Chapter 7

Riker POV

"I dare you to-"

Rocky started laughing. I was anxiously awaiting my dare. I wasn't normally one to pick dares, but I didn't want Megan to think I wasn't brave enough to. My siblings could come up with the craziest dares sometimes!

"Come on Rocky, stop laughing and just tell me already!" I said.

"Ok, ok. I dare you to… Eat a spoonful of hot sauce!"

Rocky knew I hated hot stuff.

"I'll get it," said Toby, heading out into the dark kitchen.

Toby came back a few minutes later, carrying my spoon. He handed it to me, and I reluctantly took it.

"Stop staring at it, and eat it already!" Said Rocky, knowing I was stalling.

I shoved the spoon into my mouth, trying to swallow the hot sauce as fast as I possibly could. My mouth immediately started burning, and I started coughing like crazy, as sweat starting to form on my forehead. I was bent over now, still coughing, mouth burning. It felt like I couldn't breathe anymore.

Megan POV

Riker seriously looked like he was dying. I got up and ran into the kitchen, trying to find a glass in the dark. I quickly found one, filled it with water, and ran back into the living room, spilling some water in the process. I quickly knelt next to Riker, who was practically gasping for breath between coughs, and handed him the glass. He took the glass, and started drinking, only stopping to cough a few times. Now that he wasn't bent over so much, I could see tears running down his face. He definitely wasn't a spicy food kind of person. He finally stopped coughing so much, and wiped his forehead. I turned my attention away from Riker, and looked to Rocky and Ross, who seemed to be enjoying watching their brother go through this.

"Are you ok?" I asked.

"Yeah, I think so," said Riker, still coughing a little.

"Ok, Rydel you're next," said Rocky.

"Ok. Ellington, truth or dare?"

"Dare."

I thought Ellington had said "dare" with way too much confidence, considering what had just happened to Riker. But whatever…

"I dare you to… Uh… Run across the street to our house, grab something, and come back as fast as you can. If you can't make it back here in less than 2 minutes, you have to smell Rocky's feet!"

"Ok, but how about if I do make it back in time, you have to smell his feet?"

"Fine."

We all walked to the front door. Ellington stood in the doorway, waiting for Rydel to start the timer on her phone. It was pouring rain now, and it was completely dark, except for the occasional flashes of lightning. This would be interesting…

"GO!" Rydel shouted.

As Ellington took off toward his house, he almost fell down my walkway, but regained his balance just in time to not land in a huge puddle.

"Let's hide!" Shouted Rocky.

"Where should we go?" Asked Rydel.

"Let's go up to Megan's room. I think we can all fit in her closet," said Toby.

I was surprised that Toby was getting so into truth or dare. It seemed like he had forgotten about the whole me and Riker thing, but I knew he hadn't. I think he just wanted to have some fun for once instead of being so concerned about me, and I was glad.

We all ran up the stairs, which was quite difficult in the dark, and into my room. I opened my closet door, and let everyone file inside. Rydel was standing at my window, ready to stop the timer when Ellington reached my house.

"He didn't make it by 7 seconds," said Rydel.

Rydel and I quickly got in my closet too and shut the door. I could hear Ellington open the front door.

"Guys, sit down!" Ross whispered.

We all sat down, waiting for Ellington to realize we were gone. The power was still out, so it would be hard for him to see us without the closet light.

"Rydel!?" Ellington called from downstairs.

I heard quiet giggles from everyone around me.

"Rydel!? Where are you guys!?"

Rydel started laughing quietly.

"He sounds so scared!" Rydel whispered, still laughing.

"Guys, this isn't funny! Come on! Where are you!?"

"Shhh, I think he's coming upstairs," said Ross.

"If he opens the door, I'm going to jump out and scare him," said Rydel, moving closer to the door.

Ellington was definitely coming up the stairs. I could hear his footsteps getting louder and louder. My door was squeaky, so when he opened my door, we all knew. A minute later, he slowly opened the closet door.

"BOO!" Shouted Rydel, jumping out at Ellington.

"AHHH!"

Rydel had knocked Ellington down in the process of scaring him. She was now laying on top of him.

"Rydel! Why do you have to do that to me!? My heart is going like a million miles an hour!" Said Ellington, out of breath.

"Because it's funny! By the way, you lost. Your time was 2 minutes, 7 seconds," said Rydel.

"Ugh!"

If I could have paused this moment and taken a picture of Rydel and Ellington, I totally would have. Rydel's face was only inches away from Ellington's and they just looked so perfect together!

"Hey, do you guys want to sleep over tonight?" Asked Toby, suddenly.

I was honestly shocked, but glad.

"Yes! That would be awesome!" Shouted Rocky.

"Ok, cool. We can sleep downstairs in the basement. We won't have a TV, but we can be louder than if we slept in the living room, and the power's out anyways. Our parents get really mad if we wake them up," said Toby.

"Ok. Well, should we go get our stuff now?" Asked Rocky.

"Yeah."

Toby and I were left alone to start getting ready for the sleepover, while everyone else went to get their stuff. Toby and I walked down to the basement with flashlights. Since the power still wasn't on yet, I had to hold a flashlight while Toby moved some furniture around.

"Shine it over here," said Toby.

"Toby?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you invite them to sleep over tonight?"

"I don't know. We were having fun. Wait, are you ok with this?"

"Yeah, totally. I guess it's just weird to me. After everything with you and Riker, it was just surprising."

"Oh… Well I told you I wanted to get to know them better. Tonight's a great opportunity."

"I agree."

"Where are you going?"

"To get my sleeping bag and stuff…?"

"Leave the flashlight."

"Why? You scared?"

"Honestly, yes! This whole basement creeps me out. Actually, I'm coming upstairs with you. There's no way I'm staying down here alone."

"Scaredy cat!"

"Do you want to stay down here alone?"

"Well no-"

"That's what I thought. Come on, let's go. We don't have much time left. They'll be coming back soon."

Riker POV

"Come on guys, let's go already!" Rydel was shouting up the stairs.

I was sitting on the couch with all my stuff. Ellington came downstairs with his stuff too, sat next to me, and started trying to psych me out about the storm and what not. I was trying to ignore him, and push those thoughts out of my head.

"We're coming!"

A few minutes later, everyone else came crashing down the stairs, ready to go.

Toby greeted us as we came inside. When he led us downstairs to his basement, I was a little surprised to see just how creepy their basement was. It was finished, but it had boxes and stuff as if it weren't. I could barely see. We had to use flashlights. Toby came downstairs a minute later with more flashlights. As everyone shined them around the room, I could see that their basement was just a really big room, with a closet, and a bathroom. But it was big. Right across from the stairs, was a closet. In the middle, there was the area where we would sleep. There were couches in the way right now, but Toby said we could push them to the side when we went to sleep. To the left, there were piles and piles of boxes and random stuff. There was a narrow path off to the side that led to the bathroom. To the right, there was even more stuff. It looked like if you touched anything, it would all come crashing down like an avalanche. I was glad I wasn't the only one that was nervous. Ross looked so freaked out right now!

"So, you guys can throw your stuff on the couches, and we can continue our game if you want," said Toby.

We all sat down again in a not so circular circle, and continued our game.

"Alright, where did we leave off?" Asked Toby.

"Ellington has to smell Rocky's feet!" Shouted Rydel.

"Do I really have to?" Asked Ellington.

"YES! TOTALLY! You lost," said Rydel, excitedly.

Later…

Megan POV

My phone buzzed. I looked at it.

"Who is it?" Asked Toby.

"Mom and dad. They want to know if we want anything before they come home. They said they'll be home in 2 hours because the roads are kind of bad," I said.

"Can you see if they'll get pizza for all of us?" Asked Toby.

I texted my mom back.

"Yeah, she said they'll get us pizzas."

We had taken a break from truth or dare, and were just sitting around talking now. I was leaning up against a couch next to Riker and Ross.

"So what do you guys want to do?" Asked Rydel.

"Um… Well it's going to be a while until our parents get home, so… I don't know… There's not much we can do since the power's still out," said Toby.

We kept talking for a little while longer. The storm started getting worse and worse. It sounded like it was directly over our house now because the house shook every time there was a clap of thunder.

A Few Hours Later…

Riker POV

Toby and Megan's parents finally arrived and we started eating pizza. The storm outside was still going strong. Being in their basement, during a storm, with the power out was starting to get to me. I felt like I kept seeing something moving near the edges of the room. I was practically paranoid every time I got up to go to the bathroom. I would have to walk down the narrow path and around a curve. In. The. Dark. Once I had safely gotten to the bathroom without getting murdered or anything, it still wasn't any less scary. The shower had a dark shower curtain, perfect for someone to hide behind. And the tile floor was icy cold! On top of that, since the power was out, there wasn't running water, so Toby insisted we instead use a bucket he found. Then, I would always be scared that everyone would hide on me like we had done to Ellington, and I would be left alone in the dark. Fortunately, they hadn't thought of that yet!

"What time is it?" Ross asked.

"11:34. Why? You tired already?" Rocky asked.

"No. Just wondering."

"I think we should put on our pajamas and set up our beds," said Rydel.

"Already?" Asked Rocky.

"Yeah, I don't necessarily want to go to sleep, but I would like to be more comfortable," said Rydel.

"Yeah, I guess that's a good idea…" Said Rocky.

We all took turns changing in the bathroom, and set up our sleeping bags. I set up my bed next to one of the couches. Ellington was next to me, and Megan was across from me.

"Ok, who wants to get back to truth or dare?" Rocky asked.

I sighed. I was beginning to dislike this game. A lot.

"Megan, how about you go," said Rydel.

"Ok. Um… Riker, truth or dare?"

"Dare."

Again, wrong choice…

"I dare you… to… empty the bucket from the bathroom outside, without a flashlight. And you'll have to be really quiet because our parents are probably sleeping now," said Megan.

I couldn't tell if I was more disgusted or terrified by my dare.

Megan POV

After Riker had gone upstairs, Rocky had spotted our cat sitting in the corner.

"Toby, quick! Get your cat, and put it in the bathroom to scare Riker!" Said Rocky, whispering quickly.

Toby picked up our cat, and walked to the bathroom.

"It's in the shower," said Toby, returning.

When Riker came back downstairs, I could tell Rydel was trying not to explode into laughter as Riker walked back to the bathroom.

"WAHHH!"

We heard Riker scream, the shower curtain move, and a really loud thud. My eyes widened.

"Riker!?" I called.

No answer. I was the only one that got up and ran to the bathroom to see if Riker was ok. What was wrong with his siblings!? Why weren't they concerned!? I had forgotten to grab a flashlight, so I could barely see. There was only a little bit of dim light coming from the bathroom window. All I could make out was a dark lump on the bathroom floor. Meanwhile, I could hear everyone else talking about something else, obviously not concerned about Riker. I quickly crouched down.

"Riker?"

"Ughhh."

"Are you ok!? What happened!?"

"Your cat jumped out of the bathtub, scaring me. I jumped backwards, tripped over something, and fell."

"Are you ok?"

"When I fell, I hit my head on the sink, and I think your cat scratched me, but I'm not sure."

I helped Riker sit up against the bathroom wall. First his accident this morning, and now this! He was not having a good day!

"Are you ok?" I asked again, not really sure what else to do or say.

Riker held out his arm, trying to see in the dark. He gently rubbed his finger down his arm.

"Oh my gosh."

"What!?"

"It's wet! I'm bleeding!"

"Hold on, let me get a flashlight."

I ran back to where everyone was laughing about something, grabbed a flashlight, and ran back. I shined the light on Riker's arm. Yup. He was bleeding. A lot. There were giant scratch marks all down his arm. I grabbed the towel next to the sink, opened the window, and held the towel out there, wetting it from the rain. After a minute, I closed the window, took Riker's hand, and gently wiped the blood off his arm.

"Your hand is freezing!" I said.

"Uh sorry…?"

His hand was shaking a little bit too, but I didn't say anything. I helped Riker stand up, and we walked back to our sleeping bags.

"You ok Riker?" Asked Rocky.

"Kind of…"

Riker sat down against the couch, and put his hand on the back of his head, rubbing it slowly.

Riker POV

My head felt like someone was hitting it with a hammer in the same spot, over and over again, as hard as they possibly could. I was in so much pain right now. My wrist had slammed into the edge of a shelf when I had fallen. After landing on it weirdly earlier, it really hurt! There was almost no way I could play at the coffee shop tomorrow. And now my arm was bleeding. It stung whenever I pressed the towel to it. I sat there, wishing I could just go home, to my own bed, alone…

Megan got up and went upstairs.

"Well I think we should probably go to sleep now," said Rydel, stretching her arms in Ellington's face.

Ellington took this as an opportunity to poke her in the stomach. She screamed, and pushed his shoulder. Megan came back downstairs carrying something. I couldn't tell what it was until she came closer.

"Here, I got you some ice."

"Thanks. I thought you said your ice machine was broken."

"It is, but my mom bought a bag of ice, so now we have some."

I held the ice to the back of my head. Not only did my head still hurt, but I was starting to get a headache now too. UGH!

Everyone got into their sleeping bags, and laid down, but I knew they weren't really going to sleep yet. They kept talking. Megan was laying on her stomach, looking at me. I was on my stomach too, awkwardly holding the ice to my head.

"Is your head ok?" Megan asked, quietly.

"I think so. It still hurts from when I fell, and I'm starting to get a headache now," I said.

"Oh, do you want Tylenol or something?"

"No, I think I'm ok for now, but thanks."

Megan laid down and closed her eyes. I did the same, only wishing for the day to be over. Luckily, I fell asleep quickly…

3:44AM

Riker POV

My eyes snapped open. I looked around, trying to see what was going on. I thought I had heard something fall. I couldn't see straight though. I had such a bad headache now and it was making my vision blurry.

More stuff fell near the path to the bathroom. It sounded like mostly papers and stuff. But everyone was in their sleeping bags. So who was it!? All I could see were dark shadows.

There was another small crash of papers. Megan was awake now. She sat up quickly, turning and looking toward the source of the crash.

"Megan?" I whispered.

She quickly turned to face me.

"What!?" She whispered back.

"Did you hear that?"

"Yeah, do you know what it is!?"

"No…"

Suddenly, there was yet another crash, this time without papers. It was louder this time. It sounded like boxes and plastic bins. I felt like I could see whatever it was, moving.