At first, having your older brother Obadiah invite you out with his friends tonight was every little sibling's dream come true... But since it's with his wannabe Ghost Busters crew, You're not so sure.
“This is it!” Nathan, the tall guy, states, gesturing to the abandoned Irving.
“This is it?” Shorty Helen echoes in disbelief from beside him. “What happened to a good, old-fashioned abandoned haunted house? Or a graveyard, like the one down town?”
“Well, it’s something new.” Ian offers. “I’ve certainly never been to an abandoned Gas Station before.” He fiddles with what you guess is a radar.
“Well, then, ‘experts’ first.” The blonde girl (what was her name again?) gestures with her head towards the weeded building.
“I think we all know how good of an idea THAT’S gonna be." Obadiah chimes in. “We stick together. C’mon, Joel.” Without a word, you and the rest of the ghost hunting amateurs follow him inside.
“…I’m not picking up anything.” Ian’s mumbling carries over the rest of the building.
“Same.” Obadiah says, the sound of wet footsteps following after his voice.
“Yeah.” You add as clear as you can manage, glancing at the weeds clawing out of the corners. The group has been scanning this dank building for the last twenty minutes. There’s been no energy or voices picked up… Which is really a relief. You really don’t know what you would do if a presence made itself known.
Knowing yourself, you would probably get scared and run off like a decapitated chicken.
“How you holdin’ up?” Nathan asks, pointing the flashlight in your direction.
“I’m fine.” This place gives you goosebumps.
“You’re pretty calm about all this.” Really? “Has Obadiah taken you on these before?”
“No, I was too young.”
“What are you now, twelve?” A car drives by outside.
“Yeah.”
He nods, obviously running out of conversation topics. You think of asking him about his reasons for sharing such an interest in ghosts when the thumping of boots approaches you two.
“Well, we haven’t picked up anything.” Helen states, but then smirks. You smell trouble. “So~, how about we play a game? It’s called ‘No Mires Atrás.’”
It means 'Don't Look back'. According to Helen, one person each will stay in the Irving and host a Ghost Party. They do that by taking a piece of paper – Helen brought a few – and ripping it up into pieces of the same number for the rooms in the building, counting the bathroom. On each one, the host must write ‘I summon any spirit who wants to come into my world to my reunion, which will go from one time to another’ and place a piece in each room. In one room, the host will try to light a match three times. If the three matches fail to light, then no one came, so there's no party. If one of the matches do light up, then the Ghost Party has begun. All the host has to do now is not to look behind them until the time is up.
Everyone, including you, aren’t so keen on disturbing the spirits. But after Helen shared some experiences, including the weird things those stupid enough to look behind them saw, everyone is in.
"Heh, this'll be nothing for us." Obadiah nudges you. "Right, Joel?"
"Heh, yeah, right." You give him a small smile.
Oh dear Lord...
Everything is set. With slow hands, you put each piece of paper in all the rooms plus the main room that you’ll be staying in. The agreed time was five minutes. Nathan’s intricate, glow-in-the-dark pocket watch shows that it’s after 1AM. Normally, you would be asleep by now… But after hearing everyone else’s experiences of voices and temperature fluctuations, you definitely wouldn’t be able to get to sleep even if you didn’t participate!
You walk up to the counter, each step deep and vibrating throughout the whole building, no matter how much you try to lighten them. When you get to the counter, you try to focus on the voices of Obadiah and his friends just outside. If only you could see them for reassurance, too, but all the windows are boarded up… One of the reasons Helen said that this is the perfect place for the game.
Flicking off the flashlight, you wait a few seconds for the pocket watch to announce 1:15AM. Each tick feels like an hour apart, but the watch finally passes 1:15. You take out three matches, along with a deep breath.
‘You can do this, don’t be such a coward.’
You strike one: Nothing. An exhale pours out of you. Maybe you won't get anything, like Nathan. You swirl the match in a nearby puddle before placing it in the dirty ashtray. You prepare the next one to strike. Maybe it won’t happen or maybe only the last one wi-
You strike two: the stick flares up with light. The party has started.
Voices begun to creep up all over the building and it takes every ounce of control of every nerve not to be an idiot and drop the match. Thankfully, you manage to dispose of it properly before a string of moans paralyzes you stiff.
1:16:05AM. Deep breaths, now. Three seconds in, three second out. You make sure to inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth. every now and then, a chill creeps up from under your t-shirt, but nothing too bad. You can make it.
1:17:04AM. Your senses feel like they have been heightened ten-fold. Mundane conversations of wars and food mix in with the moaning and crying from the bathroom, reminding you of the school’s noisy cafeteria. A breeze wisps your curls. There’s no smoke, but the smell of tobacco floats over from the far right, but you don’t look. Keep your eyes on the clock.
1:18:03AM. Several footsteps patter around the building, which you are starting to get used to, since they are all a distance away. One, however, begins walking straight towards you, every deep step slow and deliberate. You take out the chain necklace Obadiah gave to you from your pocket and feel the cool metal jolt your skin and senses. Don’t turn around!
1:19:02AM. Its right behind you now, staring into your eyes from behind. You don’t even know how that’s possible. Every exhale comes out as mist and fades into the darkness.
“LoOk aT Me.” It commands in a growl that’s been cut with glass. You swallow hard as its cold, negative aura seems to fill every crack and orifice of the room. “LOoK At mE.” Don’t cry, God dammit, don’t cry! You focus on your breathing, specifically the visible wisps. You can feel it smile behind you, the ass. “I’lL Be aROuNd.” Each cracked syllable vibrates within your body.
1:20:01AM. Silence. It’s over… And you… You survived! Your chest fills up with dank, but warm air. A shiver runs up your spine as though you’ve spent the last ten years numbed.
You flick on the flashlight and turn around. Just empty, dark, space. Well, you didn’t piss your pants, but you could’ve done a lot better. A sniffle escapes from you. God, you’re weak. Obadiah didn’t even look that spooked when he came out!
With a relieved gulp, you go to collect the pieces of paper and items. By the time you’re done, you walk smooth and light right out the door.
... Unaware of your shifting shadow casted by the streetlights.
An edited excerpt from our up-and-coming novella, The Crux, book two of the Pharmakembru series!
All critiques are appreciated - Monos D.O.A
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