Lena sat in her dimly lit bedroom, scrolling through her iPhone as the night settled in around her. The glow from the screen cast eerie shadows on the walls, but she hardly noticed. She was absorbed in a group chat with her friends, planning their Halloween party for the following week. Suddenly, a notification popped up—a new message from an unknown number.

Curiosity piqued, Lena opened the message. It was a single sentence: "Do you believe in ghosts?"

She hesitated, her fingers hovering over the keyboard. Deciding it was some prank, she replied with a simple, "Who is this?"

The response was immediate: "You don't remember me, but I remember you."

A chill ran down Lena's spine. She glanced around her room, half-expecting to see someone lurking in the shadows. When nothing appeared, she shook her head and typed back, "Stop messing with me."

The next message was a photo. Lena's heart skipped a beat as she saw it—it was a picture of her, taken just moments ago, from inside her own room. The angle suggested it was shot from somewhere behind her. She spun around, her eyes darting through the darkness, but the room was empty.

The next message was a photo. Lena's heart skipped a beat as she saw it—it was a picture of her, taken just moments ago, from inside her own room. The angle suggested it was shot from somewhere behind her. She spun around, her eyes darting through the darkness, but the room was empty.

Fear gripped her, and she quickly texted her best friend, Sarah. "Someone is messing with me. They're in my house. Help!"

Within minutes, Sarah replied, "Calm down. I'm coming over."

Lena's eyes were glued to her phone, waiting for another message from the unknown number. Sure enough, it came: "You can't run from me, Lena. I'm already here."

Panic set in. She tried to call Sarah, but the line was dead. Her fingers trembled as she typed, "What do you want?"

The reply was swift and chilling: "To finish what I started."

Suddenly, the room temperature plummeted, and Lena could see her breath forming in the air. The phone slipped from her hands as she heard a faint whisper behind her. "Lena..."

She turned slowly, every muscle in her body screaming in terror. Standing in the corner was a shadowy figure, its face obscured but its eyes gleaming with malevolence. It was the ghost of a boy she remembered from her childhood—a boy who had mysteriously disappeared years ago after being bullied by his classmates, Lena included.

"You... you're not real," Lena stammered, backing away.

The figure moved closer, its voice a sinister hiss. "You tormented me, Lena. Now it's your turn."

The doorbell rang, breaking the horrifying spell. Sarah's voice called out from the front door, "Lena? Are you okay?"

In a desperate rush, Lena bolted out of her room, down the stairs, and flung open the front door. Sarah stood there, concern etched on her face. "What's going on?"

Lena dragged her inside, locking the door behind them. "There's someone—or something—in my house. A ghost from my past."

Sarah's eyes widened in disbelief, but before she could respond, both their phones buzzed simultaneously. They looked down to see the same message on their screens: "You're too late, Sarah. She's mine now."

A cold hand grasped Lena's shoulder, and she screamed as the world around her faded to black.

When she awoke, she was alone in the dark, her phone dead and the house silent. The only sound was the echo of a sinister laugh, and the whisper of a message that would haunt her forever: "You can't escape the past."

Lena's friends arrived the next morning, finding the house empty and Lena's phone on the floor, displaying a single, chilling message: "Gone forever."

No one ever saw Lena or Sarah again, but the legend of the Phantom Message spread through the town, warning others to be careful of the ghosts that linger in the shadows of their past.