five | 05.

ISOLATION.

Cameron sat on her chair, her leg tucked beneath her, eyes flitting between the spirit board and the faces around the table.

    "So, it says here: 'To communicate with the spirit world you must free your mind of all preconceptions, drop all inhibitions..." Chris looked from Josh to Ashley. "And generally give yourself over entirely to the will of others, sublimating your every desire to the whim of the Spirit-master... which is me.'"

    Ashley scoffed as she sat down in her chair, scooting it closer to the dining room table. "It does not say all that."

The humor of the moment—Chris acting like a grand Spirit-master—didn't seem to reach Cameron. She could feel the weight of something about to shift, a seriousness bubbling just beneath the surface of the jokes.

"Chris, come on, this is serious." Josh put an end to Chris' shenanigans with an amused smile, sitting down as well.

"Enough guys, let's try this." Cameron inched closer to the edge of her seat, placing her fingertip down flat on the planchette, watching the others do the same.

"Do you wanna give it a try, Cam?" Chris's voice broke through her thoughts, but she shook her head firmly.

    "No way." She said, widening her eyes for dramatic effect. "I'm not getting my bloodline cursed for saying something wrong." She held up her hands as if the board might come to life and zap her.

    The humor didn't quite settle the knot in her stomach, but it got a few laughs from the group, which was all she needed to feel like things were still in control.

Chris laughed, unable to resist the teasing, though his eyes twinkled with mischief as he looked at Ashley. "Fine, Ashley. Since you're our recent convert, why don't you try being our medium?"

Chris leaned back in his chair, still chuckling as he watched Ashley reluctantly take on the role of the medium.

    She hesitated, her eyes flickering nervously between each person. She wasn't quite sure what to expect from the board, but she played along, her voice light as she tried to keep the mood casual.

    "Okay... uh... Is anyone there?" Her tone was half-joking, her shoulders tense despite her attempt at nonchalance.

    She glanced around the room dramatically, as though she half-expected an invisible force to respond. "Pick up the phone... spirits... spirit phone... Abracadabra?"

    Even though Ashley was trying to joke around, something about this felt different. It wasn't just a game anymore, at least not to Cameron.

    Josh, sitting across from her, narrowed his eyes slightly, the amusement from earlier fading. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table, and leveled a serious look at Ashley.

    "Come on." He groaned, his voice tinged with an edge of frustration. It was clear he wasn't in the mood for more jokes.

    Ashley sighed and rolled her eyes, though the lightness in her demeanor was already fading. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat before glancing down at the spirit board.

    "Fine. If you can hear my voice, give us a sign." Her voice was a little firmer this time, though there was still hesitation behind her words.

    The room fell into an almost eerie silence. Cameron held her breath, her fingers just barely touching the planchette, and then—without warning—it began to move.

    A sharp gasp escaped Cameron's lips, her heartbeat accelerating as her fingers instinctively twitched, almost pulling away from the board.

    She stared down at the pointer, wide-eyed, as it glided across the surface on its own accord. Her mind raced—was it real? Or was someone moving it?

    "Are you—" She started to ask, but her voice faltered when she saw the letters appearing beneath the planchette.

    H-E-L-P.

    "Help?" Cameron mouthed the word silently, trying to make sense of what was happening.

    Was this a prank? Were they really communicating with something? There was no laughter anymore, no playful teasing.

Cameron instinctively looked toward Josh, who was now sitting bolt upright, scanning each face for a hint of trickery. "Are you guys doing this?" His voice was calm, but his eyes revealed growing panic.

Everyone shook their heads, murmuring denials, their collective confusion and anxiety thickening the air.

"Who are you?" Ashley asked hesitantly, her voice soft and strained. Cameron leaned in slightly, fingers trembling as the pointer moved again, this time faster—more deliberate.

S-I-S-T-E-R.

Cameron's throat tightened. Her gaze darted toward Josh once more, whose face had paled considerably. Panic flickered across his expression, something raw and haunted flickering behind his eyes.

The dread in the room became suffocating.

Sister? The word echoed in her head. There was no mistaking who the board was talking about. Only Josh had sisters—Beth and Hannah. It had to be one of them.

"Oh, come on, is this for real?" Chris threw up his free hand in disbelief, his voice carrying a thin thread of doubt.

"Shut up!" Josh snapped, turning on Chris with such sudden ferocity that it made Cameron flinch. His anger was quick and it faded almost as soon as it surfaced, his desperation returning as he turned back to Ashley. "Ask it whose sister."

Cameron knew Josh well enough to recognize that his patience was thinning, like a string about to snap. She sat back slightly, free hand fidgeting in her lap.

Ashley looked stricken, her eyes widening with fear. "Josh... it's gotta be..."

"Which sister is it then?" Josh pressed, his voice trembling now, thick with vulnerability.

Ashley's breath hitched. She exchanged a brief glance with Chris, who gave her an encouraging nod. With a shaky inhale, she asked, "Who... are we speaking to? Beth?"

The planchette slid forcefully to the black, emboldened YES.

"Oh God." Cameron's hand shot to her mouth, the blood draining from her face. Her chest tightened, the reality of the situation starting to sink in. Beth. If this was real... Beth had to be dead.

"God, Josh... we should stop." Cameron whispered. Josh's face had drained of color, the playful gleam that usually sparkled in his green eyes long gone.

"No." Josh insisted, his eyes flashing with determination. "I want to hear what it says."

Cameron bit her lip, unsure if pushing forward was the right move, but she kept quiet, her loyalty to Josh outweighing her fear.

Ashley looked like she was about to break down. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes as her hand hovered hesitantly over the board. "I-I don't know where to start."

Cameron swallowed hard, her gaze locking with Ashley's. "Ask her about what happened that night."

The others stared at her for a moment, and then Ashley gave a shaky nod. She exhaled slowly before speaking again. "Beth, we miss you, and we want to know what happened to you. Can you tell us?"

The pointer moved again.

B-E-T-R

"Betrayed." Chris said through the silence, his brow furrowing as he read the letters out loud.

Cameron's heart pounded in her ears as her mind scrambled to piece together what Beth was trying to say. Betrayed? By who?

"It's still going!" Ashley said, tears streaming down her face as the planchette raced across the board again, spelling out the next word with brutal precision.

K-I-L-L-E-D

"No!" Ashley shrieked as she pulled her hands away from the board, clutching them to her chest as if trying to ward off some unseen force. "No, no! We didn't kill them! It was just a prank!"

Cameron closed her eyes tightly, trying to fight the rising panic in her chest.

Her mind raced, trying to make sense of the accusations the board was throwing at them. This can't be real.

It felt like the floor was dropping out from under her, everything she thought she understood about that night slipping through her fingers.

Beth couldn't be dead. There had to be some explanation for all of this—some rational answer. But nothing made sense anymore.

"Ash, calm down." Chris tried to soothe her, his own voice trembling slightly despite his best efforts to stay composed. "We need to find out more. Ask her who killed her."

Ashley took several gulps of air, her fingers trembling as she steadied herself, tears still flowing freely. "Okay. Beth... who killed you?"

L-I-B-E

"Library!" Cameron said, her voice barely above a whisper as the word formed before their eyes. She wasn't sure what it meant, but every instinct told her that this was important. Something was in the library.

P-R-O-O-F

Suddenly, the table shook violently, knocking the board and the planchette to the floor.

Cameron shot up from her seat, her body rigid, every muscle tensed as she stared down at the fallen board. "What the hell?" She wavered as her mind struggled to catch up with what had just happened.

Josh stood up slowly, staring at the fallen board, his face unreadable.

His eyes darkened, and when he finally spoke, his voice was cold and distant. "You know what? No. This is bullshit. This isn't real."

"Josh, it's okay." Cameron said softly, reaching out toward him in an attempt to calm him down. But he put his hands up, keeping her at a distance. "I don't know if you think messing with me is somehow going to help me deal with my grief or whatever, but this is not cool."

"Josh, no!" Ashley pleaded, gesturing helplessly at the board. "You wanted to use the spirit board!"

Chris stepped in. "Hey, calm down, bro. It's not Ash's fault!"

"I don't need this right now, okay?" Josh's voice grew more agitated as he moved away from the table. "You guys are full of it!" Without another word, he stormed off, slamming the basement door behind him.

Ashley whimpered, wiping away her tears. "Sh-Should we go after him?"

Chris rubbed his face with his hand, looking torn. Cameron bit her lip before stepping forward. "No, it's okay. I'll go after him." She said quietly, her eyes flicking back toward the basement door. "You guys should... listen to what it says about the library."

Taking a deep breath, Cameron turned and walked toward the basement stairs. She twisted the doorknob, relieved to find that Josh hadn't bothered to lock it behind him.

"Josh?" She called out, her voice echoing in the empty space as she descended. Her heart raced, the silence unsettling her as she continued down the corridor.

She reached the corner where the boiler room was, calling out again. "Josh?"

No response.

The basement seemed to swallow the sound of her own footsteps as she moved farther in, her ears straining for any sign of him.

A knot of anxiety tightened in her chest as she stepped into a larger open space, crates stacked on either side of her. Where the hell had he gone? Maybe now wasn't the best time to approach him.

A sudden noise—something heavy shifting behind her.

Before she could react, something thick and solid collided with the back of her head. Her vision exploded into bursts of light before darkening rapidly.

She crumbled to the floor, her body weak and limp. The last thing she saw before everything faded was a figure looming over her, a grotesque Halloween mask covering their face.

"Fuck." Cameron groaned weakly, her voice barely a whisper as her vision faded completely into darkness.

    "I'm so sorry..."

END OF CHAPTER V.