The Dead House

by Dawn Kurtagich

He shakes his head. “Something’s wrong.”

  “What do you mean, ‘something’s wrong’? It’s Halloween! It’s meant to feel spooky.” She wriggles her fingers near his face. “Nobody’s allowed to be down at my party. So come on, spill.”

  “She’s not herself. I mean, something’s bothering her. And why’s that guy hanging around her anyway?”

  “This is Carly, I take it?”

  Brett sighs, shakes his head. His blond hair falls forward, covering his eyes. “I can’t get through to her.”

  “She’s like this at night. Broody and all that. She gets a little… cranky. Why not talk to her in the morning? She’ll be better company then.”

  “She’s different during the day. Less herself. We share a few classes, and she doesn’t usually want to talk. She avoids me. But I’ve talked to her at night.”

  Naida raises an eyebrow. “Oh, aye?”

  “This one time, my dad took me to one of his bullshit fund-raisers, and when I got back, I saw her walking across the courtyard. We chatted for a while, and she was so… different. And last year I saw her in the field after dinner, and I decided to say hi. She was more herself. Less closed in.”

  After a pause, Naida laughs. “Wow. That’s… complicated. She’s a bad one to fall for, though. I mean it. You’ll get chewed up and spit out. It’s not her fault, but… it’ll happen.”

  Brett shakes his head, lips tight. “She’s not like that.”

  “Not intentionally, of course not. But she is… oh, aye, she is.” She gestures with her hand. “Split right down the middle, that one. During the day, she’s as sweet as pie. Can’t you just hang out with her then?”

  Brett slams the counter and sways slightly. “Whatever, Naida. Maybe you don’t know her as well as you think.”

  Naida takes a breath, and the camera tips as though she has leaned against the counter. “Lay off that beer for a while, okay? Looks like you’re going to fall right on your head any second. Forget about her for now. Just enjoy my party. And don’t puke anywhere, or it’ll be the last party I’m allowed to have until I die.”

  Brett stares for a moment, then skulks from the room, muttering under his breath.

  Naida sighs. “Got trouble brewing.” She pauses for a moment, and though alone, she adds, “Stay away from her, lad. I’m warning you. That one’s a magnet, and not for anything good.”

  Halloween Party Clip #6

  “Come on,” Naida says, clapping her hands strategically close to Kaitlyn’s ear. “Up. Now.”

  Ari is no longer beside her.

  Kaitlyn glares at her. “Don’t order me around. I’m staying here. That’s enough.”

  “No, it’s not.” She glances behind her, making certain that everyone is occupied with other things. She’s not disappointed, as everyone is standing huddled around Mike by the fireplace, lighting spliff after spliff.

  “Carly wanted to come to this party,” she says, keeping her voice low. “She wanted to have fun for once. Fun without thinking of you, how you might react, or what people might say. I started this thing early so she could have a piece, but it’s dark now, which means you get the show.” She sighs. “Look at what you’re wearing. You think she pulled that out of some magic hat? She worked for that—overtime at school for two weeks during free periods. She made that outfit you’re lounging in, and you’re telling me that you’re just going to sit there and sulk and drink your ass off and treat her effort like a big fat nothing?” Naida’s voice, though still low, is barely under control. “No. I won’t accept that. Get. Up. Dance. Act like you’re having fun and quit with the beer. Carly’ll be the one with the hangover, remember? You’re going to do this, Kaitlyn Johnson, so help me God, because when Carly asks me in the morning if you had a good time, I can at least say, aye, she joined in.”

  Kaitlyn, whose mouth has fallen open, blinks. “Okay.”

  Naida frowns. “What?”

  “I said okay.”

  “Crickey. I didn’t expect that to work.”

  The ghost of a smile plays around Kaitlyn’s lips. “So you can point to this and say, ‘Kaitlyn joined in.’”

  Naida nods and straightens up. She seems a little thrown. “And bring that Ari lad, wherever he’s gotten to.”

  “Bathroom,” Kaitlyn murmurs, still seemingly dazed.

  Naida nods again, then turns to the room. “Right, my people! Change the music already and dance! We’re all sufficiently drunk and stoned to get moving, right?”

  Brenda dances over to the stereo and stares at the many dials and knobs.

  “Let me,” Naida says, and presses a button. Loud music blares from the speakers.

  Maggie whoops and then begins to dance haphazardly, flinging her arms around and wiggling her hips. Brenda bursts out laughing and joins in, followed by Scott and Juliet, each dancing wildly. Mike scoffs from the sofa, very stoned. Brett stands off to the side, watching Kaitlyn as she reluctantly leaves her sofa, downs another plastic cup of beer, and begins to dance, awkwardly at first but then more confidently and fluidly. In a later diary entry, Kaitlyn would remark, It was like Masqued again, Dee. If I closed my eyes and let myself believe, it was like I was back there on the dance floor with the Viking and my shadows, and I lost myself. I lost myself because I didn’t know how free I was away from Elmbridge and away from Claydon.

  Halloween Party Clip #7

  Some hours later Naida has retreated upstairs with Scott, and the music is slower, more languid. Brenda sits beside Mike, who murmurs under his breath, eyes closed. She leans forward, listening intently—intimately. A hint of her sweater moving is the only indication that Mike is caressing her lower back.

  Brett sits on the living room main sofa, head back, eyes closed. He may be sleeping. Juliet and Maggie stand near the main entrance, glancing around sleepily and occasionally saying something to each other.

  Kaitlyn is sitting in the armchair again. She laughs at something Ari says—they are the only source of raucous noise in the room.

  Maggie exhales, and Juliet releases a soft, nervous cough.

  “Too slow for you kidlets?” Brenda asks, her head hanging back, looking at the younger girls upside down.

  Maggie shrugs. “Nothing’s happening.”

  Juliet folds her arms. “It’s boring.”

  “I’m contemplating,” Mike murmurs, a spliff still hanging from his lips.

  Brenda rights her head. “Contemplating…?”

  “Contemplating livening up this place.” He pulls out a smooth wooden case from behind the sofa cushion. “I found this earlier in there.” He nods at the ancient chest of drawers at the front of the room.

  Brenda snorts. “A chessboard?”

  “No,” Mike says, “not a chessboard, you spanner. A Ouija board.”

  Both Juliet and Maggie lean away from it as though detecting a foul scent, but Brenda leans forward.

  “Cool,” she whispers, eyes growing wide. “Communing with the dead—”

  “This is lame,” Juliet says suddenly. “Ouija boards? You’re seniors! You’re supposed to have the best parties.”

  Mike turns to look lazily at her. “Piss off, you little priss.”

  She reddens. “This sucks ass.” She says it defiantly, but the words seem unfamiliar in her mouth. “I’m not playing Ouija. I need some air.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Maggie offers.

  Juliet rolls her eyes. “Don’t bother.” She glances at Brett, who still hasn’t moved from the sofa, scowls at Mike—who grins broadly—then abruptly turns and leaves, slamming the front door.

  “You don’t play Ouija,” Brenda says at the same time that Mike says, “What’s her problem?”

  Maggie reddens but lifts her chin. “Not enough attention for her, I think.”

  Brenda laughs. “Too right. And you? You in with the big kids?”

  Maggie grins and wanders over to the small group. “I’m in.”

  “Let’s do this bitch,” Brett says unexpectedly from the sofa. “I
’m bored. You in, Johnson?”

  Kaitlyn glances over, a smile still on her face. “Huh?”

  “Ouija board. You up for it? Talking to the dead?”

  “We can talk to your parents!” Maggie says loudly, gleefully.

  “Shut it,” Brett snaps.

  “Just because you fancy her,” Maggie returns, and Brenda grins.

  Kaitlyn’s face is like stone, but Ari takes her hand and pulls her to her feet. He whispers something in her ear, and she laughs. “You’re right.”

  “Come on, then,” Brenda says, getting up from the sofa, revealing Mike’s arm. “Enough time for drama later. How do we work this thing?”

  Brett holds out his hand. “Give it here. I know how to use it.”

  Mike laughs, but gives the board over. “Some kind of expert on communing with spirits?”

  Brett ignores him and unclips the Ouija board, folding it flat on the coffee table. Two small items fall out of the board onto the floor. He sits down on the floor in front of it, frowning.

  Brenda sits beside Mike, reaching out to touch the board. “This isn’t a Ouija board.”

  The board has no letters on it, only symbols like runes.

  “Yeah, it’s different,” Maggie says. “The one my brother has looks different.”

  Brett glances over at Kaitlyn. “Carly? Um, Ari? You in?”

  Kaitlyn stumbles a little as she walks over and sits down heavily next to Brett, Ari on her other side.

  “Where’s the pointer?”

  “Here,” Mike says, bending down to pick it up. “And there’s this.” He holds out a small velvet pouch.

  Brett takes it, opens it, and pours out the contents. “Mala runes.”

  “Well, that’s useless,” Brenda mutters. “We won’t be able to even read what it spells out.”

  “Maybe get Naida?” Maggie offers, but everyone ignores her.

  “Okay,” Brett says, “everyone put your finger on.”

  Maggie rolls her eyes. “Why? It’s not like we’ll understand what those runes mean.”

  “Just watch. Put your fingers on.”

  Everyone does so.

  “We six wish to, um, commune? With whoever is out there—whoever is dead and out there.”

  Maggie snorts, and Brenda shushes her. Brett’s face and neck flush, but he continues. “This rune”—he places a red stone to the left of the board—“means no. And this one”—he places a green one to the right—“means yes. Please indicate that you understand.”

  Nothing happens.

  “Maybe we have to commune with someone… specific?” Maggie suggests. “Like, someone dead?”

  Brenda bounces in her seat. “Who should we commune with first?”

  “Whoever’s there,” Kaitlyn murmurs.

  “Agreed,” Brett says. “Let’s just see who’s around, shall we?”

  Mike nods.

  “Whoever you are, talk to us. Indicate you understand.”

  Nothing happens, and they glance at one another with grins.

  “If not yes or no,” Brenda adds, “then choose one of us. Choose to talk to one of us.”

  Maggie shrieks as the pointer moves.

  Brenda throws her hands over her ears. “Ow! Just deafen me, why don’t you!”

  “Sorry.”

  “Get your fingers on here,” Mike says, his voice waspish and low. “It’s still moving!”

  The group stares at the pointer as it moves ever so slowly.

  “Are you doing this?” Brenda asks Mike, a grin plastered to her face.

  “No, I’m bloody well not. Keep hold of it!”

  “You asshole,” she says, laughing.

  “I told you I’m not doing it!”

  “Then Brett’s doing it!”

  Brett scowls. “No, I’m not!”

  She rolls her eyes and folds her arms, unwilling to put her fingers on the pointer. “Let go of it, then.”

  Brett glances at everyone for a moment and then lets go. All of them follow, even a grinning Kaitlyn, who seems more than a little tipsy.

  They all watch as the pointer, now unhindered by the burden of fingers, begins to move faster… on its own.

  “Holy chocolate balls!” Brenda whispers. “Bloody hell. I smoked way too much. Mike, what did you put in that—”

  “Shh!” Mike hisses. “Keep watching it.”

  “Is this a joke? Naida—get your ass out here!” Brenda shakes her head, eyes wide. “This is bonkers—”

  “Shut it!”

  The pointer moves from the middle of the board in one continuous and unfaltering direction until it stops directly in front of Kaitlyn.

  Suddenly she seems very awake. “What the hell is this?”

  “It chose Carly,” Maggie says, a hint of disappointment in her voice.

  “This is like some cheesy B horror movie,” Brenda says, but the joviality seems forced. “Right?”

  Kaitlyn, who hasn’t been able to tear her eyes away from the pointer, opens her mouth to reply when a voice rings out over the room.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Naida leans over the banister, Scott close behind her. In his hand dangles Naida’s top hat, and we see a glimpse of the camera taped inside.

  Naida’s eyes travel down to the pointer facing Kaitlyn, and in a second, she is moving, flying down the stairs, leaning over the sofa and snatching up the board and pointer roughly. She slams the board shut and throws the pointer into the fireplace, where it ignites quickly, bending and warping in green and purple flames.

  “That was spooky,” Brenda says.

  “You idiots,” Naida whispers. “What the hell did you think you were doing?”

  “Ouija board,” Maggie says with a shrug. “It’s Halloween.”

  Naida’s eyes travel to her slowly, wide and shocked. Her face bleeds of its color. “This isn’t a Ouija board!” she yells. “You damn fools, all of you!”

  “We were just having a laugh!” Maggie protests, waiting for someone else to stick up for her. When they don’t, she points at Mike. “It was his idea!”

  Naida, who is visibly shaking—with rage or fear, we cannot know—turns to Mike, who leans back on his hands.

  “Chill out. God. It’s a Ouija board. And rigged too, I’d bet. Nice little gag, I should say.”

  “Rigged?” Brenda asks. “How?”

  “Magnets, probably. They sell these things in novelty shops so you can scare the crap out of people. Carly’s in on it, of course.”

  Naida’s voice rings through the room. “This isn’t a novelty board, you moron! It’s not even a Ouija board! Goddamn stupid son of a b—”

  Scott, wearing Naida’s hat, takes her shoulders from behind; she seems on the verge of a panic attack. “Calm down, baby. Take a breath.”

  Naida closes her eyes and inhales. “Get the hell out of here, Mike. All of you! I want you out of this house!”

  Unseen by Naida or any of the others, Kaitlyn begins to sway, her eyes still on the spot where the pointer sat moments before.

  “I feel weird,” she whispers, but it is drowned out by Mike’s furious yell.

  “Make me, Dupré!”

  “Don’t push me, you jerk!”

  Ari, the only one to notice Kaitlyn, touches her arm. “What’s wrong?”

  Suddenly Kaitlyn snaps to her feet. “I feel weird.”

  Everyone stares, surprised, as she walks to the front door, opens it, and walks outside, leaving the door open behind her. Ari stares after her.

  “You fools,” Naida says again, but this time she seems to be on the verge of tears. “Goddamn fools.”

  “If it’s not a Ouija board,” Brenda says, “what is it?”

  Naida, still shaking, looks up at her through eyes full of moisture. “Get out of my house. Now.”

  Brenda blinks, then scoffs. “Well, happy bloody Halloween to you too.” She gets to her feet. “Come on, Mike. Let’s go.”

  Mike gets up and walks over to Naida. He towers over her, stan
ding a little too close. Scott steps closer, his face menacing behind her.

  “Weirdness personified,” Mike tells Naida. “I always said so.”

  They leave through the open front door.

  Brett gets to his feet. “Well, that was—”

  A shriek from outside pierces the quiet of the room.

  Ari is out the door in a flash. Naida’s eyes widen. She turns to Scott, who runs outside with Brett. Naida hides the board under the sofa cushions and then runs from the room.

  Halloween Party Clip #8

  The angle is distorted and blurry as Scott runs outside. Then he stops dead, the camera focuses, and we see Kaitlyn passed out on the front lawn. Ari is beside her, trying to pick her up.

  Brett is clutching his head. “What do we do?” he asks, an edge of panic in his voice.

  “Kaitie,” Naida breathes from behind Scott. He turns, and we see her running. Down the steps, over the grass, shouting at Ari—“Don’t touch her! Put her down!”—falling to her knees beside Kaitlyn, whom she lifts out of Ari’s arms and onto her lap.

  “Kaitlyn? Can you hear me? Kait!”

  “Who the hell is Kate?” Brenda says, but no one is listening.

  “Oh, my God,” Naida says. “Call an ambulance. I’m not sure she’s breathing—”

  “Call an ambulance!” Brett yells before Naida has finished speaking. “Now!”

  “Where’s Juliet?” Maggie cries, running over from the street. “Has anyone seen Jules?”

  Brett runs inside when no one seems to be calling an ambulance.

  “Where is Juliet?” Maggie screams.

  “What’s happening to her?” Ari demands. “What’s going on?”

  “Kaitie, wake up. Oh, God, please. Carly, please, come on…” Naida’s words are rushed as she taps Kaitlyn’s face and shakes her body.

  Brett runs outside. “Where’s the phone?” he yells at Naida. “Has anyone got their phone?”

  As he is yelling, Kaitlyn takes a sudden breath and opens her eyes wide, then they roll back in her head.

  Naida gasps and then bursts into tears. “She’s okay! She’s good—it’s okay!”

  One slurred word dribbles from Kaitlyn’s lips. “Carly…”

  “It’s okay,” Naida whispers to Kaitlyn, stroking her hair. “It’s okay. I think I got there in time.”