Strange Happenings
Midnight. They always came at midnight. The chimes from the old grandfather clock in the den jolted Daniel out of his restless dreams. It wasn't the chimes that woke him so much as the knowledge that They were coming. It was the same horrifying ritual, every single night.
The room was illuminated by an eerie pale green glow. Three figures in haz-mat suits stood around his bed. One of them held a large briefcase, another held a gun, and the third--the apparent leader, from the way he acted--was making entries into a large handheld computer. Daniel tried to escape, to run, to even move, but some unseen force held him in place, as immobile as the bed itself. The leader looked up from his computer and signaled to the one holding the briefcase, who set the case down and began to open it. Daniel strained to see its contents, but couldn't from his position. If only he could move...
The leader reached forward, grabbed the bedcovers and--
The shrill blast of Daniel's alarm clock filled the room. He'd had that dream again, the same one he'd been having every night for nearly a month. Except that it didn't feel like a normal dream. It felt more like a memory, but one that had been partially forgotten. Anyway, Dan had more important things to worry about, so he pushed whatever it was aside for the moment. Today was the last day of school, finally. All he had to do was survive his last few final exams, and he'd be home free. He wasn't about to let a creepy dream get him down.
***
Dr. DiCaoz glanced over his biology classroom. "Is anybody still working on the final?" he asked tiredly. He paused for a moment, then said, "If everybody is finished, you may talk quietly amongst yourselves for the remainder of the period." As the class erupted in chatter, he went back to nursing his hangover.
Daniel loved his biology class. It wasn't just that he was good at it, or that it was the last class of the day. By some bit of luck or fate, he happened to be in the same class as his four closest friends, Gassan, David, Pammy, and Jake. Gassan, David, and Pammy had become absurdly popular since coming to high school. Gassan was Lebanese and therefore "exotic," David was a star swimmer, and Pammy was a cheerleader. In retrospect, popularity was an inevitability. To the other popular kids, Jake an avid follower of the Furry subculture (he called it a craze, but nobody else did) and Daniel, the introspective writer, were social liabilities. Still, Gassan, David, and Pam never let their newfound "friends" keep them away from Jake and Dan. Privately, Daniel was grateful that he had managed to befriend the four people who appeared to be immune to high school drama.
"So, what'd you guys think?" Pammy whispered.
"I'm pretty sure Dr. Di is a nutcase," Gassan answered quickly. He was met with a chorus of approval from his companions.
"Anyway," Pam continued, "are we having our annual Thank-God-The-Schoolyear's-Over party tonight?"
"I can't go," Jake said, "I've got a convention."
"I can't go either," said David, "My dad's taking me camping. He's on a back-to-nature kick."
"I'm visiting my grandma," Gassan said. Pammy rolled her eyes.
"Alright," she sighed, "when do you guys get back?"
"Sunday"
"Sunday evening"
"Sunday, but it'll be late."
"So," Pammy continued, "is Monday night alright with everyone?"
***
The days passed quickly. By the time Monday arrived, he had gone an entire weekend without his mysterious dreams. He was mostly relieved, but part of him wished the visitors would come back so he could find out what they were up to.
The streets were charged with an eerie calm. A summer storm was coming. As Daniel reached Pam's door, he couldn't help but feel a strange foreboding. Something was decidedly wrong. He rang the bell.
"Come in," called Pammy. Dan opened the door and found friend sitting on the floor in a tidy circle. They were all staring at him, an unsettling hunger in their eyes. "We are playing Truth or Dare," Pammy intoned mechanically. "Please, join us. Truth or Dare?"
"Please choose Dare," Gassan said, in the same unearthly voice.
"The Truth is never any fun," agreed David, still in the same tone. Throughout the exchange, none of the four took their eyes off of Daniel.
"Is everything alright?" he asked. "You all seem...different."
Pammy answered in the same monotone as before: "We are collectively unnerved at a series of recurring dreams we have been having. Perhaps you too are experiencing these visions?"
"Yeah," Dan said, "but I'm not acting that weird about it."
"Perhaps," Pammy said, "All will be made more clear if you answer this simple question: Truth...or Dare?"
Written by Zodiac on 31 May 2008
Truth:
What are you?” Pammy asked calmly
Dan was a little taken aback, this had happened so fast that he was already having trouble processing things and this strange question had only made it worse.
“What…what are you talking about?” he furrowed his brow slightly, there was a strange pressure in his chest, as if he wanted to release a deep breath he did not realise he was holding.
Pammy smoothed her skirt slightly and stared directly into his eyes, well, perhaps it might be more accurate to say she looked through him, at the wall behind. Those eyes were blank and he was starting to feel a little like a cornered animal.
“What are you?” came David’s voice. It almost made him jump. When had David moved behind him?
That pressure in his lungs was more intense; it was sort of like when you had something you really wanted to say but had to politely wait your turn. Daniel was starting to get really quite scared now and he shook his head violently to no one in particular.
“What are you?” asked Gassan and Jake almost in unison. It would seem he was surrounded.
Written by foxyscribe on 11 April 2017
Truth or dare
“You guys are being weird, plain and simple.” Dan could feel his skin crawl with forming goosebumps. These three were his friends for longer than forever. Even their worst pranks didn't give off the energy they were giving off right now. “Like children of the corn weird, it's down right creepy!” Dan rubbed his arms, he wasn't cold but it was funny how the creeps could make you feel cold.
“You have to pick.” Pammy, cute, charming cheerleader Pammy; said with a face colder than Dan's creepy feeling.
“You have to.” Gassen, the usual calm charmer kept up with the eerier unearthly voice.
“Have too,” Jake repeated the sentiment. Dan went from being creeped out, to feeling his stomach twist in the birth of fear.
“You must or this won't end!” David stood up, staring cold unreadable eyes right into his school star swimmer. Meaning he had more muscle in his pinky finger then Dan had in his whole body.
“Now David, this isn't like you buddy.” Dan backed into the door, the handle buried itself into the small of his back. David didn't hear him, maybe even couldn't! “David!” Dan yelled as David came at him with strong, unwavering steps.
“Say it.” David pinned Dan's shoulders to the door. He felt exposed and naked under his domineering gaze.
“Choose.” Pammy came in behind David. Dan tried pushing at David's arms, they wouldn't budge.
“Choose Dan.” Jake repeated in an inhuman chant, taking up a position on the left of David.
“Yes, choose.” Gassen came in on the right. Dan hit David's arm, not caring if he hurt his arms. He wouldn't let go, no matter how hard Dan striked at his arms or elbow joint.
“Choose,” they said together. Chanting it, pounding it into his ears. Dan couldn't take it anymore. His ears were ringing. His heart felt like it could explode at any moment. The crawling sensitization on his skin was only getting worse. Frankly, he was going to throw up any moment.
“Fine!” Dan shouted, making the chant stop almost the moment the word left his lips. The room was swirling and his friends were becoming nothing more than a swirl of colour. He felt more than saw David releasing his shoulder, giving him room to move. If Dan was going to do something – it was now.
Written by Psto1464 on 12 March 2022
Truth Revealed
“I'm...'' Dan stuttered, caught, and rather easily too. He really had no idea what he was going to say. His mouth was dry and his stomach was turning. Acids breaking down more than whatever he had left over from super. “I am...” Dan trailed off.
“Yes?” David tipped his face up, the roaming skin tone colours that were spinning in the room assured Dan he was most likely looking at David's face.
“A kangaroo.” Dan whispered, revealing the face of many sleepless nights, off nightmares, of insecurities; of himself. “Gah!” It felt like Dan's heart pulled him to the floor. It couldn't even tell if he hit David, or the rest of his friends, on the way down. He thought they were close, but he couldn't focus on them anymore. The ball breaking pain returned. In fact that statement became literal. Falling on his sides he didn't know what to reach for, what to comfort. Everything hurts, and the pain was all he could focus on.
“Ah!” Dan lips opened into a yelp of pain instead of the cry for help he intended. It felt like Pammy had struck him in the ball with the sharpest of her heels. His chest felt sore, reaching for both, he swore his chest was swelling. Was it an allergic reaction? Dan's hand that ducked down to his groin, found his balls not only hurt but were shrinking!!
“Dan?” David's voice, his real voice wobbled in like his head was underwater. Dan moaned, and curled up into a ball hoping to protect himself from this pain. It did nothing to stop it or the horror of his own balls, not his own cock disappearing under his hand! “Dan!” David's voice becomes louder but fainter to his ears. The room had stopped spinning, but Dan felt like his spine was being pulled out from his lower back. A rattling feeling, that let him know that the vibration of his spine was moving his very bones, relocating it. Not just his spine, but every bone in his body was rattling with this same experience.
“He-” Dan tried to speak again, but his tongue tumbled inside his mouth. His tongue had to reach out further and missed the mark. Was his face changing? Stranger than fiction was the hurt, Dan reached up, giving up on his groin and feeling – his furry face? “Wha-” Dan bit his tongue, whimpering at his stupidity that added to his injuries. Then as suddenly as it came it stopped.
“What happened?” His words were thick and swollen, he wasn't even sure if what he wanted to be said was really said. His vision grew clouded, and finally he sunk into the dark. He swore in those last few seconds or minutes that it took for the darkness to take him. That he heard his friends yelling his name.
“Mmm,” Dan's voice sounded sweeter to his years, less like a broken frog and more like a cuing of a dove. That couldn't be my voice, Dan forced his eyelids open, though a part of them wanted to remain closed. The thing was that he didn't trust the part of him that wanted to keep it close. It felt like he would never open them unless he forced himself to do it right then, right now. “Pammy?” She was the first thing he saw when he woke up. She looked normal, from the sparkle in her eye to the forced smile on her lips.
“Pammy!” Dan sat upright too fast making his head spin, he remembered how strange not only Pammy but everyone else was being. He wanted to get away and flailed about in the process.
“It's okay, we're all okay.” Pammy waved her hands in the hair in the sign of surrender. Dan noticed the rest of his friends gathered around him. Dan looked around, he was on the floor before. He went to look down when Pammy stopped him, grabbing him by his muzzle. Wait, she grabbed him by his what?! “Do you want to look? I just don't want you to panic.”
“We had enough of that from Jake.” David muttered, giving Jake a side wise dagger with his eyes.
“I didn't panic,” Jake said, his voice high and excited as his body moved while he talked. “I was just really happy?” Jake said, sounding unconvincing.
“You don't even believe in yourself.” Gassen said, shaking his head and folding his arms across his chest. Hearing his friends, who sounded like his friends normally did; brought tears to Dan's eyes.
“I'm I holding you too hard?” Pammy let go of Dan's... muzzle. He didn't care about that right yet, he was just happy they were normal again. “Sorry.”
“You guys are back to normal.” Dan wiped his eyes dry. “You guys were not funny. Was this some sort of prank Pammy?” Dan asked Pammy directly, pegging her for the ringleader if this was some sort of joke.
“No prank Dan.” David ran his hand through his short hair. “Even we felt weird.”
“Like we were being controlled.” Gassen turned his head away, face distorted in a look Dan couldn't pin down.
“It was not right,” Jake said, in a rare moment of seriousness. “It wasn't right,” he repeated before turning away from Dan.
“It's not as bad as what happened to you.” Pammy was the only one still looking at him. “Things have changed, you must have noticed.” Dan nodded at Pammy's words, he felt different. Good but different. “Do you want to look?”
“It changed for all of us.” David said looking paler all of the sudden, like he was going to be sick.
“Could we be next?” Gassen asked, looking green around the gills himself.
“I could make it work,” Jake muttered leaning against the bed's pine footboard.
Written by Psto1464 on 15 March 2022