The Killing Moon

That night every little creak or bump I heard made my heart jump out of my chest. I was cursing myself for not saving one of the sleeping pills from earlier this week, it certainly would have come in handy. Instead, I turned on my lamp and pulled out my laptop. I opened Facebook and clicked on Carmen’s page. It was filled with R.I.P.’s and messages about how much everyone loved her. We had the same password and I was tempted to log into her page, but I couldn’t do that. It wouldn’t be right; we’d promised to never snoop. I opened a search engine and hesitated before typing in “Real Hauntings.”

It was mostly just lists of the most haunted places and information about movies based on hauntings, but there was a sponsored ad on the side that caught my eye. It was a local business called “Dainty Feather.” I clicked on the link and it took me to a poorly laid out website with store hours on the main page.

“Your one stop shop for everything spiritual.”
Store Hours:
Mon-Fri 10am-4pm
Sat – 9am-2pm
Closed Sunday.

There wasn’t much more information, a very vague section about the owners – apparently they were an older couple who had a lot of experience with the occult. There was also a phone number. I bookmarked the page before I felt my mouth contorting into a wide yawn. I looked down at the clock and it read 3:39. I closed my laptop and placed it back in the drawer and then got comfortable, finally too sleepy to care about being scared.
*
I dreamt about Carmen, kind of. It was less a dream and more a memory. We were 12 and mom had to work late because she was still working a second job waiting tables. We were sharing a room at the time since we hadn’t bought the house yet.
“Do you remember those things that grandma used to always warn us about? The Ouija boards?” Carmen asked me while I was reading, causing me to look up from my book. Normally Carmen didn’t buy into the whole paranormal/horror stuff so this was surprising. I arched a brow.
“Yeah, why?” I asked, our grandmother was always very superstitious – as was my mother and Carmen, I was the only one who didn’t get the trait.
“What if I told you that I got one?” She slid off of her bed and pulled a box from underneath it.
“What? Where?” I asked, placing my bookmark in my book and sitting up.
“Brooklyn got it, she found it at this weird shop downtown and convinced her dad to buy it for her.” She explained.
“And you have it….?” I asked as I stood up and walked over to her bed, sitting down and looking at the box. It was tattered and definitely not made by Mattel.
“It’s a dare. We are all going to keep it a night and see who is brave enough to use it. What do you say?” She was pulling the board out now, it looked custom made. The letters carved into wood and covered in a glossy finish and an iron Victorian planchette. I picked up the planchette and let out a scoff.
“This thing is heavy; no wonder no one can get it work. You can’t move it conspicuously.” I was definitely not a believer in contacting spirits.
She rolled her eyes and took the pointer from my hands and placed it on the board. “Shut up, are you in or not?” She was determined. I sighed and shook my head, what would it hurt?
“Fine.” I said reluctantly.
“Put your fingers on the pointer then.” She was already in position, her left and right pointer and middle fingers placed lightly on the planchette as her eyes peered at me to follow her lead. I laughed as I moved my hands; she was such a sucker sometimes.
“Are there any spirits in the room?” Her voice was shaky; I arched a brow as I looked at her. She was trembling. She must have been so scared, but here she was trying to impress her friends.
“Ooooo, Casper can you hear meeee?” I mockingly called out, swaying slightly as I did.
“Selena!” She yelled, opening her eyes and glaring at me. I stifled a laugh and cleared my throat.
“Sorry, I don’t know what…possessed me.” I said before bursting into a fit of giggles.
“Stop it. Please? Take this seriously, just for a few minutes and then you go back to whatever you were reading. Just help me out, I never ask you for anything.” Her eyes were begging me, I felt a little uncomfortable at how resolute she was.
“Fine Carmen, sorry.” I closed my eyes and repositioned my fingers, trying to clear my head to help her. “Is there anyone here?” I asked my voice was smooth and calm.
I felt the planchette begin to move and I opened my eyes immediately and looked at her. Her jaw was dropped and I could have sworn I heard her heart beating across the board.
“You’re moving it.” I accused.
“No, I’m not. Are you?” She didn’t take her eyes off of the board. The pointer moved up towards the left corner, stopping only once it’s reached the word yes.
“You swear?” I looked at her intensely; this was a bit more than I had bargained for if she wasn’t.
“I swear.” She gulped loudly and then took a shaky breath.
“Who are you…?” She asked, looking down at the board and never making eye contact with me. I didn’t move my hands, but the pointer began to move again. The air got thick, I felt like I was going to throw up at any moment.

It slowly began spelling out a name, “G….R….E…”

The door flew open before the board finished telling us who we were speaking to, causing the both of us to yank our hands back and let out a scream.

There stood our mother looking exhausted and covered in what I hoped was marinara sauce.
“What’s with you two?” She said confused, I quickly moved a pillow over the board. My mother would promptly throw it away if she knew what we were doing.

“Nothing, I was telling her a scary story. You know how she is…” I lied quickly, Carmen looked pale.
“You feeling okay Car?” Mom asked, walking over towards us. Carmen quickly nodded and then put her fingers up to imitate a cross.
“Stay back, you’re covered in questionable red sauce…” She sounded normal again; she must have realized how much trouble we’d get in if mom caught us.
“Ha. Ha. You’re a regular comedian.” She said sarcastically before turning and letting out a sigh. “You’re lucky I’m tired or else I’d make sure you got a taste of it. Now, go to bed. It’s almost 2 a.m.” She said before yawning.
We told her goodnight and Carmen closed the door behind her, I laughed as she turned to look at me.

“Smooth. Come on, let’s get some sleep.” I said as I stood up and grabbed the box.
“Wait!” She yelled and walked over, yanking the planchette from my hands. “You always have to say good-bye.” She placed her fingers back on the pointer and looked around the room, “Good-bye…whoever you are.” She moved the piece down and over the “Good-bye” that was engraved along the bottom.

“You’re a mess sis; please don’t wake me up when you’re too scared to sleep in about ten minutes.” I joked.
“No promises…” She admitted as she packaged the board back up and slid it out of sight under her bed.

“Love you Selly.” She said once we’d gotten tucked into our beds.

“Love you too Car.”

I had just closed my eyes when I heard a scratching at the wall, I rubbed at my cheeks as I perched myself up on my elbows, slowly blinking my eyes open to see if there was something there. I immediately regretted it though, instead of being met by my childhood bedroom – I was met by a black silhouette with yellow eyes and sharp white teeth. I opened my mouth to scream, but nothing came out. I tried hopelessly to fight and kick my way out of harm’s way, but I couldn’t move. “Remember me!?” The thing screeched, reaching its long shadowy fingers towards me.

“Selena, wake up!” My mother was leaning over me and shaking my shoulders so fiercely I knew she was going to leave a bruise.
I gasped as I opened my eyes, I was covered in sweat, and my hair clung to my face. “Mom?” I wasn’t even sure where I was.
“You were clawing at the walls, what is going on?” She pulled my hands into hers, my fingers were aching and my fingernails were all broken down to the quick. I shook my head and tried to catch my breath, my heart palpitating as I focused on what was happened.
“Nightmare?” I couldn’t explain it even if I tried.
“Oh sweetie, do you want to sleep in my room?” She was clearly beside herself; her long black hair was tucked back into a messy bun that really showed off the grays that were persistently coming in. I looked at her face, her soft round face that had barely aged until a month ago. Her dark brown eyes that looked nothing like mine were full of worry and stress.
“Yeah, I do.” I finally said, somehow reasoning that I was doing it for her as much as for myself.
“Come on baby girl…” She said in her soft sing-song voice she’d used to comfort me so many times before. I had never had nightmares before, but Carmen did a lot. Especially after that night, something I hadn’t realized until that moment. She would sneak into my room almost 3 times a week, never telling me what her nightmares were about, just telling me she didn’t want to be alone.

I grabbed my pillow and followed her out of my bedroom and towards hers. I noticed Carmen’s door was open, I could have sworn it was closed earlier, but of course mom could have been in there. I shook the thought and walked into the room, crawling in the bed and pulling the comforter up to my neck.

“Let’s try this again…” I thought to myself as I closed my eyes.

Notes

We're meeting the new boy in the next chapter, get ready for broody and moody.
:D