A-G-N-E-S

Nanlamig ang katawan ni Nemesis nang sumagot ang kausap nila sa Ouija board. She fought the urge to turn around in hopes of seeing Agnes' spirit, but that didn't dispell the ominous shadows dancing in the corners of her vision. Something was making its presence known to her. Bumilis ang pintig ng kanyang puso sa pinaghalong kaba at excitement sa mga nangyayari ngayon.

'Totoo ba 'to? Are we really talking to Agnes right now?'

Given that she doesn't have a psychic ability like Rio, it made Nemesis wonder if she can somehow communicate with spirits too.

"Agnes," malakas at seryoso ang boses ni Rio. There was a certain air of command underlying the friendliness in her tone. The fire from the candles reflect off her thick eyeglasses. "Ikaw ba ang pumatay sa producer na si Herbert Domingo nitong nakaraan?"

Everyone waited and held their breaths.

The planchette suddenly moved...

YES.

Sa kanyang tabi, ramdam niyang naging tensyunado si Naythan dahil sa mga nangyayari.

"O-Okay. We confirmed that she killed him. Pwede nang mag-good bye, 'di ba? Uwi na tayo please. Matutulog pa ako nang nakabukas ang ilaw."

"Naythan, we can't say good bye yet," Nemesis scolded him before he could move out of the circle. "Hindi pa natin alam kung anong gustong iparating na mensahe ni Agnes."

"Nemo is right," Rio said over the silence. "We can't disrepect the spirits, remember? And believe me, you don't want to anger them."

"Baka ikaw na ang isunod niya," pananakot ni Damien na agad namang ikinamutla ni Naythan. All the while, Caleum was silently studying the Ouija board as if he was contemplating on something.

'Ano kayang iniisip ni Caelum?' Nemesis thought.

"Agnes, let's begin with the basics... Ilang taon ka noong binawian ka ng buhay?" Rio asked, testing the waters again.

Nemesis' heart almost broke when the planchette moved over to the numbers '2' and '0' on the board. Nakakalungkot isipin na kaedad lang nila si Agnes noong namatay ito. There was something especially devastating about a young person having their life taken away before they could even make something out of it. Nemesis couldn't imagine how painful that must be for Agnes... dying at an early age, robbed of all your dreams and ambitions in life.

And you can't do anything about it because you're already dead.

Maybe that's why so many ghosts find it hard to move on from the past and accept their fate.

"We're sorry to hear that, Agnes," Rio sympathized. Huminga nang malalim ang psychic na tila nararamdaman din nito ang emosyon ng kaluluwang kausap nila. "Kami ang Eastwood Paranormal Investigators Club. Nandito kami para tulungan ka, kaya wala kang dapat ikabahala. We genuinely want you to find your peace and assist you in moving on to the afterlife. Pero kailangan namin ng kooperasyon mo."

Hindi gumalaw ang planchette, bagkus umihip ang isang malamig na hangin sa pagitan nila.

Rio took that as a sign to continue her questioning.

"Pwede mo bang sabihin sa amin kung ano ang huling natatandaan mo bago ka naging multo?"

Nemesis knows what she was doing. Rio was asking the back story, details from the past that might give them an insight or a clue on what truly transpired leading to Agnes' death. Nabasa na niya ito sa mga mystery novels niya. In order to solve the problem of the present, you must first dive deep into what made the problem in the first place.

To their horror, the candles' flames flickered like crazy.

"Gumagalaw na!"

Natatakot na wika ni Naythan kasabay ng mabilis na pag-iiba ng posisyon ng planchette sa board. It was too quick to make out the words Agnes was spelling, but Caelum was able to catch it...

"She said 'HIT AND RUN'."

Nagkatinginan silang lima. Naaalala ni Nemesis ang mga lumang dyaryong nahanap nila sa library.

'I guess some of the stories do hold some truth,' she thought. "Rio can you ask her if it was a taxi that hit her?"

Tumango si Rio at tinanong iyon. Maya-maya pa, tumugon ang kaluluwa.

YES.

That made sense.

Iyon ang dahilan kung bakit ilang taong nananakot si Agnes sa mga taxi driver na dumaraan sa Mahogany Street. She was probably reminded of her death, that's why seeing a taxi triggered her anger. At least that much they can already conclude. Pero ang ipinagtataka ni Nemesis, kung sa mga taxi drivers galit si Agnes, bakit hindi nagkakaroon ng malalang aksidente sa kanila? Instead, Agnes was mad enough to kill off the producer, Mr. Domingo, when his car coincidentally passed by this street.

When Nemesis pointed that out to her clubmates, Damien surprisingly agreed to her logic.

"If so, then Agnes' targets weren't the taxi drivers at all. Ang 'unfinished business' niya ay walang kinalaman sa nangyaring askidente sa kanya. Rather, she wanted something else... I'm guessing she wants the role that was stolen from her before she died." Damien nodded. "Rio, can you ask her that?"

Tumango naman ang psychic. Since she has the abilities, they assigned Rio to be the leader in communicating with Agnes. Even though, in theory, the spirit can hear what they're talking about, they didn't want to overwhelm Agnes if everyone asks her a question.

Communicating with a ghost is a fragile practice that comes with grave conquences if dealt poorly.

Ilang sandali pa, biglang gumalaw ang planchette....

But it didn't stop. The planchette suddenly moved in circles all over the board. Kapansin-pansin ang panic sa mukha ni Rio habang sinusubukan nitong kausapin si Agnes.

"Agnes? Agnes can you hear us? Agnes talk to us!"

"Oh no," Caelum suddenly broke the silence when he realized something. "It's counting the numbers backwards. Kailangan na nating tapusin ang komunikasyon! Flip the plachette and end the connection now!"

"W-What? What's happening?!" Natataranta na rin si Nemesis sa mga nangyayari.

"When the Ouija board starts acting like that, it's a bad sign! Shifting over letters and counting backwards is an indication that we're losing contact with the spirit. Something else is trying to communicate!" Caelum quickly explained. "Rio, start a prayer!"

Gumagalaw pa rin ang planchette sa Oujia board.

Sinimulan nang bumigkas ni Rio ng isang dasal sa kabila ng kaguluhang nangyayari.

"What is? Anong nakikipag-usap sa atin?" Nemesis dreaded to know that answer, but she had to hear it.

Caelum's voice was a faint whisper, barely audible over the deafening thud of her heart pounding in her chest.

"A demon."

Someone tapped her shoulder.

In that moment, Nemesis turned to her side, forgetting about the Ouija board.

She was met with the empty black eyes of the white lady staring right into her very soul.

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