It turned out, she didn't have to wait very long as Ally got back to her within a few minutes. They decided to meet up that day at her sister's house after Erica's last class of the day. The address Ally gave her was about a five-minute walk off campus, right in the neighboring area. Erica contemplated how hellish it would be to live near a college campus instead of acknowledging her nerves as she made her way over.

            Her phone buzzed as she walked up in front of the house, attempting not to let her jaw drop as she examined the grand architecture. The house stood tall and wide with sprawling arches in the front and stained-glass windows decorating its façade.

            A pot of pink hydrangeas sat next to the porch and a motley mix of blue, purple, and yellow flowers grew along the path leading to the front door. The house looked as if it belonged to some sweet old lady, easing her anxiety even if only for a bit.

            She heard a ding resounding throughout the house as she pressed the doorbell, tapping her feet as she heard footsteps approaching the door.

            The heavy wooden door creaked open to reveal a petite, auburn-haired girl clutching to the doorknob and adorned in an expensive looking mauve dress. Something far too fancy for a fellow college student considering how high their school's tuition was, Erica noted.

            "You must be Erica," she greeted her, flashing a bright smile of far too shiny teeth. "I'm Ally. I don't know if you know me, but I see you around campus all the time."

            "Oh, um," Erica muttered, taken aback at having never seen this girl in her life. "It's a pleasure to meet you. You wanted me because of a spiritual disturbance?"

            "Yes," she answered promptly. "Please, come in."

            Erica took a deep breath before stepping into the house, knowing there was a risk she may never come out of it. However, Erica had come close to death so many times before that this didn't seem like much of a risk.

            She followed Ally through a grand hallway and entered the dining area where a stunning young woman was seated, probably not much older than Erica. She had long, flowing black hair swishing behind her with each turn of her head as she craned her neck to examine Erica.

            A faded red lipstick settled across her lips, matching the red sundress she wore. Every feature of hers was striking and each gesture she made screamed of an upper-class upbringing that Erica was once so familiar with.

            "Hello. I'm Dux!" she began, rising from her seat and gliding towards Erica to embrace her. The smell of roses permeated through the air, and her palms were soft as she slid her hands across Erica's shoulders. "Ally has told me you can help us. Is that true?"

            "That depends," Erica murmured, pulling herself out of Dux's grip. "What's the issue?"

            "Well," she began, face twisting. "I'm afraid it's quite a long list of issues. Please sit. Would you like a drink or anything?"

            "I'm fine," Erica answered, the fear of being drugged overpowering her desire for a glass of water. She sat down across from Dux at the winding dining table. "Just tell me what the problem is."

            "At first," she began, long fingers dancing across the glossy table surface. "We thought it may have been some kind of animal trapped in our house. We heard thumping at night and scratching on the floorboards, but..."

            "But?" Erica echoed.

            "Things began moving on their own," Dux murmured, lowering her voice as if someone were eavesdropping. In truth, Erica would probably see them if they were. "One night, we found Ally's car keys on the kitchen counter even though she left them on our living room coffee table. Again, we didn't make much of that. But the entity seemed to become... tortured." conspiratorially.

            "How so?" Erica inquired, fear creeping over her for a reason she couldn't quite comprehend. It wasn't as if she hadn't encountered these things before, but not in this kind of combination.

            "It began to wail at night," Dux replied, eyelids drooping. "I thought I was going crazy but when Ally admitted to me that she heard it too, I worried less."

            "So, the spirit is producing a wail at night, you say?" Erica hummed back, jotting it down into her cell phone's notes section.

            "Oh, I wouldn't deem it a spirit," Dux answered, eyes drilling into Erica's intensely. "Spirits are lost and unaware of the occasional harm they inflict. This?" She paused for a moment. "It knows exactly how to drive us mad."

            "Can you elaborate?" Erica muttered, growing frustrated at her inability to understand what the sisters were attempting to convey to her.

            "Ally feared this horrid painting framed in our grandmother's house in the guest room where the people had long, gangly limbs and no discernible color but grey," Dux described, causing Erica to raise an eyebrow and question the relevance of this. "It's as if it knows. It shows us those figures sometimes, stalking through the house."

            Erica's eyes widened as the image Dux described to her reminded her of the dark, looming figures from the woods which motioned to her. Chills racked her body as she finally realized the uneasiness that she felt in this house mirrored the same sensation she experienced the night she witnessed Elena's death.

            She could see it: A large, wooden door with a glass knob and a heavy lock. Something lurked behind it, occasionally edging towards the door with its heavy breathing but never quite touching it. Erica felt lightheaded as the image faded from her mind and she realized that the same thing from the woods was within her presence.

            "I think that's all I need to hear today," Erica blurted out, abruptly rising from the table and striding towards the hall. Ally and Dux exchanged a glance before following her. 

            "Have we said something to upset you?" Ally called after her, causing Erica to come to a stop. "I apologize if we sound forced, but I promise you we really need help."

            "We're willing to raise your pay," Dux offered.

            Erica sighed before turning and answering, "You haven't upset me."

            "So, will you be returning?" Dux inquired, expression muddling with confusion.

            Erica paused for a moment, considering how she'd never encountered such a malicious enemy before, practically permeating malevolence and reeking of death. However, Erica had been waiting for an opportunity like this to come along. If she could rid the house of whatever wicked entity had taken ahold of it, she could find some meaning in her ability again.

            Think about it, she told herself. You wanted this.

            Finally, Erica inhaled deeply and murmured, "Yes. I'll help you. Just, please, if the entity begins to act up again, please contact me. I'll return Friday when my schedule isn't as hectic."

            A smile broke out over Ally's features easily, but Dux attempted to hide her relief through acting professionally. She extended a hand for Erica to shake and answered softly, "Pleased to make your acquaintance, then."

            Erica shook her hand, ignoring the fact that she was in way over her head.

*

            "I understand that," Erica muttered into the phone, pressing a hand to her forehead. "If I could just get a little more time. Just a day or two... I promise I can get a new club member. Just until the club fair!"

            "Erica," Patricia, head of the student government, sighed on the other end of the line. "You've been promising me a new member since last semester."

            "I know but Tanner quit so abruptly and then summer break came," Erica continued, massaging her temples. "Just give me until Monday."

            "Fine," Patricia allowed, tone conveying exhaustion. "I'll allow it, but, after the club fair, if you don't get a new member, you'll have to disband and return the Fall funding."

            "That's all right!" Erica exclaimed, feigning relief. "We'll definitely get a new member by then. Thank you very much."

            At that, she hung up the phone and crumpled in on herself, resting her cheek onto the desk. "You're killing me, Patricia," Erica muttered, staring at the sign-in sheet for the club meeting they had a few minutes prior that only had three signatures. How would she explain that not only was she brought down by a member, but Drew also wasn't attending? What would she do if she couldn't find a new member? She had already spent all the money!

            A knock on the door caused her to sit up, attempting to stifle her surprise at the sight of Drew in the doorway.

            "Oh," she breathed, furrowing her eyebrows. "What are you doing here?"

            "I came to put my signature on the paper," Drew explained, tentatively slipping into the room, and gesturing towards the sheet.

            "Why would you..." She began but trailed off.

            "If I don't attend club meetings, my advisor will notice," Drew pointed out, leaning a hip against her desk as he jotted his name onto the sheet.

            "Well, how kind of you to finally show up," Erica muttered, rubbing at her eyes.

            "It's so odd to me," Drew murmured, dropping the pen back onto the desk and examining her. "You keep trying to keep this club together and, from what I've gathered from the two maybe three meetings I've attended, is that you don't even play chess. So, why are you so desperate to keep it together? What is this club actually for?"

            "We play chess," Erica insisted, glancing towards the door to make sure no one was listening. "That's all."

            "Don't give me that bullshit when we don't even have a board," Drew replied, rolling his eyes. "Tell me the real reason."

            "Fine," Erica conceded, slumping slightly, and lowering her voice. "You've probably heard about it on campus anyway."

            "I don't listen to rumors," Drew informed her, raising an eyebrow as if indicating for her to continue. "But I can't help eavesdropping at times."

            "Then you know people think I'm a freak," Erica answered bluntly. "Weird. Creepy. Whatever they say. I'm just going to tell you straight up: I see the dead. It's not just some fun party trick people turn me into."

            "The dead?" The words escaped his lips slowly, rolling over his tongue as he mulled the thought over. "If I were to believe that what would that have to do with anything?"

            "I use this club's money to operate my business," Erica continued, grimacing at how it sounded.

            "Your ghost-hunting business?" Drew finished for her.

            "I don't hunt them, per se," Erica informed him, chewing on her bottom lip. "Not if I don't have to."

            "So, what do you do, then?" he probed. His face remained a neutral mask, eyes shining dully as if there was no life within him. "With these ghosts."

            "I prefer to call them spirits," Erica corrected him. "I just... I just talk to them and explain to them that they've moved on from this life. Sometimes that's all it takes. That's why I keep this club around. Believing in this stuff isn't cheap. Supplies cost money."

            "Supplies?"

            "Yeah," she continued, listing off some of the materials she used at times. Rarely. "Sage, a little bottle that says holy water but never actually contains it, stones, Ouija boards, tarot cards, you know. Stuff like that."

            "Why should I believe you?" he murmured, turning his gaze towards the ground for a moment.

            "Believe me or don't," Erica replied brusquely, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Why should I care?"

            "Don't make me point out the obvious," Drew replied, cracking his knuckles, which released an awful sound that made Erica squeamish. "You're already down a club member and, as you said, believing in this stuff isn't cheap."

            "Fine," Erica huffed, rolling her eyes. "What do you want? What will it take for you to start coming to meetings? You want proof of all this or something?"

            "Maybe," Drew retorted, tapping at his chin and finally placing his gaze back onto her. His lifeless eyes delved into her core, only intensifying her squirming. "It's a start. How would you prove it?"

            "Hm, I don't know," Erica muttered, sighing. "Palm reading? Tarot prophecy? Pick your poison."

            "I like what you said before about the Ouija boards," Drew pointed out. "Let's do something like that. I've always wanted to talk to the dead."

            Erica examined him for a moment, gaze jumping from each of his features as she met his cold, cobalt eyes. His mouth curved up in an unfeeling smile. She couldn't read his motives and it unhinged her.

            "You want a séance?" Erica spat out finally, unable to take the silence.

            "Sure," Drew answered, shrugging. "Let's try that."

            Freezing, Erica considered her choices. She could deny him and eventually have the club fall apart or do this simple task. Yet, as she recalled what happened the last time, she winced as she considered going forward with this.

            Still, she told him, "Fine. We'll do a séance tonight."