III — GHOSTBUSTERS !

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     Roman and Isaac were about to press play on the first episode of Arrow's season three, when a knock on the theater door made them stop and look to see who it was.

"Hi," Josh's head appeared from behind the door. Roman smiled, and Isaac adjusted his glasses.

"Hello," he greeted as well. Josh chuckled.

"Look what I found!" And he now showed them a Spirit Board. "OooOooO!" He exclaimed, trying to mimic a ghost.

"Sweet!" Roman stood up to grab it, and Josh was now completely inside the theater. Isaac looked at her horrified. "Are you gonna play?"

"Yeah, with Ash and Chris. I didn't want to be the third wheel so... would you join me?" He shrugged, looking at her with puppy eyes.

"Sure! Let's go!" She did short jumps in excitement. She turned to Isaac, but he had a serious face, and his arms were crossed over his chest. Josh did his puppy eyes to him, but it didn't seem to work.

"Never on a thousand years." He scoffed, returning to the sofa and falling into it, pressing play to the show.

"Hey! Don't watch it without me!" Roman exclaimed, offended.

"Fine, I'll just watch a movie then." He rolled his eyes, exiting the Arrow episode and starting to look for a good movie so see. "Safe ghost hunting, I guess."

"Of course!" Josh chuckled.

"This is going to be so fun," Roman said, as she started to walk behind Josh. She closed the theater door, and handed the board to her friend. "I've always wanted to be a Ghostbuster," she laughed, making the Washington boy laugh as well.

"If there's something strange!" he started, looking at her so she would follow the song.

"In the neighborhood!" she continued, as Josh opened a new door. They were on the section prior to enter that big library the lodge had. Ashley and Chris were already there, sitting down on a table that had candles lighted up.

"Who you gonna call?!" They both exclaimed, catching the pair's attention. "Ghostbusters!" They shouted, making Ash and Chris laugh while they kept singing the beat of the song.

"What are you saying?" Ashley laughed, looking at her friends who sat down in front of her and Chris once their little concert had ended.

"Well, we were just getting on the mood..." She shrugged, making Chris chuckle. "Ooh, you lighted up some candles too?"

"Yeah... also to get in the mood!"

"As if this room wasn't creepy enough!" She chukled. "No offense, though," she looked at Josh, who just shook his head, chuckling as well.

"It's fine." He smiled. "I know it can be creepy in here sometimes."

"Which is why it's perfect to use this!" Ashley points towards the board.

"Okay," Chris cleared his throat, "It says that 'to communicate with the spirit world you must free your mind of all preconceptions, drop all inhibitions, and generally give yourself over entirely to the will of others, sublimating your every desire to the whims of the Spirit-master' which is me–"

"It doesn't say that," Ash rolled her eyes, making Roman raise both of her eyebrows. Josh finally sat down beside her, Chris exchanging a look with him before continuing.

"...and all present will remove their garments at my sole discretion–"

"Chris, come on, this is serious–" The Washington tried, but Chris interrupted him back.

"Oh, I'm deadly serious," he said, putting both of his arms on his hips, raising an eyebrow and chuckling.

"Oh, shut it." Ashley rolled her eyes again, Chris crossed his arms over his chest and Josh and Roman both adjusted their positions on their chairs. "Let's try this." She smiled with her lips sealed.

"Yes please!" Roman said, maybe a little too excited, making Chris chuckle. They all put their hands on the center, with their finger on top of the wooden, triangular pointer that came with the Spirit Board, when the blonde said,

"Okay then, let's see what happens..." He then turned his head towards the redhead, "Ashley, since... you're a recent convent, why don't you be our medium for today?" Roman smiled with her lips sealed, and nodded her head.

"Okay, uhm... is– is anyone there?" She tried, tilting her head. Roman gave a quick look to Josh, suddenly thinking that what they were doing, may not be that great of an idea. However, the Washington boy was looking at Ashley very calmly, so Roman sighed, and continued paying attention to her friend. "Will you reveal yourself to us... if you're there...?"

The McAvery girl was calm until that moment, when the pointer started to shake, meaning it was going to move. She widened her eyes, while her friends gasped and looked just as surprised, and scared, as her.

"Wait a minute–" Chris widened his eyes as well.

"Did you do that?" Josh asked to Ashley, his voice sounded slightly scared.

"I- I didn't do anything!" She replied, gulping.

"Come on, who moved it?" Roman asked, but then...

"It's moving again!" Chris looked way too excited now. Roman couldn't help but glance at Josh every two seconds, thinking now that this, for sure, was definitely not a good idea.

"H..." Ashley said out loud.

"What's it spelling?" Roman asked out of panic. She had never been in a situation like that. Whenever she played with a Spirit Board, it always ended up being a scam, or a stupid, way too obvious prank. So yeah, she was kind of panicking. And she was also really worried about Josh too.

"Hold on," her friend said.

"How's this happening?" Josh frowned, looking at Ash. But the redhead wasn't so sure about it either.

"Are you moving it?" Chris arched one of his eyebrows, asking to none of them in particular.

"I swear it's just moving," Ashley answered anyway.

"Holy shit," Josh said under his breath, catching Roman's attention.

"Maybe this wasn't a good idea..." The brunette girl gulped.

"Help..." Ashley said out-loud the final word. Roman felt her throat dry out, as she gulped again.

"How are we supposed to help?" Chris asked, gesturing with his free arm.

"I don't know," Ashley shook her head. "What does it mean?" She said confused.

But Roman's still trying to wrap her head around the fact that the freaking board had just spelled a word. Chris looked incredulous, and apparently he's not buying it. Josh's feet is moving under the table, a sign that he's nervous. Roman frowned, looking at her redhead friend, parting her lips to say something.

"Well... we need to know who it is, if we're supposed to help them... right?" Roman tried to reason. Ashley looked at her, the fear starting to form on their eyes. The redhead then nodded.

"Who are you?" She proceeded to ask. "Uh..." Ash gasped when she felt the pointer starting to move.

"Oh, here it goes–" Chris exclaimed.

"Okay. S..." Josh started to spell this time.

"I..." The redhead continued.

"S..." Chris followed.

"T..." Roman sighed.

"E..." Josh took the word again.

"R..." Ashley finished. Then she said the world out-loud, making a chill ran down Roman's spine. "Sister."

"Sister?!" Roman repeated, not wanting to believe it.

"Whose sister?" Josh said in a low tone, already knowing whose sister it was.

"Oh, come on is this for real?" Chris was still incredulous, he even chuckled. Roman didn't blame him, she was also wanting this to be a joke. But it couldn't be. It'd been to far by now, it'd be really cruel... this can't be a prank. Another chill ran down her spine, when Josh spoke again.

"Shut up. Ask it whose sister."

"Josh, it's... it's gotta be!" The redhead said in a sad tone.

"Well... which sister is it then?" He tilted his head, his voice was sad but at the same time desperate, and filled with confusion.

"Guys, come one...!" Roman tried to stop them, looking at Josh with pleading eyes, but he wasn't looking at her. He was looking at the board.

"Ask it." He repeated.

"Josh, are you sure? We can stop... right Ash?" But before the redhead could say anything, Josh answered the brunette's question.

"I'm sure. Ash, please..." He sighed. 

"Ashley, ask who it is..." Chris nodded. The alluded sighed.

"Okay... who are we speaking to...? Hannah?" A third chill ran down Roman's spine. Jesus Christ. "Is that you?" The pointer then, goes to the 'YES' word written on black, thick letters at the top of the board.

"Oh, God" Ashley gasped.

"Holy cow. Okay. What the–"

"This is messed up." The blonde interrupted his best friend.

"Josh... are you...?" Ashley looked at him, who still had his eyes glued to the board. Roman's breathing became irregular and fast, and Chris is starting to look anxious.

"I'm fine." The Washington boy answered, finally looking up at his best friend, then his eyes travel to Roman.

"You sure? Because we can stop..." She maneged to say, wiping a tear with her hand that's not on the pointer.

"Yeah, we can stop..." The redhead added.

"No," Josh frowned, while shaking his head.

"Dude–" Chris started, but Josh interrupted him.

"I want to hear what it says..." He clears his throat, looking determined, but still having that worried frown on his forehead.

"...it's cool." Chris finished anyway.

"I... I don't know where to start?" Ashley said between her teeth, quietly.

"Think about it, if this is actually Hannah, I mean..." Chris started.

"We can find out what happened that night..." Roman finished his sentence in a whisper, looking at her best friend with her eyes full of guilt, and well... tears. Chris nodded at her with a smal smile, trying to calm her down.

"Josh?" Ashley sighed, looking for confirmation from him.

"I can handle it." Josh is still determined, however, he can't seem to wipe that worried frown out of his features. Roman let out a shaky sigh, and closed her eyes, trying to prepare herself for what's next.

"Oh... kay. Uhm... let me think." Ashley paused for a few seconds. "Hannah..., we miss you... and, we want to know what happened to you. Can you– can you tell us what happened?" The pointer started to move again. "B... E... T... R..."

"Uh oh," Chris shook his head.

"I don't like this!" Ashley whined.

"I don't like this either," Roman agreed with her friend.

"Betrayed." Chris sighed.

"What does she mean?" Josh asked with a soft, sad and confused voice.

"Uh, it's still going!" The blonde exclaimed.

"Oh, god!" Ashley gasped. "K... I... L... L... E... D– no!" She screamed, covering her mouth with her free hand.

"Killed?" Josh has a confused face. Roman at that point didn't know what to think, and wasn't really aware of her surroundings. She felt distant, like she was in some sort of trance, until Ashley's screams brought her back.

"We didn't kill them! It was just a prank!"

"Shit," Roman managed to whisper. If Hannah said anything else, she would start crying.

"A– Ash, Rom, calm down... we need to find out more!" Chris tried. Josh is shaking his head, trying to process what's going on.

"I'm sorry. I am so sorry" Ashley whimpered, gesturing with her free hand, moving it back and forward.

"Guys, guys what does she mean?" Josh asked, with that sad frown still on on the middle of his forehead.

"Ask her what happened." The McAvery girl sniffs, gaining the redhead's attention. "Is the only way to know..."

"Ask her, Ash." Chris said, in a calming tone. He was really trying to keep it together, at the same time he tried to keep his friends out of loosing it.

"Okay. Who killed you?" Ashley looked down to the board. "Hannah, who was it?" The pointer starts to move, and the redhead reads out-loud, "L...I... B..."

"Library! Maybe there's something in the library here–" Chris exclaimed.

"It keeps going!" Roman whined, pointing at it with her free hand.

"P... R... O... O..."

"Proof! There's– there's... there's proof!" Chris exclaimed once again, putting the words together.

"In... the library...?" Ashley asked, a little bit confused, still in a desperate voice, when suddenly the board started to shake, making Roman close her eyes, hide her face on Josh shoulder, letting a little gasp out, while they stood up.

"What the hell?!" She screams, her voice full of fear. She grabbed Josh's shirt and arm with her hand as if her life depended on it.

"Watch out!" Josh exclaimed, grabbing Roman's hand on his own.

"Woah!" Chris and Ashley stood up as well, while the pointer flew out of the table, and landed on the floor. Roman didn't even bother to look, while she fully hugged Josh's side now. Her heart was racing, she could hear the heart of his friend racing too. He had put now both of his hands around her, trying to calm her down and also trying to calm himself down, but it wasn't working out.

"Holy shit!" Ashley gasped, grabbing her head with both of her hands, taking a few steps back from the table.

"You know what?" Josh started to speak, slowly letting go of Roman, who also began to let him go to have a better look around her. "This is bullshit..." He continued, owning Roman's attention. "This isn't real–" He's pointing with his finger at the pointer on the floor.

"Josh! I don't know what's going on!" Ashley desperately said, and Roman's tears are finally set free. She however, tries to hide it by wiping them away with her hands.

"Dude–" Chris tried. He clearly didn't know what to do, or what's going on.

"Listen..." Josh puts both hands in the air, around the same level as his chest, gesturing with them as he speaks. "I– I don't know... I don't know if you think messing with me is somehow going to help me deal with my grief or whatever, but this isn't cool."

"Josh, no!" Roman shook her head desperately.

"You wanted to use this Spirit Board!" Ashley reminded him, pointing at it with her hands.

"Hey, calm down, it's not Ashley's fault!" Chris tried to reason with his friend, but he was already walking out of the room.

"I don't need this right now, okay?! You guys are full of it."

The three friends left on the room stare at each other for a few seconds. Roman kept wiping out her tears, at the same time Ashley and Chris sighed.

"This is great!" Roman ironically said.

"Sh– should we go after him?" Ashley wondered, feeling guilty about the whole situation. The two girls look at the blonde.

"Ah, man..." He sighed, wrapping his arms around his chest. "I mean, he'll be okay. Let's... let's just give him some time." Roman sighed too, sitting down. Her two friends did the same thing.

"I don't blame him... That was crazy, I mean, the pointer flew right off the table!"

"I mean if you were faking it, you were doing one hell of a job." Chris nodded. Roman exchanged a look between her two friends.

"I wasn't faking anything!" Ashley defended herself. "I think we should do what it says..." Roman shook her head heavily.

"Don't count me in." She stood up again, and started to walk out of the room.

"Roman, please!" Chris shouted, but the brunette didn't turn back and went out of the room anyways. She walked until she was in the middle of the living room, alone, where she started crying again.

"God damnit." She cried to herself.

So there she was, standing alone on the living room, crying, and it's been at least five minutes, when the front door closed loudly, making her jump on her feet. The brunette frowned, making her way towards the door right away. Maybe it was Em and Matt...? Or Mike with Jess...? But nobody was inside, so she reached the window to see who must've exited the lodge, and she saw him. It had been Josh, who now was running outside, towards the forest. "Shit." She turned around, looked for a jacket to grab and put on, but there was none close by, just a beanie in a little table, so she puts that on before heading out to catch her upset friend from getting lost... or something else she doesn't want to even think about.

Just by standing outside, all the images from that tragic night came back and flashed before Roman's eyes. However, the girl just walked it off, and made her way into the woods, screaming Josh's name.

"I'm going to regret this." She sighed once she was at the entrance of that damn forest. Without looking back, Roman entered it. There was no way that it'll turn to be worse than the last time she walked among those trees, right?

author's note: hello. i know it's been a year? even more? but hey, i'm here now with a new chapter because i finally defeated my writer's block. hope you enjoyed and i'll be back with the next one soon. ☺️🌸