It was so cold that day, that in daylight, you could see the dragonesque columns of steam that rose from the mouths of every person from a mile away. That was because it never dissipated, but merely hung there, as if immortal, as if unaccountable for the dangers of hanging in the world of mankind for too long. As if it wouldn't suffer for it.
Giles Hendersen
“Is anyone here?”
Silence.
“Is this Giles Hendersen?”
Silence.
“Do you know what our desires are?”
Silence.
“Did you kill the young women here?”
Slam.
Sidney turned around and looked down the hall, her flashlight and night vision camera, focused on the only door in the hallway. Was that the wind or was that a spirit in the house? She crept slowly toward the doorway. As she did so, the doorway opened again, it's opening like a great maw, and shut suddenly with a terrifying bang.
A warm breeze came from the door; it enveloped her in its being and swirled about her. Causing all tension to leave her as she inched closer and closer to the door. Again, the door opened, then slammed shut with a clap. She stopped just before she got to the door and pulled out her radio.
“Contact.” she said, “Fifth floor, east wing. The corridor with one door at the end.”
“How close is it?” Jacob replied.
“Very.” Sidney said, “I'm about to open the door.” SLAM.
“Sidney?” Jacob called urgently, “Sidney!”
“I'm here. The door has been slamming.”
“I'm sending Jenny up there now.” He cut the connection.
Sidney couldn't wait for Jenny. She opened the door and was faced with a dark room, with an open window as tall as her and three feet off the floor. The night was cloudy, and the skies were a dim pinkish yellow mixture. Not dramatic in the least. It looked as if it hid something within it.
A warm wind came from the window, Sidney could smell water on the air, the clouds wereabout to burst. Rain was about to drench the soil, and here Sidney was without her umbrella. Sidney sighed and picked up her radio.
“Jacob,”
“Yes?”
“False alarm.”
At one o'clock in the morning, Sidney called everyone to the living room. In five minutes everyone was present, and she presented them with the ouijia board.
“A new one,” Jacob said with little enthusiasm.
“Yes,” Sidney said as she looked at the board. It was made of polished wood, hinged in three pieces, and the letters, numbers and phrases of a typical board, were carved in its surface. The planchette was made of oak with a strip of redwood for the arrowed portion. “I payed a lot of money for it. I wasn't going to lose one like we did with Gabriel.”
“You guys seriously met Gabriel?” Lucy asked.
“Yes.” Jenny said as he sat down beside Lucy. He waited until Lucy began to sit down, and placed his fingers under the seat of her pants. When she was just about to sit on his hand, he scribbled his fingers on her denim clad bottom. Lucy shrieked and looked down at the seat. Nothing was there. She looked at Jenny, who was looking out the window, whistling a haunting melody as the rain tapped on the windows in a rhythmic pattern that made the whistling, that much darker.
“Ass hole.” she hissed. Jenny turned around, looking quite confused.
“What?” He smiled. Lucy smacked the back of his head. “Ow, hey! Maybe it was Gabriel!”
“Settle down, both of you,” Jacob said, “I'm not going to participate in this game.”
“It isn't a game.” Sidney said.
“Oh, but it is!” He said pointing his right index finger into the air, “It is a game of chance which could end in any multitudinous possibility. Including death.”
“People die every day, Jacob.”
“And they might have played with a ouijia board.”
Sidney put her hand on Jacob's. “Please?” she smiled.
“No.” it was said with such sharpness and brevity that it almost felt to Sidney like he thrust a stone at her. “You can play a game of chance if you like, but I refuse.”
She sighed, “Fine. But you're going to miss out on the fun.”
“On most kinds of fun we agree, buto n this, we enjoy a delight of a different sort.” He left the room.
The quiet of the living room was decorated with the patterings of the raindrops as they pelleted the windows and brought about an orchestra of lilliputian clapping on the ground outside. And the voices of the four people centered about the ouijia board were an inlay of diverse colored gems. The fire crackled warmly as they held their hands lightly over the planchette.
“How old are you?” Sidney asked. No response.
“Are you Giles Hendersen?” No response.
“Are there any spirits I nthis house?” No response.
“Yo motha fucka,” Jenny shouted, “Get ya dead ass ova heah!”
“Jennaro!” Sidney hissed. The board trembled, and the planchette moved. At first it was in any direction, but then it slowed, and began to move into discernible characters.
I-A-M-G-I-L-E-S
Sidney felt electrified by this experience. “How did you die?”
M-U-R-D-E-R.
“How did you meet the girls that died here?”
B-R-O-T-H-E-L.
“Ooooh snap.” Jenny whooped. “Looks like they weren't so innocent after all!”
“No one is innocent,” Debbie said. “Were they whores?”
YES.
“How much did ya pay for them?”
N-O-T-H-I-N-G.
“Were they whores?” Lucy asked.
NO.
“Aw shit.” Jenny sighed.
“Is it true what they say about you being able to tell a person's fantasies?”
YES.
“Can you tell us ours?”
YES.
“What's mine bro?”
T-O-R-O-M-A-N-C-E-A-W-H-O-R-E.
“Aaahaha, L.O.L. Man, he's right!”
“Dirty boy,” Debbie said as she nudged him. “You won't be gettign that anytime soon.”
“Hands on the board please!” Sidney commanded.
L-U-C-Y-W-A-N-T-S-T-O-M-A-R-R-Y-A-W-R-I-T-E-R-A-N-D-H-A-V-E-C-H-I-L-D-R-E-N.
“He's right!” Lucy said with much astonishment. I don't know how, but he's right!”
D-E-B-O-R-A-H-W-A-N-T-S-T-O-B-E-W-E-A-L-T-H-Y-K-E-E-P-H-E-R-Y-O-U-T-H-A-N-D-D-I-E-H-A-P-P-Y.
“That's all I ever wanted. Heh, wow.”
T-Y-P-I-C-A-L.
“HEY, WHAT THE FUCK?”
“What about my fantasy? What is my deepest, most secret fantasy?” She looked around her, as if the spirit of Giles was above her.
There was nothing. The Planchette did not move. For a whole minute they sat in silence. Finally Jenny broke the icy silence.
“I guess that means Sidney is as stagnant as a hundred year old pond.”
Dude,” Debbie said, “that wasn't funny.”
“I know, it needed something.”
“Maybe Giles can't find mine.”
“Nah, if he found ours, he can find yours, unless you ain't got one.” Jenny chuckled.
“Let's go.” Sidney said.
“Ah, pissed cuz the ghost don't like you?”
“No. I am tired. It's three a.m.”
“Nah, you're just sayin' that cuz you're pissed.”
“No,” Debbie said, looking at her watch, “She's right, it is.”
Sidney walked into the bedroom and looked at Jacob. He was a tall, thin, but muscular individual, and his body was draped in a black bathrobe. He read a novel as he sat there. And without looking up, he said, “How was the talking board.”
“It was okay. The others had a ball with it.”
“As usual,” he looked at her, “but, I take it, you didn't?”
“Well,” she said as she pulled off her sneakers, “I was just asking the questions.”
“But something troubles you.”
“Well, we asked the spirit to tell us our fantasies.” She peeled off her socks and walked into the closet. “And it got everyone's fantasy right but mine.”
“Then the powerful giles hendersen is not as powerful as he thought himself to be.”
“No, you don't understand.” Sidney said as she leaned from behind the closet door, donning a nightgown, “I asked about my fantasy, and the board stopped all movements.”
“Oh?”
“Yes,” she said as she walked out, folding her jeans and placing them on a chair. “But the strangest thing happened when he went silent.”
“And that would be?” He looked at her as she climbed into bed with him. He closed his novel, his interest piqued.
“I felt soft, touches on the bottoms of my feet. Thousands of them, and only for a few moments. It seriously tickled.”
“And you did not laugh?”
“It took all of my strength not to laugh.”
“Well, maybe that is your fantasy?”
Sidney smiled, “I would say, 'you have no idea,' but I'll say this. I'm already more than halfway there.” She smiled, and kissed him on the cheek, then turned the light off.
Giles Hendersen
“Is anyone here?”
Silence.
“Is this Giles Hendersen?”
Silence.
“Do you know what our desires are?”
Silence.
“Did you kill the young women here?”
Slam.
Sidney turned around and looked down the hall, her flashlight and night vision camera, focused on the only door in the hallway. Was that the wind or was that a spirit in the house? She crept slowly toward the doorway. As she did so, the doorway opened again, it's opening like a great maw, and shut suddenly with a terrifying bang.
A warm breeze came from the door; it enveloped her in its being and swirled about her. Causing all tension to leave her as she inched closer and closer to the door. Again, the door opened, then slammed shut with a clap. She stopped just before she got to the door and pulled out her radio.
“Contact.” she said, “Fifth floor, east wing. The corridor with one door at the end.”
“How close is it?” Jacob replied.
“Very.” Sidney said, “I'm about to open the door.” SLAM.
“Sidney?” Jacob called urgently, “Sidney!”
“I'm here. The door has been slamming.”
“I'm sending Jenny up there now.” He cut the connection.
Sidney couldn't wait for Jenny. She opened the door and was faced with a dark room, with an open window as tall as her and three feet off the floor. The night was cloudy, and the skies were a dim pinkish yellow mixture. Not dramatic in the least. It looked as if it hid something within it.
A warm wind came from the window, Sidney could smell water on the air, the clouds wereabout to burst. Rain was about to drench the soil, and here Sidney was without her umbrella. Sidney sighed and picked up her radio.
“Jacob,”
“Yes?”
“False alarm.”
At one o'clock in the morning, Sidney called everyone to the living room. In five minutes everyone was present, and she presented them with the ouijia board.
“A new one,” Jacob said with little enthusiasm.
“Yes,” Sidney said as she looked at the board. It was made of polished wood, hinged in three pieces, and the letters, numbers and phrases of a typical board, were carved in its surface. The planchette was made of oak with a strip of redwood for the arrowed portion. “I payed a lot of money for it. I wasn't going to lose one like we did with Gabriel.”
“You guys seriously met Gabriel?” Lucy asked.
“Yes.” Jenny said as he sat down beside Lucy. He waited until Lucy began to sit down, and placed his fingers under the seat of her pants. When she was just about to sit on his hand, he scribbled his fingers on her denim clad bottom. Lucy shrieked and looked down at the seat. Nothing was there. She looked at Jenny, who was looking out the window, whistling a haunting melody as the rain tapped on the windows in a rhythmic pattern that made the whistling, that much darker.
“Ass hole.” she hissed. Jenny turned around, looking quite confused.
“What?” He smiled. Lucy smacked the back of his head. “Ow, hey! Maybe it was Gabriel!”
“Settle down, both of you,” Jacob said, “I'm not going to participate in this game.”
“It isn't a game.” Sidney said.
“Oh, but it is!” He said pointing his right index finger into the air, “It is a game of chance which could end in any multitudinous possibility. Including death.”
“People die every day, Jacob.”
“And they might have played with a ouijia board.”
Sidney put her hand on Jacob's. “Please?” she smiled.
“No.” it was said with such sharpness and brevity that it almost felt to Sidney like he thrust a stone at her. “You can play a game of chance if you like, but I refuse.”
She sighed, “Fine. But you're going to miss out on the fun.”
“On most kinds of fun we agree, buto n this, we enjoy a delight of a different sort.” He left the room.
The quiet of the living room was decorated with the patterings of the raindrops as they pelleted the windows and brought about an orchestra of lilliputian clapping on the ground outside. And the voices of the four people centered about the ouijia board were an inlay of diverse colored gems. The fire crackled warmly as they held their hands lightly over the planchette.
“How old are you?” Sidney asked. No response.
“Are you Giles Hendersen?” No response.
“Are there any spirits I nthis house?” No response.
“Yo motha fucka,” Jenny shouted, “Get ya dead ass ova heah!”
“Jennaro!” Sidney hissed. The board trembled, and the planchette moved. At first it was in any direction, but then it slowed, and began to move into discernible characters.
I-A-M-G-I-L-E-S
Sidney felt electrified by this experience. “How did you die?”
M-U-R-D-E-R.
“How did you meet the girls that died here?”
B-R-O-T-H-E-L.
“Ooooh snap.” Jenny whooped. “Looks like they weren't so innocent after all!”
“No one is innocent,” Debbie said. “Were they whores?”
YES.
“How much did ya pay for them?”
N-O-T-H-I-N-G.
“Were they whores?” Lucy asked.
NO.
“Aw shit.” Jenny sighed.
“Is it true what they say about you being able to tell a person's fantasies?”
YES.
“Can you tell us ours?”
YES.
“What's mine bro?”
T-O-R-O-M-A-N-C-E-A-W-H-O-R-E.
“Aaahaha, L.O.L. Man, he's right!”
“Dirty boy,” Debbie said as she nudged him. “You won't be gettign that anytime soon.”
“Hands on the board please!” Sidney commanded.
L-U-C-Y-W-A-N-T-S-T-O-M-A-R-R-Y-A-W-R-I-T-E-R-A-N-D-H-A-V-E-C-H-I-L-D-R-E-N.
“He's right!” Lucy said with much astonishment. I don't know how, but he's right!”
D-E-B-O-R-A-H-W-A-N-T-S-T-O-B-E-W-E-A-L-T-H-Y-K-E-E-P-H-E-R-Y-O-U-T-H-A-N-D-D-I-E-H-A-P-P-Y.
“That's all I ever wanted. Heh, wow.”
T-Y-P-I-C-A-L.
“HEY, WHAT THE FUCK?”
“What about my fantasy? What is my deepest, most secret fantasy?” She looked around her, as if the spirit of Giles was above her.
There was nothing. The Planchette did not move. For a whole minute they sat in silence. Finally Jenny broke the icy silence.
“I guess that means Sidney is as stagnant as a hundred year old pond.”
Dude,” Debbie said, “that wasn't funny.”
“I know, it needed something.”
“Maybe Giles can't find mine.”
“Nah, if he found ours, he can find yours, unless you ain't got one.” Jenny chuckled.
“Let's go.” Sidney said.
“Ah, pissed cuz the ghost don't like you?”
“No. I am tired. It's three a.m.”
“Nah, you're just sayin' that cuz you're pissed.”
“No,” Debbie said, looking at her watch, “She's right, it is.”
Sidney walked into the bedroom and looked at Jacob. He was a tall, thin, but muscular individual, and his body was draped in a black bathrobe. He read a novel as he sat there. And without looking up, he said, “How was the talking board.”
“It was okay. The others had a ball with it.”
“As usual,” he looked at her, “but, I take it, you didn't?”
“Well,” she said as she pulled off her sneakers, “I was just asking the questions.”
“But something troubles you.”
“Well, we asked the spirit to tell us our fantasies.” She peeled off her socks and walked into the closet. “And it got everyone's fantasy right but mine.”
“Then the powerful giles hendersen is not as powerful as he thought himself to be.”
“No, you don't understand.” Sidney said as she leaned from behind the closet door, donning a nightgown, “I asked about my fantasy, and the board stopped all movements.”
“Oh?”
“Yes,” she said as she walked out, folding her jeans and placing them on a chair. “But the strangest thing happened when he went silent.”
“And that would be?” He looked at her as she climbed into bed with him. He closed his novel, his interest piqued.
“I felt soft, touches on the bottoms of my feet. Thousands of them, and only for a few moments. It seriously tickled.”
“And you did not laugh?”
“It took all of my strength not to laugh.”
“Well, maybe that is your fantasy?”
Sidney smiled, “I would say, 'you have no idea,' but I'll say this. I'm already more than halfway there.” She smiled, and kissed him on the cheek, then turned the light off.
