Emily found the traffic quite tedious. The M73 was clogged with cars again, and she was incredibly late. Her daughter Faye had resigned herself to the whims of the road, but Emily was still struggling. Emily was in a hurry, and the never ending, snaking traffic that stood between her and her destination made her nervous.
It was 08:46, and as Faye sat in the backseat with her eyes glued to her phone, she barely noticed the digital displays across the motorway calling out to her, but her mother did.
“Turn on the radio, Faye.”
Emily blinked up at the screens as they passed under them, bemused and bewildered. Time ticked by and Emily’s thoughts darted between being late for work and the strange message.
Perhaps she had imagined it? Perhaps she was just tired and seeing things, or perhaps… the signs had something urgent to say.
As she approached the next set of digital displays, they had the same, strange request.
“Turn on the radio, Faye.”
She had no idea what it could mean. Emily glanced at her daughter in the rearview mirror, her fingers hovering over the car radio. Her daughter didn’t look up, captured by the flashing screen in her palm, and as Emily looked back towards the road, a chill ran through her.
“Turn on the radio, Faye. Now.”
The next sign was more demanding, and Emily’s eyes flashed back to her daughter again, and then back to the road. Her heart was racing, as she glanced once more at the bored teenager in the backseat.
“What’s on the radio Faye?” Emily’s voice was an anxious whisper, met by a nonchalant shrug from her daughter. “Look at the signs.” Faye looked up, after shooting her mother a withering look, but her face soon fell, as her eyes fell upon the signs.
“We want to talk to you, Faye.”
Who? Why? Emily wanted to ask, but as her daughter‘s rosy cheeks plunged into paleness, she began to wonder if she really wanted the answer.
“Turn on the radio. Turn on the radio. Turn on the radio.”
Emily gripped the dial on the car radio, her fingers slapped away instantly by her daughter as Faye lunged towards the front seat, shoving her hand clear of the radio with a shriek.
“Mum, no.” Faye’s voice shook as much as her hands. She fell back against the backseat, her eyes fixed on the radio as her eyes filled with tears. “Just leave it.” Emily didn’t know what it all meant, and there was still a part of her that didn’t want to know, so she listened to that part, and let it lie.
Her heart still pounded, and her mind still raced, but she decided to just drive. She was late, and her daughter was a mess, but all she could do was drive.
Turning back to the road, she headed down the motorway, drumming her fingers against the steering wheel, but saying no more about the matter, until, as she suspected she might, her stomach sank, and she saw another sign.
“Turn on the radio, or you both die.”
Emily kept her eyes on the road, silently pulling over into the hard shoulder with a grimace. She wanted to avoid the matter. She needed to, in fact, but it just wasn’t possible anymore. She needed answers.
“What is going on Faye?” Their eyes were locked on the sign as it flashed the next demand.
“Turn on the radio, or everyone will suffer.”
The sky dimmed to almost darkness as a panicked Faye leaned towards the keys from the backseat, frantically fiddling with them to try and start the car. Emily fought her back, glancing quickly at the unusually quiet, dark motorway, freezing up a little as she noticed that there were suddenly no cars passing them by.
“Mum, just drive.” Faye’s voice was barely a whisper. Emily watched her daughter’s eyes fill with tears
She couldn’t stop herself. She had to know. She turned the dial, and the radio slowly whirred to life.
As she fought her daughter’s hands away, Emily could hear a voice. Distant at first, and strangled by the scratching static, but within a few seconds it was clearer, and its words chilled her to the bone.
Sincerely, Jennifer x 