That Dante guy was too much of a pussy to write about it or maybe the government had burned that part of the book to make sure high schoolers wouldn’t piss themselves in fear while trying to pass an English class.
Every game night went through the same motions:
First, someone who had never experienced it before would hear part of a horror story that was one of the previous nights.
Then Caboose would ask about it.
Shortly after, the dumbfuck who heard about it would plan another one against all warnings from those who participated previously. They all went about it differently, Tex threatened, Doc whined, Sister just set it up at the dining room table and refused everyone food until they participated, even Junior had done it once by taking out a board and crying (ie. Screeching until your ears bled) until they played.
Wash was smart enough to recognize the haunted looks of all those who mentioned it, but Carolina was a bit too much like her mother.
'Team Building' is what she had phrased it as.
They only agreed because it was either this or trust falls and there was no way in hell that any of them would ever trust Caboose to remember to catch them. (Oh, he’d try hard, but Caboose is the only person Church knew that could misjudge distances at less than a yard away.)
So the monopoly board came out.
Church would say that he heard Wash’s gulp when the soldier saw the bloodstains, but that would be a lie because all he was hearing was another repetition.
“What is Game Night?”
“It’s what we’re fucking doing, alright? Now shut up, man!”
Church may have limited himself to one verbal explosion for every third time that question was asked, but it looks like Tucker hasn’t quite learned that much restraint.
It took about an hour for the mood around the table to enter the second phase, from reluctance to tedium. Caboose seemed to have the benefit of being able to wipe these traumas from his brain, though that might be what is causing the constant questioning, and Tucker was probably watching porn inside his helmet, but Church had to sit through it all and wait for the inevitable.
Three hours in the accusations began, the little trades and bargains those around the board had been making took a heated and personal edge.
Four hours and only Church had been smart enough to file for bankruptcy. Tucker had formed an uneasy alliance with Carolina to try and work Caboose out of the game while Wash ignored them and tried to place as many motels and hotels on his sparse properties. Caboose just kept rolling the dice and cheerfully handing out money when asked to.
The sixth hour is where it finally broke down. Tucker inherited Wash’s property as the other finally bowed out, opting to just hand over his land to someone he liked rather than make them pay off the mortgages he would have had to get when he landed on Boardwalk. It was the death knell of the Teal Alliance as Tucker refused to share the spoils. Impressively, a whole five minutes passed before game pieces went flying.
Wash ran for cover as Tucker’s sword flared to life.
A single tear escaped Church’s nonexistent eye as the board was sliced in half and his euphoria over never having to play the game again only increased as the heat of the sword lit it on fire.
Caboose looked up from where he had been counting his thousands of fake dollars.
“What is Game Night?”
“I don’t know, buddy. I don’t think anyone ever knew. But it’s over now.”
Caboose nodded. The topic was never brought up again.
