INFILTRATION

THE SEANCE

Jinxabell had never been to Hailey’s before, but the invitation had come with a map, so it wasn’t difficult for her to find her way there.

As she stood in front of it, she noticed it wasn’t as big as Old Danny Gap tooth’s, but it was big enough. A modern two storey building that boasted of a fountain with a small well-kept garden, and a long expansive drive.

She looked up at the fountain, enthralled at the way the water droplets fell. “Impressive! Daddy dearest must have been stingy not to get one like this.”

She shook her head and began walking to the door. Just as she raised her hand to knock, it was opened by a man wearing a genial smile. He was dressed in a red and black uniform, complete with a matching cap.

“Welcome, miss.” He took her carry on bag full of a change of clothes, and showed her to a room where a few of her classmates and some other people she had never seen before, were already assembled.

They seemed to be having a good time, talking and laughing amongst themselves. They gave her a wave and beckoned on her to join them on the rug.

Jinxabell stood on the threshold of the room for a few seconds, wondering why it was bare of all furnishings. The only thing it boasted of was a grand piano in the corner from which someone was playing a melodious tune.

As she was still acquainting herself with her surroundings and wondering what she had walked into, two women wearing dresses in the same style and color as the butler, came in holding trays which had plates of snacks and drinks on them.

They set them on the rug, curtsied, and went away.

The sonorous music abruptly stopped and the person playing the piano turned round. Jinxabell was startled to see it was Hailey.

She came close and stood in front of them. “Welcome to my home, fellow sisters in wealth.” She wore pink silk pajamas that

Jinxabell guessed her room was also bedecked in pink as well.

“Tonight will mark the beginning of a great association for us all. Standing as one, we can do so much, but first, I would like us to introduce ourselves and get to know more of each other. The night is still young - there’ll be games and movies until we’re too tired to keep our eyes open. Then-” She raised her forefinger in the air. “Only then will we be allowed to sleep, but first, let us eat and drink.”

Jinxabell rolled her eyes and wondered what had possessed her to come in the first place.

She was going to have to endure whatever crap Hailey dished out tonight. It was for the greater good. She stifled a yawn and watched as the others began introducing themselves and Hailey buzzed around like a butterfly.

The fawning twins were nowhere to be seen. She wondered why. As she kept pondering on this, it got to her turn and she introduced herself. Unlike the people in her class, these one’s here did not make any comments or side eye her when she mentioned her surname. This made her wonder if they had known about her before her arrival.

When all the snacks had been polished off and they were downing their drinks, the games started with ‘truth and dare.’

It was simple; each of them was to tell the truth about a question asked them and if they lied, they were to strip to their underwear.

Truth be told, no one wanted that as the nights were especially chilly.

And so it began.

Two girls tried to deflect their questions and ended up telling an untruth. They had to undress to their underwear’s, but this wasn’t for long.

When it got to Jinxabell’s turn, she was asked if she was a virgin and she laughed and laughed till she was snorting like a pig. The other girls looked at her strangely not understanding why she was having fits of laughter.

She shrugged. “If I’m a virgin, then Hailey is a pauper.”

When it dawned on everyone what she was talking about, they laughed and laughed until their breaths almost seized.

Much later on after a few more games had been played, they moved to the main parlor to watch movies. When Jinxabell noticed most of them were off, she cleared her throat and began to speak.

“I’ve got an interesting game for us all.” She got up and faced them. “I promise you, you wouldn’t want to go to sleep when you find out what its all about.”

The sleep that had been threatening to engulf them, immediately cleared, and they all perked up and looked at her with curiosity.

“I believe some of you here have lost loved one’s. I know I have.” She paused and waited to see if anyone would say something or make an objection, but they were all quiet so she continued. “What if you got the chance to speak to that person again? What if you were even able to see that person again, at least for just one last time.”

“M. . . m . . . . my brother.” A girl beside Jinxabell stuttered.

Jinxabell had noticed earlier on that out of all the girls assembled, she was the most quiet. She hadn’t heard her speak one word except to say her name. She didn’t even know she was in the same class as herself until she’d pointed it out.

“What about your brother?”

“He.. . . he .. .” She heaved a big sigh before her words came out in a rush. “He died last year from small pox.”

At first everywhere was quiet, and then all the girls began to talk at the same time.

Then another girl spoke up. “My mother passed on a few months ago.”

It seemed once she spoke, the dam burst open and everyone began to speak at the same time. Each of them had lost someone. The redhead had lost her grandmother, Hailey had lost her favorite cousin. Yet another female had lost her father. All twenty girls had lost someone they had cared about or been in a close relationship with.

Finally, they stopped talking and turned to Jinxabell expectantly.

She had them where she wanted them.

“Now that we are all in agreement, let us proceed to lay out things for the seance.”

“Seance?” The timid girl beside Jinxabell asked. The tears had dried from her eyes. In its wake, was an open curiosity.

“You want to meet with your brother again, don’t you?” Jinxabell stared penetratingly at her.

She nodded eagerly.

“Do you perchance have a picture of him?”

The girl’s s face fell. She suddenly looked morose.

“It’s okay if you don’t.”

Her face suddenly brightened and she shot up and walked out of the room. The others looked after her, confused as to where she was going.

After a few seconds, she came back holding her phone.

“Here he is. Will this do?”

Jinxabell looked at the girl who was holding a phone out to her. A picture of a young boy with fair skin and jet black hair stared at her through it.

With the go ahead from Hailey, Jinxabell laid two thick red candles on the table, side by side. She put the phone from which the boys picture was still showing, in between them.

Once she was done, she turned to the girls who were watching her with a wide eyed curiousity.

“Now for some ground rules. Do not speak unless you are addressed directly. Do not scream if you see something, otherwise you’ll scare whatever spirit is present. Last but not the least - if you don’t hear or see your loved one, then he or she is unreachable.

The girls did not dare say a word as they continued staring at Jinxabell.

“Hailey, please turn off the lights.”

They were plunged into darkness, until a match flared and the room glowed with a weak red light.

Jinxabell began to hum a strange tune. Her voice had a sonorous cadence that was lilting to the spirit, yet sad in its tune. It sounded like she was telling a story with each hymn. She went low and she went high.

It wrapped up the girls in a bubble of warmth and security. They soon found out that their eyelids became heavy and they couldn’t keep them open for long. Sleep was like an avalanche, and it swept them away.

After what seemed like forever, Jinxabell stopped.

It was subtle, at first, but then the air changed. It felt different. Heavy. Pregnant. Charged with anticipation and unseen forces.

The girls seemed to suddenly come awake. They looked around but could not see anything. Still, goose pimples continued to erupt on their skins.

Jinxabell turned to the girl beside her. “Stretch out your hand over your phone.”

The girl stood and did as Jinxabell bid. The girl felt a sharp sting on her palm. It was momentary.

A few moments later, her whole body became engulfed in weakness, and she slumped.

A light suddenly appeared near the door, but this was not the type of light that came from a light bulb.

As it moved forward, it became clearer. It didn’t have distinct features like humans do, nevertheless, it had a human form.

It glided forward and hovered over the heads of everyone and let out a shrill wail.

The candlelights flickered and went off, plunging everything in darkness, and then someone else screamed. The overhead lights mysteriously came back on at that point.

The girls slowly sat up and looked around them.

“Janette! Wake up!” Hailey shook the girl who still lay in a dead faint beside Jinxabell. She turned to Jinxabell with fear in her eyes. “She’s not waking up. I don’t know what happened, I fell asleep and -“

“She’ll be fine.” Jinxabell spoke up. “She just needs to rest.”

“What happened? Did her brother come?” Hailey’s eyes were big and round as she gazed at Jinxabell.

“Yes he came, and they talked for awhile. You girls were out for almost an hour. You must have been sleepy.”

Hailey looked confused, as did the other girls. “An hour? So the seance has ended?”

“I’m afraid so. It took too long, reacquainting Janette and her brother.”

They all nodded in understanding, but their eyes told a different story.

Janette woke up shortly after but seemed disoriented. When asked what happened, she couldn’t remember anything. Any further activity ended abruptly because they all unanimously agreed they were tired and needed to go to bed.

They were all shown Haileys room, where comfortable makeshift mats had been placed on the ground. It was a big room so it took everyone comfortably.

Jinxabell opted to take a mat near the window. She couldn’t sleep, she kept tossing and turning. until the early hours of the morning.

Shortly before dawn, she drifted off smiling as she muttered to herself.

“It worked, Olivia.”