Novel Rules Novels & Stories

The duct tape embedded on my lips tasted bitter. The glass windows left no option for ventilation, forming sweat droplets that glued my messed hair strands into my sweaty cheek. He leaned closer and kneeled. Without saying a word, he untied only my hands' ropes, leaving my feet glued to the chair sticks. He then grabbed the silver tape without a single stutter, which burned my lips. "Listen, we will play by my rules here," he said with an unclear voice through the mask. "What do you want?!" "Rule number one, I am the only one who can speak."

[RULES OF PLAY:] [ONE: SURVIVE THE WORLD TO RIDE AGAIN. My fingers dug into the seat. [TWO: ROMANCE AND BETRAYAL ARE PERMITTED. BONUS POINTS FOR DRAMA.] A nervous laugh broke out somewhere in the back, and it immediately cut off. [THREE: NON-CONSENSUAL HARM WILL BE PUNISHED BY THE GAME.] I swallowed. “Non-consensual harm.” That… was a line. At least. A small, jagged one. [FOUR: AUDIENCE SCORES PERFORMANCE. HIGH RATINGS MAY EARN… REWARDS.]

I asked him. He shrugged. "You go first." I nodded. "You cannot add, remove or edit rules from this moment on," I reminded him and he placed his pen on the table. I smiled, satisfied, before starting to tell him my rules. "I only have five," I told him. He nodded. "I only have three."

"Wolves are scattered in every part of the country. We are located in the North. The others are in the other three directions. We call the four heavenly bodies as District." I was speechless. There's more of them and they are located in the different parts of the country! I did not expect their population to be large either. "There's no battle between the five territories here in the North but the battle from different strongholds is inevitable." "And what was those battles for?" "Lauren, if people are greedy, wolves are way greedier. We are not one of them though but the two kingdoms are thirsty in power. They want more power that's why they are invading some Districts."

I shook his hands and he gave me a curt nod. "Let's meet up later and draw up rules for this situation ship." "Rules?" I asked bewildered. "What kind of rules?" "We will have to draw up rules so that we will be able to understand ourselves and not do something that the other would not like and besides knowing you, I wouldn't want you to run away or decide that you want to back out without giving me prior warning so yes, the rules are important to keep us in place." I nodded. "Okay then."

Chandra pulled Amara away. "Stop." "Don't try to rule me, Chandra!" "Then don't do anything against my rules! Or I will shut you up." The last line she just stated served as a tranquilizer to me- it made me freeze- stopping me to eat Amara. Into the thin air, I shouted, and I growled. The nearby wolves responded, including Amara. But Chandra didn't. One thing is for sure, she isn't part of our race, and this place is not werewolves' realm. Just the parallel of my world.

Snapshots flashing in my mind. "Getting changed here," Jennifer said. "I know. I'm sorry." I slowly backed away into my bedroom, like stepping away from a gunfight. After that we had a talk. I had a little fold-out card table I used for meals, so I brought that out. We both sat there staring at our hands. "I'm sorry about before," I said, "But I think we need some ground rules. You've got to let me know when you're changing like that." "I didn't want to interrupt your call," Jennifer said.

I clenched my fists without even realizing it, thinking of how I had died in my previous life because of her. "Since Shirley was kind enough to lay it all out, I might as well be straight with you!" she shouted. "From today on, Lucy and I have nothing—absolutely nothing—to do with each other! We'll be no different than strangers." She climbed onto a chair, leaning on someone else for support as she waved her arms dramatically in the air. "Listen up, everyone! Anyone who reclaims the gift they gave Lucy will, in return, receive 5,000 dollars in cash from me!"

She now realized this game wasn't just about violating rules; it was about a terrifying transformation happening to those who defied them. Gawin looked at the giant fish tank James was standing near. He remembered James's tales of hallucinations and paranoia. He felt that what was happening to James was just the beginning of an impending disaster. "We have to find a way to help James," Gawin said. "And we have to figure out what these crazy rules are all about!" As they stood in the coral zone, Gawin's eyes caught a small sign on one of the tanks. It was old and slightly covered in moss, but the words were still legible.

His eyes lit up when I answered. "Thinking about you, Xander," I whispered. A big smile spread across his face. So you've been bad, little Sky—he whispered. We're going to set some rules, He said, and picked up a blank piece of paper along with a pen. I'll set mine and you'll set yours, okay? Excuse me, but what are the rules? I asked and he looked at me. "I want us both to have a good time, Sky and even though you're my secretary, I don't want you to feel obligated to do anything you don't want to do," he said, looking at me.