Six students gathered in front of the Sigma Epsilon Xi house. It was practically falling apart, how the old fraternity/sorority house had been left to crumble into this condition at the prestigious Pleasant Hill University no one was quite sure. Except maybe the president of the university of course.

 

It was a cold evening, everyone else had gone home for Christmas break. But not these six. They all clutched similar red envelopes with a date, place and time. Only a fool would try to skip out on this initiation, at least that's what the invitations led them to believe. Not one of them questioned why all the other new students hadn’t gotten similar envelopes. Why those six? Again, only the president knew and she probably had her reasons.

 

Tina was shivering, dressed in clothing that did little to protect her from the cold. Her long blond hair was perfectly styled but quickly gathering snowflakes. She wore something simple but fashionable, a spaghetti strap top that showed off her chest, short jean shorts and long socks. Every bit the aspiring queen of the university she tried to be.

 

Beside her was her boyfriend Brice. The tallest of the small group and the up-and-coming quarterback. Dressed as usual in his football jersey he looked surprisingly tough considering his bright blue eyes and short strawberry blond hair. He was athletic and handsome by any standard, his eyes always glued on the next trophy while he himself was a trophy on Tina’s arm.

 

Across from the pair was Rachel. Dressed in a simple skirt with her long brown hair tied back. She rubbed her arms in her large coat, her book back weighing heavily on her shoulders. She lacked the confidence of Tina or the athleticism of Brice but she had something perhaps equally important, intellect. She might not have seemed like much but already she was one of Pleasant Hill’s top students.

 

Keeping Rachel company awkwardly was Alex. They wore jeans, sneakers and a T-shirt advertising their band under a large puffy coat. They had a few classes with the others but other than a few words to Rachel they were not really friends with any of them. They were somewhat of a rebel, often skipping class and getting up to all sorts of things far more interesting than boring old school.

 

Hurrying up the sidewalk to meet the group was another familiar face. Kayla was a friend of Tina though lacked the old money, being head of the volleyball team she was good enough friends with Brice as well. She wore a plaid skirt and red top, her blond hair braided. She was very much a wild party girl, not refined enough for Tina’s taste but plenty of fun.

 

Duncan was not the last to arrive but he was the last to be noticed as he stood from under a nearby tree and approached. He wore a large purple hoodie, and a facemask and his shaggy black hair left most of him obscured. He and Alex got along well enough but while they were rebellious he simply preferred to keep to himself. He was a loner but he was most comfortable being alone.

 

“Is this everyone?” Tina huffed, trying to appear nonchalant despite her shivering body.

 

None of them had an answer.

 

“The stragglers can catch up,” Kayla grinned as she hopped up the steps.

 

“Wait it doesn't…” Rachel began to protest but before Kayla could even reach the door it opened, seemingly all by itself.

 

“Ok, what the fuck?” Alex snorted with amusement.

 

“They're just trying to freak us out, c’mon,” Brice rolled his eyes as he pushed forward and stepped into Sigma Epsilon Xi’s seemingly abandoned house.

 

They all trickled in after. Duncan was the last through. Before he could he could pull the door closed to keep the heat inside it slammed closed with such force he jumped away bumping into Alex. “Sorry,” he murmured.

 

Alex shrugged him off as they, along with everyone else, took in the house around them.

 

Someone flicked on the light switch illuminating the entryway.

 

“Whoa dude,” Brice chuckled. Whoa dude was right, the place was furnished and clean, not a speck of dust or anything out of place. Despite the outside appearance it was perfectly kept. An old Victorian mansion in mint condition. A long hallway split into rooms, a grand curving staircase leading up to the second floor. It almost seemed bigger on the inside. But that was obviously impossible. Everyone took off their coats and boots, hanging them up on the coat rack.

 

“Look,” Rachel pointed out, picking up a folded card standing up on the entryway table.

 

“What does it say?” Tina sighed.

 

“Uh… all it says is… ‘let the games begin,’” Rachel replied, nervous under Tina’s unimpressed gaze.

 

“Helooooo!” Brice called, poking his head into the adjacent room. “It’s empty,” he finally reported.

 

“Brilliant deductive skills Sherlock,” Rachel giggled before Tina’s glare silenced her.

 

“Watch your mouth you stupid cow,” Tina snapped at her. Her temper was a shock to no one. Any attack on Brice was also an attack on her and that couldn't be allowed.

 

“Don’t be a bitch, Tina,” Kayla groaned, she was not in the mood for her friend's attitude. “C’mon, there gotta be more cards or something.”

 

“Yes, Mom,” Tina huffed and stomped off.

 

“Well… that was entertaining,” Alex rolled their eyes.

 

“Oh… And thanks for your help,” Kayla said to them snarkily as she also hurried off further into the house.

 

“Man, those girls are scary,” Brice sighed, rolling out his massive shoulders.

 

“Oh don’t be a pussy,” Alex smirked, punching him in the arm.

 

“Hey, I didn’t say it was a bad thing, it's kinda hot,” Brice chuckled.

 

Alex sighed and took that as a sign to leave and go look for more cards.

 

Duncan was still doing his best impression of a chameleon, blending into the background. He decided to also go look for cards, usually, mimicking what everyone else was doing was how you semented yourself in a group after all and considering none of them knew what was in store for them some kind of bond would be good.

 

All six searched the house or began to. It didn't take long for someone to find something. Rachel called out to everyone, when everyone converged they found her in a fancy sitting room. A large table sat in the middle surrounded by couches. On it was another folded red card and a box.

 

Tina brushed past Rachel and picked up the card. “Good luck,” she read before tossing it aside and turning her attention to the box. Everyone encircled the plain shoe box.

 

“Open it,” Kayla urged.

 

Tina scoffed at her enthusiasm but opened the shoe box. A crack of thunder echoed through the house startling everyone. A strange occurrence considering it was December, it wasn't the season for lightning.

 

Inside the box were several objects. A large deck of cards with plain red backs, a folded-up game board, a set of dice and six small figurines. It was some kind of board game.

 

Kayla picked up one of the figurines and held it up to the light. The small metal thing was the size of a finger but it was recognizable. It was her, exactly her, down to the clothes she was wearing.

 

“Okay, creepy,” she laughed nervously.

 

“How the hell,” Alex murdered, picking up their figurine.

 

“Mine don't even look like me,” Tina snorted, examining hers.

 

“I don’t like this,” Rachel offered.

 

“I don’t know, I like mine. They even got the hair right,” Brice grinned lopsidedly.

 

“It’s… definitely weird,” Duncan offered, finally piping up.

 

“Are we supposed to play a stupid board game? I didn’t come here for this,” Tina huffed.

 

Kayla shrugged and took out the deck of cards along with the dice and game board. At the bottom was one last card.

 

“The rules are simple,” Rachel read, picking it up. “‘Everyone shuffle and draw a card, then set up the board and roll your way to… orgasm. The one with the most… points at the end uh… gets a special prize…’ What?!”

 

“Have you forgotten how to read,” Tina snapped, snatching it from her. “Oh my god… it really actually says that. What the fuck. What kind of pervy shit is this?”

 

None of them had an answer.

 

“I don’t care what the ‘repercussions’ are, I’m outta here. Let’s go, Brice,” Tina scoffed and spun on her heels. Brice shrugged to the others and hurried after her.

 

“Well… this is the weirdest hazing I’ve ever heard of,” Alex laughed.

 

“I’m down to play a board game as long as there's booze,” Kayla shrugged.

 

“But… it sounds like a… sex thing,” Rachel winced as if the idea caused her physical pain.

 

“What's on your mind, Duncan?” Alex asked, focusing the attention on him.

 

“Uh…” he blinked. “I guess I’m fine with whatever.”

 

Alex bit back a laugh at his terrible answer.

 

They were interrupted by Tina’s loud cursing. “The fucking door won't open!”

 

The others hurried out to see what was going on. They discovered Tina almost cartoonishly using her whole body weight to try and pull the door open as Brice stood there awkwardly.

 

“Let me try,” Brice offered. He had no better luck. None who tried had any better luck. The handle wouldn't even turn. It didn't even jiggle. It wasn’t simply jammed, it was as if the door no longer existed despite it very clearly being there.

 

“Fuck this, fuck your fucking house,” Tina growled. Grabbing a chair before tossing it at one of the large windows with all her might.

 

“Oh my god don't–” Kayla began.

 

“Jesus,” Alex yelped, hopping out of the way just in case.

 

The chair sailed through the air before colliding into the window and…. Bounced off totally harmlessly. Landing on the floor on all four legs. The window didn't even have a scratch.

 

“Uhhh what?” Brice asked, looking around confused.

 

Everyone wore the same expressions of confusion on their faces. It was like the window had absorbed the throw entirely and set the chair down gently. It made absolutely no sense.

 

“Maybe there's another door,” Kayla offered with a nervous shrug.

 

Brice picked up the chair and swung at the window with all his force. However the momentum seemed to drain from his swing, the end of the chair simply tapping the window with a small thunk.

 

“We're trapped,” Rachel shuddered. “It's like… it's like something isn't letting us leave.”

 

“That's ridiculous,” Alex rolled their eyes.

 

“How do you explain this then?” Rachel puffed up.

 

“I can’t,” Alex replied.

 

The group was totally at a loss for what to do. Kayla soon stalked off to the kitchen in the hope of something to eat. What she found outshone her wildest dreams. A massive pantry packed with every snack she could imagine. A fridge full of drinks, pop and beer, meats and cheeses. The house was outfitted for the biggest party Kayla could ever imagine. “Holy shit guys!” she called to the others, grabbing a beer and a bag of chips.

 

The others had a variety of reactions. Tina didn't care, still freaking out about the fact they were trapped. The beer got Brice’s attention and the snacks got Alex’s. Rachel and Duncan were harder to read.

 

“Calm down babe,” Brice pleaded, offering Tina beer.

 

“I’m not fucking going to calm down, we're trapped in a house with an immovable door and invincible windows!”

 

“Someone will come looking,” Rachel offered hesitantly. “Almost everyone has gone home but I’m sure some people are keeping an eye on the campus and with the lights on here someone is bound to notice.”

 

“Sure,” Kayla nodded, very much liking that idea. “In the meantime, we can just pretend we're having a wild sleepover. We can get shitfaced and bitch about our problems. There are cups in the cupboard we can put our phones in to play music.”

 

“You morons, phones!” Tina seethed, pulling out her own phone. As if she hadn’t also overlooked calling someone. “There's… no service?! We're in the middle of the city!”

 

Everyone checked their phones. Regardless of type or provider none of them could contact the outside world. They were well and truly trapped.

 

“What do we do?” Tina whined.

 

“There’s only one thing we can do,” Duncan spoke up with a thoughtful expression. “Play the game.”