A Gift of Death

Author’s note
'''Have you ever seen a gift that is just so tempting that you just HAVE to open it? Gifts can be the best thing you ever got, it can save your life, or destroy it. Not all gifts are happy. Watch out for what you receive. It can be from people you know, and people you don’t know. But make sure you use it correctly, or your gift will come at a price. '''

 

Something at my Door
'''Annually in Minecraft, we celebrate Christmas. With my friends (We join as a party of 60), we like to do a White Elephant where we exchange gifts. The White Elephant is where people get turns to pick a gift in its wrapper (since it’s in a wrapper, we don’t know what it is). Once we get the gift, it is the next person’s turn. The next person can steal from the person who went before them or they can pick a gift themselves. However, this game has one attribute everyone fears to encounter. There is a legend that there is a rare glitch where there is actually 1 extra gift (61 gifts in total). That gift is the Black Rose curse. You can curse anyone to death with the black rose, but if the one who gets it does not use the curse within 48 hours, the Black Rose will take effect on the owner. '''

'''This year, me and 59 others were in a room on Christmas vacation. We were all going into a private server to do so. We all entered the code and brought the gifts. I brought a complete set of iron tools, and my buddy Aliyah brought 2 stacks of 64x wool in every color of the rainbow. The game started. We sat in random chairs. A person named XXLARATHECAT went first. She chose a gift. I was next, and I decided to steal from Lara. The gift had a wrapper, black pixelated box with Golden ribbons. I kept it, and Lara chose another gift. Afterwards, the person 2 rows down stole from me.'''

'''He was in all white with sunglasses. He took the gift from me and I chose another one. The game kept on going and everyone had a gift. Weird thing was, I actually had 2 gifts…….'''

'''I stood there stunned with my heart beating. There were 60 people and everyone brought a gift and got a new one in return. I got 2 which meant there were 61 gifts. '''

Just then I remembered the Black Rose Curse.

'''I instantly unwrapped my gifts. Thankfully, none of them was a Black Rose. I was happy because I dodged the Black rose and I got 2 gifts for free! '''

'''However, one question remains………...who has the black rose? '''

Then, I remembered the guy who was the first one to steal a gift from me.

'''I pondered all night trying to get my mind off of the hell bound Rose but I just can’t. I had to wait for tomorrow to tell the guy. '''

-The Next Day---

'''All of us went to the same school which made it possible for me to find the guy. However, for the entire day, I can’t. The school was as pixelated as usual and the teachers were a mixture of utter monotone and fun. When I got to my house, I found this Black box with golden ribbons on the doorstep. I dug it out of the snow. '''

'''It was from a person named Anthony which must have been that guy with the white skin and sunglasses. '''

'''I went inside and opened the package. '''

'''In the package was the black rose. '''

'''However, Anthony didn’t use the black rose on me or else the rose would’ve disappeared as dust. In order to inflict this curse on someone, you must have the owner knock on the door of the victim’s house 3 times.'''

I sent it back to him on his doorstep.

I left a note

“ Dear Anthony,

'''Why did you try to use this rose on me? I barely know you but why me? Anyways, your attempt actually failed. Plus how the heck did the Black Rose get into the game? This thing is so rare, but I swear on this rose that it may not be used on me or any of my friends.”'''

~Kev

'''I left the note on the doorstep. '''

'''About 6 hours later, I heard ticking coming from Anthony’s house. Inside the package, the rose still was in fact in place. However, I saw this watch beside it. '''

'''The watch was black and silver like the Rose. '''

'''What is more, there was a disc. '''

'''I played it and listened. The disc sounded like moans and groans that was too ethereal to be a part of this world. But I soon realized that this was a recording of the people who were taken by the Rose. '''

'''I saw the time. '''

'''The time the rose was given was at exactly 1 PM in the afternoon on Thursday. Now it’s 12:40 on Saturday.'''

'''Even though, I didn’t want the Rose to be inflicted on me, I don’t want to see a stranger to die. I saw a sign on the side of the house. It said that Anthony was at school and he won’t be back until 2pm. '''

'''I ran to the school, but, in the middle of the path, I saw that the Rose had gone to dust. It flew in the path of the school. 20 minutes later, I smelled smoke.'''

'''I saw that the school was engulfed in flames. '''

'''I got all of my friends to get buckets of water to dump over the school that was burned to ashes, but it was too late. The school collapsed. Right there, I swear I saw Anthony’s body on fire. I tried to put out the flames, but all that was left were pixel, and blocky body parts on the school’s remains. However, I saw a disc that was there and I played it (which resulted an everyone hearing). It was the same moaning and groaning, but this time, Anthony’s voice was in the mix. He was taken. '''

'''There was, however, something else that was there. In the middle of all the ruins, was the black rose that slowly dissolved into thin air. '''

'''Next to it was a letter. '''

The letter said:

'''“There is always room for another body for my cart. Thanks for the present. Anthony will go very well in my collection.'''

~Black” 

Words from BlueHeart
''' I got the Black Rose because it is the international symbol of Murder, Assassination, and Misfortune. But, when you get a gift, check what it is. It can be your favorite toy, or a symbol that your death will transpire soon. You never know what is in that pretty little box of Christmas joy, and who knows what is inside, just make sure that you are always watching for tiny weird tweaks. It can save you, or destroy you.'''