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
Dare: bring something back
"Dare," Daniel said. "I'll go for a dare."
It was silly, something that a senior in high school shouldn’t really be participating in, but
he didn’t care. He had to know and it might be fun too. Plus, it made Pammy happy as
evidenced when she smiled and clapped her hands together.
"Perfect," she said. "Perfect! I have just the dare." Her smile broadened and she leaned
in towards Daniel, her next words a whisper. "Have you heard of Area 50?"
Daniel stiffened, and nodded.
"Good," she said. "I dare you to go there and I double dare you to bring something
back."
"Fine," Daniel said, smiling now too. "I'll bring you back a rock or maybe a few pebbles!"
"No." Pammy smirked. "I don't just double dare you--I double dog dare you to bring me
something strange from there!"
Daniel blinked, and then nodded again.
"Fine--I'll bring you a big spider! Or maybe a giant cockroach!"
She shrieked and shook her head, but he was already walking off.
"I'll be back," he said. "Then it's your turn."
Written by skiesofsilver on 13 January 2017
Labs
Daniel cautiously entered the abandoned base, the air heavy with silence. The dim light from his flashlight danced across the deserted corridors as he made his way deeper into the facility. The place felt eerie, as if the walls themselves held the secrets of the past.
After what seemed like an eternity, he stumbled upon the mess hall. The room was vast, filled with rows of empty tables and chairs covered in a thick layer of dust. A faint smell of mildew lingered in the air. Daniel's flashlight revealed abandoned trays and forgotten utensils scattered across the floor.
As he explored further, he noticed a set of double doors at the far end of the mess hall. They seemed more secure than the other doors he had encountered, piquing his curiosity. With a cautious glance around, he approached the doors and tried to push them open.
To his surprise, they creaked open, revealing a room that contrasted sharply with the decay of the mess hall. The walls were lined with shelves containing mysterious vials, scientific instruments, and unusual artifacts. A large, dusty chalkboard displayed complex equations and diagrams.
Daniel's eyes widened as he realized he had stumbled upon a hidden laboratory. It seemed like the kind of place that held secrets far beyond his understanding. Despite the dust and neglect, the equipment appeared functional, frozen in time as if waiting for someone to return.
Written by - on 01 January 2024
Board Game
The board game on the table caught Daniel's attention. It seemed out of place among the scientific equipment and mysterious artifacts. As he approached, he saw that the game was called "Eclipse of Eternity." The box displayed a cosmic scene with planets, stars, and a peculiar symbol that he couldn't quite decipher.
Curiosity getting the better of him, Daniel opened the box to find an intricately designed game board, various cards, and unique playing pieces. The instructions were written in an unknown language, but the images on the cards and the board suggested a game that involved cosmic exploration and otherworldly challenges.
Feeling a strange connection to the game, Daniel decided to take it with him as his "strange" item for Pammy's dare. As he carefully packed it in his bag, he couldn't shake the feeling that the game held a significance beyond its appearance.
Leaving the hidden laboratory, he retraced his steps through the deserted corridors of the abandoned base. The air seemed thicker now, as if the place itself was aware of his presence. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched.
Once outside, Daniel made his way back to Pammy's house, board game in hand. The eerie calm from before had intensified, and the storm clouds loomed overhead. As he entered the house, the atmosphere inside was even more unsettling than when he left.
Pammy and the others were sitting in the same circle, their eyes fixed on him with an intensity that sent shivers down his spine. Pammy, still in that monotone voice, asked, "Did you bring something strange from Area 50?"
"I did," Daniel replied, holding up the box of "Eclipse of Eternity." "It's a board game. I found it in a hidden laboratory."
Written by - on 04 January 2024
Play the game
As Daniel finished explaining and held up the box of "Eclipse of Eternity," Pammy and the others looked at it with a mix of surprise and confusion. The room begane to glow in a pale green glow.
As the first roll of the dice echoed in the room, something remarkable happened. The monotone emotions that had gripped Pammy, Gassan, David, and Jake started to break. Their eyes widened, and their expressions shifted from the strange, controlled demeanor to genuine surprise and curiosity.
Pammy blinked a few times, her monotone voice replaced by a more natural tone. "Wait, what's happening? Why do I feel...normal again?"
Gassan looked around, almost disoriented. "Did we just snap out of something weird? What's going on?"
David and Jake exchanged bewildered glances, as if they were waking up from a deep and perplexing dream. The room, once filled with an unsettling calm, now buzzed with an unexpected energy.
Daniel, still holding the dice in his hand, couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment mixed with confusion. The board game seemed to have broken whatever strange influence had held his friends captive.
"Maybe this game is more than just a game," he mused. "It might be the key to understanding those dreams and what happened to us."
Written by - on 07 January 2024