More Than a Game

Mirage Olin would say that she had a decent life. She didn’t have much to complain about really. She had a nice home that she owned.

It was a small two-bedroom place, but she didn’t need much. She had a good family that she talked to regularly. Had a few nosey neighbors, but who didn’t and she had a steady job. There wasn’t anything in her world that would ever make her think of crazy things, ever make her suspect that maybe she was going to end up someplace that would change her in ways she never knew.

Her favorite holiday was Halloween, and followed a close second by Christmas. It was Halloween now and she felt excited. She was currently standing with her sister and sister’s husband. Along with her cousin Tony in line for a haunted house.

It was supposed to be good, really good, and this was a tradition that they did every year. Mirage wasn’t in a rush to go anywhere. Wasn’t looking to be married by a certain age, or to settle down yet. She had time, right?

Mirage laughed at what her cousin said, and her hair was back in a ponytail at the moment. It was a caramel color and had a silky straightness to it that was natural. A good bit of volume to it, but harder to see now that it was up in a ponytail. Her eyes were a kind of frosted green, and her sister had the same hair but darker green eyes. Their cousin had blonde hair and blue eyes. Her sister’s name was Haley and her husband Ben, he had brown hair and eyes, was a bit taller than the rest of them.

“We should do something more exotic than this when we are done,” Tony said and Mirage felt a smile. He loved this holiday as much as she did. Was a bit more into the occult side of things, but only in fun, not in reality. He didn’t practice dark arts or something. Like some weirdoes that believed such things existed in her opinion.

“Like what?” Haley asked leaning on Ben who swept an arm around her and they moved farther up the line nearly to the front. Mirage was curious to hear what he had to say because he normally had something good.

“Like a séance. Want to go to one? My friend Cora, her aunt is supposed to be this medium. Like a real one, and she always performs one on all hollows eve,” He said as he wiggled his fingers at them making a creepy voice and they laughed.

“So you want us to go and join a nut job while she pretends to commune with the dead?” Ben asked raising an eyebrow. He was the most skeptical about any of it but enjoyed going out with the others. Enjoyed a good scare like the next person.

“Yeah, well Cora says she’s the real deal. That she contacts the other side all the time, contacts other places too.” He gave them a wicked smile. “Says she can talk to demons and angels, beings from other places and they’ll give you things.”

“Really, and at what price?” Mirage asked rolling her eyes. She meant that literally and figuratively. He shrugged.

“I don’t know, I was just talking about watching her do her thing. Cora invited me. Her family does it all the time, and it’s a big thing for them I guess. They have a bunch of followers and stuff, hey if you have any dead relatives you want to talk to…” They stopped looking at the man in a skull mask that stopped them from going in.

“Cora, yeah I remember her. The one that dresses all gothic and weird like, does voodoo stuff. Yeah, I don’t care for messing with that crap,” Haley told him, and he put a hand to his chest like she wounded him.

“We don’t have to participate, just watch. Think of how awesome it would be if she could do what she says?” He told them and the man who’d stopped them moved and made a gesture for them to go into the haunted house and so they did. Their conversation about it paused for a moment as they started their walk-through.

It wasn’t a bad haunted house either, it was rather good and they all jumped at least once and laughed as well. They came out of it, and the thing with these places, you always waited longer than you were in them. Still, they felt it was a good waste of money this time. Tony immediately went back to their previous conversation once they were out.

“So, who wants to go?” Tony asked bringing them back to the conversation at the beginning of the haunted house, as they moved to their cars. Mirage shrugged.

“I’m game, why not?” She said because she was always curious about this kind of thing and she wanted to see something. It sounded exciting.

“I’ll do it if you do,” Ben said to Haley who was the only one looking a little less like she wanted to do this. Haley sighed and shrugged.

“Alright, but if this gets crazy in any way, I’m out you hear me?” They laughed and Tony gave a nod.

“I don’t think we’ll be disappointed. Besides, even if she’s completely fake and has people hose wangled, we can just have a good laugh.” They found their car and got in, Tony drove and was telling them about this Cora as they asked questions and it didn’t take that long to get there. Just on the outskirts of town.

They pulled up to an older Victorian house. There were a lot of cars parked outside already and both Ben and Haley leaned forward from the backseat to look up at it.

“Well, at least they picked an awesome house for it,” Ben commented.

“This is her aunt’s real home,” Tony said and Mirage looked at him with a crooked smile.

“You have odd friends,” she told him.

“It comes from having odd family.” She pushed at his arm as he opened the door and they got out. They were all close in age and noted that the few people they saw going up to the door looked older. As they reached the closed door Tony moved forward to knock.

The front door was solid oak and had stained glass in it. It opened and a young woman was standing there. Her hair dyed a deep black and her eyes were an odd blue that looked to be contacts to make them that defined. Almost a white blue, heavy eyeliner and makeup with a pasty complexion. Her lips were purple. She wore a black skirt with fishnet stockings and her top was a very tight corset. She couldn’t be any more goth-looking if she tried. She had several facial piercings, and in her ears as well.

“Tony,” she said with a smile that did reach her eyes, but her eyes looked devious to Mirage. Something in her instantly didn’t like this woman. She wasn’t who she presented, and Mirage was a very good people reader. Always had been, she was a good-looking woman. If she wasn’t dressed so she’d be far better looking.

“I brought some friends I hope you don’t mind. Family actually, they were curious. You said the more the merrier,” Tony said.

“I did!” She gave an almost excited pitch to her voice but still looked serious and ushered them in with a wave of her hand. “These things always go so much more smoothly and more powerfully when there are more here to add to it,” she said and they came in the front entryway and had to go immediately to the right or run into a wall.

“Uh, was there a dress code for this?” Ben asked, most of those here were dressed in mostly black. It looked almost like a funeral. There were a few others like them. Dressed in jeans and t-shirts, who also seemed to have been dragged along and were looking around at the rest like this was dumb to be here.

“Nope, you can put your jackets in the closet if you want. Otherwise, the other room here has a couch that people have been putting them on,” Cora said pushing open a door to a dark room. They told her they were fine, as they weren’t wearing anything really all that thick. She shrugged and moved before them.

“Alright, I need a piece of hair from each of you. If you want to be here, it’s required. Part of the ceremony. Can’t get what you want if you don’t also pay the price. Or offer something up,” Cora demanded.

“Oh, we don’t really need anything. We were just curious as to how this worked and whatnot,” Mirage told her and she turned her gaze on her, and looked rather snotty.

“You give me a strand of hair, or you get out.” Tony frowned at her, and the other two raised an eyebrow. “Unless you’re just too scared, seen it before. Curious just means you’re scared, and exactly why you’re stuck with nothing in this life.” Wow. What a bitch.

“You don’t look like you have all that much considering. Maybe I just don’t want to be let down.” Mirage retorted back. “Maybe I don’t want to be taken for a ride. I doubt you could give me my deepest wish nor make me rich with a strand of hair.” This woman was more than a crackpot.

“That’s because my deepest desire is to be immortal. Aging and dying isn’t worth my time. That's why I look normal. Now hair or not?” She asked holding out her hand.

“You immortal yet?” Ben asked with a smile and reached up pulling a small strand of hair from his head, and she smiled at him.

“Yes, anyone could be if they were willing to pay the price,” She told them and all of them were really thinking she was completely out of her mind. Mirage held her strand of hair and Cora had taken the others from them. She held hers out, Cora took it with a smile.

“I hope you’re picked. You wouldn’t last two minutes. All that righteous and snotty air, you’ll see though. So glad ones like you are here this year. It’s a gift year, not just hearing or seeing the future, some will be picked to prove themselves. You could only be so lucky.” Cora turned sharply.

“Help yourself to the refreshments and whatnot, mingle if you want to. We’ll start in two hours. Don’t bother leaving you’ll still be part of it regardless.” She moved away across the room and over to a rather ornate black metal cup that had candles around it and looked like it was emitting some kind of fog. She moved to it and dropped their strands of hair in. The three of them all turned and looked at Tony with really odd looks.

“What?” Tony said and sighed. “Look I told her I would come. She talked all about this and how this year was special and blah blah blah. That only every sixty-two years they get a chance to get what they most desire if chosen for the trials. It sounded cool to watch them do whatever. I really didn’t want to come alone, I mean look at her.” He was half mumbling and Ben reached over and smacked him in the head.

“If they start slicing and dicing children or something I’m out of here. This was stupid, we should have gone to a bar or something.” They laughed and Tony shrugged.

“She’s eerie.” He swallowed a bit. “She warned me off if I didn’t show up tonight. I was worried about the tires on my car. And second, so we put up with this for a few hours. We could always hope it’s true and we get what we want,” Tony said with an encouraging smile.

“How about some Advil, I think I’ll need it after this,” Mirage commented. They laughed and then moved into the room and through a few others.

They spoke to some and realized that it was a complete mix of people. Some were in their mindset. That this was just a good story to talk about later. The others were kind of crazy believing it and they had yet to see this mythical aunt. If Mirage knew what was coming, if she had known walking in this door was going to fundamentally change the core of her beliefs and the very person she was, she never would have crossed the threshold.