EIGHT HOURS UNTIL DAWN

CORA; WASHINGTON LODGE LIBRARY; 23:00

THE LIBRARY FELT COLD, and the only light came from the flickering candles we'd set up around us. The Ouija board lay between us. Chris held the instruction manual in his hand, squinting at it dramatically.

"So it says here," he started, affecting a voice that was way too serious, "to communicate with the spirit world you must free your mind of all preconceptions, drop all inhibitions, and generally give yourself over entirely to the will of others, sublimating your every desire to the whims of the Spirit-master," he cleared his throat, "which is me."

Ashley snorted, folding her arms with a raised eyebrow. "It doesn't say that," she shot back, unimpressed.

Undeterred, Chris continued, glancing at us with a playful glint in his eye. "...and all present will remove their garments at my sole discretion—"

"Chris, come on, this is serious," Josh interrupted. His gaze flicked over to the Ouija board as if he expected it to start moving on its own at any moment.

Chris tried to keep a straight face. "Oh, I'm deadly serious."

I rolled my eyes, a mix of anticipation and exasperation building. "Oh, shush it. Let's just try this already."

Josh nodded quickly, leaning in a little closer. "Yes, please."

Reluctantly, Chris fell in line, putting his fingers on the planchette, and the rest of us followed suit. I felt my own breath slow down as if I was holding it without even realising.

Chris turned his attention to Ashley. "Alright then, let's see what happens. Ashley, since you're the recent convert, why don't you be our medium for tonight?"

Ashley hesitated, her fingers lightly tracing the edge of the planchette. She took a shaky breath. "Okay... Um... Anyone there...?" Her voice was soft. "Will you reveal yourself to us... if you're there...?"

At first, there was nothing, just the hum of silence in the room. Then, slowly, the planchette began to move, inching across the board with an eerie slowness.

Chris's eyes widened. "Wait a minute—"

"Did you do that?" Josh asked, his voice tight with disbelief.

Ashley shook her head quickly, her hand trembling as she barely kept her fingers on the planchette. "I didn't do anything!" she insisted.

The planchette moved again, faster this time. My pulse quickened as I tried to make sense of it.

"It's moving again!" Chris exclaimed.

We all watched in silence as the planchette traced letters. "H..."

Josh leaned in, squinting. "What's it spelling?"

"Hold on," Ashley whispered, focusing hard, as though she were concentrating every ounce of energy into keeping her hand steady.

Josh's brows knitted together. "How's this happening?"

I glanced at Ashley, feeling my own hand tense on the board. "Are you moving it...?"

Ashley looked back at me, shaking her head, her eyes wide. "I swear it's just moving."

Josh exhaled, barely audible. "Holy shit."

The planchette moved again, this time faster, tracing out another word. "Help..."

Chris went silent for a moment, before murmuring, "...How are we supposed to help?"

Ashley looked at the board. "I... I don't know. What does it mean?"

Chris's tone shifted to something more serious. "We need to know who it is if we're supposed to help them."

Ashley, biting her lip, nodded and tried again. "How can we help you...?"

The planchette responded, moving once more across the board with increasing speed.

"Whoa..." Josh muttered, glancing from the board to Ashley and back.

"What's it spelling now?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

Chris squinted at the board, tracing the letters with his eyes. "War...?"

Ashley's voice caught slightly, her hand beginning to shake. "It's moving so fast..."

"Warni..." Chris read aloud.

"Shit," I whispered, my eyes darting between everyone's faces.

"Oh my God..." Ashley's face paled, her voice barely a breath. "Warning?"

A heavy silence hung between us. Chris cleared his throat. "I think... we... really need to find out who's trying to communicate with us."

Ashley swallowed, her fingers visibly trembling as she kept them on the planchette. "...We can't help you if we don't know who you are," she said. "Can you tell us who you are...?"

The planchette jolted under our fingertips, and Ashley sucked in a breath. "Ohh, here it goes—"

Josh watched intently. "Okay. 'S'..."

Ashley's eyes darted to me, and I felt a chill run down my spine. "I..."

Chris's voice was barely a whisper. "S..."

I held my breath, hardly able to blink. "'T'..."

Josh's face tightened as the letters continued to spell out something all too familiar. "E..."

And then Chris whispered the final letter. "'R.'"

"Sister." Ashley looked around at us. "Sister?"

Josh's expression softened, his brow furrowing as he whispered, "Whose sister?"

Chris's eyes darted around the table, and he let out a tense laugh, as though he was trying to convince himself this was still some kind of game. "Oh, come on, is this for real?"

Josh, his expression dark and focused, glared at Chris. "Shut up. Ask it whose sister."

Ashley's voice wavered, barely a whisper now. "Josh... it's... it's gotta be..."

Josh nodded  as his shoulders slumped slightly. "Yeah? Okay... Well... which sister is it then?"

Chris leaned forward. "Ashley, ask who it is."

Ashley hesitated for a moment. "Who are we speaking to...? Hannah...? Is that you?"

The planchette moved decisively, sliding across the board to rest over "Yes."

"Oh God..." she whispered, barely holding her composure.

Chris ran a hand over his face, his attempt at a grin vanishing as quickly as it appeared. "This is messed up."

I glanced at Josh. He was staring hard at the board, a strange mix of tension and something I couldn't quite place in his eyes. "Josh... Are you—?"

He didn't look at me. "I'm fine." His voice was clipped, almost harsh.

I frowned, wanting to say something, but he quickly softened, his gaze shifting towards me, more apologetic. "Please... I just want to hear what it says."

Ashley looked uncertain, her gaze darting between us as if for reassurance, then settled her focus back on the board. "I don't know where to start..."

Chris leaned forward, nodding intently. "Think about it, Ash. If this is actually Hannah... we can find out what happened that night."

Josh's face tightened, but he nodded slowly, almost reluctantly. "...I can handle it."

Ashley swallowed, giving him a hesitant look, before turning back to the board. "Hannah... we miss you... and we want to know what happened to you. Can you tell us... what happened?"

The planchette began to move again, scraping softly over the board as it traced out each letter. "B... E... T... R..."

"Uh oh," Chris murmured, his jaw tightening as he followed each letter.

Ashley's voice wavered. "I don't like this..."

Chris leaned in closer. "Betrayed...?"

Josh's brows knitted together in confusion. "What does she mean—?"

Before he could finish, the planchette jerked, pulling our hands with it as it continued spelling something new. Ashley's eyes widened, fear flashing across her face. "Oh God—K... I... L... L... E... D..."

Ashley's hand flew to her mouth, her eyes shining with a sheen of panic. "We didn't kill them! It was just a prank!"

Chris put a hand on her shoulder. "Ash, calm down, okay? Just— we need to find out more!!"

Her voice broke, full of remorse. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..."

Josh's face paled. "Guys... what do they mean?"

Chris took a breath. "Ask them what happened. It's the only way to know. Ask them, Ash!"

Ashley's fingers hovered, barely touching the planchette now. "Okay... Who killed you? Hannah? Who was it?"

Once again, the planchette moved, and the letters became clear. "L... I... B..."

"Library!" Chris straightened, his gaze darting around the room. "Maybe there's something here—"

The board wasn't done, though. It jerked again. "P... R... O... O..."

Ashley's breath hitched. "Proof? There's... there's proof."

"In the library?" Chris's voice was a whisper now.

Before anyone could react further, the entire board seemed to shudder. The planchette trembled, then flew off the table, sending all of us jerking back instinctively.

Josh flinched, almost shielding himself as he let out a strangled cry. "Watch out!"

"Whoa!" Chris staggered back, his face stricken with shock.

Ashley's hand flew to her chest, her breathing shallow. "Holy shit... Chris."

Josh's expression turned dark, frustration flashing in his eyes. "You know what? No, this is bullshit." He rose to his feet. "This... this isn't real."

"Josh—" Ashley's voice cracked.

Josh whipped around, shaking his head. "I don't know if you think messing with me is somehow going to help me deal with my grief or whatever, but this is not cool."

"Josh, wait—no!" Ashley protested. "You wanted to use the spirit board!"

Chris, standing by Ashley, tried to step in. "Hey, calm down, it's not Ash's fault—"

Josh threw up his hands, shaking his head again. "I don't need this right now, okay? You're all full of it!" He turned and stalked out of the room, his footsteps loud in the stillness of the lodge.

Without thinking, I scrambled to my feet and hurried after him.

"Josh, wait—" I reached out, catching up to him just outside the library door.

He stopped, his shoulders slumping as he let out a shaky breath. His face softened, a flicker of regret crossing his expression as he looked down. "I'm sorry, Coco," He didn't say what he was sorry for, but I felt the weight of it all the same.

"It's alright," I whispered, and without another word, I moved closer, wrapping my arms around him. He didn't pull away, leaning into the hug instead, letting out a deep, unsteady breath.

After a moment, he pulled back, his expression clearing as he looked down the hallway. "Cora, can you... do me a favour?" His voice was soft, almost too calm.

"Anything," I replied, watching him carefully.

He nodded, his gaze distant. "Check up on Mike and Jess. If you hear... weird noises or whatever, coming from the cabin, that means they're good. Just head back here." His mouth curved into a faint smile.

I hesitated, sensing the underlying tension, but nodded. "Alright."

He gave me a small, grateful smile before turning to head down another corridor, leaving me alone in the empty hallway. Taking a breath to steady myself, I turned toward the path leading out to the trail, feeling the chill deepen as I stepped outside, a shiver running through me as I set off down the snow-covered path.

CORA; PATH TO THE CABIN;  23:22

I SWITCHED ON my phone's flashlight, the weak beam slicing through the dark as I moved further down the snow-covered path. The wind felt sharper, carrying with it the chill of isolation. The snow crunched softly beneath my boots.

In the corner of my eye I saw something strange off to the side of the path. The snow was disturbed, deep, heavy footprints pressed into the powder. My pulse quickened as I studied the impressions; they were far larger than any human's, uneven, as though something heavy had passed through. It looked like... claws? 

Just as I bent down to examine them more closely, a high-pitched, guttural scream sliced through the air. The sound sent a shock straight through me. Heart hammering, I staggered back, almost dropping my phone. Whatever was out there felt wrong, like it didn't belong in these woods.

Fear surged, and I turned, breaking into a sprint, feeling the snow slip under my feet as I ran. Each breath hitched in my chest, coming fast and shallow, as the trees blurred around me. I didn't look back; all I could do was focus on the faint lights ahead — the cabin.

Bursting through the door, I barely registered the warmth inside as I slammed it shut and doubled over, bracing myself on my knees as I tried to catch my breath. The flickering light from the fireplace cast Mike and Jessica in a warm glow, the two of them curled up on the couch, clearly startled by my entrance. 

Mike stood up, coming over to me, his brows furrowed with concern. ''Hey, are you alright?''

I nodded, still struggling to steady my breathing. ''Something... I swear... it was after me.''

Jessica raised an eyebrow and leaned forward, a sly smirk on her face as though she was only half-convinced. "Yeah, it chased us down too,'' she remarked, crossing her arms. ''But I don't think it was an 'it.' ''

She stood up and strode to the door. My pulse still thundered, and I stared at her in disbelief as she threw open the door and stepped out into the night.

Jessica cupped her hands around her mouth, her voice echoing into the woods. ''HEY! YEAH! PRICKS! THAT MEANS YOU! I KNOW you're OUT THERE! The FUCK are you trying to do!? You want to ruin our fun THAT BAD?!''

I winced, half-expecting another scream in response, but Jess seemed unfazed. She took a deep breath and continued her tirade. ''Well GUESS WHAT? You can't! You can't ruin our good time! Because Michael and I are gonna FUCK!'' She laughed. ''That's right! We are going to have SEX! And it's gonna be HOT! So ENJOY IT! Because I know WE'RE GOING TO!''

With one last look into the darkness, she spun on her heel and slammed the door shut, muttering, ''Oh, give me a break.' 'She turned, looking as though she'd won some twisted argument.

Before I could say a word or leave to give them some privacy, a loud crash shattered the air, and the next thing I knew, Jessica was screaming, her body forcefully dragged backward. My heart dropped as I watched, horrified, as she was pulled through the window in an instant. The scream cut off as abruptly as it began, leaving Mike and me frozen.

"Jess!" Mike cried, snapping back into action, rushing to the window with panic etched on his face.

All I could do was stare.

words: 2259

A/N

aww he didn't want her to be a part of the revenge. such a gentleman, right?