Terror Trap

Chapter Seven. The Rules.

After raiding the Myer house and taking massive amounts of chocolate,and other great treats, I lead my little group to my house, being surprised twice by two guys wearing a gilley suit (or was it one guy scaring us twice?), we managed to make it back home, laughing as I unlocked the door, and let ourselves in. "Hit the couches in the living room. I'll be right down with some games." Handing my bulging bag to Ivan, I dashed upstairs, and into my room. Ransacking my cabinet for some video games, I was suddenly struck by a strange feeling. Turning around, I saw the chest, which had a strange green glow emanating from the cracks.

I wonder...

Opening the chest, the glow died, allowing me to see some strange devices at the bottom of the chest. I pulled one object out, noticing it's strange shape. Running my hands over the worn leather, I noticed that it looked like a headband connected to a jaw piece by a series of bungee cords. Turning the object over, I noticed it had three curved blades on it, all pointed up towards the top of the head. Setting the headgear down, I reached in, and pulled out a set of gloves, almost resembling Freddy Kruger's famous gloves. The only difference is, the blades curved in at the tip, so if the wearer tried to remove them, it would be very difficult to do so.

Jesus, Jack. What did you get me into?

"You okay up here?" Ivan's voice popped up from behind me, making me jump and drop the gloves. Whipping around, I saw Ivan leaning against the doorway, his costume now removed to show a plain white tee shirt and jeans. "Ye.. Yea. Don't scare me like that though, man. I'm gonna get old if that's gonna be a regular thing." Ivan chuckled, walking over to me. When he looked in the chest, his face paled almost to the same color as his shirt. "Now, Ivan," I said, keeping my voice low to keep him calm. "This may look bad, but hear me out." Ivan gulped,but nodded me to go on. "This is what I was planning for us to play. It's just like a Ouija board. I read over the instructions, and it seems harmless enough." "Have you lost your mind?!" Ivan hissed. "Victor wasn't joking about New York and ghosts. This is probably one of the worse places to be using something like that. Especially in this house!" I shook my head, thinking of how to calm him down. "Come on. Just... Trust me, ok? Help me bring this stuff downstairs and we'll let the others decide what to do." Ivan nodded, then looked inside the chest again. Sighing with resignation, he pulled out two more sets of gear, and walked out. I quickly followed suit, snatching a extra set, and following him out. When I caught up with him at the top of the stairs, he turned to me and whispered. "For the record, Quin... I hate these kind of things. I don't play with spirits." Nodding, I walked down the stairs to see Victor and Alisea distributing candy to each other. When Ali looked up to see the two of us, arms laden with the gear, that being the only word I could use to describe the strange items, she yelped in fright, and jumped up onto a black leather couch. Victor looked over at us, and grinned. "So, we're friends for not even a week, and you're already pulling out the spooky stuff. Ballsy. I like it." Rolling my eyes, I set my stuff on the floor, right in front of Victor. Ivan followed suit, and set his load in front of the couch where Ali was perched.

There's no turning back now...

Pulling out the paper I had received from Jack from my uniform's pocket, I quickly skimmed through it, them folded it up. Drawing a deep breath, I looked at my friends and spoke.

"Now,I know I told you all that I wanted to have you over for a party tonight, and since it is Halloween, what better way to have some fun, than to play a little... Terror Trap?" The lights flickered, then cut out, leaving us in the dark. Not stopping to hesitate, I passed out the devices to everyone, coaxing Ali to take hers for a few minutes. After everyone took theirs, I returned to my spot, and continued. "I was visited by the spirit of Ms.Usher's dead child. He said to me that he wanted us to play this game... So, after carefully reviewing the paper you saw, I think it's better if he explained the rules... Jack?" I turned around, already knowing that he would be floating right behind me, eyes glowing.

"Thank you, Quinton." He practically purred. Turning to my friends terrified faces, he grinned, his mouth abnormally large now. "The rules are simple: put on the gear, and face your fears until sunrise, which is seven a.m. You die in game, you die for real." I lunged forwards, diving right through his body. "That wasn't in the instructions, Jacky boy!" I growled. Jack merely laughed, his voice raising the hairs on the back of my neck. "You should have listened to your friend, Q. Now, that we have covered the ground rules, I have one thing to say." The house was dead silent, Ali perched on the couch, looking like a scared cat now. "Your emotions determine how long you live... Just don't be afraid... That would be your biggest mistake. Now put on your stuff, and I'll see you in my world." Jack faded away, his laughter ringing in our ears. We sat there, petrified, then Victor picked up his gear, putting his gloves on first. "You're seriously going through with this!?" Ali finally spoke, her voice coming out in a scared whisper. "Well, it's either this, or we find out what our newly made ghost friend can do to us." Grumbling, we all followed Victor's lead, everyone glaring at me with hate and fear.

Dear God, please help us.