Author's Note: It's been a long time since I posted anything on this site, but I woke up with this idea in the middle of the night, and I had to do something with it. It was kind of hard to put into words, though, so I'd love to hear what you guys think. Plus, it's my first short story in years and years! It's usually impossible for me to write short. So I'm very proud. :-D

A Different Kind of Game

"What is he doing?!" Jenny cried in horror. Audrey, standing next to her, squeezed her hand.

"I don't know," Audrey said with a shake of her auburn hair.

Tom, on Jenny's other side, took a step forward. The boy in black – Julian, he'd told them to call him – without turning to face them, warned softly, "I wouldn't do that."

Tom froze, and Dee grabbed his arm, pulling him back.

"Don't," she said.

"You know the rules to this game," the boy said, turning around with a smile that gave Jenny goosebumps. "If you can win, you're free to go. If not … you're mine to keep." He looked directly at Jenny as he said this, and she turned her face away. Tom stepped in front of her protectively.

"Alright, we'll play your little game," Tom said. "But we're going to win." He held his chin high, his voice strong with confidence.

Julian quirked an eyebrow. "Then let's begin. The clock is ticking." He turned back to the wall behind him.

The group stood huddled together, staring at his back for a minute, watching what Julian was doing. Jenny's stomach began doing somersaults as the seconds ticked by and nobody figured out the way to win. Finally, Julian turned around and stepped away from the wall, gazing at them, waiting. Summer, always the timid one, gasped and hid behind Zach.

"What is it?" she whispered, her eyes wide.

The others stared, horrified, at the figure Julian revealed.

"Is it a bird?" Dee squinted her eyes and tilted her head. "No, it's a person."

"No!" Zach spoke up. "Look at it; it's some kind of cat. A leopard, maybe?"

The righteous smile on Julian's face began slipping. "Time is running out." If she didn't know better, Jenny would've sworn she heard irritation in his voice.

"Oh, come on, guys," Tom said, stepping forward and motioning toward the figure. "It's so obvious! It's a bear!" He grinned excitedly and looked to Julian for confirmation.

A pink tinge seemed to be appearing on Julian's cheeks, and his mouth was drawn in a tight line. "Wrong."

Tom's face fell. He wrapped his arm around Jenny protectively.

"This is so unfair!" Jenny exclaimed. "How are we possibly supposed to win when we can't even tell what that is?"

Michael stepped forward. "Yeah. What exactly is it anyway?" He gestured angrily at Julian, previous fears forgotten.

"Is it a lion?" Summer asked quietly.

Julian's face now matched the red in the paper house's cabbage-rose carpet. "What is wrong with you people?" He strode toward them, causing a few of them to gasp and step back. "Are you all stupid?" He grabbed Jenny's arm and pulled her away from Tom. "This isn't that hard!" He glared at Jenny. "You're smart. Figure it out."

Jenny felt anger flaring inside her, and she met Julian's eyes straight on. "Well, maybe if you weren't so completely talentless! Zach could do way better than that."

"Yeah!" Audrey shouted. "You shouldn't start a game you're no good at."

The electric blue in Julian's eyes flared brighter, and he looked at each of them, scowling. "I don't need to take this, from any of you! Look at it! It's so easy! It's obviously my minion, the Creeper, if any of you had bothered to actually look at the paper house you were putting together."

A laugh burst from Tom's throat. "That's the Creeper?"

Michael smirked, and even Summer couldn't hold back a giggle. Jenny bit her lip, fighting to keep the corners of her mouth from turning up. The grip on Jenny's arm tightened, and Julian growled in outrage.

"Forget it! I'm not wasting my time with morons! Go back to your pitiful little party. Just remember, I'll be watching you!"

The room flashed, and suddenly the seven were standing in Jenny's living room again. Jenny breathed a sigh of relief and sank to her knees.

"Thank God, we're okay."

"I think we made him mad," Michael said, shaking his head as he sat on the couch.
            Audrey kneeled next to Jenny, picking up the paper doll figure of Julian. She stared at it a moment, then turned to Jenny.

"How odd."

"What?" Jenny took the doll from Audrey.

"Why would an evil Shadow Man choose to play Pictionary?"