The End....Chapter 2

Scooter Jenkings sat at the table staring down at the straight flush that he was currently holding. It was by far the best hand he had been dealt all night, and he planned on milking it for all it is worth. His face was straight up expressionless as he called Sam's five dollar bet. "I'll see that five and raise you ten..." Scootter said, looking across the table towards Sam Benson.

Ray Dobbs was sitting directly to the left of Scooter, he just shook his head and threw his cards face down onto the table "Shit, I'm out." Ray said still shaking his head. The night just hadn't been his night so far, he was already down sixty dollars, and it was still early.

Jerry Stilts sat next to Ray, he was looking at his cards with uncertainty. He was holding three queens and knew they probably wouldn't be enough, but he couldn't just throw three bitch's away. Reluctantly he threw fifteen dollars onto the table.

Sam Benson was smiling, he too held a good hand, a full house, threes over tens. It was a hand that he had confidence in. The pot was already up to eighty five dollars. Sam called Scooter's ten and made the pot grow to ninety five big ones.

Both Steve Browning and Casey Cone who were sitting to the left of Sam folded without hesitation, a look of absolute feigned disgust on their face's.

"Well it's on you Scooter, we called your ten, so lets see what what you got" Sam said still smiling.

Suddenly a large grin appeared on Scooter Jenkings face as he lay his jack high hearts straight flush on the table. Both Jerry and Sam just lay their cards on the table as they tried to act dignified in their moment of defeat. The smile quickly disappeared from Sam's face, "You lucky Bastard" he jokingly said. All the other losers around the table chuckled and nodded in agreement. Ray reached over and clapped Scooter on the back, "Great hand man...."

It was a friendly game amongst neighbors and friends after all, not some back ally game with a bunch of low life degenerates. Just the regular Tuesday night ritual of six men from the Clover Valley sub-division in West Liberty Ohio. The men really just got together every week to drink beer and shoot the shit more than anything else. Everyone lived within a quarter of a mile from each other, so no one had to drive home drunk or call an Uber driver when the game was over. This part of Tuesday night poker made their wives happy. Of course neither Scooter or Ray had wives any longer, which is why they took turns hosting the poker games at their houses. Scooter was a widower, he had lost his beloved Darcy two years ago to breast cancer and Rays wife had left him for the painter Ray had hired to paint the outside of his house. Son of bitch had been dipping his brush into more than just paint.

Just as Scooter reached over the table to rake in the spoils of his victory, the lights suddenly went out and the room just went pitch black. There were several echoes of "What the Hell" said at once. "All right Ladies, just calm down, lights will be back on in just a moment" Scooter assured them, as if he were all knowing.

Several minutes had passed and the lights still had not come back on. Jerry Stiles, the newest member of the group tried to activate the flashlight on his phone, but the phone would not even power on. Even though he had just charged the battery before he had left home. All the other men were having the same problem with their phone's, how could all their batteries be dead at the same time?? No one panicked, but some of the guys were starting to feel uneasy, what the hell was going on???

Ray had a pocket flashlight on his keyring, he pushed the small black button and a tiny ray of light appeared. It wasn't much, but at least they could see each other. "We might as well take a break and step outside. Mabey a transformer has blown or something..." Ray said getting to his feet. All the other men nodded in agreement. They all followed Ray and his pocket light, up the steps and out of Scooter's basement. They made their way through the living room and down the hall to the front door. Not one of them knew it at the time, but their lives were about to change forever.

Ray opened the front door and he and his friends stepped outside, a look of awe and wonder suddenly filled their eyes and minds. It had to be nine thirty or later, but there was no moon or stars, no clouds either. The entire sky just glowed with an eerie fluorescent green color. The men said nothing, They all only looked at each other bewildered.

Through the fluorescent green haze, Sam Benson could see his wife and twin boys standing in their driveway six houses down. He held his hand up and waved at his wife, she waved back and motioned for him to come home. " I'll talk to you guys later, Sam said as he started walking down the street.