The Eight Pages
AN: I love Halloween, and so I'm trying my hand at a thriller, horror fic for the occasion, and I have no idea how it's going to turn out. I'm hoping to get a little bit of a response- tell me how it is, and enjoy chapter one. Almost seven thousand words. Also, be sure to check out my new mostly-smut Jesse/ Ethan, Ethan/Benny story titled Vampire Blood, coming out very very soon. Might even be the same time as this new story.
PS: You don't need to know who Slender is and you don't need to have every played the Slenderman games before. It's all in good fun...for me, at least. Can't say the same for our poor characters. -Insert evil laugh- It's showtime!
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"They always put too much salt on these things." Ethan wrinkled his nose, sucking the crystal-like grains off his fingers as he threw the cardboard bowl back into the bag on the seat next to him. "Ugh."
"I've never liked Taco John's." Erika wrinkled her nose from her spot next to him. She flipped the page of her Seventeen magazine with perfectly manicured hands, reading in the dim light from the dusk sky. "Too messy and fattening. Nothing but grease."
"If we could ever get to Benny's uncle's house." Ethan took a long sip of his soft drink, discarding the near-empty bag with something akin to relief. "We could fire up the grill or something and eat real food."
"If we could ever get there." Erika agreed, too tired for her usual snap to accent her voice. "We've been driving forever."
"Just a few hours." Ethan corrected, seeing Sarah and Benny finally emerge from the Speedy-Stop they were parked in front of. "Finally."
"How much further?" Erika asked as Benny climbed in the drivers seat, Sarah in the passengers, after they'd thrown the groceries and such in the back with the luggage. Ethan and Erika had previously occupied the front, but Erika had tired of driving, and Ethan had tired of being criticized by Erika for his choices of music. ("Come on, babe! The 70's were the best!" Benny had defended him from the backseat.)
"Only about an hour." Benny shrugged, and there was a collective groan. "Hey! It'll be worth it. My uncle's house is awesome."
"It is!" Ethan agreed, tearing into a bag of gummy-bears that Sarah had handed him. "We've been there like three times, his uncles house is the best- a little old, but awesome. The whole property is amazing. Big oak trees in the back, a wide open yard, a garden, no traffic rushing by, fresh air..."
"A outdoor pool." Benny reminded him as he pulled out of the parking lot. "A hot tub. An air hockey table in the basement. Surround sound- and Uncle Caleb was cool enough to let all five of us stay there for the week, after I promised we wouldn't read apart his house."
"The five of us?" Erika asked, lifting her head from the magazine curiously. "Who else is coming?"
"Rory." The boys said simultaneously and the blonde recoiled.
"That little dork is coming along?"
"You didn't think I would invite you and not him?" Benny asked and caught Erika's eye in the mirror, raising an eyebrow at her sneer. In truth, half the reason he'd invited her was because Sarah had wanted him to.
"He should be there about an hour after us." Ethan commented, oblivious to the mini glare-match going on between the two teens. "He's taking his mom's car."
"I can't believe she let him." Sarah said, fiddling with the radio. "Ugh. Your music wasn't totally hopeless, Ethan, but I wish we could listen to something from this century."
"Nothing modern ever comes on around here." Benny answered, hitting his right armrest with his elbow. "My dad's girlfriend used to drive this car. Look in this elbow cupboard thing, I think there's some CD's in there."
"Um, let's see." Sarah began searching in the middle armrest and pulled out about five CD's. "We've got...Maroon 5...Bruno Mars, Elvis." Sarah gave them a funny look. "All right then...Foo Fighters and Various Hit's Top 30."
"Foo Fighters!" Ethan called.
"Elvis!" Benny exclaimed from the drivers seat. Sarah raised an eyebrow at him and he spared a glance at her. "What? Driver picks the music. Shotgun shuts-"
"Um, not today." Sarah interrupted and shook her head, the. looked back in the compartment. "Oh, there's three more!"
"Just put something on, not Elvis." Erika called. "Or turn off the oldies, my ears are hurting!"
"Wait, wait!" Sarah turned over the first CD in her hands. "Now, we've got...Rob Zombie, ZZ Top and Alice Cooper."
"ZZ Top!"
"Alice Cooper!"
"Rob Zombie scares me."
"Various Hits it is." Sarah blew air out of her lips and opened the CD case, preparing for another long hour ahead.
More like an hour and a half, they finally arrived.
It was ten o' clock in the evening, and it the sky had begun to sprinkle the ground with rain, but the house was just as Benny and Ethan remembered it. The two had been to visit Benny's uncle all of three times together in the last ten years, and Benny spare few times before when he was a kid, but it wasn't something one could easily forget. It was massive.
"This place is huge." Sarah commented when they stepped out of the car. They had all grabbed luggage and bags of rations and were heading up the brick driveway to a big porch.
"Yeah." Benny shrugged, jingling a few keys in his fingers. "He's thinking about expanding."
"Can we hurry up?" Ethan asked impatiently from the back of the group. The house was a sight to behold, but he'd taken the most bags and his arms were hurting.
"Sorry, sorry!" Benny exclaimed, shoving a key in the lock and made a disgusted sound when it didn't turn. "Dammit. Sorry E."
"Oh look, Rory's here." Ethan grumbled as headlights shone through the few trees along the road. Their nearest neighbors were about a half-mile to the left of the house, and the nearest town was about three miles to the right- pretty private as far as this area went.
"What's up, bros and broette's?" Rory exclaimed as he exited the car. With blurring speed he was up the drive and up the stairs, making Ethan flinch as he popped up next to him. "Everyone ready for a late-night cook out? I brought hotdogs and marshmallows. Couldn't find the bread though."
"Sounds just like you, RV." Benny rolled his eyes, trying two more keys before he was finally able to turn one. "Yes! We're in!"
"You need some help, E? You look like your struggling." Rory was asking meanwhile, taking a few heavy bags off Ethan's arms, adding to his own luggage.
"I wasn't struggling!" Ethan's cheeks tinged pink, but Rory only winked and bounced along inside when the five entered the dark house. "But thanks."
"Oh my god, this is beautiful!" Sarah exclaimed as they entered the home.
"It's a pretty nice house." Erika admitted, looking around."A little old but awesome was right."
"So, what do you guys want to see first?" Benny asked. "Living room, basement, bedrooms, or the back porch-which doubles as a swimming and grill area?"
"Grill, definitely." Rory answered, already shoveling potato chips into his mouth. "I'm starving."
"Bedrooms." Erika spoke up.
"Yeah, bedrooms." Sarah smiled pleasantly. "I want somewhere to put my luggage before we head out."
"Bedrooms it is, then." Ethan interjected, shoving his way to the bottom of the stairs and gesturing them to follow. He didn't look too enthusiastic about hauling his burden up the twisting flight of stairs that suddenly looked a mile long. "We'll meet you out back, Benny."
"Dude, what if there's wild animals out there?" Benny whined only half-jokingly as the girls followed his friend up the stairs.
"There's a fence. What're you afraid of, squirrels?"
Benny made a disgusted sound and shook his head. "Come on, Rory, let's check out the back."
"Hold on." Rory said, and was gone suddenly with his and Benny's luggage both, and was back in a flash. Benny could hear voiced complaints from upstairs and something that sounded suspiciously like someone falling over. "Okay, let's go."
"Woah!" Benny exclaimed upon exiting the back doors to the patio. "Upgrade!"
"Upgrade?" Rory asked, equally struck by the beauty of the layout.
"The last time I was here, this place was awesome, but pretty rough. Like a outline of what it is now." Benny answered, heading over to the opposite end of the porch, and on the other side of a large-ish pool where the handsomely stained boards of the porch turned into anti-skid stone. He looked into the bright blue pool, which was in the shape of either a very mutant pear or a very well-thought-out spat, and when he reached on the wooden wall next to him, lights came on.
"Awesome..." Rory gushed, when the lights switched from strobes to different colors and back to solitary white, glowing off the stones at the edges of the pool that made it look like an extremely well-kept natural watering hole.
"That's not all!" Benny exclaimed suddenly, pointing to an area just off to Rory's left. "Dude! Uncle Caleb has a slide-out flat screen!"
"Think it gets wifi?" Rory asked enthusiastically and flew up to pull the TV out of the wall, ignoring the stepladder. "We can binge-watch Once Upon A Time!"
"Rory, we practically live in Once Upon A Time." Sarah grinned as she walked out of the sliding doors, followed closely by Ethan, and then Erika. The tanned beauty was dressed in modest white shorts and a simple gray bikini top to match- though to the boys' dismay, she was pulling on a white bathrobe. Surprisingly, Erika looked much the same, except that her swimwear was blood red against her alabaster skin, and she had a short swimming skirt on over a bikini bottom- minus the bathrobe.
"This is so beautiful!" Sarah awed at the pad, while Ethan pulled out a chair for her at one of the pool-side tables.
"Woah! Upgrade!" Ethan exclaimed, taking in the pool. As usual when it came to these things, Ethan was dressed in a dark gray tee and somewhat-geeky dark and flowery swimming trunks that Benny thought he just looked delicious in.
"Upgrade?" Erika asked disbelievingly, looking around as though reluctantly impressed.
"The last time I was here-"
"Okay, this is getting weird." Benny grinned, beginning to unbuckle his pants as he walked around the pool. "So who wants to tests the waters first-"
The spellmaster was promptly hit with a pool towel that wrapped around his face like a turban.
"How about get dressed first?" Sarah scoffed and Benny could just feel the grins of the onlookers.
"Right." He sighed. "Rory? You bring shorts?"
"-"
"Of course not." The spellmaster began walking towards the doors, seeing along the way that Rory had had no luck in getting the flat screen to connect. "E, would you take a look at that TV? Try and get Youtube or Netflix or something?"
"Something wrong with ordinary old cable?" The seer asked as he rummaged through the bags of food. "Who wants what? Sorry ladies, no small salads-"
"Is that a firepit?" Sarah asked, coming up next to Ethan and snatching the red hot dogs from in front of him. She gave him a friendly grin as she walked away and Ethan resisted from staring at how good she looked even in a bulky robe and hurried over to the flat screen.
"So much sexual tension on these grounds." Erika sighed, getting up and starting the stainless steel grill aflame. "And even with all the bikinis and exposed skin it's painfully obvious that RV is the only one really interested in the females tonight."
"Erika!" Sarah chided from where she was already roasting hot dogs on a metal spit. Erika just shrugged as though 'you know it's true' and Ethan pretended not to have heard anything- although what could be seen of his face and neck was flushed red.
"It's BENNY!" Benny popped in quite literally out of nowhere and almost upset a startled Ethan off of his ladder. "Sorry, E."
"And ROR-"
"Too late!"
"It's never too late for RV Rory Vampire to save the day." With both hands the blonde vampire held up bags of hot dog and burger buns. "Who's ready to grill out?"
"I'm about ready for a nice B Positive martini." Erika said blandly from her position at the grill.
"Come on babe, don't be a party-pooper!" Rory busied himself trying to help the beautiful vampire while Benny joined Ethan at a table. The seer was flipping idly through TV channels, and on the table were two more remotes and a portable keyboard with a mouse.
"Whatcha looking for?" Benny asked, scooting himself closer to his slightly morbid-looking friend.
"Just flipping through the cable." Ethan replied, pushing the remotes a across the table. "You wanna look?"
"Come on, E, don't be like this." Benny teased, reaching across the table to stroke Ethan's jawline, but was quickly pushed away.
"Benny-"
"Aww, E." Benny comforted, though he was grinning, and pulled the table backwards and then grasped Ethan's chair to drag him over. A reluctant Ethan stopped resisting as Benny pulled him close, throwing an arm around the shorter teen.
Which was only slightly uncomfortable seeing as Benny was now bare chested and dressed only in a pair of swimming shorts.
"Benny, come on." Ethan said, though in a noticeably lighter tone. He was pushing lightly at Benny's side and the spellmaster had a feeling that his smile was forced. "We've been over this."
"This weekend was supposed to be about fun, E." Benny let go of the seer, confused to as why he was acting the way he was.
"Not this kind of fun."
Perplexed, Benny tilted his head. "Okay, E...something's bothering you...what is it? Is it me?"
"Only a little." Ethan smiled genuinely this time, and gave into familiarity, moving a lock of stray hair out of Benny's eyes. The gesture was slightly intimate- not something just-friends would do normally, and Benny recognized it as a peace treaty. "Benny, I can't keep doing this."
"Whatever you're thinking, E, you can trust me." Benny asserted gently, and it seemed as though they were picking up a conversation they'd had a thousand times already- even if they'd only split up just over two months ago. "Don't think so hard."
You know, you are the one who broke up with me." Ethan murmured, not meeting Benny's eyes. The tone combined with the slight hesitation told Benny everything he needed- however the teenage urges and attraction, Ethan wasn't actually interested in Sarah. He was still his.
"I kind of thought it was a mutual decision." Benny replied, honestly but a little uncomfortable- a feeling that was fading rapidly because Ethan's fingers had remained in his hair, trailing softly through his shaggy hair. The spellmaster could never feel anything but safe and happy when Ethan looked at him like that- which was understandably confusing, given the current conversation. There was still an undertone of sadness to the pair. "Is that really how you feel, E?"
"I don't think you really want me, Benny." Ethan grinned a little. "I see the way you still look at Erika- even Sarah, for that matter."
"Aw, E, you know how I am." Benny whined a little and took Ethan's hand, holding it to his chest as he gave his best sweet smile. Then he winked. "And I know how you are. You're my best friend and we've experienced everything from awkward situations to stupid geeky fights to epic monster battles together- but you're still the only one I really have eyes for. I wouldn't say that if it weren't true."
"Can we just..." Ethan struggled for words, giving up with a sigh. "Just please not do this right now? I'm so stressed out right now, you have no idea, I just need to relax a little."
"Then relax." Benny gave a kiss to Ethan's temple, knowing that his friend would appreciate his taking it slow, and stood up to stand behind the seer. Smiling a bit deviously and swearing to himself that he'd successfully romance his best friend back into being HIS by the end of the weekend, he began massaging E's tense shoulders. "I'll help you."
"Benny, you don't have to do that." Ethan was about to stand up as well, but Benny held him down gently. "You know, there's nothing good on TV, maybe I'll just get in the jacuzzi-"
"We can do that too." Benny murmured, and he'd done this before, so he knew exactly where Ethan's muscles got stiff the most and what felt best. He could already feel that E was letting go.
And he hadn't even pulled out the big guns- watered down wine, Italian food, and a would-be anniversary gift of a mini-telescope.
Across the patio, Erika and Rory were sitting around the fire, watching the exchanges between Ethan and Benny and Sarah was kicking back by the grill, sipping Coke out of a straw and reading a book she'd brought along.
"Ethan could do better." Erika commented bluntly, watching as Benny continued to skillfully knead Ethan into seer-putty by the pool. "Don't tell him I said that." She added as an afterthought.
"I'd hate to disagree with a beautiful lady." Rory said around a mouth of food. "But that statement couldn't be more wrong."
"Well, I get the whole geek connection thing." Erika dismissed. "It's kind of cute actually, but anyone could see how easily distracted goofy Merlin is. He's obviously bent, but he..." She shrugged. "Kind of swings both ways, doesn't he? He's a skirt chaser."
"And what about Ethan?" Sarah asked, as she walked up with a plate of perfectly grilled burgers and additional hot dogs. In her other hand was paper plates and cups. "He can't be all that gay."
"You're right, he's been fawning after you since freshman year."
"Okay, okay ladies!" Rory held up both hands. "I'd be willing to testify here that both of them are actually into chicks and dudes...particularly each other dudes."
"Does anyone else feel bad that we're talking about them when they're just like...over there?" Sarah pointed discreetly at the intimate scene.
"No." Rory answered breezily. "Anyway, guys, I've known both of them way longer than you have- no offense, and those two have been inseparable since kindergarten. Soul mates, if I've ever seen them." He took a huge bite of his burger. "So even I don't doubt Benny's loyalty. It's only ever been about Ethan."
Bite. Crunch. "N' ves' ver'a."
"And vice versa." Sarah translated effortlessly, a little weirder out by her own ability to recognize Rory's food-speak. She shook her head as Rory nodded with vigor.
"Well..." Erika shrugged, making a face. "This just furthers my theory that hanging out with dorks only hinders one's social radar."
"Erika, can you try not to be so unpleasant?" Sarah complained and the blonde rolled her eyes.
"You realize that you're asking me to say...pretty much nothing at all?"
"Damn straight." Benny spoke just as Sarah opened her mouth to answer and Erika looked at the spellmaster with a half impressed expression. Ethan had just set the TV on a rerun of Ridiculousness and was heading over. Benny continued, "There is a strict no-negativity rule in any house of Weir, including this one, for all intents and purposes. and-!" He lowered his voice to a near whisper, glaring a little. "This is the weekend I win back my boyfriend. So don't muck it up."
"Fine!" Erika held up both hands. "Fine. Since apparently what I say affects everyone here so deeply, I'll try to restrain myself."
Benny nodded just as Ethan walked up, looking at them all funny.
"Did I miss something?" He asked, half-jokingly and took an open seat.
"No."
"Nothing."
"Kinda."
"Uh.."
Looking around, Ethan only raised an eyebrow, and proceeded to help himself to the arrangement of food. Making a contented noise, the seer kicked back in his chair and gave Benny a discreet peck on the cheek when the taller teen handed him a can of his favorite soda. Something that didn't at all to unnoticed by the vamps, but no one spoke up, especially at the satisfied look on the spellmaster's face. Sarah and Erika shared a look but from then on, it was only talk about normal things.
And then somehow, they all ended up in the jacuzzi at the same time- even Erika. Watching Baggage.
"The freaks that show their faces..." Rory shook his head, taking a drink of his blood, and Root beer mix with a lemon on the edge of the glass. "You just can't win."
Sarah sat next to him with big brown eyes and her lips parted in a blend of shock and curiosity. The others were locked on the flatscreen, watching anxiously.
"What an idiot." Erika drawled, sipping her own umbrella drink.
"Makes you wonder who your next door neighbor is." Ethan added.
"And what kind of weird fetishes they have." Benny shuddered visibly. "Dressing up as Harry Potter in bed? Barney?"
"What about that guy who doesn't like kissing?" Erika shook her head with an incredulous look on her face. "Why even come on the show?"
"Why even say that?" Sarah looked beyond confusion. "He could have at least have himself a fighting chance."
"So who wants to step into the Hot Spot?" Benny grinned, then looked around. "So where would you take a first date?"
"The local blood drive." Erika answered coyly. "I thought that much was obvious."
"I knew we were soul mates!" Rory enthused, leaning closer to the beautiful blonde, who scooted away none too subtly.
"A movie?" Sarah asked more than answered. "A boat ride?"
"I was thinking somewhere along the lines of Italy." Benny shrugged. "To the Colosseum. Or to Greece- to see the Parthenon."
"And how are you supposed to get there?" Sarah asked him with a raised eyebrow.
"Easy." Benny smirked. "I used the floo network. Or, in other words, an ancient transporting disk the Price family used some years ago before their family lost any and all magical blood. But there was a lot of ash."
"And rust." Ethan added. "There was a lot of rust too. It smelled like copper."
"I'm pretty sure the disk thing was bronze." Benny argued. "Though it did smell like metal, didn't it? Granted it had been cooped in that chest in the back of the museum for so long, it almost didn't work anymore."
"And you still decided to chance it?" Sarah asked, and Rory snapped his fingers suddenly and got up, flitting out of the pool and spraying everyone with hot water. There was a collective sound of disgust, and Benny was wiping chlorine out of his eyes when Sarah and Erika got up to.
"Where are you guys going?" Ethan asked curiously. "I'm pretty sure Rory went to get another plate."
"Refill." Erika shook her empty glass and sauntered away, followed by Sarah, who'd left her robe on a pool chair.
"I'm going to unpack a little before we go to sleep." Sarah answered. "Vampires don't need sleep, and this place is awesome, but it feels a little creepy out here, don't you think?"
When she was gone, and Rory and Erika had surprisingly struck up a little conversation, Ethan took his eyes away from the newest rerun of Baggage to lean closer to Benny.
"You know, it does seem creepy out here." Ethan muttered, and Benny distractedly put an arm around the Seer, pulling him close to his side, as he was prone to doing.
"Why's that?" Benny asked, with his eyes still on the screen. Then he shook his head and looked at Ethan when the seer hit him lightly on the chest.
"I felt it as soon as we got here." Ethan grumbled. "Didn't you? It feels like...I don't know, like something's watching us."
"Watching us?" Benny asked, trying not to sound disbelieving and backing down when his best friend glared at him. He tried to reassure him. "I've always felt safe here, E. There's nothing but trees and that nice old couple down the road for miles. Not even bobcats come up this way."
"I know." Ethan pressed. "That's what makes it so creepy...and upstairs, I had a vision."
"About what?" Benny inquired, his curiosity quirking.
"Just a hallway." Ethan shivered, though the juccuzi was hot and the night air was fair and still. "Like the hallway upstairs, except it had a window at the end with no curtain. And it felt like...I don't know. It was dark and ominous." He slid closer to Benny and leaned into him. The spellmaster, surprised by Ethan's silent question for comfort, held him tighter and rubbed his shoulder soothingly.
"It does seem like the forest's holding it's breath or something, doesn't it?" Benny asked, mostly for Ethan's benefit- he didn't want to seem like he didn't believe the seer. "Maybe it's just because we haven't been back for a long time, E."
"Maybe." He still seemed doubtful.
"You know, Halloween is coming-"
"Halloween is still months away, Benny."
"Well, comparably to like...Easter." Benny stuck out his tongue. "You know what we should try? There's that game with the guy and those bathrooms-"
"A bathroom guy?" Ethan raised his eyebrows. "It sure sounds impressive."
"No, it's about this guy or something who walks around in the forest with a flashlight trying to find notes."
"Oh, I think I know that one!" Ethan scrunched up his face and picked up the keypad and mouse from the edge of the jacuzzi, standing up and sitting on the edge, so as to not accidentally drop it into the chlorinated water. He began searching. "I think Jane was playing that a couple times with her friends. I kept hearing them screaming."
"Oh please." Benny rolled his eyes, clambering out of the pool to sit beside him with a splat. "It can't be that scary."
"Let's find out!" Rory popped up in the middle of them, throwing an arm around either teen and just managing to swallow down a mouth of food before he spoke again. "Nothing can stop the unbeatable team! The three amigos! The three-"
"But don't we need muskets to be the three musketeers?"
"..."
"Okay, here it is." Ethan said, rotating between the five or six game choices before settling on the most normal-looking one. "Jeez, Caleb's wifi is fast. I barely clicked on it."
"It's already done loading." Benny looked impressed. "You gonna go first E?"
"Might as well." Ethan shrugged, but before he could speak up, Rory snatched away the keypad.
"I will!" He said like he was doing them all a great favor, giving the mouse a few test swivels. "No game, no matter how scary, can handle the Rorster."
He clicked 'Begin'.
"Well, it sounds scary." Benny commented, watching as a forest appeared- big, handsome trees lit by a flashlight. At first, as Rory fumbled with the controls and began walking, there was only the sound of crunching footsteps- and then a deep bass-like sound started up, booming from the surround sound.
"If this the fastest I can go?" Rory asked a few moments later, when it became evident that the character was very, very slow. "This is boring. Dudes, what am I even supposed to be looking for? There's nothing here but trees."
"You're looking for pages." Benny answered. "As to where you find them, I have no idea."
"Hey, there's a big tree." Ethan pointed out, as Rory came across a clearing with a big, dead-looking tree in the middle. "Maybe it's on there."
"Ahh..." Rory squinted and found that he could sprint. "Boo-yah! Are you seeing this? This game dares not to defy vampire-ninja the right to run! Supersonic speed!"
Circling the tree with some difficulty, the blonde came across a single, worn page with black writing.
"Sees all, no eyes." Rory read gazing at the picture of a man in a suit with his eyes crossed out and to his left, Ethan shuddered. As soon as Rory picked up the page, there was a sound of fluttering. Two seconds later or so, the booming bass intensified and sent chills up the trio's spines.
"Where's the dude?" Benny asked, eyebrows furrowing as he leant closer. "That tall guy."
"What tall guy?" Rory asked, sounding a little unnerved, as he swiveled the mouse around, looking this way and that. "The one in the picture? Which way do I go next?"
"Take your pick." Ethan's eyes searched the screen. "I don't think it matters."
"Righty-tighty..." Rory murmured, spinning in a steady circle. "Lefty-thefty. North..South...West is the best..."
"Oh just pick a direction!" Benny scowled. "Or I'll pick for you."
"Fine." Rory headed in a random direction, but off to the left of the characters peripheral vision, there was something white. "Hey, what's-"
Ethan sucked in a sharp breath and Benny gave a sound of surprised fear as a sound of sharp interference cut through the speakers- all the while Rory went stiff and started swiveling the mouse in all directions. Before any of them could even see what the white thing was, Rory had started running in another direction.
"What the flying fiddle?" Rory squeaked, still stiff in fear. He threw the controller at Benny, who fumbled for a second before continuing to run.
"What's going on over there?" Sarah's voice broke through their little fear bubble, and the boys jumped.
"Nothing!" Ethan and Rory said at once, while Benny was starting to slow down.
"Are you kidding me?" Benny asked, apparently still trying to run. "This guy can only run for like ten seconds!"
"Actually, I think the character's a girl." Ethan commented, watching curiously. "Listen to her breathing."
"Definitely a girl." Benny agreed, then muttered, "Definitely runs like a girl."
Luckily for him, Sarah and Erika, caught up in a conversation some odd meters away, didn't hear him.
"Look behind you!"
"Rory, when is that ever a good idea?" Ethan rolled his eyes.
"I want to find the next note!" Rory tried to take the keypad from Benny.
"You found the first one!" Benny argued, and somehow, in their struggle for the controls, the character had gotten turned around and suddenly they came face-to-face with the white entity.
"There he is!"
"Run!"
One working the keys and the other the mouse, the boys managed to turn around and sprint away, if only for a second. Ethan sat still, peeking at the large screen through his fingers with large brown eyes. The damage was done- the static and interference coming back, and suddenly there he was, right in front of them, though he'd been behind them just a second ago- Slenderman.
"Go!" Rory yelled, shoving the keypad and mouse towards Benny.
"Damn it!" Benny's girl character turned and staggered very slowly away. "Eat less doughnuts!"
In one hell of a jumpscare, Slenderman's face appeared right on the screen, along with interference that was now deafening, and there was a flurry of motion as the boys yelled in surprise and almost as one, the spellmaster and the vampire flung themselves backwards and into the bubbling jacuzzi. Ethan, robotic yet shaky and the only one to remain somewhat composed, reached out to snatch the controls before it could fall into the tub with them. Hot water splashed everywhere, making Ethan hiss as it sprayed his chilled skin, and Benny was the first to come up, sputtering and coughing.
The wiry brunet cursed, and a very wet and wide-eyed Rory followed him soon after.
"Don't even!" Benny spit water from his mouth, and repeatedly hit his forehead, grabbing his nose, appearing to be trying to beat the chlorine out of it. "Don't you even-"
"Well, that was fun!" Rory exclaimed, though he seemed to be saying it for the sole reason that he knew it would get under Benny's skin. He then gave a shaky grin. "So, anyone want to try again? No? I'm gonna get marshmallows!"
He got very carefully out and away from the pool before flitting off.
"That was weird." Ethan said delicately, trying his best to look piteous as a Benny climbed out of the jacuzzi pouting.
"What a bust." Benny slouched, and Ethan reached out to flick some dripping hair out of Benny's eyes. The spellmaster smiled and leant forward so that Ethan could give him a kiss on the cheek. "You know what the worst part is? I kind of want to play again."
"Hmm." Ethan hummed. "Not sure about the guy, but the music was a little unnerving."
"The Indie games these days." Benny grinned. "Hey E, you feel like a movie? I brought popcorn. We can settle down and watch the new Avengers."
"We already watched Age of Ultron." Ethan smiled, but got up nonetheless as Benny beckoned him inside the house. "In theaters."
"We can watch that Poltergeist movie you wanted to go see." Benny shrugged, smiling a little deviously. "Or Ouija."
"Age of Ultron it is." Ethan shuddered. "You know, they say the second time you see it is the best. You're lucky I brought theater food."
"You know, I think Caleb has a whole cupboard full of popcorn and popcorn accessories. And candy."
"Does Caleb have Rollos and gumbo gummy bears?"
"Instant corrected. You're the best, E."
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What the hell?
Was this a tent? Benny groaned and sat up, thinking for a moment that they must've done something wild last night if he didn't know where he was. God, he was stiff- and how'd they end up laying on the ground anyway? This tent was so small. E was going to freak out...
E?
"Ethan?" Benny asked, because who else would he be in a tent with? He looked over next to him and screamed at the same time Rory yelped and jumped back.
"Dude!" Rory exclaimed, running his head. "Not cool. What'd you do this time Benny?"
"Me?" Benny stuttered, angrily rubbing his eyes. "What're you doing in my tent? What am I doing in a tent? What's going on?"
"I don't know, I don't know, and I don't know." Rory replied, seeming to be stiff as well as he was massaging his shoulder and rolling his neck. He seemed irritable as well- very un-Rory like. "The last thing I remember is going through your uncle's stash of candy...and then I woke up here."
"The last thing you remember..." Benny shook his head, trying to clear it. What was the last thing he remembered?
"Age of Ultron." Benny recalled suddenly. They had just been getting to the end of the movie, both Benny, Ethan and the girls while Rory was doing god-knows-what...apparently raiding the candy shelf. Ethan had been falling asleep...
"Ethan." Benny exclaimed suddenly, struggling to get out of the tent. Where was he? They couldn't have gone very far from the house, could they? Even if none of them remembered, obviously they had to have pitched a tent outside the house-
"Benny!" Rory hissed, grabbing at Benny as the brunet climbed out of the tent and cursing when he couldn't grab him.
Benny stared with wide, suddenly fearful eyes at the forest around him...a forest, not the woods in the back of Caleb's house that he's been exploring since he was little. The trees were even different, in fact they looked a little too...perfect.
"Benny!" Rory grasped his arm and Benny out up no fight when he was drug back in the tiny tent. "Wait! You can't just go out there!"
Rory sounded nervous- a little panicked in fact, and Benny hadn't seen that expression on his face since they were little and Rory was afraid of scary Halloween costumes. "Listen! This isn't good. I used to camp with my parents when I was little- what do you hear?"
Benny listened, with a steadily increasing heart rate.
Nothing.
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"Ugh." Ethan sat up slowly from the uncomfortable bed, feeling the painful stiffness all the way up his spine. "God, what does Caleb sleep on, bricks?"
With a sigh, he sat up and reached over to shake Benny awake- they could sleep here, it was too hard.
And found himself coming up with empty air and cold sheets.
"Huh?" Ethan murmured, squinting to see through the dark- there was light from somewhere in the hall, but the door was only partially open. Where was Benny?
"Sarah?" Ethan called, thinking that although the vampire had said she'd wanted to sleep, she was probably up somewhere with Erika- and vampires had excellent hearing. And RV was probably up playing Crash or Knights of Blood somewhere by the pool, or even in the living room. "Rory?"
He got up, feeling his way around the bed and opening the door. Before he even got two steps out, he gasped as he was assaulted with a vision- and considering the last one he'd had, he wasn't too excited about this one.
Except his vision didn't come. It was only whiteness, and when he came out of it, he was left feeling cold, especially as the thing directly in front of him was what he'd seen last time.
To his left was a long and ominous hallway- and at the end was a window with no curtains, and nothing but blackness beyond that.
"Oh..." Ethan restrained himself from actually whimpering, but god, he'd never been so creeped out in his life. Especially as he realized...that definitely hadn't been Caleb's bed- the guy was rich, he wouldn't sleep on a bed of rocks. This wasn't even Caleb's house. There was trash everywhere- how had he not seen it before? How had he not slipped or fallen over all of it?
"Where the hell am I?" Ethan whispered to himself, terrified as he looked around the room and pressed himself to the wall. Was he in some sort of...twilightzone? The thought sent violent shudders up his spine. That seriously creeped him the fuck out, especially considering he'd just had some kind of...not-vision. "What happened?"
He peeked out at the other end of the hallway, where he could see what appeared to be a stairway- and there was something written on the wall in big, black, childish writing.
"Something's not right." Ethan just mouthed the words, barely breathing at all...did his lack of visions mean Benny didn't have his magic either?
"Benny?" The seer asked in barely a whisper, trembling in his sneakers gazed up and down the halls, wishing for all his life that his best friend was somewhere in this...place. This alternate world? Where was he?
Somewhere in the distance, a familiar base-like sound met his ears.
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AN: How was it peeps? I'm just starting out, and just in case I don't upload in time- Happy Halloween!
Uploaded: Friday, October 30th, 4:44AM xP