Interactive Story - The Humiliation Games - Part 5 (Patreon)

“Oh, Grant, you absolute pervert,” Esteban chuckled as he flounced back onto the stage with a flourish. “Did we enjoy that, demons and gentlemen?” he asked, raising a hand to signal a response.

The crowd happily expressed their delight at the show with cheers and applause which quickly died back down as Esteban lowered his arm.

“Well there we have it. Opening shots from both teams and, dare I say, we’re off to a strong start!” Esteban said with a smile and gentle nod. “Needless to say, out most terrifying and glorious host is undoubtedly entertained. Am I right?”

As Esteban looked to The Terror, still sat in the centre of the room watching the show unfold, the rest of the audience looked round at him. The innocuous but somehow fear-invoking figure had barely moved since appearing, his cold steely gaze fixed on the stag and he remained just as motionless at Esteban’s comment, save for a single eyebrow raise.

“Ugh, high praise indeed,” Esteban smirked. “Anyway, on we go with round three which brings us back to Team Faularry, so Master Ezekiel, Gokothon, Tharukan and Zorren, this one’s for you! Bring on victim number three!” As he heard a cough from off-stage, he let out a frustrated sigh and corrected himself, “I mean… volunteer number three!”

The audience knew the routine by now as their eyes raised to the screen a moment before it changed to show the next unwitting human. The young man who appeared was a tall, slender figure with bright blonde hair and a contagious smile. While the live feed of him showed him dressed in a shirt and jeans, the profile pictures showed him in some of his selfies sporting a little less, revealing a narrow waist and broad chest. His blue eyes and full lips made for a truly beautiful face.

Volunteer Profile Reference HG242-03 - Jackson Morris

“It is my pleasure to present to you Jackson Morris, a nineteen-year-old from Bristol. Jackson, also known as Jack, Jax or sometimes Jacky, is a University student studying graphic design. Jackson describes himself as a ‘twunk’,” Esteban explained, then paused to look round at the demons on stage and said, “That’s a portmanteau of twink and hunk for those of you behind on your human vernacular.”

The audience laughed as the demons either chuckled or growled.

“But Jackson also describes himself as ‘the hottest guy on campus’, ‘the most talented artist’ and ‘generally just better than you’, which is certainly a lot of ways of saying, ‘I’m a dick’!” Esteban went on, getting more laughs. “Jackson is exceptionally promiscuous, having no problem picking a guy whenever he wants, and even the occasional girl, though many suspect that is simply to prove he can get with anyone he wants.”

“Ugh,” Zorren grunted from his side of the stage, “It’s only fun when they’re nice people. This one sounds awful… I love him!”

“Look on the bright side” Tharukan whispered back, “If he’s that bad, the people around him’ll jump at the chance to humiliate him. It’s less fun but it’s an easy win with The Terror!”

“Praise be unto him!” Zorren replied instantly, then smirked and added, “Sorry, habit!”

“Jackson is a popular young man,” Esteban continued, “With a wide circle of friends, though he tends to keep his graphic design friends, dorm friends and gym friends separate, so you likely have a choice of targets for his humiliation. Anyway, more information will be provided to Team Faularry, whose consultation time starts now!”

The usual timer appeared on screen and Master Ezekiel quickly gathered his three demonic advisors to begin their discussions.

Across the stage, Team Trauxity gathered closer, speculating about the newest volunteer and his imminent humiliation. “No point missing an opportunity,” Master Sebastian said with a smile. “What would you all suggest for this one?”

Buth’Taloz shook his as he glanced up at the info on screen. “I don’t know, this’d be a tough one for me. Hard to harm the reputation of someone whose reputation is being a slutty arsehole… literally and figuratively!”

“Kinda the opposite for me,” Dazallan replied. “When everyone thinks you’re hot but hates you, it makes things potentially too easy!”

“Dave? Master Sebastian prompted.

The human-looking demon just looked at his teammates and smiled without saying a word.

Jackson Cooper - Profile Photo ref HG242-03-2

The timer ticked down quickly as the audience also chatted away quietly, discussing a mix of the previous humiliations and the one they were about to witness. As the timer hit zero, Esteban prompted the leader of Team Faularry to step forward.

Master Ezekiel gave a polite bow to The Terror, then said, “This time we’ll be starting with Zorren Zorrenoskiwicz, master of probability!”

The demon stepped forward from his throne to polite gentle applause. “I’m sure those of you familiar with my work will not be surprised to learn my suggestion involves what can only be described as ‘a series of unfortunate events’. I wouldn’t want spoil what they are or how they get there, but it would result in Jackson exposed and humiliated in front of a group of medical students at his University,” Zorren explained.

The audience muttered and oohed at the suggestion. Zorren was indeed well-known amongst the regulars at the games and he specialised in taking the most ludicrous, seemingly unlikely or impossible scenarios and manipulating them into reality. Unlike some of the other demons who could literally alter reality or make things happen beyond normal reality, Zorren could only manipulate the odds, bringing about the truly ludicrous.

“Thank you Zorren,” Master Ezekiel said politely. “Next up we’ll be going with Gokothon, the Black Dread, master of nightmares!”

Gokothon stepped forward with a confident smile, barking a sudden, “Quiet, mortals!” to the gentle applause. “Jackson loves power. The power that comes from sexual conquest as well as the power that comes from societal popularity. Like all humans with power, his greatest fear is losing it, so my suggestion is to bring about a recurring nightmare he has about failure to perform sexually, but take it to levels even his feeble little mind hasn’t imagined!” Not waiting for any response from the crowd, Gokothon returned to his seat.

“Direct as always,” Master Ezekiel said, mildly frustrated. In an event that was basically an elaborate popularity contest, keeping the audience on side was every bit as important for his demonic advisers as their actual ideas and powers. “And finally, may I present Tharukan of the Sinisterium, master of dark thoughts!”

The audience cautiously offered applause, weary after Gokothon’s reaction, but also because the demon stood before them was another new arrival at the games, making him a somewhat unknown element.

“Thank you,” Tharukan said with a solemn nod, getting immediate silence. “Jackson is popular, attractive and altogether unpleasant human being, which means he has many enemies around him disguised as friends… but that approach is a little too… easy!”

“He was totally eavesdropping,” Dazallan muttered to nobody in particular.

“I intend to take a different approach. I have looked inside Jackson’s own mind and find… some truly delightful thoughts to play with,” Tharukan said, shuddering slightly as he chuckled. “It turns out there is no need to look elsewhere for Jackson’s downfall. The seeds of his destruction are already within, they simply need to be nurtured!” He paused for a moment, looking down at the intrigued but mildly confused audience’s faces. He let out a slight sigh and simplified, “I’m going to make him act on his own darkest impulses to have him cause his own humiliation!”

The audience began chattering amongst themselves as they had now been offered all three options as Tharukan returned to his throne.

“Splendid. Ambiguous in places, but we DO like a surprise here,” Esteban chuckled. “So it’s time to vote, people. Let’s see what terrifying torture awaits our terrible twunk!”