[interesting]

"Twenty-six... Twenty-seven."

The basement was silent around me as I counted up in our hide-and-seek game. Every other player, now naked, had supposedly found a hiding place inside Sarah's home. We still had over two hours before her parents were scheduled to come back - plenty of time to play this game through to the end. Whoever I found first would end up being on the bottom of our 'slave' chain, and then moving up. Part of me was hoping that Mary and Sarah would not be teamed up together, to avoid further embarassment on either part. Part of me was hoping they would.

"Twenty-nine... Thirty! Ready or not, here I come."

I turned around, opening my eyes, and glanced around the basement. No one was obviously in sight. It was time to look around. They could be anywhere in the house (except Sarah's parents' bedroom). This meant I had a lot of ground to cover. The systematic method was the easiest.

The basement was comprised of three rooms : the large living area where we had done our stripping game, the workshop and cold room, where I was hoping none of my naked friends had taken refuge (how dirty and cold they would be) and the downstairs bathroom. I headed there first. The door was slightly ajar so I peeked in. Light was off so I turned it on. No one was hidden behind the shower curtain or I would have seen a shape. There was a large storage space in the far wall, so I walked up to it, opening the door. There were shelves inside : no place for anyone to hide. I walked back into the main area, shutting the light, then went around the couch (in case someone had decided to set themselves there) and checked the corners of the room.

I opened the door to the workshop and the chill immediately made my exposed nipples pop up; the floor was cold, straight on the cement. I hesitated before going on. There were a few good hiding places in there, behind a counter, near the cold storage room. I checked every nook quickly but found no one, so I quickly made my way out of there, trembling and rubbing myself to get my temperature back up.

They were obviously upstairs, so I walked up. Being naked and exposed inside another's house, even if it was Sarah, was making me quite agitated, in good and bad ways. I could only imagine the awkwardness if her parents walked in on me like that. Thankfully, she was an only child - siblings in the story would have created a totally different kind of situation.

The stairs up led to the living room; there was also a kitchen, a second bathroom and a dining area. Where could the others be? They couldn't all be upstairs.

I started looking around the living room, behind sofas. I walked over to the entrance, and instinct told me to check inside the wardrobe. Pulling the door open, I spotted the pinkish skin of a friend, and called out.

"Found you!"

Claire pulled her head out of the clothes and stepped out, almost tripping over the boots.

"I guess you did... I'm first, right?"
"Right. Well, last... anyway. You need to start look for others."
"Yes mistress."

The name made me laugh, but I guessed it was accurate. In a slightly perverse way, I could imagine myself ordering my sexy black-haired curvy friend around for the rest of the evening. That privilege would fall to whoever she found, however.

I tagged along as she made a move to go back downstairs; she must have figured I had already looked there because she changed her mind and stormed into the dining area. It only took her a moment to find someone, hidden under the table.

"Jennifer!"
"I knew you saw me hiding here!" she replied, crawling out from under the furniture.
"So Claire, you belong to Jennifer now..." I chimed in. "Jennifer?"
"I know, my turn to look..."

She quickly turned towards the patio leading to the back of the house, as if she was wondering if someone had stepped outside. She changed her mind, heading towards the kitchen, opening cupboards, even the fridge door. There was obviously no one there. The next logical step was the bathroom, but she headed for the stairs down and walked. I waited upstairs with Claire, looking puzzled. It took a long moment for Jennifer to come back up, looking perplexed.

"I was sure someone had remained downstairs," she pondered to herself.

She headed towards the bathroom this time; the door was closed. She opened it, walked in and immediately checked behind the shower curtain. Nothing. She walked back out, confused for a moment, then walked back in and finally checked behind the door.

"Aha!"

On the dryer, she found Sarah, curled up in a ball.

"Oh boo!" said Sarah, stepping off.
"Found you. You're mine..."

Sarah and Jennifer exited back into the living room; Sarah considered her options.

"So I can end up being a slave to Mary or Cassie, is that it?"
"Pretty much. Are you ok with that?" I inquired.
"I guess... you must have already checked downstairs and here... so up..."

She pranced up the steps to the upper floor and we followed along. A hallway led to four different rooms, one of them we knew to be off-limits. There was the bathroom, her room, and her mother's study (which she also used for homework). Sarah hesitated, but then she walked into her own room and quickly started looking. It did not take her long to get to her closet and open it, revealing the person who would be her master.

Mary. My heart skipped a beat as I witnessed the two girls staring themselves down.

"Well..." Mary said.
"Well, ok..." Sarah simply replied.

There was a long silence, then I called out to the last person still hidden.

"Cassie, you can come out now."

She appeared through the door to the bathroom, looking a bit confused. I explained to her that she had won, and that she was to be Mary's owner, while she herself would be my slave. She smiled and nodded her agreement.

We started heading back downstairs as a group, down to the basement, to play out the results of the game. There was a certain awkwardness to the scene now, everyone wondering what everyone was expected to do as a slave.

All of a sudden, the sound of the buzzer at the front door rang out, breaking the tension and bringing confusion to everyone's face - at this hour, there were no longer any trick-or-treaters, so who could it be? It was too early for Sarah's parents to come back, and why would they ring?

Sarah jumped up and raced up the stairs, naked. We were all too stunned to react at the idea of her opening the door nude. We heard a 'come in' and 'this way'. Sarah walked back down the stairs with someone in tow.

"I thought it only fair," said Sarah, "to make sure everyone interested and invested in the game was invited."

We looked on as Thomas, Mary's twin brother, joined us in the basement, looking as puzzled as we were. Mary was beside herself, boiling red with anger.

"uh... what's going on here?" Thomas inquired.

We gave him no answer, staring on at his powerful and clothed masculine form, while we were completely exposed and vulnerable. It was clear Sarah had invited him along - but why?