ROLLINGSTONES: Shadowplay

C i n c

The five boys were sitting at the dining table once again, trying to make sense of last night. "So we go into Bill's room, tie him up, he wakes up and then nothing. None of us remember this?" Ronnie said. They all shook their heads.

"Shit, Bill must've taken over our minds or somethin'." Keith realized.
Brian was suddenly struck with a revelation. "Do any of you notice that the demon needs eye contact in order to gain control over us? All we need to do is blindfold him when we are tying him down to do the exorcism, and then he wouldn't be able to do anything." "God, you're right— how did I not notice this sooner." Keith replied.

The Stones, or what was left of them, now had a new and improved plan, and knew a crucial part of the success of their plan. Bill and Charlie arrived for breakfast. Everyone gave them a halfhearted greeting.
"I'm going to take Charlie out to eat, so I'll be back in a while, don't do any scheming while I'm gone. Remember, I have this." Bill said, referring to the spellbook that was in his hand. He had found it again.

"I memorized the chant," Keith muttered under his breath smugly, but apparently not quiet enough for it to go unnoticed by Bill.

"Oh, you did, did you?" Bill said, and Keith reluctantly met his gaze. Bill's eyes glowed brighter, Keith realized what was happening and tried to look away but it was too late.

"Forget the chant." Bill ordered, while staring into Keith's eyes. He stared back stupidly, while the other Stones at the table looked on horrified, besides Charlie.
Then Bill snapped his fingers and Keith came out of the trance, and sat there rubbing his head, trying to remember the spell, to no avail.

"Well, we better get going." Bill said with a smile before taking Charlie by the arm and walking out of the house. "That bastard!" Keith hissed, slamming his fist down on the table. "I decided not to say anything, but, I memorized the chant too." Brian said, and everyone sighed in relief.

Mick T spoke up, which surprised the group. "Guys, since this morning I've been working on this plan that would get Bill blindfolded when he gets back from this outing." Mick T then proceeded to pull out a huge piece of paper from under the table. It was a blueprint for a sort of Home Alone-esque obstacle course that would disorient Bill and get him blindfolded, to which everyone could play their part in the exorcism. It was incredibly extra, but everyone agreed to try and pull it off.

"We only have two hours though." Mick said.

"But no one cares." Mick T replied sassily. Everyone was taken aback by Mick T's confident nature, so they got on the new plan.

Over the next two hours they were setting up the traps. There was a bucket of water hanging above the front door with a string attached to the doorknob. Bill would walk in, get water on himself and then be angry. Then he would get blindfolded by another device. Charlie would probably just stand around.

There were a host of other ridiculous traps set around the house, and each of the five had their own job to do. They had rehearsed it all over and over to hopefully pull it off. "Guys it's almost noon they'll be back soon." Mick announced. Everyone was positioned. Keith on the balcony above the main entryway, Mick clumsily carrying a bunch of essential oils and herbs, Ronnie and Mick T armed with rope, and Brian rehearsing the chant in his head and standing idle in case something were to go wrong, he'd fix it.

As everyone waited in deafening silence, the front doorknob turned. The battle had begun.