Stories to Tell in the Dark

Charlie Charlie

There's been a game circling around my school named "The Charlie Charlie Challenge". The basic principle of the game was on a piece of paper, draw intersecting lines with "YES" and "NO" on either side. Balance two pencils and ask a yes/no question to "Charlie" and you should get your answer. We all thought the game was a bit ridiculous, sure, but it was something to pass the time.

My friend Cassadee who sat beside me always believed in this type of thing. She played games like Bloody Mary, Light as a feather, and she believed it all. I, on the other hand, didn't.

There was about 5 of us gathered around the lunch table, myself included, all huddled around the piece of paper on the table. It was a fairly small group and before Casadee began, I stopped her.

"I wanna look around before we start."

"Miey'a, it's just a game. There's nothing to look for."

But there was. I knew with these types of games that it was so easy to manipulate. I knew the tricks to the games Cassadee played but I never brought it to myself to tell her. With Bloody Mary, the darkness distorts your face, With light as a feather it's just weight distribution. There's a trick to those, there has to be a trick to this. Suppose an air vent blowing on the pencils? Maybe a window with some breeze? I looked around the cafeteria, up and down, and found nothing. I walked back to my table to find everyone holding hands around the "board".

"What are you doing?" I asked. I found this step a bit unnecessary but hey, whatever floats her boat.

"We have to hold hands or it won't work."

Cassadee was very serious about this game I could tell. She stared at me as an opening in the circle was made, I could only assume the spot was for me. It was a spot next to Cassadee and my other friend Kayla. She gave a quiet hi and I just smiled, I can tell she was scared. She was like Cassadee. She always believed in these things but when it came down to doing them, she never did.

As soon as we all started I stopped them once again. "Before we start, everyone here has to promise one thing." I could tell that everyone wanted me to hurry up so I got to the point. "I need everyone here to promise that try won't breath or blow directly on the game board." I stared around the circle watching everyone as they mumbled "I promise."

"Are you done?" Cassadee asked me. She was becoming irritated by my constant stopping so I nodded and let her continue.

"Thank you. Now, let's go over some rules of the game. One, do not provoke Charlie." (we all jumped on her sharp emphasis of the word "not".) "Rule number two. Do not ask a question that doesn't have a yes or no answer. Rule 3, take the game seriously. This is a dead boy not your best friend. No jokes."  Everyone looked around at each other as she went on about the rules. I rolled my eyes. This whole setup for a silly game. "Three. Never let go of each other's hands." this wasn't a problem. Cassadee and I had a firm grasp. And I'm sure Kayla had probably broken a few bones in my hand somewhere. "And for the most important rule," she concluded, "always ask 'Charlie Charlie can we stop?' when we are finished. We must then drop a pencil on the floor to break contact. I'll be the main speaker. then once we contact him, we'll go in a counterclockwise order asking yes or no questions. Got it?" everyone nodded their heads quietly as she took a deep breath, and began.

"Charlie, Charlie, are you there?" There was a pause. "Charlie, Charlie, are you t—" The pencil swiftly moved to yes, and there was a quiet gasp and a few murmurs coming from the group. Cassadee smiled and faced me in an "I told you so" way. Even I was pretty impressed. "I'll start" She whispered. "Charlie, Charlie, were you murdered?"  Cassadee looked around the group as the pencil moved to the yes on the other side of the paper. Kayla freaked out but Cassadee gestured to the boy next to her. I didn't pay attention to who exactly asked the questions. But it went down the line.

"Charlie, Charlie, are you dangerous?" the answer to that was no.

"Charlie, Charlie..." The girl paused. "Are you sure?" she laughed at her joke but was quickly cut off by the group glaring at her. The pencil remained at no.

It was now Kayla's turn. She was about to break down. She feared the game. But she feared what would happen more if she didn't play.

"C-Charlie, Charlie... are..." She obviously couldn't think of a question. The whole group stared at her and I could feel her sweaty hands. I don't blame her. What kind of questions would you ask a demon boy? But she finally found a question to ask "are... you... a young boy?" there was an instant sigh of relief from her. The pencil moved to yes but not before a long pause. Almost as if Charlie him self asked "What's wrong with you?"

And with the conclusion of her turn began mine. I had my question. Unlike Kayla, I'd been thinking of a question since the beginning. So I calmly asked "Charlie, Charlie, are you even real?" I knew the answer. Of course I knew. The game was fake there's just no logic. But the pencil remained on yes. Cassadee shook her head as if she knew I just did something wrong.

"Charlie, Charlie, can we stop?"

the pointer swiftly pointed to no and Cassadee snapped at me. "This is your fault! You went and asked a demon if he was real? what's wrong with you! We can't leave until he says yes. You need to apologize."

"No."

"...No? You're gonna make everyone suffer!" She squeezed my hand hard. I let go of everyone's hands.

"Oh yeah?
This game is fake. It's all fake." I stood up. "Goodbye, Charlie." I picked the main pencil up and dropped it on the ground. Everyone sat in disbelief. "You all can let go now. The game has been ended." everyone let go of each other's hands and stood up. Cassadee walked to the trash can behind us, shred up the paper, and threw all the materials that we used away. She turned around and paused.

"Miey'a?" We all turned our heads toward her. "What's on your back?" Immediately Kayla lifted up the back of my shirt
to reveal scratch marks on my back. Cassadee gasped and covered her mouth in shock. Kayla put my shirt down and everyone backed up. the scratches drew blood and it stained my shirt leaving the same print the claw marks made. It didn't hurt. It didn't sting, it was just there. We all huddled in a group and they made sure my back wasn't visible to everyone else in the cafeteria. It's not like they'd see. If you looked around you'd see dozens of small groups playing their own versions of the game, they were much too distracted. Cassadee gave me her hoodie and she promised to meet with me at the end of the day.

During dismissal, She walked up to me and asked for he jacket back. I gave it to her and we hurried outside to catch our bus. But before that she pulled me aside.

"Let me see those scratch marks again, Miey'a."

I pulled up the back of my shirt and turned my head to Cassadee.

"Everything okay...?"

"There's nothing there."

"What?" I pulled away from her and pulled my shirt down, turning around.

"There is nothing on your back. no scratches, no scars, no blood, it's not even red."

I sat there, trying to think of a logical explanation. I couldn't. Cassadee had run off to go catch her bus so I didn't get to talk to her after that.

We all saw each other in the halls but none of us really spoke after. And if they did they certainly never included me. I noticed that Kayla's definitely been scarred for life but Cassadee just goes in like nothing happened.

So try the game, why don't you? Just don't provoke him, and don't leave until he says you can.

(Hey guys this story is dedicated and inspired by our follower of the week, @LittleFighterxo ! :D)