Morning all. I woke three whole minutes before my alarm today. I suspect those three minutes will trip me up later today. But for now, the writing prompt. Timers at the ready and off we go.
Okay I like this Kind of feels like the start to a horror/mystery. Case you know no one is coming out of that game the same way they went in. I may have to set this aside to work on. It will have to be over the weekend though as I am knee deep in editing and already fought off one plot bunny attack. ell not so much fought off as jettisoned any non-essential things from my to do list to create a little time to work on it, but this one will have to wait. At least until the weekend. Possibly with notes at lunch.
Tuesday, October 22nd: The instructions for the game were garbled.
The instructions for the game were garbled. He reached for the information sheet that came with the box but everyone else seemed to know what to do. He scanned the page for information while the board was set up and marker’s chosen. It was not a game he was familiar with and when they unfolded the board, he felt a tingle of unease. It wasn’t anything he could explain, but he felt that sensation before and knew it was a good idea to listen.
He glanced around the room. All of the other players were setting up their boards. Soon the tournament would begin. He looked to his group. They each had their markers placed. The man running the tournament was smiling as he moved around the room.
“Are you going to play or not,” Kyle demanded. He held out a player’s piece to him. “We can’t put you on the board, you have to do it yourself.”
A strange warning seemed to run up his spine. “I think I’ll pass,” he said. He shifted away from the piece Kyle held out knowing somehow that touching it was a bad idea.
“If you aren’t playing, then I am afraid you will have to leave,” the moderator told him. Gary hadn’t heard him come up and jumped. His knee kit the table and while he saw the board jump the pieces placed on it didn’t move. They stuck to one spot like they were glued in place.
Gary was out of his chair before he realized he was moving. “I’ll be outside then,” he said.
The moderator frowned. “The tournament will take hours,” he said. “Much better to play then to stand around in the cold.”
Gary looked back to the board. The others were staring at him, Kyle still held out the piece and all at the table looked slightly glass eyed. He swallowed nervously.
“Then I will just leave and come back for you later,” Gary said. He backed away knocking the chair over. The wooden backed chair hit the wooden floorboards with a hard clacking sound that made him jump. No one else in the room moved.
“Bye bye then,” the moderator said. He bent down and picked up the chair. Gary let his steps take him towards the door. When he looked back the moderator had moved away and was out of sight. Kyle still had his hand out, but it was empty, the extra piece gone. He lowered his hand. Gary saw the chair he just vacated was gone and somehow the players around the table seemed to have shifted so there was no longer any room for an extra person.
He blinked and turned away moving towards the exit. ‘The moderator took the chair and piece and the players just shifted,’ Gary told himself. He stepped out of the main door and took a deep breath. The air felt somehow clean and fresh as he closed the door behind him and walked down the steps to the side walk.
‘Old building, too many people,’ he tried telling himself. Once on the sidewalk, Gay found himself increasing his pace, walking fast, nearly running somehow afraid that he would be asked to return. ‘Just a game,’ he tried to tell himself.
Ten til Midnight 