Hide and Go Seek

Prologue Grim

    We all decided to have a sleepover at my house because my parents were out for the night doing work and it is said that the ritual should take place at three a.m.
   
    My heart leaps with excitement at the prospect of spirits and possessions. There is a reason for my nickname Grim aside from the fact that my parents chose an awful boy's name for me.

    I go into my bathroom and start filling up the tub. I sit next to it, letting the water run over my fingers, thinking about the ritual. The game is supposed to be played by one person because of the chance of friends getting possessed, though we decided we should all play together. That was actually another reason we decided to do this at my house; we didn't want any of our siblings getting caught up in it, especially if the warnings were accurate. I only have one sister, and she's twice my age and already has three kids, so my house is completely empty right now.

    We had also decided I would be the one initiating the game and summoning the demon because one; I am the bravest, two; It says to not use your name or your acquaintances names so you and them don't get hurt so my nickname will help so i don't have to worry about keeping track of a made up name, three; because I wanted to be the one to bring forth the spirit.

    I grin as I turn the tap, cutting off the water flow. I walk out and grab a wooden toothpick out of a kitchen drawer and sit to await my friend's arrival.

    The twins arrive first, Alan carrying a bag of rice and Max holding a small stuffed giraffe she no doubt stole from one of their many younger siblings.

    Katie was next tossing around a spool of red thread and a needle stuck through her sweater sleeve.

    “Wussup Graham!” she calls out in greeting. I have to jump to whack her upside the head.

    “Don't call me that!” I scold

    Then came the Winteine brothers, Jacob and Caleb. Each carries a grocery bag full of salt.

    “We didn't know how big the stuffed animal would be, so we just bought a ton to end the ritual.” Jacob shrugs and waltzes in, a skip in his stride, with Caleb following closely behind.

    I wait for everyone to set their stuff down and gather in a semicircle. I clap my hands.

    “Alright! We've got everything! Now we can do anything we want for a couple of hours until we start the ritual! Let's party!!”

*A few hours later*

    “Okay everyone!” shouts Max and Alan at the same time, “it's about 2:30”  “so we should get everything ready”
Alan starts, and Max finishes. I shake my head, sometimes they act like they don't even know each other and the other half the time they act like stereotypical twins.

    They take the stuffed giraffe, which turns out to belong to their three year old brother Clide and set it on the counter.

    “You're up, Graham.” whispers Katie. I could see her shoulders tense. Katie was never one for scary things but braved it out most of the time anyway so she could hang out with us. I felt bad enough that she was doing this in the first place that I didn't even reprimand her for using my given name.

     I nod and approach all of the ritual ingredients laid out before me. I had memorized what to do beforehand so I wouldn't have to interrupt the process to find out what to do next. I take in a breath and hold it for a while, calming my heartbeat before letting it out slowly. First step; a name.

    “I name you Gary.” I whisper.

    “You didn't need to say that out loud. That wasn't part of the ritual.” says Max

     “I know,” I snapped, “it just felt right.” Caleb stifles a snort of laughter. I shoot a glare at him before continuing.

     I reach for the plumpy giraffe and rip its stomach open, ripping out the stuffing and replacing it with rice. Then, I gathered all of our nail clippings that we all prepared beforehand and placed them inside the animal as well. I then grab the red string, threading it through the eye of the needle. I stitch up the rip in the giraffe and then wrap the rest of the string around it.

    As I am wrapping the rest of the string, Jacob runs around, turning off all of the lights and then turning the TV on. Nothing but static. That unnerves me because just a moment ago, we were watching a show on that channel. No matter. Focus. It's almost 3 now.

    Everyone rushes into my room, where we had a bucket of salt water waiting. They started to fill their mouths, careful not to swallow any, as I made my way to the adjoining bathroom. I look at my watch, waiting for it to strike three. As soon as it does, I start.

     I peer at the doll in my hands before closing my eyes.

    “First tagger is Grim, first tagger is Grim, first tagger is Grim.” I feel a spike of unnatural fear course through me. I felt like vomiting. This isn't natural. I need to get out of here. No. Once you start, you can't stop. I swallow past the lump in my throat, eyes still screwed shut. I put the doll into a tub full of water and turn around. It was time for the possessing.

     I know it's a bad idea, I know I shouldn't, but I suddenly feel a swell of courage. I have my eyes open as I stop at the door jam. I look at my gathered friends as they peer up at me, cheeks puffed out and filled with water, sitting to the side so that they couldn't see the possession. I know I'm not supposed to turn around and look. I know bad things might happen. I look at Katie, and I see understanding dawn on her. She shakes her head hard, eyes filled with warning.

I ignore her.
I turn around.