The Games of Fear
Story 1
By Alvin Atwater
I
“Your luck has just run out,” she said, giving me one of her usual victorious smirks. Backed in a corner, I didn’t know what to do –should I allow it to happen and lose the bet with Justin, or find a way out of this. I was seriously out of options, unable to think straight and hungry at that. This chase went on from eight this morning until now…lunch time.
“I still haven’t lost yet,” I said. “Justin said I win if I last until five.”
“Oh come on –just one little kiss,” she laughed. “Losing won’t feel as bad.”
“You know, Erica, why is kissing me important anyway?”
“I already told you, Rob, I’m trying to set a world record for kissing the most guys…”
I almost barfed. “Y—”
“But I can’t start, unless you’re my first!”
Once again, barf. This wasn’t the first time I encountered a weird girl like Erica. At school, I run into them all the time and for some reason, Justin always tricked them into some situation like this. Kissing isn’t bad –it’s what happens if I lose the bets! So yeah… I’ll be stuck into crappy situations like these and my so-called friend Justin would sit back, watch them through the micro camera pinned on my shirt and laugh.
“Why do I have to be the first?” I said with a sigh, secretly planning my escape and buying more time.
Erica smirked, her long dark brown hair barely visible through this dark alley: a lovely place between the mall and the super market. Now, you’re probably wondering why I can’t just run around her. Let me answer that for you. First of all, my so-called friend, Justin is an absolute genius. He can invent anything –and honestly, he’s eighteen, and should be somewhere else winning the national dork science awards. Instead, he created insane gadgets for the girls and so… yeah. Even though I’m athletic, not even I stood a chance against his inventions. My senior year in high school is now in ruins because of him! At first, I thought he was one of the coolest people I’ve ever met, you know, because he created cool things. That thought changed when he started using those gadgets indirectly against me. He’d choose either girls that I had a crush on, girls that had crushes on me, or even girls that I didn’t know but would potentially like and then turned them into an army of his own. How does he do it? I don’t know. Not even the world’s top male model could charm and con girls the way Justin did. This was all but a game to him and if I didn’t win –wait… I’m repeating myself, aren’t I…?
Anyway, I watched the green laser gun in Erica’s hand carefully. It looked exactly like what you’re probably imagining –something you’d see in cartoons like Loony Toons or Tom and Jerry. Sadly, Justin’s inventions actually worked, so I didn’t want to blindly make a move and face a force called zap.
“I…that doesn’t matter,” Erica said, “just give in. I’m sure Justin will go easy on you.”
“You’re not being serious, are you? In every game that I lost, his penalties worsened,” I said. I noticed a man with garbage bags walking in this direction. Perfect. You see, I once worked at the mall and knew that at 12:15, the manager would always order the grumpiest employee of the day to take out the trash. So it took buying a few minutes until he finally showed.
“Hey you brats, go make out somewhere else!” he barked.
“Alright sir,” I said cheerfully and darted around Erica. By the look on her face, I could tell she was angry. I just hope she doesn’t zap the man. His life was bad enough –forced to work at a mall –not pursing his dreams –in order to meet ends.
I couldn’t tell if Erica pursued me or not because I high-tailed it out of the mall area.
Home sweet home –I wanted to say that when I made it home, but unfortunately the three of my sisters invited one of their friends over. Her name was Chelsea –and yep, you’ve guessed it, she was one of Justin’s minions. My sisters were evil. They wanted to see me lose the bet very badly and they’d do whatever it took.
“Hi Robert,” Rina, one of my sisters said. I could see the evil twinkling in her falsely innocent eyes. She was the youngest of them –a 9th grader. They ate cookies while watching George Lopez. I shivered at Chelsea’s smirk when our eyes met. Oh here we go.
“Rob, mind if I talk to you in the back?” she asked.
“I’m sort of in a hurry,” I said. Well, it wasn’t a lie.
“Don’t be so rude,” Rina, blabbed, “Is that how you treat guests?”
“Normally no, but I am in a bit of a hurry so please excuse me,” I said as I hurried toward the door.
“Oh don’t worry. I won’t take up too much of your time.” Chelsea stood.
The door suddenly swung open and by the look on my dad’s face, I wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
“The dishes are waiting for you, son,” he said, his grimace curling into an evil grin. “The last you left, which was at four, your mom made me wash them. But this time I caught you.” He chuckled maniacally. “You’re not doing that to me this time!”
“I’ll help him.” Chelsea volunteered in an innocent voice.
“You see,” Dad, said, “you have a wonderful cutie who’s willing to waste her time on someone as lazy as you.” He muttered a few things as he marched upstairs.
II
There was the two of us, washing a pile of dishes, quietly or maybe we were waiting to see who made the first move. Yeah, that’s right. In order to succeed, one must use strategy. So what should I do now? What will happen after the dishes are done?
“So….h..how are things going?” Chelsea asked, breaking the silence.
“Pretty good,” I answered. “You?”
She seemed a bit nervous. That was it. She probably didn’t think she’d come this far. It couldn’t be a clever attitude just to catch me off guard…
“I’m good,” she said softly. “But… there’s something I’ve wanted to tell you for a very …long time.” Her green eyes sort of lit, almost as if they were the power source to her blonde hair.
Why not tell things after five? You see, Justin not only con’s them, but, he’d get into their heads. “You must get him before five, or your happiness will fade away. Or you will die a cold and horrible death” –Who knows? He’s not a scientist of just talk. He truly can walk the walk, the scary bastard.
I washed another plate. “What is it?” Why…was she blushing? Something she’s going to say is probably going to be embarrassing.
“Well…”she began, edging closer. I still didn’t let down my guard. While the bet was still in progress for the day, I couldn’t let a single word –“I like you….In fact I liked you for a long time now...”
Uhm.. Ironically, this is the first time I ever had a girl confess that to me (I was always on the other end) –and by her looks, she was serious. Chelsea was cute and the last thing I wanted to do was hurt her feelings right after she confessed. But, Justin’s minions would do whatever it took to force me into submission –and believe me, losing the bet = spin the wheel of shame followed by gunpoint embarrassment or pain. Whichever one came first.
Anyone reading this would think I’m a jerk with an oversized ego right now but you haven’t experienced this game. You don’t know the losing end of it. You do not know how it feels to be played emotionally with by both the mad scientist and the girls. The cops, the teachers –nobody can get me out of this…not against the rich scientist with power.
Now… my mind was at lost. I didn’t know what to say, so I stood there and stared at Chelsea for a few seconds. Her eyes began to water.
“I...” I began, in order to keep Chelsea from crying. She was very sensitive. Man… Justin, to make her into one of your minions –this was cruel. No, beyond cruel. I was at the worse disadvantage ever. There was only one way out of this. I dropped a plate
“Crap! “ I snarled. My mom’s going to kill me for this later, I thought as I dove for the shards.
“Oh no,” Chelsea awed and assisted me. The dishes were done thanks to my plate-dropping at. After we cleaned up, my cellphone rung, as if on cue.
“Quit being so cowardly,” a familiar voice said. Erica.
“Oh, hi Grandma,” I said aloud so Chelsea could hear.
“What did you call me?” Luckily the phone wasn’t on speaker. Chelsea raised an eyebrow, her bright green eyes dimming.
“Yes Grandma, I’ll be over immediately,” I retorted and hung up. “Quick emergency. I’ll be back after five.”
“Wait, no. Rob…”
“You can’t be serious,” Rina said as she entered the room.
Before she had the chance to say anything further, I interrupted with, “I don’t have time –I’ll catch up to you later,” and then darted outside. The bus appeared too! I guess even luck wanted me to survive this right? Wrong.
III
I boarded the bus and sat in the back with thoughts that my trip was going to be smooth. Boy was I wrong –the second person to board was Haley, the smartest of Justin’s minions. In fact, not only was she the smartest, but also the most dangerous, cutest –a crush that can go horribly wrong. I think I had a crush on Haley since my freshman year and now… she was somehow persuaded into making me lose this bet. What’s even worse is that Haley can subdue me into doing anything –so I was powerless.
I ducked as she decided where to sit. Second by second, I could hear by heartbeat. It felt like I awaited an execution. I sighed in relief when the bus began to move again…
“Hey, can I sit here?”
I froze at that familiar voice of pureness. Haley’s sweet aura immediately surrounded me and in an instant, I said, “sure.”
“Are you feeling okay?” she asked as we advanced five minutes of silence into the ride. She placed her hand on my forehead. I nearly melted. Yeah, pathetic, I know…but it couldn’t be helped.
“I’m okay,” I lied. In fact, I was not okay. I think I may lose this bet. Haley moved closer.
“So, Robert… I heard you were good at math,” she said softly. “Mind if you tutor me today? Alegbra 2’s a little shaky and I really want to score high on tomorrow’s test.”
“Su….sure,” I stuttered. Idiot! Why didn’t you just say no? My thoughts were raging. I can’t defeat Haley –she didn’t seem to carry a weapon borrowed from Justin. Was she that confident? She had the right to be… Life is so not fair.
“Thank you,” Haley said and hugged me. “You’re so nice and reliable. I’m glad that we’re friends.”
Mind control –that was it! Since the ninth grade, she always had this weird ability to control my every move. Well… every beautiful woman can control a man –but anyway, I felt possessed in a way. Like I said, I may lose…and if I lose….Justin wins. If Justin wins, another spin of the Wheel of Death.
About five minutes later, we’ve the bus reached Haley’s house. I had two choices: stay on the bus and or get off with the girl of my dreams. My body moved on its own.
IV
Haley’s house was nice, clean, and strangely enough, refreshing. Her parents were gone for the evening, which meant we were alone. Haley grabbed her math book, pen and paper, and led me to her room. Surprisingly, the tutoring was normal –well if you don’t count the occasional looks she gave me. Okay… I need a way out. But since this was tutoring, I couldn’t just abandon Haley –she really did have a test tomorrow. Leaving her would be impossible and…well, she’s the girl of my dreams. Dang it, CLEVERNESS! She knew I wouldn’t leave her to fail her math test –staging this was just child’s play. Like I said before, Haley was both the smartest and most dangerous of Justin’s minions. Shoot, she was perfect –his ultimate disciple…and yeah….it’s so sad that I ran into her.
“So…X equals three hundred twenty one.”
“Yes,” I answered Haley. She placed her hand on top of mine.
“You’ve always been so supportive… that’s why...”
My heart was on the verge of exploding out of my chest. This isn’t good! What should I do?
“I’ve always loved you.”
She stood up, pulled me closer, and whispered, “Please be the first to kiss me.”
First!? I could be the first to kiss the girl of my dreams. That savaged my thoughts… but… that’s bull. She’s very beautiful –and no, it’s not wrong for her to never have been kissed. But, I know for a fact that she has kissed someone… She was once the captain of the cheerleading squad at our school. I haven’t noticed her dating anyone –but there was some guy from the football team who asked her out several different times. She rejected him all times. He never left her alone, so she made a deal with him. She would kiss him in return for peace and quiet. The obsessed idiot accepted. Whether I could count that as a true first kiss or not –the fact is, it happened. (Or at least the rumors say... ) I pushed Haley away. That mind control was done!
“What’s wrong?” she said in a voice that would normally make me melt. But… I felt like I wiggled free of her curse.
“I’m sorry,” I told her. “But…I like someone else.”
Okay… so I overdid it. Haley smirked, tears raining from her eyes. I felt guilty.
“You’re holding something against me, aren’t you?” Haley sat on the bed. “Two options were given to me, in pursuit of my selfish dreams. Make him love me or subdue him with using atom technology.” She sighed. “I didn’t want to use the latter.” Suddenly reached under her mattress, and pulled out a glowing sword! “Justin said that my dreams would come true…”
I raised my hands in the air. “Wait a minute… please put down the sword.”
“He said that you liked me a lot…I found it admirable, adorable… and…he said I was better off with you rather than anyone else. But…he knew you’d either be too shy or pull off a lie… like this one… that’s why I must…” she wept. I was in shock to hear that the girl of my dreams liked me, but unfortunately, she was conned by Justin.
“Haley, please hear me out.”
“Why? For you can lie your way out!?” She was furious. “You know what; I’ll force you to submit!”
She swung the sword. I barely dodged and then bolted downstairs as if my life depended on it. Well maybe it did. Haley was persistent. She chased me into a dark alley, like Erica did. I used the darkness as an opportunity to hide. The glow of the sword was the only way I tracked her.
“Come out Robert,” Haley said softly. “There’s no use –you can’t hide from me.”
I rested behind a steel boulder. “Come out and face your punishment, you liar. You coward!”
No way –I think death is a bit too harsh since this whole thing was Justin’s fault to begin with. Silence, then suddenly, “I don’t think so!” A glowing blue sword slice through the boulder and I was off running. Unfortunately, I ran into a complete corner.
“Well well.” Haley gave me the smile of death. It was gorgeous, but viewing it was going to cost me my life. She took a stance –one that meant for her sword to hit, no matter how much I attempted a dodge. And since it was Justin’s invention…yeah…no way to live –a sad fate for me.
“Haley wait! I’m sorry,” I pleaded.
“You are?” Haley stepped closer. “Then prove it with a kiss.”
I had no choice. It was either death or lose the bet.
“Fine,” I said softly. At that moment… I think God himself placed his hand on my shoulder because when I glanced at my watch, it was 5:03PM.
The bet was to last until five. So, I passionately locked lips with Haley for nearly a minute before pulling away.
Suddenly there was a clap. HE stood from a far with his usual smirk.
“You…” Haley said. “Does that mean –?”
“He didn’t lose,” Justin said, his voice disappointed. “He kissed you three minutes after five –which means your dreams will never come true. Our contract is done! Oh and you can’t be with him.”
“Justin –enough of this bull,” I growled and faced Haley. “Don’t listen to him.” She buried her face into my chest.
Justin tossed something over to me. It was a bag filled with cash. “Congrats –but luckily I have more for you.”471Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡscaYW0pHmq
Before I had the chance to say anything, he vanished. How did he do it –that’s impossible for me to explain? It refined the nature of science and reality, but then again, I shouldn’t be surprised since he was a genius.
Haley started toward the exit of the alley.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“Leave me alone,” she snarled. “I want nothing more to do with you. You’re better off with someone who won’t pull a sword on you.” She ran off. I tried to chase after her, but she pulled off the same disappearing trick as Justin.
I may have won today’s bet, but I lost the girl of my dreams. Maybe I didn’t have her in the first place… After all, it was painful to believe anything after Justin tampered with reality. I think it would be in my best interest if I dealt with the problem itself but catching him was impossible.
I noticed Haley’s sword was on the ground, picked it up, and sighed. Better keep this just in case.
“Maybe I should let him feel the pain of his own inventions,” I muttered.
“That would be a good idea,” a voice said, “but only if you make it out of here alive.”
That voice was Erica.
To be continued….
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