My name is Jessica. Not that it really matters because once I’m done telling you what has happened I’ll more than likely be dead.
It was a month before my 16th birthday. My mother was planning a huge sleepover for my friends and I. I was shocked when she said “You know Jessie, if your brother Kyle comes home from college, and still agrees to it, you can have some of your guys stay over in the pool house,”
I turned around in my seat and looked right at her, “Mother are you serious? You do know that most of the guys and girls I hang out with are dating?”
“Yes, I know. That’s why I asked Kyle to keep them in line and down in the pool house with him. They can watch horror movies while you girls watch Twilight or something…”
I was shocked, not only did she say I can have guys at my slumber party, but that they could in fact stay the night! Then something else she said clicked. “Kyle is coming home? WHEN!” I shrieked and almost fell out of my chair.
I screamed like a little girl suddenly. “Umm about 5 minutes ago,” Kyle said giving me a hug from behind. Our mother started laughing. Kyle smiled and picked me up over his shoulder, “Sorry Mom, can’t stay we gotta go and get some Dairy Queen,” and with that we were out the door.
Kyle placed me down in front a new black convertible with red pinstripes along the middle. “Where did you get this?” I said shocked that he actually gave up him Ford pickup truck.
He smiled and cocked his head to the side “Get what?”
I rolled my eyes, it was one of those long stories he loved telling. “Alright, tell me the whole story, and I mean it!” I said because I knew damn well he didn’t have enough money to cover it on his own. I also knew that with Mom and Dad’s pending divorce that neither one of the could help him get it.
“Promise you won’t tell anyone?” He said looking at me once he started it up. I turned in the seat looked right at him, “Kyle Buckmoore I promise I will not tell anyone, not even our parents,”
He waited for us to start driving down the road, “I’m dating an older woman. He name is Ashley and well she’s rich,” He said with a straight face.
“Oh well umm so that’s cool. Is she nice?” I asked wondering how old she was. This was not normal, he use to like girls a little younger than him.
“She’s great. She lives near Bates and when I’m not at the dorms I’m staying with her. She’s 45, but doesn’t look like it. Oh yeah look in the backseat, we got you an early birthday gift. Hope you like it, it was her idea,”
I reached over into the back seat to a see a pink wrapped box with a blue ribbon on it. “Thank you. It looks like a board game,” I said. Now this may be stupid or lame to some people, but I still love to play board games and I think they are fun, so this was a really good gift. I opened up the gift and looked at it. I’ve never seen anything like it before. “O-U-I-J-A? What kind of game is this?”
Kyle pulled into a long drive way and I realized it wasn’t Dairy Queen we were going to, it was his friend Tyler’s. “I’ll show you. Plus you get to meet Ashley, she’s hiding over here right now,” He said putting the car in park.
Once we walked into Tyler’s house, I heard his voice. He was joking with Ashley about something. Tyler was only 17, and very yummy looking. He was on the football team at school, and a lot nicer than most of the jocks. Plainly he was my crush. “Hey Jessie girl, how are you doing?” he said looking right at me.
“I’m alright, you?” I said giving him a hug like always. “You must be the famous Ashley I’ve been hearing about, I’m Jessie,” I said giving her a hug too.
“Jessie I’ve heard so much about you. Did your brother give you are birthday gift yet?” She asked standing back a bit.
“Yes, thank you it’s wonderful.” I said taking a better look at her. Oh my god, how the hell did you land my brother, because you are not his normal type? You must be paying him off or something! She was tall with long straight black hair with a purple streak in it, with very pail foundation makeup and grayish eye shadow and black eyeliner with what looks like blood red lip stick. If she hadn’t been wearing so much makeup she would have been pretty. Then I saw something twinkle in the light, she was wearing a small dragon silver necklace and it was holding something in it’s claw, but I couldn’t make it out and it was resting between her breast and I didn’t want her thinking I was into chicks when I’m not.
Tyler got up and started a fire in the fireplace and then shut off the lights. Kyle got up and walked into the other room and came back with an old wooden box with these weird drawings on it. “What’s that?” I asked as Tyler held out his hand to me. I took his hand and he walked me down by the fireplace to a little cushion for me to sit on next to him. Ashley was on Tyler’s other side and my brother was beside me. Ashley smiled and opened the box slowly. “This was my mothers and before her it was my grandmothers and her mothers before her, it’s a spirit board,” she said as she placed this old wooden board with letters and numbers and the words Hello, Goodbye, Yes and No on it.
“Oh you guys bought me one of these” I said smiling. Ashley nodded and continued removing a wooden heart shaped thing “This is the panchette or pointer. This is the tool that let’s us see what the spirits want to say to us. I will be the one writing down what is said. You may each ask questions but only one at a time and give them enough time to answer you before you move on to the next question. Now very important DO NOT REMOVE YOUR FINGERS FROM THE PANCHETTE OR THEY WILL STOP TALKING!” She said and something told me she was very serious about this kinda thing. I mean come on it was only game, so why be so serious about it.
“The name of the spirit who helps me contact the others is name Conrad. He’s a little boy who died when he was 6 of tuberculosis. He was great uncle and my great grandmother used his blood for all the letters, numbers and wording and then burnt them in to the wood. My mother said it was because he could always channel things that where not seen. Like when the neighbors’ husband was killed when they had gone hunting, Conrad, was seen speaking to someone who wasn’t there in the corner and then told Rachel this message Rachel I’m sorry that I won’t be home to help you raise Jacob, I love you and always will. It was said that sometime later Rachel hung herself and killed her young son Jacob believing they where cursed, when it was her husbands spirit lingering around,”
“Uncle Conrad I ask that you protect us from evil that wants to harm us. Is there anyone who wishes to speak to us?” Ashley said and waited. I was just beginning to wonder when or what was going to happen next when I felt something sliding under my finger, and watch at the pointer moved over to the word yes. I looked at Tyler and saw he had a puzzled look on his face “Kyle are you moving this?” he said after looking at me and noticed I thought it was him or Kyle.
Kyle shook his head no and asked “What is your name?”
“J-A-N-E” Tyler said confused.
“Jane, how are you?” Kyle asked with a smile.
“C-O-L-D. She’s cold” Tyler said looking at Kyle.
“Why are you cold sweetie?” Kyle asked.
“N-O-M-O-R-E-B-R-E-A-T-H-S. What’s that mean?” Tyler asked.
“She said ‘No more breaths’ she’s passed away remember?” I said looking at Tyler.
“Oh yeah right, sorry Jane” he said.
“R-U-N-G-O-N-O-W-R-U-N-L-E-A-V-E-N-O-W-H-E-S-C-O-M-I-N-G-G-O”the pointer spelled out franticly.
“Move over!” Ashley shouted and placed her finger on the pointer and slide it over the word Goodbye “Goodbye Conrad, thank you” she said.
I looked at Ashley “What was it she said last it was going to fast for me to keep up?” I asked taking the paper from her to see it spelt out a warning. Run, go now, run, leave, he’s coming, go I felt the hair all over my body stick up and that uneasy cold chill run all over. Just as I looked up we heard a loud BANG come from the kitchen door. Tyler and I got up to check out what happened. As we walked closer to the door we saw a long crack in one of the windows and a small black stone on the ground. “Some jerk must have thrown it at the window,” Tyler said and walked off.
“Yeah,” I said looking around, the only problem was no one was around and none of the bushes had places for anyone to hide in.
