“Then it’s settled!” Paul said with a wide grin.

Then all four of them sat cross-legged on the floor, surrounding the old Ouija board. They had turned off every single light in the room, letting darkness engulf the space, and then lit six candles, placing them in a circle around themselves. Outside the window, the moonlight shone into the room, casting an intense, almost burning red glow over everything.

“Six six six is the number of the devil, so I think doing it this way might increase our chances of success. Hopefully, we’ll be able to encounter something,” Paul said.

His voice was filled with excitement, while Wilson’s face grew paler and paler by the second.

“Let’s begin!” Paul announced in a dramatic tone.

He placed a white, teardrop-shaped pointer on top of the wooden board. Aaron reached out, touched it, and asked:

“What’s this even made of? It’s not plastic, but it’s not metal or stone either.”

“It’s made from bone. I’m just not sure what kind though,” Paul explained.

He then lit another candle and positioned it at the edge of the Ouija board before starting to pray out loud:

“This flame represents purity, protection, and truth. May it guide any gentle and kind spirits toward us and banish anyone who intends to do harm. Please let this light serve as a guide for a sincere and peaceful conversation.”

Hearing that, Wilson shuffled a little closer to the candle, as if that would make him feel safer.

“To any spirit that might be present and wishes to send a message, we invite you to speak with us through this Ouija board. If you agree, please move the pointer to show your willingness,” Paul intoned, his voice deep and solemn like he was reciting a ritual.

Yet the pointer held still, showing not even a small movement, no matter how many times he called out.

Aaron let out a long yawn, waiting for his friends to get bored with this game so they could move on to something else. Wilson let out a small sigh of relief, while Kevin’s expression carried plain disappointment.

“I told you already, there are no ghosts or demons. Let’s just play something else,” Aaron said.

“Yeah, let’s play a game or watch a movie instead!” Wilson agreed.

“Wait a minute, maybe I just didn’t call properly. Let me try a different way,” Paul insisted.

He made a little adjustment to his summoning words.

“To any spirit that might be here, whether good or evil, if you wish to convey a message, please accept our invitation to communicate through this Ouija board. Show us your readiness by moving the pointer,” he said.

The moment Paul finished speaking, without warning, the seventh candle blew out with a soft puff, and the pointer gave the slightest twitch.

“Holy crap! Did you guys see that?” Wilson shot up to his feet, swearing out  loud, his trembling hands pointing straight at the board.

“That’s awesome!” Paul and Kevin’s eyes lit up with excitement.

Aaron shrugged and said:

“Don’t you guys feel like there was just a gust of wind blowing in from outside?”

Then he stood up and closed the window.

“Let’s try again, Paul,” he said.

“Oh, mysterious spirit, are you still here? If you are, please move the pointer a little,” Paul called out.

The piece of bone shifted and then rotated in a slow circle.

Wilson grabbed the blanket off the bed and threw it over his head like a shield, while Paul and Kevin exchanged glances.

“It feels like it’s real … What … what do we do next?” Kevin asked, his voice no longer calm.

Aaron narrowed his eyes and squinted at Paul.

“This board doesn’t have any batteries or magnets inside it, right? You’re acting so convincing, you know,” he said.

“There’s nothing in it, I swear! I bought it at Enchantments for six hundred dollars!” Paul said.

“Good grief. Six hundred dollars? They ripped you off so bad, you idiot!” Kevin scolded him.

“They even showed me an actual certificate saying it was a donation from William Smith. You know, the former mayor who was famous for collecting antiques,” Paul argued.

Wilson rolled his eyes and said:

“A certificate? That’s the easiest thing in the world to fake. It’s their shop!”

“How was I supposed to know? It looked pretty authentic, and it even had a signature,” Paul muttered.

Aaron reached out his hand.

“Let me take a look.”

He picked up the Ouija board, turned it over and over, examining every inch of it.

“It’s super thin. There’s no way they could hide a battery in here, and there aren’t any visible seams either. It’s a single solid piece of wood,” he concluded.

He placed it back down and said:

“Try it again. This is actually getting interesting now.”

This time, as soon as Paul finished speaking, the pointer glided at a steady pace toward the word “Yes.”

“Oh lord!” Kevin jumped up in shock.

“It’s working!” Paul exclaimed.

“You actually bought something real, Paul! Let me ask a question. Are you a boy or a girl?” Aaron asked, his cheeks tinged with a soft flush.

The pointer didn’t move at all.

“You’re supposed to ask a few yes-or-no questions first. Only after that can you ask complicated ones,” Paul explained.

“Oh, I see. Then … do you have … you know … a thing down there?” Aaron changed his question, smirking.

Paul and Kevin struggled to keep their laughter in, while Wilson peeked his head out from under the blanket just to see how the spirit would answer.

The pointer paused for a moment, then moved to “Yes.” It gave a faint tremble. Something was starting to get irritated.

“Oh, so we’ve got ourselves a little boy here.” Aaron burst out laughing.

After that, he continued asking stupid questions like:

“If a pig wanted to kiss you, would you prefer a kiss on the right cheek or the left one? Yes means right, no means left.”

Paul and Kevin joined in as well, though they were a bit more cautious and asked serious questions. Wilson stayed wrapped up in the blanket but had scooted closer to the group.

“Dude, you guys are way too gutsy,” he said in a voice full of awe.

Kevin asked another question:

“Hey, bro, when will I meet my first love?”

The pointer moved to the number two, then to the number seven.

“What? Twenty-seven years old or twenty-seven years from now?” Wilson laughed out loud.

“Unbelievable! Dude! This spirit is so stupid!” Kevin shouted.

“What about me? When will I meet mine?” Paul asked.

The number that appeared was eighteen.

“So it’s answering in terms of age. Not bad, I wasn’t planning on finding a girlfriend before college anyway. This ghost made a good guess. Poor you, though,” Paul said, glancing at Kevin with a look of mock pity.

“Damn it! I don’t believe this! What about Wilson?” Kevin demanded.

The numbers shown were one, then one.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Kevin cursed again.

“You little bastard. Who was the girl?” Paul asked with a smirk.

“Let me think. Maybe Merissa London … no, wait, it’s probably Tracy Leung,” Wilson muttered, trying hard to recall.

The expression on his face made Kevin clench his fists tight.

“And what about Aaron?” he refused to give up.

He was determined to find someone who was worse off than he was. Aaron had to be that person.

“That guy doesn’t know what romance is,” was something Paul and Wilson always said.

By the time everyone was at the age where they talked about which girls at school were the prettiest or the hottest, Aaron was still only excited about soccer, traveling, video games, and every other random thing.

The pointer moved to the number one, then stopped at five.

“Fifteen years old? Within a year? Damn bro! This spirit is full of shit! Aaron’s still just a kid, hahaha.” Kevin laughed out loud.

Paul and Wilson nodded in agreement, making Aaron’s face turn bright red.

“Shut up, you’ll be single until twenty-seven!” he shot back.

“Alright, I think we should stop. Let’s play something else,” Kevin said.

He didn’t want this spirit ruining his image any further. Stupid ghost. Like hell he’d believe he’d be single for another twelve years.

“Yeah!” Wilson agreed.

Aaron and Paul nodded as well. Things were starting to feel a bit creepy anyway.

Just as the group was about to start cleaning up, the pointer began to move on its own.

“Huh? What’s it trying to say now?” Paul asked.

“P-R-I-C-E … price? You want us to pay a price? What do you want?” Kevin asked.

“A-A-R-O-N-S … it wants something from Aaron!” Wilson’s voice was shaking.

The pointer continued to move, spelling one letter at a time.

“S-O-U-L,” Aaron read the last letter out loud with a look of disbelief. “No way am I letting you take my …”

Before he could finish his sentence, even though the window had been closed, a strong gust of wind filled the room, blowing out every candle at once.

Aaron felt the whole world spin around him before he collapsed backward. Kevin and Paul rushed to catch him and prevented his body from hitting the floor. Looking down at their friend lying unconscious in their arms, all of them then stared at each other, their faces drained of all color.

…

When Aaron opened his eyes again, he found himself lying on a floor made of icy-cold stone. He sat up, scanning his surroundings.

“Where … is this place?” he mumbled.

It surely wasn’t his room anymore.

“Damn it!” he groaned.

A stab of pain shot through his left chest, as if something had torn through it.

Maybe he had hit something when he fell. Aaron panted hard, taking some time to gather his senses.

He was inside a massive dome with towering stone walls. Its diameter had to be over a mile, and the height reached thousands of feet.

The entire colossal structure was supported by multiple stone pillars, each so large that it would take twenty or thirty people holding hands to wrap around them. Covering the walls were glowing murals, decorated with what appeared to be stars, or, to be more accurate, sparkling luminous gemstones.

There were no doors or windows in the entire building. The only opening was a huge circular hole at the top of the dome, revealing the sky above. Outside was a dead, silent night.

Through that opening, Aaron could see an immense, endless stream of blue light flowing across the sky.

At that very moment, he heard a voice coming from behind him.

“Welcome to the Abyss … you annoying little brat.”