I should have known better than to buy that old card game at the thrift store. The box was dusty, the cards were worn, and there was a faint smell of mildew that lingered in the air. But for some reason, I was drawn to it. Maybe it was the vintage design or the promise of a new game to play with my friends.
At first, everything was normal. We gathered around my dining room table, shuffling the deck and trying to make sense of the instructions. The game was called “Mind Bank,” which seemed like a fitting name for a group of college kids looking for a good time.
As we played, I noticed something strange. My friends seemed to be acting differently. They were more agreeable, more willing to do whatever I suggested. It was almost as if the game had some kind of power over them.
I brushed it off as my imagination and kept playing, enjoying the rush of control I had over my friends. But then things started to get dark.
I started making a girl I had a crush on play the game with me. I’d convince her to come over and we’d spend hours playing, laughing, and sometimes drinking. But then I started to use the game to get what I wanted. I’d make her kiss me, hold my hand, even sleep with me. And she’d do it all without question.
I knew it was wrong. I knew I was taking advantage of her. But I convinced myself that I was doing it out of love. That she just didn’t realize how much she wanted me yet, she just needed help to see the good in me.
And then one day, everything changed. I received a note from her, slipped under my door in the dead of night. It was short, but it sent shivers down my spine.
“Help me. Set me free.”
I didn’t know what to do. I thought the game was harmless, just a silly way to pass the time. But now I realized that it had a darker side. That it could be used to manipulate people into doing things they didn’t want to do.
And then I started to wonder. If my friends were acting strangely, what else were they capable of? Were they even human anymore, or had the game turned them into something else entirely?
I tried to throw the game away, but it always seemed to find its way back to me. And then I realized something even more terrifying. I didn’t want to let it go. I liked the power it gave me. The feeling of control over my friends and my love interest.
So I made a decision. I would keep playing, keep manipulating, keep controlling. As long as I forced them to keep their mouths shut, no one would ever know. And if someone did find out, well, maybe they’d be keen to talk about it over a game of cards…