Bad Ideas [original story]

Chapter 1

My friends and I looked at each other before looking at the book. I thought before opening the book up, flipping through the pages. Man, these games had some weird titles. The Midnight Game? Mr. Eyes? The Mirror Box? Okay, I thought to myself. Let's choose the one with the strangest and vaguest title because we're all apparently idiots who wanna die.

I stopped on a page with the title The Man In The Fields Ritual. It sounds like what I'm aiming for, so I'm guessing this is the one we'll be using. "How about this one?" I asked my friends, the three of them looking at the book and reading what was shown. After some silence, Cora began to speak. "Is that a g-good idea? B-Because if we f-fail, then w-we lose our h-head, so-"

"The point of doing this," I began. "Is to prove that it isn't real. That's why we can do whatever we want and have it not make a fucking difference," I continued sternly, seeing that Cora was looking down and shaking a bit. Had my tone scared her? I quietly approached her and put my hand on her shoulder comfortingly. I should've expected that I'd have to reassure her. She did get scared the easiest out of all of us, after all. "And if it is real, then we'll win it together, don't worry," I told her, seeing her smile a bit a she nodded. I silently sighed in relief, glad that it had seemed to help calm her down.

"Now then, what do we need for it?" Callie asked curiously. I read the page, stopping at a section titled Requirements as I read what the book said aloud. " 'In order to complete this ritual, you will need the following: A house with both a back garden or backyard plus a room with only one door, a non-electric light source per person, a crucifix per person, and an analog clock or watch per person.' " I replied, looking up at them from the book. "So, do we have all of that?" I asked them.

"There are a lot of analog watches at my house," Callie answered enthusiastically.

"I know an abandoned house with the house requirements," Robin replied.

"I-I know my m-mom has a few c-crosses in her r-room," Cora stated, looking up at me.

"And I can get a few lanterns and matches at the store," I finished, the four of us looking at each other. "Okay, so should we get the materials then meet back here or...?" I asked, not sure of how we were gonna do this. I've never exactly found a creepy, dusty book filled with a bunch of games that can possibly kill you then played one of them before out of idiocy.

I saw Robin shake her head before speaking. "No, let's get the supplies then meet at the house I was mentioned at 9 PM. I'll text you guys the address. And remember to bring the book," she answered immediately, resulting in me feeling startled. It was strange to see Robin's usually smiling face seem so serious. It wasn't like her at all. I sighed. Guess I gotta go to the store now.

"What do ya need the matches and lanterns for?" The store clerk asked me. I had walked to the nearest store for supplied, but I didn't know where anything was, so I had to ask for help. I decided it'd be too weird to think up an excuse, since everyone knows I'm a pretty terrible liar. "My friends and I wanna play a game, and these lanterns are gonna be our light source," I explained. The store clerk heard and nodded, leading me to an aisle filled with things like lanterns, flashlights, matches, and other things that could be used as light sources. "Here you are," the clerk told me, walking off before I could thank them. I looked down the aisle, wondering which lantern I should get.

Eventually, I decided on some well-built and solid lanterns. Sure, they were like ten bucks each, but hey, I might use these while camping sometime, so it wouldn't be a waste. Good things I had brought a lot of money with me. It was for in case Robin wanted to go to the mall but was broke yet again, but this was more important and more interesting than a fun shopping trip. I paid for the lanterns, plus four boxes of matches. The four boxes of matches, in total, costed about ten dollars. Thank god they were that cheap, though. I pulled out my phone and began to head to the address that Robin had texted my other friends and I in a group chat.