Retreating to the relative safety of her mother’s office, Taya explained everything that had happened to her since her phone call to Margot in a stream of incoherent words, barely pausing for breath. Aria gave her a reassuring hug, partly to comfort her and partly to comfort herself. Her own previous encounter left her sick with fear, throat still sore from whatever it was that had attacked her. Margot was only half listening. To her consternation, she wasn’t able to connect to any tower or access wifi.

       “If you’re trying to call for help, don’t bother. I haven’t been able to contact anyone else.” Taya said.

       “Why didn’t you call the cops first? Or your dad?” Joe asked.

       “You think I didn’t try that? Margot’s number was the only one I could get in contact with!”

       “Which begs the question: why?”

       Taya and Margot looked at one another. Neither of them wanted to say out loud what the other was thinking. It’s a trap. He wants us.

       He wants to finish what he started.

       Taya threw up her arms in frustration. She didn’t know why this was happening to her. She hated that she’d dragged her friends into this mess, putting all of them in danger. Her home wasn’t safe any longer and Taya knew she had no one else to blame but herself for that: she’d brought that thing here.

       “This damn thing won’t leave me alone! Even when I’m asleep this thing is haunting me!”

       Joe, Margot, and Aria perked up at this new information. They stared at Taya, waiting for elaboration. She explained the dream she’d had, the strange grove of trees and seeing Trisha.

       “Are you sure it was her?” Margot asked.

       Lifting her head up, Taya looked right into her eyes. “Yes. It was her.”

       The room felt colder, denser. A melancholy shroud fell on their shoulders, tinged with the present fear for themselves and for their missing friend. It was too much of a coincidence. Trisha’s diary hidden in the basement, now Taya was seeing her in her dreams?

       Aria was the first to speak. “The grove of trees. Did it look like this?”

       The picture on her phone matched exactly what she saw in her dream. “Yes! This is it exactly! What is this place?”

       Aria frowned at her. “What are you talking about?”

       “This! Where is this?”

       At this Margot took offense. “Where? You--you are the one who picked it out for us to go camping at the end of our senior year!”

       “What?”

       “We all went camping the night after graduation,” Joe said.

       Confusion. That was all she felt. Confusion etched on her expression and a dozen different questions were going through her head. Taya would have remembered something like this. She would have remembered a vaguely mystical looking place like a circular grove of trees somewhere that was probably nearby where they lived. She thought back to her graduation. Nothing. That made no sense, it was only three months ago. Thinking harder Taya tried to make herself think back to that time. Nothing. At that moment it occurred to her that she had no memories of the past few months. Just a dark slate, as if she’d woken up one day knowing who she was but without knowing how.

       She had no words.

       Before she could think more about this or bring up this unnerving revelation to her friends, they heard a knocking at the door.

       “Taya? Taya it’s me, let me in.” It was her mother’s voice. She couldn’t believe it!

       “Is that your mom?” Aria asked.

       “Shouldn’t we warn her?” Joe wondered.

       Margot bit her lower lip. This felt too easy. Taya didn’t care. Her mom was home and she would fix this.

       “Oh, thank god! Mom!”

       Margot grabbed her by the arm and held her back. “Wait a minute! We don’t know it’s her!”

       “What?”

       The door began to bang. “Taya, what are you doing in my office? Why is my door locked?”

       Margot and Taya shared a look. “That sounds like my mom.”

       “Why is the house so dark?” Her mother called from behind the door. “Taya? Taya, please answer me!”

       It sounded like her mother. No one dared to move or say a word.

       “Taya! Open this door!” Her mother ordered.

       “Here mom! I’m here! We’re all here!” Taya said.

       There was a collective sigh of relief from the group. Taya’s mother was here and that meant help. They could all talk about everything once they were out of this attic. In one fluid motion, Taya unlocked the door and threw it open.

       It took them several seconds to understand what was in front of them.

       There was no one there.

       For one horrifying moment, the group of them stared and thought, collectively, that they’d been tricked. Without hesitating Taya slammed the door shut, forcing a desk between them. Margot yanked away from the door, everyone moving as far away as they could get from the door. Brandishing their makeshift weapons, everyone prepared for the worst. That sense of danger, of impending doom, just got stronger. It almost made them want to cry. They had no idea how to face this thing or even what it was. Huddled together in shared terror, waiting for something to happen, expecting the worst.

       Stillness. Silence.

       Seconds turned to minutes. No one dared to breathe a word. Margot and Taya were back to back, refusing to let their guard down. Aria was shaking so badly the other could feel her vibrating off of her. Joe was breathing hard, trying to keep his own terror down. He suddenly caught the whiff of something. Lifting up his head like a scent hound, he took deep breathes through his nose.

       “What the hell are you doing?” Margot hissed.

       “Do you smell that?”

       “Smell what?” Taya asked.

       “Smoke.” He said.

       That put Taya’s anxiety through the roof. “Smoke? Like a fire?”

       “No!” Joe said. He smelled it again, something pungent and sweet. “It...it smells like vape smoke.”

       “Vape smoke? Who the hell is vaping? The putain ghost!” Margot said through gritted teeth.

       Aria spoke up. “Wait. I smell it too. Its...tobacco. Cherry tobacco.”

       “No one in my family smokes.” Was all Taya could say.

       Joe began coughing. The smell was making him feel dizzy and sick. The others smelled it too. Wisps of smoke appeared out of the corner of her eye, making Taya jump. Smoke rings, large enough to fit over a person’s head, floated toward them.

       “Oh...mierda.”

       When she moved back against the wall she felt something sharp poke her side. Then she remembered she still had the broach. She took it out of her pocket. As soon as she did the whole room seemed to change. It grew colder and the lights began to dim. The REM pod began to buzz, the emf emitter's on the table going crazy. Joe and Margot stood up in surprise.

       "What's happening?" Taya shouted over the noise.

       "I don't know. They've never done this before!" Joe said, trying not to panic. As quickly as it happened they turned off and the room went silent.

       "What....just happened?" Taya asked.

       Margot began, "I think it wants to speak to us."

       The REM pod turned on then off. No one dared say a word.

       Everyone looked at Margot for instruction. Taking a deep breath, she stepped toward the bag that held the REM Pod. She placed it on the nearest table and stepped back.

       "One buzz for yes, twice for no: Is there someone in this room with us?" Margot asked aloud. The REM pod buzzed once.

       "Oh geez, I wonder who it is." Taya muttered to herself.

       Margot waved for Joe who took out his smartphone to record the interaction. Margot asked another question. "Are you the entity that attacked us at the lab?"

       The REM pod buzzed once. A yes.

       "Margot I don't think this is a good idea." Aria said.

       "Actually, I think this is a great idea. Get out of my house!" Taya shouted at the REM pod. It remained silent. Margot moved toward Taya, pulling her to a corner away from the REM pod.

       "OK, first off, don't ever do that again. You know not to provoke these things!"

       "It provoked me first." Taya hissed.

       Ignoring her, Margot continued. "Second, we can only ask yes or no questions on the REM pod. We might be able to figure out why it’s attached itself to you."

       "I don't want to ask anything from this thing: I want it out of my house and to leave me and my family alone!" Taya shouted.

       Aria stepped toward the REM pod, watching it carefully. She asked, "Did you attach yourself to Taya Martinez?"

       Two buzzes, a no.

       "Aria, keep up the questions." Joe said as he continued recording.

       “Are you attached to an...object?” She asked. The Pod released a loud buzzing sound. “The diary? Or… girls, what else was did you find?”

       Taya remembered the diamond and held it up. The REM pod buzzed. Yes.

       “You took an object from a haunting?” Joe exclaimed.

       Taya scoffed. “Wha...so did Margot! Why isn’t he...it...haunting her too?”

       “Yeah, why didn’t you?” Margot demanded.

       They stared at both of them in disbelief. “Really?” Joe demanded. 

       Margot took a deep breath and exhaled. "Do you have something to do with our friend, Trisha?"

       There was no answer for several seconds until it buzzed. Twice. A no. Margot moved closer to ask other questions.

       "Do you know what happened to Trisha?"

       It buzzed once. Aria gasped, Taya locked eyes with Joe. Margot moved closer.

       "Did you have something to do with her disappearance?"

       The REM pod remained silent. Margot slammed her hands on the table, making everyone flinch. "Is she still alive?"

       Silence.

       Margot slammed her fist onto the table, hard enough to make it shake. The air in the room grew heavier and darker. Taya couldn't think of what to say. As the silence stretched out the lights started to flicker.

       “Mierda.”

       "What is happening?" Joe asked.

       "It's going to make an appearance." Said Taya.

       The lights went out and the attic was plunged into darkness. Just as quickly the lights came back on. In the center stood a figure, made all of black mist with red hollowed eyes. The shadow made its appearance. Joe and Margot stood completely still, watching it, totally in awe. Taya moved as far away from it as she could, bumping into one of her mother’s bookshelves. Aria, overcome with the negative energy found herself shaking as she grabbed at anything. Taya moved toward her, dropping the broach.

       "Are you OK?"

       Aria shook her head. She covered her mouth. "I feel sick."

       "I'm so sorry. I...I brought this thing here."

       Aria shook her head. "It’s not your fault."