The Party Animal

To go, or not to go? The next Gathering was on in days and Julia had still not made a decision. At Carly’s insistence, she went, but when faced with the foreboding castle where the Gathering was to be held, she had second thoughts. Though not a seasoned player, she felt she had handled herself well at the first Gathering, but this, this was completely different—like a trip into fantasyland, where dreams can turn into nightmares at the touch of a whip or manacle.

Old friends, new friends, and some she might never have met, make her stay as enjoyable as the first, but a trip to the punishment room, brings a change in appearance in a frenzied attempt to escape. A proposition, not only from Carly, but others, gives Julia food for thought about her future, though she finds that in Carly she has a friend she can trust.

Her second Gathering brings Julia closer to the depravity she seeks to avoid, though the fruits of evil can be hard to resist.