"This doesn't seem too hard." Jess had been reading up on channeling for most of the day. Emily, preferring physical action, had prepared for their practice session by clearing out a wide space on her basement floor, laying out a blanket, and ensuring there were no distractions around. After all, that was the reason she'd selected the basement to practice in – it was quiet, cool, and held a somber sort of atmosphere that, since Jess' introduction to the household, the upstairs no longer bore. It was also filled with mementos and memories packed away in boxes. If they were going to open a channel to the spirit world, this was the place to do it.
Em and Jess knelt opposite one another on the blanket. "Okay, don't be scared." Emily took Jess' hands in hers. "It's just practice. There's nothing to be scared of."
"Emily, I'm not scared." Jess cocked a brow at her. "Wait, are you?"
"…No."
Jess squeezed her hands. "Okay. 'Cause you're right, you know. There's no reason to be afraid."
Emily swallowed. "Let's start, then."
Jess thumbed through the pages she'd printed out giving advice and techniques on how to channel. "So a few things that come up pretty often when you look this stuff up are, one, take it seriously, two, ask very specific questions, and three, be honest with the spirit. That shouldn't be too hard. I mean, we probably won't get one today anyway, but it's good to know."
They rejoined their hands. "So do we close our eyes or something?" Emily asked.
"Can't hurt I guess."
And so they both closed their eyes. Emily took a few slow, deep breaths and attempted to concentrate on nothing but the task at hand. Thankfully they were both able to skip the step on "overcoming skepticism" – they knew all too well what kind of forces existed in this world.
After remaining still and quiet for a minute or so, Jess spoke in a low tone. "Um, so if there are any good spirits out there who want to help us practice channeling, we would appreciate it. We'll talk to you. If you're lonely we can hang out for a while."
"Don't invite them to hang out with us." Emily struggled to keep her eyes closed. "They'll keep following us after the session's over."
"Oh yeah. Good point." Jess cleared her throat. "I mean, you can hang out with us while we're channeling. But after that you're gonna have to leave. Sorry."
Emily rolled her eyes behind their closed lids.
They waited several minutes. Emily did not see, hear, or feel anything out of the ordinary. She stole a peek at Jess. Jess didn't seem to be reacting to anything, so Em assumed she wasn't experiencing anything either.
"Come on," Jess said after a while, "There's gotta be some good, kind-hearted spirit out there willing to help us practice…hey, wait a minute. I have an idea."
Emily waited.
"Maybe a fellow gay spirit would be willing to help out a couple of gays trying to help their gay friend Sam." She spoke loudly, clearly more to any potential listening spirits than to Emily.
"What happened to 'taking it seriously'?" Emily muttered. It still felt strange to her being grouped into the gay category with Jess and Sam. It didn't feel wrong, but it was certainly novel.
"I am taking it seriously. If I can appeal to certain kinds of spirits they might feel more inclined to help us."
Emily shook her head. "Okay, whatever. Summon a gay ghost then."
They waited a few minutes in silence. Again nothing happened.
"Maybe you should give it a try," Jess said after a while.
"Why? I make terrible first impressions."
"Aww, no you don't. Just say something."
"God. Fine." Emily inhaled. "Uh. Attention spirits…we'd like to invite you to participate in our channeling session. We need the help of a good spirit, and we're especially looking for potential recruits that match our, um, particular criteria. However we welcome any and all applicants for this position. Effective immediately. Um, thanks for your time. We look forward to hearing from you."
Jess snickered. "You sound like you're writing a corporate e-mail."
"Fuck you, all I do is write corporate e-mails. What did you expect."
Emily's attempt at summoning a spirit guide didn't seem to work either. After kneeling on the blanket for nearly twenty minutes with no results, Emily released Jess' hands and opened her eyes.
"Okay, this obviously isn't working. We need to get some candles or something, like that one site said–"
SLAM!
Both women practically leapt out of their skin at the sudden loud noise. Jess immediately grabbed for Emily, and clung to her arm. Emily hesitantly turned toward the source of the noise. A lone cardboard box on a high shelf. Or rather, it had once been on a high shelf – now it was lying on its side on the floor, spilling its contents across the cold cement.
"Fuck. Fuck." Emily glanced at Jess. "That's been up there since I moved in. There's no way it fell on its own."
"Is someone here to help us?" Jess called out. Her voice trembled noticeably.
Nothing else happened.
Emily crawled over to the tipped box. "This is my old memory box," she whispered. "From when we were kids."
"Do you think that could mean something?"
Most of the items that had spilled out of the box were photographs. Pictures of the old group, back when they were all together and relatively happy. The one on top was a group photo from a beach trip in high school, where Josh had been so excited at fitting ten people in one vehicle that he made them all take a picture together to commemorate the occasion.
Emily picked up that picture. A tingling sensation coursed through her hand and arm, causing her to instantly pull back from it.
"What?" Jess was beside her in a second. "Why do you look so freaked out?"
Emily held it out to her. "Hold this picture."
Jess reluctantly took the photo. "Whoa!" She dropped it a mere moment after taking it from Emily. "That felt really weird…"
Emily looked around the dark basement. "Is the spirit that's here right now somewhere in this picture?" she called out. A sinking feeling gnawed at her gut as she glanced down at the photo again, taking in the sight of the Washington siblings, all smiles and looking adorable in their beach getup.
There came no response. Emily had an idea. "If you can make another noise, then, um, bang once for 'yes'."
She and Jess waited in silence.
BANG.
The tipped box shook, as if something had struck it.
Emily's heart raced. "Fuck. Okay. Okay, it's one of the Washingtons. It's gotta be."
Jess was visibly shaking. "Ask them which one."
"Why do I have to do it?"
"Because they hate me, Emily."
Emily stared at her. Jess' tone was emotionless, as if she'd simply accepted that fact. And honestly, it was probably true.
Emily did her best to quell her own fear. This spirit was obviously willing to communicate with them. They couldn't pass up an opportunity like that.
"All right, same deal, bang once for 'yes', do nothing for 'no'. Are we speaking to Josh?"
Nothing. Emily hadn't truly expected it to be him. His spirit was probably still tethered to his body up on Blackwood Mountain.
"Hannah?"
Again, nothing. She and Jess exchanged a look.
"…Beth?"
BANG! The box slid a few inches from the impact.
"It's Beth," Jess said under her breath. "Fuck."
Beth had always been the most intimidating of the Washington siblings. She was cranky, serious, and known to fuck up anyone who so much as dared look at her family members the wrong way.
Now two of the people who had helped kill her and her siblings were channeling her spirit.
"Are you here to help us?" Emily asked, trying not to sound as frightened as she was.
No response.
"Oh God, she's gonna kill us," Jess cried. "We're so sorry Beth, we never met to hurt you, or Hannah, or Josh. It was all a big stupid mistake!"
"Shh." Emily took her hand. Jess fell silent, though she sniffled occasionally, implying she'd been close to bursting into tears.
The questions were supposed to be very specific. If there was anything Emily had learned from climbing the corporate ladder, it was that the right wording could make or break an entire deal.
"Okay, so you're not here to help us," she said. "Are you here to help Sam?"
The box was struck with vigor. With that strike, another pile of pictures spilled out. One slid close to Emily's knee on the cement.
Emily looked down at it. This photo depicted herself and Jess as well as Sam and Beth. It was taken at their eighth grade dance, when the four of them had "pretended" to be each other's dates. Em had never noticed the similarities between herself and Beth in that picture. Both had their arms around the waists of their "pretend" dates, perhaps just a little too snugly. Both wore a taut, manufactured smile that failed to come anywhere close to the look of uncensored joy on the faces of Jess and Sam.
Emily thought of her feelings during that confusing time. How they had eventually revealed themselves to be what she had always been too afraid to acknowledge.
Jess peered over Em's shoulder at the picture. Then her gaze met Emily's.
Emily touched Sam's likeness with two gentle fingers. "You loved her," she said to the cool basement air.
She picked up another photo from the pile. A group shot from their freshman field trip. Jess and Emily were dead center, Jess striking a diva pose and Emily attempting to mimic her. Toward the back of the class stood Sam and Hannah, inseparable as always. Emily had never taken the time to notice that Beth was at Sam's other side, a little more distant, even then wearing that artificial smile.
"God, Beth…" Emily set the picture down. "I had no idea."
"So Beth was in love with Sam." Jess' shoulders sagged. "And Sam is…they could have gotten together. If I had known, I would have helped them. I always loved being a matchmaker for my friends."
Emily squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to think the obvious thoughts that came to mind. In the pictures Beth, of course, looked exactly as Emily remembered her. But at her current age Em could see now just how young she and Hannah had truly been. How young they would always be. Forever girls of eighteen. Never to have a spouse, or children, or a career, or a house, or anything Emily either had or at least had a chance at. Things many of the others in the group had successfully achieved.
Unexpected tears sprang to her eyes. "You and Hannah were completely innocent." Her voice broke mid-sentence. "I was a terrible person. I still am. It should have been me who died on that mountain…not you two…"
She heard Jess sniff beside her. "Should've been me, too," she mumbled.
Emily wiped her eyes and attempted to pull herself together. The last thing she, Jess, or Beth needed was them having a breakdown and feeling like they should be dead.
"We can't dwell on it." She squeezed Jess' hand firmly but lovingly. "Sam still needs our help. Maybe we're alive to help her."
Jess dried her eyes as well. "M-maybe."
Emily looked up at nothing in particular. "Does Sam have a wendigo spirit inside her?" She had no idea if Beth would know, but it was worth asking.
She felt a cold tingle on the back of her neck. She shivered involuntarily.
BANG.
"Fuck…" Deep down she had known Sam was right. She would know herself and her body better than anyone else. Of course she could tell when something foreign had entered it.
It may have been too late to save Beth and Hannah, but they could still save Sam. Or at least try their hardest to do so. She understood Beth's feelings, and could only imagine how frustrating it must have been to helplessly watch the girl she loved exist in constant potential danger.
Actually, she sort of knew that feeling herself.
Emily would go to the ends of the earth for Jess. Beyond them, if she had to. She owed the same to Sam, for Beth. And Hannah, wherever she was.
That reminded her of something she wanted to ask.
"Are you and Hannah at least together in the…afterlife, or whatever?"
The box rocked gently.
"Well I guess that's good." Emily lowered her eyes. "Um, what about Josh?"
Another soft knock on the side of the box.
"You're with Josh? So he's not a wendigo?"
No response.
"…Is he a wendigo?"
The box wiggled, the impact on it seemingly growing weaker with each strike.
Emily blinked. "So he is…but you're with him? Wait, do you and Hannah, like, stay with him on the mountain?"
The box shifted slightly.
"I think she's running out of energy." Jess gestured to her pile of papers. "I read that it takes a lot of energy for spirits to communicate with our world."
"Shit." And there Emily was, pestering her with all sorts of nosy questions. "Okay, I'll stop after this. I just need to ask one more thing."
The basement was dead silent around her. Emily swallowed hard.
"Will you help us communicate with Sam's wendigo? We're not sure how to go about it at all, and it would really help to have someone around who has experience with them."
The stack of photographs ruffled and scattered further across the floor, as if blown by a moderate wind.
"I guess that's a yes," Jess said.
Emily lowered her head. "Thank you. And…I'm still sorry about what happened way back when. Me and Jess both are. I still feel bad about it every day."
Jess nodded solemnly. "Me too."
They received no further signals after that. Their hands still linked together, Em and Jess both sat still for quite some time, saying very little.
