Slamming his fingers down, he hit the up button repeatedly. He never liked hospitals, especially the smell; a repugnant mixture of bleach, ammonia and the dying. The whole environment was unnerving, from the scraps on the magnolia colored walls from one to many hits with a gurney to the never ceasing announcements and alarms. Ellis wondered how anyone could sleep in a place like this. Checking his phone again, he confirmed Roman’s room number. 317 west wing. That’s not too far, Ellis thought to himself.

If it wasn’t for a panicked call from Fletcher, Ellis was certain he wouldn’t have come but the way Fletcher’s voice cracked bothered him. He sounded scared but unwilling to explain exactly what his problem was. Riding the elevator to the third floor, Ellis took a deep breath and tried to collect himself. Nothing Fletcher said particularly made sense, but the gist was that Roman was concussed but seeing things. Brain trauma could have easily explained the strange occurrence but something inside Ellis made him feel the need to come. Perhaps it was a social obligation now that he and Roman were on better terms.

Roman’s hospital room played out like a scene from a poorly written soap opera. Sam stood motionless by the window and stared out at the pitch-black sky while Fletcher was draped over a metal chair, his legs dangling off one side. The centerpiece of the awkward setting was Roman, who was wrapped up in a hospital gown with his knees clenched tightly to his chest. With bloodshot eyes and his skin, a ghostly white, he looked positively ill. None of the boys reacted to Ellis’s entrance save for a small nod from Fletcher.

“Where are your parents?” Ellis asked callously.

“His mom took Declan home, she said she’d be back in an hour. His dad got a work call.” Fletcher answered for him.

“Okay and that’s why I had to stop studying for the chemistry midterm and come here?” Ellis plopped down on the edge of Roman’s hospital bed.

Sam turned slightly enough that Ellis could see his eyes roll. He doesn’t get it. He’s never studied a day in his life. Ellis remarked silently. No one answered Ellis’s question. Fletcher kept his eyes on Roman waiting for him to debrief everyone on the exact situation they now found themselves in but Roman only winced and curled further into a ball.

There was a time when they were young that they regularly frequented the hospitals, always one injured in some stunt done to impress the other. Normally Roman was the one taking risks. Seeing him balled up on the bed only served to bring back old memories. Ellis didn’t recall putting his hand on Roman’s shoulder, but he had. Either Roman didn’t notice or didn’t care as he didn’t even motion to respond.

“Someone explain, please.” Despite the manners, Ellis managed to lace his sentence with impertinence.

“I saw Davis. In the bleachers.” Roman croaked, barely audible.

“Someone without brain trauma want to fill me in?” Ellis quipped.

In an instant, Roman shot up in the bed and shoved Ellis off the edge. Falling flat on his ass, Ellis turned his head in astonishment before watching as Roman clutched his head. With a huff, Ellis hopped to his feet and dusted himself off.

“I saw him.” Roman said. “Before the concussion. Sam and Fletcher were right. Something more is going on here. This isn’t normal, El.” Fletcher and Sam both wore matching smug grins at Roman’s admittance.

In truth, Ellis was superstitious. He avoided ladders, black cats, the number thirteen and anything else his grandmother had told him as a child, but it was out of habit not belief. He did not believe in ghosts, nor did he believe his friends were cursed, haunted or any other explanation the other boys had. I’m superstitious, not stupid, Ellis thought to himself. Half listening to Roman’s explanation, he rationalized everything Roman listed off as abnormal. Fletcher’s experiences were easy to explain away; His anxiety was making him draw connections that weren’t there. As for the rest, mere coincidence.

“Has it ever occurred to you that what you guys are experiencing may be guilt.” He hadn’t meant it to come out so sharp and jaded. Crossing his arms, and leaning on the wall, he started to speak again. “Ever heard of folie à deux?”

“Remind me again why we needed him?” Sam asked. “Stick to the language we all speak, please.”

“He thinks we’re crazy.” Fletcher deadpanned before sitting up properly. “Direct translation is madness for two. Better known as a shared psychosis.”

He hadn’t expected Fletcher to sound so angry nor had he expected the strange comradery forming among the other boys. Keeping his eyes on the door, Ellis considered leaving. As he took a step forward, Sam put himself in the doorway and blocked Ellis in the room. Not one to pick a fight, Ellis stepped back.

“Okay. Yeah, I think you all are dealing with a very sensitive issue and perhaps you didn’t process it properly.” If mitigation was a sport, Ellis would be an amateur. “I can pretty much explain everything you guys cite as proof of the paranormal.”

“Go on.” Sam said in a way that seemed more like a threat than an invitation to speak.

“It’s all guilt. Fletcher helped put the footlocker in the lake, so his guilt is manifesting as something in the water. Sam, you drove the truck that night thus your whole thing about the truck being haunted or spazzing out is just you imagining it.” He replied through gritted teeth

“And my guilt is high school football? Or am I terrified of bleachers.” Roman’s voice was muffled as he didn’t lift his head out of his hands.

“It’s the school he went to-”

“You’re reaching at this point. Just admit something weird is going on.”

Rolling his eyes, Ellis took a breath in. With a small huff, he tried to play out how he would navigate the problem. His friends were for all intents and purposes, delusional. Silently, he wished Fletcher hadn’t been there. If he wasn’t there, Ellis would have been able to sway Roman back to the rational. Alas he was too late, Roman had already cemented his opinion.

“Okay, let’s say I do believe you and we are all being haunted.” Ellis said curtly. “What the hell are we going to do about it? Maybe we just need to make peace with what happened and this will all be over.”

“That’s total bullshit.” The more Sam spoke the more he sounded like Roman. “You remember that book we found at the cabin a couple weeks back? I think it was a spell book. There probably is something in there about hauntings.”

The matter of fact tone that Sam took sent waves of anger through Ellis. He didn’t understand why he continued to humor them. Looking back at Roman, he couldn’t believe what he was looking at. Roman in all his spitfire and wild child tendencies was utterly quiet, sitting back letting everyone else argue for him.

“Roman, do you actually believe this?” Ellis held a hand up to Sam and Fletchers objections while Roman slowly nodded. “Okay. I’d like to point out, I don’t believe a word of this…but, I am willing to at the very least go to the cabin. That being said, I doubt Roman’s going anywhere after his mom picks him up.”

Roman reached for his phone, completely ignoring Ellis’s point. It was infuriating that even when he was so clearly hurt that he still had an attitude. As he dialed a number, he hushed the other boys.

“Hey mom, I called dad. He’s going to pick me up and I’ll just stay the night there…Yup…Night.” Roman ended the call and began to dial another number. “Hey dad, moms on her way…Yeah, I’m fine…Night.”

“And what if your parents-”

“Won’t happen. Beauty of divorced parents.” Roman said, slipping on his jeans.

***

Surprisingly, the nurses didn’t argue too much when Roman signed himself out though Ellis considered that a side effect of Roman’s charisma. When they reached the parking lot, Sam motioned for Ellis to join them in the truck rather than take his own car. In fairness, it made sense. Sam’s truck was properly designed for the rough road but there was something off. He couldn’t pinpoint it, but he simply did not want to get in the truck. Watching Roman sprawl over the seat, Ellis tried to make up an excuse only for Sam to make an offended expression.

Defeated, Ellis got in the truck. Quarrelling with Sam was almost as pointless as arguing with Roman; The only difference was Sam’s unrelenting calmness. It was a miserable ride, Roman moaning in agony for the majority of the trip. It wasn’t until he hit the dirt road to the cabin that his skin began to pale. Looking in the rear-view mirror, Sam eyed Roman carefully.

“Don’t you dare vomit in my truck.” Sam said apathetically. “There should be a bag in the glove compartment, El.”

Flicking the compartment open, Ellis immediately regretted it. It was filled with fast food wrappers, rolling papers and takeout menus. Digging through the mess, he cringed as he touched something sticky. As he grabbed the bag and tossed it back at Roman, a pink card fell but Ellis didn’t care enough to return it.

Ellis always was a tad on the nervous side especially when someone else was driving. He would scan left to right over and over again just to ensure his own safety. Sam was a fine driver, but with his mental stability in question, Ellis had to be extra precautious. Taking yet another scan to the left, he noticed they were approaching a four-way intersection rather quickly.

“Sam-” he started as he stared down the headlights of oncoming traffic.

“I know.” Sam’s expression intensified. “Breaks aren’t working.”

Sam pumped the brakes, but the truck only sped ahead. He pulled back on the emergency break but to no avail. The realization started to sink into Ellis, he was about to die in a car crash because Sam couldn’t be bothered to fix his brakes. Taking a sharp breath, Sam slammed his foot on the gas. Zooming through the intersection, they just barely made it through without an accident.

“I told you.” Sam hissed as if anyone knew what he was talking about. “Truck’s haunted.”

“Or maybe you should get your fucking breaks checked.” Ellis didn’t mean to curse but the ghost narrative was getting out of hand. It was one thing to say that they were haunted, however it was completely negligent to blame poor vehicle maintenance on ghosts.

“Yeah?” Sam asked, slamming on the brakes and bringing the truck to a complete stop. “Explain why it’s fine now.”

Ellis couldn’t. He was by no means a mechanic but there had to be a reasonable explanation. As he was about to speak, he heard Roman hurl. Tensing his body, he reconsidered his decision. It was clear the boys weren’t of sound mind, but he was hardly in the position to ask to turn back. Worries began to creep up; Roman wasn’t in the shape to be doing anything let alone be in a car with a driver as erratic as Sam and Fletcher’s emotional stability was hanging by a thread long before the strange occurrences began.

The wind howled on the desolate road. Trees creaked from the sheer force of each gust. Darkness had settled over them, the only light being a faint glow from the moon and Sam’s headlights. That was until they reached the cabin. The lights were already on. Roman said his parents don’t come here, Ellis thought but decided the question was better left unasked. Roman’s life was complicated, and he didn’t care to ask anything more with Roman’s current state. Sam didn’t have the same reservations.

“The lights.” Sam said as he pulled into the driveway. “Your parents aren’t here are they?”

Roman mumbled a vague answer before stumbling out of the truck before Sam even had a chance to park. Following suit, the other boys made their way to the front door. A strange decoration had been hung since they’d last been there. The familiarity of it bothered Ellis. He was certain he saw it before, but he couldn’t recall where. Upon seeing the odd decoration, Roman tossed it aside like trash. He quickly rapped on the door, before hobbling inside. Immediately, Roman flopped on the couch.

The cabin looked the same since they had last been there. Although the lights being on was a tad unnerving. Ellis guessed there must have been a squatter in the area. Sam launched himself into Mr. Davenport’s odd book collection while Fletcher stood in the kitchen motionless. The wind crashed against the side of the cabin, branches snapping as it came. Nervously, Ellis considered the likelihood of a tornado in their area. As far as he knew there had never been one, but the way the wind swirled and growled made the notion more reasonable than he would have expected.

It was too much for Ellis. He couldn’t be there during a windstorm and endure his friend’s antics, it was too much for anyone to handle. Plus, he still had to study for chemistry. Secretly, he tried to call a cab but there was no service. Damn wind, he cursed.

“Did we leave the book on the table?” Fletcher asked.

“Don’t know, don’t care.” Roman groaned, burying his face in a throw pillow.

“Anyone else notice how the wind didn’t pick up until we got here?” Sam asked, flipping through a book so quickly, he clearly couldn’t read any of the words.

“Open water tends to make the wind faster. Less friction.” Fletcher answered as he shifted his focus to the window.

Turning to see what captured his attention, Ellis couldn’t fathom what he was witnessing. A flock of crows flew towards them. Tens, perhaps hundreds, were flying low and in the midst of the birds, a person seemed to manifest out of nothing. Blinking, Ellis had no idea what he was seeing. Awestruck, neither him nor Fletcher spoke. Peeking up from the couch Roman, started to speak.

“Is it the head trauma or did something just appear out of a group of birds?” Roman asked. “it's running towards us…Someone please tell me this isn’t real.”

“It’s real.” Fletcher replied.

The bird fluttered away leaving the silhouette of a person. In unnatural movements, it came towards them. Frozen in place, the boys watched as it got closer until a small bit of light hit the person. Still unable to make out exactly what was coming for them, Ellis stepped back, unsure of what to do. Bolting up, Sam ran for the door attempting to lock the door before being knocked back. The wind pushed the door open, revealing a young woman. She was tall with an athletic build dressed in an odd patchwork dress. There was something about her that struck a chord with Ellis. Her brown skin, thin face and curled black hair was all too familiar to him. He knew her.

“Elizabeth?” Ellis asked.

“You know her?” The other boys said practically in sync.

“She was friends with Prue.” He answered, unable to take his eyes away from her. He hadn’t seen her since the funeral.

“I go by Helga now.” She replied as she marched in completely ignoring the swirling crowd of crows outside. “Quick question, how dense can you possibly be?”

“Rewind. How did you-” Roman started.

“I sent you all multiple messages. Business cards, brochures, emails, literally anything that could possibly get your attention and you ignore it! You guys have thrown off the balance and now I need to correct it.” She pulled a book from her bag. “So, what spirit did you guys piss off?”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Ellis hissed.

“The wind. It’s a symptom of a very angry spirit so you want to explain? And do not give me the whole nonbeliever routine, you’d have to be ignorant not to have noticed by now.” She paused and turned back to the window. “So, someone want to tell me who he is?”

Standing at the edge of the property was a shadowy figure. Luckily, he wasn’t close enough for his facial features to be distinguishable. Ellis hated to admit, but he was wrong. Everything his grandmother taught him, everything the other boys said, it all was true. Helga started to burn a bundle of sage. Waving her arms around, she continued to rant at them. They were stupid, problem children who managed to upset the dead, and some other insults Ellis didn’t care to listen to. The woman before him wasn’t his sister friend, not the way he remembered her at least. She was calmer than although her and Prue interest in the paranormal did line up with her current statements.

“How about you tell us how you turned a bunch of crows into your own personal plane?” Sam retorted.

“It’s a summoning spell. English translation for it is rough at best.” Helga sounded more and more like his grandmother with her odd obsession with the occult. She huffed in reply to the wide eyed stares she was getting. “Whether you believe me or not is your problem. I am here to fix the mess you’ve all made.”

“I am like super concussed so if someone could clarify if this is real or some sort of mental break, I’m having…” Roman trailed off and dropped his head down. There was something about Helga that made him nervous and Ellis wasn’t sure why but that worried him.

“Fine.” Helga said, stretching her hand and with a few murmured words, a book from the shelf launched itself into her hand. “See look, magic. Now, I don’t have time for questions so tell me what happened so I can fix this.”

She spoke down to Ellis as if he was still Prue’s scrawny kid brother. Quickly, Ellis tried to make sense of it all. If she was honest and not pulling some sort of cruel trick, that would mean Ellis was perfectly qualified to deal with the situation. Surely, his grandmother would have some sort of anti-ghost spell or a hex. Defiantly, Ellis rolled his eyes. He was not about to let someone talk down to him because they could perform some sort of trick even if it was real.

“Get the hell out. We can do this ourselves.” He spat and waved his arm to the door.

“Oh yeah? How’s that? Cause the way I see it, you’ll be dead in a couple weeks. The spirit is only going to get stronger unless we do something about it and seeing as you lack the education needed, you are going to want me on your side.” She handed the sage to Sam before she pulled Roman off the couch. “Everyone, table now.”

Obediently, they all followed her instructions. Slowly, she eyed each of them before settling her gaze on Fletcher. Roman and Ellis exchange glances both knowing if Fletcher was to speak, that would be the end of everything. There were few absolute truths in life but one of them was Fletcher Yates did not lie.

“It was the summer before ninth grade.” Fletcher started before Roman slapped the table.

“Fletcher-”

“No, Roman. This is beyond fucked up. This woman appeared out of a flock of birds and tells us she’s going to solve our ghost problem? Who cares anymore about our stupid secret? I want this to be over.”

“How do we know we can trust her?” Ellis jumped to Roman’s defense.

“You think people would believe her over us? Not likely.” Sam replied in an unusually judgmental way. “If she can help us not die, I’ll take it.”

Roman and Ellis exchanged another look, both backing down. With every word Fletcher said, Ellis felt like he was watching his future burn down in flames, but he also noticed the words relaxed Fletcher. The truth will set you free, Ellis thought as more of a prayer than a statement.

“It was late. We were on the dirt road leading to Aradia Lake when it happened.”