his ear, to press the button, to end the call. and yet, even as he imagined doing that, even as he tried to will himself to, he couldn't. he didn't. he just sat back on the couch, sinking into it, as he continued holding up the phone, listening, listening, listening. the static filling his head, filling his mind.

"very good... you know you can't resist. you can't resist this feeling. you can't resist the sound. you're going deeper... deeper into this feeling... deeper into my control."

it should have been an alarming statement, and it was, sort of, to some part of him. at the same time, the words reverberated through his body in such a perfect way, such a natural way. it felt right, somehow, even if every rational part of him knew it absolutely shouldn't.

but that didn't matter. it was being drowned out by the static. by the voice.

he let out a deep breath, sinking back just that little bit more, his shoulders dropping.

"it feels good, doesn't it, jim? tell me how good it feels."

"it feels good," he said blankly. the words just seemed to come out on their own. but as he said it, he felt himself relax even more, more of his thoughts fading away.

"that's right. it feels very good. deeper into this feeling... deeper into my control. can you repeat that, too? deeper into this feeling... deeper into my control."

"deeper into this feeling..." he mumbled. "deeper into... your control."

"i can hear it in your voice... your mind is becoming so dull and blank, isn't it? full of static... that wonderful, tingly static... it feels so much better than your own thoughts... it feels so much better inside your head."

"feels so much better..." he hadn't even been asked to repeat that, but he found it just happening. "the static..."

"just let it fill your mind... let it in... don't resist it... just allow it. let it happen... and you'll only feel better."

"i'll feel better... if i just..."

some distant, quiet, distorted part of him felt stupid, sitting there, repeating things like that, but he could hardly notice it anymore.

"let everything slow down... so slow... so relaxing... so sleepy... so drowsy... no more thoughts. just static... waiting for my signal..."

"just static..."

it drowned out everything, tingling not just through his mind, but his whole body. he was entirely limp, except for the hand holding his phone, which had frozen into place.

he hardly even noticed the gloved hands reaching from behind him, taking his phone and gently pushing his arm back down, letting it go limp.

"it's alright," a clear voice said. "even when i take away your phone, you can still feel the static deep inside of you."

"i can still feel it..." he mumbled.

"that's right, you can... and it makes you feel so dull and heavy... but that's alright. i'm here to help you, jim..."

the hand softly caressed his face. he didn't think anything of it, only noticing the way the tingling feeling became stronger from that gentle touch.