By noon, the party had been going for a few hours, with more guests trickling in by the minute. Getting to the beach required going off the beaten path for a while, so a few people had gotten lost, but even now there were dozens of people sunbathing, swimming, surfing, and generally soaking up the perfect summer day.
“So, what’s your problem?” Vince laughed as he piled some more driftwood onto the pile. “It’s a party, dude, so enjoy yourself a little…”
“I had half a beer before noon and I’ve gotten some great pictures. This is me having fun,” Alec replied evenly as he kneeled to line up his next shot. Off in the distance, the waves were beginning to swell, carrying a bright red surfboard along as they grew higher and higher. Alec adjusted the focus on his camera, zooming in on Dylan as he slid smoothly over the water, his hair soaked by the spray and hanging damp across his face. The usually goofy expression on the surfer’s face was replaced by a serene focus as he expertly guided the board back and forth along the chop while the onlookers on the beach cheered him on.
Through his viewfinder, Alec could see a look of realization on Dylan’s face, and the blond surfer looked out across the water without losing his balance and waved back to Alec and Vince. “Hey, bros!” he shouted, barely audible over the crashing waves. “Make sure you get my good side!”
With that (and just as Alec’s finger tapped the shutter), Dylan grinned and pulled his trunks down, letting his thick cock flop out and waggle in the sun before tucking it back away. While the crowd on the beach hooted and laughed at Dylan’s antics, Alec groaned and considered deleting the photo out of hand.
“I dunno, looked like a pretty good shot to me…” Vince laughed as he finished piling wood and fished around for a match.
“He was looking at the camera. It’s a shitty picture,” Alec corrected, though he neglected to delete it and set the camera down.
“Oh? You were looking at his face, were you?” Vince shot back. “Now, help me get this bonfire going already. Unless we can feed these people, they’re gonna get pretty bored of this party pretty fast. Oh, speaking of boring, is your cousin still coming with his band?”
“Ha-fucking-ha. Yeah, he texted and said he’s just pulling up. And they’re not boring. And they said they’d give their more depressing songs a miss,” Alec replied. Together, him and Vince started to get some kindling lit under the bonfire and stepped back, watching as the wood began to smolder and smoke before crackling to life. In no time at all, the fire was going strong, and people began to gather around, spearing hot dogs and chicken on skewers and cooking themselves up a quick lunch over the fire.
But as they lazed in the sun, they didn’t notice the bonfire’s flames growing steadily higher, reaching upward toward the sun for just a moment. The sound of rushing air blew down the beach and the waves crashed along the shore. And suddenly, there was a burst of light that made everything go white and a low, quiet voice rang out in their ears.
“The elements have been gathered. Let the force of change flow!”
The partygoers all went slack, their heads lolling to the side and their faces going blank. Images flashed before their eyes, to quickly to make sense of. Some felt their skin itch, others felt a dull ache, but all felt something as the powerful waves of natural energy flowed up through the ground into their bodies.
Then, as quickly as it had begun, the phenomenon ended and the group snapped out of their collective trance. Dylan glanced around in a daze as all the people up and down the beach vigorously shook their heads to chase off any lingering disorientation, then he quickly hurried over to where Vince and Alec were standing.
“Uh… What the fuck was that?” he murmured quietly. Although everyone seemed a bit confused by the strange phenomenon, nobody seemed particularly worried, and most returned to what they’d been doing before like nothing had happened. “Someone slip something into the beer? Toxic waste in the water?”
“Don’t be dumb. It was… err…” Alec replied, only to come up empty for a real explanation. “Sun stroke? Or maybe we just got dazed when the sunlight flashed off the water…”
“Hey, hey… Whatever it was, it’s over now,” Vince said, patting his friends on the back to calm them. “Look, this sort of shit happens sometimes. At least, I assume so. Nobody’s hurt, nobody cares. It’s fine. Now come on, this party's still on low. We need to crank this shit up to ultra-hot!”
None of them really seemed to believe what they were saying, but it was too late for them to bail on this party. Alec saw his cousin and his band walking up the trail to the beach with all their equipment, more people were paddling out into the water to catch some waves, and a few people had even snuck off for a little bit of private time. The party wasn’t even in full swing yet, and backing down now would be the worst possible idea if the three friends wanted to hang onto their dignity.
“...Right, it’s fine. I guess,” Alec sighed as he wandered over to help his cousin set up. Without even thinking, he kicked off his sandals and sighed with relief feeling the warm sand on his bare feet. They’d been pinching for a while now, anyway. He reached over to scratch his chest, frowning as he felt a bit more fuzz than usual but not thinking anything of it.