THE DEAD GAME -- DAY 170

The deadly games in town were further revealed. Linda and her friends weren't so sure anymore if they wanted to unveil more secrets. The town's secrets were opening a Pandora's Box of evil.

     The center platform began to turn, slowly revealing four people in hooded black robes. The stage ceased turning once the robed figures were directly facing the newcomers. In unison, they pulled back their hoods to reveal their true identities. The group was shocked to be staring at the faces of Shirley, Hank, Minnie, and Frank—people that they had assumed were their friends.

     They all seemed surprised, except for Todd, who just smiled at the new players and congratulated them on a very well-executed deception.

     Shana ran over to Sam. “Are you also with them, like Todd?”

     “Todd isn’t with them; he’s just being sarcastic.” Sam held her close.

     Todd said to Shana, “I’m not at all surprised that these human vampires are the new leaders of the militant group. I’ve eliminated all the other possibilities in town: Hayden has proven himself to be faithful to his species; Gregg, Judy, and Ryan are only followers and never would be viable leaders; Sam has always been my best friend and my most trusted ally; Reece, Leanne, and Diane are true leaders, leading vampires for centuries, never once straying from the true cause. That only leaves the four silly human vampires in town, who have overplayed their assigned roles.”

     “What do you mean they’ve overplayed their roles?” Linda asked.

     Todd said, “Once we were old enough, the elders explained to each of us what being a human vampire entailed. We’d each been given a specific role to play in society. However, in recent years, the way those four had acted out their assigned roles has seemed to be a bit over exaggerated to me. Shirley and Hank have either acted too nice or too cheerful, never showing true human emotions. On the other hand, Minnie and Frank have acted aloof and unfriendly, refusing to socialize. They don’t even have a baby, but had created an illusion of one for their cover. I’ve never understood the reasoning behind the fake baby.”

     “I do,” Linda said. “By having a crying baby, they were able to use it as an excuse from socializing with other people and a reason to stay at home all the time. I’ve always been curious about why their baby cried whenever I visited their store.”

     “I see. The crying baby forced you to leave the store, so that they would be free to play out their wicked and lewd games with the other evil vampires,” Todd said. “Now it finally makes sense.”

     Shirley abruptly rose from her chair, loudly chastising Todd. “Be quiet already! We already know who’s really in charge here, so let’s get this over with. It’s time to rid the world of all the spineless vampires and their useless human friends. Vampires should be able to rule the world without the annoyance of these unimportant groups. We’re ready to take our rightful place as conquerors of the world. If Hayden and the elders refuse to join us, then we’ll do this on our own.”