Umbra: Feed on my Fear

That Game We Played

"Gaby," a seven year old Heidi Monroe said in a melodic tone as she came in at her brother's room where he was busy typing his essay. Gaby called his room His Incubator but she thought it was silly. She sat on the cushion and placed his DC comics at the table, which was one of his prized possessions.

He turned to her on his computer seat. Gabriel Monroe had jet black hair, pale skin and brown eyes which was just a little bit darker than his sister. He wore a black Fall Out Boy shirt and ripped pants. Turning fifteen this month, he's gathering his confidence to ask Jenny Summers out.

"What is it?"

"Thank you. For what you did a while ago," he looked at her and patted her head.

"Hey. It's my job as your big brother to show those punks that they can't just bully you."

The door flew open, revealing a teenage guy with a wavy blond hair. His face was pimply and his posture was poor. Gaby and Heidi stared at the wooden board he was holding as he kicked the door shut behind him.

"Gabe, look what I found."

"What's that?" Heidi asked.

"An ouija board," Nolan gasped. And he continued to say with an unwavered excitement, "Man, this is legit. We can contact spirits and stuff. We have to try this."

The board was rather old with its few letters slightly erased. It had an earthy smell like it was buried at a wet soil.

"I don't think it's real, Nolan. Where did you find it?"

"It's in the rusty bus at Compwell."

"I told you not to go there."

Nolan switched off the light then gathered the other two near the table. Heidi just looked at Gaby who was shaking his head. The flashlight on his phone was the only source of light that they had except for the moonlight. It was cold just like any other night but tonight was eerily quiet.

"Okay! Let's do it!" Nolan gritted his teeth as he placed his hand on the puck. "Please," he added.

Heidi just sighed and followed the guy who was practically begging them.

Scooching forward, he began with a solemn expression, "Are there any ghosts here with us right now?"

Nothing.

"Hello?" Heidi looked wide eyed.

"Nolan, this is stupid. We should stop."

But he just ignored his friend and continued, his voice grew louder. "If someone is here with us. Please let your presence be known."

It moved slowly to Yes. And Heidi gasped. She shivered as cool air entered through the window. The triangle actually moved.

"Nolan, did you move it?" Gaby glared at the boy who chewed his bottom lip in fear.

"No! Did you?"

"Of course not!"

Both eyes landed on Heidi. "It's not me. Why are you looking at me?" she said with a high-pitched defensive tone.

They lifted their fingers that ruled out any tampering of the game.

Nolan composed himself before he asked another question," Are you a good spirit?"

He was sweating bullets but curiosity got the best of him.

"I'm scared."

"Nolan, we should stop," Gaby protested but Nolan just shushed him.

Then it moved.

The puck glided through the left side of the board that said No.

Heidi let out a shriek as they swiftly removed her arm off the table then hid behind her brother whose hands are ice cold. Nolan's lips were chapped and slightly bleeding as he bit into it more.

"Oh s**t! What do we do?" Nolan backed away from the board and bumped the guitar which landed with a loud bang.

"Watch your profanity, Nolan. It's all your fault!" Gaby who was breathing heavily, grabbed the board and the puck. With shaking hands, he tossed it to the nearby bin which he took with him and went outside.

"Gaby! Stop!" Heidi felt like she should stop her brother from doing it. She could not explain the feeling but it was more of an instinct rather than a logical decision.

"I will be the first one to die, dude. I brought it here. I thought it's not gonna work."

"You're not going to die, Nolan. None of us will!" Gaby exclaimed.

Nolan followed his two companions outside, as wave of chills greeted him by the door. He refused to stay inside and wait for this to be over. He was shaking and cold. He brought it to themselves and he was scared of what will happen to them in the future.

"It'll be alright. Okay. Just stay back," Gaby smiled at his sister, which failed to reassure her. He turned away and placed the bin a foot away from the wooden swing. He lit the matchsticks and landed it at the board.

"Holy f**k. That was crazy, man!" Nolan ran his hand to his forehead and paced at the pavement, kicking small stones on the process.

Heidi watched as the flame engulfed the ouija board. It turned to dust in an instant. Her stomach churned as the smell hit her with a growing fear. Fear of the consequences of what they have done.

"I think I am going to call my parents now," Nolan's voice cracked.

That very night something happened. Heidi heard Gaby shouted in the middle of the night. Both her mother and father rushed to him only to find him at the corner of the room. She stopped in front of his room barefoot as she saw him. His legs folded and his chin on top of his knees. He stared into a space his face blank but he rocked back and forth.

"Gabriel, hun, what's happening to you?" Mrs. Monroe patted his arm as he looked at her with pure concern and fear. She saw her father grabbed towels and wiped his Gaby's sweat not knowing what to do.

"Are you seeing this?" he kept on running his nails on his palm. "They are angry. They want to kill me for burning it."

"Gaby!" 

"Heidi. Stay there. Don't come in," Her father closed the door and she heard murmurs and thuds behind it.

It stopped.

The pitch-black hair waited for the sounds to resurface as the night grew silent. She was left there standing in front of the door. She was about to reach for the doorknob when a loud roar followed by thumps caused her to take three steps back.

Heidi's tears trickled down her cheeks as she cannot believe what she saw. Her brother acted like a crazy person.

Heidi. Heidi...

A whisper which she cannot decipher came from the ceiling. She turned around and looked up. What she witnessed was not like any that she had seen before. The opaque, almost gray in color entity floated like a long ribbon that moved gracefully.

It was not more than a shadow. A rogue shadow that didn't imitate a form.

Moving towards her, it caressed her like a soft blanket.

She can't help but let out a soft cry. She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs but all her efforts failed as her voice betrayed her.

The Monroe family did not expect that in a single night their lives would change. Every night, Gaby would scream. He refused to go to school and just remained in his room muttering words.

They've consulted exorcists and psychiatrists. They gave him medications. But nothing helped. It resulted to a mental breakdown that caused his body to collapse.

Nobody really knew the cause of his death. Not even the experts. It became one of the greatest mystery of their town. But Heidi knew. She knew all too well that the Shadow killed her brother because the for past few days before Gaby died, the Shadow was on his back.

One time, he told her that it kept on telling him things that he did not want to do. So, if he refused, it will not let him sleep or eat.

It scared her and filled her with fear that at a young age, she became isolated and alone.

She could have went to Nolan but that's when she figured out that they were no longer living in the neighborhood.

It was a dark time for Heidi. And what's worst is the Shadow kept on haunting her. It watched her from the dark as if it found its new victim to terrorize.