Rain Down On Me by Laura
Matt had never seen an Ouija board before, let alone touched one, but when Kara placed the wooden board in front of him he began to severely doubt that the evening was going to be as fun as once hoped. He stared apprehensively at the board, unsure whether to be interested or run screaming in the other direction.
It seemed to emanate a warning that neither Kara, James, Charlie or any of the other few gathered there seemed to be acknowledging, but if they were, they were choosing not to say anything.
Camilla, however, lingered behind. �Don�t go near those things,� she warned, �They�re just a lot of trouble waiting to happen.� Kara snorted.
�Don�t be superstitious. It�s just a laugh, Camilla; nothing�s actually going to happen.�
Matt didn�t feel convinced; in fact he was inclined to agree with Camilla. But seeing as Charlie was prepared to sit down between Harry and Danny, he decided to go ahead too; if Charlie thought he could handle it, it must have been ok.
Camilla on the other hand, tossed her hair and left the room that was darkening as the sun slipped below the surface of the horizon, muttering �Idiots,� under her breath.
�Pft, she�s just scared we�ll break something and she�ll have to pay for it,�
Kara shrugged, setting out the pointer on the board. James gulped slightly, but was quickly silenced by Kara�s quelling glare. Danny and Harry shot furtive glances across Charlie to each other, �Kara, are you sure we should do this? I mean, it could be dangerous...� Harry mumbled.
�For Gods sakes! It�s just a little fun thing to do, try and contact spirits; it�s not going to kill us!� Kara snapped angrily, �I just wanna give it a go, see if these things really do work.� She placed her hand on the pointer, indicating to James to do the same, and in fear of angering her more, he did so, trying to stop his hands shaking.
Harry followed as did Danny, who merely rolled his eyes, ignorant, therefore unafraid. Charlie was a bit more cautious, but went ahead, leaving only Matt to put his hands on the pointer. Everyone stared at him as he hesitated, �I dunno...�
�Matt, it�ll be fine,� Charlie reassured him with a smile that was less confident than Matt would have preferred, but it was a smile nonetheless, from someone he truly loved, and that seemed to be enough. He reached out and placed his finger next to Charlie�s, his hand brushing against the younger boys, who blushed slightly, but said nothing.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, until James fidgeted slightly, �Isn�t something supposed to happen?� he asked, but just as the words escaped his mouth, Matt let out an involuntary gas, as something like electricity shot through his body, and the others immediately removed their fingers from the pointer in shock as Matt sat, choking for breath, his heart pounding within his chest. The others looked on, terrified, as he choked on the oxygen in his lungs; he couldn�t breathe-
Kara squeaked, tugging on James�s sleeve, �Look at his hands.�
They all looked, except Matt, who could no longer move to his will; it was as if someone else was controlling him. His hands were hovering just above the pointer, no where near enough to push it, but they were moving above it, and the pointer moved to a letter � D
�Get some paper,� Kara hissed at Danny, who nodded and obeyed, searching through the drawers behind him for a piece of paper and a pen. He made do with a receipt and a worn biro, rushing back to them just as Matt�s hand moved the pointer to the next letter � E
They sat and watched, fascinated, and Matt did not understand why they did not help him, could they not understand he couldn�t breathe, his vision was fading, he couldn�t move, he was trapped it was something else inside him controlling his movements, as they moved from letter to letter, until finally it spelled out the first word.
DEATH
Kara emitted a strangled cry and clutched hold of James�s hand, and Charlie stared in horror. Danny dropped the paper in his hand as if it were red hot, but Matt was not yet finished, as his hand moved to the W. �Make him stop!� Harry yelled, and Charlie moved forward and placed a hand on Matt�s shoulder, but instantly recoiled as something spread from Matt up into Charlie, a feeling so strong in made Charlie retch � hatred. He stepped back, coughing as if it were a sticky substance caught in his throat, gagging slightly.
�Something�s wrong,� he managed to choke, but nobody listened as they stared intently at the new word the was being spelled out, WANTS...
�Death wants?! Matt what the hell are you doing?� Kara hissed. �Stop playing this dumb joke!�
Charlie, however, shook his head.
�Kara, he�s not touching the pointer, I just tried to stop him and look what happened! Who�s idea was this, how are we gonna stop it, Matt could get hurt!� His words slipped from his mouth as if soaped with worry, stumbling across his tongue, but no one replied as the first half of what appeared to be the final word as the pointer began to slow down, CH-
Matt�s eyes, which had been shut so he could now no longer see what he was doing let alone control it, suddenly snapped open again, and he let out a yell of fear as he forced the pointer away, spinning it over the edge of the board and onto the floor, and it came to a halt, pointing at Charlie. Matt slumped back on the floor, his eyes rolling back into his head as his breathing began to even out once more, as he filled his longs with blessed oxygen, and the world stopped spinning.
He almost felt his breath catch again as he read the words written on the paper, DEATH WANTS CH-
�Who wrote that?� he whispered, and they all stared at him.
�You spelt it out, I wrote it,� Danny managed to shrug, �but I stopped after you spelt death... who wrote the rest of it?� He looked towards Charlie, who shook his head. Harry was at the opposite end of the room, no where near it. Kara was clutching onto James for dear life; none of them could have written it.
�Raise your hand if you are creeped out beyond all imagination,� Matt managed to whisper.
Everyone raised their hand. Except Charlie, who was staring at the pointer. He looked over at Matt for a split second before rushing out of the room as fast as was possible.
***
�I didn�t do it on purpose, you know.� Matt�s voice was barely audible, and had Charlie not been able to see his reflection in the mirror he was staring into, he would not have realized the older boy had said anything. He had just thrown up and was now feeling shuddery and afraid.
�You threatened to kill me,� he whispered, �Or practically did, anyway.�
�That wasn�t me!� Matt protested, walking over to Charlie, who turned to look at him, disbelieving, �Charlie, I would never do that, you know I wouldn�t-�
�Well, I�m beginning to doubt it, Matt! Why did you pull such a stupid stunt?� Charlie snarled, �If you care about me like you say you do.�
Matt bit his lip, holding back the tears that threatened to spill. Charlie didn�t know how he felt, how he lay awake at night going over and over in his head the countless ways of saying �I love you,� and now Charlie thought he hated him.
�Charlie, I promise one my life I would never-� he was stopped mid sentence, and Charlie blinked at him, confused, as he stared at the empty space above Charlie�s head. Charlie looked up, and saw nothing.
Matt stared, dumbfounded, at what appeared to be a floating piece of... shadow, hovering above Charlie�s head. It was twisting and turning as though it were in incredible pain, and finally stopped in a set form, and Matt felt his blood turn to ice as he recognized the shape of an axe. A black axe... of death.
When I say Matt felt his blood turn to ice, I was not being metaphorical. He felt it slowly freezing, stilling within his veins, yet he was still alive, creeping from his finger tips up through his arms to the rest of his body. He fell back, unable to scream, as darkness claimed him.
***
He awoke alone, on the landing. Sitting up groggily, he held his hand to his forehead, breathing heavily, looking around, all too aware of the lack off life within the house. He got up and trod carefully down the stairs, every step making him more and more they had not used the Ouija board.
He peered into the living room, and to his relief there sat his friends, each and everyone one of them ashen faced. He stepped into the room and they all jumped, staring at him as if he was an axe murderer, and from the look on Charlie�s face Matt knew they thought he probably was.
�Listen,� he said in hushed tones, �I didn�t spell out what that Ouija board said. Something possessed me, and I think it�s still around here somewhere...�
�Matt, we�ve just had to take Kara to hospital,� Danny croaked, and Matt suddenly realized the lack of Kara sitting in James�s lap. James just stared into space as if he were not even there.
Matt paused. �What? Why? What�s happening? I collapsed and you did nothing, yet you take Kara to hospital? What did she do?� he looked at them all, and now they were all avoiding his gaze.
�Don�t you remember?� James hissed, �Don�t you know what you did, you complete idiot? A joke is a joke Matt, but really...� He sighed unhappily, and looked at his hands. �I just don�t understand why you did it.�
�Did what?� Matt asked, clenching his fists, and he was suddenly aware of a lukewarm substance on his hands, squelching between his fingers. He looked at it.
It was blood. Crimson swirls of blood.
�Matt, don�t you know what you did?� Charlie asked. When Matt shook his head, he merely stared. Matt looked at the blood on his hands, transfixed.
�You attacked her. But it was like you weren�t even you,� Danny whispered, �You knifed her, Matt. But we can�t find the knife.�
�It was black,� Charlie said suddenly, �It didn�t even look real, it looks like it would just... like a kind of shadow. Then it disappeared after...� he tailed off, not wanting to finish his sentence.
�I didn�t...I don�t remember!� Matt cried desperately, �It�s not true, I didn�t do ANYTHING!�
James sighed, �Matt, I really don�t want to believe you did this... she�ll be ok, they said, Charlie managed to knock you unconscious, before you did too much damage but she was bleeding quite a lot.�
Charlie looked very guilty at these words, �I only did it because you looked like you really wanted to kill her,� he mumbled, �Matt, you really did seem possessed... this is all because of the Ouija board.�
�Bollocks,� James snapped. �Matt, there is something wrong with you, and I want you to sort it out. You just attacked the one girl I love the most and nearly killed her and the only reason we haven�t dragged your arse to the police is Charlie won�t let me. He doesn�t think you�re doing this.�
�I saw the knife. I saw his eyes. It wasn�t Matt,� he shook his head, �Listen, I�m gonna... go.� He stood and left the room, Matt�s gaze following him, and to his horror, again there was that shadow, hovering above Charlie�s head, in the shape of an axe, but much closer. He followed, unsure what this was, but he knew it was going to hurt Charlie.
He wouldn�t let it. He had hurt Charlie enough himself. He had nearly killed Camilla. There was something powerful inside him, and it hated him, but it also seemed to hate whatever was after Charlie. And that was enough for him to follow.
Charlie wasn�t looking where he was going, Charlie was too busy... crying? Matt knew Charlie cried, at emotional films, and stuff like that. But why now? Was it because Kara was nearly killed? Was it because Matt had been the one to nearly kill her, or at least it had been his physical body that had been used to do so?
The car speeding down the road at 80mph as Charlie stepped out without looking didn�t care. But hell, Matt did, and he felt whatever it was inside him stir, rearing its ugly head as the car came into contact with Charlie, and the black shadow axe began to fall, very, very fast. Whatever Matt had been possessed by, he now knew it must be a blessing, because he moved with lightening speed,
jumped up and grasped his hands around the shadow axe, which burnt his hands excruciatingly, but he refused to let go until it was clear of Charlie, who was knocked sideways out of the way of the car by Matt, as Matt grappled with the demon... and he almost laughed.
He was lying in the road, fighting against Charlie�s death. He was possessed by what he now took to be a good spirit, but he was yet to understand why it had made him knife Kara... it didn�t make sense. Nothing clicked.
But suddenly the death broke free, but instead of heading to Charlie it shot straight up into the sky, and burst into a million pieces. Matt stood, and looked over to Charlie, who was standing, staring at him.
�Why did you-�
�Charlie, we didn�t make a mistake using the board,� Matt managed to smile, �Charlie, that board was warning us, there was a spirit warning us, warning us you were going to die, and it stopped... Charlie, it saved your life.� He walked towards Charlie, and for the first time overcame his hugest fear, rejection, as he placed his lips on Charlie�s, and to his amazement he felt Charlie respond, deepening the kiss, until Matt pulled back, worry dancing in his eyes.
�I... I don�t understand why, though,� he murmured.
�Why what?� Charlie whispered, his breath hot on Matt�s cheek.
�Matt bit his lip, �Why did the possessive spirit make me try to kill Kara?�
�I don�t know,� Charlie shook his head, �But... do you think it�s gone now?�
�I haven�t got any-OW!� Matt leapt several inches into the air, grabbing hold of his arm,
�Something just cut me!� he looked at the wound, and his eyes widened.
A shard of the black shadow had fallen from the sky, and been embedded in his skin, and it was squirming around, making his skin bubble, and then another fell, and another, as he yelled as each caused more pain that the last.
�It hurts, doesn�t it,� sighed an all to familiar voice, and Matt turned to see Kara standing behind him, �But Matt, you shouldn�t try to cheat death.�
�I didn�t,� Matt croaked, as the tears rolled down his face, �I helped Charlie.�
�Ah, but did you not see the ultimate outcome of all this? I possessed you at first, and the other spirit somehow managed to grasp onto the biro, and wrote that message as a warning. When you saw the Angel of Death�s shadow above Charlie � yes, that is what it was, I was not meant for Charlie. It was hovering above the cause, of your death, Matt. But the other spirit that is now
within you, it managed to get into Kara. She was coming to warn you, so I had to do something, and indeed I did it, though the spirit managed to force me out of you, and now dwells within you itself. I myself was forced to find refuge within Kara, and now... here I am.�
�When was I meant to die, though? Charlie was the one who ran out in front of the car,� Matt managed to choke through his tears as another piece of the shadow squirmed into his skin.
�You were meant to rush out and push him out of the way, therefore being hit by the car yourself,� Kara shrugged, �but the spirit within you managed to get you both out of the way, and it even managed to force the Angel of Death away, for a little while. But now, Matt, it has come back for you,� she smirked in a way that did not suit her at all, �And now death will rain down on you like it always should have.�
Kara�s eyes rolled back into her head for a split second, before going back again, and now they were normal, pained and afraid.
�Oh, holy hell,� she whispered, putting her hand to her mouth, as she saw what the shadow shards were doing to Matt.
They appeared to be dissolving his very skin, and Charlie ran forward, free of the momentary shock of what he had just heard, and tried to grab hold of Matt�s hand, pull him away, but again he felt the hatred coursing through him and he was thrown back, and watched, terrified, as the shards of death rained down on Matt as innocent as flutters of darkness. Matt looked over at him one last time, pain etched across his face as he sank to his knees, then lay back in the road, bloodied and beaten as if a car had just hit him.
The shards stopped falling, unlike the tears which now rolled down Charlie�s cheeks. Matt had just died, for him, no matter what the spirits efforts.
Next morning they locked the Ouija board in a chest, and threw it into the sea,
and prayed to God no one ever found it.