It was a Sunday night, and I was feeling restless. I wanted to do something fun so I grabbed my phone and texted the gang: "Hey, anyone up for a party at my place? Nothing fancy, just some snacks, drinks, and good vibes." To my delight, they all agreed. Lisa and Nick were already at home, so I only had to wait for Jane and Mike to arrive.
They showed up in no time, carrying bags of chips, soda, and beer. We greeted each other with hugs and smiles, and headed to the living room. We settled on the couch, turned on some music, and started chatting.
Mike, as always, was the most mischievous of us all noticed the ancient diary I had found it earlier that day, hidden in a dusty corner of the basement. It was leather-bound, with faded pages and strange symbols.
"Hey, what's this?" Mike asked, picking up the diary.
"Oh, that's just some old book I found in the attic. I haven't had a chance to look at it yet," I lied.
"Let me see," Mike said, flipping through the pages. His eyes widened as he saw the writing inside. It was in a language I didn't recognize, but the starting pages of the diary had the tale of Alicia. "Wow, this is cool. It looks like some kind of spell book or something."
"Really?" Jane asked, leaning over to see. "Can you read it?"
"No, but maybe we can figure it out," Mike said, grinning. "How about we spice things up a bit? Seance, anyone?"
I felt a shiver down my spine. I didn't like the sound of that. I didn't wanted to repeat the same thing that happened to Alicia.
"Sure, why not?" Lisa said, shrugging. "It could be fun."
"Yeah, let's do it," Nick said, nodding.
"What do you say, Jane?" Mike asked, turning to her.
Jane hesitated, looking at me. I could see the uncertainty in her eyes.
"I don't know, Mike. It sounds kind of creepy," Jane said.
"Come on, Jane. Don't be a chicken," Mike said, taunting her. "It's just a game. Nothing's going to happen. And if it does, we'll be fine. We have each other, right?"
He looked at me, expecting me to agree. I felt torn. On one hand, I wanted to impress Jane, and show her that I was brave and adventurous. On the other hand, I wanted to protect Jane, and keep her away from anything that could scare or hurt her. I didn't know what to do.
"Please, Jane. Please, please, please," Mike said, pleading with her. "It'll be fun, I promise. And if you don't like it, we'll stop. OK?"
Jane sighed, giving in. She looked at me again, and smiled.
"OK, fine. Let's do it," Jane said.
"Yay!" Mike said, clapping his hands. "Let's go to the basement. It'll be more spooky there."
We followed him to the basement, carrying the diary, the candle, and the matches. The basement was dark and cold, with cobwebs, boxes, and junk. We cleared a space on the floor, and formed a circle around the candle. Mike lit the candle, and handed the diary to me.
"OK, here's how it works," Mike said. "We hold hands, and we repeat the words from the diary. Then we ask a question, and wait for an answer. Simple, right?"
"Right," I said, nervously.
"OK, let's start," Mike said. "Everyone, hold hands."
We did as he said, and I felt Jane's hand in mine. It was warm and soft, and it sent a jolt of electricity through my body. I looked at her, and she looked at me. Our eyes locked.
"Ready?" Mike asked.
"Ready," we all said.
"OK, repeat after me," Mike said, and began to read from the diary. "Necro nomicon ex mortis."
"Necro nomicon ex mortis," we repeated.
"Clatu verata nicto."
"Clatu verata nicto."
"Klaatu barada nikto."
"Klaatu barada nikto."
We chanted the words, feeling a strange sensation. The air seemed to thicken, and the candle flickered. The basement grew darker, and the shadows moved. I felt a presence.
"Stop, stop, stop," Jane said, breaking the circle. "This is too creepy. I don't like it."
"Me neither," I said, agreeing with her.
"Come on, guys. Don't be such wimps," Mike said, rolling his eyes. "We haven't even asked a question yet. Let's try again."
"No, Mike. I'm done," Jane said, standing up. "This is not a game. This is something else. Something bad."
"Fine, fine. Suit yourself," Mike said, shrugging. "But I'm not giving up. I'm going to ask a question, and see what happens. Maybe I'll get lucky, and talk to a ghost."
He picked up the diary, and held it close to the candle. He looked at the pages, and found a question. He read it aloud, with a smirk on his face.
"Is there anyone here who wants to speak to us?" Mike asked.
There was a silence.
And then, there was a sound. Someone jumped on the candle and it did not felt human.
The candle went out, and the basement plunged into darkness. We couldn't see anything.
We realized what had happened. A rat had knocked over the candle, and set the diary on fire. The diary had burned Mike's hand.
We scrambled for the flashlight, and turned it on. We saw Mike with his hands burned.
"Mike, are you OK?" Jane asked, rushing to his side.
"No, I'm not OK," Mike said, clutching his hand. "That rat bit me. It freaking bit me."
"Let me see," Jane said, examining his wound. "It's not too bad. Just a small puncture. But we need to clean it, and bandage it. And maybe get you a tetanus shot."
"Ow, ow, ow," Mike said, wincing. "That hurts. That really hurts."
"Come on, let's get you upstairs," Jane said, helping him up. "We'll take care of you."
She looked at me, and gestured for me to follow. I nodded, and grabbed the flashlight. I looked at Lisa and Nick, and motioned for them to join. They nodded, and got up. We left the basement, and slammed the door behind us. We laughed off our fear, and decided to stick to the safer side of partying.
The night carried on, and as the clock struck midnight, Jane and I found ourselves alone on the roof. We had sneaked out, while the others were busy with Mike. We wanted some time for ourselves.
We moved closer, feeling our hearts beat faster. We leaned in, closing our eyes and opening our mouths. We kissed, and it was perfect. Perfectly passionate, perfectly tender, perfectly sweet. The universe felt aligned.
But as our lips lingered, a flash of light disrupted our moment. We pulled away, startled. There they were, Mike, Lisa, and Nick, holding phones and grinning like they'd just won the lottery. Laughter erupted, and we couldn't help but join in, realizing we'd just been caught in the act.
"Gotcha!" Mike said, showing us the photo he had taken. "You two are so cute together. I knew it. I knew you liked each other."
"Congrats, guys," Nick said, smiling. "You make a great couple. I'm happy for you."
We blushed, feeling embarrassed but also happy.
"Thanks, guys," Jane said, holding my hand. "You're the best."
"Yeah, thanks," I said, squeezing her hand. "You're awesome."
The rest of the night turned into a blur of laughter, music, and shared moments. Moments that we would cherish forever. But something was odd, I had a bad feeling after we performed Seance.