Morthos has always been an edgy goth, the entire time you've known him. So, when he shows up to your door with a ouija board and a crooked smile asking you to go ghost hunting with him it's not exactly a surprise. You don't believe in ghosts but this idiot is your best friend, so how can you turn him down? Besides, you've always loved a good scary story.

Morthos drives you to the edge of town where the roads are unlit and trees stretch as far as the eyes can see. It seems a little cliche that your ghost hunt would lead you to the woods, but this is a thought you keep to yourself as Morthos pulls over onto the shoulder and turns off his car.

"You've heard the stories about this place, right?" He asks you in what you assume to be his best "spooky" voice. You can barely hold in your laughter.

"Noooo...?" You play along. Of course you've heard the stories, you've been to multiple parties that ended with lights off in some spooky basement with everyone telling their best ghost stories, which of course would always include the local favorite.

Morthos grins at you, a toothy and mischievous smile you've come to know and love in the time since you first met him. "Well... They say on dark nights like tonight..."

"Dark nights." You repeat. He shushes you, but there's a hint of a smile on his face.

"If you go into the woods... There will be a boy. All alone. And he uh..."

You watch as Morthos falls silent, clearly forgetting how the story goes. There's a moment of silence before he brushes it all off and continues as if he'd never been trying to tell the tale in the first place.

"Anyway, let's go see if we can catch this thing." He unclicks his seatbelt and steps out of the car. You follow behind him quickly.

The walk through the woods is fucking dark, the path illuminated only by your cellphones. It feels like you walk forever before Morthos finally seems satisfied.

"Alright, this is the spot." He says, throwing down the ouija box and sitting on the dirt floor. You have no idea what makes this place so different than 10 feet before, but you roll your eyes and sit down as well. You watch as Morthos unboxes the board, setting the planchet down in the center. He places two fingers on it and gestures for you to do the same.

"Hello! Are there any spirits with us tonight?" He asks the cool night air.

You stare at the board. Soon it's been a minute, and a minute turns to 5. It doesn't take long for Morthos to become fed up.

"Maybe this thing is defective." He announces, taking his hands away from the ouija. You're amused by how quickly he's willing to give up when this was all his idea in the first place. You watch as he stands, although you don't move.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, I'm done here." He announces, walking off. "I'll be in the car. Don't take too long."

You roll your eyes and look back down at the board. "Are there any spirits here tonight?" You ask nothing. It feels a little ridiculous. You wait for something to happen, but after 10 minutes you snort and shake your head.  "Bullshit."

"What are you doing?"

You jump a bit in shock, turning around quickly. "What the-"

There's a boy behind you, and you certainly didn't hear him approach. He's taller than you, which is not exactly an accomplishment, with dark hair and vintage looking glasses. He's wearing an oversized tshirt，jeans, and no shoes despite the fact it's winter. Your eyes scan up and down him a few times before you come to the conclusion that he's probably some weird homeless kid.

"I'm... Ghost hunting." You say after a short pause. He looks amused at this and you feel ridiculous saying it.

"Ghosts?" He repeats the word, and you barely contain a snort at the way he stumbles on it because of a very aggressive lisp. "Find any?"

You shake your head. "Nah." He looks almost... Relieved at your answer. You continue to stare at him for another moment. He looks about your age, but you've never seen this guy before.