“OK… we’ve got Kirby, Zelda, Super Mario World…” “How about something that’s actually playable, like Zombies, Black Ops or something”, retorted Joey, always being sarcastic, “Because,” replied Matthew, “You know those are 17 and up, my parents won’t let me buy them!” “So what? OK, maybe we’re all just two years away, but it’s not like it’s really a big deal,” said Grace. “Whatever, I feel like if we weren’t in Cincinnati, people wouldn’t be so strict about it,” Ally added, in an annoyed tone. “Just shut up, we’re playing Kirby,” stated Matthew, “besides, Lucas wants to play that also, right Lucas?... Lucas?”

Everybody turned around to see that Lucas was gone, exchanging nervous glances back and forth at each other. “He’ll be back soon, I think I heard him say earlier he was hungry.” said Grace, informingly. “Cool, he better make me a sand which!” Joey said raising his voice loud enough to be heard upstairs. Matthew slid the video game disc into the console, and he heard the startup music, but nothing after that point was usual, nothing at all. Instead of the startup menu for the game they were hoping to play, they got a… well they got a different start up menu, for a different game. Lucas’ face popped up in front of the screen, not popped up in front of, but it appeared, in the screen, covering the entire thing.

Everybody let out a gasp, and Ally jumped. “Hello, friends,” said Lucas with a wolfish grin. The way that Lucas said ‘friends’ gave everyone the chills, and at once they all agreed that this was not funny, and they wouldn’t let Lucas prank them this easy. Nervously, Matthew stood up to remove the disk, keeping his eyes on the screen, he knew that it must all be just a joke… but he just wanted to be sure. He went to eject the CD, and nothing came out! The CD was gone, and at that point Lucas started talking again. “Why do you wish to stop this? I’m not hurting you. Not yet.” Ally looked at the screen, and observed that Lucas’ head was positioned to be looking directly at Matthew. She let out a gasp, pointed at the screen, and scooted back as fast as she could. Joey swung his hand in front of her, he didn’t know why, but it seemed like something anybody else would do. “OK, this is getting too freaky, Matthew, are you in on this too?” Asked Joey in a rather accusatory tone. “In on what? What the hell are you talking about?” “What do you mean what am I talking about? How else would Lucas be looking directly at you?” Joey yelled. “I have no idea, but shut up, let’s hear this!” said Matthew, authoratively.

“Thank you Matthew.” The group stared, in awe, realizing that this was no prank or joke, the timing was too perfect… almost like Lucas could hear them. “Now, I noticed that your group of friends couldn’t find a game to play correct?” Everybody just stared at the screen, not responding. “Well, I looked into it, and into you guys, and I think I have found the perfect game.” “… A game.” Matthew said in a voice mixed with fear and question. “Yes, a game. Here are the rules.” Lucas smiled, knowing that at this point, the tables were about to turn, in every direction possible.

“Hell no, I’m out this is WAY to creepy for me!” yelled Grace. “C’mon Ally!” Ally got up and started to follow grace up the steps. “Yeah sure, go upstairs,” said Joey “After all, Lucas IS up there.” The girls looked at each other and slowly made their way back to the floor and watched the TV “Now, would you like to know the rules?” “I don’t suppose we have much of a choice now do we?” Said Grace, looking at Joey. “Of course you have a choice, I am your friend! But, as you have asked me to do, here are the rules,” As Lucas said this sentence, his face started getting darker, blood dripping from his eyes. “Rule one, my name isn’t Lucas, It’s Lucifer, get it right. Rule two, if you know rule one, you have to play the game. Rule three, DIE!” Lucifer screamed out rule three, and the screen went black.

Each friend sat there, doing nothing but sitting eyes wide staring at the TV, praying for it to come back on, showing Lucas, the Lucas they know, with a normal face laughing at how gullible they are. Nothing happened. Ally started to cry, and Grace looked at Matthew, seemingly expecting him to do something. No words were exchanged, but the group had a conversation just then. Matthew got up and turned the lights back on… not that they ever turned them off… and Joey helped Ally to her feet, along with Grace. When he turned around, Matthew was heading up the stairs. “What the hell man!? Are you out of you damn mind!? As far as we know Lucas.. or whoever he is is still up there!” Matthew just looked at Joey. Looking around, Joey realized that there was really no other way out, and fear wouldn’t help them, and neither would cowering in the basement. He went behind Matthew and turned around, nodding at the girls to follow him. “Not a chance in hell guys, this is like every scary movie I have ever seen! Why would you engage in all this!? I’m calling my dad, he’ll pick us up- no problem.” As Grace said this, she reached for her phone and pulled it out of her pocket, and tapped the screen six times. “Bah, no service down here, your floors are made of concrete or something.” Ally and Joey did the same thing, both tapped there screen six times. “Yes?” Lucifer suddenly appeared right behind Ally, breathing down her neck. Everybody gasped and sprinted back towards a wall, and Lucifer let out a gasp, for effect. “You called?”
“NO, dude you are taking this WAY too far!” Screamed Matthew, walking quickly towards the hellish fiend. “And what have I done? I am merely here to expose you, and your friends. You let me into your life, and now I’M IN IT!” Lucifer smacked Matthew in the chest, sending him back to the wall, about 6 feet in the air. Everybody screamed, and cowered lower toward the wall. “Now, as I was saying, I am here to show you yourselves. Every bad thing you have ever done. I am justice, and I AM YOU!” Lucifer’s’ hands burst into flames, only to quickly go back into him, seemingly under the demon’s command. “The worse of a person you are, the worse this will be. Remember rule three. You will be killing yourself. I promise you. Only the way you kill yourself is… special for each and every one of you. Your next few hours, say your “last” few hours, will be a walk among your own past, and your own thoughts.

Lucifer flickered like a mirage, “Good-bye!”, and then vanished. “OK, this is some kind of pseudo-science or something, but whatever the hell it is it’s NOT for me!” Joey ran upstairs and sprinted for his house, only five houses down the street. He swung open his door and saw… well, Joey saw everything that had just happened, in Lucas’ basement, about 20 minutes ago. He stepped into the room, and immediately felt an overwhelming sense of heat, and the door slammed behind him, hitting his shoulder and making him wince. Terrified already, joey looked down at his shoulder and saw that it was turned, 90 degrees and his whole arm was backwards. Realizing this, he screamed in agony, and felt the heat of the room boil into his entire body, but it felt like it was all coming from his shoulder. As Joey was falling to the ground, he was forced back up “GET UP! FACE YOURSELF!” Joey’s entire life flashed before him in an amount of time no longer than 7 seconds. Joey only saw what he didn’t want to see; he saw that all his friends laughed at him the second he turned around, literally looking at him walk away. He saw that every day when he came home from school, after a day of torment, his mother, sighing with annoyance, and, somehow, he knew, or was told, that she sighed for only one reason. She knew a burden was coming, something she would have to deal with, and pretend to care about, then she rolled out of the office and put on a smile and asked Joey how his day was. He saw how his girlfriend died, being hit by a car. And, he saw why. She was looking at a picture of Joey, crying over it, looking at her scars spelling out words like “hate”, “why”, “ugly”, and “nothing”. She lit the picture on fire, and took a drink from a glass bottle filled with some kind of alcohol. She looked outside and at the cars, smashed the bottle on the ground, and ran out onto the street. In slow-motion, Joey saw her last words, something nobody should see, “No more of him”. She smiled.

Joey gasped, eyes wide open, immediately becoming aware of the growing pain in his shoulder, and the pressure building up on him, the massive heat. Once again He saw Ally and Grace, Matthew, and himself. He saw how he was looking at Grace, how he envied her boyfriend, even in the midst of everything that was happening. Grace turned around and looked at Joey, the Joey that was in the house now, the Joey that had just ran away from where he has ended up. “Lust. It fills you, even at a time like this, you are scheming, thinking how to be the best, be the better savior than Matthew, how this can be to your benefit. It clouds your mind, Joey, even in a situation like this, we are all dying and all YOU think about is what’s below my face! That’s how you see everybody isn’t it? Nobody even has a face to you, they are just a body, just fun and games, just a tool to use to fill your desires, just a desire to fill. You can bring nothing good to this world, only bad. You know it, I know it, and everybody else knows it!” Grace was screaming by this point, and started crying. He immediately felt the need to comfort her, but he stopped himself, and asked, “Why?” He knew the only reason was what she had just said, and he pulled his hand back. He felt his hand combust with fire, and stay that way, no outcome, no end, just in flames. Screaming, crying, Joey yelled “NO! You’re wrong! That’s NOT who I am, I’m more than that!” Joey look deep into Grace’s eyes, penetrating the image of what she was, looking directly into the eyes of the underkeeper. Lucifer knew that he was seen, and smiled, morphing back into himself, laughing hysterically.
“Oh ARE you though? You see, Grace is already dead, she has been for a long time! Oh, please, that surprised look, I’ve seen it many times before- really I thought you could do better. You’ve known she was dead, couldn’t bring yourself to admit it, to yourself or to anybody else. How? Doesn’t matter, you don’t know how she died, but that doesn’t matter now does it? She’s dead, nothing can come from her at this point, only grief, and you would have to talk to many people about what happened, it would just be SUCH a hassle wouldn’t it Joey!?”
Joey started to protest, and Lucifer intervened, “Alright then, if you are still reluctant like I knew you would be, you may have a choice. CHOOSE to take this Joeys’ place, the one from 20 minutes ago, and tell everybody what you know. Who knows, you may even help them from doing this. BUT still, no other events would change, at least, not for you and you would do the same thing you did 20 minutes ago, run home to security, only to be judged.” Joey looked down at his shoulder, he knew he was near death, but he also knew he would endure the same pain again, face the same judgment again, and only to face death, but with the knowledge he helped his friends. OR he could stay here, let them fight their fate, and die now, quicker, and easier.
He paused, knowing which option he wants to pick, and sobbed. Lucifer lets out a roaring laugh of victory, and sends Joey into a full fit of fire, burning endlessly, facing his choice for the rest of eternity. “WAIT!” Joey screams to Lucifer. Puzzled, the demon looks back over his shoulder at the humanoid fire-ball. “Rule three. Die. You can’t keep me here like this! This isn’t FAIR!” “Very well, you shall die a thousand deaths, and face the same fate. Tata!” Just as Lucifer left, Joey felt an amazing surge of pain rush through all of his body, and fell into ashes, only to re-appear right back in the same spot and burst into flames, for as long as eternity, and then fell back to dust. Again and again.
Matthew and Ally were still in the basement, and they were going up the stairs after Grace, she had ran after Joey when he went upstairs. Matthew nodded to Ally when they were sure nobody was up stairs anymore, and the both started ascending, slowly and frightfully. “I always knew something was wrong with Lucas, I think it was obvious, I’m surprised you didn’t see it” said Matthew when they were both upstairs. “Why do you care whether or not I noticed anything? It’s not like other people would care… right?” Matthew started to chuckle, and his eyes rolled back, and in their place were two fully black eyes. Ally saw them right away. She gasped, and took a half step back, but at this point she knew that there was no reason to try and free herself, maybe Lucifer might find that admirable, and let her go. “Always seeking my approval weren’t you? Oh no, not just mine, every ones, your friends, parents, even your enemies. No confidence in yourself, relying on others to shape you. Even now, you stand before me in an attempt to gain my approval.” At this point Ally knew that Matthew was dead, merely a shell of what lies beneath. Satan.
“Smart girl, aren’t you? Yes, you’ve caught me, stealing the soul of your friends, eating them away even as we speak. You know, you’ve tarnished there soul, awfully strongly too. They are burdened with your constant need of approval, your annoying laughs, trying to fit in. Maybe you don’t realize this, but soon, you wouldn’t even be yourself, just a compilation of what others think of you, or what you want them to think of you. And really Ally, what do people care about? The only thing they want from you is your amusement, is that what you want? Of course not, but there is really no other way to live at this point. You know it, and so do I, and really that’s saying a lot, considering all the knowledge I have, what with consuming the minds of your friends, and countless others.” Ally didn’t protest, she could easily see that all of what he said was true, and the fact that it was technically coming from all of her friends as well made it hurt even more. “I see you already have a full grasp on the situation. Come with me and face your fate.”
Ally took a step forward, head down. But, she wasn’t looking at the hardwood floor she was looking at a pool, a pool of blood! She looked up and saw many men, of all ages, but all men. She noticed them, shouting at her, and she noticed herself as well, following there every command, without hesitation, no matter how horrible they were, or how painful. “These are my friends, I see that they have met you already” said Lucifer. “This is what you are doomed to do. You seek the approval of others? You’ve got it, forever and never ending approval, as long as you do what these people say. And believe me, you will.