The Incredibly Dead Pets of Rex Dexter

★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
—

There's a hum from the game and it roars to life...The Grim Reaper inside starts to move. He puts his bony hand near a small chute and my quarter falls into his palm.Behind him, a little sign spins into place:

PLAY AGAINST THE GRIM REAPER
WIN AND YOUR WISH IS GRANTED
LOSE AND SUFFER THE REAPER'S CURSE!

“Whoa!” cries Darvish in realization. “This is just like that old movie from the eighties.”

“What movie?” I ask.

“You know,” he persists. “The one with Tom Hanks.”

“Never heard of him.”

“He wishes to be tall,” Darvish says. “Or grown. What was it called? Tall? Large?”

“No idea,” I tell him. “Unlike you, I do not spend my time on ancient movies from a bygone era.”

THE INCREDIBLY DEAD PETS OF REX DEXTER

THE INCREDIBLY DEAD PETS OF REX DEXTER

The Wimpy Kid

Timmy Failure