Nothing happened. Then, painfully slow, the pointer slid to 'YES'. Annus' chest felt lighter by a landslide.
»Alright buddy, we got this.« He said into the empty room. His voice was calm and collected, even though his current mental state was more than far away from that. »You can hang on to this, right?«
The pointer moved a little and went straight back to 'YES'. He sighed in relief. »Okay, good. Now, how do I get you to me? How do the teens in the movie do it...« he thought out loud.
The pointer moved, spelling U-S-E-I-T-W-R-O-N-G. »Use it wrong?« Annus asked, then his face lit up. Of course, that's how it works. There's always somebody who fucks it up in horror movies. Which he was about to do on purpose. What a great plan.
»Okay, so... always say goodbye, right? That's a rule.« He pointed into the empty room. »I'm not going to say goodbye to you, you hear me?«
»Did it work?« He asked sheepishly after a few moments of silence. The pointer sarcastically slid to 'NO'.
»Alright, alright, let's try something else then.« Annus responded, trying to keep his voice positive. »I'm not allowed to burn it, right?« The pointer urgently spelled out P-L-E-A-S-E-D-O-N-T.
»Wait, I know! I'm not allowed to keep the planchette on the board! In that one movie the demon was free after counting down. You should do that.«
Unus wiped the sweat of his brow. He was crouching at the opposite end of the board, both his hands wrapped around the pointer. The thing was heavy. Really heavy. As if he had to move a cement block that was held down by a magnetic force at the same time.
Annus's voice seemed to come from somewhere far away, even though they were only seperated by the board on the ground.
He pushed against the planchette and moved it up to '9'. How could that thing be so heavy? He breathed in and out, and continued. '8'. '7'. '6'.
He stopped when he saw something move behind Annus. »What was that?« He asked, feeling uneasy. »Annus, I think there's something here.«
Annus, of course could not hear him.
He gulped and continued. '5'. Did the planchette get heavier? '4'. The movement again. Something scurried through the shadows behind Annus. '3'. Only a little more. '2'. Never mind, the thing he saw was the shadow. He could catch a glimpse before it vanished, a black humanoid shape with glowing eyes. '2'. He did not like that at all. '1'.
He looked at the board, expecting something to happen. Maybe a portal, or a flash of light. But there was nothing. The thing behind Annus moved, but he didn't look up. He knew that it was coming closer. He tried to focus. Something hissed right next to his ear, and he flinched.
Annus sat there, looking into his direction. Small clouds formed whenever he breathed out. »You have to finish.« His voice was distant, as if Unus was floating under water. His eyes followed Annus' finger, which was tapping the other end of the board.
With all his remaining strength, he pushed the pointer towards '0'. He reached it just as the shadow materialized next to him. The board vanished into the ground, him following.
It spit him out next to Annus, who nearly jumped sideways. »It worked!«
Unus' head was buzzing. It took a moment to get rid of the dizziness. He got up, holding his head. »There was something else there.« His mouth felt dry, and his voice was raspy.
"What do you mean there was something else there? Don't tell me you brought some demon with you,« Annus joked.
»No, seriously. There was some kind of shadow creature.«
Annus looked around the room. »It's not here, is it? We don't have to worry.«
The man in the black suit scratched the back of his head. »I guess you're right.«
Dark raised an eyebrow as Unus' dead body puffed up in a cloud of black smoke, leaving the chair empty.
»That's weird,« he heard Blank mumble.
»What's weird?«
»Oh, nothing, nothing. Must have been my imagination.«