Page 70 of The Woods

When Quinn hears this, he turns to Polly in surprise, never having heard of any boyfriend, but she keeps her eyes on Sierra and won’t look at him. Sierra drones on about proper séance protocol but he doesn’t listen. He’s trying to remember any signs that Polly’s got a boyfriend. Honestly, she’s not the type to have a boyfriend; she’s the hit-it-and-quit-it type. Monogamy was more Lucy’s thing.

Sierra tells them to close their eyes and focus on the circle that they are making with their energy. It takes all of Quinn’s strength not to yank his hand away from clammy guy and his sneaky sister and break up the whole thing. He’s pissed at Polly. He thought they were getting closer since moving here, but then she goes and gets a secret boyfriend?

Sierra’s now calling in spirits. She has a bunch of cameras placed around the room. One to video everything, and one to record sounds that the ghosts might make. She’s also got a spirit box, and something to measure the electromagnetic field, an EMF meter. She made a big show of explaining it all and then bossed Quinn around about how to set it up. All of it looks pretty low-tech to him, like a bunch of kids’ toys.

“We are calling in John Gordon, husband of Justine Gordon, who was brutally murdered in this room in 2019.” Sierra’s voice booms, and Quinn thinks that if he were a spirit there’s no way he’d respond to her.

“We are here in peace and friendship,” Sierra continues, her voice getting more dramatic with each word. “We mean you no harm.”

Polly gives Quinn’s hand a squeeze, probably to let him know that she finds the whole thing as cringey as he does, but he ignores her. He’s not talking to her right now, and that includes nonverbal communication.

One of the gadgets in the room starts making a high-pitched whining sound and he feels Ethan tense up beside him. They all open their eyes and look over at the EMF meter on the hearth. The lights on it are flashing. There’s no way that’s not rigged, Quinn thinks.

“Okay, people, we’re getting somewhere,” Sierra announces, sounding like she’s on an episode of Ghost Hunters.

Quinn snorts and Polly gives his hand a hard yank this time. He wants to turn to her and ask why she cares what these weirdos think, but he keeps his mouth shut.

“We feel your presence here, John. Thank you for joining us. Can you please give us a physical sign for further confirmation?”

The four of them sit in silence with only the sound of the EMF meter whining away. Ethan’s hand is slick with sweat, and Quinn’s not sure if he can take much more of this. He’s almost worked up the courage to pull his hands free and declare his exit when there’s a rustling sound in the corner. Panda is lying on the couch only a few feet away, so there’s no way it’s her.

“Is that you, John?” Sierra asks. The rustling stops. Quinn opens his eyes and sees that the tea lights look as though someone is softly blowing on them. He looks at the others in the circle; they all have their eyes open and are watching it too.

“Please,” Sierra says, “give us a sign that you’re here. Something that lets us know that it’s you, John.”

Quinn’s not sure if he’s imagining it or not, but a breeze moves through the room, as though someone has just opened a window. He can feel Polly shiver beside him, which means she feels it as well. A loud clanging erupts beside the fireplace. Polly and Ethan both scream and jump to their feet, breaking the circle.

“Never break the circle!” Sierra yells.

Polly ignores her and runs over and turns on all the lights. The four of them rush to the fireplace to see what made the clanging noise. There on the floor, a few feet away from the fire-tools caddy, is the fire poker.

“That’s what Justine Gordon used to kill her husband,” Quinn says, pointing at the weapon. “She beat him to death with it.” The EMF meter suddenly goes silent and the flames of the tea lights stop flickering.

“Well, people,” Sierra says with unearned authority, “we have made contact.” She pulls out her phone and starts taking photos of the fire poker on the floor. Quinn studies it and the fire-tools caddy while she does, looking for any sign she rigged it—like clear fishing line or something.

“So you think there’s an actual ghost in our house right now?” Polly asks Sierra.

“I’d say there was. Not sure he’s still here, but we’re going to move on to the next room and see if we can call in anyone else.”

Polly shakes her head. “Sierra, I’m not sure if that’s a good idea. The whole thing is creeping me out. My stomach is really upset.” Quinn is surprised. His sister is usually a lot tougher, not so easily unsettled. Her usual demeanor is bitchy and bored, as if nothing can penetrate her thick skin.

“Um, we’re not stopping now! I mean, does nobody else find it fucking freaky that the fire poker fell over? It’s the murder weapon!”

“I think it’s fucking cool,” Ethan says, and they all turn in surprise.

“This is what we came for,” Sierra explains to Polly, her voice full of condescension. She reaches out and pulls Polly into her body. “Don’t worry, Pollypoo. I won’t let anything happen to you. I know what I’m doing.”

Quinn cannot believe that his sister doesn’t shove Sierra away. He grabs Polly’s arm and pulls her away from the other two. “Are you okay?”

She shakes her head. “I don’t know. I just find the whole thing kind of scary. Don’t you?”

“I didn’t mean that. Why have you chosen to waste your Halloween on two weirdos and rope me into it too?”

She laughs and rolls her eyes. “Oh my God. Like you have anything better to do.” The insult floods Quinn with relief; it’s the Polly he knows and hates.

“Why didn’t you tell me about your boyfriend?” Quinn asks, trying not to sound as hurt as he is.

She frowns and looks away. “He’s kind of shy, and it’s not totally official yet. Don’t take it personally.”