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

[hollow_moon]

"Right," Val replied, forcing a nervous laugh as he let his hand linger on Jag's arm. "...Right."

He sighed, then looked down the hall.

"I'll see you on the other side," he promised after a moment. "However we get out of this place- I'll see you, I promise."

[jageskro]

"Yeah," Jag smiled again, brief and tight. He clenched and unclenched his fists at his sides, stopping himself from reaching out again. "On the other side." He put his hand on Val's for a second, then forced himself to turn to go.

[hollow_moon]

Val watched for a moment, then sighed and forced himself to do the same.

It felt like he'd been walking for hours before he finally found the room, and he was certain this wasn't where it had been before. Though stepping inside offered the faint scent of burnt plastic and he knew this was the place.

"Brilliant- Now what do I do?" he asked, about to head back out to see if he could Find Jag's room- Only to be hit by a sudden wave of familiar pain- The pain that came with the change. Though this time it was worse than ever before, and rather than shift, Val simply blacked out.

[jageskro]

Jag hated every step that took him away from Val, and was often tempted to turn back and try to find him. But eventually, he felt the fire on the other side of a door, and stepped into the room full of flames and screams. He stood in the middle of the room and tried, again, to control the fire.

He didn't realise that the flames were, this time, catching on his clothes until the pain made itself known. The pain swelled and became his entire world, and he passed out.

[hollow_moon]

The world was blurry for a moment when Val woke, as if he'd spent the night drinking, or taken a violent blow to the head- Perhaps even both.

Still, he managed to sit up, only dimply aware that he wasn't alone- And that he wasn't in a plastic forest any more.

[jageskro]

Jag woke up in a start, shouting and sitting up as he did. He could still feel the burn of the flames, and the first thing he did was, instinctively, reach for his fire and have it spring out of his hands, breathing a little easier when it burst forth, and even more when he put it out as easily as clenching his fists.

Only then did he realise he was on a bed in a room he didn't know, but with someone he did know. "Val!"

[hollow_moon]

Valentine was still trying to blink the world into focus, and he squinted as he looked at Jag.

"Well, that's- That's a blessing at least. I was worried I... I thought I wouldn't find you again."

The world came into focus, and he smiled at Jag- Then looked around, puzzled.

"Is this..." Getting up, he went to the window and opened the blinds. "We're at my Grandfather's estate in Kent. ...That's odd. Though better than a room full of flames, and..."

He pushed open the window, leaning out and inhaling deeply.

"It's real, Jag. Come see," he grinned.

[jageskro]

Jag was already on his feet, patting himself down and frowning as he realised that he was wearing the same clothes as last night, and as he had during that odd... dream. That odd dream that hadn't been one; he still had the weed he'd lifted from Val's old room in his pocket.

He padded over silently, looked out at... the grounds. Talk about getting smacked with his class issues in the face, but these were fucking Downton Abbey type grounds.

"Are you sure?" he had to ask, still frowning. "How do you know it's real?"

[hollow_moon]

"Every window I tried to open in that place was bricked off or locked. This one opened first try, and look at that. That's real, Jag. It has to be," Val insisted, taking Jag's hand to lead him out- then hesitating, wondering if that was still alright now that they were free.

[jageskro]

"Wait, does that - I don't - we're in bloody Kent?" Jag asked, pulling on his hand to get Val to stop, but absolutely not taking his back.

[hollow_moon]

"Not ideal, I know, but certainly a vast improvement over an inescapable hell house," Val replied, shrugging one shoulder.

"Come on, I need to be outside. I can't stand to be trapped indoors a moment longer, Jag. I'm losing my mind," he added, squeezing Jag's hand as he spoke.

[jageskro]

"Right, okay, yes," Jag agreed, going with him now. He was still stuck on being in Kent. Any second now, he was going to put two and two together and worry about possibly meeting a bloody baronet or something, but as they walked into the corridor, it mostly hit him that he could do with being outside as well.

[hollow_moon]

The house was empty, used now mostly for charity events and as a wedding hall. Though today it appeared to be vacant.

Outside at last, Val inhaled deeply, closing his eyes as he took it in.

"I thought I'd go mad in that place," he confessed, looking over at Jag. "You're brilliant. If we'd not gone looking for those rooms, I'm certain we'd still be trapped."

[jageskro]

"What happened with yours?" Jag asked, not sure how brilliant he felt when he could still remember the agony of the fire. So, when in doubt, ignore a compliment.

[hollow_moon]

Val's smile faded, and he looked uneasy.

"I started to turn- And then the pain was so violent I passed out," he admitted quietly. "What about you?"

[jageskro]

"I -" He could have lied. It would have been easy. But he didn't want to, and lying felt like it would require too much energy, anyway. "I started to burn. I passed out as well." He tugged Val closer, used his free hand to cradle his jaw, and looked into his eyes, as if searching for something. "You all right?"

[hollow_moon]

"Fine, I'm fine," Val promised, wrapping an arm around Jag and smiling softly.

"You promised you'd leave if you couldn't control the flames though," he scolded. "You're lucky you woke up here. If you hadn't..."

The playfullness faded from his tone, and he held Jag just a bit tighter.

[jageskro]

"I promised I'd do my best to be careful," Jag replied, an important distinction, he felt, and leaned in to kiss Val. He felt a little tentative doing that here, now. If this was real, if they were safe - this felt different than over there, in that crazy place outside of reality. Everything felt far more real, now.

[hollow_moon]

Val felt it also, and he was almost cautious as he returned the kiss, not wanting to shatter what felt like a good moment by overstepping his bounds.

[jageskro]

Jag deepened the kiss slightly, then pulled back, looking into Val's eyes and hoping that he himself looked less vulnerable than he felt. "So you still... want to give this a shot?"

[hollow_moon]

"I do. ...If you do, that is. I'll understand if- Well, if things have changed," he assured Jag, though he looked and sounded painfully hopeful.

[jageskro]

"No, fuck no, are you kidding?" Jag let out in a relieved breath, and then he was kissing Jag again. A lot less hesitantly.

[hollow_moon]

"No, no. Not kidding, just genuinely worried you might have changed your mind," Val assured him, looking revealed and returning the kiss with a smile.

[jageskro]

That kiss was fueled with everything they'd just lived through, and Jag wasn't even going to try to keep from pouring his emotions into it, the fingers of one hand curling on Val's shoulder, the other one squeezing Val's hand, like every part of him wanted to make sure that this was real, that he was real, and like this kiss could keep everything else at bay.

[hollow_moon]

Val looked baffled by the touch at first, but soon he was smiling and touching Jag in return.

"It's real," he promised. "I'm real. We're really here. We're safe, and we're together, Jag. Honest."