The four stared at each other in silence. Only the rain hitting the metal roof cut through the silence. They looked back and forth at each other, mostly focusing on the lion's tail that was currently extended out of Isaac's back.
"This is insane..." Brad finally said.
"YOU'RE NOT THE ONE WITH A TAIL!" Isaac shouted. He stood up with such a force that the chair went flying behind him. His fists were ready for a fight. But the other three all scooted back.
"Woah! Woah! Woah! We need to calm down," Adrian said. "We still don't know what's going on."
Isaac did the only thing he could and glared. There was over a hundred pound difference between them and he knew full well that the defensive tackle could take him down without much effort at all. "Fine," Isaac said. He picked his chair back up and sat down. His arms crossed his chest and he looked like he was pouting. "It's your turn." He slid the die across the table.
Adrian practically jumped away from it, drawing a wicked smile out of Isaac. "Look. Okay. I get it," Adrian said. "But we need to figure out what's going on. If we all freak out, then we can't do anything. Okay?"
"Okay," Isaac's frown didn't leave his face.
"Or we can just not play," Brad suggested.
"THEN WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT MY TAIL!?" Isaac shouted.
"I don't know, but I sure as hell ain't going to grow one," Brad said. "Because I'm not pla--" His voice cut out as his mouth hung slack jaw. Suddenly his pupils went wide and a bit of sweat started dripping down the sides of his face and coating the sleeveless shirt he was wearing. Only seconds ticked away, but it felt like hours. Brad gasped for air. "Holy fuck... Holy fuck..." he breathed. His arms went slack by his sides as he looked like he wasn't able to move them.
The other three stared again, unsure what just happened. The scared look on Brad's face only made them all the more concerned. "What?" he demanded an answer for their concerned faces. "It was a joke. Of course we're going to play. The game's not over till someone wins Right?" a manic look was plastered over his face as he looked at his friends. "Right? Right?"
"What..? What just happened?" Isaac was the first to ask. The sweat on Brad's face looked like it'd run cold.
"I... Uhh... Well..." Brad was clearly trying to think about what had just happened to him. He spoke softly, pulling in on himself. "I was suddenly in a dark space. There was only a bit of light around me otherwise it was completely dark. I felt a something tell me to do 200 pushups. But when I--When I refused the darkness started to engulf the light. I felt my clothes disappear and I wasn't alone. So, I dropped down and started pumping them out. But the light didn't cover my entire body anymore and whatever was outside the light kept being touched." He paused. "It just kept touching me..."
"Bullshit!" Paul said. "I'm out of here. Fuck this shit."
"No! We have to play! The game's not over until someone wins!" Brad shouted.
Paul was already on his way to the door. "Like I give a shit about something like that." He reached the handle and his entire body stopped. Just like Brad's, his jaw went slack and his body began to sweat. The moment he came too, he collapsed onto the floor. "God damn it," he almost whimpered as he rolled around on his back. "God damn it..."
The other three rushed over to him to help him up. He couldn't stand on his own. "500 squats. No break..." he said. "Fuck... I've never been so scared. I was all alone. But I wasn't. Fuck man," he almost looked like he was about to cry.
"I'll be right back," Adrian gave Paul a gentle pat to the back as he went to the kitchen.
"It was so... So weird. I couldn't stop or the light was going to vanish. Everything was just dark. But there was something out there. I could feel it--watching. Waiting for me to stop," Paul shivered as he thought about it.
The microwave beeped and Adrian came back with a cup of hot chocolate. "This should help a little."
"Thanks..." Paul said. Even if it wasn't on his diet plan right now, he knew he needed it.
"So..." Adrian broke the silence. "We keep playing?" he asked as he picked up the die.
"Uhh... Yeah," Isaac answered. Paul and Brad silently nodded. "A tail doesn't seem so bad all of a sudden..." drawing a bit of a laugh out of everyone.