Souls Of The Innocent

Chapter Eleven: The seance

Dressed in black, Amber glanced around her bedroom. The dummy that she had made of her sleeping under the covers looked so convincing. After making sure that her phone was on silent, she pushed it inside her jeans pocket. She pulled her hood over her head and grabbed the flashlight. One final glance around the room, she turned the door handle and slowly pulled open the door. Amber took a peek down the corridor and she listened attentively, silence was the answer that she was looking for and that was exactly what she got. She slowly closed the door behind her and tiptoed towards the stairs. She was glad that her parents were early birds, since half-past thirty they had retired to bed. Her mother had come in to check up on her, dressed in her pajamas she sat at her study table  pretending to be studying. As soon as her mother left she quickly got changed and texted Logan that she will see her in thirty minutes. She checked her watch it was exactly nine and she was sure that the others must be outside waiting for her. Logan had suggested that the séance will take place at her house. Her mother was going to spend the weekend at her sister’s house and Logan had the house and her mother’s things all to herself. Her friend was pretty confident that she knew what she was doing and that everything will be just fine, she had no choice but to trust the “expert”. 

As she reached the staircase she switched on the torch, she had to be extra careful since Oscar could be anywhere in the sitting room and she didn’t want to step on the ball of fur, his scream will surely wake up her parents. Amber was not taking any chances, she was not going to allow a cat to make her abandon her mission. It was the first time in her life that she was sneaking out of the house, never had she ever thought of doing something like this before , plus she didn’t have a purpose to since she didn’t go anywhere. Like her sister would say, she lived a boring life.Amber wondered if her sister had ever done this, she smiled, she wouldn’t put it past Nora. As she reached the front door, a thrill of excitement ran through her. Taking a final glance towards the staircase, she grabbed her set of keys on the key holder and slowly unlocked the door. Slowly closing the door behind her, Amber looked towards the road. A light flashed in her direction and she knew it must be the signal from the girls. She flashed her flashlight towards the parked car and glanced down the road towards the creepy house. Her neighbor’s house like usual was pitched dark and she wondered what kind of human leaves in total darkness like that. Unless she’s not human, the thought gave her goosebumps and she quickly turned her attention towards Logan’s car. She hurried towards the parked car and quickly got in the backseat. 

“ Hi”, Debra softly said 

“ Hi”, Amber whispered back.

“ Why are you girls whispering?”, Logan said as she turned around and looked at them.

They both shrugged their shoulders and then burst into laughter.

“ Let’s go”, Stacy said. 

“ Who’s car is this?”, Amber asked as she leaned backward in the comfortable seat. 

The smell of a brand new car filled her nostrils and she slowly touched the leather seat.

“ Mine,  but I don’t show off like the rich kids does.My birthday present, two months ago ”, Logan answered as she started the engine. 

“ Happy belated birthday Logan ”, the three girls chanted at the same time and Logan laughed as she slowly drove away. 

A car slowly exited the lane opposite Amber’s house and slowly followed Logan’s car. The girls were so busy chatting that they didn’t notice that they had an uninvited guest following them. The car followed them from a distance and parked a few meters away from Logan’s houses, where he could have a good view of the house. He  sat there in  total darkness and observed the girl’s every move. He was pretty sure that they were up to something and he was curious to find out what  were they planning to do.

“ Welcome to my home”, Logan said as she unlocked the front door.

“ Wow… your home is beautiful and the bohemian décor is just Wow!”, Debra said in excitement.

“ She loves anything bohemian”, Stacy said.

“ What about men dressed up in bohemian outfits?”, Logan asked and Debra’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment as the others laughed.

“ Let’s get to business girls. I’ll explain the rules once we get inside the room. Follow me”, Logan said.

“ Promise me one thing ladies, whatever happens, this stays between us”, Logan said as she turned to look at them and they all nodded yes.

Logan advised them that before they walked into that room, make sure that they were in the right headspace in terms of stability. That they wouldn’t run out of the room when things get serious since they will be dealing with foreign elements. Amber glanced at Stacy and then at Debra, they were all thinking about the same thing, there was no going back. This wasn’t like any other ordinary sleepover party, where girls will be painting nails and talking about boys, this sleepover was about summoning spirits. They walked into a room which was the last room further down the corridor from the sitting room. The light was dimmer compared to the other parts of the house, a  wooden table sat in the middle of the room. In the center of the table, there were several black candle holders and one large red candle. Stacy ran a hand on her arm, the room gave her goosebumps, they had not even started the séance and she was already feeling fear tickling inside of her. Logan proceeded to light up some essence and walked around the room with it. She circled the room quietly chanting something as the smoke coming from the essence filled the room , but it quickly evaporate leaving behind  a scent which smelled as if they had been walking through an evergreen forest.

“ What is this for?”, Debra softly asked.

“ Cedar… this has been used for years for banishing spirits, cleansing, and purification. We all need to be cleansed before going into a séance, we don’t know if we are carrying negative energy. You may be wondering if I know what I’m doing. Long story short, my grandmother was a gypsy. She was also known as a witch, but she didn’t practice witchcraft. What she had was a  gift of seeing things beyond understanding and able to communicate with them. The gift was passed on to my mother, when I turned twelve, I started experiencing weird things and when I told my mother she said it was the calling. I inherited the gift as well, so  Amber, maybe somewhere down your family history, there must have been a gypsy with the gift of seeing and feeling things that no one else could understand…”, Logan said with a serious tone as she lit a large white candle and then she glanced at Amber.

Amber narrowed her eyebrows as she looked at Logan, wondering what she meant by that. Logan asked them to take a seat at the table and they quickly obeyed. 

“ One cannot experience the presence of something paranormal without having a special gift. It’s not everyone who can see dead people or spirits”, Logan said as she glanced towards Amber and the look on her friend’s face indicated to her that she had answered the question that she had been asking herself.

“ So, I could have some sort of a gift?…”, Amber asked.

“ Yes, the only reason why you are experiencing visits from spirits, and it seems like they cannot do anything to you… well yet”, Logan said as she walked towards a wooden cupboard and opened it.

What does she mean by yet?!, Amber asked herself, she wanted to ask Logan what she meant by that but she told herself that there would be plenty of times later for her to ask her questions.

“ Well I’m not jealous of that gift!”, Stacy said and Debra laughed and agreed with her.

“ Now, to serious business”, Logan said as she placed something on the table and then sat down.

“ Oh no! Not an ouija board!”, Stacy said and she  quickly stood up. A chill of fear swept over her and goosebumps sprang over her arms.

Logan looked at her with a serious face and she quickly sat down. 

“ Stacy, if you don’t feel comfortable you can leave the room. We are not going to force you to stay. I know how overwhelming it could be for some people”, Logan said as her facial expression soften.

“ It’s just that… never mind I will stay”, Stacy said as she sat down. 

She felt more at ease being in the room with the others than anywhere else inside this house. Amber reached out and gently squeezed Stacy’s hand, her friend looked down at her hand over hers and then looked at her. Everyone in the room could see the look of fear which had clouded Stacy’s features, Amber felt bad because she knows that Stacy was doing this for her. Stacy looked at her and smiled, she smiled back at her friend and they both turned their attention back to Logan as she began to speak.

“ Some used this as a game, but for people like me, this is a glimpse into the non-conscience mind. We don’t open the gate of hell as some people may think, we get the answers we seek. The rules  are; once we get in touch with the spirit, we must speak calmly , we cannot get the spirit to be agitated or to be sad.. And lastly the most important rule , we must always say goodbye”, Logan looked at them with a serious face when she said the word goodbye. 

“ But, this is used to communicate with spirits… dead people, what if Nora is not dead?”, Amber asked.

She didn’t want to believe that her sister was dead, she didn’t want to speak to a spirit, all she wanted was to find her sister alive. Logan lit a white candle and place it on her right and then she placed a small crucifix next to it, then she turned and looked at Amber  with a serious face and Amber knew that she was going to speak to her firmly.

“ Do you think you get visits from spirits because your sister is alive Amber? I’m sorry but I have to be frank, we are not dealing with kidnappers here we are dealing with something stronger, something that we are yet to find out what it is and what we need to deliver is your sister’s soul”, Logan said and her words sent a chill down Amber’s spine. 

Her sister’s disappearance remained a mystery and so does the paranormal encounters that she had been experiencing. Could she had been looking for the truth in the wrong place? What if Logan was right, what if what she was looking for was beyond her reach? And if that was the truth, would she be able to accept it? Suddenly her heart broke into a million pieces, but she sucks it in, she couldn’t cry if she wanted to face the truth that Logan was talking about she has to be stronger than ever. If I have to get my sister’s soul from  hell, I will do so and find out who did this to her… Amber said to herself. Logan slowly explained to them what they will have to do, the girls turned and glanced at each other, they had seen this in movies but never had any experience of using it. They all touched  the planchette with their fingertip and Logan closed her eyes. 

“ We are here to seek the truth, Nora Jones we call upon you. . We want to help you. Your sister Amber is here with me,  please let us know if you are here, let us know if you can hear us. We call upon you. Let us know if you are here, if you are say  yes”,  Logan calmly said and then  she opened her eyes and glanced at the board.

Everyone else their eyes was glued on the teardrop shape device beneath their  fingertip. Logan recited the same thing again and this time with a little more authority, the planchette remained in the same position.Stacy softly breathed a sigh of relief as she thought that nothing was going to happen, not even the candles were flickering in the room, just like she had seen in movies. Amber looked at Logan, she had her eyes closed and it looked like she was concentrating. She was happy that nothing happened, that gave her some sort of hope that her sister was still out there, that she had not crossed over to the other world.

“ Be patient and concentrate, spirits cannot be rushed”, Logan said as she opened her eyes.

Amber removed her hand on the planchette and the others looked at her with narrowed eyes.

“ What if she is still alive?”, Amber asked and the others removed their hands as well. 

Logan looked at them and shook her head. 

“ I told you that spirits cannot be rushed”, Logan said.

The lights in the room flickered and the girls looked at each other. They heard what sounded like a creaking sound and they diverted their gaze towards the ouija board. They stared at the board with wide eyes, Amber wasn’t the only one who had goosebumps all over her arms. The planchette was no longer in the middle of the board it was now on the word Yes.