Haunted House (IC)

[Syrax]

You've heard the stories of the kidnappings. Two months ago, a handful of people from around the country were kidnapped. These incidents would have been unlinked and dismissed as a city-level crime, but a house in the middle of nowhere was found during an investigation. Inside, there were the dead bodies of these victims, and a shredded life-like doll of another. Other than the bodies, the house was abandoned. Eventually, the house was torn down and the case filed away as all leads had vanished. That was two months ago.
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Ordinary day. Nothing interesting on the news, nothing spectacular happen, and just another day to be filed away. You're on your way home, and a truck stops next to you. Your every instinct screams at you to run and hide. Perhaps you should have listened.
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That was the last thing you remember. You wake up and you're inside a dimly lit room. The walls and floors are made of wooden boards that creak every time you look at them (or at least it seems that way, with how loud your every twist and turn is). The ceiling is a dull white, and peeling in a couple places. You're on a very poor excuse for a bed, on a mattress with a ratty sheet. There is no furnature in the room other than the bed. On one wall is a single wooden door with an iron doornob, and on the opposite wall is a window. The window is shattered, and barred with cold-dark, intimidating steel bars. Judging by the light that enters through the window, it's now nearing sundown.

[SilverRain]

Annie slowly woke up in a disoriented state. She sat still for a while as her senses returned before she noticed she was in a room she hadn't seen before. Then she noticed the ratty sheet and matress. "Eww... gross..." muttered Annie as she stood up and balanced herself. 'Man, where am I? Wait... it didn't happen did it?' thought Annie to herself as she looked at her clothes in panic. They didn't seem... disturbed nor did she remember anything about being with anybody. "Phew". Annie was relieved nothing bad happened. She held herself as she looked around, trying to remember all she can.

How long had she been knocked out? She was walking down a street and then suddenly she was here? Where was here? Wait. A truck. She remembered a truck. This couldn't be the creepy place of a truck driver could it?! Was he one of those maniacs she saw on TV? Was this some sort of prank by the men she worked with? But if it was the truck driver and she was in here, then he would most likely return soon. Annie needed a weapon to protect herself. Bash him to pieces if need be. No... it would be better to just run the hell outta here. But a weapon was still needed of course.

She looked towards the barred window. So was this a makeshift prison? The glass shards were pertty useless. Annie tugged away at the bars but they wouldn't budge. Outside was a place she was unfamiliar with. Another strong tug at the bars lead to the same result as before. She tried to call outside "HELLO? Is anyone out there?" she shouted. Then she regretted it. What if the bad guys or truck driver whatever heard her? Shit.

Then slowly, Annie turned to face the door. She stared at the doorknob whilst her heart pounded away. She was scared. Scared that at anytime the doorknob would move and the truck driver would enter the room. She didn't know what was outside. Why... why did it feel safer to be in here when in fact she knew that staying in one place was a bad thing? Whoever put her here would surely come back and she didn't see any signs of niceness. Most likely a negative situation.

Annie's hands and arms trembled as she approached the door. She tried to look underneath at the slit. Then she tried to listen for sounds. Maybe footsteps or talking... just something to tell her where she was. She wanted to turn the doorknob, but her days in the navy taught her to always survey the situation before stepping into unknown territory. As she listened for sounds she couldn't help but look at those window bars. If she could get them off, she could simply escape! Oh and the floorboards. Maybe she could inspect them later to see if she could create a makeshift thing to hit people with...

[Zeromaru]

Zack groaned as he rose to a sitting position, confused and disoriented, trying to remember where he was and when he had last been awake. He scanned his surroundings, and instantly saw that nothing around him was even remotely familiar. He panicked, wondering if he’d been kidnapped. Had somebody stolen his organs or something? He certainly didn’t feel like he was missing a kidney. But then, he wasn’t entirely sure what it felt like to be missing a kidney. He shook his head, trying to get his mind back on task. What was the last thing he remembered? He was walking back to the dorm after class. He could vaguely remember a truck pulling up next to him, but nothing at all after that. He gripped the back of his head with both hands and let out an exasperated moan. This didn’t make any sense! Where was he and why was this happening? He was starting to get really freaked out.

Okay, he thought, trying to calm himself down. It’s fine. I just need to find a way out of here. Wherever here is.

He put a hand on the mattress he was sitting on to brace himself and with some effort rose to a standing position. Despite his efforts to calm down, his heart was still racing and his hands were still shaking. He didn’t want to leave this room, afraid of what might be outside. But he didn’t want to be in this place any longer either. He went to the broken window and peered out. He could see that the sun was setting, but he didn’t see anything outside that he recognized. There wasn’t anything that could give him a clue as to where he was either.

“H-hello?!” the young man hollered towards the door. After a few moments of silence, he shakily made his way to the door and put his hand on the knob.

Here goes nothing.

He turned the knob and pulled.

[Syrax]

Annie:
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As you search the room, the floorboards creak horrendously. However, there is no sign that any of them would be able to be removed. The bars on the window remain steadfast, being unusually strong for such a fragile-looking room. There is no chance of escape through here. Once your words echo through the room, you hear a rustle in the walls. Nothing threatening, but a definate live rustle nonetheless.
|
As you search the door a little more carefully, you hesitate momentarily while listening. You hear nothing. No voices, no footsteps, and no more rustling. But, after a few moments, you hear a chatter coming from the same spot on the wall. And it sounds almost like....you dare say, laughter.
=
=
Zachary:
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Your words echo, then fall dead. If anything, the dead silence is even deeper than before. The only sound is the continued creaking of the floor as you walk around. You get the almost invading sense of being isolated and abandoned.
|
Opening the door, you enter into a large hallway. It extends in both directions, and is well-lit. The source of the light is unkown. However, it goes down for as far as you humanly can see, and there are no doors or windows on either side. The hallway itself has a high ceiling, and the floor has a red carpet. There is also a peice of paper with a note on it on the floor. It seems to steal your eyes, and you can't look away from it until you read it:

"Dearest guest,
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Your presence is requested in the dining room. The mistress of the house would like to have tea with you. Don't be late."

[SilverRain]

Annie was breathing only a tiny bit each time as she listened for sounds. She didn't want her own breaths to cover what little clues she may came across. Her eyes went wide as she heard a noise from the walss. Rats? Were there rats in the walls? How many were there? Whilst rats were in the end just small animals, she didn't want any of them to suddenly drop on her head or crawl across her face whilst she was sleeping. Then again, in situations like this, she would never ever sleep. Not until she got out of this place anyway.

Oh but the sound outside... was she hearing things? It was laughter. So it was true. It was the squad from before who were playing tricks on her. They were probably filming her right now eh? Watching her every move, laughing at her. Maybe they were going to post it online. Those jerks. Damn them all to hell. Grrr... she hated being laughed at. They want to laugh at her and make her look stupid? Well, lets see how they can laugh when she storms out there and teaches them a lesson!

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned! Stupid laughter...

Annie turned the knob and flung the door wide open, half expecting someone with a camera or something. "Damn you all!" shouted Annie at the top of her voice with her eyes closed (you know, just in case she gets dunked with a bucket of water).

[Zeromaru]

Zack knelt down in the hallway, reading the note that he had found and picked up off of the floor. He really didn’t like the look of it. “Don’t be late” made him especially nervous. What would happen if he was? He looked up from the note at the hallway that he had found himself in. It seemed to extend in both directions. There were no signs or anything indicating where the dining room was, and the note didn’t give him any directions. Which meant he had to just pick a direction and go. He didn't have anything to go on, so whatever decision he made would be nothing more than a flip of the coin.

He took a deep breath. Left, he decided at random. He rose to his feet, rolled the note up and stuck it in his pocket, and then started walking down the hallway to his left. He could fell his heart racing as he walked, and he was breathing heavily. He was afraid. Very afraid. Where would this hallway take him? Who was this mistress who apparently wanted to have tea with him? How did he even get to this place? He wanted to tear his own hair out in frustration. The previous night he’d been worried about finishing a paper on time. Now he was worried that he was going to get jumped and murdered by crazy kidnappers.

But he just kept walking down the hallway, trying and failing to block out all of the fear and paranoia running through his mind. There was nowhere else he could go, so he had to keep going forward.

[arthas32]

Anthony rolled around on the bed, if it could be called that. He felt very uncomfortable and his head hurt like hell. Opening his eyes, he saw a cracked, white ceiling, which made him understand he wasn't in his home. He jumped out of bed, slightly panicked : " Shit. Did I drink last nigh ? " Anthony inspected the room with his eyes. Barred window, wooden walls, shitty bed : " Am I in jail ? " The thought was quickly dismissed when he saw the door. They don't have wooden doors in prison. Anthony walked towards it, boards creaking under his feet. He opened the door slowly. It wasn't the first time he woke up in an unknown house but something told be him to be careful.

[Syrax]

[I actually can get a post in today]
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Annie
-
You swing the door open wide. There is no attack, no movement, or anything else of the sort. When you open your eyes again, you see that the door opens into another room. The room looks identical to the one that you're in in terms of floor and ceiling. However, the floor is bare and there are no windows. Instead, candles are mounted on the walls. The room, though being run down, has a pleasant glow. On the opposite side are three more doors, with a note on each one. From where you stand, you can't read them.
|
Before you can move, the chatter once again starts up. You hear it on both sides of you, inside the walls. It certainly is laughter. And it certainly isn't human.
=
=
Zachary
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You continue to walk down the hallway for what seems like a much longer time than should be possible. Finally, you reach the end of the hall. You must have dazed out since it seems to have suddenly appeared in front of you. On it is another note:
Turn around.
|
Turning around, being compelled once again against your will, you see another wall in front of you. Where the hallway had been there now is a door. Above the door is a simple sign that says "Dining Room." However, a second door has also appeared to your left. It is slightly cracked open, and you can hear voices coming from inside. It's a dull murmer, only audible if you strain your hears. However, once hearing it, it becomes hard to ignore. You have two doors available.
\
Note: this is one of your major choices. The mistress is waiting in the dining room, and there are unkown voices in the other room. Which do you talk to?
=
=
Anthony
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You cautiously walk towards the door. As your senses are on alert for anything that might do anything, the house seems to openly mock you. Stepping on a board near the door, the walls around give off a very, veyr loud creak as the floor drops from underneath you. The sound is so sudden that by the time you even register hearing it, you've already landed. You're now about six feet below your room, and the trapdoor above you closes.
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The room you are in is large, as if it was a formal living room. Behind you are barred windows, and there are doors on the other three walls. On the wall directly opposite of you, the doors are large double-doors. Candles light the entire room.

[arthas32]

Just as Anthony was about to put his hand on the door-knob a loud creek moaned trough the house. It took him a few moments to realize he wasn't in his room anymore. Every bone cracked in him as he slowly got up from the floor. Looking around he saw a strange room, like one of those castle dining halls he saw on TV, but there was no table, no chairs, no red carpet. Looking around he saw the 2 other doors clearly and more barred windows : " Where do I go now ? "

Spending a bit of time to decide, Anthony checked his pockets for his dice. Plain white, with black dots, it was like any other dice, just slightly smaller. If he finds it, he would roll : 1 - 2 for the door on the left, 3 - 4 for the double-door in front and 5 - 6 for the door on the right.

[SilverRain]

Annie blinked at what she saw. A room with candles on the wall and three doors? This was definitely some sort of prank. But why three doors? Couldn't there just be one? She hated making decisions like this. But then if there was only one then it would be as if she was forced down a path. Well okay, so maybe three doors was better. She didn't want to exactly enter the room yet and so tried to peer at the notes on the doors. Not much luck. Hmm... maybe she could kick open all of them and then look and decide.

Ack... the laughter it was back again. Or was it always there? Did she get used to it? It creeped her out. Whoever was blaring the stuff had picked some quite scary sounds. They echoed In her ears over and over, as if beckoning... no... mocking her. Annie plugged her ears with her fingers and sighed at the rare moment of silence. That didn't work - the laughter still eventually flowed through. She could only hope her mind would learn to ignore it soon.

So this was a puzzle of some sort. Maybe it was part of special military training. Like a survival course for the Elite troops. If that was the case Annie wouldn't mind. Sure she left the Navy, but if this could secure her an awesome job, then she would play along. Better to perform to her best then. Annie remained at the door searching the room for traps and trying to peer under the door slits ahead. Nothing much to be found. She was about to step foot into the room when she remembered that it would be better if there was a way back.

Somehow the room with the mucky bed suddenly felt very comfortable and safe. Annie bit her lip and went back to the 'bedroom' to drag the matress across the floor to the door. She would use it to prop open the door. Annie crossed her arms in triumph - proud of her smart thinking.

She went to the doors and stopped at a point just close enough to read the note of the center door. Military training not only taught her to have a backup plan but to also only do the necessary and expect the unexpected. She didn't feel like getting to close to the doors in case someone decided to kick them open and smash her in the face. She also tried to look under the middle door.

But what was with the candles? The military don't use candles. She hoped she would find a weapon soon. Somehow she felt a bit vulnerable just standing around like this.