DISCLAIMER: English is not my first language. I live in a country where it is the second official language and medium of instruction, though. So I tried my best to make this one as natural as possible. I hope you will have fun reading my creation.
"PERKY HOCKEY" by KINDOFHUSH
Before you proceed, RANDY HAS A REMINDER:
Desire bears a price. Indulgence puts one's soul in compromise. But redemption will be given to those who offer a token. My Treasury delegates would be waiting for you at their den: https://donate.nifty.org/
FINALE EPISODE -- A Choice For The Goal
I knew it! These two had something up their sleeves.
"All right, I'm so sick of the shenanigans. Spill it!" I threw a glare at each of them.
None of them spat a word, but the gulping movements of their throats surfaced through their necks.
"Okay, Yo, I'll tell--" Callid shivered.
His eyes rolled up as he sprung to the air.
"No... No, no, nooo! Calliiiid!" Nigel reached for his legs.
But he sprung higher, and the shiver worsened into a full convulsion! His shriek reverbed through the walls until... He blew up into smithereens.
Enzo and I fell on our asses, shuddering in tears as Nigel bawled down the floor.
"Gabe..." Enzo stuttered, crawling up to me. "This is getting out of hand. I think we should call an adult for help now."
"Like hell, that friggin' primate would let us do that."
"I don't wanna be detonated! And... I dunno what would I do if you..."
"Even if we don't want to, there is no way out for us!"
"This is all my fault," Nigel sobbed. "If I didn't pat that stupid clock, we all wouldn't be in this mess, and Callid wouldn't--"
"Don't say that! Callid's not dead. We are not sure of that yet." I got up from the floor.
"Are you playing optimistic now, Gabe, or are you just plain stupid? We all saw what happened to him! And now, we're just as doomed as he was. Our time has come."
Our time? Oh no, the clock!
Oh, for crying out loud. That monster wouldn't give us a break!
"Let's just lay off the beef, bud. We gotta continue."
"You still wanna play? You are outta your mind, man! He killed Callid."
"But this is our only way of survival!"
"You don't understand! You guys don't. Callid... He was the only one there for me when you two couldn't make it. So screw this game."
He forced the joystick out of his hand, only to end up weeping.
"I'm done with this shit! I don't wanna lose any more friends."
"That's definitely gonna happen if we stop trying." Enzo came up to us. "Dude, none of us wanted this shit. But if we give up now, then Callid's... Vanquishment would be all for nothin'."
Enzo offered his hand to Nigel. As if an aura of hope engorged him, he accepted it and got up as well.
"That's more like it, dude. Let's kick that douche's ass."
We returned to our positions once again, or maybe... for the last time. And it was my turn to serve.
"Last ten minutes, my friends, and you're tied at four points," I gave them half a smile. "If one of you gets this rally, this is all over. Good luck."
I lunged the puck, not caring to wherever or whoever it went to. Enzo made the first hit. It reflected towards Nigel, and our exchange of offenses and defenses kicked off.
"Guys, listen, I haven't explained yet what Callid and I did," Nigel conferred.
"Ya better do it quick, dude."
He glanced at me as he struck the puck. "Right after you called Callid, I messaged him a warning about the game."
"You did what!" I missed hitting it.
Good thing it only reflected on the edge of my goal.
"But because of that, he found something on the internet about this game."
Clipnotes version of the story? A series of disappearances of kids from all over the world commenced years ago. No clues and connections were ever made, except for an air hockey-like tabletop game found from the last place they had gone to. Yeah!
"If those kids were still missing up until now, then they must've suffered the same fate as Callid," Enzo quavered. "That means..."
"No one has beaten the game yet," I continued.
"And that was when Callid came up with our plan. To make sure that the game would end up in a tie between all of us when the time was up."
"Well, that explains a lot. But then, you kept it low-key." I aimed the puck at Nigel.
"Yep, but only because we didn't wanna risk that bastard piece of shit finding out about it."
But he still did anyway, and now we were all back to square one.
"His plan is brilliant! And it could still work." Enzo chortled like a wacko but subdued it into a sigh. "But Gabe, you have to score against me or Nigel."
"What? No! If I do that--"
"If you eliminate one of us, you'll tie with whoever remains with you! Dude, you'll both survive and beat the game."
"Enz is right, man. You have to make a choice. For the goal."
No way. This had to be a bad joke. Never in my thoughts came the idea of sacrificing my friends. All I had wanted was a birthday celebration filled with fun and laughter. Why did it lead to losing them?
"Gabe, you have to hurry!" Enzo turned to the clock with his begging eyes.
It fleeted down to the last couple of minutes.
My arm kept on swinging, but my mind and heart stalled in tremors of protest. I couldn't. I just couldn't...
"Do it, man!" Nigel yelped.
I swiped the joystick, turning my head away from the game, as a scream of agony erupted from my vocals. My dripping tears wet the table, beating along with the beeping of the clock.
Nigel paled, staring straight at Enzo. My buddy just smiled at him, then blinked at me.
"Way to go, dude. I guess that's it."
His feet... They were rising up from the floor!
"Enzo... Enzo, nooooo. Don't you friggin' dare leave me!" I jumped to embrace him.
But he had already sprung up and blew up the same way Callid did. All I could do was shout out loud his name as I fell over my knees.
The doors and windows wouldn't budge. The crimson darkness still enveloped the entire house. Most of all, the game lit up as it used to when we started it. And did I mention the joysticks that were still stuck in our hands?
Nigel and I ended up sprawled on the floor, leaning against each other's bare backs.
"This is bullcrap!" I hissed. "Enzo and Callid were gone for nothing."
"Or maybe we missed something."
"Missed? More like dissed. Randy is obviously fed up."
"That means we're stuck in this shit for eternity."
"Probably. And since we have nothing else to do, mind tellin' what happened?"
"Happened to what?"
"Between you and Callid, dimwit."
"Oh," he laughed like a maniac. "Remember the nationals a year and a half ago?"
Oh yeah, that was held in a different state. He put his nose to the grindstone for that. He even lost time to hang out with Enzo and me. We were supposed to watch and support him, but the airline we took our flight on screwed up. So we never made it to the competition.
"I was so effin' upset when I found out you guys aren't gonna make it. I messed up every routine. People were already booing me during the final one, but out in the crowd, one person roared a cheer."
"Wait, are you sayin' Callid was there?"
"Yep. I might've lost the competition, but man, I nailed the final routine. I will never forget how he made my day. Since then, I have hung out with him. But I kept it low because I knew you guys don't like him."
"You sneaky piece of jerk. How could you even think that we would get mad at you for hanging out with such a badass guy?"
"You tell me."
Our harmonious chortles lit up the dark-filled roof above us.
"So, you into him?"
"Into him, all for him, man. I love him." He let out a sniffle. "Just like you and Enzo do with each other."
"You knew?" I hollered.
"I might be a whiny-ass, but I'm not dumb."
Were we that obvious, or did the game just expose the hots and bits a notch? But talking about the hots...
"Well, whiny-ass, have you and Callid been foolin' around?"
Only a vibrating silence replied to my little quizzical banter.
"Nigel, you okay, dude?"
Grunts and screeches resonated from behind. And a sheer wave of heat brushed over my back.
"You just can't get enough of your desires." A raspy, strident voice asked. "Can you, Gabriel?"
I turned around, only to jump and crawl away from the beast who greeted me.
It was the body of Nigel, all right, but covered in blood-swollen, bulgy veins. His philtrum and chin deformed in enlargement, making his lips half-visible. His forehead crinkled down to his thickened eyebrows, sticking the two together. His eyes blazed a ferocious red. And the wavy ginger hair on his head spread like nine foxtails.
"Ra...Randy?"
His joints crackled and flicked as he did robotic movements, protruding in a hunched over stance with his arms swung close to the floor.
"I'm in awe of your perseverance to get this far, youngster." He screeched an ear-to-ear grin, exposing his decayed, oversized teeth and blackened gums.
"What have you done to Nigel?"
"Just like your other friend, this boy endeavored to cheat on my fortress. Trespasses bear punishment, so his body is now mine to keep."
"Wha...What about Callid and Enzo? And the other kids you've taken? Where are they!"
He did his screech again and mixed it up with a guffaw.
"It seems that you have come to know of my iniquities, but the anguish is yours. They now belong to my assemblage to indulge in."
"They are not toys, you monster!" I rushed at him. "Give me my friends ba--"
But he pointed his joystick at me. It created the same wall of fire that blasted me earlier in the doorway. So I skidded my soles on the floor to stop before hitting it.
"Such audacity. How remarkable! If you would dare challenge the emperor of desires, it would be my pleasure to take on. But only in my terms." He leered at the game.
This could be another trap to get me too, since I was the only one left. But I couldn't just stand here and do nothing, knowing that I had the chance of saving them in my hands.
"If that's what it takes to have Enzo and my friends back, then you're on. Tell me what you want!"
"Very well, Gabriel."
I went back to my original position at the table, and he walked over to the opposite side of mine.
"You're the only one who has ever reached this level to challenge me, you know?"
"Shut up, monkey! Let's just get this over with."
Ugh! He taunted me again with that annoying screech.
"This is going to be a best-of-three match. I will control the other three goals, while you'll have one like you used to."
Three goals for him? Wouldn't that make it easier for me? Unless there would be a...
"Save the worries. There will be no catch. All you have to do is... resist your desires and score twice against me."
He then gave me the privilege to serve the puck.
But again, with the d-word. I knew it! He would come up with tricks to tempt me while we played. But I had to fight it off--for Enzo, Nigel, Callid, and his other victims.
"Here you go, pucker!" I released the puck.
As soon as the puck speeded towards him, he split into three. The other two stood by the vacant sides of the table. It was like me versus three possessed Nigel at the same time.
And crap! All his or their movements, rather, flashed into nothing but bits of blinks. The puck dashed in and out of my sight.
"Feeling a little bit flashy, Gabriel?"
A gust of sultry wind poked the front of my speedos, making me flinched.
And did I mention that the puck was just a few inches away from my slot? But nope, I plunged and shot it back to him. I would not let his cheap seductions get the better of me.
Wait. His shots... He just kept giving it to one of his "clones," then passing it to the other before aiming at me. Oh... What a classic tactic!
Now, it didn't matter to me how swift he was. I just had to watch out for the timing, and...
I slotted the puck into one of his clone's goal. "Bingo! Nice try tensing me up, Horn-ape."
"Don't get..." He scoffed and eyed my crotch. "cocky on me yet. That was just the appetizer. Now, it's time for the entrée."
A ginger-colored smoke puffed around the area of the table. It emitted the aroma of... lavender and vanilla.
"Eyes on the game, youngster!"
And your Majesty had already served the puck. But he just did the same pattern of attacks all over again. Or didn't he?
As I returned his storming whacks, a mass of the same smoke cumulated beside me. Crap, what was he up to now?
It transmogrified! Into... a nude Enzo?
"What's up, Gabriel?" He smirked. "Don't ya want me?"
Entrée, my ass! This was more like a hit below the bell--no pun intended.
I got back to the rally, gulping. The evil primate just feigned a smile at me. Still, I retained my composure. But not for long as a pair of arms intruded under my pits. The hands lay on my sweating abs.
Wha...What the hell? His palms pervaded, caressing warmth all over my body. My limbs softened, and my eyes dropped in heaviness.
Creeping up. It crept up on my chest, groping my pecs.
"Isn't this what you like? Come on, don't fight it off. Let's have fun, friend."
"Nooo!"
Oh friggin' puck! The puck came at an awkward angle. I reached for it, but I missed. The inevitable happened.
"Now we are even. Ready to settle the final score, youngster?"
"Are you, Gabriel?" He was still here, behind me.
And with his hands still on my chest, I already had an idea of what he might do next. I only had one last chance left. If I screwed up, we'd all be part of his assemblage forever.
But what would I do? How could I get around this crap?
C'mon, Gabe! Think.
Randy's hand... It shivered. His hand shivered while holding the joystick. But why?
Regardless, I served the puck. He still stuck to his same old routine, but the lust machine behind me didn't.
He not only fondled my pecs, but also plucked my nipples until they were erected. Twitch after twitch, it bolted down my boyhood, setting me off track. All my strikes went at the wrong angle. They did nothing but reflect on the edges, turning in random directions.
Why? Why did this have to be like this? A massage so impeccable and surreal that one would wish not to end.
His right hand crept back to my abs. No! It just passed, heading straight to the waistband of my speedos. Oh crap! Crap, crap, crap!
He inserted a finger in the side, stretched it out, and let it snap back on its own. It left me catching my breath.
"What makes you out of breath, Gabriel? Can't keep up with the compulsion?" He knocked his joystick on the table twice.
Wait. Where did the puck go?
On the left!
I hit it on time. Wew!
His hands carried on their dirty work again. The left one twisted and pinched my left nipple. The right one toyed with the raging tent of my lone covering, spiraling a finger all over my gland.
I forced my eyes on the game, and pointed the joystick. But as I swung my arm, a hard material thrust on my ass. It beat along with the pinching of my nipple and the molestation of my glands.
My strike missed, and the puck rushed for my slot. No, it reflected on the edge again.
"Such jammy circumstances. But there will be no escaping from me. You shall be over the edge."
The invasion of my body leveled up. The more I swung my arm, the more it aggravated. My nipple swelled up to submission. My gland spat a drop of my bubbling nectar. And the slickness of my sweat had pulled down the back of my speedos from the vehement thrust, harassing my crack.
I couldn't help but let out a silent cuss.
"Just surrender yourself to me," he jeered.
No... No! You could fight this, Gabe. You shouldn't let your friends down. And most of all... Enzo, the real Enzo.
"You cannot fight me off. No mortal can defy desire. No one can resist me!"
Resist? Wait. The shivering of his hand. And it still did up until to now, affecting even his clones. That was it!
"Are you ready to face defeat?"
"Yes, I do," I smirked as tears blurred my sight.
His illusion stuck his fingers into my speedos' legband. But I squirmed as he peeled it back, jostling him away. He vaporized. I backed away from the table and let the puck slot into my goal.
He burst into a diabolical guffaw. "Game over. Welcome to my assemblage, Gabriel!"
My whole body floated in a quiver.
"I lost the match, but you lost the battle. So long, Randy," I stammered as my torso stiffened.
The radiance of nature's glow clustered through his ablazed eyes. My vision in return throbbed, zooming in and out as everything shimmered into darkness.
Crickets chirped from a distance. A rustle rang out nearby, and that familiar stench stung through my nostrils once again. What the hell happened? Was I still alive?
My tottering sight steadied toward a ceiling full of cobwebs. I got up with a head rush. Whoa! I was back in my clothes.
A bike and a skateboard leaning on a wall greeted me. Wait. Those were Nigel's and Enzo's!
Just a few feet away from me lay a boy on the floor, wearing a... beanie.
"Enzo!" My eyes widened as I rushed to shake him. "Wake up, wake up! Please!"
He moaned, opening his eyes. "Gabe? Wha...What happened?"
He got up, only to end up dropping his head and getting it caught with his hand. I had him in my arms, though.
A smirk formed in his lips as he pierced a stare straight into my eyes.
"Holy... are you the real Enzo?"
"The real what?"
"Just to make sure, because that friggin' horny-ass monkey conjured a nude clone of you. And it groped, fondled, and molested me all over. I almost--"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! TMI, dude. And by the way, yuck!"
"But Enzo--"
He grabbed me by my cheeks and shoved his warm lips on mine, stirring me with his distinctive tongue technique.
"Did that prove enough, huh?" he grinned.
"Just like a match that ignites the hell outta me. Enzo... Am I glad to see you!" I enclosed him with a tight embrace. "I thought I lost you, bud. I was so crushed. I...I love you. I love you, Enzo."
"I love you too, Gabe. So much." He squeaked. "But you might actually lose me if you don't let me breathe."
I let go of him, chuckling and wiping my eyes. "Sorry, dude, I got carried away."
"Wait, how did we get back in your garage?"
"Beats me."
"Gabe, look at the time."
The hands of the stained wall clock pointed at...
"Eight-fifthteen!" I hollered. "What the... Are we back in time?"
"But where's Nigel and Callid?"
Oh crap! We rushed into the house and headed straight to the living room. The game table was gone, and the center table stood back in its place.
And by it, Nigel hunched with his back on us.
"Ni...Nigel?" I called.
He turned around to face us, glaring. "We meet again, youngster."
That raspy voice...
"Oh no, it can't be. Not again!"
He dawdled over, and placed his hand on my chest. Wait a friggin' a minute--his hand glew smooth, creamy white.
"Gotcha, birthday boy!" He pushed me, laughing.
"You dumbass!" I locked him in my arms, wriggling. "You almost got me there, but... I'm glad that you're safe too."
I released him and sighed.
"Thanks to your steamy bravery. We kicked Randy's ass!" He high-fived me.
"I knew it. You were trying to fight his possession off."
"Randy possessed Nigel?" Enzo asked.
"Oh yeah, bud, and he was all-terrifying. He challenged me to a final match to get you guys back, but then I noticed that Nigel was resisting his hold."
"But man, you diced with death. How did you even know that getting yourself blown up would free me of that shit?"
"Well, he feeds on sexual desires, but there's a stronger kind of desire that outdoes it--the desire out of love. Our desire to save each other."
Yeah, that was how the battle concluded. Even before Randy blew me up, I'd already anticipated that it wasn't him who the game would declare the champion. It was Nigel.
"Pretty heroic, huh. I didn't know you guys had it in you," Enzo commended.
"But what I don't get is why are we back in time?" I asked. "Mind explaining?"
"Duh! The winner gets a wish as the prize, right? So I wished for everything to be back before all hell has broken loose."
"Ohh... dang it! We should've thought of that earlier." Enzo cringed, scratching his nape.
I bleated. "Tell me about it."
The doorbell rang, followed by knocks. Nigel rushed to get it. Callid greeted us in his same outfit, but he also had a backpack now. And even before we could speak, Nigel jumped him with a muscle hug and breathy smooch.
"Yo, the night is young again. Take it easy, boyfriend."
"Boyfriend!" Enzo and I yapped.
"I forgot to mention, guys," Nigel pulled him in by the hand with a shit-eating grin. "Meet my boyfie."
"Hey, you told me you only hang out with him." I crossed my arms.
"Yeah, but I left out the part where things got out of hand."
"Oh, more like out of pants," Enzo teased. "So how long has this been goin'?"
Callid shrugged. "A year."
Enzo and I swapped grimaces.
"A devious couple of bastards. So is this another one of your game plans?" I asked. "Wait, the game..."
We went back to the garage. In its already-abominable state, the machine was reduced to rubble. And not even a single trace of the game table emerged.
"Perky, no more, I guess. Bruh! You guys have done real shit to our nemesis," Callid squeezed in between me and Nigel, putting his arms around us.
"But how did it end up like this?" I asked. "Nigel, is there something else you're not tellin' us?"
He rolled his eyes. "Fine! After I made the wish, a massive earthquake shook the house. The game exploded, so I guess the machine also did in sync."
"So Randy is gone for good, huh? I hope the other kids are also back to where they are supposed to be." Enzo kicked a small piece of the machine.
"Well, that means we're safe. And at least I got to start my birthday celebration all over with a clean slate."
"This doesn't look clean to me, man," Nigel observed.
Yep. And how the hell was I gonna explain this mess to my parents? It reeked, all right--the smell of punishment extended to eternity. But that would be later's issue.
"Shut it, emperor! Now that the four of us are back together, I just wanna party for real."
"Four of us?" Callid tittered. "Does...Does that mean I'm part of your circle now?"
"We wouldn't be able to make it without you, bud. So from now on, we're as thick as thieves."
"Yo, hell yeah! Thicker than thick, four amigos."
We did a group hug as our cheers reverbed.
"But you're still gonna be my henchies, right?" But then he slipped that in.
I pulled away. "Not on your life, witty-ass!"
"Over my dead, sexy skater body," Enzo added.
He burst into a guffaw. "I'm just pullin' your legs, bruh!"
"But I will always be your bodyguard." Nigel gave him a back hug, leaning his chin on his shoulder.
"We'll catch up with that later, freckles. But for now, let's get in the kitchen because I got a treat for y'all."
They raced inside. I followed suit, but a crack from below stopped me. Oh, I stepped on the picture of your highness, and it split into two. Poor Randy.
I picked up one of the pieces, raising an eyebrow at it. "Serves you right. Perky, my ass!"
I smashed it on the wall, then walked inside my home.
Callid opened his backpack. Well, our bruh got each of us a wireless headphone. He even brought a portable strobe light.
"Who needs gagdets when you got the groove? Let's party!" He shouted.
We lit up the lights and blasted the music through our headphones. We danced and did the jiggling with our respective partners. Nigel with Callid, and me with Enzo.
When we got tired, we devoured the pizzas as well as the cake.
"Guess that's it. Now, my freckles and I got some unfinished smashin' business to do," Callid grabbed Nigel by the hand.
I asked, "Whoa, where are you guys goin'?"
He untied and spread open his robe, baring his dangling ding-dong before our unexpecting eyes. Holy crap!
"Bruh, this pipe ain't gonna play on its own."
"Now that's the kind of pipe I would swallow," Nigel teased. "Let's go to Gabe's bedroom."
"Hey, that's not fair!" I hollered.
"Just let them be," Enzo said in a serious tone. "Besides, I also wanna be with you alone."
He waved for me to sit with him on the island.
"So much has happened to us tonight, and I...I came to a lot of realizations. Gabe, I'm sorry, but... I don't wanna be friends with you anymore."
My heart sank to the underworld. Did I do him anything wrong for him to decide this?
"What? But Enz--"
He shushed my lips with his index finger. "Because I like us to be boyfriends, silly!"
The tears that had hung down on the edges of my eyes climbed back, and then I smacked him on the arms.
"Don't you play on me like that again! You almost gave me a heart attack."
He giggled, embracing me.
"I have loved you for a long time, Enzo." I put my face closed to his. "I'm all yours."
"Sick! So... wanna do it?"
"With pleasure. But let's do it out of passion and not out of you-know-what. And if anyone of us gets uncomfortable... any suggestions?"
"Scream, Randy?"
The duet of our laughter erupted.
"Dude, that was such a reliever. I thought I might lose it right in the middle, and I wouldn't want to be vanquished again."
I titled my head. "Well, skater boy, get ready to do the flips."
"Then dive in, swimmer."
Oh yeah! Now it was time for the second part of my party. Oops, another villain blocked my way.
"I really hate this crap." I peeled off his beanie, and rubbed his buzz. "But I love this one and its owner."
My lips caressed his forehead, going down on his own lips as I laid him on the island top. Our pieces of glory dropped around one by one, while moans and murmurs echoed.
I had been eager to have a pompous party for my first birthday as a teen, but now I had come to the truth. I already had more than I could ask for. The people who were willing to sacrifice themselves for friendship. People who loved me to the oblivion and back.
Two badass best friends and a hot boyfriend? Now that was priceless! Even a supernatural, horny-ass evil creature could not compete with that. This was the best birthday ever!
THE END