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Em wriggled on the wet grass ground, fighting off whatever was scorching her body as a whole from the inside. She resisted its touch and presence making it hard for her to breathe; yet, she knew she was trying hard to keep something away from her.   

The soft grass, mild breeze, an owl hooting somewhere and a wretched crow's caws can be heard in her subconscious mind; but, something from the sky was pinning her down, making it difficult to break out from her paralysis.

Although her hands were numb stoned, she could feel another pair of hands from her shoulders pushing a burning coal away from her heart and at last, she won; the burning vanished making her heart freeze. The ice on her face and body woke her up.

She gasped awake, feeling distorted; and confused to feel the lashing rain. Each drop felt like a shot of paintball. Em quickly got up and ran to her home, scared and angry.

When she opened the door, got in and breathed out with one hand on her knees and the other on the doorknob, panting as if she had finished a marathon race, their maid and Nanny gasped to find Em, out this late; soaking wet.

"What were you doing outside?"

"Uh..." her teeth clattered and she shivered badly.

"Oh, get her a towel, she is cold," Nanny ordered their maid and she scurried off. When the towel was placed on her, another warm towel was used to rub water awy from her hair and face.

"Poor Lucy, she hasn't woke up yet and we fear the dreaded." Nanny's words perked Emily's interest.

"What dreaded thing?" 

"Oh, nothing." nanny closed her mouth shut into a grim line as if she had spoken something she shouldn't have.

"I ask you, nanny, what dreaded thing do you fear?"

"Nothing I said, don't ask further questions."

"You all are hiding something, tell me."

"Nothing!" nanny yelled at Em who was persistent in getting what she wanted to know.

Em got up angrily and walked out to find her parents. She searched everyone only to find them all huddled beside Lucy. When Em saw the state of Lucy, she melted at the sight.

Lucy was pale and very bluish from the lips. She looked frozen into time though she did take shallow breaths. She coughed once and again, rather violently, making her torso bounce up and down in the bed. Em caught Katie's eyes and found it hard to keep looking. She looked away and saw Tina was the only one praying hard. Mina looked constipated as she wanted to do something to help the dire state but didn't know what.

"Father..." Em called out.

Julian turned around from the group of men, by the corner. He sat straight, waiting for Em to speak but suddenly she didn't know what she wanted to ask. She looked at a horrified looking nanny by the door and decided she will ask it again.

"Is there some family history that you are hiding from us?"

"What?" Julian asked, capturing the interest of everyone in the room.

"Is there some information kept away from us?" Em asked again.

"Nothing that I know off; why do you ask?"

"Nothing... I, nothing... sorry," Em stammered and then went out from the room hastily.

Katie, Tina, and Mina followed.

Once when they reached their room, Katie was the first to speak, "what did you mean by that question Em?"

"I don't know... it feels like they are keeping something from us. I feel like they know something and they suspect it too. I don't know."

"What happened to you?" Mina voiced her concern.

"Well, something indescribably strange happened to me."

While Em explained what happened to her, Lucy saw a dream.

In fact, Lucy wasn't aware of her unconscious state. To her, she was living in bridge mansion with the family as that five-year-old girl. Saiorse was giving her the medicine from the secret vial often.

Her father was growing too much addicted to Saiorse that the young girl saw the deadly sin by her own innocent eyes one day. As she ran through the house to inform her mom who was in her boudoir, powdering her face to attend a ball that evening, the young girl was shooed away by the parlor maids and by her mother itself. Dejected, she walked away to the tree in the further corner and tried to forget the bad thing she saw.

After what felt like hours, she walked back to the room to find many people gathered around. Most of them were familiar to her. Confused, she pushed through people and found her father sobbing badly in the living room. When she walked to him, he hugged her close and cried.

Saiorse plucked her from his hands and walked her down to her room and instructed that she be put in there until she was called. Not knowing what was happening, she stayed there; afraid to defy Saiorse, walking in circles. After so many hours, her father came and sobbed again hugging her, breaking the fragile news.

Her mother passed away.

Struck by shock, the young girl fell into a coma and stayed limp in her father's hands.

Lucy suddenly woke up as the girl in her form in the dream fell down to the man's hands.

"She was killed, oh no, she was killed." Lucy kept muttering until she woke up with a dreadful sob.

All three mothers attended her lovingly as she cried to them, trying to talk about the dream she saw desperately but couldn't.

Meanwhile, as Em finished her bizarre story, Mina was trying hard to force them to play the Ouija board game with her.

"I am telling you, it's all mind's play." 

"I don't believe in that either." Katie stood firm in her point that she didn't want to try it at all since she has never believed in anything slightly paranormal or preternatural.

"Look, as far as I have understood, Ouija board works as we put our concentration and full trust into it which in turn hypnotize us in a way making our subconscious- that is linked to our soul, who knows everything, answers us. It is not by some ghost or stuff. And it is not a portal if opened at the wrong time and kept away as such; that is all hogwash created by movies to get us in the flow. Guys, think about it."

"So you are saying, while we play this, the board hypnotize us and make our subconscious answer what we want to know? You know what, that is hogwash." Emily said with her pointed finger jabbed in the air, pointing at Mina who had her hands raised in disbelief.

"Guys, the board don't hypnotize us. Our concentration and the determination to know the answer hidden in us, help us make the planchette move and get answers."

"Just stop talking; I know you believe in ghosts and stuff and you know there is something wrong and messed up with it and you are willing to take a chance here. Mina, I don't allow it." Tina said.

"You know me too well twin but not much. I am serious; we can speak with the dead if we are powerful enough to telepath with the dead one's soul. Even though they are dead, they roam the ground for a reason. They might not have died peacefully."

"Just what is your overall speculation, Mina?" Katie asked curiously.

"I think a dead spirit is haunting you since you woke up the thing from its resting place. The thing might not have realized it is dead until you showed up and now it wants revenge because its life was cut short. I think a dead spirit of an unnatural death is haunting you."

Everyone was silent, they had to admit; a part of them believed Mina because they were not too sure of anything as of yet. However, Mina had some truth to her words and they perfectly knew it, unable to deny. Everything started to happen after they went to that wretched house. 'Oh, why did we have to stumble there of all places'; Katie sighed audibly feeling broken and scared for everyone.

Lucy once calmed down wanted to find her sisters so bad to warn them and tell them what was happening. Though her parents didn't allow her to walk out, she insisted she was fine and came to the room where the four girls were sitting in different position, all lost in their own thoughts.

"Guys..." Lucy called out feebly.

Once they heard Lucy's voice, Katie and Emily ran to hug her crushingly as they fell down altogether into the ground, laughing and crying uniformly.

"Please listen to me, this is important. I think I know what is happening to us and we need to hurry. The dreams that I am seeing is for a reason, the girl might be warning me. I was right all along. We are in grave danger. Oh, why did we have to go to that wretched place again and again?"

"Calm down... say it all again." Katie nervously chuckled listening to Lucy ranting out, as words jumped on one another making it hard to understand.

Slowly, Lucy explained what was happening to her in her dreams and everyone listened attentively.

"Thus, I am telling you, we need to talk to our elders, we need to let them know."

"You are saying you are possessed?"

"I have no clue, but when I am in my dream, I wake up and I am like that girl. How can that happen? Maybe realistic dreaming... I don't know, I don't care, and we need to find help."

"Lucy, I don't think..."

"For once in your life, believe me, Emily, I am not joking and neither am I being a crybaby with a soft heart and open mind to things that are not tangible and understandable. I believe what I feel and I believe what our scriptures teach us."

Lucy's angry and desperate outburst stilled time and neither of the girls had the heart to say otherwise. Though Katie and Emily were still debating the truthfulness, Katie surprised everyone and spoke out, "Ok, what do we need to do, Luce?"

Emily whipped her head to Katie. Even Lucy looked at Katie disbelievingly.

"I... I,"

"I say we play the Ouija board, come on if you are ready to accept that... that, ghosts and as such exist, why can't you accept that your subconscious mind has the power to answer your questions?" Mina pointed out, slightly angrily.

"Ouija board...! Are you insane? I don't want anywhere near that thing. That is pure evil and I have no idea if you believe it or not, check it out... everywhere, I am sure you will hear that it's evil."

"For a person who believes in God, it's strange to know that you believe a board is actually evil," Mina said mockingly.

"I don't care; I have researched about it too much to know what I believe. I am sorry Mina; call me out if you guys are going to play it."

"No, no... we are not playing it. But do tell me, what do you wish to do now?" Katie said.

"I don't know, we should let them know."

"Alright!" Katie said and got up from the foot of the bed to inform their parents of the expedition that went wrong in all the wrong points.

But that was not necessary because Lydia and Katy walked into the room asking, "Should let who know what guys?"

"Umm, mom... is there something wrong with bridge mansion."

Katie and everyone present in their room saw the drastic changes in their face that were flipped like a switch. From playful expression, it suddenly changed to being scared; pure terror.

"Why do you ask Katie?" she asked tentatively.

Something in Katie and the rest was telling that what they were going to tell was a bad thing but nonetheless it has to be done; it has to be said.

"Umm, we might have gone there and..."

"Might?" Lydia's face was void of any color. It was as if she saw a ghost right in the room with the rest of the flesh and blood.

"Umm, earlier, we stumbled by that path and we had a look at it because we were so curious..."

Katie was never allowed to finish the sentence because; Lydia and Katy had already started yelling for Patrick, Julian and Peter. Their scared yells alarmed everyone in the big house and it was just chaos.

Only the girls stood bewildered, wondering if entering the house was a good thing or a bad thing. Majority of their gut scales flopped to the bad side; making their heart thunder in panic.

To amplify their terror, Patrick ran inside to ask what and upon hearing the term, "they went to bridge mansion," all color drained from his face looking at Katie, Emily, and Lucy with a pain-stricken face.  

_________

What is wrong with that place?

more like everything? We will know soon! ;)

Comment your opinions.