Whispers In The Night - Donno Mystery Man

Key Allegro, Aransas County

"Oh, come on, Ashley, it'll be awesome." Brandy kept her voice low even though Ashley's mom was in the kitchen getting dinner ready.

"I don't think my mom would like it," Ashley said.

Agitated, she said, "Ashley, it's boring of you to always do what your mother wants. I mean, like whats the big deal? It's only a game."

Ashley looked over at the Ouija board on the bed between them. It made her feel edgy, a reaction she could not explain to her friend; there were some secrets that were harder to share with your best friend.

"You've got nerve sitting through service with that thing in your backpack. You know the Reverend would call it a tool of the devil and totally cause a huge scene, you know he would."

Brandy said, "It was in my boyfriend's car. The Reverend is not going to know, and neither is your mom unless you tell them." Brandy could see the pause her friends face and added, "Even if you did tell your mom, she isn't religious, so why should she care? It isn't a tool of the devil, it's just a game. Let's try it."

"Please? With sugar on top." Brandy begged. Assured of the response she wanted, she moved a night stand table over near the bed, so she could put the board on it. She moved the planchette to the middle and put her fingertips on it.

Ashley waivered for a moment longer. "Okay, all right. But you must keep the questions very specific, Brandy."

Brandy laughed, "Why, is it a dumb board?"

Certain secrets required restrictive measures, Ashley reflected, how could she explain to her friend that when certain doors were opened, you couldn't always control what came in. "Just don't wander off the point, okay? Ask about you and your boyfriend, that's all." Ashley drew a deep breath and placed her fingertips on the planchette.

Brandy began, "What I want to know---"

The planchette jerked violently and centered itself on the word NO.

--

Responding to the violent movement of the planchette, she exclaimed, "Hey ! You're not supposed to move it."

"I didn't", said Ashley nervously, staring down as if it were a snake.

"But, I didn't even get to ask my.. " Brandy shook her head and guided the planchette back to the middle. "Let's try this again. What I want to know is.."

The planchette jerked as violently as the first time and centered over the word NO.

"Ashley, you swear you are not moving it," Everytime Brandy moved the planchette to the center it kept moving back to NO.

Brandy jerked her fingers back, "That isn't funny."

She removed her fingers and looked at them as if they belonged to someone else. "I didn't do it."

It started to dawn on Brandy that her friend wouldn't joke about this, "You mean..."

"I think we better stop Brandy"

"You don't really think... I mean it's just a game, right?"

"Some games are dangerous."

Brandy felt a combination of fear with a thrilling exhileration, "But if theres a chance... what if we could find out, for instance, where the missing intern is, or help solve crimes..."

She chose her words carefully. "Brandy, one thing you can never afford to do in this life is assume. You're assuming that whoever, or whatever-- controls that board is who they really say."

"But who else could they be?"

"If their... spirit... could reach out to us, don't you think that other spirits could as well? Maybe even bad spirits?"

Brandy replied, "Well, but spirits can't hurt us. Can they?"

"I don't know" Ashley lied. "But I imagine it's not a good idea to open a door for them."

It wasn't until four days later that she was able to talk Ashley into trying it again, before they started, Ashley looked Brandy straight in the eyes, "I believe the dead speak when they realize someone's listening. And I am telling you that, it isn't always smart to be the one who's listening."

--

Harbour Oaks, Rockport (Brandy's House)

"So, are you ready to start now?" Brandy said, with a little more excitement than she wanted to show.

Brandy had a sudden realization. "That ouija board. You seem to know an awful lot about it. I have been pretty patient, but I think there is more you are not telling me."

Ashley said, "When I was eight, one of my toys was ouija board. I started having an imaginary friend, at least that is what everyone thought . A little girl named Tiffany. I used to tell my family all about Tiffany, entertaining them with stories about her family and even the pet dog. Then one day I casually told my family that Tiffany had been killed when her house fell on her. They were quite startled, but my dad was curious. So he did a bit of research."

"And found Tiffany?" asked Brandy.

"Turns out the house we lived in Oregon had been built on a site where a previous house had been destroyed by an earthquake. She was the only one to die in that earthquake."

"So, how long did she hang around?"

"I never saw her again after that. I believe little Tiffany just wanted to come to terms with what happened to her. And I was the only one listening. Once I told her story, Tiffany could pass on to wherever she was meant to go."

Brandy shied away from asking about that last point, but said anyway, "What do you know about sudden deaths?"

Ashley answered, "Most people who die suddenly aren't prepared to leave--especially when the death was volent. Some of them are mad as hell to find their lives cut short, but all of them want more time. Somehow, they are often able to get more time, in a sense..."

"By haunting the living", asked Brandy, glancing around nervously

Ashley replied, "Only those who know how to look and listen. Like I said Brandy --people who die a sudden death can be angry. And negative emotions can be very destructive."

They edged closer to the oiuja board, each placing there fingertips on the planchette.

Brandy started by saying, "What I want to know is--"

This time the planchette jerked, but instead of going straight to the word NO, it started spelling out and gliding over the letters, one at a time...

--

The planchette was gliding over the letters, going too fast, jerking to hover over a letter, then zooming on to the next.

W...A...R.

Unconsciously, Ashley leaned over as Brandy spelled out loud.

"Is there going to be a war?" Brandy asked.

No answer

Brandy watched the rapidly moving planchette with fascination.

W...A...R...N...I...N...G

For a moment the teenagers just stared at each other, blank looks exchanged.

The planchette moved frantically.

W...A...R...N...I...N...G

Brandy gasped, her face totally drained of any colors.

Ashley new she wanted to move her fingers off of the planchette, but couldn't somehow. She watched in awe as the flying indicator repeated the words over and over, with an unnatural intensity.

TOO LATE.... TOO LATE... TOO LATE....

*WOOOMMM*

The door blasts open as Brandy's little brother comes flying into the room, airplane in hand, and uses the ouija board as a crash landing site, knocking the planchette to the floor.

Brandy was sobbing hysterically, as Ashley and the little brother locked eyes, shocked. Then a motion caught their attention, and all three turned to look at the closed bay window billow inward, causing the silk curtains to move as if a gust of wind had entered the very room.

Or something.

Ashley murmured to herself, 'not this again, please not this again.'

--

11747 Palawan Way, Key Allegro

They were mesmerized as the closed bay window curtains billowed, as if an unseen wind had blown into the room. The hairs on the back of there necks rose, as a cold wave engulfed the room, seeming to swallow up the oxygen.

The air was so thick that Brandy's little brother started coughing at first, then crying.

They gathered up there belongings and headed out to Ashley's car for the short ride over the Key Allegro bridge and down the road to her house.

"Ashley, were there other ghosts, from your past, that you are not telling me about?" asked Brandy as she continued to fix her makeup. Her hair was whipping around her face as she studied her reflection in the vanity mirror.

"Oh, sure, for several years. My Granmother was able to teach me how to shield my mind a bit, so that I could only see them, when I was looking for them."

"And that was better?" Brandy asked wryly.

"It's always better to be in control of this if you can" said Ashley.

"You know, I still don't know if my boyfriend is faithful-- and now I think there might be something in my house, and I'm scared to death."

Ashley spoke softly to comfort her friend and said matter-of-factly, "With teenage victims of violent death, you not only get the answer of a life cut short but the boiling kettle of emotions we all have at that age. When you are older, you may be able to handle it, but right now, with your emotions so chaotic and your empathy so strong, you could be in very real danger."

"What kind of danger? A ghost can't hurt you. Can it?"

Ashley hesitated, unsure just how much her friend could accept. "They want to LIVE Brandy. They want the life they were cheated out of. So if they see an open door...or an open mind...some of them come in and don't intend on leaving."

Brandy tapped the board with her finger. "If this is the doorway Ashley, it's also the place where you have focused your energy, then your mind must be somewhat protected. Right?"

"Yes, I had to raise my shields immediately when making contact."

"Then what would happen if the doorway was open long enough for a spirit to come through-- but not long enough for it to find our minds accessible?"

"Then the spirit would be there." Ashley looked around. "Inside your house."

--

A Ouija board, for Christ's sake.

She didn't believe in any of that crap. Well... not conciously, thought Ashley's mother. The girls were so upset that there had been no denying or hiding about what they had just been through. Something about Ashley's attitude had told her loud and clear that she'd better readjust her thinking. And the blasted thing had been right, there was no getting away from that.

Brooding, she shifted restlessly in the couch, at least twice, until she realized something was wrong. She didn't know what it was at first, but when the air conditioner clicked off, she heard it. The sound was so low that she had only noticed it subconciously, but now hairs on the nape of her neck arose, she had to get up off of the couch.

She checked out her house, moving slowly, pausing often to listen and silently cursing, as the air conditioner kicked on again. It was difficult to hear anything else, but as she circled the upstairs area, she ended up at Ashley's bedside, she heard it.

It sounded liked a faint ruffling sound, almost like... whispering. It was low and quiet, but rose and fell, teasing her ability to understand the sounds. An insect? A mouse inside the wall? A voice?

Ashley's mom bent over her daughter and listened, but the hushed, rustling sounds weren't coming from her. She was sleeping, apparently peacefully. She had to fight the urge to wake her just to make certain that she was alright.

Forcing herself to circle the room, and again ended up standing beside Ashley's bed, looking down at her. That whispering... it wasn't an insect, and it wan't a mouse, she was sure of that.

She was sure of something else. Whatever it was, the sound was here... All around Ashley. It wasn't coming from her, and yet... it was here. As if the very air above her relaxed sleeping body, contained something...

Convinced that something was wrong beyond all reason, she reached over to wake her sleeping daughter. The air conditioner switched off again, before she could touch her. She heard Ashley breathing softly. She heard Brandy shift on the futon in the next room and murmer something unintelligible. Nothing else.

Ashley's mom drew back her hand and listened intently for several minutes, but there was only the peaceful quiet inside.

Half under her breath, she said, "Blasted, I must be losing it."

She moved an uncomfortable chair closer to her daughters bed. And didn't feel drowsy again, not for a very long time.

--

Rockport Fulton High School , Aransas County

With the new semester, the girl's found that being Juniors, was a very big deal. Ashley was surprised to find out that several people already knew about their encounter with the ouija board. Ashley glanced over at Brandy , totally engrossed in a one-sided conversation, talking in an animated fashion into her cell. Ashley noticed that Brandy's outfit was perfectly coordinated, to match her phone.

Ashley smiled to herself, a smile that only best friends could understand. "At least that explains why everybody seems to know..." she muttered wryly.

Ashley winced as she recalled the lecture she'd received over breakfast. Her mom was convinced that she had heard whispering noises over her last night while sleeping. Ashley kept her mind-shields up almost automatically, but she was sure she would have felt it, if there was something unnatural around.

She was also feeling the sting of her mothers disappointment with her. Doing something so foolish, and unthoughtful as to create a dangerous situation in their lives.

With a deep sigh, she put on her best smile, grabbed Brandy by the arm, and hurried off to first period class. The chemistry teacher, Mr. Pruitt, was a sight... Mid fifties, balding with a comb over, highwaters with a bow tie. Positively Jurassic. He took roll call and gave the standard lecture, not to mix acids with bases. He attempted to bond with the new students. The class seemed to be sleepy-- Or was it just plain bored?

It was at this time, that Ashley began to hear the whispering sounds that her mom had described from last night. As she lowered her shield for an instant, to capture the images, she felt a searing pain in her head, like fingers squeezing her brain. With a piercing scream, she blacked out, and crumpled to the floor, but the battle was going on within the depths of her mind, and for her very soul...

--

Nurses Office, RFHS ISD

Ashley ignored the voice, at first. It was so far away and barely audible, and besides, she was too tired to care, whatever it was trying to say. She didn't know where she was, but it was quiet and peaceful. All she wanted to do was be left alone there, with no reason to worry anymore.

Ashley

From the far reaches of her mind, she understood that something was touching her. She didn't feel it yet somehow, she knew the touch existed. And without thinking about it, she realized that without the contact she wouldn't be able to hear... him... at all. She wasn't really hearing him, but she understood what he was saying, but not because her ears told her.

This was strange, she thought. She considered it idly, not really caring, but mildly curious with the riddle of the thing. All her senses, she realized eventually, had shut down completely and turned themselves off. Now it was her bodies turn to shut herself off as well. The vague impression of a heartbeat, slowing down. It seemed her lungs were no longer drawing in air, and the other organs were ceasing to function.

Ashley, listen to me. Hear me.

She didn't want to listen to him. He could hurt her. She knew that he would. He would hurt her and she never wanted to be hurt, in any way, again.

You have to let me in, Ashley

Oh, no. She couldn't let him in. it was dangerous to let him. Because he'd hurt her and because... because it wasn't time. Why wasn't it time? Because...

Please, Ashley. Please let me in. Something's wrong, you have to let me in.

No. She could'nt. She turned away from him and drifted back towards a peaceful darkness. There was a tugging deep inside her, that surprised her. She wanted so badly to let him in, to feel... something... But that frightened her too, her own need, the hunger that shatters control.

Ashley... you're dying. Can't you feel it?

She didn't want to listen to that, because of course she wan't dying. She couldn't die, not yet. There was something she had to do, something... important.

--

Nothing seemed to matter very much to her. Not now. The warm and peaceful darkness was comforting, while the outside held only anquish and grief. And him. Him, making her life painful and complicated, in ways she didn't need. Him making demands. Him... She was so tired.

Let me in... God blast you, let me in...

She almost got away, got free from the wavy whisper thin connections, they couldn't possibly hold on much longer. But then, defenses she was barely aware of gave away, and something grabbed her, captured her.

As the gossamer threads wrapped around her, and where each one touched her she felt a jolt that was pain and pleasure and a certainty that seemed quite inevitable. She struggled with all her might, as she was drawn out of the peaceful darkness.

She felt cold at first, a bone-deep cold, so cold she knew it had to be the beginning of death. Then the slow, heavy beat of her heart, uneven at first, gradually steadying, becoming stronger. She drew in a deep breath of air, in a sudden gasp.

And she was back.

--

Ashley thought her head was going to explode, and every nerve throbbed in agony. She was cold and she ached, but she could hear again, hear the wind outside howling against the porch bannister and the rattling of the wind chimes. The antiseptic smells of the Nurses office, reminded her where she was, but she did not recall how she got there. She new if she opened her eyes she would see the nurses office around her, and him. Whoever he was...

"Blast you," she muttered to herself.

"Blast me all you want, as long as you let me in."

Ashley looked up to find someone grasping her face and staring deep into her eyes. He had on the suit of a paramedic, but there was something else. It was an interesting face. Fascinating, even. Her grandmother would have loved it. It was both unquestionably hard and undoubtedly handsome, and the scar on the right cheek didn't take back one bit from either quality. It was a face that kept the secrets of the man who wore it, yet to Ashley it also revealed much of his character. Especially up close, the intensity of his pale gray eyes was almost hypnotic...

She felt his hands framing her face, and felt his mouth moving on hers, she wanted to resist so bad, but she knew she was responding to him. Her body was feeling warmer, the cold ache seeping away. She could feel herself opening up to him, accepting him now willingly where before she had simply given way to his urgent insistence.

There was a hunger deep inside her, greater than her will to defy it. His hands soothed her aching head and his mouth took hers in long, deep, drugging kisses more addictive than any narcotic.

"This isn't fair," she whispered when she could.

"Do you think I care?" His voice was hoarse.

Ashley forced her eyes to open, thinking she could recognize any expression a face could wear, but this was a man she had never seen before.

"I didn't let you in." She had to say it.

"I know."

He kissed her again and said roughly, " It's my job as a professional. Do you really think there's anything I wouldn't do to keep you alive? It just turns out my training combined with my special gifts helped me reach out to you. I was on automatic pilot and just did what came naturally. Even if it gives you a reason to hate me."

Ashley knew he'd find out soon enough that she did not hate him, but she wanted to address this dying business because it did not make sense to her. But his mouth was moving on hers and his hands were touching her. All of her conciousness was focused on the need he was only feeding. Nothing else mattered.

Outside, a freak summer storm had blown in from the gulf, wailing now, while inside there was a warmth and intensity. As another kind of force raged silently.

A knock at the door, brought both of them to their senses, as each hastily adjusted themselves before the nurse walked in.

"Ashley, you appear to be feeling much better." She said wryly. Glancing over at the young paramedic she said, "Have you been properly introduced to our new emergency medical technician? He may have only graduated high school last year, but he's already completed his pre-med exams. "

As they clasped hands, and offered their introductions, Ashley new that this would be the start of the next chapter in her life. A life she knew she wanted to be in, a life she had been waiting for. She knew she had found the man of her dreams, it was time to put the toys of her childhood behind her, and move on...

--- THE END (this short story was previously posted by me under the title Details of the game)

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