The Conjuring

Sandy's Mansion

Sandy sat down on the couch, berating herself for buying an old Ouija board that may not even work. Why did I drive so far out of the way to go to that little shop? Chills ran up her spine as she remembered the store owner, her expression when she looked back to thank her.  Sinister, evil... Why, what did I do to her to make her look at me like that?

Sandy shook herself, calming herself as she set up the Ouija board. It sure looked old, and it had writing on it! Squinting, trying to make out what it said, she used her sleeve to rub off some of the dust that collected on it. It glowed a ghastly green for just a second — Shaking her head, "I'm tired, my imagination's playing tricks." 

She inhaled deeply, letting her breath out slowly before putting her hand on the planchette. She turned it to B, forward to O, then back to... The board began to shake, the Planchette spun wildly — Sandy jumped up and backed away from the Ouija board. 

When the Planchette came to an abrupt stop, it began to spell out something Sandy couldn't decipher. Scratching her head, she put her hand once more on the Planchette but jerked back when a high-pitched sound echoed outside, shaking the windows. Goosebumps popped up along her arms as she waited for God knows what. She could feel her heart beat faster, her pulse drummed in her ears. An eerie banshee-like call sounded closer this time. Shaking like a leaf, Sandy crawled underneath her dining room table and cowered there, rocking back and forth chanting, “Bob, Bob, Bob, please come help me.”

Nearby, a figure towered over one of the statues located in the garden. It moved closer toward the house until it could see inside, long talons scratched D I E in the window.
   
Kerrie's Home                                             

A crash of thunder, followed by lightning flashes chased Kerri into her house. She kicked off her shoes at the door, padded into the bathroom to take off her nurse’s uniform, and tossed it into the hamper before stepping inside the shower stall. The spray soothed her tired body. Toweling dry, she put her long blond hair up into a messy bun and walked into the bedroom to put on her favorite pink sweats.

Kerri just got comfortable on the couch when her phone rang, Sighing, she answered, “Hello?”

“Oh, Ker-r-r- ri!” My best friend's voice wailed in my ear. “I j-just did something stupid! I purchased this ancient Ouija board from this out-of-way shop the other day…”

"Sandy, what's wrong?"

“I bought this Ouija board and played around with it just a wee bit. I turned the planchette to the letters B and O and then it went crazy on me. I think it c-conjured up something all on its own, I can't explain what. You must see it for yourself. Can you please come over?"

“Ouija boards! Come on, Sandy, they’re creepy! Why would you even want to…?”

“I know, I know!” Sandy interrupted. “Don't scold me, Kerri, but it’s the only way I could think of to communicate with Bob. Please come, I’m scar…”

The phone went dead. “Sandy … Sandy … SANDY!” Dropping the phone in disgust, Kerri rushed over to the window, biting her lip as she sized up the weather outside. Oh, how I hated going out into that! I could hear the wind howl through the closed windows. The rain was coming down in torrents, making it hard to see out. What should I do? My best friend needed me, and I can't leave her all alone with God knows what.

Kerri made up my mind. She didn’t bother to change. just grabbed her raincoat from the hall closet, and scribbled a quick note for her husband, Phil, who was working late tonight at the office. She ran over to the couch to grab her phone, dropped it into her purse, and opened the door. The wind was blowing so hard, she knew it was going to be hard driving, but belted her raincoat, and raised its hood before slipping back into her shoes. Taking a deep breath, she ran out the door to her car. 

Kerri did a lot of judging where the road was as the torrential rains made it hard to see. She prayed she would reach Sandy's home without any mishaps. It was still raining hard, but now she could at least see Sandy's tarred road up ahead. She turned, and her thoughts once again returned to Sandy's phone call. Why would she play around with something that she didn’t know anything about? What was she thinking? I knew she missed Bob, but I never expected her to try to conjure him.

The rain finally eased up and Kerri could see the shadows of twin silos that belonged to Sandy’s neighbor. He always had around five-yard lights lighting up his spacious yard. She passed slowly by his place... What was that? A huge bird-like shadow flew up over the top of the barn, over the silos, and the treetops before disappearing. Staring upwards in disbelief, she felt her front tires sink into the side of the road and snapped my attention back on my driving. She turned the wheel, getting all my tires back on the tarred road. Whew! I don’t want to be stuck out here with that thing flying overhead. She checked the treetops once more, needing a reasonable explanation as to what on earth could be that large and still fly?"

Shaking her head, Kerri started the car and continued down the road, her attention still on the sky. She slowed down to turn onto Sandy's driveway and made her way past the beautiful, white marble pillars that she always admired. She stopped the car under the carport and noticed that Sandy was waiting by the door. Kerri waved, reached inside for her keys, and pushed the remote button to lock the car, before running over to hug her. She pulled me inside and slammed the door, “Oh, Keri, I’m so glad you’re here.”

“I came as quick as I could.” I couldn't believe my eyes as I stared at my elegant friend. Her hair was uncombed, her fingernails chewed to the bone, some even looked as if they were bleeding, and her eyes looked swollen with mascara still clinging to her eyelashes. “Sandy, I’m here now, come on, let’s sit down and talk about it." Kerri gently put her arm around her shoulders and guided her to the couch. Papers were strewn everywhere, books half opened on her coffee table, and cigarette butts were half in and half out of the ashtray. Great! She started to smoke again. Her house, always so neat and clean, looked every bit as disheveled as she did.

“I should never have bought that stupid thing!” Big teardrops fell down her cheeks onto her robe. “That Ouija board is possessed, I just know it! Do you know how I know it? I keep throwing it into the trash can outside, but somehow it keeps finding its way back inside. It’s creeping me out!”

Sandy looked so forlorn and scared, worry wrinkled the skin around her eyes and on her brow.

“Are you sure you threw the Ouija board out?"

“Yes, I threw it out!” she shrieked, staring daggers at me.

“Okay, Okay, I believe you,” patting her hand, trying to calm her down.

She took a huge breath and began telling me what happened. “Well, it all started a couple of days ago when I found this out-of-the-way shop that seemed to beckon me to it. When I entered, the pull was so strong that before I knew it, I was staring at this ancient Ouija board. I thought this would have the power to bring Bob back to me. I paid this spooky little old lady and left, feeling as if I found what I’d been looking for. Oh, how I couldn’t wait to get home..."

“Oh, Sandy, I know you missed Bob, but I didn’t realize how much.”

Nodding her head, she continued. Being that I drove more miles than I thought, it was around twelve when I got home, the bewitching hour. I should have waited until the next day, but I was so sure I'd be seeing Bob again that I became impatient. I set up the Ouija board and began turning the planchette, I got to O when it went all crazy on me, spelling out a name I didn't catch. The letters flew by so fast, it wouldn't let me stop its progress. A few minutes later, I heard these horrendous shrieks outside, kinda high pitched, you know, like a banshee. Then it stopped - All was silent before starting up a half-hour later. I called my neighbors when that horrible noise stopped, wondering if they heard anything out of the ordinary. They told me no, so I wondered if I must be losing my mind,” Sandy gave a huge shuddering sigh, then laid her head on my shoulder.

“You know, I did see a large flying object as I drove past your neighbor’s place."

“Oh my god, it’s true then!” Sandy jumped up, shaking her finger at me. “I've been seeing this horrible creature flying overhead when I go outside. It's as if it’s stalking me and won't leave me in peace."

“What exactly is it?”

“Well, I don't know exactly, but it looks evil. It's got these red eyes that seem to glow in the dark, it sort of resembles a Mothman in appearance. You know, the one they showed on the Discovery Channel."

"A Mothman! Sandy, they’re not evil. I heard they warn people of danger, you don't need to fear it. Maybe this thing is warning you about something."

“I said it resembles a Mothman," Sandy sighed. "It shrieks like a banshee, it dived-bombed me a couple of times, so I know it means me harm. If it’s trying to intimidate me, it's working, because I'm scared to death!"

“I know it’s hard to lose someone you loved so much. I think I'll call Phil; he should be home from his meeting by now." Kerri walked toward the phone, but Sandy stopped me midway.

"Kerri, don’t you remember? The phone’s dead.”

"Oh, damn it, that's right, so I'll use my cell pho..." I groaned, "Great! I was so excited to see you again, I left my purse in the car where the phone is in."

Sandy rocked back and forth, wringing her hands, moaning, “What are we going to do now?”

“Calm down, I’ll run out to my car and be back before you know it."

"I'm coming with you; I'm not staying here by myself.”

Hearing the strain in her voice, Kerri nodded okay. I really couldn’t blame her for being scared because I didn't want to be alone either. Opening the door, Kerri stepped out with Sandy who closed the door behind us. We did a count 1 2 3 Go! We raced to the car and tried opening the car door.

Kerri's hands were shaking so badly that she couldn’t even grasp the handle. Remembering that she locked the door when she arrived... "Damn it! The door's locked!" Hitting the top of the car hard with her hand, Kerri shrank back when Sandy screamed. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Happy about being under a carport, Kerri turned and led the way toward the entranceway with Sandy sticking to her like glue. When she tried to open the door, she found that it was locked too.

"Oh, no! I decided to have the doors automatically locked since that creature showed up. I usually carry the key with me, but I wasn’t thinking. This whole experience has left me scatterbrained. What are we going to do?”

"Sandy, I know you’ve been through so much already, but you need to think of a safe, warm place for us to stay. It's way too dark to walk over to your neighbors, and I don’t want to freeze.”

"Well, t-there's a storm cellar and a p-potting shed on the south side of the house."

Staying in the shadows, we walked along the house until reaching the corner. Kerri checked... Nothing... Signing to Sandy that they were going to make a run for it, an eerie, high-pitched sound echoed through the night sky. Softly crying, Sandy stared helplessly at me and we pushed back into the shadows.

An ear-splitting banshee screech sounded way too close for comfort, and Kerri decided that it was now or never. She took off as fast as her feet would go toward the storm shelter with Sandy glued to her hip. I looked up now and then, hoping that thing wouldn't pounce. A loud and distinct whooshing and flapping sounded overhead, followed by another ear-piercing screech making itself known. Sandy, shaking like a leaf, clutched at my sleeve when the creature landed right on top of the entryway to the storm shelter, blocking our way. Could that thing read minds? That's a scary scenario!

It stood there staring, its evil red eyes glared at us, daring us to approach. Terrified, we didn't know if we should run or wait to see what it would do. There wasn't any other place to go now but the potting shed behind us. Kerri made a sign to back up. Just barely pulling herself together, Sandy stepped back while Kerri followed, and we kept doing this slowly and steadily, not wanting to draw that thing's attention to what we were trying to do; unfortunately, it caught on. Every time we took a step back, the creature took a step forward. Kerri said a prayer and turned and thankfully, Sandy did the same. Its hot breath on my back made me push Sandy to go faster, and as Kerri dived for the potting shed's door, sharp claws dug into the skin on her shoulder, stopping her progress. An excruciating pain made me scream bloody murder. It held me in this manner, seeming to enjoy itself. Kerri felt blood running down her back, and her shirt became drenched with sweat and blood. As suddenly as he clamped his claw on her shoulder, it abruptly let go and Kerri collapsed to the ground.

The creature had turned his attention to Sandy, who was running toward the house. His claw grabbed her by her collar, yanking her towards him and when he looked ready to take flight, Kerri screamed, “Sandy, untie your belt and slip out of the robe.”

Sighing with relief when Sandy escaped just as the creature flew up with her robe still in his clutches. Running towards me with so much speed, we both stumbled inside the potting shed and collapsed on the bench. Sandy shook so badly that she had a hard time opening my shirt to check my injuries.

“Thank you for your quick thinking, I thought I was a goner.” Sandy walked over to a medicine cabinet and came back to clean my wounds with disinfectant. She put a salve on Kerri's deep cuts and secured a bandage in place.

“Ahh, that feels better already! Thank you.” Shaking out of her damp shirt, not wanting to put it back on, Kerri tossed it into the garbage. Where are we going to go next? We need to get back into the house![/i}

"Oh, my God, we are going to die, aren’t we?" Sandy gave voice to my fears.

“No!” Kerri said forcefully, determined that she wasn’t going down without a fight. She checked out the potting shed. "B-bob didn't own any weapons, did he?"

"No-o — wait — he did have a compound bow, but it's stored in the basement with all his other stuff."

"Great! I suppose there isn't any way we can get to it."

"We could break a window!" Sandy jumped up, excited that she thought of something helpful.

"Do you know how to shoot the compound bow if we do find it?" Kerri asked Sandy as she walked over to the door.

"I practiced with Bob many times," Sandy said. "I don't know, it's been five years, but I think I still have the strength to shoot it."

"We'll wait until the time comes to deal with that problem; right now, all we have to do is make it to your patio door." Kerri opened the door to the potting shed and looked around to make sure their unwanted guest was nowhere to be seen. Nothing... They both dashed to the side of the house. The sky looked brighter now without the rain clouds and with the moon shining down, They could see the way. Which meant, the creature could see us, too.

Staying in the shadows, we moved around the house and made it to Sandy’s pride and joy, her gardens. As we hovered near the patio door, Kerri looked around for something to throw. Spotting a large planter nearby, she bent to see if she could pick it up when something smelled foul… That’s weird! She took a whiff of the pot when she felt large drops splashing down on her bare skin. Kerri looked up, wondering if it started to rain again, and her whole body shook, in shock at what she saw. There on the roof, its red evil eyes staring down at her, its mouth dripping saliva. I screamed.

At the same time, Sandy checked the patio door to see if it would open. When she heard me scream, her adrenaline kicked in and pushed at the patio door. It opened just as a whooshing, flapping sound from above made us both fall inside the house. Jumping up, Kerri quickly closed and locked the door.

"That thing just won’t leave us alone,” Sandy said, as we both crawled out of sight.

Wasting no time, we made our way around toward the basement door. Opening it, we walked down the steps. "You kept all of Bob's belongings!" Boxes of stuff took up two-thirds of the basement area!

"I couldn't part with any of his stuff," Sandy wistfully looked around at Bob's belongings. She spotted a large box that might hold the compound bow and went over to check it out. “Found it!” Sandy held up the bow. “See, aren’t you glad I kept all his stuff.”

“Yes, we at least have a chance now.” Spotting the arrows, Kerri grabbed the carrying case they were in and took off upstairs.

"We’ll hunt it down," Sandy squared her shoulder and straightened her pajama tops as she followed Kerri up the steps.

Upstairs, Kerri walked towards the patio door… Jumping back out of sight. "The creature’s perched on your large statue. Let’s sneak up behind him and shoot him?”

“I’ll do it! I want him dead and gone.” Taking the arrows from me, she stalked towards the kitchen door.

Sandy led the way around the house and once more we were close to the patio doors. She inserted the bow, and pulled back…

She jumped out, ready to attack. The creature, on the ground, turned and saw her. He stalked towards her...

Oh, no! Seeing Sandy’s hand shaking so badly that she almost dropped the arrow, Kerri said a prayer to give her strength. She straightened her back, pulling back once more, and released the arrow. It flew straight toward the creature and prayed the arrow would find his heart. It slid deep into its shoulder instead and a wounded banshee cry echoed throughout the garden. We watched as it flew towards the wooded area.

Sandy frowned, “I should have taken better aim, but my hands were shaking so badly.”

“You did the best you could, we’ll get him next time.” Kerri walked into the house to grab her keys. "I need to call Phil and let him know what we are dealing with here."

“You’re not leaving me here by myself with that thing still on the loose, are you?

“No, I’m just going to get my cell phone.” Oh, how she wanted to take off and forget this happened, but Kerri grabbed her purse and ran back to the house.

She dialed Phil and told him what happened. Panicking, fearing for my safety, he couldn’t believe his ears on what we had gone through. “I’m calling the authorities, then I'll be coming to get you and Sandy."

“Okay, I can’t wait until that thing is caught. He’s evil and aiming to kill Sandy; maybe me too."

Kerri turned to see Sandy sprawled out on the couch. I wonder how much sleep she got with that thing hanging around. She walked into the kitchen to brew some tea to calm down and decided to make herself a sandwich. Sandy came in a little later and poured herself some tea.

“I’m going to take that Ouija Board back to where I found it,” Sandy said.

“I think that would be best. It’s possessed by some kind of evil spirit. But then I wonder what happens when some other poor unsuspecting person buys it and goes through the very same thing we’re going through. Let's dump it in the Pacific Ocean."

“Good, we’ll take Bob’s yacht out and toss it in. You know, when I got him in the shoulder, he yelled bloody murder. I was lying there thinking and concluded that if that was Bob, he's not what I remembered him to be.”

"Hey, that thing is not Bob! No one would ever believe us in a million years when we tell them what happened.” Kerri walked over to the big bay window and looked up at the sky.

Sandy came up beside her and they both watched the beautiful sunrise. Something caught their eye, a shadow or something moved in the garden. Then they saw it, there, perched on the large watering fountain moaning softly. Sandy walked over to retrieve her weapon. "This is my property and he is not wanted here!" She ran through the house and outside. Kerri returned to the window to watch and saw the creature was no longer there. She had to help Sandy. When she reached the gardens, Sandy wasn't anywhere to be found. Kerri checked all around the area, All she found was Sandy's crossbow and arrows lying there as if tossed down in anger. Why didn’t she scream to warn me she was in danger?

Phil showed up with the authorities just then and Kerri ran through the house, into his arms screaming and crying that she couldn’t find Sandy anywhere. “Shhhh, come on, I’ll help you look. “

A thorough check was issued, and while the police checked, so did we. Kerri guided him over to the storm cellar and checked inside. Nothing. The potting shed turned up nothing either. As we checked the basement, the upstairs, the hall closets, and the attic, we couldn’t find any sign of Sandy anywhere. Kerri needed to do something, so she began tidying up the house as best she could. Phil went out to join the search. Kerri took the Ouija Board down to the basement and tucked it into one of Bob’s boxes along with his crossbow and arrows. The house was neat as a pin once more, but empty, so empty.

Phil told me it was time to go. Kerri took one more look around, said a prayer that Sandy would be found, and then walked outside with Phil. He drove us home while a cop friend of ours drove my car.

Each night thereafter Kerri prayed that Sandy would be found but to no avail. She kept wishing Sandy would suddenly appear and be okay. It took her a while, but Kerri finally went back to work.

One night, coming home late from the hospital, Kerri walked into an empty house, Phil was at a late-night board meeting. Sighing, she turned on the lights, and put her purse and keys on the hall table … That’s when she noticed a glowing object on the couch. She walked over to check it out and gasped, jumping back in fright. What was Sandy's Ouija Board doing here? As she kept staring at it as if it would bite, the indicator began turning slowly, spelling out the letters S A N D Y in blood-red letters. Afterward, the board glowed a ghastly green color before disappearing.

Kerri sat there staring at where it once sat, wondering... I know I put that thing in Sandy’s basement. Am I losing my mind? How did it get over to my home? Chills ran up and down her arms, knowing in her heart that she would be seeing that Ouija Board again. Sandy knew it was possessed and now Kerri knew it was possessed. Trembling, gasping for breath, a horrible thought entered her mind... Will I be the next person to turn up missing?

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