Voices From Beyond

Chapter 23

I reach the edge of the woods, I'm on the side of a road. I look both directions, there's no cars in sight. I faintly hear the sound of crickets chirping in the distance, the sun is beginning to set. I take in a deep breath as I scan my surroundings. Across the street is a gas station, the parking lot is vacant. I don't see a sign that says open in the window anywhere either, the lights inside are off. The trees sway in the wind, loose strands of my hair blow into my face.

I cross the street, the entire walk to Mitch's diner I will think of what to offer the board. I have no idea what a demon could possibly want from me that's worth the exchange of several lives. I am in over my head, I don't let myself get caught up in thinking too hard over all of this. My life is a shit show at this point and the new reality I see now is nothing like I've grown to know during my life. Life is much shorter than I've ever realized, how quickly time has passed since I was only just a small child. My youth, carelessly spent on things that won't matter once my life is over. I didn't change the world, I didn't leave anything extraordinary behind. I'll just be gone.

I am standing in the middle of the street when I hear the sound of a car revving its way toward me. It must be going fast, I swear I can hear it right beside me. I look up, headlights pour into my eyes. I must look like an innocent deer in headlights right now, with the shocked look on my face when the tires begin to squeal only inches from me. I feel a sudden push on my back and I go flying across the road. My body skids across the dirt, my muscles ache from the sudden impact. I look up from the ground, groaning as I do so, to see Kennedy and Noah standing in front of the car. They fade into the wind just as the car comes to a halt on the shoulder of the road.

"I'm so sorry! I swear I didn't see you, I don't know how that happened! I'm so sorry!" an old man stutters from across the street, a sympathetic and regretful look showing on his face.

I push myself to my feet and take in a deep breath. I don't know how I am not more hurt than I am, all I have is a few scrapes. "It's okay, no worries. I'm okay, sir," I wave him off, my eyelids feel heavy.

"Are you sure? I can call an ambulance?" he takes a few steps closer to me.

"No, no. It's okay, really it is. I will be fine, thank you though," I cut him off before he can offer anymore. He flashes me one more concerned look. "You just go ahead, my home is just a few houses down," I lie to him.

He shakes his head but gets back in his vehicle. I stumble away from him, passing the dimly lit gas station as I head in the direction I remember the diner to be. It shouldn't be too far from here.

I take one last glance back at the gas station when I see it. The side of the gas station has a small window with dark purple curtains. From a distance, I faintly see the face of a pale woman smiling at me behind the glass, her frail fingers hold the curtain open just enough for me to see half of her face within the shadows. I shutter and shake my head, I turn away from her. I get the feeling that it wasn't the old man's fault that he had almost hit me moments ago.

Every step that I take, the weaker I feel. My shoes feel like weights pulling me toward the earth, gravity is not working in my favor. I could curl up in a ball and sleep on the side of the road right now, I wouldn't mind the hard rocks against my cold skin. I can't let myself though, I have things to do and places I need to be. If Sydney and I are going to survive this, if we are going to save our friends, then I can't waste anymore time than I already have.

I finally make it to the diner, my mind is racing wildly in every direction as I consider all of the possibilities of what the ouija board might want from me. I scan around the parking lot, I only see Mitch's car. I glance into the window, I don't see Sydney anywhere inside. Maybe she went with the police or the ambulance that I assume took Mitch's body. The ouija board is sitting idly on the counter when I push open the door, the bell chimes above me and I flinch. I don't know why I feel so sensitive right now. To my surprise, Mitch has not moved. His body lays lifeless in the same position it was before I had left, but Sydney isn't here. There's no way the cops wouldn't have got here by now, I've been gone for what feels like a really long time.

"Sydney?" I call out into the diner, hoping that maybe she's in the break room. There's no answer. "Sydney, are you here?" I repeat once again, I decide that she's just not here. I have no idea where she would've gone, especially to leave her boyfriend's dead body just laying there. I choose not to think too much about it, I have to focus on the task at hand. I rush over to the board, I gather it in my arms and sit it at the booth furthest from Mitch's body. I just feel off being so close to a corpse, especially playing this game.

I find the planchette in a puddle of blood a little ways from Mitch. I bring it to the board. My fingers caress the board, I trace a few of the letters with my fingertip. I can feel my friend's freedom so close to me, I can almost taste the happiness I will feel when I get them out of there. Everything will go back to normal, it will be as if none of this ever happened. I find myself distracted in the thought of what it might be like when I feel okay again, I won't have so many missing pieces inside of me once the lives of those that I love are restored. Maybe it will be as if this were all a dream.

I imagine all of us on a warm summers day, we're walking down the coast of a beach. Gentle waves crash into the sand beneath our feet, a breeze snakes through our hair. Everyone is smiling and laughing, we're telling stories and jokes just as we used to. Ryan leads the group, his curly brown hair is damp at the top of his head. He turns his head to glance back at everyone, his smile widens as he lets out a small chuckle and licks the ice cream cone melting in his hand. Bruno is one step behind Ryan, he's imitating a cartoon character from a show we used to watch as kids. He has the most playful expression on his face when he looks over to Mitch and waits for his reaction. Just as Bruno is hoping, Mitch throws his head back like a little kid and lets a laugh escape his mouth. When Mitch finally catches his breath, he glances over beside him and rests his arm over Sydney's shoulders. He pulls her closer to him and she plants a small peck on his cheek. She grins as if his presence still makes her nervous even after being together for so long. Kennedy is right in front of me, her long hair dances around her face as she slows her pace to walk beside me. She is holding an ice cream cone as well, she licks the chocolate and offers me a taste. I shake my head, flashing her a smile as to say no thank you. I am holding a cone as well, there's a couple of scoops of mint chocolate chip stacked on the top. A few drops slide down the edge of the cone and fall into the sand below me. I lick the side of the cone, shaking my head as I struggle to avoid wasting ice cream. On the other side of me, Noah is walking. He looks over at me and tries not to laugh as I struggle, the corners of his mouth twitch and he loses his composure. His laugh is contagious, I can't stop myself from laughing along with him. This is what life could be like, what it might have been like had we not played the game. Unfortunately, this is only a fantasy. Everything is different now.

I clear my head, realizing where I'm really at. I'm still in the diner, I'm alone.

I place the planchette in the center of the board and gently press my fingertip against it. I can't help but let the sad smile spread across my face, it's not wide but it's enough for me to know that I will get through this. The bittersweet melancholic air around me blankets me as if to calm my nerves.

Just as I open my lips to speak, I hear something behind me. Someone shifts uneasily. I freeze, my lip twitches from my sudden stillness. I hear a familiar voice angrily scream behind me, something is forcefully plunged into my back. I feel the sharp sting in my chest, I've been stabbed in the heart. My breath quickly flows out of my lungs and my vision is clouded around the edges as a few tears stream down my cheeks. I feel cold, I'm tired. It doesn't hurt like I expected it would, I thought it would feel worse than this. I cough, blood splatters the board in front of me as I struggle to look behind me.

I want to look her in her eyes, I want her to see my face when she realizes what she has done. I want to know if there's any bit of her left to save us once I'm gone. I struggle to turn my head as blood oozes out of the corners of my mouth. My eyes meet with Sydney's and I instantly know that there's no more hope. Whoever is standing behind me, it's not the girl I once knew. She stares back at me with a wicked expression on her merciless face as she twists the blade inside of me.

For a small second, I feel some relief.