Work Text:
Jazz stares, annoyed, at her cell phone.
The chipper voice of her brother’s voicemail fills the air without any ringtone.
“Whats wrong?” her roommate, Kelli, asks.
“My brother has his phone turned off.”
“Still?” their dorm mate, Laura, leans back on the couch to look up at them.
Jazz’s brow wrinkles in frustration as she taps angrily at the screen.
“It’s been what, a week? Maybe he just broke it?” Kelli offers.
“Its closer to two now,” Jazz says, hitting dial.
The line connects to Sam’s voicemail.
Jazz hangs up mid speech and dials Tucker’s number. It also connects to his voicemail.
Kelli and Laura share a look.
“Why don’t you call your parents then?”
“They wouldn’t know where he is.”
“But they’re your parents?” Laura asks, confused.
“Yeah, but they’re the opposite of helicopter parents,” Jazz says. “I swear to the ancients, this child is going to be the re-death of me.”
“The re-what?” Kelli blinks. “Wait, what?”
“Re-death,” she repeats. She pivots on her heel and storms into her room.
Kelli follows after with Laura on her heels.
They watch from the doorway as Jazz pulls out a bright teal tote from under the college bed. Lifting it onto her shoulder, she makes her way back out to the shared living room.
The girls duck out of her way and trail after her, watching with growing concern.
“What are you doing?”
“Checking if my brother is okay,” Jazz says. She places the tote into the middle of the room and then slides the couch and coffee table to the side.
“Do you,” Laura glances at Kelli, “need help?”
“I’m good thanks,” Jazz says, pulling out a large blanket with intricate stitch work on it. It takes up the majority of the small living area. Next, she places candles on the points of the eight pointed star.
“Is that-”
“A summoning circle,” she says, cutting Laura off.
“How is that supposed to help?”
Jazz pulls out a crown and an empty Nasty Burger takeout bag from the tote.
“And aren’t they usually drawn in chalk?” Kelli asks.
“You watch too many horror movies,” Jazz laughs, “besides I so do not want to rewrite this every time.”
“What.”
Jazz carefully places the crown and the paper bag on the north and south points next to their respective candles.
The door to the dorm beeps and Kate walks in, backpack already off her shoulders. She stops on the threshold.
“Did y’all decide to redecorate without me?” she asks.
“No, Jazz is summoning her brother?” Kelli answers.
“Summoning?” Kate repeats.
Laura gestures to where Jazz has placed several other miscellaneous items on the blanket.
“Maybe I should go…” she jerks a thumb over her shoulder.
“No stay, we need more witnesses,” Kelli says.
“Witness to what?” Jazz asks, pulling out a jar of salt and a heavy tomb.
“To your evident descent into madness.”
“No no, she’s already there,” Laura shakes her head.
Kate walks further into the space to see the set up.
“What the actual fuck, Jazz.”
Jazz, for her part, looks up with a roll of her eyes. “This will make sense in just a minute.”
“I don’t believe you,” Kate frowns. She turns to the other two. “Why is this- what even started this?”
“She still can’t contact her brother, and apparently summoning something is supposed to help?” Laura shrugs.
“Some- what is she summoning?” Kate hisses.
Jazz kneels on the corner of the blanket, and puts her hand on the top of the book, “zona umbrae, audi preces meas.”
The candles burst into light, flames steady and smooth.
“Holy shit.” “The fuck???” “Lord have mercy-”
“Auxilium peto in temporibus difficilibus,” Jazz continues. The flames shimmer golden before settling on eerie green.
“Cum rege mortuorum loqui mihi necesse est.”
The flames grow unnaturally high. A whistle fills the room as an unseen breeze cuts through the room.
The trio cover their faces at the sudden onslaught of wind.
The whistle grows higher in pitch until it all ends with a sudden pop.
The wind stops.
The candles put themselves out.
The girls look up to see Jazz pulling the ear of a black haired teen.
“Where have you been?” she hisses.
“Jazz?” he whines, confused. “Did you just summon me?”
“Because you haven’t answered your phone in nearly two weeks!”
“It has not been that long!” the boy pulls himself free. “Besides, I’ve been gone longer.”
“Oh ancients,” Jazz says, “Danny did you forget?”
“No?”
“You promised to visit so I could take you out for dinner for your birthday.”
“Well yeah, but thats not till-”
“Your birthday is today, dumbass.”
“It is no- oh shit, it is.”
“Uh hi, what the actual fuck, Jazz?” Kelli says, loudly.
“Oh hey, so Danny, these are my dorm mates, Kate and Laura, and my roommate, Kelli. Girls, this is my little brother, Danny.”
“Who you fucking summoned like a cult classic demon ritual?”
“I am not a demon,” Danny says, affronted, “I’m dead.”