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]

"And no lifts, if we find any," Jag completed. He could imagine too many horror scenarios involving lifts.

[offthebeatenpath]

Em's eyes widened at the thought. "Seriously. That's just asking for trouble, and we've had enough of that."

[jageskro]

"Agreed." But as they turned into another hallway, and then another, Jag was feeling less and less hopeful about their plan. "What if it's just more and more hallways, forever?"

[offthebeatenpath]

The idea had occurred to Em too, but she wasn't sure what to do about it. "I could throw the cards again, maybe find what we need to know, but..."

[jageskro]

"But what?" Jag asked with a frown and, as they found another corridor, marked this one with a scorched 1 on its wall.

[offthebeatenpath]

It was hard to explain. Or, no, not really. It was harder to admit than to explain. "I see too much. I get lost and it's hard to... to stay present. In the here and now, instead of what the cards show me flooding over everything else."

[jageskro]

"Can I help?" Jag asked as he turned back to her. "Anchor you in the present, or something? Draw you back if you get lost?"

[offthebeatenpath]

"The same way you have been," but maybe he didn't realize how much he'd helped already. "Touch helps. And you're... Just in general, you care most about what is, not what was or will be. It reminds me to too."

She scrubbed her hands over her face. Jag was good with actions, and he wanted to help. "If I get stuck, just taking the cards away might not be enough. I don't forget what they've shown. Touch. Maybe talk, about what's here and real, or trying to put whatever I ramble about into context." That got a half laugh, because who knew what was and wasn't real in here, and her making any sense was less likely. "Get me moving. That kind of thing."

[jageskro]

Jag nodded. "I can do that." All of it, he'd do his best. But the more she talked, the more it sounded dangerous for her, and... "It's all right if you don't want to risk it."

[offthebeatenpath]

"I'm overthinking things again," she assured him with a small smile. "Problem with always thinking ahead, I'm too good at coming up with worst case scenarios. Normally I wouldn't even worry, but this place, it's hard to judge." Wanting more than just a card or two, she sat on the floor as she began to shuffle. "Let's find a way out of here."

[jageskro]

Jag knelt right beside her, and since she had said that touch helped, rested a hand on her back. He wasn't going to talk or do anything to make her lose focus - not unless she needed him to.

[offthebeatenpath]

Jag's hand was warm and solid against her back, and Em tried to hold onto that tether. Her eyes went distant and unfocused as she began to lay out the cards, but he'd seen her reading often enough to expect that. But while normally she might carry on a conversation, or keep up a fortune teller's patter, this time she was quiet. She shifted a card from one position to another, then added a few more, shaking her head.

[jageskro]

"What is it?" Jag asked quietly, watching her rather than the cards, although he did glance down at them.

[offthebeatenpath]

It took an effort to answer, like fighting against an undertow. "There's no way out but through."

[jageskro]

Jag stroked his hand on her back, wishing her to hear him, and stay with him. "What's that mean?"

[offthebeatenpath]

Right. Um. "We should keep moving. We'll be harder to find that way." Because they were being hunted. Flashes in her mind, but Jag's touch pulled her back. "Keep moving, avoid trouble, fairy godmother's magic ends at midnight."

[jageskro]

Jag frowned more deeply at that. "How do we keep it going?" Fairy godmother's magic sounded like a good, protective thing to him. He liked the thought of being protected.

[offthebeatenpath]

Keep it going? Em blinked slowly, trying to put her thoughts in order enough to understand. "Maleficent was a fairy godmother too," but even as she said it, she felt like she was still babbling. "Whatever this place is, it'll stop in time. We just have to stay okay until then."

[jageskro]

"Oh," Jag acknowledged, eyebrows raising slightly. And then he grinned. "Right. That's brilliant news!"

[offthebeatenpath]

Em turned and looked at Jag in time to see the grin that made her feel better too. She kept her eyes on him while gathering up her cards and sticking the deck back in her pocket. "We should go. They'll find us if we don't."

[jageskro]

"Right, yes," Jag agreed immediately, getting to his feet and offering her a hand up. That was the not so brilliant part of the news.

[offthebeatenpath]

Em let him help her up, and kept his hand in hers after. She didn't want to get triggered by something they passed, sending her into her visions again. Midnight had been allusion, not a specific time, but it hit her that she hadn't seen a working clock anywhere, to know how much time could be passing.

One corridor led to another, and while they had to run a few times, they managed to avoid the worst the house tried to throw at them. Then the hall ended in a flight of stairs leading up, the direction they'd come from filling with darkness behind them.

[jageskro]

"I reckon that means we don't have much choice," Jag stated as he glanced back. His hand still holding Em's, they rushed up the stairs until a blinding white light overwhelmed them.

They woke up on their living room couch, still holding hands. And, in Jag's case at least, with a wicked headache.

[offthebeatenpath]

Headache was putting it mildly. Em felt like she'd been overdoing it with her powers for days. She looked over at Jag, thumb brushing over the back of his hand. "You okay?" she asked, quiet, but still wincing the slightest bit.

[jageskro]

Jag blinked out of it, and turned to her, grimacing but looking her over. "Yeah, yeah, are you?" A lot less quiet, a lot more 'bloody hell is this real are you alright?'