SPIDERS: It's not a game.

[Freeky]

Not that I think it's trip or anything, but I didn't get voted for. Or maybe i did, just not by storebrand.

[LMNO]

You are correct.  I was a bit hasty with my notes.

EoC - 2
Trip Zero - 1
TGG - 1

Abstain - 2

Not voted:

Rumckle
That Green Gentleman


...THIS IS WHY WE KEEP A RUNNING TALLY WITH EVERY VOTE, PEOPLE.

[Doktor Howl]

You are correct.  I was a bit hasty with my notes.

EoC - 2
Trip Zero - 1
TGG - 1

Abstain - 2

Not voted:

Rumckle
That Green Gentleman


...THIS IS WHY WE KEEP A RUNNING TALLY WITH EVERY VOTE, PEOPLE.

Doesn't matter.  The gutless abstainers have doomed everyone. 

[Freeky]

Meh, I don't think we're DOOMED, as such, but tthe chances of us winning are slimming down. I hope the abstainers come around, because it IS in our best interest to cut down on who it could be as far as who the spider is.

[Storebrand]

Thanks, Freeky but I'm switching my vote to EOC

EoC - 3
TGG - 1

Abstain - 2

Not voted:

Rumckle
That Green Gentleman

[Doktor Howl]

Meh, I don't think we're DOOMED, as such, but tthe chances of us winning are slimming down. I hope the abstainers come around, because it IS in our best interest to cut down on who it could be as far as who the spider is.

DOOOOOOOOOOOM!

[LMNO]

VOTING IS NOW CLOSED.

[Doktor Howl]

Everyone's getting eaten.   

[LMNO]

The group eyed each other nervously.  Their number had diminished significantly, and they were nervous and unsure of what to do.  They could feel the empty presence of the departed all around them.  They were driven into indecision.

No one was Put On A Bus.

________________________________________________________________

Rain.  Grey, cold, penetrating rain.  It was the kind of weather that makes a person want to crawl back under the covers and sleep for the rest of the day.  Storebrand was that kind of person.  Putting her head under the pillow, she tried to block out the sounds of the morning commute.  

She knew that any moment she'd start feeling the inevitable guilt about skipping work.  It always crept up on her, like a heavy weight on her chest.  She always wondered where this dedication to her job came from.  In school, her work ethic left much to be desired, and a streak of anti-authoritarianism made it hard for her to get a job when she left college.  It probably cam from those years when I was living on Ramen noodles and cheap beer, she thought.  That'll make anyone think twice about holding on to a paycheck..

Ah, there it was, the tickle of guilt that starts in the gut, and spreads.  A heavy pressure eased its way across her body.  With a groan, Storebrand tried once more to avoid the facts and escape into her bed.  Hell, maybe she should just play hooky today, skip work and just go where her feet took over. She rolled onto her right side... Maybe five more minutes?  

Or at least, she attempted to roll over.  Snapping awake, she suddenly realized that there was an actual physical pressure on top of her.  With the pillow over her face, she couldn't see what was going on, and began to panic.  A pair of hands held the pillow fast, and Storebrand felt another pair of hands circle her throat.  They tightened, but didn't squeeze.  It was as if they were searching for something.  

The hands dropped to her shoulders, and Storebrand was roughly flipped over onto her stomach.  She heard a voice hiss, "It's time to go to work!  Working is better than sleeping!" as a rough and sticky rope was wrapped around her neck.  It began to tighten slowly, and as she started losing consciousness, the hands began to pull and tear at her pajamas.  She couldn't move, couldn't breathe, and then, with a forceful shove, she could feel—

Storebrand woke with a startled, choked scream.  She was alone.  She raised a hand to her throat, but there was nothing wrapped around it.  She stumbled out of bed, shuffled into the bathroom, stared in the mirror.  Half-asleep eyes gazed back. Her head felt like it was stuffed with cotton.  Work.  Have to go to work, she thought as she wandered back to her bedroom closet and tugged at the door.  She shrugged out of her nightshirt, and began getting dressed.  There was a long day ahead of her, and another one after that.  As she thought about her future, endlessly cut into eight-hour increments, she idly scratched at the back of her neck.

There, in the hairline, were two small bumps.  They itched now, but that would soon fade, just like everything else.

Storebrand has been subsumed.

_____________________________________________________________

"Marvin!"

"Hey there, Bob."

"You got a minute?  Want to get a drink?"

"Sure thing.  There's a bar just around the corner."  

They entered a dimply lit pub, decorated by dozens of mirrors hung on the walls.  Bob grinned at the sight of his reflection bouncing around the room.  "This place is cool!  How come I never heard of it before?"

"It tries to keep itself under the radar.  You know, for the coolness factor."

"Awesome!  Listen, the other night I was playing poker with Jack, and—"

"Hold on a second.  You want a drink first?"

"Yeah, ok."  

Marvin gestured to the spindly bartender, who poured out two small glasses of whiskey.  He passed one over to Bob, and bowed his head.  "Cheers."  With a gulp, they downed the liquor.  Bob shook his head.  "Whoa.  That was rough."

"It gets better the more you go.  Have another."  The glass was immediately filled again.  Before he knew what was happening, Bob had another shot down his gullet.  He looked around the bar, and the reflections weren't as funny anymore.  He and Marvin were duplicated all across the bar, dozens of times.  Dozens of heads.  Dozens of... arms... Why does it look like Marvin has more than one. pair. of.  Oh, shit.

Marvin leaned in close, his black eyes shining bright.  "Here.  Have another."


A Discordian tried to convert the Spider, failed, and was subsumed.  Freeky is out of the game.

[LMNO]

ROUND 8 HAS BEGUN.

Voting will not begin until all remaining citizens have posted.

Votes needed to Put someone On a Bus: 4 (6/2=3+1=4)

[Freeky]

FOUND YOU, YOU BASTARD! TGG IS THE SPIDER. E/O/S

[Eater of Clowns]

Oh.

I vote TGG.

[Don Coyote]

FOUND YOU, YOU BASTARD! TGG IS THE SPIDER. E/O/S

Wow, rough way to find out.

[Freeky]

FOUND YOU, YOU BASTARD! TGG IS THE SPIDER. E/O/S

Wow, rough way to find out.

All for the cause.

[Storebrand]

Oh, damn.  And part of that scene was disturbingly sexy.