Scene 3

Hazy wisps of smoke drifted lazily around the crowded basement. Ventilation had always been poor and the room was often uncomfortably cool in the winter and warm in the summer. For that reason an assortment of mis-matched blankets and electric heaters had made their way down the creaking wooden stairs to the basement and found homes on seat backs and crammed into random corners. Fortunately, this Halloween night was comfortably pleasant outside, cool and clear with wispy clouds slowly rolling across the kind of bright, almost-full moon that lights the sidewalks for safe trick-or-treating while creating inky-black shadows that must surely be filled with clutching hands and sharp teeth, or worse.

The group of friends gathered around the coffee table in Seth's basement were perfectly comfortable, however... stoned and laughing, setting aside the ash-filled bong and reaching for the game set up and ready before them.

"It's called Downward Spiral." Seth proclaimed using his stage voice, loud without shouting, perfect for getting a chattering audience to settle down and direct their attention to the performance about the begin. He held up the game's box, made from dark wood and featuring a spiral design similar to the game board.

"That's a cool box." commented Jonesy. "You don't see a lot of wooden game boxes anymore. It must be old, but all the cards and game pieces look brand new. Whoever donated this didn't get much use out of it."

"Yes, it's very cool. I'm a savvy shopper" Seth replied with a small grin. "I was originally thinking it would make an interesting prop for Enemies Abound. You know, that scene where they visit Hannaman's Antique Store. It hardly even looks like a game. You know how most board games have a picture on the box where an implausibly happy family is playing the game with huge smiles on their faces, having a great time? This box just has that creepy spiral on top. At first I thought it was a puzzle. Now shut up and listen while I explain the rules."

"Everybody choose one of the four game pieces and place it in the starting square that's the same color.