AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I settle my fingers down, one million questions building in me and my mouth not able to form even one.
We all stare at the wooden piece beneath our fingers, the pointed tip settling to a stop.
It’s silent, not a word flows from our mouths and not a breath heaves from our chests. I can feel the planchette tremoring under our touch, each of our hands shaking with nerves.
“Are you a good spirit or a bad spirit?” Piper whispers.
Nothing. No movement. I can’t even feel a pull of the wood against the board.
“How did you die?” Blaire asks, leaning forward as if she could hear the words lift from the letters.
The wood jerks, sliding across the board in a slow, almost lazy movement.
It feels wrong. My fingers on this wood. From the fear on all their faces, they aren’t doing anything either. Whatever is speaking to us, it isn’t a living being. It’s something different. It feels heavy, thick. Like a sticky, black tar that cements itself to your skin and won’t come off easily, no matter how hard you scrub.
“B-L-O-O-D.”
We all say the letters out loud, each one punctuated with a heavy thump of fear that echoes in our bones.
"Blood? What does that mean?" I ask, my voice shaking the words from my throat.
"He drowned? Did he drown in blood?" Blaire asks.
"He? Maybe it's a she." Piper looks at us with wide eyes.
"Are you a man or a woman?" Hazel asks. Her fingertips are white against the pale wood. "Maybe he or she lost a lot of blood and died. Did you die from losing blood?"
The wood vibrates beneath my fingers but doesn't move.
"You're asking too many questions," Blaire sighs. "What is your name?"
It takes a moment, my heavy breaths shaky and hot as it blows across the skin on my hands. Slowly, it inches its way across the board.
"D," Blaire says.
"A," I whisper.
"D," we all say together.
"D-A-D. Dad? Whose dad?" Hazel frowns, confusion written all across her face.
My eyes widen, and my fingers fly off the wood. My heels press into the rug, and I shove my butt back, away from the board. "I-I don't want to play anymore."
They let go of the board, looking at me with hesitation and curiosity.
"What was that?" Blaire scooches over to me, wrapping her arm around my shoulders. "You look like you saw a ghost or something."
It's because I did.
Or at least, I felt something like one.
I shake my head.
“Tell me. I didn’t see anyone. Did you see a figure? A shadow? Did you feel something?” Hazel’s voice rings with excitement, but all I feel is a sick sense of dread.
All I can do is blink at the board.
“You look freaked out. Tell us, Vera. We’re not going to say anything,” Piper says softly.
