Jacob's New Weird Friend (Dice Changers)

High school was not anything Jacob had expected. Firstly, there was the cult that was exposed during his freshman year, then there was the bust of a sex trafficking ring during his sophomore year, and currently, there are rumors that a group of fantasy heroes was at the center of both incidents. However, a policeman who helped arrest the sex traffickers went on air and testified that they were not the only ones taking down the criminals, and confirmed that they were indeed some sort of group of LARPers dressed in fantasy gear with real swords, axes, and staffs. This set everything on fire. Everyone wanted to know who they were and why they were there, and whether or not they had something to do with the cult. Jacob became one of those people because, over the past year, he noticed details surrounding both incidents, but he was hesitant to go down any rabbit holes.

"Hey, Jacob, have you seen the newly leaked police bodycam footage?" asked one of Jacob's classmates, Zach. He and Jacob had become friends over the years, trying to solve the mysteries.

"I haven't seen the full thing yet, but people are commenting about how they see a figure dash across the hallway in leather armor," answered Jacob.

"Oh. Well, you're going to love this. Supposedly, members of the cult were at the compound, and we know because there was a dead guy whose DNA was tested and found to be a match to a guy named Tyler Grudon, and he was one of the cultists who was arrested and then released shortly after. Not only that, but after the cult incident, one of the things the police found was dice sets, and when the police found Grudon, they found a dice set scattered around him," said Zach, like he was about to explode from excitement.

"So how does this tie to the fantasy heroes?" asked Jacob.

"Oh my gosh, Jacob. Have you played DND? The dice sets and the LARPers are tied together in some way. Here's a question: why do we only see the bodies of modern people but not any of the bodies of the fantasy heroes?" asked Zach.

"Because those modern people use the dice sets to become the fantasy heroes," answered another voice. Jacob and Zach turned around and found another boy their age standing in front of them.

"I'm sorry, but I don't recognise you," said Jacob.

"That's fine, I'm new. My name's Jack," replied Jack as he reached his hand out for a handshake. Jacob and Zach both took turns shaking his hand.

"Sorry for dropping into your conversation, but you were talking about the fantasy heroes and dice sets, and well, I know a couple of things," he said as the trio sat down at their desks.

"What do you mean by 'know things?'" asked Zach. Jack didn't answer; he simply unzipped his backpack and found a tiny black box. He opened to a metal dice set. It was gold with dark blue lapis lazuli numbers. The beauty captivated both Zach and Jacob's eyes. Then the bell rang, Zach and Jacob went to their seats, and class began.

After class was lunch. Zach and Jacob got to sit next to Jack and started to bombard him with questions.

"How do the dice work? How do people use them to become the fantasy heroes?" asked Jacob.

"Where did you get that set? Is it made up of real gold? How much did they cost?" asked Zach.

Jack simply just blinked, mouth wide open, right about to eat his sandwich, but the bombardment of questions forced him to pause. "I don't know. Through meditation. My dad gave them to me as a gift. Yes. I don't know. I think that's all the questions," replied Jack.

"Meditation?" asked Jacob.

"Do your dice have a hero?" asked Zach.

Jack looked very uncomfortable with the last question. This made Jacob suspicious. Then came 2 more students. Jacob recognised one of them from one of his classes, but only recognised the other from walking through the hallways a couple of times.

"What's Jack, finding new friends?" asked the classmate.

"Nick, thank you for showing up. Arron, hi," said Jack.

"Oh no, what is it now?" asked Nick, a tired dad, to a child.

"I may have...said more than I should've," answered Jack, smiling awkwardly. Nick then turned toward Zach and Jacob.

"What did he tell you?" asked Nick seriously, like he was some sort of interrogator.

"He only told us that dice sets allowed people to become the fantasy heroes through meditation," answered Zach.

"Oh my gosh, Jack. This cannot be happening right now," said Nick as he slammed his own head onto the table.

"Well, it can't be all that bad. Plus, they were going to figure it out anyway," said Arron as he tried to reassure Nick.

"I'm going to be honest, he's taking this way better than I thought," said Jack, finally relieved enough to relax.

"We're going to have to discuss later at the game store. Angel is not going to like hearing about this, because you know how much he wants things to be secret," said Nick as he lifted his head up and sulkingly ate his lunch.

"Yeah, I just...didn't think things through. I got too eager," replied Jack as he continued to eat his lunch.

"I'm sorry, but what is happening right now?" asked Jacob.

"Yeah, what do you mean, game store, and who's Angel, and why does he want to keep the dice sets secret?" asked Zach.

"We can't answer those questions right now, it's not exactly a good time," answered Arron.

"What do you mean?" asked Jacob and Zach at the same time.

"Rumors are our worst enemy, and our best friend. A lot of churches are getting wind of what we're doing and are trying to stop us," said Arron.

"What he means is don't be surprised if in the next couple of weeks, pastors start to preach about how dice are evil, demonic, and that sort of thing. Even though we're also believers, and the heroes have done nothing but attack bad guys, but who cares about all that?" said Nick.

"So, can you do us a favor and keep quiet. Please, I'll tell you guys more once this whole thing is over," pleaded Jack.

"Fine, I promise," said Jacob.

"Deal," said Zach.

Over the next couple of months. Nick's prophecy came true; videos of sermons by prominent pastors started popping up. They talked like they knew how the dice sets worked, how they used evil magic to operate, and that no self-proclaimed Christian should use them. Nick and Arron became visibly more weary and more nervous. Jack was becoming more and more aggravated. Jacob tried his hardest not to ask questions; he had to bite his tongue several times and instead resorted to writing notes. Exchanging them in various locations and times, like drug deals. He would get answers that only left him with more questions. Then one day, Jacob walked into class, and everyone started talking about how Jack, Nick, and Arron were at a service and debated the pastor over the dice sets. They showed videos of Jack becoming one of the fantasy heroes and proved that they were not evil. Jack explained how he was part of the cult that sacrificed convicted rapists and pedophiles, how they did it, and why. He then explained that his new friends showed him that he was lost, and now he was in a better place. The trio then left as the crowd booed them. The event was filmed from various angles, with the church cameras and the congregation's phones. However, that was far from the only instance. Several videos showed similar enoucters, some even turning violet. Luckily, no one reportedly died or was gravely injured.

The school soon became a battleground with people arguing that the Dice Changers shouldn't exist, and others saying that they should. Nick, Arron, Jack, as well as a couple more named Mia and Trevor were all members. They were both bullied and praised, swarmed by both friend and foe. It finally clicked for Jacob as to why everything had to be kept a secret, why the trio was scared. They were trying to prevent this type of reaction.

The school's faculty and staff tried desperately to keep the peace, but coming up with a good solution seemed impossible. It seemed the only thing they could do was wait for the storm to blow over, a hope the Dice Changers also shared. However, that didn't stop the FBI from showing up and interviewing the Dice Changers. One by one. During class, at random. Jacob felt scared whenever Jack was called by the office. He, as well as the rest of the class, knew why, but there was nothing they could do except watch Jack slowly get up and leave.

It wasn't until lunchtime that Nick explained to Jacob and Zach that the FBI was asking how, where, and when they got their dice. However, Nick and Arron were not scared. In fact, they had a confidence that Jacob had not seen in them ever since he met them. This meant that there was a major shift about to happen, and it was going to be a good one.