Nyctohylophobia
Welcome to Nyctohylophobia, the Perma-death Quest!
"What is Perma-death...
Welcome to Nyctohylophobia, the Perma-death Quest!
"What is Perma-death...
Nyctohylophobia (Perma-death Quest)
- Thread starter TheLordofAwesome
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- Original Horror
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Intro Post
- Location
- Washington
Nyctohylophobia
Welcome to Nyctohylophobia, the Perma-death Quest!
"What is Perma-death Quest", you ask. To put simply, this is a quest where you, the players, will have to make it through the the entire quest without dying. The players will take control of the player character who is going on a camping trip with their friends, which starts out normally enough until things go wrong. The players must navigate them to safety; should they get a Bad End at any point, the quest is over. No do overs, no continues. You Are Dead.
So with that said: just who is our unfortunate protagonist for this quest?
Name:
[ ] Write-In
Gender:
[ ] Male
[ ] Female
Chapter 1: Morning
- Location
- Washington
It was the morning of Sunday as you slept peacefully in your bed. Early sunlight drifted in through the window of your room, landing on your still sleeping face. Disturbed by the unwelcomed morning light you unconsciously pulled the covers over your head so that you may resume your slumber.
However, before your can truly fall a sleep again, music you set as your phone's alarm on the nightstand next to your bed began to sound off.
"I used to think maybe you loved me, now baby I´m sure
And I just can't wait till the day when you knock on my door"
"Shut up, stupid phone..." you sleepily muttered from beneath the covers, grabbing your pillow and placing it over your ears to hopefully drown out the alarm.
"Now everytime I go for the mailbox, gotta hold myself down
Cause I just can´t wait till you write me you´re coming around"
"Alright, you win I'm up..." You sat yourself up, the blankets covering you sliding off your head and exposing your eyes to the light that had previous disturbed you, causing you to squint at the sudden shift from the total darkness of the covers to the morning light. Not paying much attention to that, you reach over to your phone to end that infernal racket.
"I'm walking on sunshine, wooah
I'm walking on sunshine, wo-"
"I need a new alarm..." You say as you swung your legs over the edge of the bed, stood up, and began trudging your way over to the bedroom door so that you may begin your day.
It was 8:30 AM, which was way more early for you to wake up than you are used to, but you have plans today and you needed to prepare. A few months ago your parents had asked in advance for you to watch their house while they went to Hawaii for their anniversary, something which you gladly accepted. While you loved living in a big city like Seattle, it was nice coming down and visiting your old home town, and with your parents being out of town for a week you figured it would be a great opportunity to reconnect with some old friends. It really has been some time since you've all hanged out together, with school and just day to day life in Seattle you can count the number of times you came down to hang out with them or they came up to visit you over the last year on one hand. That's not to say you haven't kept in touch; social media and just plain texting and phone calls let you all keep in contact, but that can't replace actual social interaction.
Still, you are determined not to waste this time you'll all have together. A week ago you had told them you were coming back to town and that you all should hang out. As it turned out, your friend Eli had planned a camping trip around that time with your friends Danielle, Lucas, and Sierra all signed on, and they'd be happy if you joined them. You told them you would, but you did feel bad about leaving your parent's house to go camping when you said you would watch it for them. But you figured it should be fine. After all, you will only be gone for a few days and you'll be right back, what could happen in that time?
Still, first official day of being back and you'll be gone for most it. Oh well.
You go through the motions of your morning routine: shower, comb hair, brush teeth, get dressed. Once you are done, dressed in blue jeans and a white shirt, you head down stairs to get some breakfast. The house had changed quite a bit since you moved to Seattle, with lots of new furniture. The biggest change was probably your old room, which had been remodeled to be a guest bedroom. Which made sense given you no longer lived there.
The kitchen stayed the same, however. Pristine marble counter tops, old oak cabinets, and a cute little homemade island in the middle of the room to tie it all together. Just like you left it. As you entered the kitchen, you notice a piece of paper on one of the counters. Picking it up you read what was written on it.
"Thanks, Mom." You say aloud, smiling to yourself. You were so lucky to have such great parents. Placing the note down you briefly leave the kitchen to go collect the money your parents left you. Once you returned you got to work making breakfast. Turning on the stove and getting the ingredients, less than a half hour later you have a nice meal of eggs and bacon in front of you, which you greedily gulp down.
Once you were finished you headed back upstairs back to your room. Once there you picked up the backpack that you brought from the floor and placed it on the bed, opening it so that you can double check its contents. You feel as though you got plenty of the essentials. A couple changes of clothes, a flashlight, batteries, a bottle of water, a Swiss Army Knife, and a book just in case to kill boredom. Once you were done looking through your bag you looked to your phone's text messages to see what time Eli told you he'd be pick you up.
You feel like you could bring something else. Do you?
[ ] Yes - Write-in what else do you bring.
[ ] No - Write-in on how you should kill the time.
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Chapter 2: Ready to Go!
- Location
- Washington
Nodding to yourself after making a mental list of the stuff you could bring along, you set off on your search for them. First on the agenda was the sleeping bag. Unless your parents sold them, you were pretty sure it was still in either the basement or the shed out back. It took maybe a minute to reach the stairs leading to the basement, so you flipped the light switch and headed on down.
The basement was a pretty spacious, about 26 x 30 you estimate but weren't quite sure. Regardless, it made for great storage space. Mostly everything was held in cabinets that lined the walls, anything else was either kept on a table or in a box. You began going through each of the cabinets, looking through each one carefully just in case you don't wind up looking over it. After looking through three cabinets you eventually find the one where the camping supplies were kept, and as luck would have it you also found an old compass.
"Alright, that's two down," you remark, scratching the two items off your mental list. With the compass in your hand and sleeping bag under your arm, you headed back up stairs.
The next two things on your list were much quicker to locate. With a quick look through the kitchen drawers and under the kitchen sink, you managed to find both the matches and the first aid kit. So now that's four things down.
The last three things you needed, however, would require you to leave the house to find. After a quick look through the kitchen cabinets you concluded your parents didn't have any trail mix or energy bars, and you don't have idea one about where in the house you'd find a map or a whistle. So going to the store was really the only option. Fortunately there was a Cabela's in town and was maybe a 10 minute drive away. There is no way you wouldn't be able to find what you are looking for if you go there.
You grab your shoes and your car keys, hopped into your Jeep Cherokee, and soon enough you were on your way. It didn't take to long to get to the store, and you were out just as quickly. When you first entered you asked for directions to the items you needed so you wouldn't just wander the store aimlessly in your search. Now you were walking out of the store, sitting pretty on a shiny new whistle, a map of the forest you and your friends will be camping in, and a bag of trail mix and a box of energy bars.
By the time you get back home you had little less than hour left before Eli is suppose to arrive. With everything on your list counted for you now find yourself with time still left over to kill. Shrugging it off, you march upstairs with your new supplies and put it with the rest of your camping supplies. Once that's taken care of you go back downstairs, placing you backpack by the door and plopping yourself down on the living room couch.
"Let's see what's on TV..."
Time flies when you are mindlessly glued to the TV. You were completely unaware of the passage of time as you sat there, but it was long enough. When you started you had drifted through the channels, unsure what to watch. Eventually you just settle on a channel and were now watching the show about the Wild West. It was kinda interesting, but at some point you just sort of just sat there staring and not really paying attention as your mind drifted off.
You were pulled from your own little world with a loud, sudden pounding at the door, startling you. You know only one person who'd knock like that. Getting up, you storm towards the door, anger washing over you. You open the door-
"Hey, Medi! Are you-"
-And you punch Eli in the shoulder.
"Ow! What was that for?!" He exclaims in an over the top manner, and clearly faked manner. Grabbing at his shoulder like he just got shot, all while trying to suppress a grin.
"You scared the shit out of me, Eli!" You yell, your arms folded as you glare at him. "Christ, have you tried knocking like a normal person?!"
"Did once, but it doesn't get that reaction so I stopped."
The two of you looked at each other for a moment, your arms lowering as you both grinned. The two of you wrapped your arms around the other and pulled yourselves into a hug.
"Good to see you again, Medea."
"Same here, Eli."
The two of you break it off and you take a step back to get a good look at him. Eli was a pretty big guy, standing at about 6'3" and wore a large white t-shirt, baggy jeans, and a grey hoodie; clothes that made sure you couldn't really tell if his body type was a little chubby or well muscled. He had brown buzzcut hair, which was mostly hidden by his Mariners baseball cap, and brown eyes which he wore prescription glasses for. He had grown a beard in the time you two haven't seen each other; it looked pretty good all things consider, it was well trimmed and kept for.
"So, who else have you picked up?" You ask, as you leaned back through the house door, grabbing your bag.
"So far just Dani," he says as he looked behind himself towards his red 2016 GMC Canyon that was parked in the edge of driveway. "Figured it made sense given she's my girlfriend."
"Hold up," You say as you right yourself, looking at him somewhat surprised. "You two are dating? Since when?"
He looks up for a bit, clearly in thought. His fingers twitch and extend as you watch him do math in his head in silence.
"I don't know... Maybe about two months now...?" He sounds unsure with his answer. You suppose you should cut him some slack, you know he was pretty bad at remembering dates and periods of times when things happened.
"Christ, I'm really out of the loop with you guys..." You sigh as you close the house door and walk past him towards his car with your backpack slung over your shoulder. It kind of bugged you that you did know about this until now. It really showed how out of touch you were with your friends that you don't even hear about there personal lives, or that they didn't bother to share them with you.
"Hey, don't feel bad about it!" Eli says as he runs up next to you. "You were pretty busy with college and living in Seattle, it would be unreasonable to keep up to date with us 24/7!"
When you get to the truck, you look into its bed. There was plenty of stuff back there, it really showed how prepared Eli was for all this. He had a tent, various supplies for outdoor cooking, a box of what you could only assume had perishable food inside, a particularly large rolled up sleeping bag (no doubt for him and Danielle to share), and a small ice chest. The last one you point Eli to.
"I don't suppose you got any drinks in there?"
"Nah just food; hot dogs and burgers. I kinda ran out of room for drinks..." You frown a bit at his explanation as to what was in the ice chest. "Lucas volunteered to bring an ice cooler of his own with drinks. So don't worry about that."
You nodded, satisfied with his answer, and placed your backpack into the truck bed.
"Medea~!"
Without warning you received a crashing hug from behind, which caused you to take a step forward in order to keep yourself balanced and from colliding face first into the metal truck. Turning your head to the right, you are face-to-face with Danielle's grinning visage. She could be pretty sneaky when she wanted to be, you didn't even hear her getting out of the car... if she was even in the car when you walked over.
"Hey, Dani... Mind getting off of me?" You ask, giving her a smile in return. She nodded and released you, allowing you to right yourself and to turn around to get a good look at him.
Danielle was always quite a pretty girl; standing at 5'7", with long silky black hair tied into a ponytail, the most beautiful green eyes, soft pale skin, coupled with a nice curvaceous body and long legs. She wore a tight red tank top with the straps of her bra peeking out just a little and a pair of shorts that really flaunted her legs, as well as a ton of jewelry such as necklaces, rings, and bracelets. You had to admit she was always quite the looker, even back in high school she attracted her fair share of admirers.
Of course, she had one little problem: she knew she was good looking, and wasn't exactly shy about it.
She always loved to wear clothes that showed off her body, any parent with a daughter's worst nightmare. Despite that, she wasn't exactly a "slut" as some judgmental people back in high school liked to refer to her as. She was quite a sweet, bubbly person who had maybe about three major boyfriends back then, but as far as you know she never slept with any of them. You could honestly see why Eli liked her, but it was surprising they only got together so recently.
"It is so cool that you are coming with us, Medea!" Danielle cheered, giving her largest, toothiest smile at you. You couldn't help but grin back.
"Yeah, I really missed you guys. I'm just glad everyone is on board."
"Yep!" Her grin fades and she looks at you a little sad... "It's sad that you'll only be back for a week though."
"Yeah..." You nodded, giving the most encouraging smile you can muster for her. "So that's why we need to do our best at making this as memorable as possible!"
Danielle's smile returns in full force as she giggles, soon enough you are laughing along with her.
"Hey ladies!" You heard Eli call. The two of you turn towards the source of his voice, looking at him through the rolled down window of his car. "We got places to be, so hurry up!"
"Shut up, jerk!" Danielle laughed as she opened up the passenger side door and entered the car.
Shrugging, you open the car door to the back seats and sat down, putting the seat belt on. Briefly you catch Eli and Danielle sharing a quick kiss between one another, to which you make a sound of mock disgust.
"Get a damn room!" You say with pretend outrage, to which the two laugh. Once their laughter ends you ask, "So who are we picking up next?"
Eli and Danielle turn to look at you, then to each other smiling, then back to you.
"Actually, I thought I'd let you choose." Eli says.
You blink. You? Before you can ask what he means, Danielle speaks up.
"I thought that since you are coming along that we'd let you choose who we should pick up." She smiles at you expectantly. "So who do you pick?
Who should you choose?
[ ] Pick up Sierra. She has been your friend since middle school, it is only right that you all get her first.
[ ] Pick up Lucas. He's a all around good guy. It would only be right to get him first. Plus he's got the drinks, dammit!
[ ] Flip a coin (1d100 roll)
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Chapter 3: Arrival
- Location
- Washington
"Sierra. Her first."
Good ol' reliable Sierra. Nice, adventurous, and just a little bit snarky at times. Of your friends, Sierra is arguably the one you've known the longest. The two of you met during the seventh grade, and for a while the two of you hated the other. You don't really remember why anymore, but you're sure it wasn't for any meaningful reason. You do remember when you started to get along, however. You remember there was one day where she was eating lunch alone, away from everyone else. You felt bad for her, even if you didn't like her then, so you decided to sit next to her and try to talk to her.
It was... a rocky start. The conversation started off pretty awkward, but as it went on it became increasingly more casual. After that day, little by little, you and Sierra talked more often, and eventually you'd start hanging out. Ever since then the two of you were the best of friends. Of course since your move to Seattle you've been talking less and less, with life in general being the main reason for the disconnect. You were sure that if it weren't for social media the two of you would have drifted apart for good as Sierra had a habit of either losing her phone or breaking it, forcing her to get a new phone and occasionally number.
"Perfect! I'll let her know we are on the way!" Danielle remarked cheerfully as she energetically typed away at her phone.
Eli turned the keys and the truck's engine roared to life, causing the vehicle to shudder from its rumbling. Soon the vehicle is put into motion as you faintly hear the opening riff to the song "Should I Stay or Should I Go" by the Clash from the car's radio.
It'll take some time to get to Sierra's home, maybe about 10 minutes. While the faint music would help erase the unease of a silent drive it wasn't a great alternative in lieu of conversation, so you figured to go start one up.
"Hey, Eli?"
"Hm?"
"What do you know about the camp ground we're going to?" You ask as you shift in your seat, trying to get comfortable.
"Just a few things," he shrugged as he turned the corner. "I know how to get there, and a little bit of the history of the forest."
"What kind of history?" You titled your head a bit; curious as to what he meant.
"Well, the forest has some urban legends and folklore to it, and-"
"Oh! Anything spooky?" Danielle spoke up, focusing her attention onto her boyfriend while sporting a grin that would make the Cheshire Cat green with envy.
"Yep! But, uh, you're going to have to wait until to night," Eli said, giving her a playfully wink.
"Lame..." muttered the black haired beauty, giving her boyfriend a pouting look as she sunk into her seat. Eli chuckled at the expense of his girlfriend's disappointment, which she responded to by playfully stick her tongue at him. These guys were dorks, but you couldn't help but love them all the same.
"Anyway," Eli said, focusing back on his driving. "Like I said, I know the history and the folklore about the woods, but I also know a few locations to check out there. I know somewhere in the woods there is a small lake, so if you are interested in swimming I hope you brought a swimsuit."
That... actually never occurred to you when you were preparing. Granted, you were preparing for what you would need out in the woods with your friends and weren't thinking about such things. Though, you don't know if any of your other friends prepare for swimming. Maybe they were all just like you and didn't think of it either. Well... maybe Eli and Danielle probably did given that Eli knew about it and probably told Danielle ahead of time. Though even if Eli didn't personally bring a swimsuit, Danielle most likely did. She was just that sort of person. Of course, it wouldn't surprise you if she brought it just to show it off to Eli. She was also that sort of person.
Though you suppose it didn't really matter all that much so long as you all had a good time together.
"There she is!"
Danielle's voice, snapped you out of your thoughts. You leaned forward slightly, narrowing your eyes as you looked into the distance. Sure enough, in front of a white house was Sierra with a duffel bag at her feet and bobbing her head to whatever music she as no doubt listening to from her phone. Eli pulled the truck over to the curb, parking it in place. You popped open the car door for Sierra as Danielle rolled down her window.
"Get in, loser! We're going shopping!" Danielle shouted out. Sierra just shook her head as she picked up her bag and walked towards the truck.
Now that she was closer you could get a better look at her. Sierra was about your height, with brown eyes and shoulder length brown hair with black highlights, and wore a red flannel jacket with a black tank top under it with the Batman logo on the chest, jeans, and a pair of hiking boots. Contrasting Danielle, Sierra lacked any jewelry of any kind on her person.
You scoot over in the back a bit so she could sit next to you. Sierra hopped in the car and looked to you, and you looked back. The two of you smiled to one another, reached over and hugged. You two held each other for a good few seconds, embracing the old friend that neither had seen in a long time.
"Now kiss!"
You and Sierra broke off the hug, the latter gave Danielle an annoyed look and reached forward to try to smack the grinning girl upside the head. Danielle however was too quick and ducked out of the way of Sierra's open hand, laughing all the while. Eli, meanwhile, was sighing and shaking his head in exasperation at their antics, and you felt as though you should join him. Whenever these two were always like this when they got together, almost like they had a secret pact to be a Straight Man/Wise Guy comedy duo.
Once the two had settled down Sierra relaxed in her seat and focused her attention back on to you.
"Been a while, Medea. How are you?"
"I'm doing alright," You say with a shrug. "I'm glad we all get to hang out again."
"Same here," she nodded as she took off her jacket. "I need to work on getting my driver's licence so me and you can hang out more often."
"Why haven't you yet?"
"Procrastination, mostly." She says with a sheepish grin, rubbing the back of her head. "Plus I've been trying to find a place of my own lately."
"Any places you have considered?" You ask.
"Not really," She signs. "I've been wanting to get out of town for a while but don't know where I would like to go."
You reach over and give Sierra a reassuring pat on the back.
"I know you'll think of something," You said while giving her a smile. Sierra smiles back, happy that you're there fore her.
The drive to Lucas' house was rather uneventful, as you, Sierra, Eli, and Danielle chatted freely among yourselves. The conversation flowed from simple catching up, to talks about upcoming movie, music, and more. Nothing really solid to keep the conversation fixed for the entire ride over to Lucas. As Lucas literally lived on the other side of town, the ride over was significantly longer than going to Sierra's.
By the time you all arrived to his house it was just a little past 1 o'clock. Once Eli had pulled up to the house he stepped out of the car.
"I got to help Lucas grab a few things. You guys sit tight."
With that he shut the car door and headed towards the house. While Sierra and Danielle busied themselves with making small talk while they waited, you focused your attention to Eli walking to the house front door. You see Eli knock on the door, and almost immediately it opens up. You can't tell who opened it, but you were sure it was Lucas. About a moment or two of talking to whoever answered the door, Eli entered the house and then exited with a ice chest in his hands, heading back to the truck.
Shortly after he was followed by another figure out the door who was carrying two pairs of lawn chairs in his arms. It didn't take you long to reconize him as Lucas. He looked a little different than when you last saw him. First off he grew out his dirty blond hair to about neck length, and got himself a tan. He wore a black AC/DC T-Shirt and a pair of tan cargo pants with pockets stuffed to the brim, to the point you were honestly surprised he wasn't having things fall out left and right as he walked towards the truck.
"Hey, Lucas!" Danielle shouted from the truck.
"Hey, Dani! Looking good as always!" Lucas said, giving her a wink as he placed the chairs into truck's bed.
"You know it! Now get in the truck and say hi to Medea!" The girl in the front she demanded as she rolled up her window.
Without needing much coaxing, Lucas shrugged and moved to the other side of the truck and entered into the back seats. Taking his seat, Lucas gives you a smile and wraps an arm around your shoulder, pulling you into a brief hug.
"Danielle told me to say hi to you. So hi." He chuckled as he let go.
"Hm, I heard the rumor." You said, chuckling yourself.
"Sup, Sierra!" He said, directing his attention to your long time friend on the other side of you and giving her a flirtatious grin. "How've you been, girl?"
"I was doing fine until you got into the car," Sierra replied sarcastically.
"No need to be like that," he said with a pretended hurt expression. "It is not everyday that you ladies get to seat with a gentleman such as I. And it is not every day I get to sit next to two lovely ladies such as yourselves."
"I'm sure on some planet, you are quite the gentleman, but your weak link is this is Earth." Sierra said with a grin and a roll of her eyes. You and Danielle couldn't help but laugh at the expense of Lucas, who for the most part took Sierra's ribbing rather well as he joined in himself.
Lucas was the friend from high school you've known for the shortest amount of time compared to everyone else. He was a transfer student in the senior year of high school, meeting him through Eli. He was a good guy, both polite and patient with people, and with a sense of humor. He was a major flirt, however, and would hit on any girl he found attractive, including you, Danielle, and Sierra. He would thankfully knock it off when it became clear he was being annoying or if he got himself a girlfriend. Outside of that, he was a pretty chill guy to be around, and would fondly gab on about his favorite movies, music, or shows if the subjects ever come up. You remember this one time the two of you were on a bus and he talk for thirty minutes about Godzilla. You don't even remember what set him on his rambling about the giant radioactive dinosaur, but it was rather adorably nerdy you could hug him to death.
"Alright, we're all set." Eli said as he entered back into the driver's seat. "Let's go!"
Danielle let out a cheer as the truck began to move once more, turning up the volume of the radio and the song "Highway To Hell" blasting out of the speakers. You winced from the sudden loud music, but you quickly adjust. Danielle starts rocking out in the front seat, banging her and singing along to the chorus. It doesn't take log until Lucas jumps in and starts singing along with her, Eli and Sierra bobbing their heads to the rock music playing, slowly joining in themselves.
You and all your friends, gathered together and already their having a good time. It warms your heart and a smile creeps onto your face.
You can tell that this trip is going to be great.
You find yourself jerked awake as the truck drove over unpaved road, being shaken left and right, colliding into Lucas and Sierra. You looked around groggily, rubbing your eyes. At some point during the trip you must have fallen asleep. The last thing you recall was all of you conversing while on the freeway. Nothing all that new, just more of the same from earlier: catching up, upcoming movies, video games, music, etc. You weren't sure when you started to doze off, but looking at your phone you saw it was almost 4 PM, so you were probably asleep for... You don't know, a few hours. You just woke up and your brain isn't awake enough to do time math.
As you put away your phone, a hand comes down on the top of your head, ruffling your hair.
"Morning, Sleeping Beauty," Lucas chuckled. "Get a good rest?"
Not fully awake yet to give a proper response with words, you just nod and yawn in response.
"Considering how much you wanted to hang out with us on this trip, I would have figured you would have gotten more sleep last night to avoid this." He said as he retracted his hand.
"Sorry, I tend to doze off when I'm riding in a car." You say as you stretch your arms above you head, which just bump up against the top of the truck. "If I'm driving I don't have that issue, but the moment I'm the passenger I'm out like a light in 30 minutes."
"Hey it's not all bad," Sierra said, taking your head into her hand and directing it to look outside. Now that you were a little more aware you could see that you had made it to the forest as stretches of trees pass by. "You get to wake up just as we arrived."
Suddenly the truck began to slow down before coming to a complete stop. Eli shifts the truck into park and cutting off the ignition.
"Alright, let's get moving," He says as he opens his door and steps out into the outdoors.
The rest of you soon follow, getting out of the truck and putting your feet to the dirt floor of the campsite. You take a deep breathe, letting fresh air and the aroma of the forest into your lungs, and stretched your arms high above your head, causing your joints to give out a satisfying cracking sound. You looked around you, taking in the surroundings. The campsite was pretty bare, all things consider. It was large circular shape, the ground beaten into a fine dirt road to allow cars to traverse upon it, and allow them to move in and out without difficulty. In the very center was an old metal fire pit, the inside of which was blacken by fires from an untold number of campers. Surrounding the fire pit were four old logs, lined around the fire pit in a square, obviously to act as seating for those who didn't bring any of their own.
You turn back to the truck, seeing Eli unload the supplies from the back as the others surrounded him.
"You want us to give you a hand, man?" Lucas asks as he takes his ice chest from the back.
"Nah, I got this." He says as he pulls out a folding lawn chair from the back and hands it to Danielle, who gives him a kiss and saunters off with it. "You guys go relax, I'll set up camp."
Sierra and Lucas looked to one another then shrugged, walked off and leaving Eli as he request. This wasn't really surprises, Eli always did like doing the heavy lifting himself. Though he liked to claim it was because he wanted everyone else to relax, you sort of suspected it was because he was a bit of a control freak and a perfectionist when setting things up, even to the point when it would be self-defeating.
You looked around to see what everyone else was doing. Danielle had set up her lawn chair just outside the log seating arrangement and was now stretched out on it like a cat. Lucas had taken a seat on a log, facing Danielle's direction, with his ice chest next to him. He reached inside the chest and pulled out a bottle of beer, popping off the cap with a bottle opener he had fished out from one of his stuffed pants pockets.
Sierra was heading towards the edge of the camp towards the forest.
"Sierra, where are you going?" You call out to her.
"Just for a bit of a hike," She calls back. "Figured it'd be a good way to both check out the forest and to stretch my legs out after that drive."
Seems like everyone was doing their own thing. What should you do?
[ ] Write-in
[ ] Help Eli set up camp
[ ] Hike with Sierra
[ ] Hang out with Danielle
[ ] Drink with Lucas
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Chapter 4: A Walk Through the Woods
- Location
- Washington
"Sierra, wait up!" You call as you jog over to her.
"You're coming along?" She says as she looks over her shoulder at you.
"A hike sounded nice." You say as you take your place at her side as the two of you walked into the woods. "Besides, someone's got to keep you out of trouble."
"Please," Sierra rolled her eyes as she pushed a stray tree branch out of her way. "If anything I'll be keeping you out of trouble."
"When have you ever bailed me out of trouble?" You remarked sarcastically.
"Remember the Party Incident?"
"In my defense it was Lucas' fault. Mostly." You muttered out, your body having gone stiff at the those set of words.
"Uh-huh. Sure." Sierra said as she gave you a look that told you she wasn't buying it. "And Danielle's boyfriend just happen to-"
"Oh hey, look a path! Let's walk along it in silence and talk about this again never!" You sped up your walking pace, taking long strides as you began to whistle innocently.
Sierra merely laughed at your reluctance to talk about the incident, quickening her own pace to keep up with you. The two of you walked through the woods in relative quiet, just enjoying the nature surrounding you. The rustling of tree leaves in the breeze, the chirping of birds, the crisp fresh air that filled your lungs. It was all just so relaxing. One look to Sierra and you could tell she felt the same way.
"It's really beautiful out here," She says, stretching her arms above her head. Faintly you can her the popping of bones from her shoulders and back.
"Yeah, Eli really picked a nice place to camp," You nod in agreement. "Though apparently there is some scary history to this forest according to Eli."
"Can't imagine how," Sierra said as she traced the tips of her fingers against the bark of a tree she walked by. "It's so peaceful out here."
"Well, I guess that makes it all the more scary if you think about it." You shrug as the two of you pushed through the brush.
The moment you passed through the undergrowth you and Sierra found yourselves in a small clearing. It couldn't have been more than twenty feet in diameter, with trees and bushes completely encircling it. Covering every inch of the clearing was a mass of flowers, white flowers made up the majority but with red dotted through, looking like tiny red islands in a sea of white. Sierra walked into the middle of the clearing and sat herself down the ground. She looked to you expectantly and patted at the ground next to her. Taking the invitation you walked into the middle of the clearing yourself, taking a seat on the sea of flowers with her.
"Shame the others didn't follow after us," Sierra says, taking a deep breath and exhaling it out.
"I'm sure they're keeping themselves busy without us." You say as you fall backwards, landing your back to the ground with a thud.
You stared up at the sky that revealed itself from the large opening the surrounding trees made, watching clouds lazily drift across the sapphire sky. Soon enough Sierra would join you, laying down herself and watching the clouds.
"I'm sure Danielle is keeping the boys busy while we're away," She says with a laugh.
"Oh come on," You say as you give her a scolding look. "You know she isn't like that."
"Hmm, true. But sometimes... Well, sometimes she makes me wonder." She shrugs.
You shrug as well, focusing her gaze back the sky. Honestly, watching the clouds drift by was pretty relaxing, all things considered. You remember that you would get vertigo from looking up at the sky when you were a kid; like at any moment you would drift off the ground and fall into the sky. Not so much any more. Still, it was nice just laying here with Sierra, in silence as the two of you looked upward. ...Come to think of it, you don't think you've heard a single bird since the moment you entered the-
"Hey, Medea."
"Yes?" You turned your head to Sierra.
"Can I ask you something?" She looks a little... apprehensive. Like she is unsure of herself.
"Of course! You can always talk to me." You give her a smile to help reassure her, which seems to work as she gives you a small smile in return.
"Well I just-"
The sudden sound of a rustling bush at the edge of the clearing to the left of you stopped her mid sentence. The suddenness of it caused the two of you to bolt upright, facing in the direction of the sound. The bush rustled again, this time louder. You and Sierra stood up, keeping your eyes on the undergrowth, ready to book it at the first sign of trouble.
Slowly a figure emerged from the treeline like a specter, coming into view. What stood on the edge of the clearing was a hunched over old man, dress in a closed olive drab military jacket and camo pants, with a metal walking stick in his right hand. Slowly you relaxed, but as he slowly made his way over to you, you couldn't help but feel unease. As the old man got closer you could make out more details about his appearance: he was a dark, goatish-looking man, with a firm and hooked shaped nose, yellowish skin, unkempt scraggly white hair with a matching beard, and oddly elongated and point ears. His eyes you couldn't see as they were hidden by a pair of sunglasses.
"Medea," Sierra said, her tone low to the point of being a whisper, placing her hand on your shoulder. "I don't like this."
You had to agree. As the old man got closer your sense of unease was quickly turning into panic, something deep and primordial was screaming at you to run and get as much distance between you and this man as possible. And you weren't sure why.
After a bit, the old man was only a few feet away from you before he stopped, staring at you and Sierra.
"What do you think you are doing here?" He said, his voice deep, gravelly, and lacking any sort of emotion. "A death rattle," was how your mind described the old man's voice. The sheer lack of emotion was what really unsettled you, because it wasn't a normal human lack of emotion like disinterest; it was more mechanical. Like a person was there originally but had been stripped away and what stood before them was nothing but a blank canvas. "What do you think you are doing here?" The old man repeated in the exact same away.
"Who are you?" Sierra said, taking a step forward to put herself between you and him.
"I'm just an old man who lives in these woods," He says in the same emotionless manner. The old man's body moved upward, straightening, but the movement was too fluid. As if he wasn't exerting any sort of effort or energy, despite the several pounds of bear traps that he wore. Slowly he removed his glasses, revealing his pale amber eyes, which were glassy and, much like his voice, lacking in emotion. "Now, what are you doing here?"
"We were just taking a walk through the woods." You spoke up. The old man's eyes shot in your direction, causing your body to lock up.
His eyes slowly drifted up and down your body, taking in your form, not in an "eye fucking" sort of way (though the thought of this old man checking you out caused you to feel a sense of revulsion), but rather in indifferent inspection. The same way one would look at a slab of meat dangling from a hook in a slaughter house.
"You should leave this place," He said, looking you dead in the eyes. Your heart was pounding so fast and you weren't really sure why. This guy was old, you and Sierra were younger than him by maybe 50 years, so why are you so scared?
"Where not going anywhere!" Sierra yelled angrily as she took another step forward. "Why should we l-"
Before she could finish the old man lifted his walking stick and quickly slammed it into the ground a few inches away from Sierra's foot, a previously unseen bear trap violently clamping shut on the metal poll. The suddenness of the act and the bear trap causes Sierra to jump and let out a small scream in surprise.
"You should leave," He once more repeated, bending over and effortless pried the bear trap open with his bare hands. "It is not safe out here."
Okay, that was it. You give in to your instincts. You grab Sierra's hand and began tugging her away quickly just as she was about to say something again.
"Okay, we're going!" You say as run back into the woods from with Sierra being dragged along, passing through the undergrowth and back to your path in the woods. Quickly you looked behind you, and immediately you wish you hadn't. There standing at the edge of the clearing was the old man, stone face as he watched the two of you flee into the woods, bear trap in hand. Slowly the old man sank back into the undergrowth, eyes still on you, as he disappeared.
You ripped your gaze from the direction of the clearing, forcing yourself to keep running as heart pounded like crazy, adrenaline coursing through you. About ten minutes of running later, you and Sierra leaned against trees, breathing heavily. You looked at her, and she looked at you. Neither of you needed to saw a word. Both of you were freaked out by that old man. Something was seriously off. On the plus side, the moment you exited the clearing the sound of bird songs returned, which now that you stopped running you can focus on and relax to.
After a bit of catching your breath, the two of you set off back to camp.
"Don't tell the other about what happened," Sierra says suddenly.
"What?" You look at her like she was crazy. "Why not?"
"Something was... wrong back there." She said, her eyes scanning her surroundings. "I don't think anything will happen, but I don't want the others to worry."
"Sierra..."
"Medea, please. Don't tell anyone about what happened back there." And that was that. Her tone of voice told you she wasn't going to argue with you over it.
It took a few more minutes before the two of you arrived at the camp, with the sky beginning to turn color as the sun started to set. From the looks of it, in the time you were gone Eli had managed to set up the camp. A huge tent was set up on the side with everyone's bags sitting outside of it, chairs lined the fire pit, and a fire was going with food being cooked. Eli was sitting down on Danielle's lawn chair, an arm around his girlfriend's waist, pulling her close as they talked to Lucas who was still in his original position at the fire pit, with what looks to be four empty beer bottles around him, with another in his hand.
Lucas' eyes fluttered to your general direction, after he spotted you he raised his hand and waved to the two of you as you reentered the camp. Danielle and Eli looked to your direction as well, happy to see your return.
"YOOOOOOOOOOO!" Danielle cheered.
"Hey, c'mon! Dinner is almost ready!" Eli called as he began waving you over.
Thoughts of doubt entered your mind again. Maybe you should tell them about the old guy in the woods. You looked to Sierra again, being met with a "You better not tell them" look. You sigh, but you trusted her judgement. If Sierra said not to worry, then don't worry. She hasn't steered you wrong before. You looked back to the main group, Danielle giving the two of you a cheeky grin. You get the feeling she saw the look you and Sierra gave each other and probably interpreted it in the wrong way.
Time passed, the sun by this point had disappeared from they sky, the darkness of the night had completely blanketed the campsite. Food and booze flowed around the fire pit. Having freshly cooked burgers and a couple beers in you erased your previous unease from the incident in the clearing. The group happily chatted among itself, with Sierra regaling everyone with a story. By this everyone had some booze in their system, especially Lucas. Seriously, Lucas could drink everyone here under the table and you wouldn't know he was drunk. Except that one time at the Party Incident, but no one outside of you, Sierra, Danielle's ex, and your neighbor's parrot (it knew too much) can prove it.
"Alright!" Eli said, clanging his beer bottle together with an empty he picked off the ground to get everyone's attention. "Everyone, it's dark, we're in a forest, and we're all quite possibly drunk!"
"Lightweights..." Lucas muttered under his breath. Everyone shot him a look, which he seemed to ignore as he took another swig of his drink.
"As I was saying," Eli cleared his throat as he put down his drink. "It's dark, we're in a forest, who wants to hear something scary about this place?"
"Oh! Oh! Me, me, me!" Danielle said excitedly, waving her hand in the air rapidly.
"Ah! Well I can't disappoint you, now can I?" Eli said with a chuckle before leaning into Danielle and giving her a peck on the lips and then nuzzling their noses together.
"Guys, please — I'm diabetic." Sierra says in a deadpan manner.
"Trust me it was a lot worse when they were sober." Lucas replied in a similar sarcastic manner, which was met with Danielle sticking her tongue out at him.
Eli laughs at Danielle's silliness. "Anyway... This is a story my older brother told me about this place." Eli said, trying to get these back on subject while suppressing a laugh. "Somewhere deep in these woods there's this old creepy house, and back a long time ago it belonged to this guy named Maxwell. He was this Turkish, maybe Italian, immigrant who set up shop deep in the forest. This guy was a recluse who rarely left the forest, and when he did come out something bad always happened."
"Like?" Danielle chimed in.
"People would go missing." He said as he placed his beer bottle on the ground. "The story goes that after he shows up during the day, someone goes missing at night without a trace. This went on for a while, by the time people decided to do something more than 20 people had disappeared."
"So what happened?" You asked.
"Well, the people of the near by town grouped up and formed a mob, storming into the woods armed with guns and whatever weapons they could get their hands on." Eli leans forward a bit, the light from the fire casting a shifting shadow on his face. "But this Maxwell guy... he was prepared. He had booby-trapped the entire forest up to his house. Bear traps, snare traps, logs rigged to fall on people; it was nuts, it was like he had known this would happen one day. I'm told a few people even died trying to get to his house. When the mob finally did make it to his house and kicked down the door..." He paused for seemingly dramatic effect. "He wasn't there."
"He wasn't there?" Sierra repeated.
"Nope," Eli straighten himself. "The searched his entire place and they couldn't find a single clue about where he went off to."
"What about the people who went missing?" Lucas asked, taking another sip of his drink.
"Well, they did find them... in a manner of speaking..." Eli shifted in his seat a bit, looking a bit uncomfortable at what he was about to say. "They were found in the basement... or at least what was left of them." He picked up his drink and took a swig of it. "All the bodies of the were horribly mutilated. The corpses were either dismembered, flayed open, or looked like they were eaten. Most of them hardly looked human any more." He looked to everyone gathered around the fire before continuing. "I am told it is believed the guy was some sort of cultist who kidnapped this people for preforming rituals."
"Did they ever catch him?" Danielle asks.
"No," He says. "No they did not. Like I said, it was like he just vanished. And after that day the kidnappings stopped. Now there are legends that say the vengeful spirits of those he killed dragged him to Hell, or he either turned himself into a demon and now stalks the woods or summoned one. Of course I doubt those are true."
"Does the house still exist?" You asked, as you shifted in your seat. For some reason, your thoughts drift back to the old man from the clearing, sending a chill up your spine.
"Yep! In fact, I know where it is!" He reached behind himself and pulled out a map. "I think we should check it out!"
"I'm on board!" Danielle says with glee. She was always the sort of person who liked scary things, and no way was she going to pass up a chance on going to a spooky old house.
"I'm drunk enough to think that's a good idea," Lucas chimed in, downing his beer. "Let's do it."
They looked to Sierra, who looks each of them in the eyes before shrugging. "Okay. Sure. I'm up for this."
Now they all look at you, expectantly. Oh boy...
"Medea, are you in or are you out?"
[ ] "Sure! Sounds like fun!"
[ ] "I think I'll stay behind and watch the camp."
[ ] Convince them to go in the morning. (Write-in response) (4d100) (Warning: Failure results in going)
Chapter 5: The Abandoned House
- Location
- Washington
"I don't think that is a good idea..." You say as rubbed the back of your head. "Earlier when Sierra and I were hiking we came across a bear trap in a clearing. I don't want anyone of you to get hurt, so maybe it'll be best if we all went in the morning when we have a better chance at spotting any traps that might be lying around."Dice Roll said:
Eli, Danielle, and Lucas looked a bit alarmed at the news of you finding a bear trap in the woods. They looked to Sierra who nodded her head. "It's true." She said as she leaned back a bit. "We were walking along when a, uh, tree branch fell right next to us and set it off." She looked to you briefly, her eyes telling you to roll with her explanation. Seems she really didn't want to tell the whole true of the situation. "On second thought, let's go in the morning so we don't run the risk of stepping into any traps that might be out there..."
You smile at her, glad that she had your back. You looked to the others who seem to mull over the idea in silence, Eli and Danielle looked to each other trying to read what the other was thinking, Lucas was fiddling with the beer bottle in his hand. You were sure that they could see where you were coming from, it made sense to go tomorrow. Eventually it was Danielle who spoke up first.
"I still wanna go."
What? She still wanted to go? After being told that there might be traps still lying around? "Why-"
"Yeah, same here." Lucas said with a shrug. You looked to him in confusion at first, but then remembered that out of everyone he was the most drunk, so of course he'd still want to go. So you turned to Eli, he was a pretty level-headed guy, surely he could see your logic. Eli shifted around in his seat, rubbing his hands and shifting his gaze away from you and seemed a bit uncomfortable.
"Eli?"
He finally sets his eyes back on you and gives you a sheepish grin. "Sorry Medea..."
"Why?" You began sinking into your seat. "Why do you all still want to go despite what we just told you?"
"Well... here's the way I see it," Eli straightened himself up, wrapping an arm around Danielle's shoulder and pulling her in closer, much to her delight. "While you two might have found a bear trap, that doesn't necessarily... mean anything."
"Doesn't mean anything?" You repeated the words, narrowing your eyes at him, to which he raises his hands in defense.
"Okay, poor choice of words..." He chuckles nervously. "What I mean is, that doesn't exactly mean we'll come across any on the way there. The forest is pretty big and the hunter who put down the trap you guys found probably didn't set down traps in every corner of an entire forest that people camp in."
"I suppose, but-"
"Besides, it isn't like we aren't going in unprepared. We've got a map, we have flashlights, and I even have a first aid kit." He gives you a sympathetic look. "I get you don't want us to get hurt, I don't want that either, but the chances of us stepping into a trap on the way there is probably slim."
"But didn't you say that the guy who lived in the house set traps all the way up to his house?" Sierra asked as she folded her arms. Always great when she has your back!
"I did." He nodded. "But that was a long time ago. Any traps there might have been have either been triggered or have fallen into disuse. Plus given how stories like these get exaggerated overtime, the guy probably didn't actually trap the whole forest."
"Way to undermine part of the story, babe..." Danielle said sarcastically, giving her lover an annoyed look. Eli shook his head and just petted her head, which she seemed to enjoy.
"Point is, we're going to be fine." He says while giving Sierra a confident smile. Sierra just looked at him for a bit and then sighed and raised her hands in defeat.
Okay, so Sierra has given up on trying to convince them. That isn't good. You shift your gaze around, looking to Danielle and Lucas. Danielle was too busy enjoying the physical attention her boyfriend was lavishing on her to notice your look and Lucas just gave you a shrug.
"But what about-"
"Medea..." Sierra place a hand on your shoulder, cutting you off. "I don't think we are going to convince them." She sighs as she pushes herself up from her seat, giving you an apologetic look. "Come on, let's get ready to go and make sure the Three Stooges here don't get themselves in trouble." She turned away from the group and began walking towards the tent.
You sat there for a bit but eventually you do get up to follow her, quickly moving to her side as she made her way to the tent. "I think we can still convince them." You reason, as you follow her into the tent. "Let's tell them about the old-"
"Medea, no!"
That gave you pause. It was rare for her to get angry at you, so all you could do is look at her in surprise. Slowly she turned away from you and focused on her bag that was in the tent, shifting through its contents and pulling out items and carefully placing them on the ground.
"Why?" You ask quietly.
"It wouldn't work." She stated matter of factually as she pulled out a flashlight, pressing the button on it to turn it on and off before placing it on the ground.
"Why?"
"You really think that if telling them about a bear trap didn't work, that telling them about an old man will?" She asks, looking over her shoulder at you. You looked down at the ground, knowing she has a point.
"But he was more than an old man..." You muttered. "Something was off about him."
"Yeah, I know." She sighed.
"Then why not tell them?"
"What would we tell them?" She turns herself around completely to look at you. "'Hey everyone! We ran into this creepy old guy in the woods! But not regularly creepy, but super creepy! What did he do that was so creepy? He told us to leave and set off a bear trap!'"
"Okay, I get the point..." You grumbled, looking at the ground dejected.
Sierra sighs again and pulls you into a hug.
"Look, even assuming the guy would be trouble, there are five of us and one of him. Not to mention we are all younger than him by a good margin." She breaks off the hug and reaches into her bag. "Besides, I got this." She retracts her arms from her bag, something dark in her hand. When she brings the object in front of her to show you, she presses a small button on the side of it...
schlik
...and a four inch blade popped out.
"A knife?!"
"Yeah, I take this everywhere." She explains as she pushes the blade back in. "For self-defense and all that."
"Why not pepper spray or a taser?"
"I have those too, but a knife is scarier." She pats you on the shoulder and gives you a gentle smile. "So don't worry, okay? I'm not going to let anything happen to us."
You mumble a bit, but you do eventually nod. You didn't like the idea of everyone going into a forest with potential danger around them, but you're not going to stop them. Maybe you were just being paranoid. It would suck if you ruined the whole trip just by being overprotective of everyone.
"Alright, let's get going." With that Sierra returns her attention to her bag, putting everything back inside and slinging it over her shoulder, you follow her lead as you put on your backpack. Soon the two of you shuffle out of the tent together and back to the others. By now the others had gathered at the edge of the camp, looking over the map. Eli briefly took his eyes off of the map and spotted the two of you coming over and gave you a reassuring smile as you closed the distance.
"No need to worry, Medi." He says as he folded the map and put it in his back pocket. "We're going to have fun out there. You'll see."
"I hope you're right..." You say, less than confidant. With the five of you gathered you set off into the woods, flashlights flickering on to illuminate the dark wilderness as you begin your trek to the house.
Quite a bit of time passed since you all left camp for the house; the group having made considerable progess into the forest depite all of you being some degree of drunk. You and Sierra hung out in the back as you all trekked through the woods, Sierra using her knife to mark trees that she walks past to act as waypoints for the walk back. Fortunately none of you stumbled into any traps out here, which was good because you would hate to be right in this.
"So according to the map..." Eli fumbled a bit with the map as he tried to unfold it while working around the flashlight in his hand. "We should be nearly there..."
"Good, because my legs were getting tired..." You mutter as you try to massage your legs as you walk. Between this and your earlier hike with Sierra, you've got quite a bit of walking done today. The muscles in your legs were practically burning from exhaustion.
Speaking of your hike...
"Hey Sierra."
"Hmm?" She looks over to you, fiddling with her knife in her right hand.
"Back in the clearing you wanted to ask me about something. What was it?"
Her eyes widened a bit, like she was caught off guard by your question. Her eyes darted upwards, as if she was thinking about it and... was she blushing a little?
"Oh, that was... never mind." She turned her gaze back towards the front of the group.
"Seriously, what was it?" Now you were curious. You step a little bit closer to her, trying to get a good look at her face, but she just turned her head away.
"It was nothing. We'll talk about it later."
"Why not n-"
"We're here!" Eli proclaimed extacticly.
You turn your attention back to the front of the group, as you all made your way past the trees you could see the darkened shilloette of a house looming outside the tree line. The closer you got the beams of light from the flashlights struck the exterior of the house, allowing you to make out details of it.
The moment your eyes set on that old house, the hairs on the back of your neck stood up as you were overwelmed by an eerie sensation.
The house was definitely old and wore its age for all to see. It was a two floor house, made of stone and rotting wood, with small splotches of white dotting the exterior as if small remnants of where there was once paint, and roof tiles that slid out of place and now hung loosely at the edges of rusted rain gutters. There were two windows on the side you were on, but whatever glass that was once there has long since been shattered, creating portals of darkness into the interior of the house. There was a single enterance, an empty doorframe that had long since lost its door with a single piece of plywood nailed to it and old broken stone steps leading up to it. On the piece of plywood "barring" entry was a set of words written in black spray paint:
GO BACK
Honestly it creeped you out, but you suppose that was the point of coming here. You looked to the others and you could see they were all just as nervous looking at it as you were, but on they marched towards it. The five of you slowly entered the house one by one, ducking under the plywood. Eli entered first, Danielle second as Eli lead her by the hand, then Lucas, then Sierra, then finally you. As you all entered the aging floorboard creaked under foot, echoing through the old house.
Once you were in you could make out the layout of the room you were in. The room was a hallway with two doors to the sides that went into seperate rooms, a flight of stairs that went into the next floor, down straight in the hallway was another doorway, when the beam of the flashlights passed over it you could see that it wasn't a room but rather another set of stairs that lead down towards the basement. You could also make out more graffiti in this room, a few in particular caught your attention:
HE'S WATCHING
LEAVE NOW BEFORE THEY HARVEST YOUR CORPSE
NO FUTURE LEFT FOR YOU
It seems whoever came her before really wanted to creep people out. Well... more than the house already creeped people out.
"This place is spooky..." You muttered, Sierra standing next to you made a sound agreement.
"Well since we're here, let's explore!" Danielle said excitedly as she quickly walked up the stairs, which creaked in protest to her prescence on them. She turned her attention back down the stairs and waved at Eli to follow her before resuming her climb up the stairs.
Eli sighed. "I better go after her." He shakes his head a bit then follows after Danielle, at a slower pace.
Lucas examined a bit of graffiti on the wall, a single red line that lead into another room. It would seem curiousity had struck him as he procceed to follow it, to see where it lead. Sierra on the other hand had marched door the hall, aiming her flashlight door the stairs into the basment.
"The stairs going down still look good..." You hear her say as she takes a timid step onto them, slowly begining her descent.
[ ] Fuck this place. You are standing here right by the door and going no further.
[ ] Check out the basement with Sierra.
[ ] Check out the ground floor with Lucas.
[ ] Check out the upper floor with Eli & Danielle.
[ ] Write In
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Chapter 6: Writing On The Wall
- Location
- Washington
"Sierra!" She stops her descent into the basement, turning to look in your direction. "C'mon, let's go check out the house with Lucas."
She looks at you for a moment in thought, then shrugs and walks back up the stairs and over to you. With Sierra in tow you followed the red line on the wall into the room Lucas walked in, the line lead to an image that had been sprayed painted onto the wall. The painting resembled a shadow of man, appearing like it had been burned onto the wall like those images of people's shadows had been burned into the sides of building at Hiroshima after the nuke went off. The line lead to the eyes of the shadow where it met with red dots that had small trails of red at the bottoms, like the painting was crying blood. Above the painting were words spray painted in red that read "There was a man here, but he's gone now."
"Why do people need to make stuff so creepy?" Sierra asks as she inspects the painting.
"You should check this one out." You hear Lucas say from behind you.
Both you and Sierra turned around, seeing Lucas shining his flashlight on another painting on the wall. He was obscuring most of it so you walked over to get a better look.
"It's a bizarre art to be sure..." He says thoughtfully.
From looking at the painting you could tell it was made with actual paints in painstaking detail rather than spray paint. It was a tree with many branches, lifeless and bare. Scattered on the branches were human bodies, impaled on the branches or hanging from them by their internal organs, painted with such incredible detail they almost seem photo-realistic. Painted blood was slick upon the branches and trunk of the tree, seemingly dripping down and pooling into a lake of blood at the base. Innards were hung from the top most branches like grotesque decorations of some sort of insane Christmas celebration, with a murder of crows sitting among them, pecking and hoisting them higher still. Whoever painted this must have worked on it for hours...
"Dude, those are bodies hanging from a tree. That's not art, that's fucked up." Sierra says, folding her arms.
"I don't know, I think I could see Francisco Goya painting something like this." He says, waving his hand at the painting.
"No idea who that is, but that doesn't change the fact this is creepy as fuck..." You muttered, feeling kind of sick by just looking at it. "Can we look at something else?"
Thankfully your friends heeded your request and the three of you moved on to another painting in the room. Honestly it wasn't much of an improvement as each new painting or words graffitied on the walls were some degree of creepy, like there was some unspoken rule for those coming to vandalize this place had to help make it the most freaky art gallery in the world. Sierra seemed to share this sentiment as she looked at everything on the walls with an unnerved expression. Lucas meanwhile was looking at everything like he was in an art museum, taking particular interest in the paintings while nodding his head thoughtfully. All he needed was a complimentary glass of wine to help complete the look.
You guess it wasn't really all that surprising, while he may not look or act it most of the time, the guy had a hidden love for the artistic. He was more open for his love of movies and music, but he knew enough about traditional art that he could name drop artists you've never heard of. Shit... You could maybe name ten at most, and only the real famous ones like da Vinci. Of course, he wasn't an artist himself, in fact he was down right terrible, but there was nothing wrong with having an interest in art. You just wish he didn't find this "art" so fascinating.
Eventually you all grew tired of this room and moved on, going through another door into a side room. And the moment you walked in you immediately concluded that this may be creepier than the last room you were in. On every inch of the walls were eyes painted on, all of them looking in the direction of the door. The moment you set foot within the room, you were flooded by this sense of being watched... If that wasn't creepy enough, there was this single wooden bench in the middle of the room, looking far too pristine and new to have been originally from this house, facing an old derelict fire place. Above the fireplace were a set of works that were carved into the wall that read "Cursed be the man who enters this place".
"Why? Just... why?!" You hear Sierra say as she looks around the room. You had to agree, who the hell would want to make something so creepy?!
"I think it is kinda cool!" Lucas says as he takes a seat on the bench.
"Well of course you would, you damn nightmare fetishist." Sierra remarks sarcastically as she also takes a seat on the bench next him, stretching out as she did so.
"That's a little mean, Sierra..." You say sheepishly as you take a seat on the bench next to her. It was a bit of a tight squeeze and you essentially sandwiched Sierra between Lucas and yourself, but you're on the bench!
"Well it's true! He's the kind of guy who cheers when the killer in a horror film kills somebody."
"To be fair," Lucas says, raising a finger. "They tend to write those characters to be as unlikable as possible so you don't feel bad when they are killed."
"That always seem to be self-defeating to me." You say, wanting to weigh in on this subject. "Why wouldn't you want to make your characters as likable as possible in horror films? There's more tension and dramatic weight to when the killer finally gets them."
"Shoddy writing." Sierra shrugs.
"And because most horror films devolved into torture porn." Lucas nods. "Like the Saw films."
Sierra groaned in annoyance at the mention of those movies. "Are they still making those any more? I stopped paying attention after... what, the tenth movie?"
"Seventh actually, but I think another one was announced recently..." Lucas scratches the back of his head, unsure.
"Why won't they let that awful movie franchise die...?" Sierra groans again, pinching the bridge of her nose. "And take those Paranormal Activity and Purge movies with them..."
"The Purge wasn't that bad... Not great, but not bad." Lucas chuckles nervously as Sierra just glares at him like he just suggested kicking a puppy. Quickly he turns away and clears his throat. "So what horror films do you like?"
Sierra's expression softens as she looks up towards the ceiling, thinking. "Well my favorite is Predator."
"Seriously? I mean, good choice and all, but not what I was expecting." Lucas says surprised while Sierra shrugs in response. "My personal favorite is The Fly."
"You know... I have never seen that movie." Sierra says. The moment the words left her mouth you could see Lucas' eyes light up.
"Ah! It is fantastic! I have it one Blu-ray, we should check it out together some time!"
"How about after we get back home?"
"It's a date!" Lucas raises his fist and Sierra gladly bumps her's against it. "So Medea, what is your favorite horror movie?"
You hummed in thought, thinking about all the ones you've seen. "I think-"
Before you could give your answer a loud thud from a room above sounded through the room and shaking the house, causing all three of you to snap your attention upward towards the ceiling as a loose cloud of dust to flutter down to the floor.
"What was that...?" You squeaked out quietly.
"Dunno..." Lucas muttered, looking a bit concerned.
"Probably just the lovebirds goofing around." Sierra reasoned. "I'm sure everything is fine."
Lucas made a sound of agreement, but you could help but feel concerned. You continued to stare up at the ceiling, wondering what could have caused that thud.
[ ] Ignore it, it was probably nothing.
- [ ] Write In what you want to do next.
[ ] Go check on Eli & Danielle.
[ ] Ask Sierra to go check on Eli & Danielle.
[ ] Ask Lucas to go check on Eli & Danielle.
[ ] Suggest all three of you go check on Eli & Danielle.
Chapter 7: The Descent and The Door
- Location
- Washington
"Let's go check on them anyway. Even if it turns out to be just them messing around, I'd rather be safe than sorry."
You push yourself up from the bench, looking to Sierra and Lucas expectantly, and to your relief they don't question your decision and get up from the bench themselves. Together, the three of you leave the room and make your way back to the main entrance, trying not to look at the creepy artwork on the walls. Once you all get back to the entrance hall, you ascend the stairs to the upper floor, your collective footsteps causing the old stairs to let out a cacophony of squeaks and groans as the three of you apply your weight to each step on the way up.
Upon reaching the top of the stairs, you got a good look of the upper floor. It was another hall way, one that extended the entire length of the house, with a series of doors on each side of hall paralleled to each other, all of which were missing their doors like every other door in this house, and a single shattered window at each end. And, to no one's surprise, there was yet more creepy graffiti sprayed onto the walls.
"Where did that sound come from?" You whispered to your companions.
"If my mental map of this place is correct, then the room above the Creepy Eye Room should be..." Lucas looks around a bit, trying to puzzle out the house's layout in his head, before he points to the second to last door on the right. "Right there."
You nod your head and began slowly making your way over to that room, trying not to make too much noise despite the old floorboards beneath your feet. As you approach you could swear you can hear the faint sound of... giggling? Once you reached the door you slowly leaned to the side, peering into the room. And what you saw... made your face go beet red and your eyes widen. Down on the ground was Eli and Danielle, Eli with his back on floor with his girlfriend straddling his waist. The two of them were furious making out, fortunately still fully dressed (thank God for small miracles), with Danielle leaning over Eli, cupping his face as they kissed. Meanwhile Eli was a little more "handsy" as he felt up her legs, his hands slowly travelling up the length of them towards her rear.
Embarrassed from catching the two of them in an intimate moment, you pulled yourself back while trying to keep your blushing down. Sierra and Lucas looked at you, clearly wanting to ask you what you saw, but after analyzing your facial expression they seem to be curious themselves and leaned to look into the room and you see the two's eyes widen.
"Seriously guys?!" Sierra says in loud exasperation. The sudden announcement of your presence to the couple seems to have startled them as your hear a muffled squeal of surprised from Danielle and the duo quickly shuffling around. You decided to peer back into the room, seeing the two had stood up and were now about a foot away from one another, with both of them looking embarrassed and annoyed at the three of you.
"Why did you have to go and do that, Sierra? I was enjoying the show!" Lucas said with a chuckled before Sierra elbowed him in the side.
"Can we help you?" Danielle gives the three of you a glare, her face red with either anger, embarrassment, or both. Hard to tell really.
"Umm, we heard a loud noise and we wanted to see if you guys were okay..." You muttered as your shift a bit uncomfortably under her gaze.
Danielle looks at you for a moment before sighing, her expression softening. "Better than okay, actually."
"That noise you guys heard was probably us," Eli said, nodding his head. "Danielle here tackled me to the ground. Which actually kinda hurt." He shoots his girlfriend a playful accusatory look, who gives him an apologetic look.
"Really, Dani? Trying to jump his bones in this creepy place?" Sierra sighs, shaking her head. "At least have the self-restraint to wait until you got back to camp!"
"I'm sorry!" Danielle exclaims, her cheeks glowing red from embarrassment. "It was in the heat of the moment and I got carried away..."
"Heat of what moment?" Lucas asks, his eye brow raised in curiosity.
Danielle looks down, fidgeting where she stood. She took a few timid steps towards the door way, raising her left hand and presenting it. On her hand, on the ring finger, was a ring of silver with a heart shaped diamond embedded onto it. Your eyes widen, you tear your gaze away from the ring and to Danielle's face, which was now sporting a grin.
"Is that a-"
"Yep." Danielle nodded, her teeth beginning to show.
"That means he-"
"YEP!" Danielle lunges forward, wrapping both you and Sierra into a hug. "He asked me to marry him!"
That was quite the shock to hear. Of all the things you had expected to find out when you came up here, it certainly wasn't that. Looking at Danielle you can just see the pure joy she must be feeling at this moment; her eyes so bright and full of life, her joyful grin, and the girlish giggling as she embraced you and Sierra. You honestly couldn't help but feel happy for her, and it would seem neither could Sierra and she started smiling and giggling along with Danielle, and soon so were you.
"Danielle, congratulations!" Sierra laughs happily as she wraps her arms around you and Danielle.
"Thank you!" Danielle says as she breaks off the hug. "I'm so happy right now I could cry." And right on cue tears seem to well up in her eyes. She uses her arms to wipe away the tears, chuckling and sniffling as she does so. "I think I jinxed it..."
"Dani, this is really great news to hear. I'm happy for both of you." You give Danielle a smile and look over to Eli who sort of blushes and chuckles a bit embarrassed.
Eli walks over to the doorway, hand extended towards Lucas. Lucas gladly grasps it with his own and pulls Eli, each wrapping an arm around the other and patted their back.
"Congrats on her saying "yes", man." Lucas gives Eli a proud grin as he breaks off the hug.
"Thanks." Eli nods as he pats him on the shoulder and walked through the door. "C'mon, let's give the girls some time to talk."
Lucas nodded and followed Eli, leaving just you, Sierra, and Danielle alone in this room. Sierra crosses her arms and looks at Danielle, beaming a bright smile at her.
"So his idea of an ideal proposal location was this creepy place?" Sierra gives a good-natured laugh, shaking her head. "I have weird friends..."
Danielle laughs along with her and gives Sierra a playful pat to the head. "You know you love us~!" Danielle looks at her ring and softly smiles at it. "Besides, it's the thought that counts. I could care less about the location."
"You really love him don't you?" You ask. Danielle just smiles at you, nodding her head slowly. "Are you sure you are ready for this? I mean, you're both young and you've only been dating for a few months."
"And we've known each other for years." She pointed out. "Honestly, had I known he'd treat me better than any of my exes I would have gone out with him sooner."
"Either way, we're both happy for you." Sierra said, genuine sincerity in her tone. Despite how sarcastic she could be, or how much Danielle might get on her nerves, it was times like these you could see that Sierra does genuinely consider Danielle her friend. You look at Danielle and nod in affirmation of Sierra's statement.
Danielle reaches over and pulls the two of you back into a hug. "Thanks, guys." she whispers. "This means a lot to me." She breaks up the hugs, sniffling and rubbing her eyes. "Enough about me, what about you guys?"
You raise an eyebrow. "What about us?" You got a feeling like you know where she is heading with this...
"Have you guys been checking out the house together? Seen anything interesting?" Oh. Nevermind.
"We checked out a bit of the first floor with Lucas." Sierra says, placing a hand on her hip. "Lots of creepy art painted on the walls."
"Tell me about it." Danielle looks around the room, you follow her gaze and sure enough more art of graphic violence was painted on the walls, which you totally failed to notice when you first came in. Part of you kinda wishes to have been here to see Eli's proposal to Danielle just to see what events happened to lead to proposing in this room of all places.
"Why do people have to make such creepy things?" You whimper as you look around the room.
"Some people are just fucked up like that I guess," Sierra shrugs. "Like Lucas. I have no idea why he finds this shit so interesting."
"Speaking of Lucas~" You spy a mischievous grin spreading on Danielle's face. Oh dear... "You two were alone with him, have any fun with him?" Aaaand there it is...
"And you ruined it." Sierra gives Danielle an annoyed look. "We were having a nice conversation and you go and ruin it." Danielle started to laugh uproariously at your long time friend; evidently finding her annoyance amusing.
"Ahh... Your reactions make it worth it, Sierra." She reaches over and wraps an arm around Sierra's shoulder, pulling her in close. Sierra continues to glare at Danielle but doesn't protest against Danielle's invasion of her personal space. "Have you guys checked out the basement yet?"
"Not yet," you say. "Sierra was going to check it out, but I pulled her away to join me and Lucas in checking out the rest of the house."
"Sweet! So we're spoiler free!" Danielle let's go of Sierra and marches through the door in an exaggerated manner. "Let's go grab the guys and head on down!"
You and Sierra followed after her, together the three of you went back down the stairs where you could see Eli and Lucas were chatting while they waited. Hearing the racket from the stairs as your trio walked down them, the two guys turned their heads in your direction. Eli smiled as he spotted his girlfriend, or rather fiancée as you should say, and held open his arms as she hasten he descent down the old stairs, practically leaping into his arms. The two embraced, Danielle giggling happily as she gave Eli a kiss.
"You know there is such a thing as too much affection, right?" You casually decide to elbow Sierra in the side for that snarky remark.
Eli chuckles at the two of you as he let's go of Danielle, who pouts in disappointment. "So we're all here, let's all check out the basement!"
No one objects to the suggestion and everyone begins making their way down the hall to the basement. Briefly you considered suggesting not going into the basement, but you've all come this far, why stop now? No way were you going to be able to convince them to stop, you didn't before.
Eli, Sierra, and Lucas beam their flashlights down the stairway, illuminating the steps as the group makes their way down. The walk down was pretty tense. Maybe it was just nerves, but you couldn't help but feel a little afraid. Looking around you saw no graffiti on the walls of the basement stairway, which seemed... odd for some reason. Like this was the ideal place for scary stuff to be scrawled on the walls but there was none. You didn't have much time to linger on it, however as you and your friends stepped into the basement proper.
You looked around, analysis the dark room as best you can. It was pretty big all things considered, maybe being a good sixty feet both in length and width of the room. It had a stone floor and stone walls, with old wooden supports and an old wooden ceiling. Judging by the look of the wood, you were surprised they have rotted to the point where the basement would completely collapsed in on itself. In the center of the room where four altars, which surrounded a large dark stain on the stone floor. Briefly your mind wonders if the stain on the ground was from the blood of those who died here...
"Guess the guy who lived here was a cultist." You hear Eli say as he approaches one of the altars. The rest of your friends spread out to look around the room, Danielle staying close to Eli however.
Looking around you again realize there was no graffiti anywhere to be seem, no images of gore and death sprayed upon the walls for visitors to see. In the back of your mind some instinct screamed at you that this was wrong, and you were kinda agreeing with it. Slowly you approach the altars in the room, getting yourself a better look at them, coming to realize that they were carved in shapes. One altar was carved in the appearance of a man, naked in appearance like one of those renaissance sculptures, another was carved in the shape of a lion, another in the form of an eagle, and the last in the form of a bull. You weren't sure why they were carved like this, but you were sure it had some occult significance to the person who once lived in this god forsaken house...
You approach one of the altars, the eagle one specifically, glancing down at the flat-top surface that was being held up by the eagle's wings. There was a small, circular indent on the wooden surface, with old wax circling it. You guessed that this was for a candle to be placed, but why was the bigger question.
"Woah..." You hear Sierra mutter from behind you. Looking back, you saw what made he say that.
There, on the wall, was a large, steel door. It was so large that you all should have seen it when you first came in, but for some reason you are just now noticing it. It felt like it did not originally exist, but simply came to be after you all entered. You approach Sierra, and soon are joined by the others, the beams of their flashlights illuminating the door completely. The door looked like something out of an old medieval torture chamber, feeling too old even for this place. It had a bar like handle, a keyhole in the direct middle of it, and rows of small metal spikes outlined it, and engraved on it was the image of... something. You weren't really even sure what it was you were looking at. You want to say it was some sort of creature, a demon even, but it was so weird and abstract that your mind objected to those notions. But the most bizarre thing about the door was that it was clean, far too clean.
"What even the hell..." Lucas mutters quietly next to you.
"Was this always here when we came in...?" Danielle mutters as she shifts closer to Eli.
"I literally looked at this wall when we came in, it was not here." Eli says, sounding more than a little freaked out.
Slowly Sierra approaches the door with a outstretched hand. The tips of her fingers touch the steel door, and she immediately retracted them with a surprised yelp, like she had just been shocked. Suddenly, as if in response to Sierra touching the door, this instinctual feeling of dread washes over you, almost exactly like that feeling you got from that old man in the clearing. Like your body is responding to danger before you realize what is going on. Looking to your friends, you can see they are experiencing the same feeling just by the looks of their faces. Sierra retreats to your side, looking extremely panicked and holding the hand she touched the door with. You look back to the door, your mind now pulsating with revulsion just by looking at it.
[ ] Interact with the door. (Write In)
[ ] Go back upstairs. Just get out of the basement, you don't want to be here. You're sure everyone else will do the same.
[ ] Run. Something is horribly wrong here. Just run, get out of the house, get away from that door and get back to camp.
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The Nyctohylophobia Deadpool (Place your bets!)
- Location
- Washington
Thank you, Hannz. You've been a great help. :3Make a Thread here talking about your concerns, and a mod should come to you in half an hour or so.
https://forums.sufficientvelocity.com/forums/ask-a-private-question.46/
Alright. We're doing this.
EVERYONE PLACE YOUR BETS! WHO DO YOU THINK WILL DIE FIRST! YOUR CURRENCY IS RATINGS! GO!
Medea Parth (Player character) - NO BETS YET
Sierra - @lavanderjasmine (100 Likes)
Lucas - @Nevill (100 Like, 5 Funny), @Tarock Star (50 Likes)
Danielle - NO BETS YET
Eli - NO BETS YET
Eli & Danielle - @Hannz (Two Likes), @Shiranui (Two Likes)
No one dies - @TheLordofAwesome (Two Likes)
Everyone dies - @Tyrell (10,000 Likes)
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Chapter 8: Don't You See?
- Location
- Washington
Something is wrong with this door. Shit, there is something wrong with this whole house. You weren't really a believer of the supernatural, but nothing about this felt natural. But an idea came to you, one that might prove you're worried over nothing. You reached into your back pocket and pulled out your cell phone, facing its camera towards the door.
"Medea, what are you doing?" Eli asks as he eyes you curiously.
"Well... It's hard to explain," It really wasn't, you just felt silly saying your idea out loud. "Something doesn't feel right about this door. So if I take a picture of it maybe we'll see something weird."
"Like all those movies and shows that have ghosts show up in videos and photos?" Lucas asks, folding his arms. You're silent, but you nod your head. You were worried that the other would call your idea out for applying movie logic to reality, but no one says a word. Instead, they all huddle up closer to you.
You turn your phone's camera on, taking a step back and trying to get as much of the steel door into frame as possible. Even looking at the door through your phone makes you feel uneasy... Shaking it off, you move your thumb over the little white circle on the screen, tapping it and causing a camera shutter sound effect to sound off from your phone's speaker. Now with the picture taken you go to your phones picture to look at it, but... it wasn't there. The little square where the picture of the steel door was suppose to be was just a black square with no image. You furrowed your brow and selected the image, thinking maybe it'll load up when you see it in its intended form, but nothing. The screen was black.
"Did... did you move your finger or the camera lens for a split second?" Danielle looks down at your phone curiously, seemingly unsure what to make of the dark image.
"No, the door was in frame when I hit the button..."
You deleted the picture, raised your phone once more to get the door back into frame, tap the button to take a picture, and go back into your phone's pictures. Once more you find that instead of a picture of a door, it was just a dark image of nothing. Feeling a little frustrated you repeated the process once again, and once more only getting a black picture.
"Is your phone on the fritz?" Lucas asks.
In response you aim your phone at him and take a picture, your phone flashing to illuminate his face. You go to your pictures, and unlike the door the picture of Lucas was there. You shift your gaze from your phone back to the door, your head pounding from just looking at the damn thing. Something is wrong here.
"I'm going back up stairs..." You say as you put away your phone. "I think I've had enough of this place for one night..."
No one objects to this, in fact everyone seems to share the sentiment and soon you all shuffle yourselves to the basement stairs, ascending the steps to leave this dreadful room. As you all did so, slowly the feeling of dread you were feeling was evaporating. Once you all returned to the ground floor everyone seem to relax, but you could still clearly see they were all still more than a little freaked out.
"I want to leave now..." Danielle mutters quietly, pressing her head against Eli's shoulder. Eli softly shushes his lover, gently petting her head to comfort her.
"It'll be okay... We'll head back to camp, go to sleep, and we'll all go do something fun in the morning. Okay?" Danielle nods and Eli wraps his arms around her. He turns to the rest of you, giving you all a gentle smile. "Are you guys ready to head back?"
"Yeah, I think I'm with Medea on this one. I've had my fill of this place..." Lucas said as he started walking towards the door. No one says anything in response to that, choosing simply to follow Lucas' lead to outside the house. As you walk your eyes drift over to the walls, reading the graffiti sprayed on them once more.
HE'S WATCHING
LEAVE NOW BEFORE THEY HARVEST YOUR CORPSE
NO FUTURE LEFT FOR YOU
When you first came in here, you thought this was just people trying to make an already creepy place even creepier, but now... you wonder if these were really just warnings. A shiver runs up your spine at the thought. You really don't want to be here any more.
One by one you and your friends duck under the ply wood nailed to the door, going into the outside of the house. You breath a sigh of relief to be out of this place. The group splits a bit with Eli, Danielle, and Lucas going to side, looking over the map. Sierra, however, stands away from the group, staring off into the distance. Curious, you approach her, taking your place at her side.
"Sierra?"
No response.
You look at her and her gaze is fixed on the forest, locked onto something out there. Her body was tense, her sweat glistening in what little natural light there was out here, and she was gripping her knife, thumbing at the button to unleash the blade but not actually pressing it. Something clearly had her spooked, the others were too busy looking over the map to notice her staring off into the woods. You looked in the direction she was looking, hoping to see what she was seeing, but all you saw was darkness. "What do you see?"
Again, no response.
"Sierra," You shook her and her head whips to the side to face you, her neck making an audible pop as she does so. "What the heck is wrong with you?"
Slowly her head turns back in the direction of the forest. "There's something in those trees."
You feel your heart drop into you stomach at her claim, steadily beating more rapidly. You once more focused onto the forest, but again you see nothing.
"You see anything?" she asks, raising her hand and pointing. You squint your eyes, looking where she was pointing, but all you can see is nothing but trees and darkness as far as your eye can see in the night. If anything, anyone, is out there, it is either blends into the darkness or it is hiding. You're not sure which is worse.
"Nothing." You reply. "What do you see?"
Sierra looks at the trees in silence for a bit, but eventually sighs. "I guess it's nothing, Medea. I might just be a little shaken from what happened in the basement. I'm probably jumping at shadows."
With that she turns away and walks over to the rest of the group. You shoot one last look to the woods, wondering what could have made Sierra so spooked that she just stood staring into the trees. You shook your head, trying to clear your head of these thoughts so they don't end up bothering you for the rest of the night, and then walked over to join the others. Once you were all gathered together Eli shows you and Sierra the map.
"Alright, so I just told Dani and Lucas we'll be taking this route back to camp." He points to the location marked "House" and then travels straight to the location marked "Camp".
"That's not the way we came here," Sierra says as she narrows her eyes at the map.
"No, but it is the most direct way back." He says as he rolls the map back up.
"But I literally marked the trail here, we could just backtrack following the marks I made with my knife."
"Maybe, but that'll take longer." Eli sighs and rubs his brow in frustration. "And I'm sure we're all tired after tonight..."
"But we won't get lost." Sierra crossed her arms.
"We won't get lost if we take the direct route! We didn't get lost on the way here, so you can trust me that we won't on the way back."
"I'm not doubting your navigation skills, Eli, I just rather we be safe than sorry." Sierra shoots a look to you, then a look to Danielle before looking back to Eli. "I need to talk to Dani and Medea about something first before we go, at least consider it."
Eli mumbles a bit, sounding a bit frustrated to have to argue over this with Sierra, but gives a nod. Sierra nod to you and Danielle and turns away from the group to walk over to the steps of the house, and you and Danielle follow after her. Sierra slings her bag off her back, crouching down and shifting through its contents.
"What are you doing?" Danielle asks, tilting her head a bit.
Sierra doesn't respond, simply taking two items out of her bag and placing them on the steps, her knife soon joining them. Now that they in clear view you could tell what they were: a taser and pepper spray.
"Sierra, what are these for?" You ask with concern.
"Protection," She states simply, standing back up. "Look, I don't know what just happened in that basement, but I sure as shit don't feel safe out here. You guys are my friends and I want you to keep yourselves safe if something bad were to happen out there on the way back to camp."
"What about Eli and Lucas?" You ask.
"They'll be fine. They're guys. If we run into a problem I'm sure they could brute force it."
"I'm not sure I feel comfortable leaving my future husband unarmed, Sierra." Danielle gives a judging look, hands places on her hips. "What's got you so freaked out?"
Sierra looks around for a bit, avoiding eye contact, like she were trying to work something out in her head. Eventually she does look back to the two of you. "Do you guys trust me?"
Both you and Danielle look at her a little confused, but nod.
"Then please understand that I don't want the two of you too be worried." She looks down at the ground, shifting her feet around. "I'm sure it is nothing. I'm probably just being paranoid." Sierra sighs and wraps both you and Danielle in a hug. "Please, guys. For my own peace of mind. Take one of these to keep yourselves safe."
She releases the two of you, and you focus your gaze back on the assembled items on the steps. You shift your gaze back to Sierra, who is looking at the two of you expectantly, impatiently drumming her fingers against the side of her leg.
"What are you hiding, Sierra?"
What's Bothering You?:
[ ] Try to get Sierra to open up about what's bothering her. (1d100)
[ ] Let it go.
Weapon of Choice:
[ ] Take the knife.
[ ] Take the taser.
[ ] Take the pepper spray.
[ ] Insist that Sierra offer the weapons to Eli and Lucas.
The Way Back:
[ ] Insist to Sierra that the group should take the direct route back to camp.
[ ] Insist to Eli that the group should backtrack to camp.
[ ] Insist to everyone that the group should stay here at the house. - Write In response. (4d100)
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