I could not stop fidgeting. I had been sitting here for a full ten hours. The game was complicated, but it was also a bit fun, almost iconic, being here with them. Normally, I would have appreciated it.
But not now.
I could not stop thinking about it.
When the feared monster appeared in the campaign, I froze, staring at the board without blinking.
The Demogorgon was coming.
And I did not mean the game character.
"…A shadow grows on the wall behind you, swallowing you in darkness. It is almost here…" Mike narrated, his voice dropping to a dramatic whisper.
"What is it?" Will asked nervously.
"What if it is the Demogorgon?" Dustin panicked, already overthinking. "Oh Jesus, we are so screwed if it is the Demogorgon."
"It is not the Demogorgon," Lucas said in denial, refusing to believe the worst case scenario.
"An army of troglodytes charge into the chamber," Mike announced, glancing down at his notes.
"Troglodytes?" Dustin asked, suddenly relaxed now that he thought he could win.
"Told you," Lucas said with a smug expression.
Unfortunately, the relief was short lived.
"Wait a minute," Mike continued slowly, his tone shifting. "Did you hear that? That sound? Boom. Boom. Boom."
When Mike slammed his hand on the table for emphasis, I flinched and accidentally dropped my dice. My heart started racing. I was nervous, panicked, terrified, no matter how hard I tried to relax.
The sound startled me so badly that, lost in my thoughts, I genuinely believed the real Demogorgon had arrived.
Mike and Will looked at me with concern, while Lucas and Dustin were too entertained to notice. Fortunately, none of them reacted out loud and tried to continue normally.
"That did not come from the troglodytes," Mike said, his voice low and serious. "No. That came from something else."
He paused, then placed a figurine firmly onto the table.
"The Demogorgon."
I stared at it in horror. Despite its different appearance, the small figure symbolized the monster. The one I knew was real.
"We are in deep shit," Dustin declared.
"Erica, your action," Mike said, turning his attention back to the game. "Your dice fell, but it still counts. What do you do?"
He glanced at the table and frowned.
A two.
"…Run," I said quietly, forcing myself to stay calm and play along, even though I wanted to run far more than my character ever could. I was shaking, barely holding myself together.
"You try to run," Mike narrated, already sounding apologetic, "but the Demogorgon is too fast. Before you reach safety, it catches you. Boom. You die."
He then turned to the last surviving player, his voice regaining its usual urgency.
"Will, your action."
"I do not know," Will said, clearly pressured and nervous, afraid of disappointing his friends.
"Fireball him," Lucas shouted.
"I would have to roll a thirteen or higher," Will replied.
"Too risky," Dustin argued. "Cast a protection spell."
"Do not be a pussy. Fireball him."
I zoned out after that. I could not focus on this silly game anymore.
Will rolled the dice.
They fell off the table.
"Oh shit," Will exclaimed.
"Where did it go?" Lucas asked. "Where is it?"
They all stood up, searching frantically.
"I do not know," Will said.
"Is it a thirteen?" Dustin shouted.
"I do not know!"
"Where is it?"
"Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God."
"Mike!" Karen called from upstairs.
"Did you find it yet?" Lucas asked.
"No, I cannot find it," Will answered.
Then Mike went upstairs.
Lucas and Dustin immediately turned to Will, tempting him to lie. I stayed quiet, unable to bring myself to intervene any further. They were still innocent. All of them were. Just children, despite everything that was about to happen.
Since the moment I found myself in this universe, I had not been just a child like them anymore. Not only because I carried another set of memories, but because those memories had stripped me of my childhood innocence and dragged me into a world of horrors.
No. Even before that.
Since the moment I woke up in the ruins of New York, after my death in my original world, I was no longer a child.
I was a survivor wearing a child's face.
And soon, they would lose the same naivety I had. They would discover the horrors that waited beyond this room. My brother would have the same nightmares I did. The same fear that never truly left me.
I knew I could not protect him from that.
Despite being the younger sister, it was my job to protect my older brother. I had done everything in my power to ensure his survival. But I could not shield him from fear itself. He would be dragged into this whether I wanted it or not.
The door slammed open.
Mike came back inside, clearly annoyed.
"Ugh. Mom is forcing me to end the game. She says it is getting late."
"We found the dice," Lucas said quickly. "Will rolled a thirteen."
"Yes," Will said, hesitating only for a moment before going along with it.
"Five minutes," Dustin urged. "Let us kill that monster at last."
Mike did not need much convincing. He eagerly sat back at the table and resumed his role.
"After seeing all his companions die throughout this challenging journey," Mike narrated, "he is filled with grief and determined to have his revenge. To avenge his fallen friends, he casts a powerful fireball at the monster."
He leaned forward, fully immersed.
"The flames engulf it. Its screeches echo throughout the chamber. The monster is dead."
The boys held their breath.
"The last member of the adventuring party defeats the final boss," Mike continued. "The village is safe again. The treasure is revealed. All the riches he and his friends once planned to divide now lie before him."
Mike paused.
"But he cannot feel joy. The cost was far too high."
The room was completely silent.
"So when he returns to the frightened villagers and tells them the threat is gone, he donates the entire treasure in the names of his deceased friends. Then he leaves, wandering the world alone, spreading tales of their bravery wherever he goes."
Mike closed his Dungeon Master book with finality.
The boys erupted into cheers.
I did not smile.
I did not laugh.
Because the end of the game meant it was time to go home.
And the Demogorgon was waiting outside.