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Toying with the World
The story of a girl who can change into a hawk, and how the world responds.

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[Introduction] What if you found a game that consisted of drawing cards and on each card was a scenario starting with the phrase "what if...". That is the premise of this campfire.

Each participant will have one character.

Each turn will be the drawing of a new card, and the writer will have to explain what happens to their character based upon the card.
(Example: The card drawn says "what if naps were made mandatory in the work place?" The writer would have to put their character in that situation and in story form tell what would happen.)

The first entry by each participant will be a character sketch, laying the foundation for the rest of the campfire. This should include - name, age, physical description, driving beliefs/morals, outstanding qualities, character flaws, temperament, attitude towards life and any extra information that is deemed necessary. (This is not to be incredibly long, but enough so that we can understand the characters reactions to the situations presented by the "what if" cards.)

All entries (minus the first entry) should try to be under 500 words. Basically, each entry is a flash fiction story that once combined is kind of like an anthology with a specific theme. The beginning of these entries should have a small paragraph describing the picking of a card and telling what the card says. This paragraph will not count in the word count.

Questions:

ID: 1386465 (Rated: ASR)
What If? questions

the what if questions for the CampFire and Contest
by Dawn♥Embers

The what if cards MUST use this document to pick a what if question.

Keep entries below 18+. If anything 18 or above is needed, skip that scene, don't go into description, find some other way to discuss the answer.

****MEMO**** Those participating in this campfire cannot participate in my opponents. srchoward

Have fun!

Name: Zavier
Age: 17
Religion: Agnostic
He is somewhat unsure of faith, and is a little against religion in part due to the hassle he gets at school. The school is a Catholic high school that he has to go to because of his mom's parents.
Sexual Orientation: Gay

Parents are married, and have been for 16+ years. They own and operate an adult store together. This is another source of tension for Zavier, since his friends found out about what they do for a living. His parents are very open and accepting, though they sometimes are a little too open. Sometimes they embarrass their son by their openness to talk to him about any subject.

Physical Appearance
Height: 5'10" Weight: 182
Eyes: blue Hair: Blonde, not too long or short, sometimes dyed
Build: flat, narrow shoulders, not in shape but thin
waist/hips: has trouble keeping pants up sometimes, occasionally resorts to pants from the girls section
Posture: slight slouch

School
Favorite Subject: History Worst Subject:Math, religion class
Grades: A's, B's, and an occasional C's
Reputation: queer, adult store kid

Temperament: timid towards some but outgoing when he gets to know someone
Flaws: jealous tendencies and focuses too much on future
Fears: heights and public speaking
Frustrations: parents and bullies

Favorite Books: fantasy - sword and sorcery
Favorite Magazines: Out and GQ
Favorite Clothes: jeans and band t-shirts
Favorite Color: Green

Name: Rick Rhodes
Age: 39
Religion: Christian (non-denominational)

Marital Status: Divorced and has vowed never to remarry. Rick has two children, girls, ages 1 and 4, who live with their mother. He sees them every other weekend and pays half of his weekly paycheck in child support. He lives with his girlfriend, Lena.

Physical Appearance:
Height: 6'0", Weight: 165, Eyes: Blue, Hair: Brown, close-cropped, Build: Lean, muscular
Clothes: Jeans and t-shirts, often grease-stained.

Food Preference: Meat-and-potatoes

Career: Maintenance technician in a manufacturing plant. Rick is a degreed electrical engineer who is as adept at troubleshooting programmable logic controllers as he is turning a wrench. He is relied upon at the plant to keep the equipment running. The equipment operators trust him implicitly. He works as little overtime as possible, but is often mandated to work it.

Temperment: Rick is generally shy and quiet around acquaintenances, though he is outgoing around strangers. He grew up in the country, where people say hello to one another even if they have never met. He tends to bottle his anger and explode unexpectedly. He is opinionated and expresses his opinions with passion among close friends. He suffers from clinical depression and exhibits associated mood swings.

Flaws: Rick is often closed-minded. He also avoids problems, particularly with his girlfriend. He refuses to discuss issues. He is often tactless and generally lacking in social graces. Though he is generous with his time, skills, and money, he often appears selfish due to absentminded thoughtlessness. He can and has resorted to violence when backed into a corner.

Hobbies: Rick loves to camp, fish, hunt, build cars, and watch and participate in extreme sports such as motorcross, wakeboarding, and skydiving. He collects guns and high-quality tools. He runs at least five miles per day.

Fears: Rick's greatest fear is that he will be a burden to those he loves. He hides his anger, his depression, and his financial troubles from them as a result.

Name: Amanda
Age: 26
Religion: Baptist
Although she never attends church, Amanda has been raised as a Baptist by her extremely religious parents.
Sexual Orientation: Straight

Marital Status: Amanda was divorced 3 years ago and recently became engaged to the love of her life, Steve. She has no children.

Physical Appearance
Height: 5'7" Weight: 115
Eyes: blue Hair: long, natural blonde
Build: athletic

Career: Forced to return to work after her divorce, Amanda enjoys her job in a large Accounting firm. She currently attends night classes and is working toward a business degree.

Temperament: Although she is extremely intelligent, Amanda lacks self confidence. She often compensates for her shyness by making herself the subject of her own jokes. She is normally easygoing, but she has a nasty temper when pushed too far. Always willing to help someone in need, she often puts her friends' wants and needs before her own.

Flaws: Amanda worries too much and is the queen of procrastination.

Fears: She fears being alone and failure.

Hobbies: Amanda enjoys hiking and other outdoor activities with Steve. She is also content lounging in her favorite chair with a good detective novel.

Favorite Color: Pink

Zavier looked around his room before turning back to the game board on his computer screen. He sat alone, and yet felt as if there were others around him. It felt like he could almost see the others sitting around a table like the old way of playing games. He had never heard of the game but he desperately needed something to get his mind of his ex. Moving the mouse over the blue square, he double-clicked, virtually picking a card. The text covered the whole monitor screen: What if Catholics are right about God? His screen flashed, blinding him for a second.

As Zavier blinked the spots out of his eyes, he took a look around. No computer sat in front of him, his room had disappeared. Sky and clouds drifted in and out of his vision. A glance down, unsettled his nerves even more. The only thing suspending him from free falling - a fluffy white cloud.

Suddenly, trumpets of perfect pitch and volume heralded. Zavier looked toward the sound and caught his breath. There, in front of him, stood the pearly white gates in all its holy glory.

Without thought, his feet brought him up to the gate. Standing in front, almost as if from out of a cartoon, stood a podium. Behind it, a male in a white robe glanced over the pages of a book.

In a melodic voice, the male said, "Zavier."

"Yeah. Uh, I mean, yes sir." Zavier felt a tremble shiver down his spine. The pearly gates exist, he didn't think it could be possible and yet here he stood. Could the Catholics have been right? Moments from his past flashed before his eyes in the brief seconds that followed, though it felt like an hour. He had never even had sex with his boyfriend, but he'd wanted to. Would that be enough to condemn him?

The time had come, he had to look up at the man behind the podium and hear the judgement.

The male only said to words, "agnostic homosexual." He pointed not towards the pearly gates, but the opposite direction.

Zavier took one last look at the closed gates, before turning and walking away stunned. They had been right.

The clouds disappeared, and he fell.

Suddenly, light flashed across his vision. Zavier stared at the computer screen again, the game board now visible again. His turn had ended.

Rick dropped his tool belt on the floor and collapsed into his office chair. He had been working on the palletizer for two hours and finally had it working. Exhausted, he reached for the coffee pot and refilled his mug. He took a deep swig of the hot, bitter beverage and felt better. He moved the mouse to clear his screen saver, and an instant message appeared.

"Stressed? Take a break. WHAT IF?"

What the hell? he wondered. He glanced up through the window overlooking the production floor. The operators were all busy running their equipment. Nothing looked suspicious. Looking back at the computer screen, he shrugged and clicked. Blue squares were spread across the screen, and a prompt blinked at the top: "Your turn to select a card." Casting one more furtive glance at the floor, he double-clicked a card. The screen went blank, and a message appeared: "What if aliens landed?" The screen flashed.

Rick blinked at the bright sunlight peeking under the garage door as he lifted it. His latest project, a 1993 Honda Civic salvaged at the junkyard, was suspended on the frame rack behind him. He was anxious to get started, but his plans were cut short by an explosion that rocked the foundation beneath his feet, sending a long crack up its length. The frame rack was ripped apart by the impact and the car slipped, hitting the concrete and shattering the passenger-side headlight. The garage door slipped from his grasp, crashing down and missing his toes by an inch.

"Shit!" he screamed into the sudden darkness. He blinked, trying to regain sight in the fluorescent lighting. Before his eyes adjusted, the garage literally flew off of the foundation and into the air, bathing him in sunlight for a moment until a large dark cloud cast a shadow directly over him.

No... not a shadow. In the space of a millisecond he analyzed the situation. The shape was too geometric to be a cloud. A plane of some kind? No, it was hovering. A helicopter? But he heard no sound, felt no whoosh of air ruffling his hair. Fear wrenched his gut and he dove for the gun safe. It had fallen over at some point, but fortunately had landed with the door facing up. He fumbled with the combination lock, his hands shaking. After the third try, he heard the tumblers engage and yanked the door open.

"Where is is?" he cried, digging frantically, guns flying everywhere. His hands grasped the cold metal of the HK MP 5 semi-automatic, which he knew was loaded. He rolled over on his back, aimed, and pulled the trigger. The gun in his grip gave him confidence. He fired the entire magazine into the air, launching a primeval cry into its wake.

The cry was cut short as a piercing beam, originating from the hovering craft above him, pummeling his abdomen. Just before it stole his breath away, he smelled burning flesh. Pain ripped through him, and he passed out.

He opened his eyes and found himself staring at the computer screen. His breath returned and his heart slowed to normal. The blue cards were neatly spread across the screen beneath the words, "Your turn has ended."

Tired after a long day at the office, Amanda changed into her favorite pajamas and collapsed onto the couch with her laptop. Her eyes burned from staring at the computer all day, but she had to check her email. She hadn't heard from her boyfriend, Steve, since he had left for his business trip the night before. She breathed a sigh of relief when the screen indicated she had one new email.

Her relief was short lived, however, when she saw the email was from an unknown sender. Since she had nothing better to do, she opened it. Only two words appeared in the body of the email: WHAT IF . She clicked on the link and was immediately taken to a screen on which there appeared several blue squares. The prompt at the top of the screen urged her to pick a card. Hesitating briefly, she double clicked one of the cards. The screen momentarily appeared black before being filled with text: "What if you were the only person left alive?" The screen flashed, and the text was gone.

Amanda suddenly found herself wandering the streets of her hometown. Normally a bustle of activity, the streets were deserted. Cars were parked haphazardly along the streets, some with the engines running and doors ajar. Panic seized her as she entered building after building only to find each of them empty of life.

Running down the street now in pure terror, Amanda found herself standing in front of the hospital. Surely there would be someone in there. As soon as she opened the door, the stench of blood and rotting flesh assaulted her nostrils. Corpses littered the waiting area. Amanda began to feel lightheaded, and although she realized she was about to lose consciousness, she was powerless to stop it.

She opened her eyes slowly, fearful she would be staring into the glazed eyes of a dead body. Instead, she found herself back in her cozy living room, her laptop before her. The blue squares, which she now recognized as playing cards, were again on the computer screen. She let out the breath she had been holding as she read the words at the top of the screen: "Your turn has ended."

A Writer:Tranquility Seeker

Zavier stared at the computer screen for several minutes. Across the screen flashed the words "Your Turn!" Considering what happened the first time he had clicked on the deck of cards he considered turning off the computer. The sound of his cell phone interrupted his thoughts as "here in your arms" indicated the caller as Eli. Grabbing the phone he stared at it before throwing it across the room. He sure as hell didn't want to talk to his ex. As his emotions started to rage he clicked for another card. The words on the screen read "What if animals can speak your language?"

Blinking for a second, Zavier looked around his room. Nothing had changed. The question still illuminated across the screen.

"Hey you!"

Startled, Zavier looked around his room again, trying to find the owner of the little voice. He didn't see anyone.

"Moron, down here."

Looking down, he didn't know how to react. The voice came from a small chipmunk standing less than a foot from his chair.

"Oh my God! You can talk?" Zavier looked back at the screen, suddenly feeling stupid for asking the question.

"Duh, Einstein. Do you have anything to eat up in this joint? Some fruit or nuts maybe."

Searching through the drawers of his desk, Zavier sifted through the junk for something to give the chipmunk. “These are all I have,” he said as he pulled out an open bag of almonds and set it on the floor.

“That will have to do. What are you staring at, monkey boy?”

"Sorry." He tried to avert his eyes by glancing at his own feet. Looking back he admitted, "I've never talked with a chipmunk before."

"Whatever. I'm gonna go take a leak on your bathroom floor." Not waiting for a response, the chipmunk scurried to the bathroom.

Shaking his head, Zavier looked back at the computer screen. The game board now graced the screen and on top it said "Your turn is over."

Name of Character: Magdaline Blessing
Age:48
Marital Status: Divorced once. Married for the second time and has one child
Beliefs/Morals: Believes in honesty, altruisim, empathy, and caring for others.
Physical Description: 5'2", Brown hair, walks w/limp, phyiscally disabled, overweight
Temperment & Character Flaws: Sensitive, stubborn, easy to anger, caring, dependable, reliable, truthful, honest

Rick watched the other players take their turns. As a card was selected, the "What If?" question popped up on his screen, and then a video depicted what happened to the player. Had his own turn not been so realistic, he would have been inclined to say that the videos were fake. During the last turn, he had witnessed a conversation between a teenage boy and a chipmunk.

Weird.

He almost shut the computer down during that turn because he thought it was so ridiculous. A talking chipmunk? That little shit was giving the teenager some lip, and Rick wasn't about to put up with that kind of disrespect. He would get out the shotgun and show it who was boss.

He still felt the adrenaline from his own turn, and now he was ready to put holes in shit-talking varmints. He squared his shoulders, took a deep breath, and double-clicked a card.

"What if privacy were no longer a right?"

Panic overwhelmed him as the screen flashed.

Rick chased the chipmunk across the deck, swinging the broom wide. He missed. It scurried up the handrail, climbed the gutter, and disappeared into the tiny hole under the eaves. The little shit was in his attic again.

"That's it, you pecker," he muttered.

He dropped the broom and marched over to the garage. He yanked up the door in a fit of anger.

"You are gonna pay. No more scraping and scuffling all night long."

He walked to the gun safe and turned the dial. He reached the last setting in the combination and heard the tumblers click. He squeezed the latch and opened the door. He reached in for the HK USP, which was mounted with an illegal scope.

"STOP RIGHT THERE! You are under arrest!"

The voice came from the wall. Rick turned in confusion and nearly dropped the gun when he saw the huge countenance of a stern man occupying the entire wall. The face had to be four feet in diameter. Without thinking, he aimed the gun and fired. He cursed when he realized that he had just put a hole in his living room wall.

The thought was interrupted by the sound of sirens. He turned to the driveway just as four squad cars pulled up, two in his driveway and two on the lawn. Cops piled out of the vehicles and dropped behind the doors, out of the line of fire. Rick squeezed off a round and shattered the window of one. In retaliation, a storm of bullets rained into the garage, each pounding Rick in the chest. He felt the impact of each. One stole the breath from his lungs. The last blasted him in the face and he heard the cartiledge in his nose shatter before everything went black.

He opened his eyes. The game board on the computer screen belied the pounding heart in his chest.

Even though she had returned safely to her home, Amanda remained terrified. She sat there for several minutes, trying to will her heartbeat and breathing to return to normal. After lighting a cigarette, she finally gathered the courage to glance at her computer screen. The menacing blue cards were again before her. It was her turn.

It was as though some unseen force guided her hand to the mouse. Before she knew what was happening, "What if smoking is banned?" flashed across her screen.

Amanda found herself in the middle of what appeared to be a riot. On her left, there were hundreds of people with signs warning of the dangers of smoking. Most of them were walking toward her, staring angrily. She turned to her right to flee only to see even more people rushing at her. These people, however, seemed desperate, and most of them had their arms outstretched as if reaching for something. Suddenly recalling the question that had flashed across her computer screen, she looked down to see the burning cigarette between her fingers.

The mob was closing in on her, and Amanda looked around frantically. Help was nowhere in sight. She flipped the cigarette as far away from her as she could, hoping to deter the crowd. She cringed as she watched some of the people who were obviously suffering from severe nicotine withdrawal pounce on the cigarette and then on one another. Others continued toward her.

She looked left, right, down, for any possible escape. Just as she felt one of the outstretched hands tugging at her shirt, she noticed the pack of cigarettes sticking out of the pocket of her jeans. But she hadn't even been wearing jeans! She was wearing...

Before she could finish her thought, Amanda was again safely on her couch. This time, she was relieved to see the cards accompanied by the message that now comforted her: "Your turn has ended."

Derek the Dalek

Name: Simon Willams

Age: 21

Nationality: UK/English

Religion: Liberal Christian (Believes in God but has no real quibs about things like Evolution)

Marital Status: Single. Has a 20 year old girlfriend named Laura who lives in his University Appartment with him.

Physical Appearance:
Height: 5'0", Weight: 150, Eyes: Blue, Hair: Brown-Blonde, Short Back and Sides, Build: Short, slightly wedy but with proteinal for bigger muscles.

Clothes: Blue Jackets, Wollen trousers. Doesn't like Jeans.

Food Preference: Pizza, Full English Breakfast, Chocolate Cake

Career: 3rd Year University Student on History Course, with plans to go into Teaching or Museum Work in the following Year. Focuses on 20th Century History.

Temperment: Simon doesn't like to lose his temper, so he is a fairly laid-back fellow who tries to be the go-between with problems flare up with his friends or his girlfriends' friends. If he does lose his temper though, he hardly ever raises his voice, which makes for an effective means of getting his point across.

Flaws: A laid-back attitude means that Simon can tend to not want to do important matters, often putting things off til the last minute. A shy boy when he was younger means that he is often desperate to keep hold of his girlfriend, meaning he does some stupid things to show he cares for her at times, even though she isn't looking for that in a person. He can also be forgetful, so he tries to write anything essential down on paper and sticks it on his wall.

Hobbies: Simon likes to watch television, in particular Sci-Fi and Nature Documentaries. He semi-regualrly attends the nearby Baptist Church and on weekends likes to chill on the beach with Laura, possibly doing something romantic like a picnic. He is a big computer gamer, enjoying shoot-em-ups and platformers, and Laura has often described him as a 'child in heart'.

Fears: Coming from a line of well to do parents means that Simon is always trying to make the grade and do the best he can, often at the extent of his own health and resistance from his traditional laid-back lifestyle. He also has a childhood fear of Wasps which he has wholly got over, but they still make him feel uncomfortable.

A Writer:Tranquility Seeker

Zavier stared at the screen. He felt comfort knowing that he wasn't alone in this game. He also felt relief that they all weren't together experiencing the same things. The screen flashed at him again, indicating his turn. Considering the last one he didn't hesitate this time to click on the deck of cards. Across the screen, the words read, "what if an important decision you made in the last two weeks was changed?"

Suddenly, Zavier found himself standing in front of his locker talking with Max, his ex's new boyfriend.

"So, are you busy tonight?" Max asked him.

"What about Eli?

"He's gone for the weekend. Besides, he won't mind."

This confused Zavier. "Won't mind? You're his boyfriend."

Max gave him a devilish grin. "That’s true, but I'm allowed to play with others. So, do you wanna play?"

In his mind Zavier said no, but out loud he said, "your house or mine?"

Then Zavier started to put a book into his locker. Where the book came from, he had no idea. He couldn't believe he had said yes to Max.

"How could you do that?"

Zavier turned to see Eli glaring at him. He looked upset. Yet, Zavier found himself responding without sympathy. "What's your problem? You were the one telling me to find someone and get it over with."

"But not with my boyfriend."

"It's not my fault you agreed to an open relationship."

Eli appeared stunned. "Why are you being like this? You never would have done this before."

Finally, Zavier found himself saying something he had wanted to say ever since he found out about Eli and Max. "What about you? You waited a whole twenty minutes before jumping into his pants… the same day you dumped me."

"Are you calling me what I think you are?"

"It seems obvious to me." Zavier felt bad, but at the same time it felt good to let it out.

"Well, I hope you are happy." Eli said before turning to walk about. "It had better be worth losing a friend."

Next, he felt arms wrap around his waist. Max had come up behind him. He wanted to push away, but didn’t.

Max whispered, “last night was great.”

Zavier stared at him, unsure.

“Okay,” he admitted, “it wasn’t great but it was your first time. This afternoon in the janitorial closet, however, was amazing. But I really thought about what you said last night, and I think you are right.”

“I am?”

“”Yeah. I want a committed relationship.”

“Did Eli not want to?”

“I want to be with you. That’s what I told him this morning.”

As Max moved in, Zavier closed his eyes. After he felt nothing he opened them again only to find the computer in front of him. The screen flashed, “your turn has ended,” and he sighed with relief. Even if the outcome would have been in his favor, he knew he had made the right decision the first time around.

Magdaline entered her apartment, exhausted from her long day at the office. Taking off her coat, boots and slipping on her slipper socks, she went to the kitchen to make herself some dinner. After she had dinner cooking, she went to her laptop computer and turned it on. She was anxiously awaiting an email from her sister, regarding her mother's condition after having a heart attack.

Noticing that there were two emails, Magdaline's heart bagan to pound uncontrollably. Choosing to open the second email, she was met with a black screen. Then the words "What If?" appeared. She clicked on it and thought it would be a great stress reliever. The question appeared: "What if an old love knocked on your door?"

"Can I have another question?" She tried to see if there was a way to get another question, but found that she could not. Leaving this email open, she went to see about the other unopened email. It was from her sister and the news was not good. Her mother was in grave condition. Going back to the "What If" email, Magdaline sat and thought for a bit. The sound of the microwave's bell interrupted her thoughts. While she was getting her dinner, she was transported back to when she met Jay. She was so young and naive. He took advantage of this. Luckily, for her, she did not give him what he really wanted.

"What would I do if he showed up at my door? I would tell him to go to Hell and take his body and meet up with my ex-husband and see if they could double date."

After she typed her answer, the game sent another prompt saying her turn was concluded. She sighed with relief and turned her attention to more important matters. Picking up the phone, she made a plane reservation to fly to see her mother, possibly for the last time.

Rick woke with a start. He realized he had dozed off at work again. He cast a guilty glance out toward the production floor. No one appeared to have noticed. He refilled his coffee mug, took a healthy swig, and turned his attention back to the computer. Not surprisingly, the screen informed him that it was his turn. He hesitated, then double-clicked a card.

"What if dying in a dream means you die in real life?"

The screen went blank. Rick blinked and looked around. Nothing happened. He looked behind the computer monitor and fiddled with the cord. Still nothing.

"Stupid game."

He leaned back in his chair and went back to sleep.

...and awoke to a falling sensation in the pit of his gut. He knew it was a dream, and he had experienced falling dreams often in his life, but this was the most vivid. He heard the rush of the wind in his ears and felt his hair whipping around his face. He did not quite see his surroundings, so he was not sure how far he would fall before waking, but he knew he would not hit the ground. Never in his life had he hit the ground in this dream.

He hit the ground. It was far more painful than he would have imagined. It was like every inch of his body had exploded. The air fired out of his lungs and all went black.

He did not awaken to see the screen flashing: "GAME OVER."

Amanda made it through her weekend without Steve and returned to work on Monday morning. The morning passed rather quickly, and she finished several spreadsheets that she had been putting off. Even though she was starving, she decided to check her email before going to lunch. She had only one new message: Unknown Sender, No Subject. She clicked on the subject line, but instead of an email message, the now familiar blue cards appeared on her screen. Wanting to get her turn over with as quickly as possible, she clicked on the card already below her mouse pointer.

"What if work is a prison?" appeared on her screen.

"Do you mean it isn't?" she wondered aloud as she stifled a giggle.

Looking at her surroundings and seeing that nothing appeared to have changed, she grabbed her purse and headed for the door. Rushing out of her office, she almost walked right into the steel bars just outside her door

What in the hell...

Her thoughts were interrupted by her boss, now dressed in a guard's uniform, complete with a gun on his side. The look he gave her sent shivers up her spine.

"Trying to escape?" he growled.

"No, I was just going to lunch..."

"Lunch?! You will eat when the other prisoners eat. Nobody gets special treatment on my watch," he spat at her.

He stepped aside, giving her a view of the rest of the office. She could see her co-workers in the doorways of their offices, most of them gripping the steel bars and looking around in terror. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a hand on the small of her back. She spun around and was face to face with Jim, the office pervert.

"So, what do you want to do now, cellmate?" he asked, leering at her.

Amanda pushed past him and ran back to her desk. Her computer screen was blank. She began pushing buttons frantically, but the gameboard did not appear. Tears filled her eyes as she felt Jim's hands on her shoulders and breath on her neck. She flinched as his mouth brushed her ear. Her skin crawled as he said something unspeakable in her ear. She recoiled in horror and asked loudly, "What did you say?"

She could actually smell the stench of his breath as he whispered in her ear, "Your turn has ended."

Derek the Dalek

Yawning as he re-entered his University room with a warm cup of tea in hand, Simon opted to start the day by checking his E-Mails, as per usual. Three flicked up. One from his girlfriend Laura, saying she'd be round later following her Politics lecture, and perhaps they could go down to the pictures later. One from the Old Man asking him if he'd got those multitude of essays done yet.

And one... from an unknown source. Raising an eyebrow, the half-tired Brit clicked on it, his interest quibed by the words ' What If' in bold letters. Various blue squares appeared, which Simon reckoned to be cards. Shugging, he opted for one near the right and clicked to see what would happen. The Words ' What if the sun explodes?' filled the screen for the merest of moments before the screen went black.

And everything else with it.

Total blackness surrounded Simon, and he had to say, even as someone totally unafraid of the dark, there was dark and there was DARK. In panic he felt his way to what he thought to be the window, and pulled open the curtains, only to find the tinest of lights from the far off stars causing any kind of light. So it was true, the Sun had completely vanished.

It was getting very cold, and as Simon moved his hand from the invisible glass he heard the noises of ice developing across it. He realised that without the sun, the entire planet would not only be absent light but heat, and the world would reach Absolute Zero in a matter of minutes. Straining to look outside he saw the shapes of figures screaming as they struggled to find warmth, the quickly spotting up spots of what he guessed were campfires having little impact on the deterorating conditions.

He moved carefully to his cupboard, put on as many layers as he could and moved to find a torch, but inwardly he knew that it would have little effect. He wondered about his family, his girlfriend in the middle of a class freezing to death.

His hand touched a desk or chair, he'd stupidly lost his bearings in the encroaching darkness of his room, and to his horror he felt ice. Quickly he realised that with one touch, masses of his body heat was leaving. As he felt the lack of Oxygen start to affect his body, he swore he could hear his feet solidify, his torso, his neck....

#####################

The light dazzled Simon, and he found his eyes opened to his still on computer, the tea lukewarm and the E-Mail from Laura still needing a response. Swallowing salvia, he nervously tapped a reply. Part of him wanted to think what had happened had been a dream, but the 'Your Turn is Over' bar flashing on screen made him think twice.

"What the heck is this website about?" He said aloud. Confused he saw a vid snap on without warning, showing what he guessed was the next 'contestant' in this twisted game he'd discovered.