"This file was recorded about forty minutes ago and was sent from Sarah's home computer." Athena explained.
Sarah got on her hands and knees and examined her tower under her bedroom desk. "There's a circle of salt surrounding the tower and it deforms enough to follow the plugs into the wall." Sarah said.
Athena grabbed a cable and hooked her tablet up to Sarah's nice flat screen LCD HD TV. "Let's see what's going on."
The TV screen showed an image and quiet background chatter was heard. The camera was aimed at a concrete floor. Various colored chalks were used to create a pentacle on the floor, ringed by a circle of salt with birthday candles sitting at the points where lines come together. At the inner five points small piles of salt held up sticks of incense.
"I originally bought this incense hoping it would help me with my midterms since it was marketed as Memory Enhancing. That was an abysmal failure. But perhaps it will help now with memories clouded unnaturally instead of my just forgetting to study then falling asleep watching old monster movies." "Oh my fuck, that's me!" Athena exclaimed.
"Whatever works. I'm getting a splitting headache trying to remember things that seem like they should have happened but haven't." "That's me for sure." Akane said.
"I cleared my phone of almost everything. We'll have over an hour of recording time." The view switched as the camera was carried over to an old card table with a ring of salt on it. Sarah set the phone down in the ring of salt. "Wow, I look fuckin' hot with these bigger tits!" Sarah said excitedly. She pointed at the screen. "They look bigger than my freaking head!" She was hushed by the other four girls.
Athena was lighting the candles and incense with a little butane pocket torch to get everything burning quickly. "Everyone sit down like I explained and we'll get started." After the girls settled around the ring of salt the video fuzzed out while Athena chanted something. An orange nimbus that looked like really, really, really bad 60's television special effects settled over the part of the room the ritual was being done in. The nimbus snuffed out the candles. As it began to spread outside of the pentacle, the candles snapped back alive and the orange fog rolled back and forth inside the ring of salt.
The girls in the video and the girls watching the video shared expressions of shock. Video Sarah was the first to speak.
"I was lonely. My parents always worked and traveled. I was raised principally by nannies and house keepers. I would do anything to earn my parents' attention and approval. I couldn't just get good grades I had to get the best grades. I couldn't just be a cheerleader I had to be the head cheerleader. I had to date boys who were handsome, well connected, and already successful in one way or another even in High School. I couldn't show people the real me; they had to see the perfect me. And when that wasn't enough to get my parents' attention I started putting others down to make me look even bigger. I was celebrating another birthday alone wearing sweats and an old stained T-Shirt with a birthday candle in a Tasty-Cake with a glass of brandy from a closet my parents didn't even remember existed. Blowing out the candle I wished I didn't so desperately want my parents' approval and I wished I had friends I could show the real me too."
Video Zoe went next. "Athena and I were doing a spell, one that was supposed to help your dreams become reality. The paper I burned had one wish on it, to become closer with my older brother Jon."
Akane was starting to get a sinking feeling while watching the video.
Video Athena took her turn. "I wished for there to be more goths in town. I was tired of being such an outsider with only Zoe and I as the regular goths in school and only of a couple dozen in the whole area."
Video Karyn was looking kind of green around the gills as she spoke her part. "It was cloudy and I was looking up at the night sky. In between the storm clouds there was a break where I could see the stars. It is... cliche but I wished on a shooting star. I wished that I had the courage to come out of the closet as a lesbian. And I wished that my best friend was a girl like me because I loved him as a person but I couldn't muster any attraction for his body." Video Karyn looked at Akane. "I'm sorry Jon."
