The Piano || 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘣𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬

|51|

The Estes session started with Jerry putting on the headphones under many jokes and nervous laughter. But even though he shook his head repeatedly, saying that he was scared, Ashley could see the anticipation in his eyes before he pulled on the blindfold.

"This is some real white-guy shit, I shouldn't be doing this," he muttered before putting on the headphones and leaning back in the chair.

Before they could ask anything, he opened his mouth again. "Whoa, it just said hello," he said. "Right off the bat, someone just went, hello."

"Is she welcoming us?" Sam asked. "That's crazy. Uh, hi! We'd be glad if you were ready to talk to us a little more tonight."

Ashley glanced at the EMF rope they had set up in a circle around the group. It didn't show any reaction.

"EMF doesn't pick her up," she noted as the room was silent for a second.

"EMF? What do you mean?" Sadie asked, following Ashley's gaze to the rope.

"Electro-magnetic field, that's what the EMF rope, the K2 and REM pod use," Sam explained. "They create, like the name says, an electric field. If something enters it, they react to it." To prove his words, he bent down to hover his fingers over the rope. It blinked in response.

"They only blink when Ilse wants them to," Ashley said. "She literally just came to us, and the EMF rope didn't pick her up. In the beginning, she would light up the REM pod to tell us something, but she hasn't done that in a while."

Sam and Colby exchanged a glance. "You're-" Colby began, but he was interrupted.

"Yeah, she's... something I didn't catch," Jerry said loudly, oblivious to the silent conversation going on. "Could've been raw, but I don't think that's it."

Sam let out a breathy laugh. "What were you about to say?" he asked Colby, who shook his head in disbelief.

"That Ashley's right," he replied. "Guess that just got confirmed."

"Yeah, again," Jerry said. "I'd kill to know what you guys are asking."

Ashley laughed at his words. "Don't worry, we're just discussing what picks Ilse's spirit up and what doesn't," she said as if he could hear her.

"Yeah, Ilse, do you want us to use different devices?" Colby asked the room, and they all looked around, waiting for an answer.

Only a few moments later, the light closest to Ashley turned on for a few steady seconds before blinking and turning off again.

"Is that a... no?" she guessed, looking down at the rope with a puzzled expression. "Because it's like saying, "No, I'm good, I can use this as well," if you know what I mean," she added, lifting her gaze to the group.

"Probably, yeah," Sam said. "Let's just keep it this way. If that isn't okay just show us by making it light up again."

The rope stayed dark.

"Okay, so, is there anything you want to tell us tonight?" Ashley asked, carefully looking over to Sadie to see how she reacted.

"Downstairs."

"Downstairs?" Sam repeated. "What does that mean?"

"You mean downstairs as in the ballroom?" Ashley inquired, tilting her head. Hadn't Ilse just driven them away from there?

"Come and see," Jerry said in a strange tone. He sounded almost happy, playful. It made Ashley's skin crawl; she didn't like that at all.

"Okay, that's scary as fuck," Colby said, raising his eyebrows slightly. "Why did he say it like that?"

"Um, what do you want us to see?" Sam asked. "Something in the ballroom? Do you want us to go into the ballroom again?"

"Again, we're just running up and down," Ashley chuckled, lowering her voice to almost a whisper. "It's like Ilse wants us to work out or something."

"Maybe it's... something, something," Jerry said, returning to his normal voice. "Didn't get what it said."

"Maybe it's what?" Ashley asked, frowning. That made less sense than anything they'd got in the last few sessions. "Time?" she suggested.

"For what? For us to come and see something?" Colby continued her thought.

"Are you going to show yourself to us tonight?" Sam asked. The answer was immediate.

"Yes."

Ashley let out a nervous chuckle. Colby shifted his weight on his other foot, looking uncomfortable. Sam took a step back, and Sadie started playing with loose strands of hair. Seeing her so unsettled made a triumphant smile tug at Ashley's lips. She didn't let it show, though, knowing that it would send the wrong signals. No, probably just the right ones, which she didn't anyone else to see.

"Okay, wow, that's... interesting," Sam said. "Guess we better get going?"

Ashley reached out to tap Jerry's leg, but Sadie was quicker, shaking his shoulder. He flinched hard, pulling the headphones off quickly.

"Are we done?" he asked, looking at their nervous faces. "What did I say? I mean, what did she say?"

"Well," Sam said, pulling the 'e'. "She promised us she'd show herself to us today. Which is terrifying."

"The answers made sense?" Jerry asked, reaching for his crutches. As Ashley nodded, he let out a low whistle. "Wow. Show herself to us. That's horrifying. No offence, but I don't think I want to see her..."

She waited for Sadie to say something like, "We're not going to see her anyways," or "I'd like to see that," but surprisingly, Jerry's sister stayed silent. Her face was paler than before and her gaze didn't lock on anything as she looked around the room, apparently having trouble focusing on what was going on.

"Sadie," Ashley said, a little louder than the first time she'd asked the girl. "Are you sure you're alright? Should we take a break?"

Now, Sam and Colby seemed to notice Sadie's uneasiness as well. Sam picked up the camera, walking a little closer.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"I feel a little weird," Sadie said, her voice weaker than usual. "But it's not too bad. We can keep going."

"You don't look like it's not too bad," Ashley scoffed. "Come on. Let's go outside for a second. To get some fresh air."

Sadie looked like she wanted to protest, but Ashley didn't let it come to that.

"Nope. You're obviously unwell," she said. Despite her dislike towards the girl, she didn't want her to pass out in the middle of the evening. Or. Well. It would definitely work well for the video. She'd have to take care that Sadie was always in frame, just in case something would happen. Evil, she scolded herself. But it was true, wasn't it? And it would also look like Ilse didn't like Sadie, making her feel "weird".

"No, I'm fine. Really," Sadie insisted. Ashley sighed – she knew this behaviour far too well from herself. It felt too hypocritical to continue telling her she should take a break, so Ashley shut her mouth, glancing at her disapprovingly.

Fortunately, Jerry didn't let Sadie get away with it. "Come on, I need to get some fresh air as well," he said, standing up from the rocking chair. "Let's just go out for a second."

This convinced his sister, and she helped him stand upright until he found his balance. Sam turned off the camera, and they made their way to the elevator, even though Ashley would've still preferred taking the stairs. The elevator was stuffy, and her back was pressed into the corner so that they all fit into it. Colby had entered right after her, and now he stood in front of her, slightly towering over her despite their similar height.

"Sorry," he chuckled as his arm pressed against her chest because Jerry had still been standing outside and they all needed to push together a little.

"I hate this elevator," she muttered, trying to suppress the blush creeping on her cheeks.

"Me too, I get why you used the stairs before," he said, and she could hear the smile in his voice. It made the corners of her mouth pull up automatically, and she had to suppress the urge to giggle. What the actual hell?