Young Writers Society

Because of all of the persistent bugging in writing this, I finally decided to do it, and here it is! Thanks for everyone who has critiqued the last three parts. You've been a tremendous help. This is part 4/7 of the Séance Series. I hope you enjoy it.

EDIT: I have changed the title to The Apparition, because I felt like it.

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Apparition [Ap - par - ition] noun

1. a supernatural appearance of a person or thing, esp. a ghost; a specter or phantom; wraith

The scratches on my back ebbed into scars, and the pain fell away. The pain from the memories of the séances, though, never fell away. It was etched into minds. The feelings that I felt as we sat, hand in hand, around the Ouija board were unlike anything I had ever experienced. It was like a butcher knife cutting through your flesh, grinding through your bones. The feeling was indisputable.

It was evil.

After the séance was over, Richard chucked the board into a garbage can, and we never saw it again. Lillian’s parents never found out that she had participated in another séance. Steve and Jen slowly began drifting from our group. Brianne broke up with her boyfriend. We all began to break down into uncontrollable fright.

Every night, I sensed something in the dark. I quivered and shifted in my bed, squeezing my eyes shut. Everything was freezing. I was trembling, but it wasn’t from the cold.

I wasn’t the only one that was experiencing difficulties. Lillian called me in the middle of the night, and I could sense that something was wrong. There was an edge in her voice that wasn’t there before.

“Roger?”

“Yeah?”

“I—I don’t know what to do. I can’t call Richard. I can’t let him know that—that—” She broke down into an uncontrollable amount of sobbing. My heart began to ice over, and I clutched my pillow tightly.

“What’s wrong?”

There was a long, almost deafening, silence. I could hear her breath faintly over the static of the phone line.

“Lillian?” I repeated.

“Roger, can you swear that you’ll never tell this to anyone? Please? I need to know that I can trust you. Please. Just let me trust you. I can’t keep it a secret anymore. I’m too scared. Too… too scared,” Lillian muttered quietly. I pressed the phone to my ear, my eyes widening.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Swear to me!” she moaned, and I nodded.

“I swear, I swear! Now tell me what’s wrong!”

Another deafening silence. I heard her gulp on the other end of the line.

“I stole the Ouija board that we used a few nights ago. I didn’t plan on using it a lot—”

I cut her off: “What? Lillian! Your parents made you swear—”

“I know! I know, and that’s why I’m so stupid. It was so unlike me to do that, and now… Roger, I just wanted to talk to Grandma… that’s all. I swear.” Her words began slurring together in a fit of sobbing.

“Lillian,” I whispered. I didn’t know what to say.

“Grandma has been telling me a lot of things that I wish weren’t true. But they are.”

“Lillian,” I whispered, “What?” I was speechless.

“She—crap! Mom’s coming. I got to go. Can I meet you somewhere tomorrow?” Lillian whispered, urgently.

“Uh… where?”

“The park. By the cemetery. Please meet me there. I need to show you something. Noon. By—” Her farewell was cut off by her hanging up. The phone buzzed in my ear for another couple of seconds, and I pressed ‘End’.

I couldn’t sleep that night.

-

I glanced at my watch the next day. 11:47. I quickly hastened my step past the cemetery. The tombstones and graves seemed to watch me as I nervously walked past them. A cold sweat broke on my brow, though it was over a hundred degrees outside. Unsettling feelings erupted inside me, and I broke into a run. I could sense things watching me from the cemetery. The hair stood erect on my neck and arms. Once I reached the city park’s boundaries, I slowed to a walk. Looking for Lillian, I entered the grassy park.

The tombstones glared at me, but I ignored them as my eyes feverishly swept the park. Where was she? I checked the time again. 11:50.

I chose a large rock and settled on it, my back facing the cemetery. I began thinking about Lillian, and the first time that I had met her.

-

It was at the school lunch time. I was a sophomore and new to the school, having recently moved from Wisconsin. I sat alone at the lunch table, avoiding others' eyes. Instead, I concentrated on the novel I was reading, occasionally taking a bite.

A group of friends sat a table away from me. They were busily chatting amongst themselves. There were three guys and three girls. There was only one cute girl, though.

She caught me looking at her, and my eyes dodged to my plate. My face began to redden. After a minute or so, she stood up from her table and slowly made her way to mine. I bit my lip.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hi,” I whispered, not looking her in the eye.

“Aren’t you that new kid in English?”

“I don’t know. I have third hour English…” my voice trailed off, and I shut my novel.

“Yeah. Me too.”

There was a terribly awkward silence. Everyone at the table next to me was staring at us silently.

“Do you want to sit with us? Unless you’re saving a seat for someone, of course,” the girl spoke, and I shook my head.

“Okay. You can sit there if you want,” she said, pointing to the spot next to her. Again, without looking into her eyes, I grabbed my plate and walked over to the other lunch table. Everyone stared at me.

I sat down. That was the first time I had ever had friends. Real friends that I could trust. Friends that could count on me, and I could count on them.

-

It was 12:13, and Lillian hadn’t shown up. I began to lose my hopes that she would arrive. Reaching into my pocket, I grabbed my cell phone.

I dialed her cell number. It rang once.

“Roger?” she asked.

“Yeah, it’s me. Where are you?”

“I’m at the cemetery, waiting for you.”

My gut churned as I slowly turned around. I could see her crouching over a grave.

“You said meet at the park,” I said.

“Yeah, I know. But can you come here? I need to tell you something.”

“Um… sure. But why do we have to go in there? I had a horrible feeling when I passed that place as I came here,” I hesitantly spoke.

“Please? Just come here. I have to show you something.” Her voice had a hint of urgency, and I agreed. I ended the conversation and began walking towards the cemetery.

The tombstones were still glaring at me.

As I neared her, she smiled and waved her arm. I waved back and hastened to her. As I approached her, I could tell that something was wrong with her appearance. Her face was deathly pale, and her eyes had sunk. Dark bags loomed under them. Her hair was frayed and wispy.

“Hi,” she said. “Thanks for coming. I really needed to talk to you.”

“It’s not a problem. What’s wrong?”

“Well, I told you what’s been going on last night, with the Ouija board and stuff.” I nodded and bit my lip, holding back any accusations.

“This,” Lillian said, pointing to a grave near her, “is my Grandma’s grave. This is where I’ve been doing the séances. I feel that if I’m near her, then she’ll be able to answer me better. If that makes sense.”

I nodded, raising my eyebrow.

“Lillian, why are you doing this? Your parents would kill you if they found out that you’ve been doing more séances,” I asked, folding my arms across my chest.

“I’m doing it because I want answers. I want answer to life. I want to know if there’s really a God. I want to know what’s it like in Heaven. I want to get that dizzy thrill when I’m talking to a spirit. That’s why I’m doing this,” Lillian replied, her voice darkening.

We stared at each other for a moment. I couldn’t find any words.

“What do you need to tell me?” I asked warily.

Lillian was silent. She was thinking.

“Something has been hurting me. It’s not going to stop, either. I asked Grandma what it was, and she said it was one of the devil’s angels. I’m scared, Roger. I really am.

“Grandma said that once angels like that start, they won’t stop. They’ll haunt me until—until—”

“Until you’re dead?” I asked, fear washing throughout my body. Lillian slowly nodded, and I could see tears begin to swell in her eyes.

“And even then it won’t stop. I need to warn you, Roger. Grandma told me specifically to tell you this.”

Chills ran up my spine, and I fought back the tears.

“It’ll go for you next. It has a pattern that the angel tortures in. I don’t know what it was, but my Grandma knows who it’s going to hurt next. I have to warn you, Roger.”

“No,” I whispered. “No. You’re crazy. I don’t believe you. I never believed in Ouija boards. You’re just telling me crap to scare me. Please stop, Lillian. Please. Just stop…”

“I can’t stop, Roger. It’s true. I know it, you know it. We all know it. Grandma wanted me to tell you that this angel can’t be stopped. We’re all going to die.”

My knees began to shake, and I crouched down, resting my hand on a tombstone. I was shivering.

“I have to go now, Roger. Please don’t tell the others about this. Keep it between you and me. I don’t want to let them know that it’s my fault we’re all going to die. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I—I have to go now.” Lillian left me there, shaking.

I stared at the ground, tears dripping off my nose. My glasses were splattered with salty teardrops.

My phone rang four times before I could get a hold of my self to answer it.

“H-hello?”

“Roger? Have you heard yet?” It was Jen. She was crying.

“Heard what?” I whispered.

“It’s Lillian!” Jen sniffled and continued, “Richard found out this morning. Her parents called him and told him. He’s been calling everyone…”

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

“Lillian’s dead. She was found in her closet this morning. She'd hung herself with a rope. She—” Jen couldn’t continue any further.

I opened my mouth in surprise.

“What? What are you talking about? I just talked to her! She was just here!”

“Roger, she’s been dead for over six hours! Lillian is dead! She’s dead she’s dead she’s dead she’s—”

Uncontrollable weeping.

As everything began to make sense, I couldn’t hold my stomach any longer. Bile was forced out of my mouth with a disgusting taste that reminded me of blood.