I Die Often Hank

Chapter 34

Crimson's POV:

Since Charles is powerless and Hank forgot our relationship things around the school have been kind of depressing. Peter being Peter decided that he can't let that happen. So, he's bullying all of us into a game night. A power-free evening of acting like children and catching Erik cheating at everything. Peter called us all into the bomb shelter which certainly raised some alarms about what kind of games we'd be playing.

Peter instructed us all to sit in a circle on the floor and we followed his instructions. Peter dropped a deck of cards down into the circle and then he placed 8 spoons in the middle and everyone looked at him in confusion. Peter took his seat next to Jean and began his explanation. 

"Today we will be playing a game that can and will become violent rather quickly. The game is spoons. Everyone starts with 4 random cards and then I will draw from the pile and when you get a card you decide to swap it with one of yours or pass it on. When all four of your cards are the same number you can grab a spoon. Once the first spoon has been taken anyone can grab a spoon. Whoever doesn't get a spoon is out."

"How does this get violent?" Hank asked.

"You'll see!" Peter spoke.

"I'm not very good with violence," Charles whispered. 

Everyone got their four starter cards and the game began. I focused on matching my cards and occasionally glancing up to see that all the spoons were still in place. I cycled through card after card and I couldn't get my last Queen. I heard a clatter and a spoon was missing. It seems everyone else heard to and everyone reached down causing the spoons to go flying off in various directions. I quickly got up and ran towards one and I was able to secure it. I turned back and Charles and Erik were wrestling each other trying to grab the last spoon. They rolled around while we all watched. Charles lost his patience and punched Erik in the face and he grabbed the spoon while Erik was disorientated. Everyone but Erik returned to circle and we removed one spoon and let Erik hold it, you know to make him feel better. 

"Like I said things escalate very fast," Peter spoke, gesturing to Erik holding his now bloody nose.

The game picked up quickly again and three of my cards matched from the start. I cycled through cards quickly barely glancing at them long enough to tell if they had a 7 or not. Soon enough I completed my collection and I quietly slipped a spoon into a hand. No one noticed and I kept passing cards along the line. One by one people noticed and quietly slipped a spoon away. Scott was so focused on his cards he didn't even notice that all the spoons were gone. Eventually, Jean felt pity for him and told him he lost. Begrudgingly, he got up and took his pity spoon from Jean. 

A few more rounds past and soon only Charles and I were left in the game. Peter stepped in and stopped us from playing as usual. 

"The last round is special. Since there's only one spoon it wouldn't be fair to keep it in the middle. So, the rest of us will pick a special spot in the room to hide it. All the other rules are the same," Peter explained. 

Charles and I nodded in understanding. I closed my eyes and waited as several sets of footsteps moved throughout the room. After a few minutes, Peter told us we could start. We started cycling through cards and Charles got his set first and he started frantically searching. I kept going through cards and eventually got a full set. I got up and sprinted to one far wall and looked everywhere, I made my way systemically through the room while Charles bounced around like a ping pong ball. I finally saw the spoon up on one of the concrete beams in the room. Logan stood near it and a very stupid idea formed in my head. I walked right up to him. 

"Your shoelaces are untied"

Logan took the bait and bent down. I quickly stood up on his back and grabbed onto the beam before he could throw me off. I swung my legs up and slowly moved across the beam. I almost had the spoon and I reached out for it before the spoon moved just a little further away from me. Erik was buying his husband time to get up here. I got another dumb idea and I went for it. I held on tighter with my hands and let my legs drop. I swung them forward and let go of the beam. I swung forward and grabbed the spoon as I fell to the hard floor. The impact was very loud and echoed through the shelter. I held the spoon up in triumph and Charles dropped his head down.