“Now we put our hands on the planchette,” Irma instructed. They leaned forward, gently playing their fingers on the triangle of wood.
“I’ll ask the questions,” Irma said. “Is there someone here with us?”
Nothing happened at first. Then Gabriel felt like the planchette was urging him to move. It tugged towards the corner of the board, landing on “yes.”
Evan gasped. “Who moved it?”
“It wasn’t me,” Aubrey said.
“Shh,” said Irma. She spoke into the air. “Thank you for making yourself known. Who is here?”
The planchette didn’t move at first. Then, it shivered around the board. Slowly, it spelled out the letters for “friend.”
“Okay,” Aubrey whispered. “A friend. And everyone swears they’re not moving it?”
“I’m not,” Gabriel murmured, and the others agreed.
“Why are you here?” Irma asked gently, speaking to the air, or to the spirits.
There was another pause, and then the planchette drifted around the board, spelling outhelp.
“Do you need help?” Irma clarified.
The planchette landed onno.
“Are you here to help us?” Irma asked.
Yes.
“Do you know what’s going on at Orion’s Belt Hockey Camp?”
Strangely, the planchette slid back and forth betweenyesandnorapidly.
“Is the camp haunted?” Irma asked.
The planchette stopped directly in the middle betweenyesandno.
Gabriel exchanged a look with Drew. What did that mean? Irma asked for clarity, but the planchette didn’t move.
“Is there anything else you would like to say?” Irma asked politely. The planchette moved tono.
“Thank you,” Irma said.
The planchette moved togoodbye.
Everyone sat back and dropped hands. Gabriel still clutched Drew’s. He wasn’t scared by the séance or by the spirits, but he was unnerved by the encounter. Though he believed in the mystical world, there was always a part of him that wondered in scenarios like this how true the experience had been.
The séance was over. They all sat still for a short while, thinking about what they had learned. There was a spirit, and it said it was a friend. They said they were here to help, but had given very little helpful information. Was the camp haunted or not? Their answer seemed to be yes and no.
“So, somethingisgoing on,” Aubrey said.
“At the camp,” Evan finished for her.
“And the spirit didn’t know for sure?” Drew said. He squeezed Gabriel’s hand.
“Are we even sure it was a spirit?” Evan asked. “Could we have moved the planchette on our own?”
Irma shrugged. “Would that have made it any less real? What makes something real?”
