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

[miss_ives]

The words snapped Vanessa out of it, and she looked at Ms. Colbert, and the flickering light of her Zippo. She nodded, and walked on, waiting until they were away from the door to say, quietly, "All out of sun?"

[offthebeatenpath]

"I've lost the card," she explained, thinking of the few she'd found in her pocket, most with characters she barely recognized, and none of them helpful right now.

"So unless I want to go barefoot, no sun. Although..." She was so stupid. This place was really getting to her, if she didn't think about this already. On the side of the lighter was one of her own paintings in miniature, and with a quick look at it, she projected a fist-sized fireball ahead of them, and stretched it out to run along the side of the tunnel, the way Pyro or Jag might have with their fire.

[miss_ives]

"That is... even handier," Vanessa remarked quietly, her voice echoing oddly in the relatively narrow hallway.

[offthebeatenpath]

"It isn't really fire," Em warned, as she started down the tunnel. Although it could hurt someone, if need be. "Any more than the sun was truly the sun."

[miss_ives]

"Does it burn?" Vanessa asked, very pragmatically, checking back that they weren't followed.

[offthebeatenpath]

"It'll feel like it's burning; I wouldn't recommend touching it." Pyro and Jag could tell the difference, probably other fire or energy-based mutants could too, and it didn't work the same on inanimate objects as real fire would, but anyone else would feel it.

[miss_ives]

"Handy," was Vanessa's only answer, and she frowned as she noticed the tunnel curving and sloping down. "Deeper down the rabbit hole."

[offthebeatenpath]

Em didn't think Ms. Ives had seen the White Rabbit she drew a few minutes ago, and this whole place had a through the looking glass feel. But her own thoughts turned to Judgment all the same. "Let's try to avoid the bandersnatch."

[miss_ives]

"Neither one of us would outrun it," Vanessa confirmed, making sure not to slip on the increasingly wet stones.

[offthebeatenpath]

"Unfortunately." And there wasn't room to fly, although Em kept that thought to herself for now, since it wasn't helpful. It wasn't just the floor that wet, Em noticed, when her foot skidded and she steadied herself with a hand against the wall. And up ahead, a muted hum built to a low roar.

[miss_ives]

Vanessa picked up the pace, as much as she could without slipping in her Victorian heels. At least the shoes felt worn and perfect for her feet, as if she had worn them herself for days. And then, at a turn in the corridor, the hallway straightened out into the mouth of a gigantic, dark cave, with a huge waterfall on the other side. Vanessa stood on the edge of the cave, a hand on the wet wall, watching with awe.

[offthebeatenpath]

"There could be another way out," Em said, picturing Madeleine Stowe and Daniel Day-Lewis in Last of the Mohicans as she stared at the rush of water.. "Behind the waterfall. Or it could be another attempt to kill us."

[miss_ives]

"Your cards," Vanessa offered, tearing her gaze away from the waterfall to turn to her.

[offthebeatenpath]

Finding only one card left in her pocket, Em felt dread rising before she looked to see what she'd drawn. A Tower she could only describe as kawaii, not from a deck she'd ever owned. But what she Saw rocked her so hard her knees slammed into the rock floor as she fell, pressing her free hand to her temple.

[miss_ives]

"Emma!" Vanessa cried out, and crouched beside her, reaching out instinctively.

[offthebeatenpath]

For a moment or more, Em simply breathed through the pain and disorientation, and although she improved, her eyes remained unfocused, or rather, focused on something apart. "We have to keep going," she said once she could. "We have to go through... but there's... a cost."

[miss_ives]

"What is it?" Vanessa asked, her voice full of dread. Slowly she reached out for the card in Ms. Colbert's hand.

[offthebeatenpath]

"I don't know," she said, letting Ms. Ives take the card, but doubting the cutesy picture could convey what Em couldn't put into words. "But it's going to hurt."

[miss_ives]

Vanessa's eyes were dark as she looked up from the tower, but then she looked back at Ms. Colbert and nodded. She offered her her hand, then stood, letting the card flutter to the floor.

[offthebeatenpath]

Em let Ms. Ives help her up, but took the time to make sure she was steady before trying to walk. "It'll be over soon," she said, as they made their way toward the waterfall.

[miss_ives]

"No," Vanessa shook her head with a frown, thinking back to the Tower. "This is just the beginning." Like every ending, of course, but Vanessa had a bad feeling about this one.

[offthebeatenpath]

Every ending was a beginning. The Wheel would continue to turn. And the Tower had to fall for change to occur. But Ms. Ives knew that as well as she did. The roar of water was white noise on top of the drums in Em's head as they got closer. Mist rising made it harder to see, and the flames Em had been projecting to light their way - and how she'd managed to hold onto that after drawing the Tower, she didn't know - flickered and dimmed in the spray.

"Together?" she asked, holding out her hand.

[miss_ives]

Vanessa was tempted to turn her down; the girl had seen a lot, but she did not deserve the kind of darkness that might descend upon Vanessa. But she was more than capable of handling herself, so Vanessa nodded thankfully, and took her hand before stepping into the gush of water.

It was so strong and forceful that, despite tightening her hand on Ms. Colbert's, they were separated in a matter of seconds. Vanessa tried to forge on ahead, but the waterfall did not seem to stop, and she slipped on a stone and fell, hitting her head. The world went blurry and spun around her before the water engulfed her, and then it was too late to scream.

[offthebeatenpath]

The force of the water ripped their hands apart almost instantly, but the pressure in Em's head meeting the pressure of the torrent was so great she barely noticed. It continued to build, although she had no idea if time was measured in seconds or hours, until she passed out completely.