The Last Call

One month has passed since my arrival here. The job looks simple, but I've already made several mistakes. Fake emergency calls, dispatching units to the wrong addresses, and so on. My seniors told me not to overthink it, since I’m practically a beginner, it’s only natural. But it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. The police officers dispatched to the scenes sometimes complain to me. They often scold and mock me with remarks like, "Even with months of training, you can still be fooled, huh?" And honestly, I can't even blame them for thinking that way.

Today, I'm being supervised by an officer who is quite senior in the emergency call operator division. Supposedly, I should have been supervised from the start, considering I'm a civilian working under the police department. However, due to a recent spike in crime around here and a massive influx of tourists this year, field patrol teams were heavily increased. That's the reason why several spots in the department's office are empty. The government quickly issued a request to recruit civilians to work in the administrative and operator divisions. And here I am now, after surviving various rigorous selections—ranging from written exams, mental evaluations, to foreign language tests.

The officer supervising me is quite meticulous, he's strict but pays close attention to the little things. If I had to guess, he's probably in his late 30s, almost touching 40. There's nothing I hate about him. In fact, his presence helps me a lot. Actually, no, it's not just me—all the civilian emergency call operators in this office feel helped by him. But unfortunately, as I mentioned earlier, our department is short on police officers for the operator section. As a result, one officer has to supervise four people at once.

Coincidentally, today is my first night shift. For a whole week, I'll be working from 10 PM to 6 AM. Honestly, getting the night shift is a bit exhausting. It ruins my sleep schedule and makes it incredibly hard for me to focus if I'm sleep-deprived. But what else can I do? I'd hate it even more if I were just unemployed and sleeping all day in my room like a NEET.

The night breeze blew gently, caressing my cheeks. After parking my bicycle out front, I hurried into the operator's office. It was only the second day of the night shift schedule, but I was almost late. After shoving my things into my locker, I immediately swapped out with the previous shift's operator. The officer supervising me—by the way, his name is Kageyama Takatsuki—told me to take a deep breath, urging me to calm down so I could focus. After putting on my operator headset and monitoring the screen, I started activating several buttons on the lower panel.

"It's starting to get cold today, isn't it?" he asked, making small talk.

"Honestly, I've been freezing for the past week," I replied while adjusting a few settings on the monitor's lower panels.

"Then why are you still wearing a thin jacket instead of your winter uniform?" he asked again.

"Um..." I stopped what I was doing and looked at him. "Maybe because I'm a bit embarrassed? Everyone, even you, sir, hasn't worn the winter uniform yet."

He just nodded.

My shift went pretty smoothly, at least for the first three hours. I only received one call directed to my line, a report about a suspicious person pacing back and forth along a residential street. I dispatched a patrol officer there in response. And since that report, no other calls had connected to my line.

From afar, I heard the water dispenser turn on, pouring water into a paper cup. I looked toward the sound, a civilian employee who seemed more senior than me was standing there. He looked completely in his element in this night shift environment, probably because he took night shifts quite often. As he walked back to his desk, my eyes returned to my monitor. Then, Mr. Kageyama returned to my side after helping another operator.

"Can I leave you alone until the shift ends?" he asked, carrying the phone he had left on my desk.

"Y-yes, but why?" I asked back.

"There's another operator who doesn't seem as proficient as you." Kageyama glanced at another female operator who looked a bit clumsy. "She's in the same batch as you, right?"

"Yes, Hiyori."

"Huft... I thought you were the only one still struggling, turns out there's someone else too, huh." Mr. Kageyama sighed heavily. "And here I thought you all had trained enough."

"Sometimes we just struggle when faced with real situations. I mean, there's always a little spark of panic in the back of our minds. You understand that too, right?" I defended myself.

"Yeah, I get it. Because this job deals with a lot of things, including lives." Then Mr. Kageyama left my side and went to stand beside Hiyori.

***

A small alarm buzzed on my panel, indicating a line was coming through my channel. I opened the channel and started to say, "Hello, this is the city police—"

"Help me!" My words were hijacked by the person on the other end of the line. She was panting in sheer panic.

"Yes, but please slowly explain your situation." The call came from a personal mobile phone. Her name was Yamada Naruka, and her residential address was clearly displayed on my screen. However... the location she was calling from was nowhere near her home.

"I-I'm going to be murdered by someone! Please, I don't have much time left." Her breathing sounded even more frantic.

I sent a command signal for the patrol police around that area to move to the caller's location. "Listen, I have dispatched the police to your location. However, for a more accurate pinpoint, please give me your exact location."

"It's, um..." Her voice faded for a few seconds. "I-I don't know where I am. All I know is my car was forcibly stopped by someone on the road. Uh, actually, I was planning to drive towards Gifu Prefecture, then suddenly—" Her voice stopped again. "He's there. I see him. Please hurry up and help me."

"I've sent a unit there. Please stay on the line with me and remain in a safe place." I tried to sound calm, even though my own mind was completely racing. I occasionally glanced at Mr. Kageyama, hoping he would look my way, realize what was happening, and help me. But no, he was still busy giving instructions to Hiyori.

"A-are you still there, operator?" Her voice sounded increasingly panicked, trembling on the verge of tears. No, she was already crying.

"Yes, I'm here. Please stay calm. Explain the details of your surroundings so we can locate your position quickly."

I waited for her response, but there was none. My mind started to get chaotic and increasingly uneasy. I hurriedly contacted the police who were heading towards Yamada Naruka.

"Hello, can you hear me?" I asked.

"Yes, we are here, listening. Did something happen?"

"It seems the person from the location I sent is being chased by a dangerous individual. I urge you to drive faster, I'm worried that she—" My voice was cut off as another voice chimed in.

"I'm running. I haven't- haven't found a safe place yet. Are you still there?" Her voice was panting harder, heavier, filled with even more terror. And honestly, so was I.

I quickly muted the microphone on the patrol car's line and switched back to the caller's line. "I'm here, please hold on just a little longer. We are moving as fast as we can. There are three patrol cars heading your way."

Just as I was about to switch my microphone's line again, a loud noise suddenly erupted in my headset. Then, I heard desperate screams and crying. At the exact same time, the police car line I had contacted also spoke up.

"Operator 23, please finish what you were saying. We are close to the location," they said. But I couldn't focus, I opened the caller's microphone line again.

"Miss Yamada Naruka, quickly give me your detailed location now, we are—"

"AKHHHH!" That scream was interrupted by a loud rumbling sound, like a phone violently tumbling onto the ground.

The caller's line suddenly went dead silent; only the patrol police's voices could be heard from the other line. I completely lost my focus and could only sit there, stunned. I was genuinely terrified for the person on the call with me. Just as I was about to speak, a series of screams erupted out of nowhere, followed by the sickening sounds of a heavy object being repeatedly smashed into something wet. My hands trembled as I sent the police the latest location for Yamada Naruka that appeared on my monitor.

"I have sent the caller's latest position. The location is now stationary."

Strangely, there was no answer from the patrol team. I looked down at the bottom panel. Maybe because of the panic, I had forgotten to switch the microphone to the patrol team and was still broadcasting on the caller's line. But, right as I was about to switch the line on the panel, I heard a voice in my ear. And it wasn't the voice I was hoping for.

"Good info..." The voice was unfamiliar. It wasn't Yamada Naruka, nor was it the patrol team. "I guess I should run now too. And... since you're a witness, I'll be looking for you." Then came a low chuckle that made my skin crawl.

I froze for a long time, just silently staring at the monitor displaying Yamada Naruka's face and identity. I hastily switched the microphone line and said in a panic, "Please hurry to the location. She- she..." My voice trailed off into a whisper, followed by panicked tears.

"Please calm down, Operator 23. We are only a few dozen meters away from the location," they replied.

My panicked behavior drew the attention of the people in the office, including Mr. Kageyama. He walked towards me as my eyes began to well up with tears. I started pulling at my own hair out of panic, completely unable to calm down.

"What's wrong?" he asked with deep concern, though his tone remained firm.

""The caller... she..."

Before I could finish my sentence, a voice came from the patrol police. "We found her. Under the bridge. We have to loop around to get down."

"Her condition?" I asked hurriedly.

They didn't answer right away, a heavy silence lingered for a few moments. Kageyama, realizing something terrible had happened, immediately put on the secondary headset meant for the operator supervisor.

"It's hard to say, but it's highly unlikely she's still alive. From up here, we can see blood splattered and pooling from her body," the patrol officer replied. "Other units are heading down. Please call an ambulance and backup units for an investigation. The perpetrator should still be around here."

My hands went weak, my mind became an absolute mess. I couldn't process what I was supposed to do next, ending up just sitting there in silence. Kageyama swiftly transferred the main communication to his headset. He started contacting the ambulance, other units, and continuously communicated with the field officers near the victim. But I couldn't retain any of it; all his conversations sounded blurry in my ears. It was as if everything I heard was just white noise. And it was made infinitely worse by that person's voice. That killer, who had said, "I'll be looking for you."

With my mind in complete turmoil, I took off my headset and told Mr. Kageyama that I needed to go to the restroom. Kageyama nodded in understanding. Then, I sprinted towards the restroom. I locked myself in a stall, broke down crying, and started banging my fists against the door.

Fear, regret, and anger towards myself were completely intertwined within me right now.