Echoes (Whisper Trilogy Book 2) (11 page)

“You know what. Why did you say that?” Alex asked.

Cody shrugged. “I don’t know it just seemed to me like that’s what he was doing. Leaving no loose ends for anyone to find out about what he’d done.”

“You don’t know. Nobody knows. Hell, look online. There are pages and pages of info about him with all kinds of theories about why he did what he did. You don’t know shit.”

Cody shrugged. He couldn’t explain to them how, but he did know. He knew with absolute certainty exactly what had happened and why. “Whatever man,” he said, tossing his stick into the fire. “Just my theory. No need to have a tantrum over it.”

“Well, it’s bullshit.”

“So what do you think happened to him?” Scott said, his voice starting to slur. “You seem keen to shoot everyone else down, what’s your theory on it all?”

Emma and Carrie looked on, expecting Alex to get mad. Instead, he smiled his wide hyena smile and shuffled closer to the fire.

“A buddy of mine’s family have a shop on the edge of town. They specialize in occult stuff. Herbal remedies, shit like that.”

“I know it, it’s the one run by witches, right?” Carrie cut in.

“Yeah, that’s the one, although they’re Wiccans, not witches. Anyway, my buddy works for his parents on weekends. I’d started to go in there, just because I liked the feel of the place and it was a cool place to hang out, you know? So this one day I arrive, and my buddy is all worked up and excited. This was a year or so after the fire, when everything was still in the public eye. Anyhow, I’d barely set foot in the door when he pretty much knocked me over. he told me he had something amazing to show me, something he said would blow me away. He went in the back and I stood there at the counter wondering what was causing him to freak out so much. So he brings out this box, right? And inside was this Ouija board. The thing stank of smoke, so I asked him what was so special about it.”

Alex paused to take a swig of the vodka, and returned to his captivated audience.

“My buddy goes on to tell me that Steve Samson had bought the board from the store a couple of weeks before the fire at the house, and had been asking a bunch of questions about haunting and how to deal with paranormal activity when he went in to get it.”

“Bullshit!” Carrie said, lighting up a fresh cigarette.

“It’s the absolute truth, I swear,” Alex replied. “Nobody knew who he was at the time of course, not until later. I even checked with my buddy’s dad, who showed me the credit card receipt he’d paid for the board with. It was definitely him. Anyway, you all know what happened, there was the fire and the murders and nobody thought much about how they linked until later.”

“What happened?” Scott asked.

“It turns out that on the night of the fire, Samson had thrown the Ouija board out with the trash. Maybe the wife hadn’t approved of trying to use it or maybe it just hadn’t worked. Nobody really knows. Anyhow, long story short, the house burns down and as we all know, Donovan ends up dead, Steve Samson ends up burnt to a crisp and is found in the snow outside, barely alive and mumbling about spirits and all sorts of other weird shit with the wife hysterical at his side. Anyway, the investigation takes place, and everything is seized by the authorities who wanted to know what the hell happened. They take whatever they can from the site including the board which, apart from a few scorch marks, was pretty much undamaged. After they were done investigating, the board was returned to the store.”

“This is bull,” Scott said. “It all seems a bit too convenient. It would be such an easy thing to hoax too. How did they even know where the board had come from?”

“The receipt was still in the box. They asked the wife if she wanted to keep it. She freaked and said she didn’t want anything to do with it, so it was taken back to my buddy’s shop.”

“It all sounds too convenient to me.”

“It’s genuine. Check this out,” Alex said, scrolling through his phone and loading an image from the gallery and passing it to Scott. “That’s the police report identifying the item as coming from my buddy’s shop. There’s also the signed release form with it from when they returned it, along a scan of Steve Samson’s credit card copy.”

Scott looked indifferent and passed the phone around the group so everyone could take a look.

“You can’t really tell what that is,” Scott said. “Could easily be a fake.”

“Come on, you can trust me.”

“Sorry,” Scott said as the phone came back to him. He passed it back to Alex.

“Well, if it was a fake,” Alex said with a grin as he reached back into his bag. “Would I have the original?”

He handed Scott the actual plastic wallet, enjoying the stunned expression on his friend’s face as he examined the contents.

“Holy shit, this is real,” Scott muttered.

“Damn right it is.”

Alex watched as the wallet went around the circle, each in turn looking through the documents, all apart from Cody. He was watching Alex with his uncomfortable, bottomless stare.

“This is amazing; incredible. You really have something here, an actual item from the site. This is rare man, really rare,” Scott said as he took another look at the papers.”

“I bought them as a package deal. I guess they count as my certificate of authenticity.”

“Hey, you don’t have to sell it to me. I’m convinced this is legit.”

“Well, there’s more actually. See, my buddy knew I was really into finding out about what had happened at the Hope House site, I was already obsessed with it and soaking up every bit of information I could find. My pal’s parents didn’t want the board in the shop. They didn’t want the vibes or the publicity to reflect back on it. And so …”

Alex reached into his bag again, and pulled out the scorched wooden board, eliciting gasps from his friends as if he had just pulled a rabbit from a hat.

“… I bought it.”

He held the board up to them, displaying it like a trophy in the flickering light of the fire.

“Can I see it?” Scott asked, holding out his hands.

“Yeah, go ahead. Pass it around.” The board made its way to everyone, each of them looking at it and letting their fingers glide across the lettering on its surface.

“That’s one of the reasons why I wanted to come out here,” Alex said as the board made its way to Cody. It was the first thing he’d seemed interested in since they’d arrived, and he took a long while to look at it, even lifting it to his face and smelling the section where it had been burnt on the edges.

“I wanted us all out here because I thought we could use it. I thought we could maybe see if we could contact those same spirits which I genuinely believe were responsible for everything which happened over the years.”

“You want to use a Ouija board… here? Tonight?” Emma said, flicking an uncertain glance towards Carrie. “I’m not that drunk.”

“I am,” Carrie said with a grin, devouring Alex with lustful eyes. “I think we should do it.”

“What about you Scott?” Alex said, still looking at Carrie.

“I… I’m not sure.”

“Come on, I thought you didn’t really believe in this stuff anyway?”

“I don’t, it’s just… I don’t really like the vibe of this place, you know? It feels… wrong.”

“Isn’t that exactly why we should do this? Just imagine if we could capture proof? Absolute, one hundred per cent proof of something else beyond life? We would be superstars.”

“I suppose so…,” Scott mumbled.

“What about the rest of you?”

“Hell yeah, count me in,” Carrie said.

Both of them looked to Emma, who in turn was watching Cody. She was praying he would say no, so she wouldn’t have to be alone in refusing to take part. Cody however was still mesmerized by the board. “I think we should do it.” Cody said flatly.

“That just leaves you,” Alex said, tipping a cocky wink at Emma.

“Come on, Em,” Carrie said, squeezing her hand. “You said you wanted to get scared, right? What better way than this?”

“I just don’t think it’s something we should be messing with. Especially not here.”

“Where else would it be better put to use?” Alex countered. “It seems like the perfect situation.”

“We don’t even know how to use these things,” Emma argued. “There are certain things you’re supposed to do to be safe. I’m hazy on the details. I remember reading something about making sure you are protected against the spirits.”

“A protective circle,” Carrie said. She smiled as the others looked at her.

“It’s okay, I know how to use these,” She replied, trying her best to reassure Emma. “They’re perfectly safe if you use them properly and follow the rules.”

“Tell it to the Samsons,” Emma replied.

“Hey, it’s up to you,” Alex said as Cody finally handed him back the board. “If you don’t want to take part, feel free to go back home where it’s warm and safe.”

“You don’t need to be so condescending.”

“And you don’t need to be such a coward. Come on, take a risk. What’s the worst that could happen?”

“Fuck you, all of you,” she spat as she stood and walked to her tent, ignoring Alex’s. She went inside and closed the zip, just about holding off the tears until she could be safely out of sight. She lay in her sleeping bag, listening to them getting ready to perform the séance, but was filled with such an overwhelming sense of dread and isolation, she was sure she was going to be sick. A shadow approached the tent, cast into stark clarity by the firelight. She half-hoped it would be Cody, even despite his odd behavior.

“Hey, can I come in?” Carrie said from outside, then opened the tent anyway without waiting for an answer. She closed out the cold and sat cross-legged beside Emma.

“Come on, Em, I don’t want to do this without you. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I just don’t want to do this. It doesn’t feel right.”

“I get it,” Carrie slurred, well on her way to being shitfaced. “You were closer to this than most of us, I promise you I know how to do this and make it safe. It’s all about following the rules.”

“It’s different for me. I’m local. It’s still fresh to a lot of people here.”

Alex is a local too and he seems fine with it.”

“He’s a prick.”

“I used to think the same, now I’m starting to see his good points. I actually think I’m starting to like him.”

The words cut Emma to the bone. “I didn’t think he was your type.”

“He wasn’t… he isn’t, it’s just… I don’t know. Something about him. I keep seeing these images of doing things to him. Things I would never in a million years have considered. It’s crazy. Maybe it’s the weirdness of this place affecting me or something. I just can’t get him out of my head for some reason.”

“If that’s what you want.”

“What is it, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Yes there is, what’s the problem? Do you like him too? I thought you were into Cody.”

“No… I mean yes, I am into Cody, it’s just…”Her heart was racing as she sat up in her sleeping bag. “I like you too in the same way.”

The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. She had gone over it in her head a hundred times and how it could change things forever. The fear was so thick she could taste it in her throat. Yet for all the scenarios she had imagined, the one which came was never considered.

Carrie laughed.

She rolled onto her side, cackling as Emma looked on and wished the ground would open up and swallow her.

“I’m sorry,” Carrie said as she sat upright. “I really didn’t expect you to say something like that.”

“Forget it,” Emma said as she climbed out of her sleeping bag and slipped into her boots.

“Look, I’m flattered. I just don’t think I feel the same way…”

“You kissed me.”

“I was drunk, I kiss everyone,” she said, and broke into a fresh bout of giggles.

“I thought it meant something.”

Realizing she had crossed the line, Carrie stopped laughing and tried to be serious.

“Look, I’m sorry, Em, I didn’t know how you felt. Just stay here and we’ll talk okay?” she slurred, still fighting the compulsion to laugh.

“I don’t want to talk about it. God, I’m so embarrassed.”

“It’s nothing to be embarrassed about, please don’t go.”

Emma could feel her cheeks flushing. She couldn’t be around any of them, not now. Not after this. She unzipped the tent and clambered out, quickly followed by Carrie.

“Hello hello, what have you girls been up to?” Alex said, looking up from the Ouija board as the two girls walked past.

“Fuck off!” Emma spat, then headed back down the trail and into the forest.

“Oooooh, you got told!” Scott said to Alex as Carrie hurried after her friend.

“Hey, Em, come on, it’s not safe to be in there after dark. You’ll hurt yourself. Please…” She looked at the boys for help, and was greeted only with blank stares. “You’d better start without us, I’ll bring her back,” Carrie said, and then disappeared into the woods after her friend.

“Women,” Scott said as they took their positions around the board.

“Probably queer for each other,” Alex muttered, and laughed at his own joke as he drank the last of the vodka. “Okay girls, let’s do this,” he said, placing a plastic planchette onto the board. “Let’s see if we can raise the dead.”

IV

Emma pushed through the brush, shrugging away from grasping branches as she tried to distance herself from Carrie. She was crying, and her makeup left black streaks on her face. She could hear her friend behind her, calling to her to stop. Frustrated and angry, Emma complied, whirling around to meet her friend.

“Look, I didn’t mean to upset you,” Carrie said as she stopped to catch her breath. “For the record, charging into the woods at night is a bad idea all around.”

“You hurt me, you made me think we had something special,” Emma sobbed.

“Look, Em, I love you, but only like a friend. Nothing more. I don’t want things to be awkward between us, I’m just not gay.”

“I’m not either.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand.”

“I don’t either,” Emma said, wiping her eyes.

“Look, let’s just talk about this, see if we can work it out.”

“It’s too late. I feel like a fucking idiot,” Emma said, leaning against a tree. “I knew I shouldn’t have said anything.”