Fleshwalkers

by Hitoko-sama

After their car breaks down in the middle of nowhere; Sasuke and Naruto are tasked to find help. On their search they encounter a seemingly lived in house but once inside the air reeks of abandonment. In the dusty corridors lies the omens foretelling their folly. The fleshwalkers are waiting; and who doesn't want a life already lived in?

IT'S TIME AGAIN FOR A NEW HALLOWEEN HAUNTING SPECTATULAR.
This year I drew inspiration from one of my favorite board games. Betrayal at House on the Hill; it's a survival, turn-based horror game with 50 unique situations. It's a ton of fun and I highly recommend it if you want to hate your friends for being better at strategy than you :D And yes, I'm praising the game highly because it is REALLY fun and you and three of your good friends should procure a copy and play it together. ANYWAY, TO THE STORY. Awkward frame narrative(sorta) time.

-
I'm going to be Sasuke.

What? That's not fair.

How is that not fair? I got the card first. Besides, I love playing Sasuke. So fast!

What if I wanted to play Itachi on the other side?

Too bad, so sad.

Uhhh, fine. I'll play Naruto then.

But that means there are only the girls left…

Suck it up. Usually they have higher knowledge anyway.

I guess.

I'll play…Hinata. She's super sane.

OH, COME ON! That leaves me with the characters I hate!

Finders keepers, losers weepers.

Yeah, that's why you don't go to the bathroom when we're picking. HOLD IT OR FOLD IT.

FINE! I'll be Sakura; her might is off the chain!

Who goes first?

Uhh, today is Halloween so the character who has the closest birthday goes first.

Without going over or in general?

In general, I think.

OH YEAH! NARUTO FOR THE WIN.

So what's the situation we're gunna make up this time?
-

"You've got to be kidding me!" Sasuke wailed, slapping the steering wheel as he heard the engine stalling. It gave a loud sputtering sound before completely dying, sounding like an explosion. The lights inside the car shut off, blanketing everyone in a veil of darkness. "Fuck…"

Naruto looked out the window, rain coming down hard, obscuring an already obscured view of their surroundings. The road they were on was pitch black, absolutely no street lights in sight. Their GPS had said this way was a short cut but now he wasn't so sure that was right. It seemed like they had been driving for hours on this road, only getting more and more lost.

"Can we call Triple A?" Sakura suggested as she leaned over the seat, settling in between the two in the front. "We're late as is. But now, it's almost pointless to go. Though I really don't want to be stranded out here…"

"I don't think any of us do." Sasuke quipped. Everyone pulled out their phones.

"I'm not getting a signal." Naruto commented.

"Me either." Sasuke agreed.

Hinata nodded as well.

Sakura sighed. "Shit, I'm not either. What should we do?"

Sasuke let out a heavy breath. "Well, seeing as we have no cell signal, there are no street lights, and we're in the middle of nowhere, we might have to hoof it to a service station."

Naruto nodded. "Maybe you and Hinata should stay in the car and wait for us to get help. It'll be safer if Sasuke and I went."

"B-but Naruto, wouldn't it better if we didn't split up?"

Naruto smiled at the timid girl in the back. "To be fair, I'd rather be split up with Sakura than Sasuke. She has a mean rig-" Naruto was struck by both the Uchiha and the pink haired girl at the same time. He held his head as he glared at them both. "Jesus, guys! Shouldn't we keep each other out of bodily harm?!" Both of them were giving the blond the stink eye, which made him sigh, dropping the subject completely. "Either way, someone should stay with the car while the others look. It is possible a person might come along that can help us."

"Naruto's right." Sasuke concluded, opening up the glove box. He pulled out a flashlight. "He and I are going to hoof it; stay here. Don't leave the car until we get back, it'll be safer. And if someone comes along, make sure you can trust them first."

"But Sasuke…" Sakura whined looking out in the darkness. "What if there's a murderer?"

"Murderer?" Naruto's voice cracked as a small bead a sweat came down his brow.

"Naruto, now is not the time to get cold feet." Sasuke grumbled. "Shit…I only have one flashlight. How much battery do you have?" He was looking back at Hinata and Sakura as they both checked.

"I've got more than seventy percent, but it's going fast because it can't connect to a signal." Sakura muttered.

"Same with me. We should trade off to preserve battery." Hinata said in a soft voice. Naruto and Sasuke both opened their doors. "Be careful, okay?"

"Don't worry, if anything bad happens I'll make it back to the car." Naruto said with an extremely bright smile.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Sasuke was scowling.

"Sasuke, I love you and everything, but if some chainsaw murderer pops up out of the woods, I'm tripping you."

"Glad to see where your allegiance to me lies."

Naruto shrugged. "Let's go. The last service station I saw was at least twenty or so minutes back…"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and turned on the flashlight, heading towards the back of the car. Naruto had to jog to catch up with him, practically gluing himself to the Uchiha as they left the safety zone of their car.

The rain fell in sheets, heavy, thick drops coming down hard. Sasuke was looking through squinted eyes, the wind whipping water up into his face. He blinked frequently. Naruto fared no better, already looking like a drowned rat. His jacket had no hood. He pulled had to let go of Sasuke to pull the fabric up around his head, shielding himself from the elements.

"Is it just me or was this rain really sudden?" Naruto had to yell somewhat through the howling wind and hard patter of water against pavement. "I'm pretty sure the forecast said it wasn't supposed to rain."

"It's fall, Naruto. It rains." Came Sasuke's clever retort.

"How long do you think it's going to take us to walk?"

"Naruto, we've been barely walking for five minutes and you're already complaining."

"I'm just making small talk."

"You're not helping."

Naruto was silent for another minute or two. "Can I ask a question?"

"May I ask a question."

"Teme, I asked first."

Sasuke almost pushed Naruto into the rain filled ditch on the side of the road. "Ask your stupid question."

"Didn't you just change your car's battery? I thought you got a tune up not even a week ago."

"Well obviously they didn't do a very good job. It could be something else besides the battery, like the alternator or something car-ish. I'm not very good with those things."

"But your car is run by computers, they hook it up to a thing that tells them what's wrong…"

"And?"

"It just seems weird, that's all I'm saying."

"Weird or not, we've got to keep moving. If that station was twenty minutes by car, there's no telling how long it's going to take on foot with all this stupid fucking weather."

Naruto was silent for all but a second. "Man, this fucking blows. We didn't even want to go to that party."

"Hn, just our luck. We do a favor for Sakura and bam, stranded. This is the last time I'm ever doing anything nice for anyone."

"Here, here." Naruto wrapped his fingers around Sasuke's as they continued to walk down the road, practically obscured in darkness, save for the stream of the flashlight.

The flashlight started to flicker, causing the pair to stop. Sasuke started to shake the tube, praying that now would not be the time for it to go out. When the light stopped flickering, they both sighed with relief. Both of them were about to start walking when a loud boom consumed the airways, causing Naruto jump, latching even tighter onto Sasuke. "Jesus fucking Christ!"

"Why does it always rain like this on Halloween?" Sasuke muttered.

The flashlight died, covering the duo in a veil of darkness. Naruto's fingers dug into the soaked material of Sasuke's jacket; the Uchiha shook and shook the light, flicking the button on and off again trying to get a steady stream to flow. He was about to throw it against the ground but lightning flashed overhead, charging the air with static. The light, in the brief moment, left Sasuke and Naruto temporarily blind, spots dancing in their vision.

Naruto smelled smoke, looking beside him he saw that one of the trees had been struck, lighting it immediately ablaze. Sasuke was watching the smoking, charred wood, and the dying flames which were sizzling in the fat drops of rain. They exchanged a look, as the flashlight came back to life, shining brightly again.

"This is some horror movie ass shit." Naruto commented, still clinging to Sasuke's arm.

"Hey, please tell me you see that…"

"See what?"

Naruto glanced up in the direction Sasuke's face, seeing a house in the distance. In the lightning, it stood out clearly on the hill. The lights were on. But it was at least a mile walk, uphill, from where they currently were. Sasuke and Naruto shared a look, nodding. It was better than the potentially four hour walk they may be facing.

"Should we go back for Sakura and Hinata?" Naruto asked, scanning the Uchiha's face.

The raven shrugged. "This could potentially get us out of the cold so I mean they'd probably be angry with us if we didn't share the warmth."

"Should we scare them?"

"Naruto that is one of the stupidest things you've ever said."

"Because?"

"Um, of course I want to scare them. This is mostly Sakura's fault."

"See? This is the reason why I fell in love with you."
-

So typical.

Well, excuse me.

This is what we say happens every time.

Yeah, you're not very creative.

Oh, eat my asshole, dude.

Later, maybe, if you're good.

The thought of you two tossing each other's salads greatly disturbs me.

I agree.

Can we start yet? I wanna know what kind of shit we're getting into.

Oh yeah, I forgot. Maybe we should wait a little. I ordered a pizza like a half-hour ago. It should be here any minute.

God, you're perfect.

Thank you.
-

Sakura was sitting in the back with Hinata; they were practically huddled together for warmth. The car's heater died with the engine and they weren't exactly dressed for the elements. Hinata was nervously playing with the charm on her phone, knowing only half an hour had gone by since Sasuke and Naruto left them. Sakura was getting nervous the longer they were gone. They hadn't seen a single car, not a single soul on this road with them. Sakura was starting to wonder if they were in the same state anymore. This, however, was typical Washington weather so…

Hinata held up her phone to the roof of the car. Sakura had given up on trying to find a signal twenty minutes ago. Even if it was one bar, they could get out of here. But nothing popped up. When they got out of the car and traced circles around it, there was nothing. Sakura folded her arms across her chest, feeling the goose bumps starting up her arms. This rain and thunderstorm was so sudden; she was worried one of the idiots would be dumb enough to get hit by lightning on their excursion.

"Sakura…How long do you think they'll take?" Hinata muttered in a light voice. Both of them jumped at the sudden onslaught of thunder. Hinata's long, dark hair swished around her shoulders as she looked around the darkness outside.

"I have no idea. I'm hoping that they'll get far enough down that they can flag down a car. But I'm worried no one will stop. I mean, you see two random guys on the side of the road, it's a little intimidating. Plus, people are assholes."

Hinata nodded. "I guess I can be glad we're in here and not getting soaked."

"Yeah, that is definitely a bonus if I can see one. Though, this storm has no sign of letting up soon and I'm worried about the lightning. I know it's so unlikely, but the car could be struck."

"Sakura, p-please don't say such worrying things."

"Sorry, I'm just a little tense. I really don't like them being out there alone, especially in this storm. I wish we could have gone with them."

"Me too."

Lightning flashed, blinded the pair in the back for a moment, causing them to stiffen against each other. They were sitting so close that their shoulders bumped. Hinata was about to mumble an apology when a hand slapped against the window, finger running down the glass at the same time as another lightning strike. Both girls screamed as Sakura's door was suddenly opened. She flailed as someone grabbed her around the shoulders and hauled her out. The rain was incredibly cold against her skin and the temperature change caused her muscles to stiffen, stilling her movements. She continued to scream, kicking out and landing a blow against her attacker's shin.

"OW! FUCK!" She stopped screaming as soon as she heard the voice, knowing it all too well. She then proceeded to turn around, starting to slap Sasuke in the shoulder with heavy, open-palmed hands.

"YOU MOTHERFUCKER! THAT WAS NOT FUNNY!" Naruto's head popped up from the other side of the car; his smile was too bright. Sasuke just shrugged off the girl's anger.

"It was funny, though." Naruto retorted. Sakura's eye couldn't fill with more hatred from her supposed best friends.

"IT WAS NOT." She tried to slap Sasuke again but the Uchiha did a quick jump back, almost slipping on the slick asphalt behind him. "God, you gave me a fucking heart attack. I wish you both just struck by lightning."

"We actually almost did." Sasuke commented in a matter-of-fact tone.

Hinata opened her door and frowned at the blond. "Sorry, sorry, Hinata. Sasuke and I thought it would lighten the mood a little."

The pink haired girl spun on her heel, looking at Naruto. "I really hope this means there's someone on their way to come get us."

"We found a house, about a fifteen minute walk from here. It'll be uphill but we saw lights. If they have electricity working, it means they might have a phone we can use."

Sakura nodded her head, feeling her anger ebb at the edges. Her heart was starting to slow down as adrenaline slowly diffused in her blood. "I wish I had brought a better jacket for this."

"You and me both." Naruto muttered, his still pulled up over his head. "Well, let's start moving. The faster we go, the less wet we'll be."

Ahhh yes, pizza and fucking Dr. Peps. Could this night be better?

Maybe if we had some cake?

We don't need cake.

I might need it.

Well, excuse me, let's all stop what we're doing because you need a whole fucking cake.

I would share.

No, no you wouldn't. I've known you for a very long time.

Fuck you.

Fuck you too, bro. I hope you fall down.

That's not very nice.

Settle down, guys. We gunna play with pizza hands?

Oh Hell yeah I'm gunna play with pizza hands. I've been itching to start.

Fuck let's get it then.
-

"This place is fucking huge…" Naruto let out a whistle of amazement as they finally managed to trudge up the hill. As far as they could tell, there was no indication of a driveway or a car parked anywhere. Everyone felt slightly disheartened but there were lights on in the upper floors. It looked like a candle light, though.

The rain hadn't let up. Everyone was practically dripping with water as they continued to move forward. They had already wasted about an hour with the initial trip here and then back once Sakura and Hinata had joined. There was no turning back now.

Sasuke shut off the flashlight as they got to the front stoop of the house. He pulled back his hood and knocked, rather loudly, on the full wood door. After a minute or two, there was no response. Sakura, Hinata, and Naruto were all standing behind him, looking more and more impatient as the seconds ticked on. Naruto pushed past the Uchiha and practically slammed his fist into the wood. The lights were on in this place but no one seemed to want to answer the door. If anyone was home, they were being very rude.

A particularly hard pound seemingly caused the door to swing open, revealing nothing but a dark entryway. Naruto stepped in, tentatively followed by the rest of the group. The air was thick with dust and dirt, meaning no one had been here for a while. The blond's brows furrowed. Why were the lights on then?

"Hello?" Sakura called out from behind him. She shut the door as soon as Hinata came shuffling in beside her. "Anyone here?"

Naruto frowned. It didn't seem like anyone was here with them. The hopelessness was palpable as they stood awkwardly in the entryway together.

"Maybe there's no one here after all." Hinata said with a certain finality.

"Then why are the lights on? And the front door was unlocked…" Sasuke mused taking another step forward. There was a side table next to him and on it was a small flashlight, probably one from a key ring. He picked it up, clicking it on and seeing that it was still in working condition. He handed it to Naruto, who blinked as the small tube was placed against his palm. "Someone was obviously here…" Sasuke turned on his own flashlight; the light volume increased when Hinata and Sakura pulled out their phones, using an app to brighten the area.

It definitely seemed as though they had walked into an abandoned house. There was no signs of life anywhere. But even still, to the group, it was odd. The lights in the upper floors had been on. There had been an addition flashlight on the side table.

The silence was broken by an ear piercing ring from a phone somewhere upstairs. Naruto didn't waste a second by sprinting right up them, not even paying attention to the rest of the group. Sasuke, Sakura, and Hinata all still stood in the entryway, frowning at Naruto's sudden disappearance. "Naruto, Dobe! Wait a minute!" The blond was obscured by darkness, like it had swallowed him. Sasuke was unsettled by that. It was like he had been eaten up by the shadows, disappearing like smoke. Even the line of light from the flashlight had been obfuscated.

Naruto threw himself up the stairs, scrambling quickly into the room where the ringing was coming from. It had been down some creaky, dusty hallway to the left. And when he grabbed the cool plastic with his fingers, relief was the first emotion that filled him. This house wasn't abandoned. It had a working phone line. They would be saved. He placed the dusty covered plastic against his ear. "Hello? Hello?"

"Bad…Bad…Naughty children like you need to be punished." It was a woman's voice, crinkled with age and an inflection of annoyance, hostility even. Naruto felt a chill bouncing up his back when the line when dead, not even the sound of her hanging up coming through the speaker now. Before he could hang up the line, he heard sparking coming from the wall.

Naruto's body didn't register the pain at first, his other senses drowning them out. It had been loud, it had been bright. There had been a loud clanging as the spark spread through the wiring, causing the internal devices to act more like a miniature bomb than a phone. When the plastic exploded, shards embedded themselves in his hands and his arms, cutting sharp lines through his jacket and biting superficially into his skin. He shrieked, panic and pain causing him to stumble backwards and he scurried away from the still sparking wall.
-

Sasuke's back tensed at Naruto's scream. He rushed forward, leaving both Sakura and Hinata in tense silence as he made a run for the stairs. "NARUTO!? NARUTO!?"

Hinata's hands were at her face, fingers flexing against her chin as she watched Sasuke's frantic panic up the stairs. Sakura's hand was on her arm, the scream caused her to jump. They both watched as Sasuke, just like Naruto before him, disappeared into nothingness.

Sasuke stopped at the top of the stairs, staring into the dust settling. Naruto hadn't made any more noise beside the scream; he couldn't tell where he was. "NARUTO! WHERE ARE YOU!?" It was like the blond couldn't hear him, they all had heard Naruto's scream clearly downstairs. But now, Naruto wasn't responding. Fearing the worst, Sasuke whipped around when he heard shuffling coming from the right, not wasting any time as he sprinted into a room, not stopping as the door slammed into the wall next to it.

The room was packed with junk, hitting the ceiling and spreading across the room. Sasuke heard even more shuffling as he wedged himself through boxes and furniture, shoving his ways through. Things started to fall immediately; a heavy banister nearly smashed him in the head, causing him to jerk back. Stuff was flying everywhere, papers, furniture, boxes; things just seemed to materialize and block Sasuke's way. Something shining in the corner of the room caught Sasuke's attention and he felt drawn to it. After some very well placed struggling, the Uchiha managed to slide through the boxes and to the clearest corner of the room.

Red was the color shining from the small medallion like necklace. It was in the shape of a star, only the edges didn't touch each other, signaling a disconnectedness. The middle was shaped like a pentagon, lines spreading out to create the star at hard, sharp angles with a dagger-like points. Sasuke felt compelled, slipping the chain around his neck. The word 'stealing' only popped up briefly in his mind before all thoughts seemed to be obscured in a cloud of satisfaction. He would keep this medallion. The Uchiha felt eerily calm as he decided this and nodded his head. There were four exits in this room and he definitely was not going back the way he came. He heard the scuffling sound again and turned to the left, deciding that the couch blocking the door would not stop him from finding Naruto again.
-

Sakura and Hinata stared at the stairs, feeling suffocated in the searing silence that stifled and surrounded them. Naruto and Sasuke had fallen into complete silence and any sign of them had been obscured by darkness. The pink haired girl bit down on her lip, looking around the entryway.

"Hinata, I'm going to look around on this floor. If there was a working phone upstairs, there's bound to be another one down here."

"P-please, Sakura, splitting up isn't a good idea!" Hinata countered, trying to keep the panic and fear from her voice as she spoke. She had been afraid the moment she stepped through the doorway but she knew there was no turning back now that they had entered.

"I won't go far away, don't worry." Sakura said with a smile. "Naruto and Sasuke are too impulsive but I know we'll play this much smarter. We just need to spread around and find something…Or someone."

Hinata only could begrudgingly nod her head. She felt there was something malevolent here but she couldn't put her finger on why she felt this. Hinata's fingers twitched as she fumbled with her hands, watching Sakura open on of the doors. The room was completely black; Sakura kept her face stern as she took a step forward and felt her foot slip, noticing, a little too late, that the reason the room was completely black was due to the fact that it was covered in coal soot. She had stepped into a huge coal chute.

Her scream rattled off the metal lining of the walls; clawing and pawing at the slick metal did nothing to slow her momentum. She felt her heart leaping up into her chest and trying to throw itself out of her throat. She didn't feel any heat but that almost worried her more. She had no idea where this horrible excuse of a slide lead to. She felt a shift and was expelled, unceremoniously, onto a hard concrete floor. She coughed, the air feeling like it had been punched out of her lungs. Sakura rolled to the side, stained black from the metallic ride. 'Basement' hung heavily in her mind as she whipped her body around. There was no sign of stairs anywhere. Sakura bit down on her lip; she would have to go looking for them.

Sakura walked to the cement entryway across from the chute and wandered into it, heat and the smell of burning assaulting her as soon as she stepped into the room. Fires in boilers were searing hot as she tried to move farther into the room. She could feel herself sweating; her skin felt like it was baking, blistering and boiling as the moisture evaporated from her face.

It was so hot. Sakura's head was swimming from the acuteness; causing a wave of dizziness to fill her form. She almost tripped over a shovel in her waves of sickness. Sakura noticed it then; sitting on top of a small pile of coal. The pink haired girl got on her knees, moving a few pieces of coal out of her way as she pulled a skull out. It had a crack wandering up the top of the brain region and there were a couple teeth missing, but she didn't feel afraid as she held it in her hands.

She noticed that there were two other exits to this room and wonder if either of them led to a way out of this basement. Sakura shoved her fingers through the eyeholes of the skull as she headed straight, through the exit opposite the furnace.
-

Hinata was on her knees in front of the chute, yelling down it. "Sakura!? Can you hear me? Sakura?!" She stumbled as she got back onto her feet, heat pulsing through her veins as her blood pumped erratically through her body. She was the only one left in the entranceway. Sasuke hadn't come back with Naruto, Sakura had fallen somewhere downstairs…

She swallowed the tightening in her throat and turned towards the door on the left wall. If she could find a kitchen or living room, perhaps she could find a phone. Hinata opened the door, feeling strange as she walked into a chapel. From the outside, the house seemed big but it didn't seem like it was THAT big.

The chapel's organ looked dusty, sitting in the middle of the room, blanketed by moonlight. Hinata coughed softly as she continued forward, gaining more and more confidence as she strode past the empty pews. As she got further into the room, spider webs were starting to become thick around her, clinging to her hands, face, and arms as she swatted them away. Fear boiled in her body as a string of webs seemed to stick hard on her jacket, unable to be shaken off. She pulled hard, stumbling back as one of the pews caught her as she fell.

Hinata tried to right herself, only to continuously tug at more webs. She couldn't free herself from them. Her eyes widened as the reality struck her, full force. She was stuck. She was stuck in a huge spider's web. She felt a scream rise and then die in her chest. No one would be able to hear her anyway. Sound seemed not to carry in this house and that made fear nestle even deeper in her heart as a small cry left her throat. She didn't know how long she could be stuck here, alone, in this chapel covered in spider webs.
-

Naruto looked around the room, cradling his injured hand in his jacket. He frowned. The phone was now completely unusable. Not to mention, whoever called intentionally scared the shit out of him. He heard Sasuke's voice muffled from the hallway and he leaned out, looking around. Naruto hadn't heard Sasuke follow him up at all. The lip he was nursing between his teeth was starting to become tender. He needed to find Sasuke.

With a nod of determination, Naruto let his hand drop at his side, wandering out into the hallway. "Sasuke? Are you up here? Sasuke?!" Naruto noticed it immediately and felt sweat gathering at the base of his neck. His voice was barely carrying. It wouldn't surprise him at all to learn Sasuke hadn't heard him. How was that possible? Naruto walked back out into the hallway, back towards the stairs, hearing nothing. He noticed one of the doors was opened up a crack and headed inside, wondering if Sasuke had wandered this way.

"Sasuke? Are you here?" It was a library, books upon shelves lined the walls, nearly reaching the ceiling. Naruto wandered around, not hearing anything or getting a response. The blond felt discouraged. In his haste to find the phone, he lost Sasuke and now, he was alone. Both of them were, probably.

Naruto heard the house groaning as he got to the middle of the library, noticing that a wave of calm had filled him. He looked at the only bare wall, watching with a sickness at the way it seemed to pulse and move, lulling him closer. His heart beat slowed, synchronizing with the pulsing as he walked towards the wall; hand tentatively reaching out and pressing into the fleshy, pulsing mass. Slowly, it pulled him in, sucking and tugging him slowly. Naruto shut his eyes.

The blond felt a strange coolness against his face when he opened his eyes again, realizing that the pulsing flesh was no longer around him. He did a double take, realizing he wasn't in the library anymore. He was in a kitchen? Naruto's heart leapt up into his throat when he heard the clattering of something in the pantry.

His hands were shaking when he got to the door, slowing pulling it open. The pain against his neck burned as fangs sunk deeply into his flesh. He howled, falling backwards as whatever had attacked him gnawed on the skin, turning it into a pulpy mess before suddenly vanishing. Naruto rolled around on the ground, crying out as he pressed against the torn, tattered skin of his neck. He felt a few tears cascade down his cheeks, the pain shooting up his back. It burned. It just hurt so badly.

Naruto rolled onto his knees, forcing himself onto his feet. Blood was making the collar of his jacket stick and rub against the wound. His vision was blotchy as he reached the for the cleanest dish towel he could find. He wrapped it around his neck, tying a knot firmly against the mess.

His breath was shaky in his throat.

They needed to get out of here.

Panic slowly started to work through Naruto's blood as the thoughts in his head cleared.

They NEEDED to get out of here.
-

With a final, satisfied grunt, Sasuke managed to shove the couch from in front of the door. He heaved a sigh, wrapping his fingers around the knob of the door. When he stepped into the room, his eyes narrowed skeptically. How the HELL was this possible?

Sasuke's eyes were everywhere, scanning the room. It was like…A research lab? Or some kind of medical lab…Sasuke wasn't sure. But from the scalpels and vials and other medical looking equipment the purpose of this room wasn't too far lost on him.

The reason why it was in this house, however, was a complete and utter mystery.

Sasuke walked in farther, listening closely as he did so. He couldn't hear anything, nor see anything that could be considered unusual for a room like this, anyway. The Uchiha clicked his tongue, unamused with the lack of Naruto in this room. He noticed a second door on the wall by an examination table and wondered if Naruto was even upstairs anymore. He turned back towards the door, tripping over a small, sheet-covered pile in the middle of the room.

The Uchiha frowned at the apparent mass. He knelt down next to it, hearing something shift and clank together as he started to pull the sheet away. His eyes widened as sweat started to spout from the line of his hair.

Two skeletons, locked in a tight embrace sat under the sheet. Sasuke felt a straining in his throat, knowing that they weren't fake. Those were real bones. His vision blurred for a moment as sickness filled his stomach.

It took him a few moments to regain his composure. He was about to throw the sheet back on top of the bones when he noticed something sticking out of the chest of one of them. His fingers reached for it tentatively. It was a dagger of some kind; it was sharp, shining with a menacingly bright from the bouncing light of Sasuke's flashlight. He stood, taking the dagger in hand. From what he'd seen so far, he was starting to get a good feel about having a weapon with him.

He shoved the dagger into his pocket, heading towards the door by the examination table, only taking a single lingering look at the skeletons in the room. As soon as he found Naruto, he would get the Dobe out of there and they'd never look back.

He wouldn't end up like them.
-

Sakura's had to wipe her hands as she grabbed the knob. This house was large on the outside but the basement layer seemed obscured by the hill. She wondered just how large this place could really be. The door opened with a large, grating creak. It was pitch black in the room compared to the boiler room; there wasn't a single window nor light. She stepped into the room, pulling her phone out of her pocket. Even with the flashlight app, the room barely lit up. She walked with cautious steps, making sure to take her time.

Her foot dipped off the side causing her to stumble; she almost dropped her phone in the process. Her foot plunged into water and she jerked back, nearly falling over. Her light shone over the water's edge and she noticed that she was in the middle of a room with a lake. Sakura's mouth fell open, slacked by the soft waves lapping at the concrete edges. How was this possible? Did the person who built this house purposefully incorporate a lake? Did they just built the house over it? Sakura's felt her head pulsing with the strangeness of this addition.

She shook her head and pressed herself closer to the wall. There was a clear path to the other side of the lake, to where the next door lay, but she felt that as the farther she got, the chance of her finding the stairs back up were dwindling. She turned looking back at the door where the boiler room was. She could go back out there and try one of the other doors by the coal chute, see if they lead somewhere else.

Sakura's hair clung around her neck as she jerked between the two doors. She was closer to the other door but this basement seemed huge. Finding the stairs out might be too difficult if she didn't change direction.

She slipped a little as she took a step back towards the way she came; falling into the wall as she lost her balance. Sakura blinked as she bent down, reaching out for whatever she stepped on. It was something slimy, feeling kind of like seaweed only a little rougher. Her fingers jerked back when the object slid away from her, a sickening, pulling sound following it as it dipped back into the lake.

Adrenaline started to pump through her body as her heart beat became erratic.

That thing moved.

It was alive.

Fear was strong in her blood as she turned back the other direction, breaking into a sprint as she headed for the door on the opposite side of the lake. She heard the water surface breaking as something inside the lake burst out.

Slithering was all she could hear as the slimy, tentacle wrapped around her leg. Sakura screamed, dropping her phone and the skull as she fell forward, being dragged back into the lake. Water filled her nose and mouth as it sucked her down into the depths. She choked, trying to cough the water out of her lungs but she couldn't swim upward. Whatever had her, had her good. She felt the softness of the bottom of the lake under her shoes and she tried to jump, swimming upwards. The air was tightening in her lungs was tightening up her chest causing an ache to fill her back and chest. She needed air. She needed to fill her lungs again.

Her vision was spotting with white as the tentacle stopped pulling, slamming her back into a different segment of the concrete edge. She cried out, air escaping in a cloud of bubbles at the force of impact. Her back ricocheted with agony as she desperately scrambled to the surface.

She felt the water swirling up around her as she desperately swam, arms and legs aching with the physical exertion of it all. When she broke the surface, she gasped violently, air and water both filling up her lungs and expelling at a dangerous rate. She pulled herself up on the edge, rolling onto her back as she vomited the lake water, coughing so hard that her vision blurred.

Whatever had dragged her into the lake was no longer attempting to grab her, but Sakura knew she needed to gather up her things and get the fuck out of there. With a forced run, she went back for the items she dropped, nearly slipping as the water pattered around her. She heard the slithering again but made it back to the door, ripping it open as she passed through, slamming it loudly behind her.

She slumped against the cold wood; her breath labor and coming out in harsh pants. She had almost drown in that lake. She could have died down there.

Sakura tried to stand up again but felt like her knees were made of jelly. She slumped back down, holding her head in her hands.
-

Damn, man, that was some hentai ass shit.

You can say that again. Though, to be fair, this is like the first time tentacles showing up has ever made a single ounce of sense.

This is true. Like that time I got a closet and apparently it was full of tentacles.

Ya can't run from the demon tentacles yo. Closets cannot save you.

That's reassuring…
-

Hinata was holding onto her knees, trying not to sob too loudly. The webs were too sticky, too strong for her to break. She had been trying for the past ten minutes and nothing happened. She was going to be stuck there until someone finally managed to find her. The thought that she had become dependent on the others finding her made her stomach flip in knots. If Sasuke hadn't even found Naruto yet, even though they'd been separated for less than five minutes, then the chances anyone finding her were slim.

Her dark hair fell over her eyes as she bowed her head.

So far, no sign of whatever spider that had built these webs had shown up, which meant, for now, she was safe. But Hinata knew, it had to be only a matter of time.

Her heart rate had slowed from her initial panic, but she could still taste the lingering poison of fear on her tongue. The next wave of fear and panic could come at any time and that scared her even more than being stuck. She didn't want to lose control because she was afraid of the webs and being stuck. It seemed like her efforts to get free only made her more stuck. Hinata sniffed, frowning as she looked down at the dust covered floor.

"Whoa, what the fuck?" Hinata felt her heart flutter as she heard Naruto's gruff voicing coming into the room. He was swatting at the webs and Hinata could see the beam from his flashlight cutting through the darkness.

"N-Naruto! Over here!" Hinata called out; the blond stopped mid-step, looking around the room.

"Hinata? Hinata, what the fuck happened?" Naruto came into her line of sight and he helped her, with some well spent effort, to break out of the webs. She fell into his arms as he pulled her off the floor between the pews. She hugged him tightly, fingers gripping tightly to the still damp fabric of his jacket. "Are you alright?"

She looked up at him them, about to say her thanks when she noticed the rag tied to Naruto's neck. It was squishy with blood, crimson stream coating it almost black in dim light. "Oh my God, Naruto! Your neck…"

He looked away for a second, trying to give a nervous smile but failing to keep the pain out of his eyes. "The bleeding has stopped, I think. The wound wasn't actually super deep but it still hurt, ya know?"

"What happened? Did this happen upstairs?"

Naruto shook his head, wincing during the motion. "No, I was in the kitchen and something leapt out of the pantry and bit me. It scared me more than anything but fuck, man, the blood loss has slowed me down a lot…" Hinata wanted to look at the wound, inspect it for a way to better help her friend but she feared it would start bleeding again. She took a step back, a soft sob choking in her throat. "Ah, don't worry. I'm fine now. I drank some water and made sure to rest but I'm still okay to look around. And speaking of looking around…Where's Sasuke and Sakura? I didn't see them in the entryway."

Hinata perked up, fear hitting hard in her chest. "Sasuke went upstairs to look for you…You didn't see him up there? Did you hear him? He yelled for you."

The blond's face seemed shocked at the information. "What? I didn't hear him at all, or see him. Shit. What about Sakura? Did she go with him?"

The shy girl looked back out of the room to the entryway where Sakura disappeared down. "No. Sakura…She…" Hinata didn't exactly know how to explain it. Sakura had fallen somewhere and she prayed that her friend was okay and out of danger but she could just as easily be hurt. "She fell down a coal chute, probably into somewhere in the basement. I was looking around for something; a phone, stairs."

Naruto swore under his breath; he grabbed onto Hinata's shoulder. "Okay, I know it doesn't seem like the best idea but we're going to have to split up. We still need to find another phone; the one upstairs exploded. Try your best to stay around here…I think I should look for Sakura. Try to find a way down to the basement. Sasuke's upstairs and we know how to get there, but, her, she might need help if she fell down the chute."

"Naruto, splitting up is a bad idea." Hinata pressured.

Naruto pulled Hinata close, hugging her tightly. She could hear his heart beating loudly in his chest. "I know, trust me. But this may be our best way to cover enough ground. If one of us can find a working phone, we can get help. And if we're able to find the others and regroup, we can search around in a group. This is the best I can think of…"

Hinata really couldn't think of much else to do herself and she nodded. If she wanted to help her friends, she would have to swallow down her fear and keep searching for something to help them. She sighed softly and turned towards the door by the organ. "I'll go that way. Try searching in the rooms by the coal chute for the stairs…I think that's the best way to find something."

Naruto nodded his head, smiling reassuringly. "As long as we have goals, Hinata, there's nothing to lose hope over. I'll protect us, believe it."

Hinata smiled weakly. "If you say so…"

"We should meet up again in a few minutes. Ten minutes." Naruto said with determination. "If we can't find anything in ten minutes, we'll come back here. Hopefully that will give us enough time to look around. And if not, we'll come be here and can start searching together, okay?"

After that little pep talk, Hinata headed for the door next to the organ. The knob was covered in webs and dust, but she felt even far less scared after Naruto's reassuring talk. She just had to endure for ten minutes, then she could just turn around and wait for Naruto in that chapel. She breathed out slowly, calming herself as she passed through the door.

Compared to the other rooms, it wasn't as dark. There was a window which let in enough moonlight that she could make out what exactly she was stepping over. Surprisingly, this room wasn't very large, like the house would make her believe it was. But it seemed to be cut in half, a large vault like wall standing between her and anything she could call an exit. Hinata briefly wondered if there was a different way around…

As she turned a scrap of a shadow moved from the wall, an angry face coming too close to hers. It was a man, one that towered over her, with a shovel in hand. He screamed loudly, passing through her and vanishing. Hinata's heart felt like it was going to burst out of her chest at the suddenness of the man and then his disappearance.

She looked around, the light on her phone not doing much to help her identify a way the man could have vanished off to. As the light hit the ground, she noticed a handful of muddy footprints, all of which heading towards the vault. She leaned down, wondering if the mud was actually real or a figment of her imagination.

Her hands touched the wet soil and she knew right away that whatever that man was, he had to have been real. Hinata got back onto her feet, turning around. But as she did so, the man appeared behind her again, his shovel raised. Hinata barely had time to raise her arm up in her own defense as the cold steel slammed down, knocking her off her feet.

Hinata's head swam with pain as she rolled onto her side, fearing the man would still be there. But, just like before, he was gone. She moaned as she slowly got to her knees. Naruto had probably been too far away to hear what had happened and she bit back a sob as an ache cascaded through her skull. He'd managed to hit the very top of her forehead, by her temple.

She guessed she was lucky she hadn't passed out.

Hinata managed to get back on her feet without falling over again and looked around the room, making sure to scan everything with her eyes. That man was gone now, she didn't sense his presence anymore. Even the muddy footprints had vanished.

She looked back at the door, considering her going back out through the chapel and trying to find a phone in another direction. There was something sickly wrong with this house and she knew if she didn't keep moving, she'd definitely get trapped somehow.

Though, as she stood there gathering her sanity again, letting herself calm and ebb the pain away, her thoughts rested on the vault.

It was sitting across from her, silently gathering dust. There seemed to be several scattered papers around the combination lock as if whoever had last tried to open it last, frantically dropped everything and had to leave.

She gathered up all the paper pieces and started to read them. Perhaps if she was able to make heads of tails of whatever these scraps said, she could get into the vault.
-

Naruto wandered back into the entryway, noticing the open door which was obscured by the dark. He leaned through the doorway and saw the chute leading down to the basement. He wondered if Sakura was alright. She could have easily hurt herself on the way down.

The blond looked around, spying a door on the right. He supposed the stairs to the basement couldn't be too far off. He walked inside the room and saw a piano in the corner of the room, with stacks of sheet music on the seat. As he moved in farther, it seemed as though he was walking through a dancehall or some kind or ballroom. It was dusty with lack of inhabitance but other than that, seemed completely normal.

The floors creaked beneath his feet as he walked across the room, spying to connecting doors. He figured the one of the right wall wasn't the best bet but the one across the room could lead back around to a set of stairs.

Naruto heard chattering and looked around the room, flashing his light around to break through the dust and darkness. In the corner of the room, by the door, there was a small closet. Naruto blinked as he headed towards it, as if drawn to it. He pulled the small metal knob back, the wood groaning as it peeled back and revealed boxes and papers. Towards the back, he saw it, sitting on a small shoe box. It was a toy monkey; the kind with symbols that chattered when wound up. It was chattering with Naruto reached out, plucking up the toy with his hand.

As strange as it seemed, Naruto thought he should take it with him. He didn't know why he felt compelled to do so, but it brought a sense of solace through his body.

"Come on, monkey. We're going to find Sakura." Naruto muttered to the toy, stuffing it under his arm.

Naruto heard a creaking, crash go through the room accompanied by a masculine scream. The blond turned, heading towards the door by the piano. He threw it open, almost falling through the cracked floorboards. His shone his flashlight in the hole and there, in on the concrete below, lay Sasuke. He coughed harshly, rolling over onto his side as he moaned with obvious pain.

"SASUKE!" Naruto felt every emotion hit him at once as he scrambled to the hole, feeling the wood cracking beneath his feet. He couldn't move any farther on the beams to help Sasuke out. "Oh God, oh my fucking God." Panic blurred the words as he spoken, causing his head to jerk around as he looked around the ballroom to see if there was anything he could tie together to make a make-shift rope. There was absolutely nothing that he could use and it was too dangerous to lean over and try to reach him.

Sasuke got slowly to his feet, holding his head as he looked up from the hole, staring at the spiked blond head. The Uchiha estimated the distance between them and cursed under his breath. There was at least three meters between them. Neither of them would be able to reach the other.

"Oh god, Sasuke! Are you alright?"

The Uchiha ran a hand through his hair, feeling the slight slickness of blood. His scalp must have burst open superficially from the impact. But aside from that and the throbbing in his back, he felt okay. He hadn't landed on anything that could have really hurt him like a broken piece of wood so he would definitely live. As much as he hated to admit it, falling through the second floor probably saved him, the wood somewhat cushioned his fall. He looked shone his light up at Naruto's face, making the blond squint with the sudden brightness. "What happened to your neck?"

"YOU JUST FELL THROUGH THE FLOOR AND YOU'RE ASKING ABOUT ME?! DID YOU FUCKING HIT YOUR HEAD, YOU FUCKING IDIOT?!" Naruto yelled into the hole; anger showing clearly on his face. He was glaring down at Sasuke, concern bleeding into his eyes even though he tried to pretend he was angry Sasuke was brushing off his comment.

"I'll live. The wood broke my fall…" Sasuke looked around the room and Naruto bit down on his lip.

"I'm coming down there Sasuke, don't you fucking move a muscle." The blond threw a tentative foot forward and the wood groaned under the additional weight.

"Are you the fucking idiot, Dobe? Don't use the hole to come down!" Sasuke scolded, concern and panic filling up his face. Even if Naruto fell from that smaller height, injuries still very well could happen and considering Naruto could break his ankle tripping, having the blond throw himself down a hole was not the best option.

Naruto looked around, head disappearing from the hole for a second. "I'll look for the stairs, Sasuke. I'm come down to you. Don't you fucking move! You could have a concussion or something."

Sasuke could hear Naruto's heavy steps as he moved across the floor above him. He sighed, feeling stupid suddenly. He had thought he would have quick enough reflexes to get through that room, but apparently falling had been inevitable.

The Uchiha sighed, rubbing the sore spot on his back. As thankful as he was that he didn't break anything major and would just be covered in bruises, he still felt like he had failed himself somehow. In his frantic panic to find Naruto, he let the logic leave him. And now, he was in some kind of basement room, with no way back up that he could see.

Sasuke sighed as he turned his flashlight around the room; it wasn't the darkest room he'd been in, but the candles around him weren't helping. His eyes immediately narrowed at the lit ones, forming a circle around him. There were five of them, forming a star. He looked down at the floor, shining the light. In chalk there were lines drawn, connecting the candle. Sasuke realized then he was standing in the middle of a huge pentagram(1).
-

Andddd…You started the haunt.

You have six dice, dude, how did you roll a three?

Son of a fuck!

You know out of all the rolls we've preformed playing this game, this one takes the cake.

Oh come the fuck on! You act like I rolled a three on purpose.

At least it's a new situation. It'll be interesting.

BREAK OUT THE TOME! Let's fire this baby up!
-

His eyes scanned around and he noticed a crystal ball sitting at the top point of the pentagram. He moved towards it, careful not to do anything too quickly. This house was practically a ticking time bomb as it was and now he might have to worry about crazy, satanic cultist popping out of the shadows. Sasuke removed the crystal ball from the pedestal and the clawed-looking holder slowly retracted.

The crystal's insides were spinning with smoke, slowly clearing up to show a picture in the middle. It was him, standing in the pentagram, with the crystal ball, and then again, going deeper and deeper until the images were blurred together in a flurry of information. Sasuke felt his head throb and tried to look away but found his eyes pulled to a different image, one that was slowed and played in real time. With much horror, Sasuke realized, this was happening above him.

The door to the entryway slowly started to open, revealing four shadowy figures. They walked in slowly, closing the door behind them as they were obscured in the lack of light. The four of them pulled off their hoods and Sasuke's mouth felt slack as he noticed his own face sitting on the head of one of the four people. He saw Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura too. But they all looked slightly different, somewhat more sinister.

Sasuke felt sweat beading up on his brow.

"They're separated. It'll be easy." He heard his own voice say as he looked over at the evil Naruto twin. He looked bored.

"We still have to find them." Naruto's voice sounded drone, not the lively tune Sasuke had found himself accustomed to. He looked over at the evil Sasuke who was smiling wickedly.

"Don't worry Menma, we can feel them here. We'll find them." Sasuke's voice sounded calm, almost giddy with a sick pleasure. The evil Sasuke's eyes seemed to peer up into nothingness, but the Sasuke looking into the crystal ball made eye contact causing his counterpart to smirk, as though he knew and could see him too. "Spread out, let's go find our doubles."

The four of them moved, splitting off from their group and started to wander through the rooms. Just like Sasuke and his friends had done. Sweat gathered on the back of his neck as he realized his double was probably the closest to finding Naruto. Sickness pooled in Sasuke's stomach.

The Uchiha felt compelled to drop the object, hoping that smashing it to pieces would rip their evil twins apart but somewhere in the back of Sasuke's mind, he knew better. It wouldn't be that simple. He tucked the crystal under his arm and started to look for a door. He needed to get up there; Naruto was still up there in the first floor and he would stop the blond from falling into harm's way.
-

Sakura had caught her breath and was heading towards the door. The room she entered had narrowed hallways and cramped together walls. She sighed as she placed her hand on the right wall. This house was too big. This place was definitely a catacomb-esque maze.

She wandered along the corridors, hand still firmly planted on the right wall. She had heard that this was the best way to solve a labyrinth but she wasn't so sure that was true; she'd never had to do something like this before.

The corridors seemed to be getting tighter and tighter, causing Sakura's heart to thumb unevenly in her chest. She was starting to get nervous; at any second something could easily attack her, just like in the room with that small lake. The fear was consuming. She didn't want to be afraid, but it was there, lingering in the back of her head. There was some kind of evil in this place and it couldn't contain itself when there were new victims running around.

A small cage was settled in the corners by the wall and as she shone her phone's light towards it, something sparkled through the bars. She wandered towards it.

Between the small bars, a singular ring sat. It was small, but Sakura knew it could probably slip onto her finger with ease. She reached for it, sliding her hand through the bars. Her wrist was only a little too big to slide through. Sakura pushed her hair out of her face as she got down on her knees, moving as close to the cage as she could before putting her hand in again. With the additional closeness, her fingers were just long enough to start sliding the silver ring towards her.

There was a thudding behind Sakura and she recognized it immediately as the door to the catacombs opening and then closing again. Someone had just walked in. And she doubted they were friendly. The footsteps behind her echoed off the wall and Sakura strained to grab the ring. Her fingers flexed more and more as she reached out for it. They were getting louder behind her and she felt herself start to panic, but was unable to dissuade herself from grabbing the ring. She needed it. She needed to take it with her.

As her fingers caught it, she pulled back, standing up and rushing for the door, hand still following the right wall. She prayed and prayed that it would lead her to the right place and not in a giant loop.

As she turned another corner it was right there; the door's wood dusty and dirty from lack of use. She practically threw herself into it as she ran for it. The footsteps were increasing in tempo like the person behind her had started to run. But with the wood between her and the steps, she sighed, feeling accomplished. She'd made it out of there and was happy to be free of that place.

But then a sink feeling filled her gut as she heard more footsteps, this time coming from in front of her. A flashlight shone in her face and she had to block out the harsh light with her arm. "Sakura? Is that you? You just hit me with a door!" Sakura heart leapt up in her chest as she pulled her arm away from her face. She'd managed to find Sasuke. Sasuke was here with her, she wasn't alone anymore. She rushed in to hug him but he flinched out of her way. "We don't have time for a tearful reunion. Something's going on upstairs." Sasuke shouldered past her as he reached for the knob. Sakura grabbed his wrist, eyes narrowing with panic at the thought of whatever was chasing her in the catacombs coming into this room.

"Sasuke, I've just come through there. The stairs aren't that way." Sakura said feeling the Uchiha apprehension. She let him go. "How did do you know something's happening upstairs?"

Sasuke sighed and showed her the crystal ball. For her, it was just cloudy. "Here, look into it." Sasuke handed the object over and she peered into the smoke, seeing nothing.

"Sasuke, the-"

"Just keep looking."

Sakura saw it then; herself wandering around in the catacombs, looking for the door out. Sakura felt a cold sweat burst across her brow. But she was in this room with Sasuke. How was any of what she was seeing possible? "Sasuke, what is this?"

"Right now, there's no time to explain. And to be honest, I really don't know either." Sasuke took the crystal ball back and looked around the room with his flashlight. "Since you headed this way, that can only mean you didn't find the stairs…Shit. What are we going to do?"

"There's a door right there, we can go through it. I don't know how quickly we'll be able to get out but we need to do something. How many of those doubles are there?"

"Four, just like us. The crystal shows me where they've been moving and my double is getting too close to Naruto for my comfort. We need to start heading up."

Sakura nodded. "Let's go then."

Sasuke nodded as he took the lead, heading to the door on the opposite wall of the room. Perhaps now that he was with someone, beating those monsters back wouldn't be such a problem. He heard a wet-squishing behind him and looked over his shoulder for a second, a really got a good look at Sakura. "Why are you wet?"

She frowned. "I'll also explain that later. But just to give a preview, I'm pretty sure this house was designed by Satan."

Sasuke nodded, not pressing the issue. As he opened the door to let himself and Sakura through, a chill went up his spine.
-

Hinata had read all the notes available to her and she think she understood what the combination for the vault could be. Her hand reached out as she started to slowly turn the knob, looking down at the important papers at her feet for reference. After a few trial-and-error combinations, the lock clicked and the vault wall pulled open.

She stepped inside, ducking her head through.

It was surprisingly barren, as though it had already been cleaned out previously. Hinata sighed as she moved in deeper, looking around. She didn't exactly know why she had worked so hard to get into the vault but she figured there could be something here she could use.

In a strange, backwards logic, Hinata figured that there was a good chance of a phone being in this room behind the vault; just because the owner of this house had a sick sense of humor. She glanced down at her phone clock, noticing there were only a couple minutes before she had to go and meet Naruto back in the chapel. She hoped that noting had befallen him and that he found Sakura.

The vault down closed partially behind her, still hanging open enough for Hinata to push back open with little effort.

The corner of the vault caught Hinata's attention as her phone light shone off of something; the light bouncing back into her eyes briefly. It was a suit of armor. She walked towards it and ran her fingers against it, noting that it looked pretty light weight and like it would keep her safe. The image of the man with shovel hadn't left Hinata yet. She shuddered as she reached up to touch the slightly spongey area of her forehead.

Better safe than sorry.

She slowly started to pull it off the mannequin, sliding all the pieces over her body. After she was finished, she noticed that the suit would probably slow her down a little but if someone tried to hit her with a shovel, the helmet would definitely protect her. She smiled softly to herself as she headed out of the vault, thinking nothing else in there would be of use.

That was, until, she saw it sitting on a small, safe deposit box. A pistol, fully loaded, sat on the dusty metal box. Immediately, she grasped it in her hand. This, she could use. Hinata nodded to herself; she had never used a gun before but now was not the time to complain about that.

She was ready now, ready for anything the house could throw at her.
-

Sasuke walked into the room first, Sakura lingering behind him as he put head in the doorway, looking around. It was some kind of crypt, but aside from the open caskets, the bones, and the cobwebs, what freaked Sasuke out the most was the mirror sitting in the middle of the room, on a wall with nothing on it. He walked toward it and noticed it didn't show his reflection right away. Sweat beaded down his forehead. His reflection nodded and held his hand up to the mirror, writing something. In the dim light Sasuke could make out the words 'this will help'. His reflection smirked as his hand extended through the mirror, handing him a small vile of salve, no doubt something you could put on a wound.

Sasuke frowned slightly as his reflection in the mirror disappeared once again; if he got a salve that meant he would probably be injured severely soon. Sakura didn't seem to notice the interaction with the mirror as she looked around the room more.

"I found a door!" She called, with a smile. Sasuke nodded, beginning to head towards it when they both paused, hearing the door behind them opening.

Evil Sakura walked in, almost completely silent. Her green, vibrant eyes shone malevolently in the dark. The Sakura behind Sasuke covered her mouth with shock, fear and panic causing her heart to thunder.

"I've been looking for you." She said; their voices were identical. Sasuke's hand went to the dagger in his pocket, fingers twitching. He didn't know what exactly would happen if he attacked his…Thing…But he figured it was better than doing nothing. "Two with one stone; Sasuke will be so happy I killed his other." She charged towards them, fists raised. "I'll beat you two to death!"

Sasuke was faster though, pulling out the dagger defensively and letting her wildly smash her hand into the blade. She cried out, jerking back slightly, glaring at the pair. Sakura slipped the silver ring on her middle finger, clenching her own fists as she stared at her bleeding double.

With a sudden scream, Sakura's double fell to her knees, clutching her hair so tightly that blood sprung to her scalp. Her screams were horrendous as she flailed about on the floor. Sakura and Sasuke were stunned at the display. She rolled and kicked, soft sobs building up in her throat. "You…" Slowly, she got back onto her feet; she was pointing at her good counterpart, eyes narrowing darkly. "You need to get out of my head." Sakura looked down at the silver ring on her hand and realized, with it, she could attack her double with her mind.

Sakura smirked at the evil shadow of herself. "Where's your cockiness now? Sasuke, keep on her. I'll disable her!" The evil double staggered, trying not to lose the strength in her legs as Sasuke ran towards her, the dagger shining from the brightness of the flashlight. Arms came up to cover her face as Sasuke stabbed downwards, any inhibition he had had early now flying out the window. Now was kill or be killed, now was the time for him to man up and protect his friends. Even if Sakura had pissed him off earlier tonight, he wouldn't let her die, not while he could stop it.

The double cried out as the blade continued to rain down blows, blood flowing in heavy streams and causing a chorus of screams to echo out of the evil Sakura's mouth. But she still held firm, not allowing Sasuke to get any closer to her face, which would definitely cause a killing blow.

"I can't believe you let them get the drop on you. So pathetic." Sasuke was throw back when a fist connected to his face. He staggered, being steadied by Sakura, whose eyes were wide with shock. Evil Hinata slammed the door behind her. "God, you're weak. You're lucky I found my way out of the stupid fucking maze." Her eyes were cool with rage, like a smoldered fire. She was smirking, looking at the good Sakura who still had her hands on Sasuke's back. "Looks like we're about to play 'an eye for an eye'."

Sasuke gulped, pulling the dagger back up.
-

Naruto was starting to feel more and more exasperated as time went on. He hadn't found any sign of the stairs anywhere. He'd been looking in every room around the coal chute and it was like they didn't exist. Ice filled Naruto's stomach at that thought; what if there wasn't a way out of the basement? What if Sasuke and Sakura were stuck down there? He tried to shake the thought from his head but his palms were sweating as anxiety filled up his heart and his stomach sank.

The blond turned when he heard a knocking sound from the doorway. Naruto turned to see Sasuke's darkly illuminated form, staring back at him. There was so much relief in his stance as he moved closer. "Teme, you found a way up! I thought I told you not to move."

"You were being slow, so I decided to come and find you instead." Came the cool reply.

"Whatever, I'm just glad you're safe." Naruto approached Sasuke, throwing his arms around the taller man and sinking his head into that strong, familiar chest. "God, dude, I was so fucking worried about you. Is your head okay?"

Sasuke smirked. "Yes, yes, I'm fine." Sasuke's fingers grasped onto Naruto's chin but the blond shook his head and freed himself of the Uchiha's arms. He frowned immediately.

"Did you see Sakura at all while you were down there?"

"No."

"Of course not, that would be too convenient." Naruto muttered with exasperation showing in his face. "Where are the stairs down? I'm going to go look for her."

"Don't bother." Sasuke said in a sullen, yet seductive tone.

"What do you mean 'don't bother'? Are you still mad at her?"

"Somewhat, yes."

"Sasuke, this wasn't her fault."

"I never said it was."

Naruto eyed his companion suspiciously then. "Are you sure you're feeling alright? If you need to, you can go sit down. I'm still going to be looking around so…"

"No, don't leave me." Sasuke's hand reached out and tugged Naruto's jacket, the blond coming with it. Encased in Sasuke's arms, Naruto sighed, turning so he could face him.

"Sasuke, don't be like this. Not now, we have other things to worry about."

"One kiss, please? Then we can go look for Sakura. Fair?" Something about Sasuke's aura calmed Naruto enough for him to agree. Sasuke's head slowly ducked down and his lips pressed gently into Naruto's, trying to coax them open with a soft, swirling of tongue at his bottom lip.

"Sasuke, what do you think you're doing?" Naruto immediately pulled back when he heard what sounded like his own voice bouncing through the room. The blond stared with horror as his own body walked through the door, his face frowning at the Uchiha.

"Of course, you're here to ruin my fun, Menma." Naruto tried to pull out of the arms encasing him, but only found they held tighter.

"Oh? Trying to have fun without me, were you?"

Sasuke's grip on Naruto only became more and more suffocating as his midsection was squeezed tighter and tighter, not allowing his diaphragm to expand properly. "Come here, let's play together with him."

Naruto flung his elbow down into the junction of Sasuke's arm, causing him to hiss as his grip slackened. "What the fuck is happening? Sasuke, what are you doing?!"

Sasuke started to laugh and Naruto's double, Menma, smirked wickedly, face obscured in darkness as he walked farther into the room. "'What are you doing?'" His voice was pitched with mocking and Naruto could feel the salty, sting of his sweat trailing down his neck. "I can smell his fear." The two of them got closer, inching farther and farther towards the blond. They were blocking the only exit out of the room. "I want to taste his flesh between my teeth…"

"Oh, I think we can do a lot more than that."

"You think so? Should we make him suffer? I wish his Sasuke was here. It would be so much fun."

"He has the crystal; you know what that means."

"Together in Hell, I suppose."

"What should we do to him? I want to hear him scream."

"Definitely."

"Hold him down; I know how to make us both scream."

Menma moved faster than Naruto expected and as he threw his arms up, his double launched himself, knocking the blond to the ground. His fists rained down in heavy, forceful blows. Naruto whined, his skin sensitive with bruising. Menma grabbed the blond's arms and that's when Naruto really started to struggle, pulling and yanking his arms, trying to free himself. It seemed they were too evenly matched with strength. As soon as Naruto got one of his arms free, it would quickly get captured again.

Naruto rolled, kicking out his double's knees to aid him. He squealed as Naruto slammed his double's back down into the floor, shaking him roughly and trying to gain the upper hand. But it was all for nothing. Naruto was grabbed from behind by Sasuke's double; fingers dug callously into his scalp as a fistful of hair was used to drag the blond across the floor and off the other.

Menma got quickly to his feet. "Fuck it, let's just kill him!"

"Oh, don't ruin the fun now. Just because he managed to top you, you get all huffy. You're so cute Menma." Sasuke's double teased. He wrenched Naruto to his feet and tossed him into the wall. "I won't him top me."

Naruto heard a chattered next to him where the toy monkey was laying on the ground, bashing its symbols together. Menma and Sasuke looked towards the toy, both frowning. "Creepy." Menma commented, walking closer to his blond counterpart. And with a sudden rush, the monkey got to its feet, bashing its symbols more quickly than before. It leapt from the ground, jumping onto Menma's face, causing the blond to thrash around as the monkey's symbols on his cheeks and eyes, cutting open his face. "AHH!" The sudden onslaught made him fall back, tripping over his own feet.

Sasuke rushed over to Menma, trying to rip the toy free. Naruto knew this was his chance to run. "Good job, monkey!" Naruto shouted as he rushed to his feet, heading out the door.

"DON'T LET HIM GET AWAY!" Menma shouted, still trying to rend the toy off his face. Sasuke's double looked at the blond escaping from the room and the one on the floor, debating on which he should handle first.

He huffed, heading out the door after Naruto.
-

Sasuke brought the dagger down in Sakura's double's throat, causing a disquieting gurgle to fill the room. The real Sakura was staggering as she tried to free herself of the evil Hinata's vice-like grip. She was so strong and ferocious that Sakura felt she couldn't compete. Sasuke turned back towards the evil double and brought the blade down into her shoulder, spraying blood on Sakura's face as it made contact.

The scream was almost ear-drum shattering.

Sakura kicked Hinata's double in the stomach, causing her to fold over. The blade slipped out of her flesh as she fell to her knees. "Not like this!" She wailed, striking out blindly. She managed to grab Sakura's jacket, pulling at the fabric wildly in attempt to pull her down.

But Sasuke wouldn't let this continue any farther. He brought the dagger down in her neck, at the side. Blood gushed and sprayed him, covering his hands, his face, and his clothes. He continued to attack, the ripping sounds and gargled screaming blocked out by adrenaline. Sakura watched with contained horror as Sasuke continued to work over the body. It was obvious now that she was dead but Sasuke continued, instinct outweighing his logic.

"Sasuke!" She grabbed his shoulders, shoving him back. His chest was heaving. "Sasuke, that's enough! They're dead."

Sasuke took a few breaths, steadying himself from the rush he was feeling. His hand felt numb and he let the blade slip from his fingers as he sat down heavily next to the small pool of blackened blood forming on the ground. He wanted to brush his hair back but he remember just how saturated his hands had become and he put them back down at his sides.

Sakura loomed over him, a concerned gleam in her eyes. "Are you alright?"

After a pause, Sasuke nodded, slowly starting to get back on his feet. "Yeah, yeah…Are you?" Sakura nodded her head immediately. "Good…Okay…Good…"

In the now relentless silence, evil Sakura and Hinata's bodies were a cool reminder of what extreme lengths this house was pushing them to. The crystal ball, which lay now by Sasuke's feet, lit up, swirling with smoke. As it cleared, a golden, piercing light filled up the room as both bodies birthed darkened shadows. Sasuke and Sakura watched as they sank into the ball, as if being sucked up.

They exchanged a look. "Shit…What the fuck was what?" Sakura muttered as she reached down for the crystal. It showed nothing now and was eerily clear.

"I think it sucked up their souls…"

"Does that mean they can't die without the crystal ball being in the room?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I have no idea. But either way, we need to keep it with us. There are two left and we need to be prepared to end them as well."

"Easier said than done; we still haven't even found the stairs." Sakura said in a slightly whinny tone.

"I know." Sasuke replied coolly; he got to his feet. "Let's keep moving. Hinata and Naruto are still upstairs. They might not know about these…Doppelgängers."

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, let's go."

They moved towards the door at the other end of the room, stepping over the unmoving bodies at their feet. Sasuke felt disgust building in his stomach as the realization started to sink into his mind; he killed two people. Two people wearing the faces of his friends. A sudden chill wracked him as he opened the door, stepping through it.

How could he do such a thing so easily?

Sasuke felt dread filling up his blood; he staggered on his feet.

How could he do it?

Sakura walked behind Sasuke, placing a soothing hand on his back. "Sasuke, do you need to sit down again?" The Uchiha jerked away from her hand, unsettled on his feet as he moved quickly towards a wall, slumping against it. "Sasuke?"

His vision was turning red; his mind weak from trauma and pain. He was letting his instincts take over and letting his fear and anxiety grip him. Anger pulsed deeply inside him; his stomach aching to release the monster inside. Slowly, almost methodically in practice, Sasuke turned his head towards Sakura. The dagger was between his fingers, flipping it over his knuckles with ease.

"…" Sakura watched with awful fear as Sasuke moved, steps heavy with purpose. But Sasuke wouldn't hurt her, right?

DUDE, NO!

Oh shit. I didn't mean it…

YOU SON OF A BITCH!

Ehehehe. Really, I'm sorry.

YOU FUCKING KILLED ME, YOU ASSHAT!

To be fair, you rolled a goddamn one.

This game is such bullshit!

Too bad, so sad.
-

When Sasuke came too, he was still thrusting his blade down into a mess of supple flesh. Blood was staining his hands and face, flaking and drying on his skin. The Uchiha stopped, looking down at the body beneath him. The puddle of blood was soaking into his jeans and as he stood up, sickness eat away at his gut.

He vomited, emptying his stomach by the door. His head felt dizzy and the urge to throw up again was almost too much to ignore. He scanned his eyes around the room, looking for Sakura. She wasn't there with him. "Sakura? Sakura, please? Are you here? Don't tell me you fucking left me!"

Slowly, his brain started to process and unlock his earlier actions and start piecing together the puzzle. A crushing whimper escaped from his lips as he looked back at the bloody mess again. There was pink hair, that obnoxious matching party dress and jean jacket…

Sasuke couldn't hold back a scream, grabbing at his scalp as the realization really started to burn in his mind. He couldn't help but scream even more, the screeching turning into muted sobs in his throat. He had killed her. He couldn't contain the beast inside of him and in some dizzying fit, he killed her. Sasuke huffed and threw himself at a door, trying his best to ignore what he had done.

He couldn't let the others know. He had to get them out before something like this befell them as well. He tripped, trying to rush forward, shins and knees slamming down into hard concrete. He realized he had fallen on the stairs. Another sob broke through his lips; they had been so close…
-

Naruto rushed through the entryway and slammed himself into the chapel, blinding running towards any room other than the one he was in. He couldn't believe his eyes. He and Sasuke…They were doubled. And those doubles were evil; so very evil. Naruto's foot caught on one of the pews and he stumbled forward, hands catching him at the last second. He scrambled into the pew, scooting back so far that his back hit the wall.

He hoped that Sasuke's evil fucking double wasn't going to follow after him, but there was no promises of a safe haven until they were all out of this house. He heard footsteps echoing heavily throughout the room, making him feel so small, so afraid; a prey animal hiding from a predator.

But the footsteps weren't normal, they had a metallic, clanking quality to them. Naruto tensed as the noise stopped in front of his pew.

"Naruto? Are you okay?" Relief and happiness filled him immediately as he heard Hinata's soft voice. He looked up, eyes brimming with tears until he saw what she was wearing; a full suit of armor, helmet included. For now, the blond knew, he had to ignore the strange. They needed to get to the basement and get out of this god-forsaken house.

"Hinata, we need to find stairs, NOW!" The blond rocketed to his feet, grabbing the cool steel with his fingers as he pulled Hinata towards the door she had come from. But it was too late for that, as a second set of footsteps, heavy with anger, entered through the way Naruto had come. The blond whipped his head, a whine escaping him.

"Don't run from me; you'll never escape." Sasuke said in a sing-song voice. "I'll strangle you with your entrails!"

In a sudden motion, Hinata pulled out the revolver, pointing it towards Sasuke. "W-why are you saying those things, Sasuke? P-please, don't make me shoot you. You're our friend!"

"You're wrong!" Sasuke yelled with a sudden, maddening cry of insanity. "I'm just his shadow!"

"SHOOT HIM!" Naruto screamed, fear not hiding on the blond's face. "DO IT NOW!"

The double broke into a spring but Hinata pulled the trigger, shooting the evil Sasuke twice. One in the shoulder and then again in the chest. He spun on his feet, falling back and hitting the floor with a sickening thud. Naruto breathing was still heavy with anticipation; he doubted this Sasuke was dead. And as if to prove his thoughts true, Sasuke's double opened his eyes, slowly getting back on his feet.

"Now, now, that wasn't very nice." He teased, clicking his tongue disapprovingly.

Hinata raised the gun again, her hands shaking with a sudden fear.

"IN THE HEAD!" Naruto shouted in a deafening madness. "SHOOT HIM IN THE HEAD!"

Hinata flinched as the recoiled made her stumble back. The bullet grazed Sasuke's double on the cheek, traveling past him as it missed.

"GUH!" Sasuke's double turned, seeing Menma's body splayed on the ground behind him; finally have freed himself of the toy monkey. The bullet struck home, embedding itself into the blond's hauntingly blue eyes.

Sasuke tilted his head, looking down at his fallen companion. "Menma, do you need help up?" The blond's hand twitched as he slowly seemed to regain all motor function.

"Fucking bullshit!" He cursed, stumbling back onto his feet. The bullet, like a huge drop of congealed blood, spilt from Menma's eye and landed on the ground by his feet with a clang. The wound was already beginning to heal somewhat, not spilling more blood. "I'll make sure you two suffer for every drop of blood I've spilled today…" Menma started to move forward but suddenly stopped, blood bursting from his chest. "GUAUHH!" He turned his head slowly, revealing Sasuke from the shadows, crystal ball tucked under his arm. Menma's soul burst in from his body and was sucked inside with a shatteringly loud scream of agony.

Sasuke's double watched in horror as his original slowly stalked forward; dagger sticky and wet from all the kills he had amassed tonight. "Wait, can't we just talk about this?" The evil Sasuke staggered, almost falling over the back of one of the pews. "I'm sorry, okay? We just wanted to live too, you know?"

Sasuke's face was as blank as stone as he lunged forward, the blood soaked dagger sinking deeply into his double's neck, effectively puncturing a large hole in his wind pipe. Sasuke let go of the blade, letting his evil twin scramble around, throwing himself into walls and the pews as a panic set into him. Blood burst from his lips and spilled down his chin, coating the lower half of his face in a veil of crimson.

"Then you should have picked someone else to play with." Sasuke muttered darkly, eyes not hiding an ounce of his anger. His double managed to pull the blade out, but immediately fell forward, hitting the ground hard. He didn't move again. The house started to groan and the three of them looked at each other. "Come on, we need to get out of here!" Naruto and Sasuke broke into a run, shoving themselves out the doorway and back into the entry hall.

The roof was shaking, sending wave after wave of dust down upon them; it was followed by racketing boards and glass. "What about Sakura?" Hinata said suddenly, apprehension showing clearly on her face.

Sasuke paused for a moment, looking back. The two of them locked eyes for a moment and Hinata immediately knew what that look meant; Naruto didn't have to see it to know what the sudden silence between them spelled for their friend. She didn't make it.

The run from the door to the road was surprisingly relieving; none of them said anything as they ran, not looking back at the house which had imprisoned them and tortured them all individually. The three of them didn't doubt they would say anything ever again about this incident.

As they got to the road, a headlight flashed on. Without really thinking, they all ran out in the street, screaming for help. The driver came to a screeching halt, nearly hitting Naruto with the left side of the car. But the blond didn't even seem fazed. They all piled in, Hinata in the front, Sasuke and Naruto sharing the back. The silver haired man, mask obscuring the bottom of his face, blinked.

The three people who had entered his car were soaked with blood and one of them was wearing a full suit of armor. Either something really fucked up had happened, or they had just come back from a wicked and terrifying Halloween party.

"Um, so, where am I taking you guys…I guess?" The three of them all shared a glance.

"Anywhere but here." Naruto said, his tone of voice sounding completely drained. "Please…Just…Anywhere."

The man nodded, hoping that stopping his car for these kids was the right decision.
-

"Damn it Madara, I'm seriously still mad you managed to kill me!" Izuna whined, glaring evilly at his older brother, who smirked victoriously.

"I'm so glad we won." The older Uchiha said, high-fiving Hashirama and completely ignoring his younger sibling's' complaints. "Man, it was getting kinda close too."

"I know, I lucked out finding that gun and armor." Tobirama said in an almost bored tone. "So, what are we gunna do now?" The three of them looked over at him, and with a collective shrug, started to pick up the game pieces. "Didn't really answer my question…"

"Well, it's Halloween right? Let's go through our movies and watch all the shitty B-rated ones." Hashirama suggested with the largest smile possible.

"Okay."

"Yeah."

"Sounds good."

As they finished cleaning up the board and pieces, the lights started to flicker. "Man, why does it always rain on Halloween? I don't get it." Izuna complained.

"I'm just hoping the power stays on long enough for us to watch movies…" Hashirama moved from his chair in the dining room towards the PS3 in the living room. "Do you guys have any suggestions or should we look shit up online first?"

The other three followed him into the room, settling down on their respective couches and chairs, nestled in the darkness of barely ten in the evening. The lights kept flickering in the kitchen and dining rooms. The TV waved as power surged and then was cut off.

Everything turned to blackness.

"Oh come on, dude." Madara muttered under his breath. "Do you think it's just us or the whole neighborhood?"

Tobirama peered out the window. "Looks like it's just us. Hashi, go switch on the breakers in the basement."

"What?! Why me?" He whined, rather loudly.

"Don't be such a baby." Izuna said with a mocking tone.

"Madara, come with me?" Hashirama's voice sounded heavy with pleading.

"Do you need someone to come help wipe your ass too? Be a man."

"Wow, you guys all suck."

He got up from the couch and disappeared in the hallway; his thumping footsteps could be heard going downstairs.

Silence consumed them all for a moment and after a few moments they heard return thumping from the stairs. The three of them sat, confused, because they were all still incased in darkness. The only thing illuminating anything at all was the lightning outside.

"Hashi? Did you find the breaker?" There was no response as the footsteps got louder. "Dude, Hashi we can hear you. You can't scare us."

A figure loomed in the doorway, holding something in their hand. They dropped it, sending it rolling across the floor. The three of them were tense and as the lightning struck, Hashirama's open-mouthed face burned into their memories forever. A man, covered in blood, holding an axe, stood motionless in the archway, laughing with hysterics.

The screams were deafening.
-

so in the actual game if you find the crystal ball in the pentagram chamber, you get haunt 32 and not haunt 12. It just seemed stupid to have Sasuke fall into a room that was totally lame like the gymnasium, the servants' quarters, or the abandoned room (And I don't think the abandoned room is basement tile so it wouldn't have worked either) SO FUCK THE RULES I'M DOIN' WHAT I WANT.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN MY LOVELIES! :D