When 6:00 finally rolled around, Dan finally heard the words he had been dreading all day...
Sarah called out to Steve, "Steve!... Hey babe, it's time to fire up the grill!"
"It's ready, hun, I snuck out 15 minutes ago and lit it. My little app here shows it's already at 450 degrees," Steve replied.
"Thank God," Sarah exclaimed, "Everybody's starving! Here, got the six patties you thawed, a platter, and your favorite spatula.
"Thanks hun! I'll go throw em on!" Steve said.
And with that, Steve headed out to the grill with the patties, closing the door behind him. As he did, Dan felt cool air over his.... Ribs? "Oh no... Fucking hell no!" Dan thought to himself, "They fucking ground my rib meat into burger when they butchered me!"
Dan felt the coolness of the platter his patties were sitting on, and the cool outdoor air still flowing over his ribs. Then he felt kind of a jarring shock as the platter was set down, and he could feel warm air now radiating from the grill.
As Sarah set the table, Kat, Jack and Julie came to help.
Sarah said "You guys are in for a real treat tonight. These are the patties we made from the rib meat when we butchered my deer. They're HUGE! Steve seasoned them himself before we froze them, so they're going to taste amazing!"
Dan was expecting to feel the patties being thrown on the grill any second, but he just felt the warm air.
Sarah, Kat, Jack and Julie had just finished setting the table when Steve came back in... "Hey, I forgot the salt and my timer. Here we go. You guys go ahead and take the good seats. I'm alright, I'll grab a stool when I bring the burgers in."
The four sat down, and Steve headed back to the grill.
Dan was being tortured again by the four sinking into his cushions, but knew that would be nothing in comparison to what was coming.
He noticed Kat looking out the window. When he saw her slight smirk, he knew it was about to happen. He tried his best to mentally brace himself.
A second later, he felt hotter air as the lid of the grill was opened. Then he felt the squeeze of Steve's fingers on one of his patties. He knew the instant it was dropped onto the grill. Horrible searing pain shot throughout his entire ribcage. Then again, and again, and again. Six times for six patties. Each patty increased the magnitude of the constant, burning sensation, the constant searing pain in his ribs.
In his mind, Dan was screaming in agony, praying for the release of death... Which he knew could not come since he was already dead.
But for as hysterical as Dan was, he saw Sarah, Kat, Jake and Julie just as relaxed as could be, enjoying themselves, sipping their drinks snd visiting. The set table, the buns, the slices of cheese and condiments... everything was ready and waiting.
No one paid Dan any attention, now that Julie had fixed the spells so that everyone but her and Kat saw Dan as just any other deer. Kat was the only one who had smirked when he went on the grill, and even she didn't look at Dan.
Dan saw Jake cast a glance out the window before saying "Oh Kat and Julie... Like my mom said, you guys are in for a treat. My dad does flame-broiled like nobody's business!"
"My mouth is watering!" Exclaimed Kat as she again bounced on her seat in excitement.
"Everyone's is!" Smiled Sarah.
Sarah passed out slices of jerky to everyone... "Here, a little appetizer while we wait..."
All took a bite and began to chew.
Just then Dan felt a slight relief in temperature. The extreme burning throughout his ribs didn't stop, but just enough of a slight decrease in the surrounding air temperature that he could tell the lid of the grill had been opened.
"Phew, finally! Come on man, get me off that grill!" Dan thought to himself, "HURRY!"
But what he felt instead was a sudden INCREASE in the searing pain! Then another and another....
"AW FUCK!" Dan exclaimed in his head, "He's just flipping the patties!" After all six were flipped, each increasing his agony, He felt the temperature suddenly go back up as well. The lid had been closed again!
Suddenly the door opened. "Sarah? Yeah, probably about five more minutes, ok hun? These suckers are BIG, but damn they're gonna be good!"
"That's ok babe," Sarah said, "Can't rush perfection!" They both smiled. Steve closed the door and returned to the grill.
Kat silently decided to check in on Dan telepathically, "Hey Dan, how's it going?" Because of the opposite spell, even when he cursed and yelled at her about the agonizing searing burning pain through his entire ribcage, his entire skin being sat on, and feeling every jerky bite that each of the four enjoyed as excruciating pain in his leg where the jerky was made from... What Kat heard back, also telepathically, was a cheery "Awesome! The most incredible, pleasurable sensations I've ever felt, throughout my entire body!"
"I love it! No guilt this way!" she thought to herself before responding telepathically to Dan, "Wonderful! You don't have to worry about a thing! Just relax and enjoy. We've got it all under control. You're going to be delicious!"
Dan prayed for the grilling to stop.
His agonizing pain was so intense that he couldn't even tell when he had been taken off the grill.
"Here we go!" said Steve as he came back inside, set the platter in the center of the table and pulled up a stool, "Let's eat!"
He watched the five eat, but the pain was already so intensely maximized for him that the handling, condiments, biting and chewing didn't add anything to it.
Even so, it was beyond tortuous for Dan to watch all five eating their burgers hungrily, savoring the incredible flavors, and offering compliments to Steve... All while he continued to endure such agony.
The cherry on top of the torture pie was when Jack spoke up and said "Anybody want that last burger?" "It's all yours, honey!" Sarah smiled and replied. Sure, Jack's memory of Dan was gone... But he had already exposed his true nature to him.
Dan had to watch as he greedily gobbled it up, with Kat smiling at him, "I love how you're enjoying that." Knowing that Dan was watching, she put her arm around Jack and gave him a big smooch as he finished his last bite.
Steve cleared the table, served dessert and refilled drinks. It was another three hours of visiting before anyone stood up from Dan's leather seats.