Slinging their backpacks over their shoulders, the girls proceeded into the Hollywood Cemetery. But the second their shoes crossed the invisible limit, an eerie sensation crawled over Arielle's skin. She turned to Stella—and from the narrowing of her chocolate eyes, she could tell her friend experienced the same energy coming alive around them.
But is that energy alive... or dead?
Both shuddered as they meandered by the red door of the Chapel Office. Up close, there was nothing creepy about it. Average, albeit bright, with a few dings and cracks, and obvious signs of wear and tear. Yet Arielle couldn't bear to look at it for more than a few moments before prying her gaze away. No spirits blinked in and out of focus in front of it, but the image imprinted in her brain and she couldn't make it stop.
"Stel... I'm sort of regretting this." The black mass from the prison and the fizzling figure from the door both warped and floated in her mind, blurring her vision. "And I... don't good."
It was yesterday all over again—but now Arielle had the nausea and discomfort.
Stella seemed unmoved as she pointed to the right, past the Gatekeeper's house. "You'll be fine... I sense it too, but we have to investigate it. We... said we would. No running away. Come on... we should go that way."
Arielle's eyebrows raised as she prepared to retort something, but her words mixed up in her mouth and her jaw tightened.
Stella continued down the landscaped path. "I remember reading something about a pyramid... the Monument to the Confederate Dead, I think? It's said you can hear moans and stuff. Should be a good place to start."
Arielle nodded, but everything in the surrounding atmosphere begged her to turn tail and exit. A cool tingle traveled across her skin and a coppery, sulfuric stench skittered into her nostrils. She fought the urge to gag.
Stella didn't see or smell anything—or didn't care to—and hastened onward, leaving Arielle no choice but to hobble behind her.
Once at the Pyramid—a huge rock and stone monument that stood almost as tall as some of the trees surrounding the property—Stella tipped her head to the side.
"Nah, there's nothing here." She shrugged and pinched her lips. "I'm not getting anything."
Arielle chuckled, though the sound came out as more of a cackle.
Is she fucking joking? This place is nuts! It's active! There are... things here!
"D-does it work like that?" Her teeth clattered as she fixed her backpack strap. "Don't you have to focus or something? Or... stay here a little longer to be sure? This area is... saturated with energy. I... can tell."
Stella whipped around, her eyes narrowed. "How can you tell? Because I have no fucking clue how it works." Arielle flinched, but Stella had already taken several steps away and missed it. "This is new to me, but all I can say is I'm not getting any vibes here. And, supposedly, I'm the one who was born with that ability. So since I'm not getting anything... let's go." She twisted her upper body towards Arielle, gesturing for her to follow.
With one last glance at the high pyramid that freaked her out, Arielle rolled her shoulders and hurried after Stella. But her pace was uneven and her steps wobbly. Agony awoke in her lower abdomen, and it was so sharp, so stinging, she wondered if it was that time of the month.
At their next location—a crypt built into a hill that served as the place where the Richmond Vampire was seen—Stella had no sensations. As she checked her phone—an article describing the "blood-covered creature with jagged teeth and skin hanging from its muscular body"—she shook her head.
"It's a legend, Ari," she sneered, "and vampires don't exist."
"But black masses and blurry girls that pop up in front of red doors do? Things that cause stomachaches and nausea and nightmares without even touching us do?" Arielle groaned. "This area gives me the creeps. More so... than the prison."
Stella scoffed. "No, they didn't touch us, but... we both saw the black masses and the blurry girl. That's visual proof. Well... of the mass, at least."
She told her mom last night she doubted me. What changed?
"And you're getting the creeps because it's chilly today. Nothing's going on here... and I'm not channeling shit."
"Are you... sure?" Everywhere Arielle looked, she swore she saw shadows. Or inexplicable movements. Or branches rustling in ways they shouldn't, and it wasn't breezy out, despite the colder temperature. Every odd noise or weak whistle in the air rubbed her the wrong way, as if she'd walked right into a paranormal movie. And she had no means to debunk any of it. "Because I'm—"
"—it's not some button I can turn on or off." Stella's voice hissed; she was becoming snippy and cruel, which was unlike her.
Why was she so aggressive? Stella could have a temper, but the manner in which she snapped at Arielle didn't make sense.
She paused, inhaled a deep breath, blew out her cheeks. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's... like I said, this is new to me. I can't control anything, I... have no clue what I'm doing. But I will say this... I have felt nothing off since the red door. And that sensation is what we're after, right? That was a... a ghost. It had to have been."
A ghost, a demon, whatever the fuck you want to call it—
Arielle flashed her a weak smile, still unnerved by her attitude. "It's okay, Stel... you have the medium gene, not me. I'm... paranoid, that's all." She nodded towards the path leading them farther into the Cemetery. "But those nightmares make me on edge or something, because... I'm telling you, this place is negative and has lots of shit going on."
Every stride she took strained her calf muscles and clobbered her with jolts of anxiety and fear. More and more chills undulated down her spine and her fingers trembled. The vision at the Chapel Office, fuzzy and hard to decipher as it was, continued to haunt her.
Maybe it was revenge for yesterday. Maybe Stella wanted her to suffer, in some twisted way; by ignoring Arielle's affliction and urging her to continue their tour.
They ambled past spots that reputed for activity, but Stella dismissed them with a wave of her hand. They passed visitors examining tombstones and entering mausoleums and capturing pictures of the beautiful landscape with the James River in the background; but Stella didn't stop. Her limbs carried them farther; to the farthest portion of the Cemetery.
At a turn in the road, with tombs on one side and dense trees on the other, Stella stopped, and Arielle slammed into her.
"Ouch!" She pinched the bridge of her nose as pain shot to her forehead. "Dude, say something before you do that!"
"I warned you I can't control this!" Stella stiffened, lifted her chin, sucked in a breath. "Here. Something's here."
They'd walked for an hour. Stella stormed, determined and dazed; but Arielle trailed behind, nauseated by fear at anything in the vicinity, unable to understand why she was so petrified. And in their distraction, they'd reached the lowest point of the Cemetery.
"Into the trees, come on," said the blonde, scurrying onto the grass. Arielle wasn't sure if they were allowed to, but she hastened after her. "Help me set up."
"Set up?" Arielle peered left and right. She swerved around to check the area, to make sure no employees or volunteers or other visitors lurked about to reprimand them. "Set up what?"
By the time she reached Stella, who had dropped to her knees to extract things from her bag, a dreariness weighed in her gut. It grumbled, but not from hunger. It was apprehension, uncertainty.
I don't like this.
The spot Stella chose was cloaked in darkness, despite it being eleven AM. The roof of tree leaves above them was still, not moving, not swaying, not casting any shadows.
Stella got out a patchwork blanket. "I'm going to... uh... conduct an experiment," she said, unrolling the fabric and throwing it out. After spreading it over the ground, she gestured at Arielle to sit. "I've seen Mom do it... so I think I can reproduce it. Easy."
"An experiment? Here? This... is wrong." Arielle's chills increased in intensity, and she rubbed her upper arms as she sank to her knees on the blanket. She expected an animal to jump out and tear through her throat. Or a specter to scream in her ear. Or a Cemetery employee to yell at them for going into restricted areas—
"Hey, we're allowed to be here! The forest grounds aren't technically off-limits." Stella's gaze met Arielle's for a second before she turned to rummage through her bag again. "And I can feel your fear; girl, are you okay?"
Am I okay? Is she serious?
"I mean, aside from how many times I told you this cemetery freaks me the fuck out, and the black mass still spooking me, and the ghosty girl from earlier, and the red door—sure, sure, I'm okay. I'm great."
Holding two candles—one ebony, one ivory—Stella squinted. "Sorry. But... you were fine during the whole prison thing, weren't you?"
Arielle gulped and dragged her knees up to her chest. "I guess. I mean... yeah, I was. And it was weird. But then... that thing, earlier... I told you, I saw it yesterday, too, and I'm still in shock from seeing it again, from you seeing it too. And I'm having a hard time. My stomach is queasy and my mind is fuzzy and—"
"—it's affecting you." Stella placed the candles on either side of her, twisting them into the dirt under the sheet to secure them.
"It? What is it?" A whoosh of frosty energy fizzled through Arielle's hair, lifting it up behind her, creeping down her neck. She shook and hugged her knees closer. "For real, are you not feeling this shit?"
When Stella's eyes met Arielle's, determined, stern, darker than usual, Arielle's throat turned dry. "I wasn't... until we got to this side of the Cemetery." She opened her rock pouch and allowed the crystals to slide out in front of her. Arielle noticed a few more she hadn't showed her before. "But it, whatever it is, latched on to you, I think. Prompting you to freak out. You're on edge and surging with adrenaline, yeah?"
She sounded like the TV-shows she hated; using the jargon she always refused to, the supernatural expressions she preferred to swallow than say out loud.
She's accepting her powers...
"Latched? So... something is making me lose my mind?"
Stella nodded as she sat crossed legged and forked out her lighter to ignite the candles, one by one. Since no wind flitted through the trees, she had no difficulty. Once done, she sighed and lidded her eyes. "I think so. It didn't approach me because of the stones... so maybe they didn't reach you. Maybe they're malfunctioning." One eye opened as she snorted. "Or it's all bullshit and you're sick or something, I have no idea." She closed her eye again. "But your fear... keep it. Don't fight it. It might help me with this experiment."
Arielle's teeth gritted as another wave of tremors tiptoed up and down her spine, extending to all her extremities. "Yeah... I'm still fucking spooked, so that won't be hard."
Stella immobilized, setting both palms on her thighs, her breaths steady—unlike Arielle's, that were ragged and rough. "I... want this thing plaguing you to come to me, instead."
Brows stretching up, Arielle was about to grab Stella's hand and ask her if she was insane—but the lit candles separated them, and she didn't want to extinguish them with a brusque movement. "Stel, no." She dug her nails into her jeans and endured another course of shivers. "You barely tolerated it yesterday, it made you sick—"
"—yeah, but this time, I'm inviting it. I want the sensations. Mom said..." she winced, her eyes squeezing further shut, "she said I was in denial. I still am, but whatever... she said I denied my true self when I went into the Penitentiary and the shit in there... attacked me. And it attacked you, too. Seeing black masses is a grim omen, and for some weird reason it's disturbing you more now and... I won't let it." She shifted back and forth, preparing herself. "Look, this stuff... I'm still not sure if I believe in it and I'm super doubtful, but... I'm thinking my mom... is right. So let me do my thing, and don't interrupt, no matter what happens, okay?"
Arielle would have smiled if she weren't racked with spastic tingles and if her hairs weren't standing up on every inch of her body.
Starting to think her mom is right; fucking finally.
"Hi... my name is Stella." She was soft, warm, welcoming. "I can tell you're here, and I... I mean you no harm, I only want to talk. Can we talk?" Something whirred near Arielle's ears—a distant and faint murmur, like a quick whip of wind. "I know you're there, I still sense you. And you're worrying my friend, Arielle. Would you... stop bothering her, for a few minutes? Come to me."
The mumble happened again, and the candles flickered.
It's wind, wind, wind—
Stella flinched, though keeping her eyes shut. "I promise, I'm not here to hurt you. I only have questions. Was that you at the red door? Were you... calling us to you?" She was so poised, her tone so firm and confident, it was as if she'd done this all her life. For a moment, Arielle thought she was watching Mrs. Sullivan during a seance, not her reluctant I-hate-everything-about-my-heritage daughter. Pride woke in her, but she didn't have long to embrace it, because more angry ripples ran down her back.
Stella's hands drifted up her thigh and tightened into fists. "Yes, you... there you are." Arielle almost squeaked when she noticed one stone move across the blanket. It was slow and subtle, so quick anyone else might have missed it. "I see her, Ari. The girl. Long black hair, black eyes... she's mad. She's mad." Another stone moved; then a few more, vibrating, as if the earth shook beneath them.
How could Stella stay so calm? Arielle's insides liquefied and her skin tingled so much she worried it might boil and bubble and melt off. She hadn't reacted as much to the black mass yesterday, but this was powerful. Gripping. Terrifying. "Stel... maybe this isn't a good idea—"
"—no." Stella's back arched, and she wrapped her hands over her knees, her crimson nails digging into her leggings. "Don't go, don't go. Talk to me. Talk to us." She wrenched her eyes open so fast it knocked the breath out of Arielle. "Ask her something, Ari. She's here. She's listening."
Struggling to get her heart working again, Arielle swallowed. She tried to straighten up and ignore the panic spreading into her rib-cage. "Stel, are you okay? What the fuck, I... I don't—"
"—ask your questions. Don't interrupt, remember? Do it." An unfamiliar adrenaline pumped through her voice. Stella had transformed into a genuine medium, channeling the real things that lingered in the Cemetery. "That black mass couldn't answer you, it was bad, but this girl—" she inhaled a lengthy breath and blew it out without extinguishing the candles, "—she knows. Ask her." Stella's hair snuck out from her well-crafted bun and swirled around her, as if she sat near a fan. But the breeze concentrated on her, and her only—it didn't reach Arielle, who still suffered from frozen convulsions.
"My questions?" Panicked, unsure if she was imagining all this, Arielle lowered her knees. She glared at her friend; she'd seen nothing like this, not even with Mrs. Sullivan, not even in movies. "The... the afterlife thing?"
The winds around Stella ceased, and her platinum locks framed her face again, as if they'd never flown behind her, never moved from their spot. "Y-yeah. Those." Her eyes were wide and her brows drawing up as if seeing the area for the first time. "Hurry."
"Okay..." Arielle cleared her throat, grimacing at the pain it caused. "Hey... you, being... ghost thing... what... what happens after death?" She breathed in, breathed out. "Are you all here, haunting your graves, or something? W-who are you?"
All at once, Arielle's discomfort vanished. It poured from her pores and drained into the ground. Evaporated. Gone. Her skin returned to normal, the knots in her stomach loosened, the crawling in her spine and neck stopped.
"What the—"
Something hit Stella—a sharp gust, an invisible slap, an unseen tidal wave. The candles extinguised as she fell backward, writhing, squirming, fighting to unleash a scream. She shivered violently, and gloomy whispers echoed around them, encircling them, trapping them. But Arielle couldn't understand them—they sounded like a child speaking in a made-up language. Or bugs buzzing in a rhythm, or an animal growling. So many noises morphed into one they were impossible to comprehend.
"No. Shit." Arielle's condition had transferred to Stella, proving something had affected her... and now it wanted Stella. "Stella, no!"
Arielle lunged, but before she could grab Stella's hands and pull her upright, the crystals lifted, hovered in the air—then shattered into a nearby tree trunk.