Page 14 of A Haunting at Keystone Manor

"This one is mugwort," he says as he lights one of the bundles on fire. It fills the room with a thick, white smoke as he waves it around before setting it back in its bowl. Good thing there are no smoke alarms in the rooms. "It will help you get into the proper state to access your memories. These other two are sage and rosemary. If you're gonna try something like this, it's important to have protection."

"They're pungent," Alex says as he wrinkles his nose.

Seth crouches down on the opposite side of the coffee table and gives us an assessing look.

“Yeah, but they're the most important part of the process. Okay, who wants to go first?” Seth asks.

“I’ll go first,” Alex replies. “Just in case something goes sideways. I’ll be your guinea pig. You good with that, Jake?”

I nod my reply. It makes me feel like a coward, but I absolutely do not want to go first. He gives me a wink.

***

Alex

I am so ready to find out how I died. I hope it was a cool death, like heroically fighting off a gaggle of burglars or falling out of a tree rescuing a kitten.

I rub my hands together excitedly. “I’m ready. Let’s do this,” I tell Seth.

“Okay bro, the first thing I want you to do is take yourself back to that night, as close as you can get. Focus on how you were feeling, anything that can connect you to that night. Were you scared, nervous, or maybe hungry? For example, one time I forgot where I put my bong. I searched it out by focusing on the smell of the nachos Brandon’s mom makes, because we always eat those when we get high together. Think about what it is you need your mind to give you.”

He lifts up a pendulum with a small charm on the end and starts swinging it in front of my face slowly. Is that a dick?

“Okay, I’m gonna count to three. Watch the pendulum swing, don’t take your eyes off of it. No blinking. Focus on whatever your nachos are. You want those nachos. Nothing is more important than those nachos. You want to marry Brandon’s mom so you can have those nachos every day.”

I try to do as he says but now all I’m thinking about are Brandon’s mom’s nachos. I watch the dick pendulum and try to concentrate as Seth mutters an incantation I can’t understand.

“Okay, now close your eyes,” he instructs before continuing the incantation. The language sounds old, exotic. Ancient. It makes me feel tingly. I pop an eye open and watch him for a second.

“What language is that? Spanish? French?”

“Latin. Some of these are written in Sanskrit though. Just depends on the incantation. Now close your eyes and concentrate.”

I huff. “Okay, okay. Sorry. It sounds really sexy, by the way.”

Seth chuckles and I close my eyes, trying my best to follow his direction. As he works, his voice gets lower and I have to concentrate harder in order to hear him.

After a while, I faintly hear him count down in English. “And three, two, one.” He draws out each word. “Good luck, bro,” he whispers and I’m transported back to that night.

Chapter ten

I Shouldn't Have Come to Work Today

Alex

I pull up to Keystone Manor in my shit-box Camry. I suppose that’s not a fair assessment of it, the thing has almost three hundred thousand miles on it and I had only recently learned about the concept of an oil change before my death. No need now, it’s probably at the bottom of one of the lakes on this property.

I’m running late today, and I’m psyching myself up for the verbal lashing I’m about to get from Kayla. Last week was the busiest week we’ve had in years and there is a lot to do to get ready for summer rush.

I run through the front door at a sprint. “I’m so sorry I’m late, please don’t fire me, I need this job! My car needs an oil change!”

But Kayla is nowhere to be found. I race around trying to find her and eventually hear raised voices coming from the living room. There, I see three big, tattooed guys sitting on the couch and they do not look pleased. I don’t know what they were discussing, but Kayla is looking at me in shock, frozen to her seat.

“Oh fuck. You’re not supposed to be here. I sent you an email about your paid time off!”

“You know I don’t read my emails; I told you to text me things!”

Just then, something shiny on the coffee table catches my eye. A gun. Next to it is a huge pile of money. On the floor next to that is an even larger pile of money in a duffle bag.