I wasn't sure how it all happened. That moment happened so quickly, I couldn't make it out. I just knew that I ended up with the box. That white, almost hauntingly scary box. I had crashed into two boys who were running quickly down the sidewalk. From what I could tell, one was wearing a black bandana while the other was in a blue and black flannel shirt. Somehow, through all the confusion, the box had ended up in my hands.
And now here I was, at home; sitting with the box on my bed, just staring at it. It called to me, begging for me to open it, but a small voice in the back of my mind told me that it wasn't safe. I tried desperately to ignore it. I looked anywhere in my small and cluttered room but at that stupid box. I went out about the apartment, trying to find something to distract me. I cleaned every dish in my house, at least twice. I did several loads of laundry, vacuumed my entire house, and dusted. Still, not for one second was my mind anywhere but that damn box.
Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore. I was overwhelmed by temptation, I thought I would explode. I looked into my room, as if there was something that was going to jump out at me. The air in my room felt heavier, and the box remained unmoved. The duct tape that was surrounding it was an obvious warning for me not to open the box. I thought that even as I ripped it apart with my scissors. I pulled the lid off, and it revealed cards, a doll house that was in some need of repair, as well as a few figurines. One of a wolf and the other, a snake. Another was a beautiful cutout of a boy. It didn't look drawn as the others had, more like a photograph. His hair was platinum with darker tips, and his face was flawless, with electric blue eyes. My heart skipped a beat just looking at the picture. I wanted to know what I would do if he were real.
I looked through the rest of the box, only to find one blank doll and a blank card. I found the instructions on the back of the box, and read that I was supposed to color on the doll, as it represented me in The Game. I looked through a drawer in my desk and found an assortment of colored pencils, and did my best to color my short brown hair, blue eyes, and pale skin. I drew on my purple jacket and jeans and put her aside while I set out to fix the house. It was a little lopsided when I finished, but after many strips of tape, I did the best I could to save it. After, it told me to draw my biggest fear on the blank card. I took some time to think about it. I never really had any nightmare that would actually scare me. I decided to go back to it after I finished setting up.
I read the inside of the box again, and I placed my doll in the sitting room. The cards came next. I straightened them up, and placed them face down. I was finally done, and back to my card that was still blank. I continued to think on it, until I heard the doorbell ring.
I got up off of my floor and went downstairs to answer my door. Lindsay, a girl who I had been best friends with since grade school, stood at my door and smiled. I had completely forgotten that we had made plans for the day.
"Joan. Did you completely forget about today?" Lindsay stood, her hand on her hip, giving me a dirty look.
I pushed my hair out of my face and sighed. "Just a little." I opened the door for her to come in, and she walked up my stairs and straight into my room.
I heard instantaneous laughter. "Were you playing dolls?" Lindsay's face was lit up with a bright smile as she bent down to look at the previously lopsided house. It was now perfect, complete with small tables and chairs.
"Um, it's actually a game." I kneeled down to look at it with her, and found another blank paper doll, as well as a blank card.
"Well, I want to play too." I handed her the doll, and gave her the instructions to color it. I watched as she created her long dark blonde hair, brown eyes and her tank-top and shirt. She was a much better artist than I was, and it looked a lot more believable than mine.
She put down the pencils and looked at me. "Now what?" I handed her the blank card and explained to her that she needed to draw her greatest fear on it.
"But don't tell me." I said, as I started at my blank card again. I quickly drew something, just so I didn't have to explain to Lindsay my situation later. It was just a game, after all. I picked up the box and read the instructions after Lindsay had finished her drawing, and put her doll in the house. "It says that these two characters," I indicated to the snake and the wolf. "are the Creeper and the Lurker. We'll meet them later in the game. As well as," I picked up the devastatingly handsome boy. "him. He is the Shadow Man." I quickly told her about how we meet our nightmares in a room, and if the Shadow Man catches us, he'll make us face our nightmares. If we manage to face them, then we win.
Lindsay stole him from my grasp. "I'm beginning to like this game." She laughed and set him down. "Now what?" she asked eagerly.
"Well," I looked at the instructions. "We have to swear that we are playing this of our own free will, and that the game is real." Lindsay's face was twisted into confusion before she shrugged. It was then that I realized the misshaped U. I stared at it, and in that time, Lindsay stole the box from me.
"It says that there's a Shadow World and it lives parallel to ours…. Blah blah blah… the world of dreams… blah blah blah…. Oh! It says that entering the Shadow World can be dangerous, and could be a hazard to our lives, and that we have to swear that we understand that."
Lindsay put the lid down. "I swear." She looked back at the boy. "Your turn, Joany."
My whole body seemed to tense up. It was just a game, I knew that. I played it off nonchalantly and smiled. "Sure, I swear." I felt very ill at ease after that.
"I'll go first." Lindsay anxiously grabbed the top card and read it aloud. "You're with your friend in this room to begin the Game." She placed it down. "Go." She urged.
I picked it up with a bit of hesitation. "You both have secrets that you would rather die than reveal." I thought it was strange how it knew there was only two of us, but maybe it was just two player game.
Eager Lindsay grabbed the next one. "You hear the sound of footsteps from one of the rooms above." Lindsay laughed. "Good thing you don't have a third floor, or this would be really weird." As she finished her sentence, there were a few quick footsteps above us. "Could be anything." Lindsay's voice wasn't as confident as before.
We both looked at each other, a little nervous to move on. I reached for the next one. "You go to the door to get some air, but it seems to be stuck." I moved to my balcony door, just to check. And sure enough, it wasn't budging.
"Joany, I don't want to play anymore." Lindsay said, her voice shaking. She ran over to one of my windows to try and yank it open.
"It's just… coincidence, I'm sure." I tried to slow my breathing down, but it wasn't working. "I'll show you." I picked up the next card and read it. I could see Lindsay biting her nails the whole time. "You hear the clock strike nine." I put the card down. "It's only three. It's not going to happen."
Lindsay breathed a sigh of relief. And then we heard it. A clock in the distance. I counted nine strikes. Lindsay reached out for my hand and dug her nails into my palm. My heart pounded in my chest, and I could feel the sweat start to form on my forehead. Then there was wind.
It whipped around us, blowing the papers I had on my desk off, and throwing them around the room. The wind stung my skin. I was lost as to where I was. I couldn't make out any shapes. I could feel Lindsay grasping my hand, but I lost feeling of that too.
I woke up on the floor. Not my bedroom floor though. It wasn't anywhere I knew at all. The room was dimly lit, with a couch a couple of upholstered chairs, and a table. I had to blink a couple of times to get my eyes to adjust to the lighting. I could tell now that the walls were green and black striped. I was on a hardwood floor, propped up against wall. I realized that Lindsay wasn't next to me at all. I stood up rapidly to look for her. My head spun, and I had time to stare out a window. It was ice and snow outside, but it was sunny when I last looked…
"Lindsay." I called. There was no reply. I walked around the small parlor and didn't spot her at all. I looked around the small room with my eyes, and I saw no movement and heard no sound. "Lindsay…" I gave out a weak whisper, knowing I would get no reply.
"She's in another part of the house." A cool voice came from behind me. I was startled by it, and jumped as I turned to face it.
It was the boy. The one that had been a paper doll only minutes…hours? ago. I had completely lost track of time, especially when I looked into those amazing blue eyes. I blinked a couple of times to remember what was going on.
"Who are you?" I gave him a questioning look. His eyes were full of mischief, evil, and a hint of something that I couldn't quite put my finger on.
"Julian." He bowed. "The Shadow Man." He came back up and gave me a wicked grin. I hated that it made my heart skip a beat.
"What am I doing here?" I ignored all of the other things racing through my mind. Like that fact that his lips looked so taunting…
He chuckled, and it echoed through the room. "You're playing the Game. You agreed to it. Remember?" Julian raised an eyebrow towards me.
I shook my head in disbelief. "I didn't think it was real…" I spoke, mainly to myself.
Julian's voice became very clear, and directly in my ear as I heard him whisper, "It's very real."