The Judge of Hell is My Phone Pal

Chapter 2 Call from the Grave

Ivan hurriedly answered the call. "Sir, you left your phone in my car. I'm still at the place I dropped you off. Could you come and get it?"

“Young man, it’s yours now.”

"Sir, are you wanting to pay for your taxi journey with your phone? It was a free ride. I don't want your mobile phone. If you give me your relative’s address, I’ll send it to you."

Ivan laughed to himself.

Did the old man want to show his generosity by giving him his old phone?

"I live in hell. Will you bring it to me there?"

What?

Hell? 

Ivan felt a shiver run down his spine, "Sir, don't joke around. It’s creepy making jokes like that on such a dark night."

"I'm not joking. My name is Jerome Franklin. I’m the Judge of the Netherworld. The King of Hell ordered me to find a caring person in the world. Out of eighteen drivers, you were the only one kind enough to drive me in your taxi. Not only did you give me a free ride, but you waited in the rain for me to return for the phone. You're a caring person. The phone is now yours."

Eighteen drivers?

The Judge of the Netherworld?

The old man must be deranged! Why would someone from Hell be using a mobile phone?

"Sir, you say you are the Judge of the Netherworld. There is someone there I would like to meet. Can you help me with this?" Ivan teased.

"Who?"

"My dad. He has been dead for three years, so should be with you now. If you let me see him, I will believe you."

There was no response.

Ivan smiled, "Sir, stop joking with me. Just come back and fetch your phone. I need to leave as soon as possible. If the rain gets any heavier, I’ll be stranded."

He was just about to hang up when the old man’s voice came over the phone, "Ivan, just hold on for five minutes, please."

"How do you know my name?"

Ivan was taken aback. The service sign on the front of the taxi showed Gary's photo and name.

"As I told you, I am the Judge of the Netherworld. Since you have been selected by me, I naturally know everything about you. Your father is John Frank. Your parents divorced when you were a child. Your father raised you. He was killed in a car accident three years ago, and the person who caused the collision has not been found yet, right?"

As he listened to the old man over the phone, Ivan nodded.

That's right. Spot on. How the hell….

"You will receive a call from your father in five minutes."

The old man hung up.

Ivan sat stiffly in the car.

Had he really encountered a judge from the Netherworld or was he imagining it?

He pinched himself. No, it hadn’t been a dream, yet, his scalp tingled. Maybe it was part of a living nightmare. He wanted to run, but he couldn't move his legs.

He lit another cigarette in an attempt to calm himself. The old man had seemed kind enough. He had nothing to lose by waiting a few more minutes.

The minutes passed slowly. It felt to Ivan as if he had been waiting hours, yet when the phone eventually rang, he couldn't help but shiver. Plucking up courage, he answered the call, "Sir?"

"Ivan. It’s me, your dad."

"Dad!" Ivan was gobsmacked and literally jumped in his seat.

How could it possibly be Dad? Dad’s been dead for three years!

"Ivan,” his father continued,” How is everybody at home?"

Ivan slumped back in his seat as he listened to the voice carefully. It was indeed his father. He couldn't mistake that voice. He had heard it for more than 20 years.

Tears trickled down his face as he told his father about the family and asked about his father's current situation. His father had always been a kind person. He had been employed in engineering and construction. He told Ivan that he was not suffering where he was and still worked as an engineer. In fact, he had even become a manager in the Netherworld maintenance team.

Ivan felt much more at ease after hearing his father’s words.

"Ivan, due to my sudden death, there is something I never got round to telling you. Beneath the second to bottom tile behind the bathroom sink, there is a passbook. I had $30,000 in savings. The password to my account is your date of birth. Go back and find the passbook and withdraw the money for your own use."

Ivan didn't know whether to feel surprised or happy.

"Ivan, there is one more thing. You must find the person who caused my death, otherwise, I won't be able to rest in peace."

Ivan gritted his teeth. "Don’t worry Dad, I will definitely find the person who did this."

"Thank you, son. I am confident that I will eventually be able to rest in peace. Anyway, I’d better get back to work. Take care of yourself," his father told him, then hung up.

Desperate to speak to his father again, Ivan checked the call log, but there was no record of the call he had just had.

A flash of lightning lit up the sky, followed by a resounding boom of thunder. The rain lashed down outside. Fearful for his journey back, Ivan threw the phone into the glove compartment and immediately set off for home.

As soon as he arrived home, he rushed straight to the bathroom and moved the tile, behind which he found a plastic bag. When he opened the bag, there was the passbook his father had told him about with savings of $30,000.

My God, it was true. 

Ivan slumped to the ground.

The King of Hell really did exist.

Suddenly, the old phone rang again.