"And suddenly, before he knew it, he was the only one left standing. The blood curdling screams died down and the only thing he could hear was his own shallow breathing, which echoed through the empty kitchen." Nevada leaned forward into the circle to emphasize her words.

Elaine sqeezed the soft pillow in her lap, drawing her knees closer. She had an interested smile on her face but the slight twinkle in her eyes showed she was absolutely terrified by the story.

"The cries of the creature gradually overcame the man's breathing as the creature drew closer and closer to his hiding spot. The man snatched a knife from the counter and poised it towards the cries. An overpowering stench wafted in the air and the man felt the shadow of the spirit loom over him." Nevada's dramatic retelling and carefully placed sound effects sent even herself on the edge.

"And then," she whispered. "The man slowly lifted the knife and aimed it with his shaking hand. BAM!" she called out, slapping her hands on the ground in front of Marcus, causing him to jump.

"That'll teach you to get your nose out of your cell phone when I'm telling a story," Nevada smiled cruely.

She was thoroughly enjoying this and loved scaring the crap out of everyone. Nevada turned her eyes to Elaine, watching as Elaine's deep brown eyes widened slightly in anticipation. But Nevada couldn't care less about her anticipation, because she was discreetly watching Martinus, who was silently looming in the shadows behind Elaine.

"The 'bam' was the sound of the metal knife blade making contact with the tiled floor. The sound sent the man's heart racing harder then ever before. And then, for the first time, he saw it, standing on the otherside of the island. It wasn't an 'it' at all, but a her. Her long, flowing hair seemed to float around her utterly pale skin like water flows around moving boat. If he hadn't been so terrified, he might have thought she was beautiful."

Elaine leaned in a bit as Nevada did the same. The two met eyes and Nevada could see Martinus moving in from behind, like a shark circling its prey. She could barely keep a straight, innocent face as she thought about how Elaine would jump after this next scare.

"She slowly crept towards him, her black eyes seeming to look at everything and nothing at the same time.

'Please, don't hurt me.' He pleaded.

She didn't reply, but instead, reached out her long, slender hands and she seemed completely harmless for a moment."

Nevada went silent, and lowered her eyes to the ground, hiding her face with her baseball cap bill. It seemed dramtic and well placed, but truly she was just struggling to hold in her laughter.

"Suddenly," Nevada said slowly, pausing. "She moved closer to him, going to where he couldn't see her face in order to hide her KILL!!!"

At the word "kill" Martinus grabbed Elaine's shoulders and made a horrid screeching noise. Elaine jumped like a rocket and stood off the ground screaming at the top of her lungs. Marcus burst out lauging and Nevada collapsed to the ground, laughing so hard no sound came out.

"OH MY GOD, MARTINUS!" Elaine cried out, throwing the pillow as hard as she could at his head. "YOU ARE IN A LOT OF TROUBLE, YOUNG MAN!"

Martinus watched Elaine jump off the couch she had leaped onto from fear, laughing as she came over to him and slapped him again with the pillow. Martinus slowly lowered himself to the couch behind him, laughing so hard as Elaine stood in front of him, glaring with her now harsh eyes.

"Elaine!" Nevada gasped out. "You jumped SO HIGH!"

"Shut up, Nevada! You're next!" Elaine said over her shoulder, giving Martinus another smack with the plushy pillow.

"I-I'm sorry!" Martinus barely got out between laughs.

"Liar!" Elaine exclaimed, still glaring, but as she watched his adorable laugh her face became softer.

Martinus cleared his throat and forced himself to stop laughing. He stared at the floor trying to compose himself. When he wiped the laugh off his face he looked up at Elaine, who's sterness was melting more every second. He gave her very innocent puppy dog eyes and said, "I'm really sorry, babe. Please forgive me."

But as soon as the apology was out of his mouth, a dorky smile crossed his lips and he couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Martinus!" Elaine cried, smiling herself this time and giving him another good smack with his pillow.