accent. “Johnny Bishop was never a witch. He was too much
of a coward to be called such a thing. And Sula had nothing
to do with the death of his family. He killed them because he
was laying with the preacher’s daughter, and he wanted only
her. Johnny blamed Sula, hoping he would get away with
murder. Your history is false. I advise you to correct it.”
Ms. Rogers stood and folded her arms. “How would
you know what happened over two hundred years ago?”
Adelyn glared her way. “Because I was there.”
The students sat in silence until Adelyn was finished,
then they broke out laughing.
“Good acting,” Carson said.
Adelyn snapped out of the trance and cupped her
mouth with her shaky hands, having no clue why she said
that. She was baffled how she spoke with the same voice she
heard whisper in her head from the night before. Adelyn
didn’t know what just happened, but she knew she needed
to play it off the best she could.
“Calm down,” Ms. Rogers said. “Adelyn, I want you to
step outside with me, please.”
Adelyn followed Ms. Rogers outside the door and
gulped, afraid she was going to write her up.
“Why would you put on a show like that and lie to the
other students about history?”
“I was just trying to be funny. I’m sorry.” Adelyn hoped
she believed her.
“This isn’t like you, Miss Mae. I’ve never seen you act
this way before. Is there something going on at home?”
“No, I was only kidding around. It will never happen
again.”
Ms. Rogers looked down the hall and back at her,
thinking.
“Please don’t send me to the principal’s office. My
parents will get upset.”
“I won’t write you up if you write a two-thousand-word
essay about Mr. Bishop. Is this clear?”
Adelyn nodded, wondering how she could make
something like that up. “Yes, thank you.”
Ms. Rogers walked back inside. “Alright. Ignore what
Miss Mae said. She was having fun like most of you do once
in a while. Close your books. It’s time for the test.”
Adelyn sat in the seat, wanting to ask if she could be
excused, but she didn’t want to upset the teacher more.
As Adelyn waited for the test to be passed around, she
wondered if she had a mental problem, she wasn’t aware of.
Adelyn had no clue what had happened, and she tried to
place it in the back of her mind, hoping it wouldn’t happen
again.
After school, Adelyn sat in the truck, debating on calling
off work. She didn’t want what happened in class to happen
at her job. But her boss had already given her a week off to
go on vacation, so she was sure he’d say no.
Adelyn started the truck and looked at her phone,
wanting to call Mom and tell her what had happened at
school. She was ready to call her, then set the phone in the
cup holder, certain Mom would want to take her to the
hospital to get another x-ray of her brain, to rule out head
trauma from her accident. Adelyn remembered Mom not
being satisfied the last time she got an x-ray because her
speech was slow for a few days. Mom swore she had a head
injury because of her sudden change in thinking, but the
doctors said she was fine. She knew Mom was smart, but x-
rays weren’t her expertise, so she went with what the doctors
said.
Adelyn stopped going down memory lane and drove to
work, where she parked and headed inside.
She grabbed a handful of mints from a bowl and ate
them as she clocked in, doing her best to keep a positive
attitude, despite what had happened earlier. Adelyn
approached a table with an older couple. “Good evening.”
“Hi,” an older man said.
Adelyn smiled and looked at the woman across from
him, who was viewing the menu. She looked back at the man.
“Are you ready to order, or do you still need a few minutes?”
“Yes, I’ll take Sula’s famous cheeseburger, rare, with
fries, please.”
“Sula’s meat wouldn’t be from a cow,” the woman said.
“I know that, Ellen,” the man replied. He looked up at
Adelyn couldn’t help but giggle at his sarcasm. “No.”
“Ralph, why would you ask her such a thing?”
He smirked her way. “I’m sure she knew I was joking
around.”
Ellen shook her head. “Sorry, dear. I think the high
altitude from looking for those hunters must have killed his
brain cells.”
He took Ellen’s hand and kissed the top of it. “No,
sweetheart. Thirty years of your mouth is what killed them.”
Adelyn fell into a trance and looked past Ellen at the
cars passing by. “The … bodies … are … at … the …
foothill … of … Broom … Mountain.”
“How would you know that?” Ralph asked. “And why
are you speaking with a Southern accent now?”
Adelyn snapped out of the trance and looked away,
wanting to run out the door. She knew something was very
wrong with her, and she was about to freak out. Adelyn did
her best to calm down, trying not to show any other signs of
being mental if she could help it.
Ralph looked at his wife and flickered his worried eyes
back to Adelyn. “Are you going to answer my questions?”
Adelyn knew she needed to play it off. “I was kidding
around. I’m sorry.”
Ellen didn’t look convinced. “You shouldn’t joke
around about people who are missing. What if we were one
of their relatives?”
Adelyn gulped. “Please forgive me. I’ll be right back
with your drinks.”
She walked away, wondering what the hell was wrong
with her. Adelyn didn’t feel sick. She felt fine other than the
sudden accent she spoke with and saying strange things. She
glanced at the door, ready to run out, but she didn’t want to
get fired, so she tried her best to act normal.
As Adelyn was getting their drinks, she saw the couple
walk over to the host.
After the manager was called over to speak to the
couple, Adelyn was sure she was about to be fired.
Adelyn walked back over to the table with their drinks,
but she didn’t see the couple. She looked toward the front
door, and her boss stormed back inside.
He approached her. “Come with me.”
Adelyn set the drinks on the table and followed him into
the kitchen.
He spun around—his thick black eyebrows furrowed.
“Why would you tell my guests the people who are lost, are
lying dead at the bottom of Broom Mountain?”
Adelyn wasn’t about to get fired. “I would never say
something like that.”
“There were other guests at another table who heard
you. Now, since you’re going to lie, I want you to leave.”
Adelyn was pretty sure she was fired. She needed that
job to save up
for the truck she always wanted. “But—”
“But nothing. The couple left because of what you said.
Now, please go home.”
Adelyn sighed, clocked out, and sat in her truck. She
slammed her hands on the steering wheel. “What’s wrong
with me?”
Are you ill, child? a woman asked in a raspy voice with a
foreign accent she didn’t recognize.
Adelyn gasped, wondering who that was, and why she
was hearing someone speak to her. “Get out of my head!”
I grant you no such thing, the woman said and cackled like
a witch in a deep ominous tone.
Adelyn grabbed her head. “Why am I hearing voices?
Who the hell are you?”
I’m your new best friend.
Adelyn took off out of the parking lot and drove home,
not sure what was going on with her.
At home, Adelyn sat at her desk and searched YouTube,
trying to figure out what accent it was she had heard in her
head. After listening to many different languages, she
thought it sounded more like Romanian, but she wasn’t
positive.
Adelyn sat there for a while, staring out the window at
the trees, thinking about what she did at school and work.
She didn’t know why she spoke with a Southern accent, so
she looked up mental illness.
After reading about the disease, she read on split
personalities next, and she lowered the phone when one of
the symptoms was acting like someone else and using a
different dialect.
Adelyn thought about going on her diary app, but she
didn’t feel like it. She tossed her phone on the desk and got
into bed, not wanting to believe she was mentally ill. She
faced the wal , hoping it would never happen again, and cried
herself to sleep.
hen Adelyn’s alarm went off, she snatched her
phone, turned it off, and sat up. As she squinted
at the dresser, it spun out of control. She ran
into the hallway bathroom, where she violently puked.
“Adelyn, are you alright?” Mom asked.
Adelyn flushed the toilet. “Yeah, I just got sick.”
“Can I come in?”
“Yes.”
Mom opened the door, grabbed a washcloth off the
sink, and handed it to her. “Do you have the stomach flu,
honey?”
“No, I don’t think so. I felt dizzy and got sick.” Adelyn
brushed her teeth, thinking about the night before, and
remembered eating the Hershey Kisses Carson had given
her. She spit the toothpaste out. “Is it possible to be drugged
and act like someone else, but not have any other
symptoms?”
“No, why? Do you think you were drugged?”
Adelyn rinsed her mouth out, ready to tell Mom about
her crazy night, but she decided not to, knowing Mom would
make her see a doctor right away. “I wasn’t asking for me. I
was asking because a girl went into a trance at school
yesterday, then spoke with an accent like she was somebody
else. Then, she said she heard someone speaking to her in
her head with a foreign accent. It was freaky.” Adelyn
wouldn’t look at her because she feared she’d know she was
lying.
“Only bloodwork could rule out drugs. It sounds more
like she has split personalities. Are you sure she doesn’t have
a mental illness?”
Adelyn shrugged and walked back into her room,
convinced it was a mental illness she somehow acquired
overnight.
Mom stood at the door. “Are you up for school today?”
Adelyn sighed as she looked at what outfit to wear. “Not
really, but I need to go in. I’ve already missed a week from
the accident.”
Mom walked over to her and felt her head. “Are you
sure, honey? You don’t feel hot, but you don’t look so well
either.”
Adelyn pulled her hair back into a ponytail and forced a
smile, trying not to worry her. “I’m fine to go in. I’m not
dizzy anymore.”
Mom kept looking at the top of her head.
“What?”
“Why did you bleach some of your hair?”
“I didn’t,” she said and walked over to her dresser. She
looked into the mirror at thin white streaks near her hairline.
“What the fuck?”
Mom gasped. “Adelyn, watch your mouth.”
Adelyn looked at it again and glared at her. “I’m sorry,
Mom, but I’m getting white hair, and I’m not even in college
yet. Excuse me for freaking the hell out.”
“That’s not an excuse. Are you sure you didn’t die it?”
“Yes, I’m sure.” Adelyn plucked a hair out and looked
at it. “Why is it so damn white?”
“Honey, it can be caused by an underlying medical
condition.”
“Like what?”
“Thyroid disorder. Vitiligo, or anemia, and there are
more, but I would need to look it up. And I doubt you have
any of that. We’ll get you in to see the doctor.”
“I can’t go to school like this.”
“Just put your hair back down and you’ll be fine.”
Adelyn did as she said, and wondered why she hadn’t
noticed the white in her hair when she straightened it the day
before.
“See, now all your grays are hidden.” Mom walked out.
“I can’t imagine when you turn forty.”
Adelyn rolled her eyes. “Mom, where’s Dad?”
“He got called in early,” Mom shouted back from her
room.
“Oh.” Adelyn glanced at the time on her phone,
wondering why he got called in so early. “It’s not even eight
o’clock yet.”
“It must have been an emergency. Why, do you need to
talk to him?”
“No, I was just wondering why the house was so silent.”
Mom chuckled and a blow dryer turned on.
***
At school, Marissa ran up to Adelyn in the hallway.
“Hey, did you hear about the missing people?”
“No, why?”
“Your dad didn’t tell you?”
“No, he left before I got up. Why? Are the people safe?”
“If you call them being mauled to death by a pack of
wolves safe, then yeah.”
Adelyn stopped walking and pure adrenaline rushed
through her body. She grabbed the locker for support,
wondering how she predicted their deaths.
Marissa grabbed her hands. “Are you alright?”
Adelyn nodded. “Where did … did they find their
bodies at?” She tried to control her shaky speech, but she
wasn’t able to.
“At the bottom of Broom Mountain, why? And why do
you look like you’re about to faint?”
Adelyn ignored her and grabbed her chest. It felt like
her heart was about to explode. She knew there was no way
she’d know about where the bodies were unless she was
psychic or a ghost took over her body.
Marissa waved her hand in front of her face. “What’s
your deal?”
Adelyn looked into her worried eyes, remembering the
cross falling in her room and something cold touching her
back. �
�Can a ghost take over someone’s body and make you
speak with a Southern accent?”
“I’ve seen it happen in horror movies. Why?”
“Nothing, I gotta go.” Adelyn walked toward the
bathroom and went inside. She paced back and forth,
sobbing, not sure of what to do. As she tried to figure it out,
she got a text and took her phone out of her bag. She saw it
was Dad.
Call me right away.
Adelyn was sure Dad found out it was her who told the
couple where to find the bodies, but she wasn’t going to
admit it. She knew if she did, she would be arrested. She took
two deep breaths, trying to calm down, and called Dad.
He picked up on the first ring. “I’m coming to your
school to pick you up. Meet me out front.”
“Why? And why do you have the sirens on?”
“I will tell you when I see you. Now, do as I asked.”
Adelyn frantically ran her fingers through her hair,
wanting to tell him that a ghost took over her body, but she
knew he didn’t believe in the supernatural, so she played it
off the best she could. “Is it bad?”
Dad didn’t say anything and ended the call.
Adelyn rushed out of the restroom and ran outside,
where she waited on Dad to arrive. She paced back and forth
on the sidewalk, debating on taking off, but before she could
make up her mind, Dad drove into the school lot faster than
usual with his police lights on and the sirens off. Dad pulled
up in front of her and rolled the window down.
“Hurry up and get in.”
When Adelyn got in, he took off.
“Dad, what’s going on?”
He pulled off to the side of the road and put the truck
in park. “Who told you where the bodies were?”
Adelyn wouldn’t look at him because he would know if
she was lying. “What are you talking about?”
“Adelyn Mae, this isn’t time for games. The couple you
waited on last night found the bodies this morning after you
told them where to find them. Now, who told you?”
“I never said that. They’re lying.”
“Why would two respectable attorneys lie about