The Final Gathering

Chapter 7: Party Games

            Slowly.... slowly...light began shining all around her. Lola blinked and tried to make sense of the situation, but everything was a blur. She couldn't remember where she was, or why. She couldn't see anything. Around her were blurry images. Circles. Big blurry circles all around her. She tried to rub her eyes but she couldn't move. After a few more blinks, one of the circles in front of her began to become clear. It was a person. She knew that person, who was it? They looked scared. Terrified. They were tied up to a chair. Lola closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them again. It was Lisa. Sitting across from her, tied to a chair. Her perfect hair looked a mess and her makeup was smudged. Her eyes welled up with tears but none fell. Lola looked around her and began to cry as she realized where she was. Her entire family were tied to chairs, all arranged in a circle. She was in some poorly made fucked-up horror film, except this was real.

"Welcome to the party, princess," Zach smiled and then kissed her on the cheek, "I see the house is already decorated so let's have some fun, shall we?" He chuckled to himself. His two wannabe henchmen were each standing by an entrance. They laughed along with Zach.

"Please, please leave us alone. We'll get you your money back and then some. It isn't that big of a deal. This can all be..." Zach slapped Lola across the face. The room gasped. With the barrel of the gun pointed directly at Carol's face, Zach spat, "no one talks! No one opens their goddamn mouth unless they want a bullet in it! I believe I've made myself clear!" The room was still.

"I hate having to yell at such a fun occasion. Please don't make me do it again," Zach said clearly while putting the gun back into a holster on his hip. He smiled to himself while looking around the room. Everyone was still.

"What game should we play first, boys? Pin the tail on the donkey?" Zach was boasting.

"Nah, I don't like being blindfolded," one of his goons said with a smile.

"Hmm, truth or dare?" He was laughing at himself now.

"I think we can find something better than that," the other man, who was standing at the kitchen door, chimed in.

"I think you're right there, Max! I have a fun game idea! Y'all want to hear it?"

Silence.

"I'm sorry. You must not have heard me. Do y'all want to hear my fun game idea?!" Zach yelled while slamming his hand hard against the wall. The family all began nodding frantically.

"Thanks! Thank you for answering me. I think y'all will like this game. It involves letting one of your hands loose! Only for a second, though. Don't get too excited," Zach laughed to himself again. He was a real fan of himself.

Lola made eye contact with her dad. She tried to tell him with her eyes that she was sorry. The look in his eyes assured her that he knew. Zach pulled a book from Carol's perfectly organized bookshelf and ripped a page out. Carol let out a small gasp. He grabbed a pen from a container on the desk and walked over to Lola. The henchman who was not Max walked over and pointed his gun at her head. The tears began streaming down her face again.

"No one say anything, and no one gets shot. Deal? I'm going to untie each of your hands, one by one. I want you to write your own name down on a piece of paper. Easy peasy! That's the first rule of the game. Let's get started." He untied Lola's hand and gave her the pen. He put the ripped-out page of paper on top of the book it came from and placed it on her lap. Her hands were shaking but she managed to write her name. One by one Zach and his gunman went around the room, tying and untying hands. Once he made it back around to Mike, he had a little collection.