Wicked Hungry

“LANSFELD, IT’S TIME FOR A CLEANSING.”

I sit down on the floor.

“Wow,” I say.

“That’s not all, either,” Jonathan says, and nods at Enrique.

“My jaguar,” Enrique says. “Feel it.”

He holds it out and I put my fingers on it. It’s hot, almost burning, and glows softly in the dim light of the room.

“What does that mean?”

He shakes his head. “We need to call my great grandmother, now. And consult the book. You brought the book?”

I nod. “I have it right here.”

“Good,” he says, smiling for the first time since I arrived. “Then sit down next to Jonathan and we’ll get this thing started.”

“You sure you want to do this with your parents awake?” Jonathan says.

“And hey,” I say, “what about trick-or-treating?”

They look at me like I’m crazy.

“Dude,” Jonathan says. “You want to trick-or-treat for candies while zombies are surrounding Enrique’s house?”

“Maybe it’s not the best idea,” I admit.

“I need to contact my great grandmother,” says Enrique. “Can’t you feel it?”

I shrug. “It’s hard to feel anything with those zombies across the street.”

I sit with Jonathan and Enrique. We form the three points of a triangle, and the center point is the Ouija board.

“Is there a reason we’re sitting like this?” I ask.

Jonathan nods. “A triangle is basic form of protection. If it was a bad spirit, we would draw a pentagram. But to call a friendly spirit, like Enrique’s great grandmother, shouldn’t require more than this. I hope.”

“What if something else comes instead of his grandmother?”

Enrique shakes his head. “She will come. And we are not summoning her, just talking with her.”

“How do you all know so much about this?” I ask. “I thought I was the one with the book.”

Jonathan smiles. “Dude, I never showed you what I bought before you all came in, did I? And anyways, I’ve been into this stuff for a while.”

Enrique nods. “Jonathan is our expert here.”

“Oh yeah,” I say. “What does that make me?”

“You’re our boss, Wolf Man,” Jonathan says. “You know that.”

And when he says it, I realize it’s true.

Enrique nods. “Yeah, ever since we went to that shop.”

“And you, Enrique?”