Ready for a Scare? by P.J. Night

because he believes he heard something doesn’t mean he really did, she assured herself. She was afraid to let her mind go down the other path.
    â€œI know it doesn’t make sense,” Gavin said. “But something is going on.”
    â€œWhat kind of something?” she challenged.
    â€œSomething supernatural,” he said calmly.
    Kelly tried to laugh, but the croak that came out sounded more as if she were choking. Her throat felt unnaturally dry again.
    â€œI think we did it,” Gavin said. “I think, somehow, we brought back the spirit of that dead girl.” His eyes gleamed with excitement, although his face remained grim.
    Kelly stared at both boys. Spencer looked uncomfortable. He fidgeted in his chair. He gazed around hisroom. But Gavin looked, well, almost energized. His wiry body fidgeted expectantly. She wasn’t sure what to make of this, especially since she barely knew him.
    â€œDo you think we did, Kelly?” Spencer asked. “Do you feel anything weird?”
    She rubbed her icy fingers together, then tried to warm them with her breath. The whole night had been weird. Paige and June were missing. Chrissie was completely off-kilter. And she had felt a strange sensation after they had chanted. Electric. Dizzy. She didn’t know what.
    But she wasn’t going to admit it.
    â€œNo.” She picked up her cell and dialed Paige. Nonstop ringing. June’s number went right to voice mail. She didn’t bother to leave another message, although she really wanted to scream at her friend. Where was she? Why were she and Paige doing this?
    â€œSo?” Spencer asked.
    â€œSo nothing,” she replied. She tried to control her frustration.
    â€œThey’re not answering my texts.” Spencer held his phone up to the camera as if her seeing his phone would make her realize how odd it all was.
    â€œMine either.” She sat quietly for a minute. The airaround her had grown frigid. She could faintly see her breath as she exhaled. The upstairs heater must have died, she realized. She hoped the downstairs one was still working. It was going to be a long, uncomfortable night if they didn’t have heat.
    â€œI’m going to call Paige’s house phone,” she told them. She almost never called Paige at home anymore. Paige always had her cell by her side. She dialed and listened as the Coxes’ phone rang and rang. Where were Paige’s parents? They wouldn’t be out on a night like this. On the tenth ring, she hung up.
    Rummaging about on her desk, she uncovered the slim school directory under a pile of notebooks. An absurd-looking moose wearing a sports jersey graced the cover. She’d never understood why they had to have the stupidest mascot ever. She flipped to the C s to check the number. It was silly, really. She’d known Paige since she was born. She didn’t have the wrong number. She knew that. But still.
    She dialed again, pressing each number deliberately. Ringing and ringing. No answer. “No one’s there,” she reported.
    â€œIsn’t Paige’s sister babysitting you?” Gavin asked.“Maybe she knows where Paige went.”
    Spencer perked up. “Yeah, Kel. You should go ask her.”
    Kelly sighed. “I don’t know if that’s the best idea right now.”
    â€œWhy?” Spencer asked.
    She told them about how Chrissie had lied about being outside. She explained how disturbed and disconnected she seemed.
    â€œShe’s possessed,” Gavin said matter-of-factly.
    â€œOh, please,” she scoffed.
    â€œThink about it,” he challenged. “Think about when her behavior changed.”
    It was true. Chrissie had started acting odd after the chanting. After the smell of peppermint.
    Gavin’s dark-brown eyes burned through the screen at her with an intensity that made her uncomfortable. “We did something,” he said.
    She stood and turned her back on the