Sunday, May 11, 2025

The Board Game: A Short Story by L.L. Hundal & Steve Miller


THE BOARD GAME
By L. L. Hundal & Steve Miller

The candles flickered in Megan's bedroom, casting long shadows across the walls. The Ouija board sat between them on the plush carpet, its wooden planchette waiting patiently for their fingertips.

"I can't believe we're doing this," Jen said, brushing some stray strands of blonde hair out of her eyes. "These things are supposed to be dangerous."

Megan rolled her eyes. "It's just a board game, Jen. Parker Brothers makes them, for God's sake. It's not like we're summoning the devil."

"Fine," Jen sighed, placing her fingertips lightly on the planchette. Megan did the same, their hands nearly touching. "What should we ask it?"

Megan's eyes glinted mischievously in the candlelight. "I know exactly what to ask." She cleared her throat dramatically. "Spirit World, we seek your wisdom. Is Jen sleeping with my boyfriend, Tyler?"

"Megan!" Jen's face flushed crimson. "What the hell?"

"What? You've been acting weird around him lately. And he's been acting weird around you." Megan's voice was light, but there was an edge to it. "Let's just see what the spirits have to say."

They watched as the planchette remained stubbornly still under their fingertips. Then, slowly, it began to move.

"I'm not moving it," Jen whispered, her eyes wide.

"Neither am I," Megan replied, her earlier bravado fading slightly.

The planchette slid deliberately across the board, stopping first on 'N', then 'O'.

Megan let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "See? The spirits confirm what I already knew. You'd never do that to me."

Jen's shoulders relaxed. "Of course I wouldn't. I can't believe you even asked that."

But before either could lift their hands, the planchette began moving again, more quickly this time, as if with purpose.

Y-O-U-T-W-O-S-H-O-U-L-D-B-E-L-O-V-E-R-S

"What?" Megan's voice cracked.

K-I-S-S-H-E-R-N-O-W

Jen's eyes met Megan's across the board, her expression unreadable in the dim light. "This is stupid. Someone's obviously messing with us."

"Yeah," Megan agreed, but neither of them moved their hands from the planchette.

D-O-I-T-N-O-W

"This is crazy," Jen whispered, but she was leaning forward slightly, her gaze dropping to Megan's lips.

"Totally crazy," Megan agreed, but she was leaning in too, drawn by something she couldn't explain—curiosity, the atmosphere, the commanding presence of whatever was moving the planchette beneath their fingers.

Their lips met hesitantly, softly. It was nothing like kissing boys—Jen's lips were softer, her approach gentler. Megan felt a strange flutter in her stomach, not unpleasant but confusing. They pulled apart after a few seconds, both breathing a little faster.

"That was..." Jen started.

"Different," Megan finished, not meeting her friend's eyes. "I don't know if I..."

"Yeah," Jen agreed quickly. "Me neither."

The planchette moved again beneath their fingers.

M-O-R-E

 ---

Meanwhile, in the fiery depths of Hell, three demons lounged around a cracked television screen, watching the scene unfold with rapt attention. Empty cans of Red Dog and Coors Light littered the floor around them, and a half-eaten pizza sat congealing on a nearby table, the cheese bubbling in the heat.

"Dude, this is working better than I thought," snickered Balphezor, a portly demon with small horns and a goatee. He crushed another beer can against his forehead and tossed it onto the growing pile. "Humans are so easy to manipulate."

"I told you the boyfriend angle would work," Asmahdeus, a lankier demon with scaled skin, said smugly. "Nothing gets humans going like jealousy and forbidden fruit."

The third demon, Malphis, belched loudly and reached for another slice of pizza. "So what do we tell them to do next? This is getting good."

Balphezor scratched his chin thoughtfully. "We could tell them to strip. That's always entertaining."

"Nah, too obvious," Asmodeus countered. "We need something more... psychologically damaging. Something that'll really mess with their friendship."

"How about we tell one of them to call the boyfriend right now?" Malphis suggested, his forked tongue flicking out to catch a string of cheese. "While they're still all hot and bothered?"

"Not bad," Balphezor nodded appreciatively. "Or we could tell them that one of them has to sacrifice something important to the other. Create some real trust issues."

"Wait, wait," Asmahdeus held up a clawed hand, his yellow eyes gleaming with malice. "I've got it. We tell them that one of them is possessed, and the only way to save her is for the other to do something really embarrassing."

"Like what?" Malphis asked, leaning forward with interest.

"Like... having a threesome with each other and the boyfriend on the church front lawn?" Balphezor suggested.

The three demons erupted in laughter, spilling beer and knocking over empty cans.

"Perfect!" Asmahdeus wheezed, wiping a tear from his eye. "And then we can—"

He was interrupted by the sound of heavy footsteps approaching. The demons froze as the door to their den swung open, revealing a much larger, more imposing demon with massive horns and glowing red eyes.

"What do you three think you're doing?" the newcomer growled.

"Just a little recreational possession, sir," Balphezor stammered. "Nothing serious."

"Unauthorized use of the Ouija network for personal entertainment?" The senior demon's voice was dangerously calm and measured. "Need I remind you that we have quarterly corruption quotas to meet? The Dark Lord doesn't look kindly on wasting resources for your amusement."

"We were just—" Malphis began.

"Save it," the senior demon cut him off. "Clean up this mess and report to soul-flaying duty immediately. And turn that thing off before you do any real damage."

As the senior demon stomped away, the three looked at each other guiltily.

"Should we at least finish this session?" Asmahdeus asked hopefully.

Balphezor sighed and reached for the remote control. "Nah, not worth getting our tails singed over. Besides, we've probably freaked them out enough for one night."

Malphis chuckled as the screen went dark. "Those girls are going to have some awkward conversations going forward."

 ---

Back in Megan's bedroom, the planchette suddenly stopped moving. The girls quickly pulled their hands away from it, as if it had burned them.

"Okay, that's enough," Megan said firmly, standing up and turning on the lights. The spell of the moment was broken, leaving them both feeling embarrassed and confused.

"Yeah," Jen agreed, avoiding eye contact. "These things are stupid anyway."

They packed up the Ouija board in awkward silence, neither quite sure what to say about what had just happened between them—or whether it had meant anything at all.

"So..." Megan finally broke the silence. "Movie?"

Jen smiled, relieved at the offer of normalcy. "Yeah. Movie sounds good."

As they settled onto Megan's bed with her laptop, carefully placed between them and so maintaining several inches of space between them. Neither noticed that, in the corner of the room, the lid of the Ouiji board’s box seemed to lift itself and slide half off on its own accord, perhaps wanting to make sure there would be another round of questions in the future.

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