"Deborah.... Deborah wake up! Deborah!"

Lori tried to scream, but her throat was so constricted with fear that it could only manage a few dry whispers. Her sleeping friend, Deborah, ignored the raspy cries completely.

"Deborah look at the board!"

But of course, even if Deborah had awakened, there was nothing for her to see. The wooden planchette rested on the final letter of the Ouija board's message, as if it had been sitting there all along. But it hadn't. It DID move... didn't it?

It was still freezing in the room, and Lori began to shiver. After a few more seconds of steadily decreasing temperatures, Lori regained enough control over herself to slowly inch away from the Ouija board.

The whispering started immediately. It was louder than before... more insistent. She still couldn't quite understand the words... but the overwhelming sense of panic and desperation was impossible to miss.

"G-go away! Go away! Deborah , please wake up!"

Deborah rolled over in her sleep, but continued snoring. The whispers got louder, and suddenly the words began to coalesce...

"...sss...pleasss..."

"Oh, God!"

"...oard...the board...pl...elp me..."

Lori clapped her hands over her ears, but the insane, desperate voice droned on unabated. It was as if she weren't even hearing it with her ears... like the voice was in her *mind.*

"stopstopstop Please go away!"

"...board..."

"Okay... okay just stoppit!"

Lori scooted forward and placed both hands on the planchette. The whispering vanished immediately.

"Okay..." said Lori. "Okay... w-what do you want"

The planchette moved. This time Lori was *certain* that she was using her own muscles... but when she concentrated on her arms, the movement stopped. When she focused her attention on something else... like how scared she was... the movement continued.

H-E-L-P M-E.

"I'm dreaming...this isn't real, this is just a dream..."

The planchette slid across the board and stopped on the "NO."

"W-who are you?"

F-R-A-N-K W-A-I-D

Lori swallowed. The name should have meant nothing to her, but it wasn't familiar. She was about to ask another question when-

"Oh God, you're DEAD! On TV! I saw... I saw your name on TV! You're dead!"

D-O-N-T B A-F-R-A-I-D
P-L-E-A-S-E H-E-L-P M-E

"No!" Lori backed away from the board. The whispering started again... louder and more insistent this time.

Lori finally managed a scream.

"Go away. Leave me alone! GO AWAAAY!"

The voice vanished and Deborah sat bolt upright in the bed. She grabbed her head and grimaced in pain.

"OUCH! What the Hell!"

"Deborah did you see it! Did you hear!"

"I heard you screaming in my ears! What's going... Oh, shit," Deborah looked down at the Ouija board. "You weren't playing with that board were you?"

"No! I mean yes! It... It MADE me do it! It wouldn't leave me alone! It TALKED!"

"Oh shit, Lori!"

"It was REAL! It was really REAL! I was talking to Frank Waid. Remember him... on the news? He wanted me to help him!"

"Lori, I hope you were dreaming. You were dreaming, right? This is a joke?"

"No!"

Deborah jumped out of bed and snatched the Ouija board off of the floor.

"Lori this is serious. You're not putting me on?"

"No! Look!" Lori reached for the board, but Deborah turned away suddenly, yanking the board out of Lori's reach.

"Uh-uh... this is dangerous." She broke the cheap cardboard in her hands and ripped it down the middle, then threw both halves into the closet.

"What'd you do THAT for!"

"Because it's for real! It's not supposed to be for REAL... just a game. Geez they should put warning labels on those things!"

"But, Deborah we can TALK to it!"

"Lori! It was a GHOST! You don't talk to ghosts!"

"I did! Maybe we can put the board back together-" Lori stood and walked toward the closet. Deborah stepped in front of her.

"Look... seriously. If it was for real... if it was REALLY for real...then you can be in DEEP shit, okay? Ghosts are like...evil. You keep talking to it and it'll try to possess you or rape you in your sleep or something! Just leave it alone."

"But-"

"Leave it alone, Lori! If it happens again we gotta tell my mom!"

"NO! Your mom is a nutcase and YOU KNOW IT! She'll have me locked away or something!"

"Well, we'll tell your mom!"

"Yeah, right. What's SHE gonna do?"

"Okay. Okay, this didn't happen, okay? It was a bad dream. Just a nightmare. Okay?"

"But-"

"It was a DREAM, okay! Geez!"

The girls heard the apartment door open and then slam.

"Your mom!" whispered Lori.

A heavy key ring hit the kitchen counter, and footsteps approached Deborah's room.

"Deborah!" The voice was high, and heavily saturated with a thick, southern drawl.

"In here mom!"

The room door opened and Mrs. Jenkins, a short, wide brunette who was well into her forties, leaned in. She was grasping her bible tightly and holding it to her chest like child would hold her favorite doll.

"What are you two doing up?"

"Uhh..."

"Lori had a bad dream. Isn't that right, Lori?"

"Uhh.. Y-yeah. Dream. Besides... the power went out, see-" Lori pointed to the alarm clock that was still flashing 12:00.

"Satan's sure been busy tonight. You girls say your prayers?"

"Yes." Both girls lied simultaneously.

"Why is it so cold in here?"

"I don't know... is the heat off?"

"No, it's fine out in the hall. I swear, that devil just keeps a-runnin' around... Well, Ms. Lori, are you spendin' the night?"

"No!" blurted Deborah. "She...uh... was waiting for you to come so you could take her home."

"Well I'm sorry I made y'all wait so long... But God keeps odd hours, you know. The war against the wicked don't stop because of darkness."

"We saw you on TV Mrs. Jenkins. At the protest."

"You did!" The middle-aged woman began to blush. "How did I look? Was my hair straight?"

"Mom, you were SPITTING on people!"

"Oh, I was not... I was spitting AT people, there's a difference. One's illegal, the other ain't. Besides, that policeman insulted Reverend Jericho."

"Probably with good reason, mom. The guy's a-"

"Young lady, don't you start! I will NOT have you talkin' bad about Jericho. He's a great man..."

"Mom-"

"I meant it. He's probably the only one in this country that knows what's going on. He's a God-send. Sent by God to gather his children-"

"Mom, please..."

"And you'd be wise to pay more attention to what he says. We're all in danger; there's more and more of them Sovereigns just a-poppin' up out of the ground every day! The End is comin' and Reverend Jericho is the only one who can save us."

"So he's gonna stop the end of the world, mom? Come on-"

"It's not about stoppin' it, girl... It's about keepin' our souls and families intact with all of the devil's footsoldiers runnin' loose in the streets. Reverend Jericho says that the gates of Hell have been flung wide. The Sovereigns are here to do the devil's work. They'll tempt us with their false miracles... and those who won't be tempted will be destroyed."

"Okay, mom."

"It's true! They've already placed themselves above man's law, so you know the Law of the Lord don't mean diddly to 'em. The only hope is for the true believers in our Lord Jesus Christ to band together and fight..."

"Mrs. Jenkins... I'd like to go home now." Lori put on her best 'weary and exhausted' expression, which wasn't too much of a stretch from how she actually felt.

"Oh you poor soul. Look at me just goin' on while your mother must be worried sick. Maybe we should call her-"

"She's fine. I... uhh.. called her earlier."

"Yeah," corroborated Deborah. "She did."

"Okay then, let's get you home."

Without bothering to drop her Bible, Mrs. Jenkins grabbed her keys from the counter and headed for the door.

"You wanna ride, Deborah?"

"Uh... no, mom."

"You get back into bed then. And say your prayers!"

"Said 'em already mom..."

"Well say 'em again. You can never pray TOO much. And the devil's been awful busy tonight."

"Sure has," mumbled Lori as she left the apartment. She looked back at Deborah who was just closing the door. Lori made a 'zipping' motion with her fingers across her lips and then pointed sharply at Debbie. Debbie shut the door without responding.

---

Lori lived in an apartment complex that was only three miles away... literally just down the street. The car ride was mercifully short, with Mrs. Jenkins humming an off-key gospel tune for the entire five minute trip.

"So how's you mother doing?" she asked as they pulled into the complex. The clock on the dash read 1:23am which meant that Lori's mother probably well into an alcoholic stupor by now.

"Same as always," replied Lori. "She's probably sleeping."

"Maybe you and your mother should come to the Church with me. Reverend Jericho preaches a mean sermon... It could do you both a lot of good."

"Uhh... I'll mention it to mom."

"Oh, who am I foolin? You'll mention but she won't be listenin.' You poor girl."

"Well maybe YOU should talk to her. You guys used to be friends back before... you know..."

"I would if I thought it would help. Here we are-" Mrs. Jenkins pulled into a parking space in front of Lori's unit. Lori opened the door and hopped out.

"I'll be prayin' for ya."

"OkayMrs.JenkinsBYE!" Lori sped away, happy to be out of the car and away from her friend's mom. She shot up the concrete steps and jammed her key into the door. Lori wasn't at all surprised to find it unlocked.

"Dammit, mom." she mumbled. The apartment was dark, though it was not freezing cold as it had been for the past few nights.

"'Least she got the heat fixed."

"Zat you Lorraine!" A slurred voice called from the sofa. Lori's mother, tall, blonde, and extremely drunk, was just rolling over. An empty vodka bottle tumbled out of her lap, but fortunately it didn't shatter when it hit the stained rug. She had apparently passed out while pretending to watch the burned-out television set.

"Yeah, it's me."

"Waaar you doin' home solate!

"What time is it, mom?"

"Ish four o'clock ina mornin! Where you been doin' all night!"

"The clocks are wrong, mom. It's only one-thirty, and I've been at Deborah's. Can I go to bed now?"

"You... better not be sick ina mornin... you're NOT gonna miss a day of shool!"

"Sick? You're getting ME confused with YOU again. And tomorrow is Sunday."

"I don' care! You git to bed!"

"Geez, what a nightmare," mumbled Lori.

"Huh? Wazzat?"

"Nothing, mom." Lori sighed and trudged off to her room. After locking the door and pulling off her clothes, Lori threw herself onto the bed and tried to relax. She stared up at the ceiling while her body wound down from its pervious high. Now, with several minutes of reality between the present moment and her experience with the Ouija board, Lori was now convinced that she had imagined the entire ordeal. Ouija boards? The ghost of Frank Waid? No... the whole thing was a carry-over from some nightmare she'd been having. Lori hoped that Deborah wouldn't think she was crazy... losing her best friend because of some nightmare would be more than she could bear. But what if Deborah told her mother? Or worse yet... someone at school?

"Great." said Lori. "I'm gonna be an outcast for life. The girl who talks to ghosts. Just great."

Lori rolled over and slid under the covers. Her mind slowed down until finally she was asleep.

---

"...me...listen... help..."

"hmmm?" Lori rolled over and squinted at her alarm clock. The mechanical dial read 4:50.

"...Lori...help...only..."

"mom leave me alone..." Lori shut her eyes turned away from the sound, only to find that she couldn't. The incessant whispering was the same no matter which way she lay.

And it was freezing cold in the room.

"AIIIIIGH!!!!" Lori sat up and looked around. There was no one there. No one except for-

"...Waid...help.. can...hear me Lori? Please talk to me!"

"MOOOOMMMMM!!!!!"

 

[To Be Continued]