Vlad The Impaler

Friday afternoon finally arrived, and Jon was headed home from work. He was looking forward to going out tonight with Chris. He didn’t want to admit it, but he was more looking forward to being with Chris than going out. He was still trying to convince himself that what happened last Sunday was a one-off. Unfortunately, just the thought of it caused his cock to immediately chub into a full stiffy, making the rest of the ride home a little uncomfortable. He rushed inside as soon as he got home and got in the shower. He laughed at himself after he was admiring himself in the mirror and the question crossed his mind as to whether Chris would like the shirt he chose to wear. “What the fuck is wrong with you”, he asked in the mirror? Of being fashionably late like was his normal, Jon left immediately and headed to Chris’s place.

Chris arrived home after work with a smile on his face and hurriedly got in the shower. It was strange. He never felt so excited about Jon coming over before. They were best friends and would do anything for each other, but there had also been a mutual competitiveness between them as well. Their company was an expectation, not a special treat. Somehow that felt different now. It had suddenly changed after the strange disappearances and memory lapses had started. It all started with the old man who was not an old man, Joshua. Chris stepped out of the shower and began toweling off when he heard a car pulling up. Shit, Jon’s early for a change!

Chris combed his hair but knew he had no time to get dressed, so he wrapped a towel around his waist and walked toward the door. He was five feet away when the doorbell rang. Chris opened the door and said, “It figures, I can usually count on you being late”. Jon was not expecting a still-wet, towel-clad Chris to answer the door, “Umm, yeah. Things just went quickly and here I am”. Jon’s eyes couldn’t help but take in Chris’s half-naked form in front of him. He felt his cock stirring to life and thought, ‘Down boy. Now’s not a good time’. Chris smiled, “Well, I’m going to finish getting dressed. Grab a beer from the fridge if you want. Is that a new shirt”? Jon replied, “No, I’m sure you’ve seen me wear it before”, while thinking, ‘He noticed the shirt’! Chris replied, “I guess I never took notice before.”. It suddenly sank into Chris that he had complemented Jon on something he was wearing. How gay was that? It does make his eye color stand out though. Stop! Just Stop! Chris turned and headed for his bedroom to get dressed. Jon was transfixed on the two mounds dancing beneath the towel as Chris walked away toward his bedroom, each one in turn forcing its cantaloupe form into the towel. His cock was once more throbbing in his briefs.

Chris entered his bedroom and immediately threw his towel across the back of the chair. He then walked to his dresser to pull out a pair of underwear. As he did so, he noticed the briefs he had washed and folded then placed atop his dresser so he could return them to Jon at the right time. He needed to see Jon’s reaction and hoped for a hint at what exactly had occurred Sunday night. He slid on his own briefs and began to look for a pair of socks but instead picked up Jon’s briefs and sniffed them. They smelled of fabric softener, but Chris tried to recall the musky scent of Jon’s cum. Suddenly his bedroom door began to open as Jon’s voice was asking, “How long does it take you to get dressed, dude”? Chris had lowered the briefs from his nose but still held them. Chris raised them up to Jon, “Do these look familiar? I found them when I was moving my laundry from the washer to the dryer and knew they weren’t mine”. Jon breathed a sigh of relief at hearing Chris didn’t discover them until after they’d been washed, “Yeah, I almost forgot. Last Sunday I accidentally spilled some beer on them and removed them so I wouldn’t get your bed wet”, Jon lied. Chris knew it was a lie, but it didn’t get him to the truth. He thought for a moment, “So you spilled beer on my bed”? Jon quickly said, “No, I uh sat up quickly when the Pats scored, and a wad of beer splashed out onto my lap. None made it to your bed. I immediately jumped up off the bed and took them off. Your bed stayed dry; I swear”. Chris thought, ‘A wad of something anyway”. He was enjoying making Jon squirm. He decided to take it just a little further, “So, you were in my bed in your underwear and then after spilling beer on them, you climbed back into my bed naked”? Jon didn’t think far enough ahead and now had put himself in a corner. Then his eyes dropped to Chris’s own briefs and the bulge that seemed to be growing within them. Chris knew full well that scenario didn’t happen and didn’t know where else to take it. He suddenly realized Jon’s focus was elsewhere and glanced down at his growing bulge. “We’re good bro”, Chris said as he quickly spun around, pulled a pair of jeans from a drawer and pulled them on. He then grabbed a t-shirt and fished a pair of socks from a drawer. He sat down on the bed and pulled on the socks, then slid into the t-shirt. After fishing for a pair of sneakers and putting them on, they were ready to go.

The ride to the restaurant went in silence until Jon asked, “So, how are we going to do this”? Chris squirmed in the passenger seat unsure of what Jon was asking, having just discussed their Sunday night escapade, “Do what”? Jon glanced over quickly and said, “Come on dude, this was your idea. You know, we hold hands all night and never let the other one out of sight”. Chris began laughing and said, “You try to hold my hand and you might get kicked in the balls”. Jon grinned and asked, “You’d do that”? Chris said, “Try me”. They glanced at each other grinning, then Chris said, “Like I said. We try to stay in the same room. We remain in sight of each other at all times and see what happens. If one of us goes zombie like Brad said you did the other night, then the other one sticks with them, no matter what. See where it takes us. We need to find out what’s going on. Jon nodded and said, “Got it”.

They ate at a small restaurant and then headed to where it all seemed to have started, The Factory. They stuck to the plan and were joined at the elbow the entire night. They had a great time and were even hit on by a few girls. They headed out after last call, and nothing had occurred. Once they were in the car, Chris said, “Nothing happened”. Jon started the car and said, “What do you mean nothing happened? The music was great, and we were both hit on by several hot babes.”, then Jon understood, “Oh yeah, you’re right. Neither one of us turned into a zombie, yet. The night’s not over”. Chris thought of what Jon had just said as they began the ride home, “You’re right, Jon. It doesn’t only happen at The Factory. From what you said, it happened to me somewhere between your house and mine after I left your place”. Jon asked, “So now what”? Chris asked, “You don’t have anywhere else you need to be tonight do you”? Jon glanced over, “No. So I guess you want me to stay at your place tonight”? Chris shrugged, “If we want to see this through, yeah”.

They arrived at Chris’s and headed inside. Chris grabbed them each a beer and they sat down on the sofa. As they watched a comedy show, Chris got up and said, “I’ll grab you a blanket and a pillow”. As he was headed away, Jon said, “What about staying within eyesight of each other”? Chris stopped in his tracks. Jon was right, “Good point Jon. Guess we’re going to share my bed again”. Jon then asked, “Got any handcuffs”? Chris’s head snapped around and looked at Jon as though he was insane, “What”? Jon laughed and said, “No, Chris. I don’t want to get kinky with you, but once we’re asleep, one of us could leave without the other knowing unless we’re connected somehow”. A big grin flashed across Chris’s face as he said, “You’re not as dumb as you look Jon. I do not own a pair of handcuffs though, real or toy. I do have some small rope though”. Jon laughed, “Now who’s getting kinky”. Chris retrieved the rope which they made long enough to give them space, but short enough so neither could leave the room without the other knowing. Jon reached to take Chris’s wrist to tie the rope on it. Chris said, “Hold on. I need to get undressed first”. ‘Undressed?’, Jon thought. Chris threw off his t-shirt and then slid out of his jeans, followed by his socks. Once he was down to his briefs, he looked to Jon and asked, “What? You know I always sleep like this”. Jon replied, “Yeah, but not when some other guy’s in your bed”. Chris shot back, “Says the guy who said he shed his wet underwear before crawling back into my bed naked”.  Jon had been caught up in his own lie, “Touche Chris. You win, but I need to take a piss if I’m going to be a prisoner in your room all night”. Chris said, “Ok, I probably should too”, and the Chris followed Jon to the bathroom and let him go first. As Jon walked into the bathroom, he realized Chris hadn’t followed, “You’re not joining me? I’m literally in another room”, Jon teased as his stream began to flow. Chris laughed, “It’s not like you can climb through that tiny window although it would be fun to watch you try”. The toilet flushed and Jon emerged a minute later and said, “Your turn”. Chris stepped in and emptied his bladder and when he came back out, Jon wasn’t there. “Fuck! Jon”, Chris yelled! Suddenly there was laughter as Jon stood up from behind a chair, “Gotcha”, he claimed still laughing. Chris shook his head and said, “You’re going to pay for that”. They headed back to Chris’s bedroom and Jon sat down on the side of Chris’s bed and removed his own jeans. He’d already shed his socks. Chris said, “That’s enough”. Jon looked up at him with an evil grin. Chris then stepped in front of Jon holding the rope. Jon held up his right arm and Chris began to tie the rope around his wrist. He tied a knot, but then asked Jon, “Could you put your finger there”, indicating a spot on the knot? Jon did as he was asked and suddenly Chris was wrapping the rope around both of Jon’s arms before he could stop him. “Ahh”, Jon yelled, then asked, “What the fuck Chris”. Chris stopped once Jon’s forearms were secured to each other, then said, “I told you you’d pay”. Suddenly Chris was tickling Jon. Jon was yelling and screaming for him to stop but couldn’t do anything to stop him. After a while, Chris stopped. They were both out of breath from the exertion and both were showing signs of semi-erection. Neither one said anything. Chris then tied Jon’s wrist properly, and they climbed into bed. Chris rolled onto his side facing away from Jon and said, “Turn off the light will you”? Jon instead took in Chris’s buns outlined in his briefs for a few moments before turning off the light, then laid on his back trying to will his hand not to reach for his own stiff cock, before sleep overtook him.

Chris awoke. He was standing in a large apartment. There was a strange man there and yet Chris thought he knew him somehow. The man was telling him of a curse. He listened until the room grew dark. Chris again woke up, startled to find he was in a small room sitting across the table from Joshua. Joshua smiled and said, “Remember what I said about having multiple victims. If two of these victims are in one place, his powers to control them are neutralized. Only when his powers are neutralized can the spell be broken and then only by reversing the process by both victims”. Chris was about to ask Joshua a question when the room once more faded to black. Suddenly, he was again in the large apartment in the bedroom. His back was against the bed, and he slowly dropped back onto it and lifted his legs. A now naked man approached him. His name was Vladimir, he remembered now. Then Vladimir entered him, and he felt full and warm. Then Vladimir began fucking him and his whole body was reacting. He clawed at the sheets, not from pain, but from sheer ecstasy. Then a sudden surge of power as he felt his insides being filled. Vladimir then pulled his cock from him, dropped down and took his throbbing cock into his mouth. It wasn’t long before he erupted, sending his seed down Vladimir’s throat who was swallowing it greedily. Then he felt weak again but heard a voice, “Only when his powers are neutralized can the spell be broken and then only by reversing the process by both victims”. Suddenly, he had reversed positions and he was fucking Vladimir. Vladimir was shaking his head though and eventually said, “You cannot reverse the curse. There must be two”.

Jon stirred awake, still in a fog, but felt something behind him. He froze. An arm was draped over his shoulder and a stiff cock was pressing into the crack of his butt with only fabric between his butt and the stiff cock. Then he remembered that he was in Chris’s bed. He also realized his own cock was stiff as a board. The cock felt good pressing between his buns. He pushed back into it. There was no change from Chris. He was asleep. Jon pushed back again and slowly began moving himself up and down along the length of Chris’s stiff cock. Jon’s cock hurt so bad, trapped behind the fabric of his briefs. He slowly reached down and pushed the elastic waistband down under his balls and then continued his movements as he slowly began stroking his cock. It felt so good and yet so wrong. Suddenly, Chris’s arm pulled him in tighter and Chris himself began sliding his cock up and down between Jon’s crack, every now and then poking at the fabric keeping his cock from entering him. Jon wasn’t sure what to do now. Was Chris awake or was he having a dream? Jon’s hand froze on his cock, but Chris’s thrusting movements were causing his cock to slide between his precum-soaked palm. This continued for a while before Jon couldn’t hold back. He quickly attempted to pull his briefs back up, but Chris’s movements had pulled the back of his briefs down as well, so half of his cock was left exposed. Jon covered the head of his cock with his hand as his cock erupted in spasm after spasm and glob after glob of cum fired from it, more than his hand could contain. Then Chris grunted and Jon felt Chris’s cock throbbing and he soon felt his back being spattered with cum. Then suddenly, Chris jumped and said, “Oh fuck! What the fuck! Oh shit, no! I’m so sorry Jon! It was a dream! I’m so sorry. Fuck! Fuck”! Jon wasn’t sure what to do but decided to go rinse off in the shower. With his back still to Chris, he stood up off the bed and began walking toward the door. Chris called after him, “Jon, please wait. Jon, we’re still”, and suddenly Jon was spun around by his wrist. He had reached the end of the rope and spun him around facing Chris. Chris just stared at Jon, seeing his cock partially exposed above the waistband of his briefs with cum trickling down his chest and abs. Jon’s cum. Jon just stood there, exposed. He’d forgotten they were tied together at the wrists, “I, um. What’s going on with us Chris?”? Tears welled up in Jon’s eyes as he continued, “You may have been having a dream, but I was awake”. Chris moved off the bed and said, “I didn’t mean to do that Jon. I kept dreaming of the Impaler and Joshua and then I was trying to break the curse and, fuck Jon, I’m so sorry”. Jon stood there and said, “You don’t understand Chris. I was awake after you pressed against me. I didn’t stop you. I was enjoying it. I couldn’t help it”. All that Chris could think to say was, “Oh”, then he walked over to Jon and turned him toward the door. They walked into the bathroom and Chris pushed Jon toward the shower door. As Jon stepped into the shower, he said, “I’m not going to be able to close the door with this rope going through it”. Chris replied, “I guess we could take it off”. “No! No! Don’t take it off! I don’t want to step out of the shower and find you gone, Chris”. Chris realized Jon was not only freaked out about what had just happened, but also about what was happening to both of them the past few weeks. Chris asked, “Ok Jon. What do you suggest”? Jon immediately suggested, “Why don’t you join me, and we can rinse off together. The shower’s big enough and we’re both still in our briefs”. Chris stepped in with Jon and closed the shower door behind him. They rinsed the cum off of them under the warm shower, taking turns under the spray. Then Chris laughed. Jon looked at him and asked, “What”? Chris grinned and said, “Well we’re now rinsed off and standing in the shower in soaking wet briefs. Now what”? Jon grinned and said, “I guess I didn’t think that far ahead”. Almost immediately, Chris grabbed the waistband of his wet briefs and slid them down his legs. Jon watched as Chris’s bare bubble butt was exposed before him. Jon shrugged and followed suit. Chris smiled slightly as he turned around and saw Jon had followed his lead. They both wrung their briefs out before hanging them up to dry further. They then stepped from the shower and grabbed towels to dry with and then wrapped them around their waists. Chris led them from the bathroom back to his bedroom. Once there, Chris removed his towel and draped it over his desk chair. He turned back to Jon and said, “You can hang yours on the hook on the door”. Jon turned and accidentally pulled Chris’s arm forward as he reached up to hand the towel. Chris jerked forward, almost slamming into Jon’s back. “oops. Sorry dude”, Jon said to Chris. As they walked toward the bed, Jon asked, “Now what”? Chris responded nonchalantly, “Now we go back to bed”.  Chris climbed in and laid on his back and then Jon climbed in beside him. Jon asked, “So, could you tell me about your dream? You think this Impaler guy has something to do with what’s happening to us”? Chris sighed, “Are you sure you want to hear this”? Jon thought for a second and said, “I’m not sure I’ll be able to fall asleep unless I do, but I’m not sure if I’ll be able to fall asleep after either, so let me have it”.

Chris told him about finding himself in a large room with a strange guy standing in front of him explaining a curse to him. He told him the next thing he was aware of was being in Joshua’s apartment as Joshua was explaining how the spell could be broken, but he wasn’t sure he understood it all. Chris then turned toward Jon and Jon met his eyes and saw tears in them, Chris continued, “I was suddenly back in front of the stranger, but in a different room, a bedroom. I was naked and my back was against the bed”, a tear ran down his cheek, “I laid back on the bed and lifted my legs up. Then the stranger stuck his cock in me and began fucking me. I just laid there and took it. No, I was actually enjoying it. It felt incredible and then I saw stars as he filled me with his cum. I felt powerful then, really powerful. Then he pulled out of me and went down on my cock. It felt great and I must have shot gallons of cum down the guy's throat. Then just that quickly, I felt completely too weak to move. Then I heard a voice in my head saying something about being neutralized and reversing the process. The next thing I’m aware of is I’m fucking this guy and he’s shaking his head, telling me I can’t break the curse, that there has to be two. That’s when I woke up and realized I had just shot my load all over your back. I am so sorry for that”. Though it was dark in the room, Chris had noticed Jon’s tent, but didn’t mention it. Jon said, “First of all, Chris, stop apologizing. You already know I shot my own load during that dream thing of yours. You said the guy said it takes two. Maybe that’s you and me. So, how do we break the curse”. Chris was surprised that Jon wanted to help him do this, though he really shouldn’t be. They were best friends. Chris said, “I don’t know. I think maybe the dream or possibly Joshua in my dream was trying to tell me. When we had talked, he said that if two victims were there with the Impaler at the same time, his powers would be neutralized and that’s what he was telling me tonight. Then the reversing the process thing. What did he mean by that”? Jon said, “You said the Impaler first fucked you and after he came in you, you felt powerful”. Chris nodded, “Yeah”? Jon continued, “Then this Impaler sucked your cock and swallowed your cum. Then you felt weak, right”? Chris said, “Yes, that’s how it happened”. Jon then said, “So it seems this thing needs to fill you with his cum which apparently does something to your body. Then he sucks your own cum out of you which is something he needs and causes you to suddenly feel really weak”. “And sleep the whole next day away to recover”, Chris added. Jon said, “Don’t I know it. It makes sense now, but how does he make us come to him? The reversal part must mean what you were doing in your dream, fucking him and then…”. Chris stopped him before completing the sentence, “But he was telling me as I was fucking him that I couldn’t break the curse that way”. Jon replied, “Remember, he also said there had to be two, which is also what you said Joshua told you. Two of his victims are needed to break the curse”. Chris yawned and said, “I think you may have something there. Let’s discuss this more in the morning. Let’s get some sleep”. Chris turned on his side, away from Jon. He soon felt Jon snuggle up to his back and put his arm over his shoulder, but keeping his crotch from making contact, “Is this ok, Chris”. Chris sighed and said, “Yeah, I don’t mind as long as you keep little Jon away from me”. Jon smiled and they both dozed off.

The next morning, Jon awoke to find his morning wood indeed pressed tightly in Chris’s butt crack, ‘Fuck! What now?”. He slowly eased back, but it wasn’t as easy as he’d thought, since as he pulled back, his hard shaft straightened and his precum-soaked head was leaving a trail from the top of Chris’s butt crack where it had been firmly pressed, all the way down to the spot, where if he now pushed forward, would find Chris’s tight anal ring. Instead, he carefully turned onto his back trying to not wake Chris up. “I thought you might be about to plunge in”, Chris’s voice startled Jon. Jon said, “You were awake the whole time I was carefully trying to extricate myself from you”. Chris giggled mischievously, “Pretty much”. Jon threw his pillow at Chris’s head and said, “You’re incorrigible. What would you have done if I’d have shoved it in you”? Chris rolled over and looked at Jon grinning and said, “I don’t know. I didn’t think that far ahead”. Jon grinned back and said, "Maybe next time”. Chris asked, “What’s that supposed to mean”. Jon just grinned and asked, “What’s for breakfast”. Chris shrugged, then said, “Wanna make something here? I have some stuff in the kitchen”. Jon looked at Chris oddly, “Some stuff”? Chris grinned, “Yeah, stuff to make pancakes or waffles and I have bacon, breakfast sausage, eggs, cooked potatoes in the fridge for home fries. I also have cantaloupe, oranges and grapes as well as sliced pineapple”. Jon grinned, “You just made me hungrier than ever, let’s go”. Jon rolled off the side of the bed and stood up. He immediately began walking for the door. As he did, he snagged Chris in the process and pulled his arm. Chris yelled, “Hey! What the fuck dude”! Jon stopped and said, “Oops, coming?”, as he chuckled mischievously. Chris crawled off the bed and followed, saying, “Fucker”, then pulled back, almost pulling Jon backward off his feet, “Two can play at that game”. Jon recovered and said, “Ok, truce”. They took off the ropes after the first time they almost tripped each other up. They didn’t need them now anyway. They then went into the kitchen, made coffee, and prepared breakfast.

After breakfast, they took turns getting a shower and then walked to the park up the street to play a game of tennis. They both played hard. Chris had a hellacious serve, but Jon was no slouch and moved quickly around the court keeping every set close. As they finished their game, they sat on a bench and were drinking Gatorade when two guys approached the fence dividing the tennis courts from the basketball courts. They had been shooting hoops while Chris and Jon had played tennis. One of the guys asked through the fence, “Yo guys, you wanna play a game of hoops with us, two on two”? Jon looked to Chris who shrugged his shoulders and Jon said, “Sure, we’ll be right over”. As they made their way around to the basketball court, they approached the two guys, one, a blond with a slender to medium build, a little taller than Jon. His name was Scott. The other guy was black. He had a slightly more muscular build than Scott, similar to Chris’s and was the same height as Chris’s six foot which was an inch shorter than Jon. His name was Kyle. They introduced themselves and then Scott asked if they wanted to split up or just play friends against friends. They chose the latter. Once the game got underway, both teams knew it was going to be a battle. It was obvious both pairs were used to playing together and knew each other’s moves They played three games to twenty-one. Chris and Jon won two of them. At the end, Scott and Kyle congratulated them and asked if they wanted to hang out until one-thirty when there would be a kind of tournament where five-member teams would play against other teams in elimination. Jon said, “Even if we said yes, that only makes four”. Kyle grinned and said, “Scott’s brother Cain will be here shortly. He’s our center. We usually have to find two other players to fill our team, but if you two will play, I think we may get further than round two for once”. Scott gave Kyle an elbow while grinning. Kyle said, “What? I just wanna be honest with the guys”. Jon asked Chris, “What do you think. You want to work up some serious sweat”? Chris said, “It’s not what I had planned on doing, but it sounds like it might be fun. We need to take our tennis gear back and eat some lunch first though. How about we meet you guys back here just after one”? Scott said, “Great! The only problem is the parking lot usually fills up by one”. Jon said, “Not a problem, Chris lives just down the street. We walked here”. Kyle said, “Cool”. Chris and Jon grabbed their stuff and walked back toward Chris’s place.

While Chris made their lunch, Jon ran home to get some fresh clothes and his basketball sneakers. He returned just in time for lunch. While eating lunch, Chris suggested they throw some steaks on the grill and just hang out and watch a movie tonight. Jon was all in.

They were surprised when they returned to the park and found a large crowd, some were just taking shots to warm up, others just sat on the bleachers or down on the grass around the courts. “Jon! Chris! Over here”, they hear someone calling them and looked in that direction. They saw Scott and Kyle waving at them and headed that way. Jon asked, “Do you think that big guy is Scott’s brother”? Chris looked at the guy Jon had indicated who was standing next to Scott, and making Scott look puny. Chris said, “I certainly hope so”. As they reached them, Kyle said, “Good timing. We’re scheduled to play right at one-thirty on this court. College rules apply”. Scott then spoke up, “Chris, Jon, this is my brother Cain. Cain, these are the two guys we told you about. This is Chris here and his friend Jon”. Jon had been right, the giant next to Scott was his brother Cain. Jon looked up at Cain and said, “It’s good your parents named you Scott instead of Abel”. All five laughed. The first game started off slowly. It was their game plan so that they could get familiar with each other’s moves and style of play. The other team tried to be aggressive, but it only resulted in missed shots and several stolen balls, mostly by Kyle and Jon, but Chris claimed one as well and took it all the way down to the other end for a layup. They won the game 21 to 12 frustrating the losing team. They all shook hands as good sportsman should.

Round two had them play a team whose center was as big as Cain, and they went at each other the whole game with both sides drawing fouls. What made the difference was that the other four were beginning to gel. The passes were sharp and, on the mark. Their movements were quick, and they were hitting their target almost every time. They won 21 to 18. Kyle said, “I can’t believe we beat that team! They’re one of the top two or three teams here tonight”. Jon said, “Maybe you could have told us that before the game”. Kyle looked at him and asked, “What difference would that have made”? Jon just shrugged and said, “Maybe we would have upped our game”.

Round three would be played on the main court. One set of teams would play the first game and the second set of teams would play after. A coin was flipped, and their teams would play second. They watched the first game, and the play was rough. It seemed like the refs were calling fewer fouls and just letting them play. It looked more like an NBA game. The center on one team was a monster. No one on the court was going to push him around. The other center was not near as bulky, but he was taller and faster. The other players matched up against each other pretty well and made the game go slow as it seemed the physical play wasn’t allowing much scoring. Eventually the team with the monster pulled it out 23-20. Due to the win by two rule, when the monsters team went ahead, 21-20, it was not enough. Fortunately, the other team missed their shot and the monster’s team didn’t.

The guys took the court and as they did, noticed the opposing center was taller than Cain, but not as bulky. When the ref threw up the jump ball, Cain tipped it to Chris who took it past two defenders for a layup. On the next play, Cain blocked the shot and Chris grabbed it and lobbed a pass to a sprinting Jon who caught it and laid it into the basket. The other team scored on the next play and then as Kyle was bringing up the ball, he passed it to a wide-open Jon, who took the three-pointer and hit nothing but net making it 7-2. On the next play, Chris stole the ball and threw it down court to Kyle who was undefended and took his time laying it up making it 9-2. The next play, Jon got a hand on the ball, but it bounced on the rim a few times and found its way in making it 9-4. After that, it seemed like Chris and Jon shifted into another gear and were all over the court getting steals and making perfect passes to the other players. Before the other team could call a time out to catch their breath, the score was 18-6. After the time out, the other team was able to get the ball inside to their center, who scored. A foul was called on Cain, but the other center missed the foul shot, making it 18-8. Kyle then brought the ball up court and faked a pass to Jon, causing two defenders to head in his direction. Instead, Kyle threw a lob to the basket where Cain grabbed it and dunked it with gusto. It was 20-8. The other team called another time out. When they brought the ball up court, they began passing it around, trying to get a clean shot, but they were getting smothered. They ended up passing it out of bounds. Kyle took his time bringing the ball up the court. This time he again faked the pass to Jon two defenders headed his way, but two others stayed on Cain. The ball went to Chris who calmly shot the ball in for three points. Game over 23-8. They were in the championship game.

They were allotted a fifteen-minute break before the game. Kyle was shaking his head, “Man Jon, you weren’t kidding about you two upping your game. You guys made us all play better. Jon just smiled and then walked over to Chris who was drinking a cup of Gatorade, “I can’t believe how well we’re playing”. Chris smiled and replied, “I know, right. It’s like everyone else is moving slower. Even the ball seems like it’s moving slower. The one thing that seems to have moved quickly though is time. It’s almost 6 and I still have to pick up the steaks. You’ll have to get the grill fired up and get things ready, so we don’t end up eating at midnight”.

The final game was on, and Cain barely outreached the monster to tip the jump ball to Scott. Scott then quickly passed it to an open Chris on the sideline, who took the shot and made the three-pointer. As the other team brought the ball up court, The monster and Cain were battling for position. It looked like the monster had position and the ball was passed to him. They hadn’t seen Scott moving that way and he intercepted the ball and saw Jon sprinting down court with no one near him. He threw the ball just over Jon’s head who let it bounce and then caught it and laid it in. 5-0. The monster’s team scored to make it 5-2. As Kyle brought the ball up this time, he faked a penetration dribble and the passed it to Jon who dribbled past two defenders and threw an excellent bounce pass to Scott on the top of the key. Scott took the shot for three and nothing but net, 8-2. Monster’s team scored again to make it 8-4. Kyle then lobbed a pass to Jon who immediately bounce passed it to Scott who then fed it to Chris who lobbed it over the net where Cain grabbed it and slammed it through, 10-4. Everyone one the other team were looking at each other wondering how they were going to stop this well-oiled machine. A few minutes more and the score was 18-6. Destiny was in their favor until during a scramble for a loose ball, one of the opposing players fell on Kyle’s ankle, twisting it badly. The rest of the team rushed to his side, but after examining it, they knew his game was done and they would have to forfeit the game. The current rules wouldn’t allow them to play with only four players. The monster came over and introduced himself as Alexander (NOT Alex) and said he was sorry it happened and that they would have definitely won the game if it hadn’t been for Kyle’s injury. They helped Kyle off the court and to Scott’s car so he could give him a ride to the hospital. Chris and Jon said goodbye and wished Kyle good luck. He assured them he’d be back in two weeks and was certain it was just a bad sprain. Chris and Jon couldn’t commit to being back in two weeks but didn’t offer a reason why.

Chris and Jon returned to Chris’s and realizing it was after 7PM Chris had to hurry off for the steaks. It would be sundown in half an hour. Chris said, “I should be back in 15-20 minutes. Have the grill fired up and ready”. Jon grinned and said, “Got it. I’ll even have the potatoes ready to go”.

Chris made it to the store in seven minutes and grabbed the steaks. He called Jon as soon as he was back in his car to let him know he was on his way and should have several minutes to spare. At a red light at an intersection, he waited behind another car. He could see them messing with their cell phone, something that really irritated him. Suddenly the car in front of him began creeping forward. Apparently, their foot had eased off the brake and they weren’t aware of it. Chris tried laying on his horn, but before they realized what was happening, another car hit their driver’s side just in front of the front tire. Chris swore under his breath. Chris looked behind him to see if he could back up, but there were several cars behind him. He was stuck. A police car arrived within three minutes and took a statement from the two drivers, then walked back to his car. The Police Officer asked, “You were a witness to the accident, sir. I’m going to need a statement from you”. “Seriously, the sun is about to set”, Chris said frustrated. The officer didn’t understand and said, “So what. Are you going to turn into a pumpkin”. Chris just shook his head and said, “It’s so much worse than that. Can we get this over with”. After Chris gave his statement and the cars were cleared from the road, Chris called Jon to let him know he was finally on his way home. Jon said, “Good, I was about to come searching for you. The potatoes are almost ready”. Chris hung up and started the car.

Chris stepped out of the elevator into the large apartment. He was familiar with it now. “Good evening, Chris”, the familiar voice spoke in his mind.

End of Chapter 4