DISPATCHER: 911. What’s your emergency?
CALLER: Hi, my name’s Jessica Vaughn. I’m not sure how to describe this, exactly, but there’s a woman in my front yard who looks like she needs some help.
DISPATCHER: Is she injured, ma’am?
CALLER: Not that I can see. She’s got a baby in her arms, and there’s another woman next to her who looks quite a bit older… Her mother, maybe? I’m just worried, you know with this snowstorm and all, and neither one of them has a hat or gloves on or anything.
DISPATCHER: I understand, ma’am. What’s your address?
CALLER: 326 Sunset Lane.
DISPATCHER: Is that closer to Johnson’s Corners or Limerick Road?
CALLER: About half a mile north of Limerick.
DISPATCHER: Got it. You’re a ways out there, then, huh?
CALLER: Yep. Listen, I’m here at the front door, and - do you think I should invite them inside? They keep glancing toward the house. There’s something about the younger woman, the one with the baby. She looks, just… not right.
DISPATCHER: She’s distressed, ma’am?
CALLER: Well, not exactly. It’s her smile. She’s got her eyebrows arched way up, like she’s real surprised, but it’s… She looks… Manic? Hungry? I don’t - oh, listen to me, how silly I sound.
DISPATCHER: Ma’am, would you be comfortable -
CALLER: Oh my - Oh my God.
DISPATCHER: What’s going on, ma’am?
CALLER: They’re playing catch!
DISPATCHER: Pardon?
CALLER: They’re playing catch! Holy fucking shit! What the - I mean - got to be a prank - kidding me… [unintelligible]
DISPATCHER: Jessica, I need you to take some deep breaths for me. Are you there, ma’am? The women are playing catch with something?
CALLER: WITH THE BABY! THEY’RE PLAYING CATCH WITH THE BABY! And there’s something attached to it, a rope or something… Holy shit! I think that’s the umbilical cord.
DISPATCHER: They’re throwing the baby?
CALLER: Yes! Back and forth! Like it’s nothing but a sack of… This is… I can’t believe this! Do you think I should…
DISPATCHER: Ma’am, I need you to listen to me very carefully. Do not attempt to intercede. It could escalate the situation. We’ve got an officer on the way, and I need you to stay on the line and keep me apprised of the situation until he arrives. Can you do that for me, Jessica?
CALLER: I - Yes. They’re still tossing the baby back and forth. I… They keep looking this way and smiling. The older lady, too. And oh my, there’s something not right about that grin. It’s giving me the chills. The older one had something shiny in her hand before - I think it might have been a knife or a gun or something. She put it back in her coat, but…
DISPATCHER: Is your door locked, ma’am?
CALLER: Yes. I’m at the front door. The back one should be locked, too. I think. I mean, my husband should’ve closed it on his way out.
DISPATCHER: You need to go and check the back door. Make sure it’s locked. Okay?
CALLER: Okay. I’m going. It’s going to take a minute - with the storm, all the lights are out.
DISPATCHER: I’m here with you, Jessica. Just stay on the line with me, and we’ll get you through this.
CALLER: Okay. Thank you. Okay.
CALLER: Alright, I’m at the back door and it’s locked. I’m returning to the front of the house now.
DISPATCHER: Good job, Jessica! You’re doing great.
CALLER: I’m back here at the front door. And oh… my…
DISPATCHER: What’s going on?
CALLER: They’ve got blood smeared on their faces. Both of them.
DISPATCHER: Can you tell where the blood came from?
CALLER: The younger woman’s still got the baby in her arms. I can’t tell if it’s okay or not. Oh my God, my God! It looks like they… wrote on themselves with it? Like a C or a sickle or something? It’s on both of their foreheads.
DISPATCHER: Can you tell if the baby’s okay, ma’am?
CALLER: I can’t hear anything. All I can see is that the younger woman’s still got the baby tucked in her arm.
CALLER: Oh, no… Please tell me -
DISPATCHER: What’s going on, ma’am?
CALLER: I just realized that I left the sunroom window cracked open earlier. The wood stove’s next to it and it was getting too hot in there.
DISPATCHER: Could someone get into the house through it?
CALLER: It’s small… But it’s low. Yes, I think they could.
DISPATCHER: You need to go and close it now, Jessica. Okay? Can you do that for me?
CALLER: Okay. I’m on my way. And oh, shit. They’re walking around the side of the house, too. How do they know what I’m doing? All the lights are off in here!
DISPATCHER: I need you to stay calm, Jessica. Okay?
CALLER: The old lady just made eye contact with me again - she’s still leering at me! I mean, how’s she doing that? How does she know that I’m here? Right here?
DISPATCHER: Deep breaths, Jessica. I need to you stay calm for me.
CALLER: I’m going, I’m going. I’m walking down the hall, almost to the sunroom.
DISPATCHER: We’ve got an officer en route, Jessica, and he’s only three or four minutes away. I’m going to have you shut that window in the sunroom, then lock yourself in the safest room available, okay? Maybe a bathroom or a bedroom. Whatever has the sturdiest lock.
CALLER: Okay.
DISPATCHER: Can you see them from the hallway?
CALLER: There’s a window, but I can’t see either of them. I can see footsteps in the snow, though. They’re wrapping around the side of the house, headed toward the back yard.
DISPATCHER: Okay. Almost done, Jessica. Just a couple more minutes and this’ll all be over.
CALLER: Okay. Okay. I made it. I’m in the sunroom.
DISPATCHER: Did you close the window?
CALLER: I’m about to -
DISPATCHER: Ma’am?
CALLER: THEY’RE COMING IN! Oh my God, no!
DISPATCHER: Is it the woman with the weapon, ma’am? Who’s coming in?
CALLER: It’s not her!
DISPATCHER: It’s the younger woman, the one with the baby?
CALLER: It’s not her, either. It’s… it’s the baby. The baby’s crawling in here. Oh, no… Oh my God, no…
DISPATCHER: Ma’am?
CALLER: [Shrieks, followed by a baby’s cooing and then a hummed lullaby]