2013-01-10

To his left Garbonz Franklin saw several flying daggers targeting his torso. To his right was a refrigerator sized shambling long-limbed monstrosity from beyond the void of time and space. In front of him a colossal festering quagmire of jet colored amoebic protoplasm which had battered down the front door and filled the front foyer. Above him strange insect-like creatures with multi-hued cauliflower heads buzzed and droned and flashed in macabre and arcane rhythms. Behind him and up the stairs lay his only clear path. His companions had left him behind, thinking to make him fodder to ilk beyond the ken of sane men. Little did they know he had planned the opposite for them. Staring at the clock on the wall, its hands frozen in time by his will, he thought he could do a lot in the next 93 seconds of time he had.

            With a wave of his left hand he drew strange arcane patterns that he had learned from the strange men of a certain foreign land. The men whose clothes no one made nor knew the material from which they were sown or the techniques which produced no seams. As he completes the sign a two meter long rift appears in the fabric of time as he pulls forth an infinite spell staff—

            “HOLD THE PHONE!!! STOP THE MUSIC!” Mike yelled as he stood up and waved his hand like a pro-sport official calling a penalty. His face was red and he was breathing heavily as he stared across the basement table.

            “What?” said Kevin. Looking down he rolled some dice then ran his finger along the back of his gamemaster screen. “Garbonz uses his staff and calls forth a—”

            “What part of stop wasn’t clear? This is exactly why I say we need to rotate who is our GM. With you it might as well be ‘God Master’ instead of gamemaster.” Mike was starting to sweat now, his breathing becoming labored. He fumbled around in his pocket and pulled out his inhaler. Two puffs later and he felt the welcomed sensation of full lungs of oxygen. He really hated that his mom always made him carry his inhaler but he was glad he had it now. “Dammit Kevin! Do you see what you’ve done? I haven’t had an asthma attack in almost two years—and the last time it was because I had a sinus infection!”

            “Why are you so upset,” Kevin asked with a disturbingly legitimate innocence.

             “GRRRR! I…I can’t even get upset.” Mike threw up his hands and looked over at Paul. “You try explaining it, I don’t want to get upset again.” With that he sat down, resting his elbows on the table and his head in his hands.

            “You see Kevin, the thing… we think that, um…”Paul looked across the table at Kevin, then to his right to Steve who just shrugged, made a motion across his neck, and pointed to himself. Guess it was just him. “Um you kinda cheat when you are GM.”

            There was silence for several minutes as Kevin looked around, a series of expressions crossing his face. He then started talking again.

            “Garbonz summons forth fiery minions from the star—”

            “Next week at my house?” asked Mike.

            “Deal,” said Paul, with Steve nodding silently in agreement.

And Kevin kept talking.