by John Stone
Emily saw her take the main staircase. The girls didn’t wait and made it towards the staircase. They entered through the door and closed it silently behind them and started climbing up the stairs. The night was cold, and the dark, gloomy environment made it even more frigid.
“Don’t touch the door until I come,” Jamie repeated Mia’s word in a twisted and mocked tone. “Why? What is behind that door? I don’t trust Mia and she made it sound creepier on purpose,” Jamie babbled.
The staircase seemed unused and dangerous. Emily wondered if they had staircases like that in their building as well. Jamie’s constant blabbering disturbed her thoughts, so she pulled her and said, “Hush now and stop suspecting everyone. Remember, we are the one who asked her for help. She didn’t drag us here. We came on our own will, so be quiet now, and hurry up. We will wait for her upstairs.”
“You are too trusting, Emily. Make sure that never pulls you down,” Jamie mumbled.
“Come on and stop lagging behind ... hurry up!” Emily called again.
The dark green stairs stopped at the fourth floor. There at the end of the staircase stood a black wooden door. It was locked. The key was with Mia.
“Let’s wait here, and she will come,” Emily said and stood afar from the door. She remembered Mia’s warning, but Jamie was not deterred.
“Why can't we touch this? Is there an evil spell over this? Who even believes these anymore? I am sure all of these are a hoax! What Mr. Mitchell said, and what Mia is saying ... I don’t believe any of it,” she said.
“Jamie, do you even realize that you are going back and forth about this. One minute you are excited that the lore about the library ghost is true, and the next second you think this is a hoax. Don’t do this. You promised me that we are in this together and…” there was something else that Emily wanted to say, but Mia’s presence cut her off.
“It won’t work if you don’t believe,” Mia claimed.
“What?” the girls said together. Mia’s sudden presence had alarmed them. They both nearly leapt out of their skins.
“I will tell you later. Here is the key,” Mia’s slyly said and showed them a medium-sized brown rusted key.
She put it in the lock to open the door. Emily’s heart raced with fear and anticipation, but Jamie was eager to unveil this elaborate hoax. They said nothing ... their expressions said it all.
“What is so special about the door? Why did you ask us not to touch it?” Jamie asked as soon as Mia put the key in the lock.
Mia didn’t answer and went inside first. Emily followed second and the last to enter was Jamie. Mia settled herself on a dirty looking couch that was aligned at the end of the room. The girls took time to look around the room, and Mia didn’t disturb them while their eyes journeyed through the space.
There were several pictures of ghosts, and newspaper cuttings pinned on the walls. There were broken shards of mirror and some full-sized ones aligned against the wall.
“Are these even real? What do you guys even do here?” Jamie wanted to know.
“Don’t you know what we do here? You do know and that’s why you’re here,” Mia replied back while still sitting lazily on the couch.
“All this went on and we had no idea about it. What else don’t we know?” Emily asked in bewilderment.
“Many things,” Mia said with a cackling laugh, “but I wonder why Jamie had no idea about these. From what I heard, she knows everything that happens at the university. Yet, you didn’t know that there was a back room in here where we practiced magic?” Mia joked.
Jamie returned a look of disgust and annoyance, but decided not to respond to Mia’s statement. She tried to stay on task instead. “Now tell us already what we need to do,” she said without delaying it further. Jamie seemed not to like the place too much and wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.
“What’s the hurry, you just arrived here. I guess you’re in a rush though. In the phone conversation, it all sounded so desperate and I thought it was someone you needed to see tonight,” Mia said.
“It is true, I do need to see someone, but before you do anything, I just want to know how these things work,” Emily leveled on her. “And how safe are they? I want to make sure that Jamie isn't harmed. I want you to answer me these questions first.”
Emily was clear in laying down what she needed and wanted to cover all grounds before going about it. She wanted to plan her every move so that nothing went wrong.
“So many conditions … you are asking too much, Emily. Plus, if this is a onetime thing for you, then why are you so scared? Look around,” she said, opening her arms, “because this has never bored me and it wouldn’t bore you either. Take your time and tell me what you need to know, and I will offer you my help,” Mia said very calmly.
Emily tried to relax herself as she didn’t want Mia to see her despair. “I don’t know if this is a onetime thing. I find all of these mysteries quite intriguing now. I just wanted to make sure that I enjoyed it, and that includes Jamie being safe, because she is here for me.”
“I cannot promise anything. You two came here at your own risk. To be truthful, I am doing this for the books. So tell me who do you want to call? I will help you with this, so come and sit here.” Mia directed them towards the chair.
Jamie and Emily looked at each other for quite some time and it was as if they exchanged words. It was like an unsaid warning for each other to be careful. The girls sat down on the floor without saying anything and kept holding each other’s hands.
Mia joined them too then said, “Now the process depends on who you want to call. There are evil spirits, and it is better to steer clear of them…unless you do truly want to call them,” Mia added playfully. “Then there are spells for someone whom you miss and they work differently, so it up to you. Let’s begin.”
“What do we do now?” Jamie whispered from the side.
Emily replied, “We wait for her to begin and see whatever she needs to do.”
“Mirrors,” Mia spoke out in a deep voice, “are like portals to the spirit world. You can use mirrors as a medium to summon spirits and souls from other realms and dimensions. Basically what you need to do is focus your energy and concentrate and think of that one person. Then, you can call on the entities from the other realm and beyond. They can see spirits, all the evil ones or the kinder ones. So, be careful what you wish for.”
“I know what I want,” Emily assured Mia.
“But how do we know which spirits are evil and the one’s that won’t harm us,” Jamie asked?
“You can never be sure and anything can happen,” Mia explained. “That is the chance one must take and that is the thrill of it all!” Mia answered excitedly.
“Seek the thrill yourself,” Emily told her.
“All we want are answers,” Jamie said in a low voice.
Jamie seemed to have an unsettling feeling and she looked over to Emily. He blonde-haired friend closed her eyes and her face became sullen. Jamie followed by closing her own eyes, but she had no idea what was in store.
Nothing happened at first and Jamie couldn’t concentrate. She flipped her eyes open more than once to see if there were any visible changes in the environment. There was nothing so she looked over at Emily and Mia, but they still seemed to be deep in concentration.
“How long with this thing take before we see some real results, or is this all a hoax,” Jamie asked, baiting their host?
Her loud outburst broke the concentration of both Mia and Emily. Mia opened her eyes angrily. Emily wasn’t pleased either, but she didn’t say anything. Mia however didn’t remain silent.
“You seem very impatient. If you don’t believe in this, then you are welcome to leave. No one is here to stop you, but while we’re at it, your constant crabbing will not only delay the process, but may cause harm to you … and us,” she warned.
“You are very good at threatening. I can see that, so this better work for your sake and ours,” Jamie said.
She clos
ed her eyes for the second time. There was a light ruffling sound, but Emily kept her eyes shut tight and her lips pressed together. She could hear Mia chant some prayers and she focused in on that. There were lines that were intangible to her, but she tried remembering them, repeating after Mia. She didn’t move an inch and sat very still.
“Think of someone,” Mia said from the side.
“I can’t do it, I can’t do this now!”
Emily took in a deep breath. She knew the person she wanted to call, but couldn’t bring herself to do it. Emily broke the chain and stood up. Jamie stood up along with her, but kept holding her hand. Mia didn’t show any reaction at first, but then there was an obvious change in expression.
“Are you giving this up,” Mia asked Emily? She didn’t get an answer immediately. “You are the one who wanted to do this, so you cannot back out now. They know you are here and that you want them here. They want to see you as much as you want to see them. I am not lying, because this is the truth.” Then, something strange happened to Mia. She seemed to lose consciousness, but her eyes were wide open. “You cannot back off now,” she chanted. “You cannot back off now. You cannot back off now … you cannot…” Mia went on chanting the same sentence over and over again.
“Stop it, just stop this,” Emily yelled out! “It was a mistake. I made a stupid decision and I cannot go forward with this. There are too many faces. I cannot concentrate. Let me go, Mia!”
“It is too late. You have made your decision. The process has already started, and you cannot simply run away from that. It is not possible,” Mia said. She tried to calm Emily down, but no one was listening to her. “Calm down, Emily. This is doing you more harm than good ... listen to me; come and complete what you started.”
“Stop it! You stop trying to scare Emily! Stop the magic that you’re doing,” ordered Jamie. “You try any tricks and I will bust up this whole necromancy racket. Just tell us how to stop it, now!” Jamie screamed out while still holding on to Emily.
“There is no point yelling at me. I warned you that doing this would be at your own risk. Emily should have listened and walked out when she had the opportunity, but did she listen? No. So, as her friend, ask her to sit down and complete the chanting. Let that person meet her. So why don’t you...” Mia voice was cut off and hers eyes grew wide. She lost her voice and kept staring in shock at someone who was behind Emily and Jamie.
It took some time for Jamie to understand what was happening. At first, she didn’t even notice Mia’s shocked expression. “I don’t believe any of this, and you are doing this on purpose. Just tell us what you want us to do. Why aren't you saying anything? What is wrong with you?” It was then that Jamie realized that they were not the only three people present in the room. She felt a deep, hot breath on the back of her neck and she tried to gulp down her fear. Emily wasn’t moving either. Jamie looked down and saw that her friend was unconscious.
“Emily, this is not the time for this.” Her voice shook and she could hardly speak. Jamie judged whether to turn back and see the unknown fear that was right behind her. “This is not about me; this is not my story,” Jamie kept saying to herself, all the while holding Emily tightly.
A mirror cracked, a gust of wind blew in and doused the lighted candle, and everything became silent and dark. It consumed Jamie and she felt numb. She couldn’t hear anyone else breathe apart from her. A single teardrop escaped her eyes, and she clasped her mouth with the other hand.
Not knowing what to do anymore, Jamie stood there motionless, like a statue clasping her mouth. Then, she saw a light glow in the corner of the room. The force of the light grew stronger until she realized that it was a candle. Then, two other candles lit up and she didn’t move until she saw the person or thing that was behind it. A wave of relief swept over her when she saw that it was only Mia. She looked at ease and composed and Jamie didn’t expect it.
“Emily is unconscious,” Mia noted, “so lay her down for a while. Then, take her away from here. I’ll fetch some water,” Mia said and then disappeared again behind the doors.
Jamie heard the footsteps fade away. She was too shocked and scared to do anything and forgot how to function. Emily’s body was weighing down on her, for she had indeed lost consciousness. Jamie dragged her towards the nearest candle and laid her down to rest. Then she started to shake her in the hopes of waking her up. Emily’s face was red and covered in sweat. For a second, Jamie thought of carrying her friend downstairs, but then she remembered the long, winding and dark staircase. She discarded the idea as soon as it formed.
“Emily, please wake up! We need to get out of here as soon as possible. We can’t be here. Please wake up already, Emily, please!” Jamie pleaded in a sobbing tone. “Oh! What do I do now,” she said to herself, rubbing her forehead. Then, someone tapped her from behind. She was already in shock and shrieked out loud without even looking who it was behind her.
“She will be fine,” Mia said. “Here, take this glass of water and give her some. I will help you carry her down. Then, take her quietly down the back door so that no one notices.”
Mia was still her calm self and handed the water to Jamie, who took it without questioning her about anything. After Jamie splashed a few droplets of water on her face, Emily was up again. Yet, she didn’t say anything.
“Emily, can you hear me? Wake up, we need to go.”
Emily blinked her eyes twice, and then sat up slowly. Her head was throbbing and she clutched it tightly. Jamie noticed that her eyes were gloomy and red. Two layers of dark circles were under her eyes. Jamie remembered clearly that they were not present when they came here at first, but she made sure not to point it out.
“Get up, Emily. Here…lean over me and I will carry you out,” Jamie insisted and Mia helped her up, too.
Emily looked feeble and beaten. She couldn’t stand up, but somehow managed to. “I am sorry,’’ she mouthed in a sickened tone. Her lips were dry and chapped.
“Later,” Jamie insisted.
The girls climbed down the stairs, but they were slowed down as they had to drag down Emily.
“Be steady,” Jamie urged her friend. “We are almost there, come on now.”
Jamie dragged Emily for the last few steps out of the building. She was heavy as dead weight. They were almost out when Mia stopped them.
“This is not a hoax and you know it,” she told Jamie. “Emily is not well. You should meet me tomorrow right after the sun sets. I will be waiting right here. Bring Emily with you,” she commanded, and with that she went back inside the building.
“Jamie, did you get those books,” Emily asked? “Our books were there,” Emily said in a weak tone. Her voice kept choking, but she wanted to know about the necromancy books. So, when Jamie didn’t answer, she asked again.
“I managed to take one with me, the one that I was holding. The other two are still in there, but this is not the time to think about it. We need to get back to your room quickly,” Jamie answered.
The woman in charge of their building, Mrs. Kiely, was at her desk when the girls entered. She did a double take when she saw Jamie carrying Emily inside the dormitory. One hand went to the emergency phone as she bolted out of her chair.
Before she could ask anything, Jamie answered, “She fainted again, like she did in the library the other day. She is very weak, so I am taking her back to her room.” She didn’t wait for Mrs. Kiely to ask any more questions, but they were stopped nonetheless.
“Wait, I need to see her and I thought she was under medication. Has it gotten worse? Do we need to call the doctor?”
She walked towards the girls and Jamie asked Emily to steady herself so that’s Mrs. Kiely won’t suspect anything.
“She looks horrible, what happened to her? She was fine this morning when I saw her. What were you girls doing outside for so long if she is so ill,” Mrs. Kiely questioned in confusion?
“We were out working on a project when she fainted … and … I…” Jamie tried
reasoning with Mrs. Kiely.
“I am fine, Mrs. Kiely. I think that I am just stressed,” Emily managed to say through her haze. “I need to rest for some time and then I will be fine. I promise,” Emily strained her voice to say.
“Or we should just inform your parents. You don’t look just stressed,” Mrs. Kiely said emphatically. She didn’t seem to believe Jamie or Emily.
“Let me go to my room,” begged Emily. “I have been up the entire day. It is just the stress,” Emily reasoned again.
Mrs. Kiely didn’t say anything else. She looked to be simply stunned by the girls’ odd behavior. Emily was looking worse every minute. So without any more conversation, she let the girls go and decided to inform Emily’s parents the next day.
“The keys, Emily, give me the keys,” Jamie said.
“In my right pocket,” Emily managed to say. She was too weak to even get the keys herself.
“Wait, don’t fall down now. In a minute, I will put you in bed.”
Jamie tried hard to stay steady herself. Jamie rushed inside and put Emily quickly in bed. Her body was burning in fever and she couldn’t decide whether to inform a doctor or not.
“I should call the doctor,” she said to Emily.
“Please don’t,” Emily pleaded.
“But you are burning with fever and something might happen. Then what will I do? Please understand, Emily, that I am scared.” Jamie didn’t want to listen to Emily’s request.
“What will I answer them, Jamie, and you know this fever won’t go away just like that. I remember what happened in the room. I not only felt it, but I saw it too, and it touched me. Just let me stay like this for a while. All I need is to close my eyes. Please don’t leave me tonight,” Emily begged, sobbing in between her words.
“I will stay tonight, but tomorrow we need to think of something else. We have to meet Mia and get out of this mess. Everything is Mr. Mitchell’s fault. He is the one who insisted on you doing this; we should have never trusted him.” Jamie was rightfully stressed and wasn’t feeling so good either herself.