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Chapter 6

Savannah’s POV

After Maddie started the session nothing happened. I was looking at her with raised eyebrows, but she was relentless. She desperately wanted to prove that I was wrong and supernatural beings exist.

“Maddie, it’s not working. Stop this nonsense.”

“Give it time, Sav, it’ll work.”

“Don’t you think that if a spirit wanted to answer it’d have happened already?”

“I read that it can take some time. This is not like dialing a phone number. One more minute and then we can stop.”

“Fine, one more minute and then I’m leaving.”

Maddie concentrated even more than before. I was in a squatting position when the planchette moved on the board. My eyes widened and for a moment I thought I accidentally pushed the board as I was standing up. Then the planchette moved again and settled on the word ‘yes.’

“What did you do, Maddie?”

“I swear I didn’t do anything. I’m not even touching the board. I just thought about the person I wanted to summon and asked over and over again if he’s here.”

“Oh, Maddie. Who’s the person?”

“My grandma.”

“And is this your grandma?” - I asked her and to my horror the planchette moved to the word no.

“Maddie, who the hell is this? It’s definitely not your grandma. Is there a magnet in the planchette?”

“What? Why would there be a magnet?”

“To make me believe that all of this is real.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. There’s no magnet in the planchette.”

My thoughts were all over the place. I saw everything happening with my own eyes, but my mind couldn’t comprehend it. I’ve always explained these phenomena with science, but I had no solution for this.

“Let’s stop. I don’t like this at all. Something’s really wrong here.”

“Nothing’s going to happen. This is totally safe, Sav. Aren’t you curious?”

“More like jittery and not in a good way.”

“Don’t be so sour.”

“Fine, then let’s wrap this up quickly. Who are you and what do you want with us?”

“Slow down, one question at a time or you’ll confuse the spirit.”

“For fuck’s sake. Who are you?”

For seconds nothing happened than the planchette spelled out a word. Zamyr. That’s impossible. Maddie’s friend is called Zamyr. I was sure it was just a sick coincidence.

“What do you want?”

The planchette moved once again and I was feeling sick. A three letter word, you was spelled out. I looked at Maddie and she had the same expression as me. Utter shock and horror.

“What do you mean?”

The seconds felt like hours. The next word that was spelled out was soulmate. That was the point when I truly lost it and stood up abruptly. Without a word I left the room. More precisely I wanted to leave the room, but the door slammed shut right in my face. I turned around almost getting a whiplash and my eyes found Maddie’s. She was acting calm. Too calm for my liking. She wasn’t bothered by all this. It’s like she’s already experienced something similar.

“You cannot leave until the session is over. The spirit won’t let you.”

“Then end it Maddie. I don’t care how, but do it.”

“The spirit still wants to say something. After he finishes we can wrap this up.”

I was breathing like I just ran the marathon and glued my eyes to the Ouija board. Mine. Will not leave. I freaked out even more and this time I was in panic mode. My legs were shaking. The words were running through my head over and over again.

“Sav, take a deep breath. Sav!” - that was the last thing I heard before I fainted and collapsed like a sack of potatoes.

“We overdid it this time. She wasn’t ready…I hope so…Fine, I’ll take her.”

I groaned after hearing Maddie talking to someone. I slowly opened my eyes and nearly got a heart attack. She was inches aways from my face.

“Oh, gosh! Thank God you’re okay! How are you?”

“Ugh, I’m okay. What happened?”

“You fainted after, uhm, the events.”

It took me a moment to recall what must’ve happened. When the events came rushing back I sat up abruptly and the world started spinning. I needed to get out of here, like right now.

“I’m leaving. I can’t stay here Maddie.”

“Hey, hey! Where do you want to go? Just calm down. It’s over now.”

“What the hell was that Maddie?”

“I don’t know either. You have to take a deep breath or two or you’ll pass out again.”

“I can’t calm down! Was all of that real?”

“Yes, Sav, it was real.”

“Then why aren’t you freaking out?”

“Because I’ve done this before and it was working that time too. I just wanted to show you that the supernatural world exists. I would’ve never pushed you this hard if I'd known that you’d freak out to this extent.”

“Oh, God! You were right this whole time, I just couldn’t believe it. It’s too much to take in.”

“I know, I freaked out the first time too, but then I made peace with it. I was thinking about something, but I can understand if you say no. What do you think about making a trip?”

“Where do you want to go this time?”

“Salem. You were so passionate about the witch trials. Maybe there you can see another perspective or get new information.”

“Are you sure about this Maddie?”

“Yes. We can leave tomorrow if you’re in and come back on Sunday.”

“I’ve always wanted to go there, but not alone. Thank you.”

“Of course Sav. You’re my best friend and I want to compensate you for today.”

“It’s enough compensation if you tell me that creature, spirit or what was that is gone.”

“The spirit is definitely gone.”

I got a lot calmer after I talked with Maddie about everything. What I saw today couldn’t be explained with science or medicine. It was real and it was time that I started believing that. I was still feeling uneasy. I was afraid that the spirit was still here in the house. I shouldn’t have thought about that anymore, but I couldn’t help it. I shook my head and took out one of my suitcases and started packing for our trip. I was halfway when I realized that I still had to teach at the school. I quickly opened my email account and sent an email asking for a leave. It was already late and they might not approve it today. I finished packing anyway, hoping for the best.

Even after the crazy events I fell asleep rather quickly. Perhaps my subconscious had already accepted the fact that the supernatural world is real. The rational part of me still struggled, but I couldn’t deny its existence now.

My alarm blared at a painfully early hour. After a few days off my body and mind didn’t appreciate this. Before I got up I checked my inbox and I was surprised to see an email, approving my leave for today. When I went downstairs Maddie was already in the kitchen preparing breakfast.

“I was about to wake you up. We’re leaving after breakfast. The ride is about 11 hours.”

“That long? I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay. We just have to drive in turns.”

“I might be a little rusty, but I can try. I haven’t driven much since I got my license. Anna never let me drive her car.”

“You can drive while the Sun’s up.”

“Okay, then let’s eat and hit the road.”

I was actually excited for our trip. Maybe someone else shared my theory about the Salem witch trials. Maybe I’ll get to know some new facts and see items from that era. The first part of the car ride didn’t seem that long. When Maddie switched with me and the Sun started to set the minutes seemed longer too. I was tired, but I didn’t want to sleep. The roads could be dangerous in the dark. Finally we arrived at Salem. As soon as Maddie drove past the sign something shifted in me. It was a strange feeling, but not necessarily a bad one. I told myself it was just excitement. Few turns later Maddie parked the car in front of an inn. It was beautiful. The Halloween decorations were still up.

“I could only book one room. You don’t mind, right?”

“Of course not Maddie.”

We picked up our suitcases and made our way inside. I was surprised to see that we weren’t the only ones inside. Maddie left to check us in and I was looking at the pictures on the wall. It was mostly about people who visited the inn, but there were a few about the town itself. Maddie came back soon and we went to our room. It had two separated beds and a bathroom connected to it.

“What’s the plan for tomorrow?”

“It’s up to you Sav. This trip is about you so we can do whatever you want to do.”

“Then we’ll see. We can ask the receptionist tomorrow about the places that are worth visiting.”

“Okay. Let’s do that. But now the bed is calling my name. I don't care that I'm sweaty, I'll deal with showering tomorrow.”

“I'm taking one now. I'll turn off the lights and try to be quiet.”

When I returned to the room after a much needed shower Maddie was fast asleep. I laid down too and my eyes closed. I was exhausted after the long ride. I couldn't wait for tomorrow to come. I couldn't wait to explore the city and the history. I couldn't wait to meet someone who shared my theories and ideas about the witch trials.

*“Please! Don't do this to us. We mean no harm.”

*“You have to die. We cannot let you roam around our families.”

*“Have we hurt you before? Why are you doing this?”

*“Jonah saw you.”

*“What did he see exactly?”

*“Something unexplainable.”

*“What was that?”

*“Enough! You don't get to ask questions. What are your last words?”

*“Very well! One day your descendants will regret your actions. Your families will be cursed until they prove themselves worthy. Only my chosen descendant will be able to lift my curse. Your descendants will have to convince that person or your bloodline will be cursed until the end of time.”

“Sav! Sav, wake up! Sav!”

Someone was screaming, but all of that felt like I was underwater. All I could see was the women being executed. Brutally. The men were laughing. It was a bloodbath. The woman was still gasping for breath, but she was motionless. Soon she stopped breathing all together. She was dead. It was like a bucket of ice water was dropped at me and woke up screaming from the top of my lungs.

“Sav, what happened. I tried to wake you up, but I couldn't.”

“I-I don't k-know. I was j-j-just dreaming. It w-was b-b-bad.”

“Take deep breaths and tell me what you were dreaming about. It might help.” - a good five minutes later I could finally tell her what I saw in my dream.

“I don't know where I was. There was a woman and a man. I don't know what they were talking about. Then she cursed the man or something like that. Then she was killed.”

“Oh, Sav! It's already morning. Let's get ready and take your mind off of this. You have been stressed lately.”

“What if it means something?”

“It does. You need to stop stressing and start relaxing.”

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