The New Flesh

“Right, I’ll get our after dinner entertainment,” Liam announced, jumping up from the table.

“God, what’s he got planned,” Chris said.

Dan shot him a “look” but Chris ignored him. This evening was for George and he didn’t want Chris going off in one of his moods, his lover had been in entertaining form so far. The four of them (Dan, Chris, George and their host Liam) had enjoyed a meal in Liam’s comfortable home.

The evening had been Liam’s idea; he’d said they needed to do it for George. Dan had been so concerned about George. It was barely four weeks since Mickey, George’s lover, died.

Mickey had cancer, which had slowly eaten away at him. He’d lived through five years of treatments but all they did was make him weaker. When he died he’d looked like a wasted, old man, far older than his forty-five years.

Dan had watched Mickey’s illness take its toll on George. He’d seemed helpless in the face of Mickey’s decline, yet George took it all silently. He’d never discussed his emotions, keeping his feelings silent. Even when Mickey died, George had stayed quiet, barely shedding a tear at Mickey’s funeral, and they’d been lovers nearly twenty years.

It was Mickey’s death that had disturbed Dan. Mickey had been sleeping on the sofa, he’d been having a restless night, but the next morning George had found him dead. Dan had a shudder when he heard this; if he’d lost Chris like that he didn’t think he could have coped. George, though, had said nothing about it.

Liam came back, carrying an elaborate wooden board; which he set down in the middle of the dining table.

“Here it is!” He said.

Dan felt his stomach sink when he saw what it.

“It’s an Ouija Bored,” Chris said.

“Yes,” Liam said. “I thought we could have a go with it.”

“I don’t think so,” George said.

“Come on this will be interesting,” Liam said.

“Why?” Chris asked.

But Dan realised what Liam was up to and his stomach tied itself into a tight knot.

“So George can speak to Mickey,” Liam said.

“No,” George said.

“Come on, just give it ago,” Liam said.

“I don’t know,” George said.

“It’s harmless,” Liam said.

“Yeah, we used to do it when we were kids,” Chris said. “Nothing really happened.”

“Are you sure,” George said.

“Yeah,” Chris said.

“Okay, but no messing about and faking you’re the devil or someone else,” George said.

“No one would do that,” Liam said.

“Okay, then,” George said.

“Right, the lets go ahead,” Liam said.

Liam placed an upturn wineglass in the centre of the Ouija Board and the four of them placed their fingers on it.

They sat there for an awkward moment before Liam spoke: “Is anyone here?”

Silence.

“This is stupid,” George said.

“Give it chance,” Liam said. “Answer us, if you can hear us,” Liam said, again to the wineglass.

The glass gave a shudder and slid across the board to the “Yes” symbol.

“Who is it?” Liam asked.

The glass slid across the board and stopped over to the M, then it slid to the I. In seconds it spelt out “Mickey”.

“This is a fucking joke,” George hissed.

“No it isn’t,” Liam said.

Dan glanced at Chris but he was staring at the glass.

“Is there’s someone you want to talk to?” Liam asked the glass.

The class quickly spelt out “George”. Dan could feel the glass moving under his finger, but it felt as if the class was moving all by itself.

“Do you want George to say goodbye?” Liam asked.
The glass shot across to the “No”.

“What you want to say?” Liam asked.

The glass now rushed round the Ouija Board, spelling out “why… did… you…” but it didn’t finish. George jumped up from the table and shouted: “This is crap!”

Then the room’s lights went out.

Dan jumped up as he heard Chris shout: “What’s happening?”

The next moment the room’s lights came back on. Dan looked around. Chris was still sat at the table but Liam was now stood over George and staring down at him.

The expression on Liam’s face, one that Dan had never seen before, was of pure anger. Liam’s expression reminded him of something.

“Liam, what’s going on?” Dan said.

“Liam? Is that little whore here?” Liam snapped his voice deep with a completely different accent, a voice that sounded like Mickey’s.

“Who are you?” Dan asked.

“Don’t you recognise your old mate?” that voice came from Liam’s mouth. Mickey’s voice. It was Mickey’s expression on Liam’s face.

“It’s me, Mickey,” he snarled.

Dan felt light-headed, this couldn’t be true, Liam couldn’t be possessed by Mickey spirit?

“You’re dead,” George said.

“Don’t you know it!” Liam/Mickey turned on him. “You only smothered me with a fucking pillow!”

“You had cancer, you were in pain, and I couldn’t cope!” George shouted back.

“I could have lived for months but you killed me. You suffocated me in my sleep because you’re so fucking weak!”

Liam/Mickey jumped forward, snatched hold of George’s head and began to repeatedly smacked George’s head against the table. Dan was too shocked to move.

“Stop them!” Chris shouted, snapping Dan out of it.

He rushed forward and grabbed hold of Liam/Mickey, pulling him off George. He struggled for a moment then he stopped, standing passively in Dan’s hold.

Chris took hold of George and lifted up his lifeless body but it was too late. George’s eyes were open but un-moving.

“He’s dead,” Chris said.

“Who’s dead?” Liam said, in his normal voice.

“Oh God, who’s going to believe this?” Dan replied as he let go of Liam.

"Saying Goodbye to Mickey"

Copyright: © 2009 Drew Payne
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