CHAPTER1
My fingers tremble against the plastic pointer. I don’t know how I let myself get talked into this, and so close to Halloween. “Do you feel that?” Corey whispers with barely contained excitement. She’s kneeling next to me, half leaning over the board, and I’m trying really hard to pretend it’s our jittery fingers and her eagerness that has the little triangle moving across the cardboard.
“Shhh,” Kate hushes. I think she’s just as frightened as I am. Her dark eyes are wide as she scans the room. I’m trying hard not to look around, because it’s creepy as hell. There’s dark fabric draped over most of the basement walls, with black and red candles just close enough to the material that it has me wondering if the place is going to catch fire before we can get out of this room.
Emma’s eyes are trained on the board. I don’t know her well, but the strangely misplaced grin on her lips feels off.
“Is there anyone here with us?” Corey casts her eyes up, searching. The pointer moves slowly, not really stopping on anything, but I feel like this is supposed to be confirmation. I lift my fingers a little more so I’m barely making contact with the thing.
“Don’t take your fingers off.” Emma glares at me. I don’t even know how she knew I did.
“You’ll ruin the connection,” Corey accuses.
I roll my eyes, but it’s only because I’m trying to cover how scared I am and that I would like nothing more than to ruin the connection so we can get the hell out of here.
“Don’t, Lethe, we have to close it out, remember?” Kate reminds me.
I listen to that, because everyone says how important it is to sign off or say goodbye when messing with a Ouija board. If you don’t, the spirits can remain present and even follow you home.
“I’m calling forth any spirits to join us. Come speak with us, through us.”
“Hey,” I snap at Corey. “I didn’t agree to that shit.”
“Shhhh,” Emma hisses.
The pointer moves so quickly it’s yanked from all of our fingers. Kate scrambles to put her fingers back on. I look at Corey and Emma, wondering which one of them did it as my hands return to my section.
“He’s here.” Emma licks her lips and adjusts her legs to move a little closer to the board.
“He?” I question.
“Theo, are you here?” Corey tilts her head back and looks up at the ceiling. Regretfully, I do the same and see all the cobwebs in the low rafters. My fingers go to my long red curls as I imagine spiders trailing from webs and nesting in my hair.
“Lethe!” Kate barks, and I return my hands to the pointer.
“Sorry,” I mouth.
Her eyes stay wide, but she looks away from me in frustration. Maybe she is more afraid than I am. The plastic under my fingers starts to move in a smooth arc so quickly, I have to lean from left to right to make sure my fingers stay connected. Kate and I lock eyes as we hold on for the ride. My brain is telling me it’s Emma and Corey moving it, but there’s a tiny fissure of doubt worming its way into my head. Could there really be a spirit here?
“Theo, is that you? Thank you for coming back,” Emma says even though there was no answer that I’m aware of.
“Seems like we only got a little of the story,” I accuse while glaring at Corey. She never mentioned trying to contact someone specifically.
Kate and I used to be close to her, but since Emma moved to town about six months ago, she’s been hanging out with her more and more. I get it, we know she felt like the third wheel in our friendship, but Kate and I have always been super close. The fact that she only lives a few houses away from me made it possible for us to see each other often, while Corey lived on the other side of town.
Corey ignores me and asks, “Theo, can you move something? Show us you’re here, prove how strong you are.”
I hold my breath, expecting a big crash or bang, but after about five seconds, I relax and exhale. The feeling that I’m about to piss my pants doesn’t go away though, so I squirm a little. The pointer is still moving slowly with a smooth drag, but I’m not convinced my shaky hands aren’t helping it along, let alone the other girls.
“Tell us you’re here,” Emma chimes in. It strikes me as a little odd that she’s looking around too, and not at the game board where it should be spelling out the responses. I allow my eyes to roam again, noting the flickering flames and the eerie ambiance with the dim light.
Pressure builds in my ears, like when I’m driving home through the mountains after visiting my granny in Tennessee. I open my mouth to try to pop my ears, and there’s a little thud. I can’t identify where it came from, but Corey and Emma both react physically.
“Thank you, Theo,” Emma gushes. Both girls remove their fingers from the pointer, leaving only Kate and I touching it.
“What the hell?” I snarl.
“Lethe,” Kate says softly as the plastic pointer keeps moving. I’m tempted to pull my hands back, but something stops me.
