Chapter Text
(23:10)
Sasha set the Ouija board in the center of the library’s lone table, a few candles flickering weakly around it. Shadows crawled up the walls, stretching between the shelves.
“Alright… you guys ready?” she asked, smiling.
“Yep,” Zenix said.
“Get on with it,” Gene muttered, his scowl aimed at the board.
“Okay, okay,” she giggled. “Um… hello? Anyone there? Abracadabra?”
They each rested a single finger on the planchette.
“Sash,” Zenix said, bumping her elbow but grinning.
“Fineee. Is anyone there?”
The planchette slid to YES.
“Are you moving that?!” Zenix asked with a laugh.
Sasha shook her head. “Gene?”
Gene smirked but answered, “Nope.”
“Ask something else! Come on!” Zenix urged.
“Alright… who are you?” Sasha asked.
The planchette scraped across the board: B-E-T-H.
“So your name’s Beth… ew,” Sasha said, wrinkling her nose.
They all laughed.
“Okay, Beth. What happened to you?”
F-E-L-L
“You fell… what, off the stairs?” Zenix joked, still laughing.
The planchette jerked, then moved again: H-E-L-P D-A-N-G-E-R.
“Okay, we’ll watch our step,” Sasha said sarcastically.
The planchette vibrated beneath their fingertips—then shot off the board, clattering to the floor.
“Whoa!”
“Who did that?!” Zenix demanded.
“I didn’t!” Sasha laughed, her heart racing.
“Gene!” she accused, swatting his shoulder.
“Don’t look at me! One of you guys did it,” he said, grinning but clearly intrigued.
Then—thud. A stack of books toppled from a nearby shelf.
“The fuck?!” Zenix jumped back.
Sasha flinched too, but covered it with a laugh at Zenix’s reaction.
Gene’s gaze lingered on the shelf. “…How did that happen?” he muttered, walking over.
“Hey—guys, look at this.” He pointed to a small, dust-caked button embedded in the now-empty space.
“No way. Cool!” Sasha said.
“Should we press it?” Zenix asked.
“Uh, what are buttons for? Obviously we press it,” Sasha said, already leaning in.
She clicked it.
With a low rumble, the bookshelf groaned and began to move, sliding aside to reveal a narrow, dark passageway.
“Whoa…” Gene murmured. He pulled out his phone, the screen lighting up as he entered his passcode—02-14-96.
His homescreen filled the display: Zane, mid-laugh in his pool, black swim shorts clinging to his hips, wet hair slicked back, freckles scattered across sun-warmed skin. The image caught him off-guard every time, even though he’d swiped it from Garroth’s Instagram months ago.
He blinked, switched on his flashlight, and stepped forward.
“Leave it to the Ro’meaves to have a secret passage in their house,” Gene muttered.
The hidden door opened into a narrow space lined with shelves crammed full of binders and books.
“What’s in there?” Sasha asked, stepping in beside him.
“Not sure. Just some weird notes,” Gene said, picking up a letter from the desk.
“What does it say?” Zenix asked.
“Something about loans and payback. I dunno.” He shrugged and moved on, pulling a binder from the shelf. This one was about a mental asylum—Gene rolled his eyes and shoved it back before grabbing another.
To his surprise, it was a photo album.
He flipped through it, slowing when he saw the first few pages—pictures of Zane as a little kid. Chubby cheeks, raven hair, bright blue eyes. In almost every picture, he was looking at Garroth like the guy hung the moon.
A few more pages in, Gene snorted. There was little Zane in a sparkly, oversized pink dress with a paper crown on his head and his mom’s white heels slipping off his feet. He was laughing at kid Garroth, who was dressed up as a dragon, mid-“battle” with little Laurence in a prince costume.
Cute, Gene thought before shutting the album and sliding it back onto the shelf.
When he turned, Zenix and Sasha were staring at him with raised brows and knowing smirks.
“What?” Gene snapped.
“Nothing,” they both said in unison.
They stepped out of the cramped room, but a loud bang echoed from downstairs. They came to a stop at the door.
“Guys?” Sasha asked. She grabbed the door handle—only for it to be yanked open from the other side. She was dragged through before the door slammed shut and locked.
She screamed.
“Sasha!” Gene and Zenix shouted. They rushed to the door, pounding on it before Gene finally forced it open.
Two masked figures stood inside.
“Who the fu—” Zenix started, but both he and Gene were struck down, hitting the floor hard.