Nightshift

Chapter 4

"So here are the rules of the game," Peyton says casually, causing me to wince; this is no game.

She goes over an online list quickly, but stops to emphasize that remaining calm throughout is not just important, but imperative. Then comes being polite to the supposed 'entity' that's expected to show up. She adds 'Be patient' to the list; instructions she had found off of someone else's blog.

" Most importantly, " She warns, " Always say goodbye when the spirit foreshadows anything about hell or demons." I nod, because that seems fair-or well, pretty important.

I'm not ready, and I doubt I ever would be, but sooner than I had in mind, we're off to an instantaneous start, slowly circling the planchette against the board. I'm obediently playing along, but admittedly begin to dread every moment of it deep down.

The fragrance of vanilla scented candles disperses through the room. It creates a soothing, but eerie feel to the environment.

Together with my own nerves acting up, I don't have to try too hard to read everyone else's mind; it's like the word 'FEAR' scrawled across their faces in red. Peyton had insisted that the board wouldn't work if there was negative energy in the room. I'd say that was a good thing, but she'd also said it would increase the chances of inviting an evil spirit or demonic energy into the room. She mentioned many cases on Youtube where it could even wander freely and create bad energy in the place it had been released, for years after the impact. I'm not too fond of that.

"So now the action starts." Peyton informs. "Just remember, whatever you do, DO NOT panic." Up until this point, I hadn't really put much thought into the whole thing, but hearing Peyton's serious tone gets me everytime. I can't help but fear screwing this up for everyone.

Keep chill. Keep chill. Keep chill.

"Everyone join hands and close your eyes."

Can't keep chill. Can't keep chill. Can't keep chill.

Being my brave self, and more importantly being like anyone else and not wanting to embarrass myself, I hold hands with Kaia and Gabe. My eyes shut, then Peyton exhales loudly, setting her mindset for some kind of chant, or prayer. "We are starting our session with the intention of only allowing positive energy and entities into this room. We do not pose any threat or harm to the spirit world, and are only here to offer a friendly conversation. Let there be no evil spirits or demons." Her eyes are on the planchette. I feel a sudden buildup of energy. I look around, wondering if anyone else felt it. "Focus." She says to us softly.

The room had dropped into a piercing silence. I begin hallucinating sounds, a low pitched wail here, a cry there, both barely audible. I knew very well that they weren't actually there, and that it was just the suspense of the moment terrorizing me. The wind outside had always been this intense, yet I'd failed to discern it until now. Nerves again.

We direct our fingers to the letter 'g', one of the many letters placed in an upward facing semi-circle. The numbers range from 1-9, and there's a 0 afterwards, positioned linearly underneath them. Most importantly was the 'goodbye' sign; we're bound to need it later when things go wrong, which in accordance to my knowledge, is always.

Now it's time for the Ouija board to do the work. I'm trying my best to think peaceful thoughts. My eyes scroll around the table, at everyone waiting patiently for something to happen, and nothing but my shallow breathing clearly disrupting the silence of the moment.

In the background was the faint ticking of the grandfather clock- another thing dad had insisted on buying- indicating the minutes passing by and still... nothing.

Oh thank god.

Gabe and Tiffany seem both perplexed and bothered by it, Gabe gets fidgety and eventually stands up, "Well that was fu-"