Still nothing. I sat cross-legged opposite her, letting the camera in my hand loll to the side. I picked up one of the candles, holding it close so it illuminated my face, creating long shadows with my features. “Oooo,” I said again.
August rolled her eyes. “We can try a different room.”
She went to stand but paused halfway when the candle I held went dark.
“Why’d you blow that out?”
I stared at the candle, smoke spilling from the burnt wick. “I didn’t.” It was just a breeze, I was sure.
August grinned widely, the candlelight making her excited and sweet grin almost terrifying. She sat back down and took the candle from my hand, relighting it with the lighter. “Is someone here right now?”
The candle blew out again. I couldn’t control my gasp.Holy shit.
August was vibrating with giddy excitement as she separated her candles into two groups. “Okay,” she said. “I’d love to chat with you, if that’s cool. We can use the candles. This group”—she pointed at the candles on her right—“can be yes. And this group”—she pointed to the left— “can be no. Sound good?”
The candles on her right went dark with awooshof air, which made a soft yelp exit my throat.
Yes.
August went on asking questions for another thirty minutes before the ghost stopped responding. I got everything on film. Though the footage would likely be unsteady since I was shaking the entire time.
Ghosts werereal. My entire worldview was shifted. August had always believed in ghosts, but now I couldn’t deny their existence either.
“We could post this to YouTube,” I proposed as we left the cabin. “If I can figure out how to convert this to a digitalvideo.”
“Yes!” August exclaimed, hooking her arm through mine. “You’ll have plenty of time to figure out how to do that since you’re suspended for a whole week.”
I bumped her thigh with my hip—her hip unreachable by the five inches of height that separated us. “Well, I already have an idea for the channel name. ParanormalAugust.”
“Why not ParanormalAugustandLacy?”
“You’re the lead,” I said. “I’ll be your camera woman.”
three
. . .
Present Day
“August?”I mumble, rousing myself awake.
My head feels like it’s been stuffed with slowly expanding pillows, the pressure unbearable.
I blink a few times, searching for my best friend. She’s not here. Of course, she’s not. ParanormalAugust is no longer a joint venture.
I groan to myself, sitting up and rubbing the back of my head where I hit it on the ground. What happened? What slammed into me? Was it a person? It felt like a person. But I would have spotted a whole-ass person running full speed at me. Maybe it was a deer. Deer have been known to run into things. Not sure how often they run into people climbing out of windows, though.
I don’t see any evidence of what hit me. Actually, I don’t seeanything. With an, “Ughhh,” I wrinkle my nose at my surroundings,expecting to find light streaming through the windows. But there is no light. Hell, it’s so dark in here that I can’t even locate the windows. It feels like I was out for hours, long enough to have a REM-level dream, but it must still be the early hours of the morning. This house is even darker than before.
I force myself to my feet, determined to find an exit because I really need to get out of here. However, I have no idea which way to go. It’s like I’m in a void—I can’t see a thing. My hands pat against my pockets, searching for my phone or flashlight, but I can’t find them.
I must still be a little disoriented, because I can’t reallyfeelanything. I can feel the jeans I’m wearing and the fingerless gloves that cover my hands, but at the same time, I can’t. It’s similar to how clothes or objects feel in a dream; I’m not actually touching them, but I know their texture, so my brain fills in the gaps.
Ha, but I’m not dreaming. I’m fully conscious—aren’t I?
I spin in a slow circle. Even if the sun is not yet up, light should be coming in through the windows—from street lamps or other houses, or even the moon—but there’s nothing. I look up. Nothing. I look down. My feet.
Well, hey, now that I look at myself, I can see all of me below my chin, almost like I’m under a spotlight. Huh. I wiggle my fingers in front of my face to be sure. Yep, those are mine. I grab a chunk of my hair and bring it in front of my face to confirm, and there it is. Exactly as blonde and curly and visible as it should be.
