The small tongue of the flame burned into the matchstick, devouring it, leaving what was once the thin, simple wood, into a charred black nightmare. I dropped the old matchbox to the floor and lit the 7 candles. The candlelight flickered in the dark, eerie room. Silvery light from the moon peeped through the old stained glass windows turning the light into a horrific, dark blood red. The light fell upon the board perfectly and it illuminated the writing. I shifted my eyes towards Veronika. I watched as her eyes scanned the room suspiciously, I could tell she was frightened. Her piercing quivered as the whole of her bottom lip trembled with fear.
Veronika finally protested, “I can’t believe you talked me into this Detarra! We shouldn’t mess with forces that we have no idea about!”
“Shut up will you? Do you want to attract evil? Fear attracts negative entities or even worse, demons.” I barked back. Veronika dropped her eyes to the board and placed two of her fingers from her right hand on the old, chipped planchette. I did the same. Our eyes were both fixed on the board as we waited patiently for a spirit to come through for contact. I kept my eyes fixated on the old sandalwood board. The numbers from 0 to 9 were carved in roman numerals and the alphabet was carefully painted in black and gold and the phrases ‘YES’, ‘NO’ and ‘GOODBYE’ were all painted on the board too. Veronika and I slowly moved the planchette around in a figure of 8 and chanted “Ouija, Ouija are you there? Ouija, Ouija, are you there?” To my surprise the planchette slowly started moving to the phrase “YES”. Veronika’s fingers were shaking rapidly and I know she was considering bailing on me.
“D-d-did you move that?” She asked with a quiet, quivering voice. The thick eyeliner she had on was making the tears welling in her eyes a grim black. She was absolutely terrified and my reply to her would not have helped at all.
“No.” I said simply. Veronika clenched her teeth and took in a deep breath. “Do not show fear!” I demanded. Veronika nodded and kept her eyes on the board. “Can we ask you some questions?” I said to whatever spirit was present. The planchette slowly pulled itself to “YES”.
“I do not like this one bit Detarra. Comon let’s go. If we get caught here we’re going to be arrested for trespassing. Do you have any idea what kind of spirits could be here? It’s a bloody abandoned orphanage for Christ’s sake!”
“Shut up, I’m serious. They feed off the fearful, it only makes them stronger. Be strong! Or we’re both screwed.” I snapped through gritted teeth. “We’re moving on. You started in this, you’re finishing in this. Stop being such a god damn wuss.” Veronika lifted her hand and with her black fingernails she adjusted and pulled at her gothic chocker chain as if it was slowly choking her. Stress was getting to her. “What’s your name?” I asked. Veronika and I watched as the planchette directed our fingers to the letters “A”, “N”, “N”, “I” and “E”. Annie. Veronika gave me a worried look and I stared her down with a piercing look, warning her that if she broke the connection, all hell would break loose. Veronika was scanning the room, her eyes darted around a million miles an hour, searching for anything supernatural. I slowly rubbed my tattooed arms, filling them with heat. The air was cold and the room was filled with the stench of rotting wood. Drafts from the old wooden doors were creeping through the room and sending chills through my spine.
“Just carry on! Quickly Dee, the sooner I’m out of here, the better!” Spat Veronika with almost pleading eyes. I started,
“How old are you?” Within 5 seconds the planchette moved with what I thought was urgency to the numbers “1” and “0”. 10.
“How did you-“ I cut Veronika off before she could finish the question.
“-Shut up, I’m doing the talking! They communicate with you and you’ll ruin us!” I continued asking the questions. “Annie, how did you die?” The planchette moved so quickly, that it left mine and Veronika’s fingers lingering in mid air. We watched as the planchette landed over the letters “Y”, “O”, “U”, “W”,”A”,”T”,”C”,”H”, “O”,”U”,”T”. You watch out. After the planchette had stopped moving, we both stared at each other’s eyes. Not knowing what would happen. Veronika’s whole body was shaking more than ever, and it wasn’t because it was cold. Mascarra was running down her blackened eyes and she looked at me with an expression that could only be read as ‘I told you so’. Curious to find out I shifted my concentration back to the Ouija board. “Why?” I asked simply. Silence filled the room, the emptiness was almost unbearable. I could hear the sound of Veronika’s heavy breathing and her warm breath was tickling my skin. We sat there nervously, waiting for a response for what felt like hours due to the intensity of the situation. I couldn’t stand not knowing the answers; I needed answers, and now. “Is it dangerous?” I asked firmly, annoyed that Annie had not replied earlier. I had the feeling she was trying to warn me off, warning me to break the connection and stop but I wouldn’t give in, I persisted further on. “Is it dangerous?” I questioned for the second time. The planchette slowly and almost unwillingly moved to the answer “YES”. Veronika slowed her breathing and then finally stopped, I knew she was going to protest,
