Ouija (Book 1)
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By: Ray Bush
Otis sat at the plastic portable card table with his two lifelong friends, Cali and Holden. The table was dirty, old, and borrowed from his grandma’s shed along with something much more valuable. The Ouija board was very old and beautifully carved out of a dark wood that seemed to be charred in a fire. At the top corners of the board were the sun and the moon, the sun on the left and the moon on the right. Two words that made no sense were carved into the top center, “Bawa” and “Bazon.” All the letters were carved masterfully by a true artist, from A to Z, Yes and No, to Goodbye across the bottom of the board. He wondered for a minute, and not for the first time since seeing the board, if his grandma had carved it.
Apparently grandma was a witch back in her younger days, Otis was told by his uncle about a week ago. They were talking about ghost hunting this house in particular. Otis had told him of the minor activity, some knock responses and some EVP’s. Uncle Ronnie then told him of the board and her questionable past. Grandma wasn’t the type of Pagan witch that cared mostly about energy and nature. Grandma was a dark, blood drinking animal sacrificing demon loving witch from the nightmares of a madman. Otis didn’t particularly believe it, but here was the board right in front of him.
He set the beautiful planchette on the smooth board. Whomever carved it also covered it in some type of clear resin to ensure it would slide smoothly. The planchette was a hand carved galaxy and an all seeing eye around the glass. This thing was truly mesmerizing.
This was the second time they had illegally broken into this abandoned house. First time was two weeks ago to ghost hunt and now today to experiment with the Ouija. None of the three had played one before. Otis looked at Cali, who was obviously scared, and those old feelings came to his mind for a moment. He had accepted that she chose Holden, their friendship was more important than that choice. Holden and Otis agreed that the Ouija board could be a good way to get some instant responses. Cali wanted no part of it but agreed eventually.
“I don’t know about this Holdy,” Cali said. That was about thirty minutes ago as they set up the table and chairs. Holden and Otis did their best to assure her that everything would be ok. Now they sat at the board and Cali voiced her opinion again, “Holdy I don’t know about this.”
It was Otis that tried to comfort her this time, “Cali I really don’t believe Holden would put you in danger.” She nodded slightly knowing Otis was right. “Don’t forget we were here just a couple weeks ago and we’re good. This is just a way to get more clear responses”
She smiled and thought about how lucky she was to have these two men in her life. “You’re right, I know that” she said, “But I don’t think that you would either.”
For the first time Otis scanned the candle lit unfinished basement. He understood what she felt now. Cali was right, the atmosphere was completely different this time. The walls and floor were cement in this large rectangle room. The ceiling had no sheetrock, leaving the beams and wires completely exposed. The walls disappeared in the darkness, the candles were not bright enough to light the entire room.
“Are you ready,” Holden asked, then gave Cali’s hand a soft squeeze to try to comfort her. Holden did not wait for an answer before he put the first two fingers on each hand lightly on the planchette. “Do it soft like this, We want it to be able to move.”
Otis placed his fingers on next then they both looked at Cali. Holden was still not sure if she would play, her face said no. He really hoped that she would. It is said that the more people that played would give the entities more energy to communicate. Reluctantly, she slowly reached her hands out towards the board. As she got close, her fingers were mere inches from the planchette when Holden pressed hard on his side of it and made a loud, “Psssss,” noise.
Cali nearly jumped out of her skin. “Damn you Holden,” She was pissed. She hit him twice, not real hard but Otis knew that Holden felt the blows.
Holden laughed and rubbed his arm, Otis smiled uncomfortably. “Sorry babe,” he said and it did sound genuine. “You’re too scared so I had to do something to break the tension.” Otis could see his point.
“I guess that kinda makes sense,” She said, clearly still unhappy. “But don’t do shit like that again.”
“I won’t babe,” he said, then planted a kiss in the center of her forehead. “K for reals this time. Are you guys ready?” He said this as he replaced the planchette in the center of the board.
Holden placed his fingers gently on first, then Otis watched as Cali put hers gently on. Otis went last. Holden told them that they needed to circle the planchette three times in the center of the board then ask if anyone is with us. That turned out to be the worst mistake these three would ever make. As soon as the third circle was complete the atmosphere changed drastically. The flames on the candles began to burn taller and brighter. The temperature dropped at least 10 degrees. An even colder dust devil spun and grew its way out of the eye of the planchette then away into the darkness.
As if reading Cali’s thoughts Holden said, “don’t take your hands off babe, it’s ok.” She looked at him with eyes full of tears but said nothing.
“We got this Cali,” Otis encouraged, “remember last time. Nothing happened even though you were scared.”
Cali thought back to the night and remembered that she was scared but she made it out fine. A couple things moved, they heard a few knocks, and caught a few EVP’s but Otis was right. Nothing serious happened. She remembered it being kinda fun despite the fear. “I’m ok,” she said, hoping that she sounded stronger than she felt.
“Is someone here with us,” Holden asked with not a single trace of fear in his voice.
For what felt like a very long moment the planchette did not move. Otis kind of hoped that it never would. He was disappointed when it slowly began to circle . With each revolution the speed increased until it was a struggle to keep their fingers on it. The planchette slowed then began to swirl to the top left corner to the word yes. The planchette swirled back to the center of the board and resumed circling slowly.
“How many of you are with us?” Otis asked, trying hard to hide the shakiness in his voice.
The planchette did its whirl and swirl motions to get to the number two. It then made its way back to the center and circled waiting for the next question.
“What are your names?” Holden asked. Otis thought he could hear a hint of fear in his voice. The feeling in this place was completely different than last time. Otis now knew that Holden could feel it also.
The unseen presence, or presences, swirled the planchette to the number one. It then spelled four letters, “B A W A.” It swirled back to the center but only for a moment. It then swirled to the number two. This time it revealed five letters. “B A Z O N.” The planchette then made its way back to the center and patiently circled waiting for the next question.
This time, however, the air began to spin with it like a weak tornado. The beams began to vibrate causing dust to stir in the air. The candles brightened and burned with a lot more intensity.
Holden asked what Otis thought to be a dumb question, “Is that you?”
The planchette swirled faster causing the air to swirl fast enough that it was now moving Cali’s hair. The beams vibrated harder causing the floor boards to the room upstairs to shake. The candles brightened again and now lit basically the whole room. The planchette shot to the word yes then with the same rapidity moved back to the center of the board. It circled fast waiting for the next question. Cali’s face was a mask of fear and Otis guessed his face was the same. He was terrified.
“Are you an evil spirit?” Holden asked. Otis thought this was also a dumb question. Could he not feel the same thing that Otis and Cali felt? Otis now knew it was a mistake coming here. He also knew that Cali knew it was a mistake to come back here. They even opened the door for Bawa and Bazon to come into their world. They should have known, those names were carved into the board.
The planchette spelled out the word “Demon.” Immediately the candles went out and they were shrouded in darkness. Cali’s scream echoed off the cement walls then disappeared up the stairs. Otis heard her soft sobs but not for long. Footsteps stomped around the upstairs then down the wooden stairs and an awful smell whooshed into the room and engulfed the three ghost hunters.
Cali screamed again but this time it was not just her screams that echoed up the stairs. Cali had been taken by something unseen, Otis guessed it was Bawa or Bazon. Everything was silent, no footsteps and no screams from Cali.
Simultaneously Otis and Holden turned on their flashlights. Holden made a move to bolt up the stairs but Otis caught his arm. “I know we have to go get her,” Otis said, hoping that his friend would listen. “We just have to be smart about it. We can’t even see what took her.” Otis was hoping that he could calm his friend. Otis could see that Holden knew his friend was right but Otis could also see that Holden was not going to listen.
“I have to get her,” Holden said with tears in his eyes, then yanked his arm away from his long-time friend’s hand. “I have to get her.” Holden stomped up the stairs and his light went with him.
Otis knew that this was not a good situation. He could hear Holden’s footsteps frantically running through the house. Him being frantic was exactly what Otis had been afraid of. The pounding footsteps stopped, Otis prayed that was a good thing but he doubted it. He took a few deep breaths trying to muster the courage to go find his friends. He knew that he would go but he just did not want to.
Cali’s back slammed into the wall only seconds after she had been swept away by the whirlwind. She recognized instantly that this was the master bedroom. This was where most of the activity had occurred on their previous trip. It was where both husband and wife had died a few years ago. Cali could clearly feel the entity watching her every move. She was now glad that Otis insisted they all have a weapon if they were going to explore abandoned places.
“You never know if a person or an animal would be living there,” He told them.
Cali removed the knife from its sheath then got to her feet. Her vision was blurry thanks to the tears pooled in her eyes. There was only a moment of silence disrupted by footsteps stomping around the house. Cali was terrified and began shaking. “Cali,” a demonic sounding voice screamed. “Cali,” the voice and the footsteps were getting much closer far too quickly. Now she saw the orangish glow moving towards her wildly. Cali stood with the knife by her ear like Holden had shown her. She did not know if it was the proper defensive stance, but it would have to work.
The door filled with a large black silhouette engulfed in a bright orange light. “Cali,” the demonic voice said as it took a tentative step towards her.
“Get the fuck back,” Cali said and did not notice her grip tighten on the knife. Without knowing she did it, she brushed her other hand across the cross she always wore around her neck. “Leave me alone,” She did not feel like she could be intimidating but she hoped that she was.
“Cali,” the demonic voice said again, “I am here for you. Please take my hand.” The demon took two more steps toward her, giving Cali a surge of courage.
She charged, knife up hoping that she would do maximum damage. She brought the knife down once to the demon’s throat then again into its eye. It tried to screech in pain but its neck was so damaged it came out in a weak gurgle. The demon fell to the floor in a heap then wriggled for a moment before it fell still. There was a dim orange light coming from under the creature. Cali assumed that the light would die out when it was completely dead. She did not dwell on it long. The Ouija said that there were two of them. The other was either here now or would be coming soon.
She already heard the footsteps stomping their way up the wooden stairs. Cali hoped that the demon did not hurt Otis or Holden. She now saw a similar light as the first demon flying around the main floor of the house looking for her. The steps and light were getting far too close, far too quickly. She tightened her grip on the knife then jumped behind the door.
The footsteps stopped, “Fuck!” Cali had hoped it would be Holden or Otis but judging by the voice it was the other demon. She was fearful for her friend and boyfriend. “Cali,” the voice shouted aggressively. “Cali, where are you?” The footsteps resumed but now they were calm and careful.
Cali could see the light shining through the crack between the door and the door jam. The creature was just outside the door.
“Fuck,” it said again as it stood over the other demon in the doorway. She could hear its frantic breathing as it stepped over the body of his fallen friend. The second she saw the silhouette she pounced. Cali brought the knife down hard into the back of the neck. He tried to scream but like the other demon with the same result. It came out in a gurgle. The light fell landing loud on the hardwood floor as the body fell atop the other. The light spun, like kids playing spin the bottle, giving the room a psychedelic effect.
It stopped pointing directly at the two bodies on the floor. As much as she didn’t want to look, she had to see what had been after her. Cali looked down and immediately screamed in horror. Lying on top of Holden was Otis with a hunting knife sticking out the back of his neck. Cali dropped to her knees and screamed again. She covered her tear soaked face with her shaking hands. She knew coming here with that Ouija board was a bad idea. Her screams were muffled by her hands.
She did not hear the footsteps coming towards her. A horrible smelling whirlwind engulfed her, whipping her hair wildly. Cali barely noticed. It scooped her up and whooshed her away into the dark basement. Cali did not scream nor put up a fight.
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