Haunted House GP

[londoncallingmods]

 The house doesn't exist, that's the first thing anyone who might find themselves inside it would want to know. Now, you might ask how one could find themselves inside something that doesn't exist, but you'd honestly be better off asking yourself how you could leave something that doesn't exist. After all, ideas and concepts can't be burnt or broken, and you can't breakdown a door that's not there- Or was there and then decided to be somewhere else for a while...

 

You wake in a house though, a house that doesn't exist. A house that defies the laws of reality. There are corridors that go on for days, rooms full of nightmares, and millions of doors that lead you anywhere but out. Trapped inside with you are dozens of other people, all searching for an exit, or an explanation.

 

Behind every door you'll find your darkest fears, maybe even memories you've tried to forget, or secrets you never wanted to share... 

 

(OTA! Here is your first of two Halloween gps! This one is, of course, set in the haunted house where your pup can run into anything you can dream up! Deadly traps! Spooky monsters! An existential crises! Top level your pups waking up or running into danger, and then go ahead and tag other players! Since this is all magic-y and spooky don't worry too much about time lines and who bumped into who first. Only rule is that your pup can't escape until November 1st! Have fun! Also, because there are two GPs going up this week, both are open to new top levels for two whole weeks! And, of course, you can keep tagging long after that if you want. :D I'll post reminders daily on slack.)

Comments

[jageskro]

Jag was tucked in a corner of the room on fire, trying to shut out the sounds of the many screams he could not silence, not anymore than he could quiet the fire. He had no idea what was going on, but he knew, somehow, that it was all his fault. They were burning because of him. Everything was because of him.



The fire and burning people can all be in his mind, or not, as you'd like!

[hollow_moon]

Val had woken up in wolf form- Which was odd, given that the full moon had been two nights ago. ...Odder still was the fact that he felt so very human right now. He was all teeth and claws, but his thoughts were all his own, not abstract the way they usually were when the wolf had control.

Not that he'd had long to think about it. The woods he'd thought he'd awoken in had turned out to be little more than a room full of faux foliage that began to melt and burn as flames began to creep through the wall.

"Shit," he swore, startling himself when his own voice, rather than the wolf's, came out. Nervous, he made his way to the door, pawing at the handle until it popped- Only to find himself in another room full of flames. ...Though at least here he wasn't alone.

Cautiously he wove through the flames, making his way to the man in the corner and growling.

"Get up! You'll burn, get up!" he demanded, getting impatient and starting to pull on the man's sleeve.

[jageskro]

There was a wolf. Talking to him.

Jag snatched his arm away, not recognising the voice, for now. All that he knew was that the fire wouldn't harm him, but it might harm the wolf.

"You'll burn," he protested, but the animal had managed to snap him out of it, and he got to his feet, leaning on the wall and immediately pulling his hand away, at the heat there.

[hollow_moon]

Even with the smoke clouding his senses, Val knew that smell- That voice.

Growling, he pulled on Jag's sleeve again, trying to lead him out the room.

This wasn't normal, how could Jag be so certain he was safe?

[jageskro]

"Seriously, will you just -" Jag stumbled over himself as he was pulled, only just managed not to faceplant. He was feeling shaky all over, and that translated to wobbly knees, apparently. He coughed from the smoke, and covered his nose and mouth with the crook of his other arm, letting the wolf pull him along.

But when they reached the door, he pulled his arm out of his grasp and turned back to the fire, standing in the doorway. "I should be able to..." But the fire still wouldn't work for him, for all that he could feel it, wanted to lose himself in it.

[hollow_moon]

"Jag!" Val snapped. "Clearly you can't control this. Come outside! Please, I'm begging you, before we both..."

Flames licked at the wolf's paws, and Val cut himself off as he whimpered in pain, recoiling from the flames and backing away from them.

[jageskro]

Val turned to stare at the wolf with wide eyes. And then, finally, he stepped out of the doorway and closed the door on the fire. He looked back at the wolf, still not quite believing he'd heard what he'd heard, that voice saying his name. He coughed, then asked, "Val?"

[hollow_moon]

The wolf was still whimpering, and he licked his wounded paw before looking up.

"Yes, I know- I'm a wolf. It was a surprise to me as well."

[jageskro]

"What the fuck's going on?" Jag asked, glancing back at the door he'd just shut. Then he focused on Val again, getting down on one knee to be on eye level with him. "Did you hurt yourself?" Trying to save me. It didn't matter that he hadn't needed saving; he still felt guilty, and he wished he could make it better somehow.

[hollow_moon]

"A little singed fur, but I'll live," Val replied, putting his paw down tentatively, then looking at Jag. "I don't know what's going on- I simply woke up here... Like this," he added, looking down at himself.

"I was actually hoping you had an answer."

[jageskro]

"Tough luck," Jag answered, looking at the wolf closely, as if trying to find Val in the lupine features. Probably better luck focusing on his eyes. "My best guess is I'm having a very fucked up dream."

[hollow_moon]

"Flattered as I am that you'd dream of me, I don't think that's true- I'm very real, Jag," Val said, shaking his fur out, then starting to look around.

"If this is your dream though, then surely you know this place."

[jageskro]

Well, that was just what a dream or a hallucination would say, wasn't it. Jag shook his head at Val's question, though, pushing up to his feet to look around. "It looks very nondescript nightmare hotel-y, though."

[offthebeatenpath]

Visions of fire filled her head and drew Em down one corridor after another. Tarot cards slipped subconsciously from her fingers like bread crumbs in her wake. She almost stumbled over Jag before she realized he was there and why she'd been brought to this room instead of the many she'd passed. She knelt beside him, one hand going to his face, turning it toward her. "Jag?"

[jageskro]

Jag very suddenly snapped out of it, jerking away from her hand. "You shouldn't be here! You'll get burnt," he stated, moving back to his feet and reaching to draw her up with him. "I can't control it," he stated, although the words cost him.

They kept crying out, and he couldn't control it.

[offthebeatenpath]

I can't control it. Jag's words cut through the vision-fog of Em's mind with a spike of fear.

Cortez, it had to be Cortez. "Did he touch you? Was he here?" Or his sister, playing with Jag until Fabian could arrive? Em stood, wanting to touch, to assure herself Jag was all right - not that she could have felt Cortez's effects that way if she'd tried. But she was too busy searching desperately through her cards for one that would help.

Finally. The night sky personified loomed over them, and a river ran through the room, surrounding Em and Jag, the water - that wasn't really water - keeping the fire at bay. "We can't stay here.

[jageskro]

"What are you..." Talking about, he would have finished, only the naked blue woman suddenly stretching across the ceiling stopped his words in their tracks, and he just stared. Stared at the woman, and ignored the water around them. Until Emma spoke, and he looked back down at her to find her eyes white. Right. "Come on," he told her, grabbing her wrist and dragging her along, through the water and towards the nearest door, away from the uncontrollable fire that sang such a sweet song in his lungs.

[offthebeatenpath]

Fire and never-ending hallways and faces from her nightmares all she could see, Em couldn't tell Now from Soon, and it wasn't enough. She needed to see more, know more, keep them safe. She went where Jag dragged her, pulling cards from her pocket hoping for some kind of clue.

[jageskro]

Once they were in the hallway, clothes somehow dry, if a little charred, Jag closed the door with more force than necessary, mostly to hide the trembling in his hands. He clenched them at his sides and looked over at Em. "Where are we? What's going on?"

[offthebeatenpath]

"I don't know. But we're not safe here." Em was sure of that much. How and when the danger would come, she couldn't see. She shook her head, trying to clear it, to focus on the present, but it was hard, when she could see Cortez lurking around a corner, when Stryfe and Miranda were out there... somewhere. "There are people, mutants, and they're dangerous."

[jageskro]

"So they're stopping me from controlling the fire?" Jag asked, the only thing that made sense. "Let's get out of here," he added almost immediately, and reached for her hand to draw her along.

[offthebeatenpath]

Em felt clearer, more focused, the feel of his hand around hers helping keep her grounded in the now. It didn't do much for her fear, though. If only she had pictures, she could show him who to look out for. They did need to get out of there, but Jag had to understand first. "They might be. Depends on who. There's a blond guy, Cortez, whatever happens, don't let him touch you." Or me. "He cranks powers up to eleven, and you can't control it. It would be bad."

[jageskro]

"Stay away from blond guys, got it," Jag replied, still stalking down the hallway. He frowned when the turn in it only led to more hallway. "Are we in a fucking hotel?" It was the first explanation that sprang to mind to explain the length of the hallways, and the number of rooms.

[offthebeatenpath]

"A maze," Em said, realization coming with the words. "If it's real and not all in our heads."

They passed a door with a symbol carved in its surface, and Em paused. "A star to light the way. We should try here."

[jageskro]

"Sure," Jag said, and went first, opening the door onto a pitch black room. Even the light from the hallway seemed to stop on its threshold. "Yeah, we could use a star to light our way."