Chapter 6: Games

After a relaxing dinner and a nice hike. We returned back to the house. It was a clear night and the new moon made the stars shine brighter. We hung out in the backyard. Zach invited some friends from his days in rehab, Josh and Rae, for a small fire. Maggie and I laid on the hammock staring into the night sky. Mallory and Zach cuddled up next to a fire pit. With the other two next to them. I hold Maggie tight. “I know I apologized a million times but I’m sorry I didn’t know what happened before I found you. Im so happy I did. Things have been rough and I wondered about your past. I’m sorry I wasn’t there earlier to protect you. One day when you feel more comfortable things will get better. I’ll always keep you safe if you keep me around” I reassure her.

We both stare off into space. A meteorite shoots across the sky. “Did that look like it zig zagged?” She ask me.

“I thought the same thing” Mallory responds from from next to the fire.

“That was weird as hell. No way that’s possible. Maybe we just saw it weird. Atmospheric conditions or something.” I tell them.

We hear a creaking sound in the silence. We look at the house and the back door is open. “Must of been the wind” Mallory says. Even though it’s dead calm outside.

I look over at Zach as he stares at it. He looks over at me. “This gives me a fun idea. Everyone come inside. Let’s play a game.” He tells everyone. “I need to grab something from the attic. Meet me in the living room.”

We head inside. I wait for everyone else to go in first. I feel a strange vibe before entering. I look behind me. It feels like I’m being watched. It gives me goosebumps. I see a light go by in the sky. It’s probably just a plane and I’m being paranoid but today was a rough day mentally. I close and lock the back door and head into the living room.

A few minutes later Zach comes downstairs holding a box and another thing wrapped in a sheet. He clears off the living room table and lights a few candles. “Some of you may or may not know I hit a rough patch in my life. I fought drug addiction and depression for years. Before I met the love of life Mallory in rehab. I also got into ghost. Honestly I wanted to be one. I didn’t follow my dad’s footsteps to tightly. I explored a few areas. One night I was going to overdose myself and I smashed my head in the counter. I was playing Bloody Mary as well. I broke into our old time. Seemed like the perfect place to do it. When I woke up I found this carved into the mirror” zach says as he unwraps the blankets and shows them a message. “This was my turning point. I went to rehab after and met Mallory. I had some other suicidal thoughts too. That night was the closest. When I finally bought our old house I noticed some strange things going on it felt safe so I figured it was dad. I found a ouija board in his stuff and have been communicating with him. Well at least I believe it is him. Seeing the door open made me think it might be fun to try together. The family is back together again” he claims as he reveals the ouija board.

He gets the board ready and we all sit around it. Maggie sits and watches as the rest of us put fingers on the planchette in the middle of the board.

“Is anyone or anything here?” Ask Zach. The room is dark and quiet. Nothing moves except the flickering of the candles. “If anything or anyone is here please let us know.” Again there is no movement. Josh and Rae both snicker. “Is anyone or anything here?” He ask again with frustration. After a few seconds the planchette starts to move. This is wild I think. The planchette stops at *YES*. We slide it back into the middle. “Is this my father? Are you here protecting us?” It starts to slide again. It feels like he is pulling it but I go with it. He must feel so annoyed. It slides but right before it reaches yes it stops. Zach grunts in confusion. It slides over *NO* with force. That felt different from the other sliding. “This isn’t right” Zach mutters. You could see in his eyes something wasn’t right. “Again is my father here?” The planchette goes back to *NO*. They slide it back to the middle. “Are you here to protect us?” It slides back to *NO* “Are you friendly?” Nothing happens for three seconds then slides over *NO*. “Are we in danger?” It slides back over to *YES*. “Do you want to cause us harm?” It starts to slide around pausing at several letters. *M* *A* *Y* *B* *E*. “Dad, are you playing games with us?” It slides back to *NO*. Zach stares at all of us. “What is your name?”It slides to *Z* then to *O* then back to *Z* then it starts to slide back…

“Oh f**k, this is bad” Mallory shouts then let’s go. “This is bad. This is real bad. This isn’t some basic ghost. ZoZo is the ouija board demon. He’s also known as the Mesopotamian demon Pazuzu. It terrorizes people through spirit boards like this.

“Are you going to hurt us?” Zach ask with a worry in his voice. The dogs who were laying down asleep both get up and start to growl. The planchette slides around the board as it’s contemplating before ending at *GOODBYE*. We all let go then the planchette launches across the room. Before it hits the ground all the lights turn on and surge before all the power shuts off. We all sit there in silence and in the dark. Only the candles remained lit. Did this just really happen?

Zach heads to the kitchen to grab a flashlight. Mallory follows him. Josh heads out to the back porch to smoke a cigarette. As he opens the door and steps outside a large light engulfs the house. As a very loud humming quickly follows. I cringe as my heart starts to race. What else can happen tonight? All the memories that were unlocked today fill my head. After a minute of terror the sound and lights go away. The dogs start barking and rush out the back door. I slowly make my way in that direction. As I enter the kitchen the dogs rush in whimpering. Then the door slams shut.