Author's note in da house.

First of all, I want to say that this isn't entirely my idea. Someone on Tumblr posted a fan fiction with Youtubers doing the Midnight Game, which led me to think "Hey that's a pretty cool idea" and google it and then come up with the idea of the Percy Jackson characters doing it. You should google the Midnight Game as well, to see the rules and so the story doesn't sound completely foreign and random. I've added some rules to make it seem more ominous, if you don't mind.

I also wanted to mention the fact that it's not the seven, it's the eight. I've added Calypso to the seven because I wanted them to be an even number, and because Leo and Calypso are too gosh darn cute to leave out.

Lastly, I've tried my best to provide all of the characters with their kind of personality- like, I've tried to make Leo goofy and annoying, I've tried to make Annabeth a smart ass and heroic, and etc. If I haven't met your expectations, by all means tell me, and I'll try to fix them up to how they really are.

Constructive criticism welcomed, and please message me if you want me to continue the story.

One last thing: DON'T DO THE MIDNIGHT GAME. I have no idea if this thing is real or not, because I'm too much of a wimp, but why take the chance?

Author's note outta da house.

The shuffling of feet on old, mossy stone. The occasional nervous coughs that was used to mask the fear. The tight squeeze of a hand and the moving of bodies to make the space between each other smaller. These were the only sounds that the group of eight could hear over the think pounding of their hearts.

She, of all people, had no idea why she was nervous. All of them had gone through so much more than this- monsters, demons, even gods. Plus, she was supposed to be the leader. She was supposed to be the brave one, the person who takes control and tells everyone it's going to be alright. But here she was, trailing behind the rest of the group, only tagging along because she would be the only person who didn't if she chickened out.

She took a deep, shaky breath as she began to get a glimpse of the outline of the house. Dark, dilapidated and looking as if it would cave in on them when they walked inside. It was an old house, with a 50's-styled roof and door. But by the looks of it, it hadn't been occupied for centuries. It wasn't any of the eight's house, but Leo had located the old, abandoned house out in the human world. Surrounded by brush and towering trees and only the broken old stone path to help people find their way back to the main road, Leo enthused that it was "perfect for the game".

Leo ran ahead of the group, laughing and whooping. Despite the atmosphere out there, Annabeth had to chuckle. Leo was seventeen, but he acted like a five year old. Calypso trailed off behind him, and she didn't look the least bit scared, or even nervous. Annabeth mentally slapped herself- she'd been in Tartarus, for the god's sake, and she was scared of a mythical creature that could very easily not even be real.

Once they reached the door, Annabeth felt the air around them completely change. It was cold, chilling, and ominous, all at the same time. She grabbed Percy's arm on instinct.

Hazel forced a chuckle from the back of the group. "So, we're really doing this?"

Leo's voice shot back quickly. "Yeah! You all agreed to, so let's just do it and get it over with. Why are you so scared, anyways? It's just a myth. No actual evidence. It can't be true." Annabeth knew he was lying through his teeth.

Hazel gave an exasperated sigh. "I know I said I would, but what's the point? We get a rush of excitement every week! We're demigods, for the god's sake, we've got every monster in the world after us, and now we're going to add the Midnight Man to the list?"

Annabeth shuddered. Just the sound of the name sent chills up and down her spine. Percy put a hand on her shoulder and kissed the side of her forehead, and it comforted her for a second, but then the unfamiliar cold came upon her again and the comfort was gone.

Leo shrugged. "Well, if we've got all the monsters against us already, what's there to lose?"

Calypso piped up. "Our lives? Our sanity?" She seemed confident before, but Annabeth noticed the tremble in her voice.

Leo shrugged. "As long as we follow the instructions, we'll be fine, I promise." He took her hand and then turned to the door once again. Without a moment's hesitation, he kicked the door open and sauntered in. "Hey, Midnight Man! Get ready for Leo El Amigo!"

Once Annabeth got inside, she felt the optimism go out of all of them like air out of a balloon. It was pitch black, so dark that she couldn't see her hand in front of her face, and worst of all completely silent. The silence was deafening- it was like it echoed from the walls, and it was the most unnerving thing she'd ever felt.

Piper checked her watch. "11:56 right now. Four minutes to do what we have to do and..." She took a shaky breath. "And start the game."

They all took a seat on the floor in the middle of the front room and began, and for the first time in her life Annabeth actually felt terrified.

Leo motioned for Annabeth to pass the pieces of paper she'd torn apart, and she handed him the few pens she'd brought along with that. Her hands shook as she passed it to him, and with a brief lock of the eyes she knew he was just as nervous as she was.

"Alright, so everyone writes their name on a piece of paper." Jason said evenly, and grabbed one of the pens and papers to write his name. She wasn't that surprised that he didn't seem fazed by the idea of the Midnight Man, but he's been through much worse.

Leo held out his hand sassily. "Hat, Frank?"

Frank rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, Leo El Stupido." He took the hat off that he'd been wearing and tossed it into Leo's waiting hands. Despite the insult, Leo didn't seem hurt.

After everyone had jotted down their names, Leo gathered them up and emptied them into the hat, and began shuffling them. Annabeth's heart beat so loud she could feel it in her ears, and she only realized how hard she was clutching her boyfriend's arm when he unhooked her hand and drew her into a protective hug.

Leo then took out a single paper. Percy's arms began tightening around her, and that was when she realized he was just as terrified as she was. Leo glanced down at the paper and gulped, then handed it to Piper. "Piper.. I'm sorry, it's your paper."

Piper simply shrugged nonchalantly. She reached over and grabbed the safety pin that lay on the floor and casually pricked her finger, spreadign the blood that seeped out onto the piece of paper. Annabeth's skin prickled at the sight of the blood, and she could've sword the air got even thicker than it was already.

Jason took a deep breath and stood up to help up Piper, and they walked closely together to the door. Annabeth stood up shakily and led the rest of them to the door.

"Leo... I don't know if I want to do this anymore. What if it's real? Our worst nightmare... I don't know if I can do that." Calypso shuddered and shut her eyes tight, and Leo pulled her into a protective hug. He looked into her eyes. "You/re going to be fine, Calypso. I swear on River Styx that I won't let anything happen to you." When he looked up, he looked more serious than Annabeth had ever seen him look in the entirety of their friendship.

Annabeth took a deep breath and stepped forward. "It's 11:58 right now. As soon as one of us finishes knocking on the door, you have to open it, blow out the candle, and close it. Light all of your candles as soon as you do, and we'll split up. Groups of two." She looked into the eyes of all of them, and she cringed at the though of any of them getting hurt. "Remember, don't look back unless it's absolutely mandatory. Don't try to come into contact or threaten the Midnight Man. If he's near, you'll see his shadow and your candle will go out. You have to relight it immediately- no hesitation. And if you don't relight it in the next ten seconds, use the salt shaker to put a circle of salt around you, as quick as you can. Stay in the circle until 3:33, or..." She gulped. "You know what happens. Your partner will have to go on. And all of you... be careful."

After she gave the directions, nobody spoke up. But somebody did step out of the group without hesitation. Her boyfriend.

Percy approached the door with the paper and a lit candle and set the both of them at the foot of the door. Then he raised his arm, shaking. All of the muscles in his arms were straining as he began to knock.

Each slam of his fist on the door made Annabeth's heart jump into her throat. She was so tempted to stop him and bail out on them, but she knew she had to be brave. The door was the worst kind of door to knock on as well- splintered, rickety, looking as if it would fall on the knocker if he pounded hard enough. She winced on each knock, and she clutched her candle and matches so hard her knuckles turned white.

Under his breath, Percy counted the number of knocks.

Knock.

"Seventeen."

Knock.

"Eighteen."

Knock.

"Nineteen."

Knock.

"Twenty."

Knock.

"Twenty-one."

A slight pause. A deep breath.

Knock. "Twenty-two."

Percy took his shaking hand and opened the door, it creaking on its ancient hinges. Then he bent down and blew out the candle, dousing us all in complete darkness, and closed the door. A thick burst of wind came in as the door closed, chilling them all to the bone, despite the air being completely still and humid outside. Quickly, everybody struck a match and lit their candle.

The sight of everyone's face being shown only be the light of a flickering candle was even more unnerving than the silence.

"Let's go."

And everyone turned away with their partner and walked in different directions, the darkness quickly swallowing each of them individually, one at a time.

End of chapter one!

Can I just say that writing a story like this while it's night is seriously blood-chilling. Every shadow and reflection I see in my computer is automatically a ghost or a psychopath trying to kill me or possess me.

And on that happy note, see ya in the next chapter.