Science Ch 24

Leni’s little Fiat EV looks out of place on the gravel in front of CCL House, which is odd because it’s her house. You park your truck beside Delta’s car and head in. Meri, Delilah, and Leni are with your family in the kitchen even though it’s a weekday. Nadia and your mother are dressed for work. Everyone’s missing class except you.

Meri looks a bit more put together than her sister, as usual. Nobody looks as put together as Leni, which seems to annoy Nadia.

Everyone holds a mug, and you automatically head for the coffee pot even as the greetings and judgment come in. Everyone knows exactly what you’ve been doing, even if they don’t know who you were with. Your sisters can probably guess.

Delta has a weirdly stiff look on her face. Nadia doesn’t care. Your mother is not a prude, but she doesn’t like how much you sleep around out of concern for the feelings of your partners. Rey’s just jealous that you get to kiss more pretty girls than she does. Delta is too, although that’s just because she inexplicably lacks confidence. She could have some action in her life if she wanted it. She should initiate something with Scott if she likes him so much. She’s cute. Hote, even, if she went about it right.

None of that matters. The vibe is all wrong. Leni is a total stranger to your family, but the discomfort in the room has nothing to do with her.

“Tell him what you told us,” Delilah says to Meri, who excitedly straightens her glasses.

“Hey, Flynn. You know anything about history?”

“Uh. There were wars. And pilgrims and stuff.”

Your mother sighs softly.

You clear your throat. “Hang on. First, were we all feeling better last night? Like we aren’t haunted anymore?”

Nadia nods. Rey wiggles a hand. Delta just scowls.

Your mother grimaces. “Better… ish,” she says. “Not a 100%.”

You run your hand through your hair. “OK. God. I’m so confused. What do you have, Meri?”

“Yeah! I have this.” She proudly holds up a dog-eared paperback. “It’s a self-published collection of local folklore from Thurstee County and Hornie County, written in the 70s. A girl in CCL back then contributed one of the stories. She was a history major, and it was part of her research. Anyway, she made a connection between CCL House and a witch scandal that went down in the late 18th century.”

“Witch scandal?”

“Yeah, this was a hundred years after the Salem Witch Trials. And I didn’t see any specific mention of anyone being put on trial, so I’m not calling it the Gurlberg witch trials. There was no Gurlberg at this point. Just a trading post. Hornton was there, but Gurlberg didn’t get going until the 1810s.”

You take a huge drink of coffee. You’re already bored. “Um. Neat.”

“OK, look. Back then, there was money in fur. Or, uh, pelts. White-tailed deer.”

“Really?”

“Yes, Flynn. And it wasn’t as swampy here back then. These hills were pine forests because turpentine hadn’t—just, never mind. Flynn, these woods were full of hunters and trappers trying to get pelts. There was, I guess, some kind of settlement up here close to the trading post. Where this house is. Right here.”

“When was the house built?” Rey asks.

Annoyed, Meri takes a deep breath. “Why’s it matter?”

“Just curious.”

“Late 19th century. The Platt family made a fortune in Turpentine and built it here.”

“OK, cool.”

Meri rolls her eyes. “Anyway, apparently there’s credible evidence from records and journals left by the fur people that they were superstitious about witches in these woods.”

You choke on your coffee. “Witches.”

“Witches,” Meri confirms.

“Like that movie with the goat?”

“Just like that.”

You suck your breath in through your teeth.

Meri nods. “Yeah. That’s why we need to do a séance.”

“A what?” you say.

“Hold on. Flynn, can I talk to you?” Rey lets go of a startled Delilah’s hand. She crosses the room to pull you into the hallway. “I’m not feeling better,” she confesses.

“Huh? You’re, uh…”

“No! I’m not horny. But this morning I woke up in the basement. Naked. I guess I was sleepwalking again. I’m scared as fuck.”

“You didn’t tell anyone?”

“I can’t do that to Mom.”

That’s fair. You squeeze her hand reassuringly. “OK.”

“Should we tell them?”

“Let’s hear them out first.” She obviously needed to tell someone. Is it good that you weren’t here last night? Or bad? “Come on.” You take her back to the kitchen.

Embarrassed, Rey goes back to Delilah and grabs her hand.

“We good?” Meri asks.

“Yup.” You refill your coffee. “What were you saying?”

“A séance, Flynn. There’s something in this house, and we have to talk to it to know what it wants. Like, is it haunted or is it cursed?”

Nadia pinches the bridge of her nose with a pained expression. “Did you just ask that?”

Meri spreads her hands. “I’m thinking that’s actually an important distinction.”

“How do you do a séance?” Tracy asks. You’ve never seen her look so miserable.

“The ghosts are actually kind of laying off us,” Delta says hesitantly. “Are we sure we want to stir shit up again? Maybe they got mad when we moved in, and now they’re used to us and chilling out.”

“That’s actually not the craziest thing I’ve ever heard. Somehow,” Tracy says.

“Uh uh,” Meri says, shaking her head. “Guys, CCL’s been in this house for ages, and we weren’t haunted. Or cursed. It’s you guys. We need to figure out why.”

“I don’t see what the problem is,” Delilah says, examining her fingernails. “I think it’s actually kind of fun. Hey!” she says as Rey jabs her with an elbow.

“It’s not fun,” Rey says.

“I mean, it has its moments,” Delta says, avoiding eye contact.

“It’s your house,” you tell Leni. “What do you think?”

Her face tells you that she has no idea where to go with any of this.

“Ms. Powers, or uh, Meri,” your mother says. “How do you do a séance?”

“No idea,” Meri chirps. “But I know someone who does.”

You sense that there’s more than one way this can go. It looks like your mom’s leaning toward wanting to do it. Nadia clearly doesn’t like the idea. You can push it one way or the other.

[ We took a break for the Halloween Special, but now we're back with a serious choice! This story will be updated on Fridays and will get a buff to chapter length because it's a weekly now. ]