Spir•it: noun; a malevolent being that enters and possesses a human being.
The loud music from the party was now barely audible. The only thing Leah could hear was her friends' giggles and a few teardrops hitting the windows of the cars and the bottom her empty red cup.
Her mouth expelled a slight cloud of steam each time she let out the air from her exhausted lungs thru the cold atmosphere. She pressed her fingers into a fist trying to keep them warm while her left hand was holding a lantern in order to avoid tripping. The lack of streetlights in that path made it obvious that it leaded to nowhere. She had never been there nor did she want. She knew about the stories and so did her friends, the reason why they were heading to the house. She followed them, being the last one, and sometimes she looked back and saw the big house's lights, wondering if people were having fun and wishing to be there.
"Leah!" Someone shouted distracting her from her thoughts, "come on, we are so close!"
She quickened her pace and reached the rest of them. Alec, the boy who shouted her name, waited for her and put his arm around her.
"Come here, slowie, you don't want to stay behind, do you?"
Leah blushed at his nickname and smiled slightly.
A few moments later the house came into their view and a couple of her friends ran towards the main entrance, screaming of euphoria.
"Yes! Look at this!" Naomi said.
Leah didn't give much importance to their actions because she was aware of how wasted they were; instead she paid all her attention to the frightening building. The structure was considerably damaged by the years and the absence of care. The wood was rotten and the remaining glass on the windows was broken very badly.
Just the whole picture of the house made her shiver, and the wind blowing between the injured structure joined to the extreme darkness didn't help to drive her thoughts away.
"I don't think this is a good idea", she said, knowing she wouldn't convince her friends.
"Leah is a pussy, Leah is a pussy!" A pair of them hummed in chorus.
"At least this will be more exciting than the party", her best friend Allie said.
That was the reason why Leah found herself in that situation. She didn't have many friends and Allie was like her sister, so she felt forced to follow them there. Besides, she really liked Alec, and lately, it seemed like he liked her back. She would follow him wherever he wanted if he asked her, and he had done it.
The other drunk boy, Oliver, opened the door without any effort, as if the house welcomed them and invited them in without putting any kind of impediment, and they walked in. Led by Oliver and Naomi followed by Allie.
Alec removed his arm from Leah's back and walked towards the door with quickened pulse due to the excitement. He looked back at Leah and saw her immobile staring at the house with a worried face.
"Leah, come on."
"I really don't like this", she met his gaze, frowning. "We don't have to do this, let's go back to the party."
The boy cracked a little smile and approached her.
"C'mon, don't tell me you're actually scared", he widened his smile and she looked down. "It's just a game, Leah, it's okay", he said lifting her head with his hand.
"I don't like this, please, let's go back", she asked one more time.
"Look, we'll stay for a few minutes and then we can go, yeah? Just you and me, I promise."
Leah stayed quiet and gave one last glance to the mansion.
Alec turned around and took a few steps, reaching the porch stairs.
"You're still not moving, slowie", he chuckled.
Leah shook her head trying to clear her mind and followed him.
"Here", he laced his fingers with hers, "if you feel scared just squeeze it."
She smiled at him and suddenly everything felt much better. Her stomach was filled with butterflies and her chicks went red as they entered the house, but none of it was because of fear.
The rest of the group was already inside, feeding their curiosity.
"Oliver, did you bring it?" Alec asked once they were all in the house.
Oliver opened his bag from where he took a wooden board, showing it with a smirk on his face.
"Let's play then, what are we waiting for?" Naomi said.
Allie cleaned some dirt from the central spot of the room and sat down. "I'm getting bored here."
The rest of them followed her actions and sat in a circle, including Leah and Alec, placing the board in the middle.
"Do you have the planchette?"
Oliver took the heart-shaped piece and put it on the board. "Okay, everyone knows how to play, right?" They all nodded. "I will be the one talking, the rest of you stay quiet and focused."
He was the first one to put his index finger on the planchette and slowly copied by the others, being Leah the last one.
She felt nervous and still unsure about the whole situation even though Alec didn't let go of her hand. She couldn't predict the future nor be aware about something else's presence, but somehow she knew that something would go wrong that night, she had that feeling. They couldn't just play with ghosts and get away with it. That wouldn't happen, but not even Leah could tell what it actually was about to happen. They would never forget that night, Leah above all. But there was no turning back, they were already playing.
"Dear spirit, if you are here give us a sign", Oliver started.
Naomi let out a small laugh when nothing happened. "Dear spirit, can you give me a blowjob? Cause I've been needy lately."
"Shut up! I said I was the only one talking, you need to follow the rules."
"C'mon, it's just a game."
"It's not a game, Naomi, take it seriously", Allie complained about her friend's behaviour.
"Okay, chill out, it's not like the spirit got really angry", she defended herself.
Oliver sighed and repeated the sentence once more. The group stared at the board in silence this time and when they least expected, the planchete moved to the bottom where the good bye was written.
"I think he denied the offer", Alec whispered, trying to make a joke no one laughed at.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Leah asked looking over at the leader of the game.
"I don't know."
"Did you move it?" Allie spoke.
"No! Of course not!"
"Then what does he mean?"
"How I'm supposed to know? It's my first time?" Oliver increased the tone of his voice.
Naomi removed her finger from the piece of wood with a worrying face for the first time in the whole night. "He means good bye."
Everyone looked at her, removing their fingers too.
"He means good bye", she repeated, "he doesn't want to play, we should go."
"C'mon it's just a game, let's try again", Alec interrupted immediately.
Leah watched as everyone returned their fingers to the planchette, even the not so sure Naomi. "I agree with Naomi, we should go."
"Hey, nothing bad is going to happen, I promise", the boy she liked tried to calm her down. "Remember what I told you?"
Leah lowered her gaze to their intertwined hands and, although she didn't feel any better, she nodded.
The planchette was already placed in the middle of the board for the second time and the participants willing to play another round.
"If you are here give us a sign."
A few seconds passed until they felt it moving again. This time it didn't indicate the farewell signal but moved towards the alphabet. The first letter to be aimed was the L, followed by three other letters until forming the name of our poor protagonist.
Her heart skipped a beat and her body temperature rose due to the nervousness. She squeezed Alec's hand so strong she could feel how his fingers scrunched, but she didn't care because he returned the action, trying to let her know that it would be okay, lying to himself.
"What do you want from Leah?" Oliver asked after gulping.
The word stay was slowly and painfully written and everyone looked at Leah just for a second, then attempting to hide their worry.
"Only her?"
The planchette moved to the right corner where the word yes was clearly visible.
"You can't do that, I don't want to be alone", Leah reacted rapidly, "Alec, this... you can't-"
"Shh, it's okay, I'm not going to leave you, no one's going to leave you here."
"We should quit, this isn't funny", Allie said pretty serious.
Oliver shook his head. "We can't quit like that."
"What do you mean by we can't quit like that? Oliver, he wrote her name, for God's sake, we have to-"
Alec's complaining was interrupted by another movement. Obey.
"This is it, fuck this."
Alec removed his finger from the board and stood up, helping Leah to do the same.
"What the fuck, Alec? You can't do that!" Oliver yelled.
"Fuck this shit and your stupid rules, Oliver, she's scared!" He shouted back to his best friend.
Allie and Naomi stood up as well and moved towards the couple of worried teenagers.
"He's right, Oliver, this has gone too far", Allie agreed.
"Fine!"
The boy kicked the board and the planchette and joined his mates. Alec and Leah were the first ones to give a few steps in the direction of the opened door but all of a sudden it gave a huge slam, making a breeze stir the hair of our friends.
"Oliver" Allie called him and pointed at the board, "it is moving."
The five of them turned around and stared at the board where the heart-shaped piece could be seen moving in the form of an infinite eight although the room was filled with darkness.
"What does that mean?"
The boy stayed kept silence during a few seconds which felt like hours. "Nothing good." He turned and grabbed the doorknob, desperately trying to open it. "Let us out!"
Alec tried to help him while the girls kept watching the board play all by itself, but it was impossible. The door seemed to be made of steel and it would not surrender to their strength.
"Let us out!" they begged over and over.
Leah closed her eyes, trying to hold back her tears. She knew something was going to happen. She had felt it when she entered that house. She told them to go back to the party but they had not listened. Now it was too late, it had already happened and there was no turning back.
She kept hearing her friends screaming for help and pleading, but she just stayed with her eyes closed and tears running down her face, knowing that they all would regret this.
"Let me in."