by John Stone
“Don’t say it out so loud, someone might hear us. Was he completely senile? Something was definitely different about him this time. He never spoke with such confidence before, and something changed in him. Just let’s get out of here first. Grace is still not back, so why don’t we head back to my dorm?” Emily suggested.
The girls left the Fletcher building and headed for the dormitory houses. The corridor to Emily’s room was half-lit. One of the lights flickered, the one that was in front of Emily’s room. It seemed to be malfunctioning. The rest of the lights were on. “What is wrong with the light now?” Jamie commented irritably. “Leave it as it is. I will complain about it tomorrow morning. Let’s go inside quickly,” Emily took Jamie inside.
“It is so cold today,” Jamie remarked. “Do you care for some coffee? I could do with some, too,” Emily said.
Emily left her bag on the table and went ahead to prepare the coffee while Jamie relaxed on one of the chairs. She tried to close her eyes to relax. She curled herself up and drifted off for a few seconds before opening her eyes again
. “What is that buzzing sound?” Jamie asked. “Oh, Emily, it's your phone.”
Emily called from the kitchen. “It is in the front of my bag; please answer it for me, will you? I am getting the coffee.”
Jamie searched Emily’s bag and took the phone out to see who was calling. “Emily, it’s Valerie, your classmate, I guess. Should I answer it for you?”
Emily didn’t say anything, but came out of her room. “No, I will answer it myself. Give me the phone,” she said. She remembered what happened in the class earlier that day and didn’t want her friend to be concerned for her again. “Valerie, why are you calling me? Do you need something from me?” she asked.
“How far are you with the assignment,” Valerie asked? “You didn’t come back to class so I called to find out.”
“I was busy, Valerie, I told you that. I couldn’t get back the class, and also, I might not attend tomorrow’s class as well. There are things I need to take care of,” Emily said. All the while she kept glancing towards Jamie to see her reaction.
“But, tomorrow we have to…” Valerie was about to say, but Emily didn’t let her.
“Tomorrow, I cannot attend the class. You don’t have to tell anyone about this. I will make an excuse, submit the assignment, and maybe the professor will grant me some extra time. I just need some extra time and then I can manage it. Valerie, I know that you are concerned, but don't be. What I am doing is equally important, so I also ask for a little time from you.”
“If you are so sure about this, then go ahead. I have no right to stop you, and I won’t tell anything to anyone, but … but I hope you can come back soon.”
Valerie hung up. The blank dial tone went on for a few moments, and Emily finally let go of it. She felt bad about dismissing her so easily but there was nothing she could do about it now.
“It was Valerie, “she explained to Jamie. “She was talking about an assignment that I have to submit and…” Emily tailed off during her explanation.
“I know it was Valerie. I said that to you and I heard why she called. But what I don’t understand is why are you offering explanations? Why are you answering anybody who asks you about your actions? You do what you want, Emily. You are doing this for yourself; therefore, you are not answerable to anyone ... just remember that.” Jamie tried to ease some of the awkwardness that the phone call caused.
“She was just trying to be helpful, but I guess you are right. I am thinking too much about this and probably nobody cares,” Emily said.
“And even if they do care, just let them. Don’t let that affect you. Now stop thinking too much and hand me the coffee. I am having a nagging headache that Mr. Mitchell gave me. Someday, I will get back at him for good.” Jamie managed to calm Emily down.
“What do you want me to do,” Emily asked once she was finally settled down?
“Do you want to do this for sure? Are you confident about this because what Mr. Mitchell asked you to do is not easy? He is asking you to do something that is far from what you believe in. You cannot back out once you go down that path, so be very sure of what you are getting into Emily. For all I know, there will be nothing but regret later on for you.”
“I know what I am getting into, but Jamie do I have a choice? Didn’t I come too far already? I know what awaits me. Either I will get to know why this is happening to me, or this will all end in regret. Yet, I need to know and no matter how many times you warn me, I simply cannot back out. I have no one blame, and I am thankful to you for aiding me on this.” Emily was sincere when she expressed her gratitude towards Jamie.
“If you are so confident about this, then I am with you, and I am with you till we see the end of this.” Jamie placed her hand on top of Emily's.
Emily shivered. A cold winter wind blew in from the open window of Emily’s room and it brought along with it unknown thoughts and feelings. The cold wind settled on her skin and she got up to close the window panes. In the last week, she had come a long way. She had become a mere shadow of her former self.
“Let’s do it,” Jamie said. “Let’s go and ask someone who could help us, but we have to be careful. The person needs to be someone who we can trust and won’t tell on us. It would do us more harm than good if word got around. So, do you know someone like that?” Jamie implored.
“I know of someone. However, I am not entirely sure if she is the right person to ask for help or if we can trust her completely,” Emily said.
“Who are you referring to? Do I know her?”
“I am talking about Denise and Keisha’s friend, Mia. She was here the other day looking for the books, and I learned that she took interest in these matters. I could ask her, but I am having doubts. What should we do?” Emily was doubtful and Jamie wasn’t too sure of the suggestion.
“You want to ask her, but that way, Keisha and Denise would know. They know so much. I don’t think she is a reliable person or if I could trust her. Don’t you know of anybody else?”
“If anyone should know about such a person, then it should be you. I don’t know of anyone else, and I just came to know Mia just a few days back. We have to take this chance. She is our only hope to get through this.” Emily saw no other way out and wanted to stick with Mia. At least she was known to Mia, and they could always ask her to keep it a secret.
“How do we get to her without drawing attention, because she will tell?” Jamie was still not convinced.
“I will talk to her. I’m sure that she won’t let me down ... you didn’t let me down,” Emily assured Jamie.
“But that’s tomorrow, we can’t call her now. Wouldn't it be better if we approach her in a round-about way? If we start out asking her about ghosts and spirits, then she could think we’re insincere,” Jamie suggested.
Emily contemplated the pros and cons of the idea and a smile formed on her face. Then she said, “It is not a bad idea. Maybe we can pull this off without her suspecting anything. We need to be careful and more convincing. She saw those books in here and we will pretend that they have sparked our interest and we want to be a part of it.”
“She would most likely tell us stuff, because I have a feeling that she wants more people to be involved with the crazy obsession she has. We can then learn from her about how these things works. We can prepare ourselves and be safe. There is no point in getting into unnecessary trouble. I don’t really trust Mr. Mitchell. Who knows what his intentions are? But Mia must know her stuff; she must have done this before. Let's ask her,” Jamie reasoned. Her voice faltered slightly.
“You don’t have to be in this if you don’t want to,” Emily reminded her.
“What do you mean? Of course, I want to be in this, and I said I will see this through to the end. What made you doubt me?” Jamie asked.
“If you are scared, then I can do this on my own. Your voice faltered and if I am not mistaken, this is indeed a perilous path. I am sad that I dragged yo
u into this, but you can walk out anytime you want and I won’t say anything.” Emily didn’t want to hold Jamie back, so she tried for the last time to let her go.
However, Jamie was adamant. “It’s just the cold, so I shivered. Do you really believe that I’m scared? I was the one who urged you to go ahead with this. You just take care of yourself, because I can handle myself. In fact, I am so pumped up right now that I want to call Mia and invite her over.” Jamie seemed to try to shrug off the fear that Emily clearly heard in her voice.
“You seem to know an awful lot about how to summon a spirit,” Emily jokingly said.
“It’s called common sense. You can’t call a spirit in this room,” Jamie mused, “because it’s for relaxing and learning, not to interview the dead.”
“You are so funny when you are angry. I was just joking with you, and plus, we must take this interview seriously. Once we hear them or see them, we must ask all the questions before they leave. I don’t really want to be a bad interviewer, so I must prepare the questions then.”
“You really think this is easy,” Jamie asked, noting the playful banter in Emily’s voice. “You are making fun, but there is one thing I know, Emily, the path is darker than it seems. So be very careful about what you do or say.” Jamie’s voice was stern and Emily felt that Jamie didn’t take the joke lightly.
“I’m not thinking lightly of this. Now, can we look at those books that I received? Maybe we will find something in them that will escalate our process of finding out things. Let me bring them to you. Wait here.”
Emily didn’t want to upset Jamie anymore and went on to bring the books to her. They were heavier than Emily had imagined, and she handed one over to Jamie and took one herself, keeping the rest on the table top.
“What’s in these books? They are so heavy,” Emily said.
“Are they building an army? How many ghosts are we supposed to call? Or how do we know which is the right method?’’ Jamie seconded Emily’s opinion. “How old are these books?”
“There is no publication date in here,” Emily noted, “but they are old. Look, pages thirteen through eighteen are missing. What if the answers were in these pages?” Emily pointed out.
“We have to keep looking,” Jamie encouraged her. “I never knew that these things were even possible. Here, look at what is written here.” Jamie showed her a few paragraphs that pointed out how to bring back the spirits of a loved one. “Do you want to call or bring back someone you loved and who isn’t there anymore? We can do that for the starter. Is there anyone, Emily?”
Jamie asked without knowing that she touched a nerve. Emily was almost tempted and vulnerable to say the name. Emotions surged upwards and she pressed her lips together. Emily never liked displaying her emotions so openly.
“Who would I want to call? There is no one like that I can think of,” she said with a tremulous voice.
Emily ignored what Jamie was saying and didn’t look her in the face. Jamie didn’t pay attention to Emily’s discomfort either. She just kept turning the pages.
“I thought it would help if we just called a friendly spirit instead of an angry one. They might not be very pleased.” Jamie winked at Emily who was having a hard time participating in the conversation.
The tables had turned. Moments earlier, she was accusing Jamie of being scared, but now she was not very sure herself.
“Loosen up, Emily, we are not calling anyone tonight, at least not in here,” Jamie said when she realized that Emily was not speaking anymore.
“It’s nothing,” Emily lied.
“What are you possibly thinking about now? Emily, are you even reading what’s in the book?” Jamie seemed surprised that Emily was not paying her enough attention.
“I want to contact Mia now; we can’t push this any further,” Emily said abruptly.
“What prompted you all of a sudden? And you want to call her now? She will definitely suspect something,” Jamie said, trying to reason her out of the decision.
“Yes,” Emily persisted, “let’s get her now. It’s not even that late. I can’t sleep at night with this burden on my back. This has gone too far and I need to put an end to this. Now, please get me the phone. I will call her myself.”
Emily was determined. Jamie couldn’t argue and handed her the phone. Emily dialed the number and Mia picked up the phone right after one ring.
“Mia, hi it’s Emily. I want to see you. Could you come over to my place,” Emily questioned? She tried her best to keep her voice stable.
“You want to see me now? What is this about?” Mia questioned.
Emily could hear several voices over the telephone, but chose to ignore them. “Yes, I want to see you, if that is not a problem, and it is about those books.”
Jamie stood there paying close attention to the conversation and saw that Emily didn’t go on about the books in a roundabout way. She asked too directly for her liking. She wanted to say something, but just gestured wildly.
“I am just curious about them,” Emily said, “and you know a thing or two about them. You know what these books are about and I don’t want to call someone else. I trust you. So can you come and see me now?” Emily waited for a response from Mia.
“Yes, I can do that,” the voice on the other end said, “but I want something in return. Can you give the books to me,” Mia asked?
“You can have all of them for all I care, just come and see me now. I am in my room, and Mia, I would prefer if you could keep this a secret between us. If you can do that, then the books will be yours.”
Emily disconnected the phone when Mia agreed to meet with her.
“That was way too straight forward,” Jamie argued immediately. “Hopefully, it will work,” Emily stated.
“You didn’t tell me that you and Mia were such good friends.”
“I lied to Mia,” Emily explained. “I said all that stuff because I wanted to sound casual and not to arouse her suspicion. I was convincing, even you believed me. She is on her way up here.” Emily tabled the conversation and went back to the book.
Jamie didn’t seem to believe her. She just cut her eyes and said, “We will see.”
There were three knocks on the door after fifteen minutes passed. Jamie opened the door. It was Mia. Jamie urged her to come inside. Mia was obviously surprised to see Jamie. The perceptive junior student waited for Emily to answer the impending question that Mia was about to ask.
“You know Jamie, I mean everyone knows her. She is my friend and on this journey with me, so feel free to talk in front of her,” Emily insisted.
“If you are fine with this, then I have nothing to complain about. Now show me those books first,” Mia retorted and decided to ignore Jamie.
“You need to tell me something first,” Emily haggled. “Did you tell any of this to Denise or Keisha?”
“I didn’t, because you asked me not to. In return, you promised me the books. I am not in elementary school anymore. I know what you meant when you said that you wanted to keep this a secret. Plus, Denise and Keisha are out with a friend. I am not going to tell them. These books are more important to me.” Mia uttered each word specifically so that both Emily and Jamie were convinced.
“That is good to hear.” Emily showed her the books once she was convinced. “The books are on the table. Get them for yourself and take a look.”
Mia went where over to where the books were stacked and devoured the smell from the covers. She was obviously entranced by the potent tomes. Then she leafed through the pages. Emily and Jamie both looked on with blank stares. “These are gold,” the purple-haired girl announced. Mia turned back and said, “These are worth more than anything. I want them all.” Mia sounded like a greedy lunatic, and there was an eerie gleam in her eyes.
“You can have them all, but not before you help us.”
“What do you want me to do?” Mia set aside the books then turned towards them with the question.
“You know what I want, but I don’t
want to do it here,” Emily responded.
“Both of you need to come with me then. Bring the book with the green lettering on the front and the one with the brown cover along with you. We will need them,” Mia stressed and took a book with a red cover with golden lettering on it and went towards the door.
Jamie and Emily did as they were instructed and they both followed Mia. Emily looked at her watch and it was 9:30 p.m. She hoped that it was the last time she had to face any more trouble. Tomorrow I will have a better day, and I will have the answers tonight, she told herself.
“Emily come on, don’t lag behind. Hurry up!” Jamie called from the front.
“I was getting the keys. You go ahead.”
Emily shook off the last feeling of hesitation and walked faster to catch up with Jamie and Mia. I hope no one sees us tonight, was the last thing that ran through Emily's head. Mia took Emily and Jamie through the back of their dorm and around the second building. They passed the pharmacy along the way and approached the third building when Mia stopped them.
“We are here,” she said.
The three of them entered the building silently. It was an administration building that was mostly used to store excess equipment and supplies. Miss Carlson was at the desk of the entrance area. She seemed to have dozed off and didn’t see the girls enter. Mia motioned for Emily and Jamie to take the back door, which led to a staircase nobody used any longer. At the top of the stairs there was an abandoned room on the last floor of the building.
“I left the door to the staircase open for you,” Mia told the girls. “Go quietly and wait for me at the end of the stairs. There is a room at the end that needs a key to open, and I have it in my room. I am going to get the key, so don’t touch the door and don’t make any noise. I will be back in a minute.” Mia pushed them towards the door and left.