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

[quartermaster_q]

"Is it?" Q asked. "Is the world any safer if everyone knows?"

[hardertohide]

"You wouldn't want to turn your back on knowledge, but you want to keep it from everyone else," Dutch challenged, eyebrows raised.

[quartermaster_q]

"I want people to be safe. Sometimes ignorance is a blessing. ...And not everyone can be trusted with the truth," Q argued. "Trust me, I'm all for empowering the people, but- Not everyone is like us. Not everyone can handle it."

[hardertohide]

"Better leave them to get drained by a vamper in a back alley, sure," Dutch replied pointedly.

[quartermaster_q]

"I'm not saying it's ideal," Q assured her quietly. "I'm saying I don't believe it's a secret kept maliciously."

Wrapping his arms around himself, it was clear he was in no mood to squabble over right and wrong, and his gaze drifted once more to the tower that held Bond.

"It doesn't matter anyway."

[hardertohide]

Dutch leaned her head back against the wall, eyes closed, playing with one of her rings. "What doesn't matter is whether their intentions are good."

What didn't matter was that each minute took them closer to death.

[quartermaster_q]

"Dutch, I don't know what that timer is counting down to- Or if my lover is really dead- But on the off chance that this is all real- Could we, perhaps, not spend the last few moments of our lives bickering?" Q asked quietly, looking tired and worn down.

"Please," he added softly.

[hardertohide]

"I can't just - wait it out," Dutch stated, opening her eyes and pushing up to her feet. "There's gotta be a back door." She was headed for her laptop again. "Something we can use." If they were going to die, she wasn't going to spend her last few moments doing anything but trying to fight it.

[quartermaster_q]

Q made no move to help- Honestly, if this was real, he wasn't sure he had a reason to live. Not without Bond.

"We've tried everything," he sighed. "What more is there to try?"

[hardertohide]

"I know you're a genius, Q, but if you think we've tried everything, you're also an idiot," Dutch stated distractedly. She reached into her bag to pull out her second laptop, and started it up as well. There was never a problem without a solution; the only question was whether she could find it before the countdown reached zero.

She was an idiot as well, for having lost precious time giving in to hopelessness.

[quartermaster_q]

Q said nothing to that at first, taking his glasses off and looking at them.

"This is my fault. You shouldn't be here. If we do survive this, I promise I'll not bother you again. Bad luck seems to follow me around," he sighed, slowly getting to his feet and making his way over.

"I suppose we could try and jam the signal- If it's broadcasting one. It looked hard wired though, directly into the wall. I suppose we could try cutting off the power also- If it's truly hard-wired it could be sharing power with the building."

[hardertohide]

Dutch liked this much better than the pity party he'd started off with. "I like that plan. Let's see if there's a way to make it happen."

[quartermaster_q]

They tried everything. At one point Q even managed to put a small hole in the wall so he could attempt to see the wires themselves. ...But it was no use. With only five minutes left on the clock, it became clear they weren't stopping the clock, and they weren't breaking free.

"We should try and make some kind of shelter, using chairs and tables. If we're very lucky... Perhaps the whole building isn't wired to blow. Only one side," he suggested quietly, not sounding very hopeful.

[hardertohide]

Dutch leaned back in her chair, and laughed. And kept on laughing for a good twenty seconds. "I can't believe I'm about to spend my last minutes alive making a blanket-less blanket fort with you."

[quartermaster_q]

"If you'd rather, we can always hold hands and face the possibility of death head on," Q replied flatly. "I'm not feeling terribly Thelma and Louise at the moment though, are you?"

[hardertohide]

That just made Dutch laugh some more, even as she stood and put her laptops back in her bag. As if it mattered. "Let me laugh about this, will you. It's about the only thing I've left."

[quartermaster_q]

"Do I look as though I'm stopping you?" Q sighed, glancing at the countdown again, and hating the way his heart fluttered nervously. He didn't want to die afraid.

[hardertohide]

"Come on, then, blanket fort," Dutch nudged him after shouldering her bag. She selected one corner of the room, and dragged one of the tables over. It was something to do, at least, no matter how pointless it was.

[quartermaster_q]

Q blinked, then nodded, following after her and starting to move some chairs and then another table, building what he hoped would be some kind of barrier against the blast.

"One minute," he said, moving to get under the table so they could pull everything into place around them.

[hardertohide]

Dutch consolidated everything on one side, then climbed underneath the makeshift shelter with him, dragging the last pieces of furniture in to seal them off, as much as possible. They were cramped in together, but at least now she couldn't see that bloody countdown anymore, from where she was. "And now we wait, I guess," she sighed.

[quartermaster_q]

"This really isn't how I thought my life would end," Q admitted. "Under a table, next to someone who doesn't very much like me. I mean an explosion was always a possibility, given how my predecessor was killed, but even then- I'd sort of hoped to be in my lab, or at the very least doing something that could be described as cool. ...I never get to be cool."

[hardertohide]

"Excuse me," Dutch frowned at him. "You're cool as shit." She paused. "Creepy as shit, too, but I figure that's the job."

[quartermaster_q]

Q looked startled by the complement, even if it was rounded off with an insult, and he seemed unsure of what to say for a moment.

"Yes, well- I suppose you're quite cool as well," he admitted, about to say something more- Only to be interrupted by a loud beep- And then a light so bright that it forced his eyes shut.

When he opened them again, they were no longer under a table in a locked room, but instead sitting in the middle of Trafalgar square- With a police officer standing over them.

"I said you can't be here, did you not hear me?" the officer asked. "Right, come on, you both look like you could do with a night in the cells."

Q blinked in confusion, but his senses quickly came back to him.

"I really don't think you want to take us in," he said, "Not unless you feel like explaining why to my boss, Gareth Mallory."

The name clearly meant something, and the officer took a step back. "Just get off the ground, alright?" the man said, shaking his head and turning to walk away.

[hardertohide]

Dutch got to her feet and held a hand out to Q to help him up to his feet. "Now I know who to name-drop next time a copper bothers me." She smiled at him, bright and completely genuine. "Hey. We're not dead."

[quartermaster_q]

Q let her help him up, dusting himself off and looking around. "Not dead- Yes, that's... Well, it's quite a relief. Unsettling and impossible, but- Yes, good."

He rubbed his face, then looked at Dutch.

"I don't usually say this sort of thing, so do try and refrain from laughing in my face, but how do you feel about coming back to mine and getting very very drunk? I'd suggest a bar, but I've got a cat waiting for me at home who's no doubt starving."