Glitch

Chapter 4

To be honest this was probably the most interesting school year we... Or maybe I. Ever had, it's not everyday you get to talk to the dead. Though as we continued to fall deeper into this addiction of summoning the dead every lunch. The more darker our lives have been.

Well, in my opinion my life had just turned darker than ever. It's been two weeks since we started using the board, I've already got used to Angela's soul shifting thing… that happens every day. Sometimes it’s Clyde, or Secret, or Kevin… Kevin is kind of a little jerk, no offense to him. Or maybe I am being bias since I like Clyde more. Anyways, Clyde’s the smartest among them plus has the best penmanship, still different from Angela’s penmanship but still beautiful in my eyes. Secret comes out every now and then just to ask for sweets from me.

In those two weeks, the rift between me and my family just grew. We are always angry lately, always on the brink of our limits. I had a history of self harm from the past, and I have had the urges again this year though I try to refrain from it. Maybe it was the hormonal changes I get that’s why I also get mad at them, or maybe we are all stressed at this point.

Though for the past week as we used the board, I have been having getting lesser nightmares more of what seemed like visions of what may happen. I see it vividly when I sleep and get sudden glimpses of it during the day but it slips away from my memory like it was never really there. I have been having more headaches as well as memory loss. One moment, It’s flag ceremony then later on it’s lunch time. I see what I have been doing, I can feel that I do something but it feels like I am dreaming and then I get back to reality with no recollection of the hours in between. Though they come back to my memory by the end of the day but it confuses me as I can’t remember.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” I asked Angela since it was Secret who was in control right now.

She shrugged in response and looked around in amazement, which quickly turned into confusion as she looked unto the board.

“You know better, just let Clyde or Kevin take over or better yet put Angela in control.” I told her with worry, judging by the age of how Secret acts. She was probably 5 or 7 at most, and I fear that her answering math questions of third year high school might give very low results.

She just stuck her tongue out at me and started answering. I was actually starting to doubt if we these were actually souls or it’s just us playing crazy. It feels like a dream; a very vivid, realistic dream.

After a checking our paper, and as I concluded. Angela did score a 12 over 30 with Secret answering Algebraic problems. She gave a small little smile that looked like an apology before going into a trance which later on showed to be Angela now.

“What…is this?” She whispered to me, then started laughing and crying. “Why is my score like this? This is the first time.”

“Well, that’s what you get when you let a kid take the wheel.” I giggled at her, we were laughing so much that we nearly choked as we laughed with no sound.

“How’s your study of seeing aura’s doing?” She asked as we waited for teacher discussed our lesson.

“I am starting to see it if I look closely. Though I am having a hard time determining what each color means.” I said while looking closely at our teacher.

“Try it then, what aura do people have here?”

I looked around and picked out 5 people. Trying to feel what each color means as well.

“Diana has a yellowish kind of aura, Ruby has a… green? It looks like a mixture of green and blue but more green. Paul has this bluish tone of aura, Marcus has also blue but darker tone, and lastly You have… white… why is it white?” I said to her she looked surprised when I said white.

“White or none. Also what does that mean?” She chuckled

“Its white for you… Symbolizes that you are pure? Of heart.” I laughed trying to hide my laughter. “Or it might mean.. you are still a virgin.”

She laughed at this too. Then she tried shifting to which I saw how entirely different the aura’s were radiating.

“Do you see that?” I said to her causing her to look at our teacher to which both of us laughed.

The reason? Normally, when you stand by the white board with the light right on top of them. It shows three shadows. One darker and closer to you, another grey-like and one that is barely seen. Our teacher, right now…Had four shadows, the fourth one followed the shadow that was barely seen. This one was darker, not everyone would notice if you didn’t focus on that.

The shadow was late compared to the real shadows, it’s action was a few seconds late along with the fact that sometimes it raises the wrong arm and when writing. This was not the first time we had seen shadows trying to act like a shadow of another person. Nor was it the first time we had been seeing shadows move to their own accord.

I had no idea what happened after, I only know going quiet and next thing I know I am at my bed. Laying down on my bed with tear stains on my cheek. I don’t know why I have been crying, probably another fight at home that I don’t remember. Closing my eyes, I entered a deep slumber.

I woke up we were in our usual spot it was sunny, the hair was hot and humid. I was wearing a black sweater over my uniform, they were playing the board as usual. I could not make out their words just indistinct murmurs, the bell rang loudly ahead indicating that break time was over. I noticed that we didn’t get to finish our meals and was in a hurry to fix up so we wouldn’t get late.

The scene changed, it was in the afternoon now. We were at the student’s lounge that was near the staircase that we usually use when going up to our classroom, it was right beside the computer laboratory at the ground floor. We were eating and laughing with one another we.

Everything seemed normal I am not sure exactly why am I seeing this. I know it’s dream because the scenes changes to easily. The scene was darker now, we were sitting by our usual spot.

“She’s going cause trouble with her continues path. Lying about something like this, she thinks it’s all fun and games.” Someone said beside me, I could not see her face. But I felt like I know her.

“You children should not have played with things you did not understand or at least followed the rules.” Another said beside me while looking up to the trees.

I was about to ask them what they meant, but the scene changed yet again.

I felt pressure hit my face but can’t see what hit me. It was dark and cold, with the rain pouring. My face felt like it was swollen due to that hit and in front of me was a dark shadow, which felt angry at me. It reached for my neck and tried strangling me, instead of feeling fear I felt anger; ranging, hot anger against whoever was this. I also felt hurt and betrayed, as though this shadow had betrayed me. I was silently screaming, kicking and fighting to get it off me.

It changed a few seconds later, something bright and shiny was facing me. Showing my reflection, which didn’t look anything like me. Dark circles around the eyes, looked hallowed and super pale. I just realized that it was a knife; Newly opened, never used and it was the knife we had in the kitchen that we had never used yet. The reflection stared back at me, tear-stained eyes. My own reflection broke into a smile, a bat-shit-crazy type of smile that scared me. The tip had blood and I saw my arms with my old lacerations opening up.

I woke up after feeling pain on my leg and arm, I was panting. Since it was a Saturday, we had no classes. Checking for my phone to see what time was it, it was already 10:40. Yet I feel like I only slept for 30 minutes. With I went downstairs to eat breakfast.

“Good to see you up.” My Aunt said as she drank her coffee. I mumbled a good morning, before making my own hot chocolate for this morning.

“Who were you fighting with?” My cousin Vanessa asked.

“What do you mean?”

“You were sleep talking, then you scream ‘I hate you!’ Then kicked and punched the wall.” Well that explains the pain on my arms and leg.

We lived, in a more complicated way than usual family. Originally it was My grandmother, my father, my aunt and my cousin in one house. We shared two bedrooms, the four of us females in one and my dad in the other. But my grandmother had migrated to California about 6 months ago and now it was just the four of us.

We usually had a good relationship with one another, and try to keep it at that. In the past week though we were always on edge. I try to be the one to mend it, even though it was them who started it in my opinion.

The day went by without any fights or so, it was peaceful. Until I went back to the bedroom when heard a voice.

“You seem tired.” It was a female voice with a some kind of sultry tone; silky, smooth, and calming voice. That made me think if I should trust this voice.

“Let me take control while you rest.” It said which made me feel sleepy and more tired than I was. “Anika, is the name so don’t worry. I’ll just take control while you rest.”

I don’t what happened but I felt as though I was pushed back and was watching my body move on it’s own. I could see in the mirror, right before I left the room that my eyes were slightly lighter than it’s dark brown tint.

“You won’t be stealing my body, right?” I asked. Or like thought.

“Not unless you give it up willingly.” She shrugged, as we went down the stairs.

“So… when did you get in? How did you get in?”

“You ask to many questions.” I can feel my face forming a frown as she said that.

“It was just two questions. Just to make it clear, we are sharing and I am not giving up willingly, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. I got that. Now can you shut up? I am trying to concentrate on how to be like you.”

I can’t explain how it felt but it was like watching a movie. Watching yourself move on it’s own accord, making it’s own decisions without you. It was as though I was doing astral projection yet at the same time not. It was like living while watching yourself do what you usually do. It was like being in another dream all over again, or more like reality shifting. Yet, more dreamy, more unrealistic than my usual dreams. Imaging being inside a snow globe then watching everything from inside that safe bubble; feeling of being safe, being cold yet warm, it felt somewhat relaxing, and tiring. As though watching from within took away my energy; I felt as though my essence was slowly slipping, very slowly slipping out.

The day passed on with no problems. It felt easy yet exhausting but at the same time fun and addictive. It was fascinating to be honest. The best feeling I’d ever had, Like I was on cloud nine and nothing could have topped this feeling.

“Wanna take over until tomorrow?” I asked her, while we laid down on the bed. “I wanna try something.”

“Take over? Until tomorrow? Sure thing.” She answered back. “If you are going to be trying astral projection tonight until tomorrow. Just know I won’t be looking for your soul if you get lost from your body. If that happens, this is my body now.”

“I’ll anchor my self to my body then. Kindly, remember you are just borrowing my body. It is not yours completely.” I said as I got comfortable and relaxed so I can astral project.

“Aish, why did I decide to share a body with a paranoid person.” She complained while laying down, I can feel her rolling her eyes from within.

“Because, I like being sure.” I simply answered to her. I am fascinated with this but I am not giving my body up for some random ghoul that entered me. “Can take control please, I think it’ll be easier that way.”

I could control my body once again. Feeling my fingers move, moving my toes a bit; first feeling, then a slight wiggle. Until it felt as though I was wiggling my fingers without doing so. Inhaling deeply, concentrating on the feeling of trying to get out of a liquid type of substance. That was one way to explaining it. It felt as though I was in water; Laying down on the shallow steps of a pool, just enough for you to float yet also enough that if you lay down you would not drown. It felt like standing up from that position, slowly, without making large waves or ripples to the water.

I felt my fingers slowly opening my eyes, seeing it but feeling the weight of my own body as well. It felt as though I was sown unto my body, and a thread was keeping onto it. I inhaled then pulled out, making sure to leave one thing attached to me so I could go back to my body.

Turning back I can see my sleeping face, but then suddenly what I saw of the darkly illuminated room changed. Into what seemed to be a pool. Facing down unto the cold tiled floor, I can hear the water from afar dripping.

Drip…drop…drip…drop… It went, continues for a few seconds until it stopped. I tried standing up and couldn’t move. I could see my reflection through the water and how it would produce small ripples as I tapped my finger on it. It felt real, like real wet water. I kept doing it until I heard a gush of water and felt my head being pushed down unto the water. Seeing the water rise made me feel panic; I can’t move, my face is being pushed down unto the water, and the water was rising quickly. I don’t know if this is a dream or what not. I can see way to clearly, I can smell the water with it… metallic? This was the smell of the water when it comes from a faucet, I can feel its cold and wet texture touch my nose. I was breathing directly unto it.

Struggling to get up or, get back to my body. I don’t want to test if you can breath underwater when you are doing astral projection. Nor I was wondering how to get back to my body, It’s only been a few minutes or so I think.

What did the guide say to getting back to my body? I could already feel the water on my mouth, opening my mouth to test if this is this. You know, somethings are unbelievable until you get to experience it with your five senses.

Sticking my tongue out to taste it, being greeted with the taste of metallic, earthy water. This is tap water indeed. Trying to steady my breathing as to not let panic overwhelm me, closing my eyes while inhaling and exhaling. Listening to the gush of the water to every hit of the water to the pavement, it splashing unto my face. Trying to feel for the string that connects me to my body, tapping on it lightly a few times. Making sure it is connected feeling it vibrate unto me and trying to gauge how far the vibration would take to reach the other end. Tugging at it lightly first making sure it was still connected, feeling it retract with one tug.

I inhaled once more focusing on the string, tugging at it with force this time enough to pull me away from where I was. I felt as though I was flying, feeling the wind hit my face and hearing it whistle unto my ear. I felt as though I feel an hit something causing my body to jolt right off the bed. I almost forgot how to breathe, not noticing I wasn’t breathing until I inhaled just realizing how much I missed oxygen. Looking around I could see it was already morning meaning I was out of my body longer than I thought.

“I was wondering when you’ll get back.” Anika said to me, I closed my eyes and tried feeling for my fingers and toes, wiggling them before opening my eyes to blink.

“That took longer than I expected.” I sighed, sitting up right slowly feeling nausea hit me.

“You took it way to far for a first timer, good to have you back though. Your aunt’s waiting for you down stairs better go down before they call you again.” She said while retreating to the back of my mind… I’d like to think it was somewhere back there. “You were smart to leave a connection to you body.”

“Yeah, Anika?” I asked as I stood up from the bed. Using my inner voice instead of saying it out loud.

“Hmm?”

“What would have happened if I stayed out to long?”

“What do you think would have happened? And I thought you were suppose to be smart.”

Her words made me gulp in fear as I pushed the thought to the far corners of my head. With that I tried getting through the day normally as I can.