By Katie Arminie

It was a summer, rainy day with no one around the trailer park making it a ghost town. Chat Rooms were okay when there was nothing else to do. Cindy and her cousin, Beth sat at her computer in her room, side by side. They got onto a Horror Chat Room and were, taking turns, discussing Scream 1 and 2. As usual some pervert was ruining the chat by posting disgusting pedofile crap over and over with barely enough room for anyone to post. Even his name was gross: MaliciousLover101.

Cindy felt an evil thrill, “Let’s go on the Ouija board and find a hex for him!”

Beth responded with a giggle and a high five and ran over to where it was stored, under the bed. While Beth set it up, Cindy turned off the lights and lit two candles, giving the room an eerie glow. The rain beat on the window like a skeleton hand playing a rhythm. 

This was the perfect setting, straight out of one of their horror movies. Both girls were master manipulators of the board and were very good at freaking each other out. 

“Will you help us put a hex on MaliciousLover101? He’s a child predator.” Asked Cindy, once settled.

Beth let out a screech of dark joy as the planchette slid toward yes. “What is it?” She cried. 

The planchette slid towards each letter of the word and paused, waiting for them to say it aloud: W-i-c-k-e-t-y. Puzzled, Cindy spoke it aloud: Wickety. Both girls were silent and staring at the other’s fingers when the planchette wrote W-i-c-k-e-t-y, again.

It waited for them to speak it aloud: Wickety.

This was too creepy to forget. She had to hand to Beth, she had talent.

“Let me grab my journal! It sounds like a good hex! Nice job!” 

Beth rolled her eyes and responded,“Okay, cheater! You’re such an actress.”

Back at it, the planchette spelled: W-h-a-t? Cindy read it with sarcasm, WHAT? and yet the planchette kept moving to spell out each word and waited for one of the girls to say it before continuing. The next minute produced this sentence: 2 knives for 2 eyes.

Cindy felt a frosty chill run up her spine, but was determined to continue. Lately, Beth had become exceptional at this. Cindy grew irritated, she did not want to have an uneven score, making her a chicken. Despite her growing anxiety, she pressed on.

The planchette slid across the board finishing its riddle: 

Death will greet the freak. 

His sin is gone and dies.

Power is restored to the meek.

Wickety, Whickety, What?

A gasp escaped Cindy’s lips. Beth’s eyes looked huge, frightened and her voice shook when she asked, “Is this the hex?”

“Yes,” The planchette wrote. Just then the computer made a message alert, knocking, sound. Both girls shrieked. Slowly they walked over to the computer screen. Waiting for them was a picture message from MaliciousLover101. Could this be coincidence or something far darker? Regardless, it was something Cindy knew they should not open.

“Don’t open it!” Beth screeched and then seemed to regret her reaction, adding calmly, “ It’s probably Malware.”

Cindy was sick of her cousin beating her and clicked on the message.

The message took a while to download, and then it filled the entire screen. Screams saturated the aphotic trailer.