The Ouija Board

Friends go to the Old Grimes's house to settle a score.

“So are you coming or not,” Roz jeered as she and Betty plopped down at the end of our lunch table.

Patty looked over at me wide eyed. Sam gripped her arm. I swear I could see the blood draining from both their faces as I blew out a breath. Roz and Betty fixed their eyes on me, giving Patty and Sam a chance to calm themselves.

“I was thinking I might,” I said, determined to keep the focus off my friends.

“Might?” Roz and Betty both laughed. “Either come or not, but I will announce to everyone -”

“I’ll come,” I said with a bit of extra force. I did not need someone overhearing her threats.

“Well at least one of you has some sense.” Betty crooned as her gaze latched on to Patty, then Sam. They both nodded and she smirked. “Be there or be square.” they said as they rose and wafted away like a bad smell.

“What was that all about?” my other friend, Garth said as he plopped down beside me where Roz had been.

“Nothing,” I said, but he raised his brow and waited until I added, “They want us to go to a seance at the old Grimes’s place.”

“That old place on the other side of the graveyard?” I nodded and he added, “I’ve always wanted to go check that place out. What’s with the seance?”

“They want us to come and sit around some Ouija Board and call up spirits,” Patty told him.

Garth grunted and smirked, “Don’t believe in that stuff.”

“Old man Grimes died there…. They say he killed his family, too.”

“And they want to call up his spirit?’

Again we nodded.

“You all don’t strike me as spook chasers. So what’s the deal?”

“They said they’d tell everyone….” Patty began then trailed off, unsure whether Garth could be completely trusted.

I patted her hand. “It’s fine. Garth’s a friend. He won’t care.”

“Yeah, but other people might hear.” Sam said, glancing around at the tables close to us.

“No worries. Your secret. But I’m not a fan of bitchy girls lording threats over people I care about. Can I come?”

I looked over at Patty and Sam before saying, “You sure?’

“Hell, yeah. Don’t know what to expect, but maybe we can do a little scaring of our own.”

I liked the sound of that. So I gave him the details.

The sun was slipping down below the horizon leaving the air chilled without the light. Garth was already waiting for me at the library.

“Where are Patty and Sam?”

I shook my head, “There Dad refused to let them go.”

“He found out?”

“No, but they aren’t allowed out and he caught them trying to sneak past him. Grounded them. I could hear him yelling from my spot in the bushes.”

“So you came anyway,” he said sounding rather impressed.

“I said I would go and besides maybe I can do something to convince them not to do anything. Crazy, isn’t it?”

“Nah, you just some to protect your friends.”

I shrugged it off, like it wasn’t a bit deal, but inside my guts twisted. ‘Thanks for showing up.”

“Wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

We fell into silence as we approached the graveyard.

"You ready for this?' he whispered as he put his hand on the graveyard's gate.

All I could do was nod. I didn't trust my voice to stay steady.

The high squeal of the gate sent a shiver of lightning down my spine. I tried not to let Garth see my tremors as I wrapped my arms around myself to rub in some warmth. I should have brought a heavier sweater.

We made our way through the grave stones careful not to step on them or in any of the unlevel ground. It was hard to see where we were going.

"Should 'a brought a flashlight," Garth muttered as he tripped over one of the many tree roots that roped their way over the spaces.

I could see the glow of light in the windows of the old Grimes Victorian. I shuddered to think it was something eerie. Betty had said she and Roz would meet us there after dark. They needed to set up the Ouija board and set the mood for the gathering.

As we approached the front porch, a black shadow moved across our path. "Was that a cat?" I said, my voice higher than usual.

"Don't be silly. Ain't nothing to that kind of super-stupid thinking." He chuckled at his own joke, but even he took a moment to step up on the first step. It creaked, but held.

A wind swirled around us sending the pile of leaves in the corner up into a tempest. I sucked in a breath and bit my lip as the wind caught the door and rattled in against the jamb.

"Friggin' creepy place," Garth muttered as he made a lunge for the door.

Well, I thought it was a lunge until I too tripped over the board sticking up. I landed against Garth with a grunt.

"Can't see the tripping hazards. We'll be lucky if we get out of here alive."

"Don't say stuff like that," I hissed. Garth's teeth flashed in the dark as he let out a weirdly demented chuckle. I slapped his arm.

"Come on, Lizzy. I'm only kidding. You're so fun to mess with."

I slapped his arm again, harder this time. He chuckled again. Such an ass.

Garth grabbed the doorknob and turned it just as he kicked the bottom of the door. It flew open, startling the girls inside who all screamed. He cackled at their dismay.

"Jesus, Garth -"

"You gotta make a damn entrance, don't cha jackass." Roz yelled. She loosened her grip on the baseball bat she was holding and let it slide back through her palm.

"Don't take me out!" he yelled back, his hands up in surrender.

"Just get in here and close the door. You're letting in a draft."

"I'm sure there are plenty of places for a draft to get in," he muttered as he stepped aside to let me in, then closed the door once I had crossed the threshold.

"Just us four?" I asked, looking down at the Ouija board in the center of the room. They had put cushions around the board for us to sit on.
"Looks that way. Unless Sam and Patty show. Were they too chicken?"

The girls had put candles in the windows and scattered them at various places around the room. Their main source of light was from a lantern Roz had brought with her.

"I wanted to just use candles, but it was too dim when I turned out this light," Roz told me when she saw me looking around. "When we do the thing, we can turn it out."

I nodded, not feeling overly comfortable about either idea. I was starting to regret agreeing to come. In fact, if I hadn't agreed to meet Garth I would still be home curled up with a pile of blankets in front of the TV watching some stupid Halloween movie. But here I was.

We each moved to a side of the board and sat.

"So what do we do now?" I asked glad my voice sounded stronger and surer than I felt.

Betty held the light up under her chin so her face took on an eerie effect. I gave a shudder and tried to hide it by shifting my weight around on the cushion to get more comfortable. I doubted that would be possible.

"So do we just put our hands on that doohicky there with the glass eye and push it around?" Garth asked.

"Well," Roz began sticking her upturned nose in the air, "First we need to decide who will ask the question and it's my board so it will be me."

"Of course," Garth muttered.

"Don't we have to give ourselves some protection first... like a supernatural bubble of some sort." I asked and Roz looked at me like I had two heads.

"Pffff."

"Well, I was looking things up -"

"Ah, you’re such a book worm. We'll be fine. Besides I want to know what kind of spirits -"

"If any," Garth grumbled.

Roz glared at him before going on, "what kind of spirits still live here."

"I'm not so sure about dragging up some spirits from here.... Old man Grimes was said to be a ruthless man who terrorized his family. I'd hate to have him show up."

"I'd love to meet him. Give him a piece of my mind," Betty said.

"Not much to give," Garth muttered quietly beside me. Roz and Betty glared at him. I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing.
When I could reign myself in, I said, "That's not how it works."

"How would you know? You've never done this before," Roz said like she did know.

"I've read -"

"Ugh, enough with the books. Are you in or are you too chicken?"

There was no way I was backing down. Roz and Betty had already taunted me enough.

"Yeah, chickens like Sam and Patty. They're probably at home shaking in their boots. I can hardly wait to get them on Monday."

"I don't think this negative energy is good for the vibe," Garth said as he shifted his hand over to touch my ankle. Neither Betty nor Roz could see our contact.

"Better to access the spirits," Betty said as she moved the light below her chin again.

"Fine, Do whatever you want," I muttered as I closed my eyes and sent my own silent prayer of protection up and around me. I moved my hand around to touch Garth's and send protection prayers for him as well. I had no idea if it would work, but I didn't want to take any chances.



Word Count = 1658.

Notes ▼

Written for "Chapter One"  and part of October's "The Contest Challenge"