Fantasy For Adults (Supernatural/Fantasy)

November 23, 2004, Stanton Falls, Ohio. This day also happened to be my 16th birthday. As far as boring little towns go, Stanton Falls has to take top five easy for being one of the littlest, most boring places on earth. Don't feel bad for not ever hearing about it, or the Stanton 6 either...most people haven't. We did have a flea market though, mostly folks from the next county over come to bring their grandmother's antiques to sell to the simple folk of Stanton Falls who just "ate that sh*t up".

The day had started out like any other, gray skys, a cold wet chill in the air, and mom snoozing away on the couch with an empty bottle of vodka sitting on the coffee table, the ash tray over flowing with week old buts. It's been this way since Dad went to the store for milk and never came home a few years back. She thought my birthday was two days ago, I didn't have the heart to correct her. Kyle remembered by birthday though, he always remembered. We had been best friends ever since Mrs. Dubek sat us together in second grade, and we discovered a kindred spirit in one another with a love of all thigs in the kingdom of nerd-dom. He had just gotten his license a few weeks ago and his mom had let him borrow the family station wagon to take me to the flea market to pick out a birthday present, to which I gravely objected.

"Potter, Can't we just go to the movies or something?" I complained as we walked down the rows of old wooden tables, half rotted from being left out in the elements year round. "We still haven't seen the new "Saw". Make that my birthday present. I don't have a use for an antique sewing machine or whatever else it is you think we're going to find here."

"Have a little faith, huh?" Kyle smiled from behind his thick black rimmed glasses and brushed some of the shaggy black hair styled in the fashion of anyone who owned a Brand New album in the early 2000's. If he only had a scar on his forehead he would live up to his namesake perfectly "There's a guy here I want to talk to."

Rolling my eyes, I followed Kyle deeper into the market and into the old concrete and glass building reserved for the permanent stores that sold the more delicate items that couldnt be displayed outside. Bootleg DVD's, televisions that had fallen off the back of the truck, screen printed t-shirts that matched eachother with phrases like "Her King", and "His Queen", that sort of thing. The smell of steamed clams coming from the makeshift food court in the center of the building hit my nostrils like a brick wall and I struggled not to gag at the scent. My Uncle Dan had eaten a bad clam here when I was 10 and died of liver failure 2 months later. I haven't eaten shell fish since.

We passed a few familiar sights, the arcade that still had a working m original Mortal Kombat arcade cabinet and one of those "play till you win" claw machines that gave out bits of candy that had all melted together into clumps from the hot lights that lit the inside. The pet store was always the busiest, usually pushing kittens on the local population, but today they had a few puppies, and I overheard a mother telling her son that this one "better no end up like the last time". I shuddered. One thing about Stanton Falls, we have a tremendously bad stray cat problem. Some say its due to the old cannery on the edge of town, they had come for the tunafish and just never left. Whatever the truth is, its led to an abundance of strays, and almost every street as a free kitten box for anyone willing to give a kitty a home. I've always been afraid to ask what happens to the ones who don't get adopted.

I stopped suddenly when Kyle did, and arched an eyebrow at that stupid sh*t eating grin his was giving me. Complete with the chipped front tooth from the time he would thought he would reinvent himself freshman year and go out for the wrestling team. He decided after one practice that he'd rather play wrestling video games than be man-handled by a bunch of farm boys. "What?" I said to him, "Why'd you stop?"

"Look!" He said, pointing upwards at the sign overhead. I had been so stuck on thinking about that crazy kid and his puppy that I hadn't noticed the new store that had opened in a space that had been unoccupied my whole life.

"Mort's Cabinet of Games, Toys, and Curiosities?" I said with a laugh. "Kind of long winded...and not very catchy."

"Oh, stop." Kyle said with a snicker. "It just opened last week. It's really cool and I asked the guy, I think he's Mort, to put something to the side for me. Your birthday present!"

I followed Kyle into the store and honestly, I couldn't help but smile. I had been expecting a store with shelves filled with boxes of "Connect Four" and "Monopoly JR". What I saw instead was something out of a dream. The front of the store was filled with a large oak table full of set up games. Not that crap you find at Wal-Mart but real games. There was a vintage "Risk" board, made in the shape of Middle Earth and filled with hand crafted orcs and humans fighting for dominance. Next to it, "Settler's of Catan" was on display, the pieces pressed into metal in intricate designs. Stacks of vintage DnD books lay ripe for reading and classic "Star Wars" figurines did battle with one another across a hand made Endor diorama. In short, this was nerd paradise.

"Come on!" Kyle said, beckoning me to the counter. Behind it stood a man who looked older than my Dad the last time I had seen him. He sported a thick shaggy beard and long curly black hair thay fell down just past his ears and he was about 20 pounds overweight. "Han Shot First" stretched across his broad and underdeveloped chest as his gut threatened to poke put through the bottom and spill over his jeabs. In short, he was nerd god. "This is Mort. Mort, this is the birthday boy. Do you still have them?"

"Sure do." Mort said with a smile, reaching down into the glass case he stood behind that held the real expensive items. His fingers drew back as his hand passed an old, vintage looking Star Trek phaser. Smart, Mort, keep it here for profiling purposes. We don't sling Trek in Stanton Falls. His hand continued over towards a wooden box, it had been polished to perfection and stained and sealed giving the cherry wood and brass hinges on the back a beautiful shine. The top had been carved to show a scene of a Wyvern, roaring it's defiance. He carefully removed the box from the case and placed it on the counter top, smiling happy.

"Well?" Kyle said, "What do you think?"

I had to admit, it really was a beautiful box. "It's great."

"The real presents on the inside." Kyle said, "Open it."

Slowly, I reached for the box and pushed it open, the hinges moved smoothly and without a sound and the inside had been lined in a vibrant purple velvet. 6 sockets sat carved into the inside of the box and each one held a white die of varying sides. D10, D15, D20, and so on. "Each one carved from the bones of a Voodoo Priestess." Mort said confidently. I appreciated the salesmenship, but the dramatics made me roll my eyes and laugh. I reached into the box and lifted the D20. It was heavy for a die, which was nice, and cold and smooth in my hand and each one polished to a perfect shine. Whoever made these, voodoo priestess or not, had clearly been a fine craftsmen.

"$50 right?" Kyle asked, causing my eyes to widen. Where did Kyle get $50? That was an exorberant amount in the world of teenage boy finances.

"$50 for the dice. If you want the box its gonna run you another $50." Mort said. I put the die in my hand back in its place and took Kyle by the arm. There was no way, best friends or not, I was going to allow him to spend $100 on a present for me.

"Lets go." I said, tugging him away with a little resistance. Kyle looked like a child who had just been told there was no Santa Clause. He was skinny, but taller than me and it was difficult to get him moving.

As we reached the store front, Mort came around the counter and stepped in front of us. "Alright. $80 for the set."

"$60" I said defiantly. I had a bit of pocket money from my own part time job at the corner store, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't really want to get my hands on those dice. I wish I hadn't.

"Awe, come on kid. Look at the craftsmanship. Did you see how life-like the dragon on the lid is?" Mort asked, motioning back with an arm towards the box that sat open on the counter top.

"Thats a Wyvern." I said with a smle, releasing Kyles arm to fold my own across my chest and straighten my back defiantly. "Dragons have 4 legs, that one only has 2." Next to me, Kyles face brightened a little. This was a classic nerd duel, who was the bigger fantasy snob? And I had just won, and Mort knew it.

He huffed a sigh and his shoulders dropped slightly, admitting defeat. "$70, but thats as low as I can go."

"Done!" I said, not wanting to push my luck. Kyle and I quickly dug out the cash and put it in the mans hand. Rushed to the counter, shut the box, and we high tailed it from the flea market and back to the station wagon like Luke and Han on the run from the Empire after rescuing Princess Leia.

"Dude, that was awesome!" Kyle exclaimed as we got into the car. "He didn't even see that coming."

"Dont f***s with me, padawan, don't f***s with me." I laughed, and we left the market feeling like we had won a great battle indeed.

We pulled up to my house about 30 minutes later. Mom, my kid sister, and myself lived in a small 3 bedroom, 1 bath rancher near the old industrial park. It wasn't much, but we were able to function as a family unit without falling all over eachother. Kyle pulled into the end of the horseshoe driveway and put the car in park. "I have one more present for you tonight, but you gotta let me hold onto the dice until then." He smiled. "I'm gonna put a game together, everyones coming."

"So you want me to spend my birthday huddled in your basement, playing DnD with a bunch of nerds while we all argue about who gets to be the love interest for the Queen of the Elves?" I laughed.

"Not like that, I have something special in mind. This is going to be epic, bro! Fantasy for adults."

I shuddered wondering what dark corner of the internet Kyle had pulled that phrase from, but relented and smiled, genuinely excited. Kyle always made the best DM. "Alright, bet. See you tonight." I got out of the car, leaving the box with Kyle and heading up into the house.

That night, mom made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, my favorite. Apparently, my kid sister Lila has reminded her that today was my birthday. Neither of us brought up that she had just made spaghetti and meatballs two dags ago. Mom worked so hard for so little.

Throughout dinner, Lila had been glued to her phone. At 14, she had hust begun to discover the difficulties of high school politics and she seemed very upset about some drama or another. Most older siblings would leave their younger counterparts to brood without even asking, but not me. Even when we were really little, Lila and I had rarely fought or even argued. It was due to both of us having the same personality coupled with a similar sense of humor. We just got eachother.

"Hey." I said to her as I grabbed my jacket from a hook by the door. "Wanna come to a party?"

The walk to Kyles wasn't far, and within the hour we were approaching the house. Kyles dad was retired from the Marine Corps, and his pension combined with the salary of a union road worker had enabled him to provide a really nice home for his family. I was always envious of that, never angry, just wished I could have it too. When I rang the doorbell, his mother answered, all smiles. There were rumors she had been a stripper in Guam prior to coming to the states, and as my hormones kicked in as I got older, it was something I had secretly fantasized about on more than one occasion.

"Hey Mrs. Evans." I said smiling with practiced grace despite the low cut shirt she was wearing. "You remember Lila."

"Of course!" Mrs Evans said, stepping to the side. "Come in. Everyones downstairs waiting for you! Oh and happy birthday!"

"Thanks!" I smiled politely and walked the familiar route with Lila in tow towards the basement, passing Mr Evans on the couch who was performing his nightly ritual of icing his knees and drinking a 6 pack of Coors Light. Something about an explosion in Iraq caused him to have knee pain, and being on his feet all day made it worse. I never had the guts to ask foe the full story.

We decended the steps down into the musky basement that served as our own personal Bat Cave for our game nights. Kyle sat at the head of the table with my box open in front of him. Around him, the 3 others that made up our group of 5, and Lila making a 6th behind me. "Well, looks like we have a….party?" Kyle said, his terrible pun eliciting groans from everyone, my sister included. We all set to work then, crafting our characters to our hearts desires on our character sheets and adding and taking away abilities. Even Lila tried her best to get it just right, even though she had never played before. Once we finished, Kyle passed the box around and we all took hold of our own die. I was second to last, choosing the D20 and snickering as I passed the box to Lila. "Beginners get the D6." She rolled her eyes, not getting the joke. "Kyle, wheres the 100?"

"I got it of course." Kyle grinned, holding it up between his thumb and middle finger. "I'm the DM." He looked around the table, smiling at his group of eager adventurers. "Okay, ready? We begin in the town of…" he rolled the dice onto the table, and a brilliant flash of white light filled the room.

I can't talk about what happened next….

Two years later, Mrs. Tinsil, the lady who owns the pet store in the flea market was driving home late at night from a baby shower when a flood of white light obscured her vision. She slammed on the brakes of her car and very nearly ran over a group of 4 kids standing in the middle of the road. She jumped out, her heart thumping in her chest. "What are you kids...wait...I know you! You were on the news, the Stanton 6." Her eyes widenes in horror as she looked at the youngest girl in the group, and the stub of her elbow poking through a dirty old t shirt. "What happened to your arm!?"

"We can't talk about it…" I said.

I don't celebrate birthdays anymore…

I'm 32 now, and barely functioning. After we disapeared, mom drank herself to death. Literally stumbling into traffic while walking home from the bar one night. Our aunt raised us after that. Sometimes, Mrs Evans comes to my door, begging me to tell her what happened to Kyle. I tell her I can't, and have had to call the police on several occasions when she refuses to leave. She looks so old now, hardly the smoke show she was back then. I went to Morts store once, only to find it blocked off by police tape. Apparently a game of Magic the Gathering had turned deadly about a year after the night of the game. Mort had lost a $70 bet and refused to pay…

To make money, I work as a customer service rep for a major credit card company. I can work from home, and dont have to go out too much. I prefer it that way. Lila went on to work for a software company, designing video games. I asked her how she can still code after everything, "very slowly" she replies and waves her stump in the air with a grin.

A knock on my door, and I slowly make my way there. Hoping the delivery man leaves before I actually open the door and can avoid the face to face interaction. Im expecting to see my newest box set of "The Wheel of Time" on my doorstep. You would think after what happened I would be sick of fantasy, but old habits die hard. Instead, I'm greeted by a small square package, and a Fed Ex truck heading out of the driveway. Arching an eyebrow, I pick it up and tear the paper open, what I see nearly kills me. The box is wooden, lined with purple velbet. A note ontop reads, "Happy Birthday, buddy. The games not over." Inside? A D20 die...caked in blood...