What have you done?

“Protective energy has been summoned up on this-” I couldn’t make out what was being said but it sounds like a spell of some sort.

A circle of cloaked women chanting. I’m looking in and watching these people chanting. I try to go to each of the women to get their attention and find out what’s happening, but no one seems to be listening to me- or hearing me.

The chanting stopped and everyone whipped their heads towards me in unison. Seeing all their faces startled me- there was something wrong. Everything was hazy and, couldn't pinpoint what was wrong but everything about this felt wrong.

Suddenly there was screaming and I’m being shaking awake; “Jess- Jess, wake up!”

I open my eyes and see Matt standing over me with concern on his face; “Hmm?” is all I can muster up.

“Jess?! You’re having another bad dream, it's okay.” I told Matt everything that happened in the dream. Thought the dream was odd.

“Maybe the dream was a warning of some sort? You did say they were chanting a protection spell. Maybe it’s time to call your friends?”

“No, I- I can’t,”

“Jess, you can’t keep going on like this-”

“Like what Matt? Talk it out? Pretend nothing happened last year? Then go on my marry way?” I stood up and walked off hearing Matt call behind me.

“No, Jess, come on. Please don’t do this! I just want to help.”

Later that night I could hear Matt on the phone with someone; “Monica, please I not sure how much I can do this anymore. The nightmares are getting worse, and she won’t call you- no I understand but she needs you- alright thanks.”

Matt comes back to the bedroom about an hour later with Monica; “Jess? Monica is here to see you.”

“Hey, Jess,” Monica waved with a pity smile. “Can we talk?”

I opened the blanket so she could crawl into bed with me. Matt closed the door behind him as he left the bedroom. “So, how are you really Jess?”

“Well, since that night things have been weird. Like super weird.” I told her about the dreams I’ve had.

“Shit dude, that’s fucked.”

At the beginning of their college career, we joined a group for witches. Monica and I have always been into spooky things and witchcraft. We’ve always practiced witchcraft; now that we’ve found a group for it, even better. For the most part for three years, it was great. We became great friends with the group but last year in our final year of college, something didn’t go very well. It resulted in five people to die, and Monica, myself and two other girls land in the hospital.

“Jess, it’s been more then a year since that night. I think it be good for you to talk about that night, least the events leading up to that night,” Jerry is my therapist. I’ve been basically seeing her for the past year since I was released from the hospital.

Matt, my husband, and Doctor at the hospital thought it might be a great idea to speak with someone considering I almost died and witnessed 6 of my friends die. I was very much opposed to this. But the hospital refused to let me go unless I seen a therapist.

*One year and sometime earlier*

“Hey Jess, come to Maya’s tonight,” Monica called.

“Yea sure.” Hung up the phone with Monica and got ready while I waited for her to come pick me up.

On the way to Maya’s, we picked up some Starbucks and snacks. This was one of the last weekends of the summer before the school year started. Every year the last weekend of the summer we get together and we make recipes and spells to help us get through the school year. So far, we’ve had very good things happen.

“We didn’t know it, but it didn’t go very well.”

“Why would you say that, Jess?” the therapist asked with concern.

“I don’t know,” I wasn’t lying this time. “Something just seemed off after we did our practice.”

She made a note in her book.

“I’m unsure how to explain it. Something just didn’t seem right after that night,” I feel like I’m over explaining this to the therapist but a year later I still can’t pinpoint anything.

October, we got together the most to practice, I think part of it was because it was our last year of college. This semester seemed to be the hardest semester, so we got together a lot to help get through it together. But I noticed things started to happen. Magic always comes with a price, but we were very careful of doing magic because we understood this; or maybe we didn’t, and it finally caught up to us.

The night of the accident, October 30th, we were dabbling with the Ouija board. Not that we haven’t used it in the past. But we were drinking and stressed out with exams. Maybe that wasn’t the greatest combo. Nothing really happened during our session besides lights flickering. I don’t ever remember closing the chat, later in the night I mentioned that but some of the other girls said don’t worry about it and that we did properly close the board.

“I don’t know.”

“Do you still feel that way?” The therapist asked. “Do you still feel like the board wasn’t closed?”

“No. The board didn’t properly close.”

4 am a huge bang came from downstairs from the room we did the Ouija board in. Monica, Maya, and I went down to investigate. Three of the other girls were already downstairs. They were sleeping in the lining rom when this happened. They had drunkenly passed out there and everyone just kind of left them there.

“What was that bang,” Maya was the first to speak. Not really seeing in the room very well.

Alex responded nervously; “Uhm, the table with the board was flipped over and the board broken into three pieces.

Alex was holding up the broken board and she look like she seen a ghost she was so pale.

“How did this even happen?” the other girl asked.

“I thought you guys said we closed the board?” I may of came off more agitated than anticipated.

“We did,” Monica snapped.

Everyone looked at each other with concern because at this point did, we? We flipped the table back upright and we went to bed.

The following night everyone thought it be a great idea to sleep in the same room, so we were all together. This way we could keep an eye on one another if something bad was going to happen.

Alex thought I would be a great idea if we sat in a circle and do a protection spell. As the spells being said I don’t feel very well. Like something is wrong. The next thing I knew it felt like I was watching everything happen from the outside. It didn’t feel like I was present anymore.

A faint growl in the shadows of the room and I slowly turn around to where it came from—I woke up three days later in the hospital.