Escape the Night: An Invitation
A/N: Hello and welcome to the first installment of my novelization of the hit web series, Escape the Night. I've been wanting to do this for a while and watching Season 3 of Escape the Night gave me the inspiration that I needed. So, if you haven't watched the show, please do so, and if you have, you'll probably notice that I've cut down on the swearing, and have added some new characters as well. Please enjoy and let me know what you think in your reviews.
Read, review, and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Escape the Night. I just own any and all characters that I just happen create.
PROLOGUE: NIGHTMARES AND THE HOUSE
The first time that Joey Graceffa had the nightmare about an unusual, and yet, beautiful house, he thought it was because he'd been watching too many horror movies or when he competed on the first season of Fight of the Living Dead last year and had come close to winning until he was killed off. However, when the nightmare kept repeating itself, it was then that he started to wonder if he was going insane.
Joey is running – from what he doesn't know for sure, only that he is scared out of his mind of whatever it is – he runs through wet fields, and it is raining. He is soak and he is scared, but he keeps running, running from whatever it is that is chasing him. He keeps running until he trips and lands on his face.
Joey forces himself to sit up and he sees it in the distance. The house. The house that had been built without hands and was trapped in time. This house was calling to him, and he desperately wants to go to it, to the house that is both deadly and beautiful at the same time. He gets up and staggers towards it, but before he can reach it, he finds himself surrounded by gravestones that are everywhere.
He has been here before, although he isn't sure how he knows that, but it was a familiar place, just like the house he was trying to reach. He looks at the gravestones and there are familiar names on them, but he can't make them out because of the rain pouring down out of the sky, and when he tries to move past them, he trips and lands in the mud.
Joey hears the footsteps coming from behind and whatever it was he was running from was catching up with him again. He digs at the ground for a weapon, but all he can find is mud and the footsteps get closer, and he scrambles to his feet to run once again. He had to reach the house, he just had to! But before he can take a single step, something grabs him by the shoulder, and he is thrown against a nearby tree.
Joey rolls to the ground and scrambles to his feet, backed against the tree as his chaser, a figure dressed in a black hood robe with a creepy-looking mask hiding the face, advances toward him with with a rusted hook for a hand. It moves closer toward him, almost as if it was feeding on his fear, and he braces himself for the worst, knowing that he can't reach the house in time-
Joey woke up with a gasp and nearly fell out of the bed, but stopped himself in time. 'Again, that same blasted dream again,' he thought, breathing hard, sweat soaking his hair.
Joey climbed out of the bed and staggered to the bathroom, where he turned the light on, and winced in the bright light as he made his way over to the sink. Once his eyes adjusted, he stared at himself in the mirror, and he didn't like what he was seeing: his face was pale despite his tanned skin from living in the L.A. area, there were dark bags under his eyes, and he knew that it was going to get to the point that not even makeup would be able to hide them from his six million subscribers on YouTube, his own family, or even from Daniel, who was his boyfriend and he was currently out of town visiting family.
"Snap out of it, Joey," he told himself for what felt like the hundredth time for the past two weeks. "Snap out of it and pull yourself together. It's just a dumb dream and it'll fade like they always do. That house isn't real, and there's no creepy guy in a black robe with a hook coming after you." He then splashed some cold water on his face and went back to bed.
Unfortunately for his sanity, the nightmare wouldn't go away, and it kept coming for two weeks. After this kept happening, Joey figured he needed to talk to someone about it since he knew that if you shared a nightmare with someone, then it usually started fading away, and while he wished that Daniel was back to talk to, he instead turned to a friend he'd made at a comic-con event he'd been invited to, and he knew that if anyone could help him, it was Dawn Hatcher.
Joey and Dawn met for lunch at one of their favorite cafés in downtown L.A., and he was grateful that the actress had accepted and that she'd been in town since she lived in Provo, Utah with her family. The fact that he was friends with a Mormon had gotten him teased quite a bit, but he didn't care since Dawn respected him, and they didn't force their opinions down each other throats.
"You feeling ok, Joey?" Dawn asked after they got their sandwiches and drinks, coffee for him and a Diet Coke for her. "You seem pale. What's going on?"
"I'll explain after we eat," Joey promised. "This – this isn't something I can discuss over food, and I rather not spoil your appetite."
"Ok," Dawn agreed and they ate their sandwiches. 'Something is going on with Joey, and it's clearly affecting his health.' Although she didn't have a YouTube channel like Joey and she hadn't really seen any of his videos, they had bonded over other things, especially over his little brother, who has Autism, and since she also had Autism, she understood how hard it was on him. Thanks to her, Joey knew what his brother had wasn't an illness, but that his brain was wired differently, and with her help, he had been able to help his brother become more social with others, which was a big win for autistic people.
After finishing and paying for their lunch by splitting the check, they were soon walking through one of the parks, and they sat down on top of a picnic table. Once they were both seated, Joey told her about the recurring nightmare, and he didn't leave anything out.
"A house trapped in time?" Dawn repeated and he nodded with an expression that was pretty much pleading her to believe him. "Does anyone else know about this dream?"
"I haven't told anyone about this dream, not even Daniel when we've talked on video chat, only to you," Joey confessed. "I don't know why I keep having it, and it's driving me crazy."
Dawn put a hand on his and gave it a squeeze. "Joey, I get it," she said with an understanding empathic tone that got him to look at her. "You're scared and there's nothing wrong with being scared. Who knows? Now that you shared the dream with me, maybe it'll stop. And maybe you should let Daniel know what's been going on, too. You know he'll understand." Yeah, she knew that Joey was gay, but she didn't hold it against him since she knew plenty of actors and actresses that were either gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and even transgender, and they were all great and friendly people, so why hold it against them?
Joey sniffed and gave her a watery smile. "I'm hoping that it will," he agreed. "When I first had the nightmare, I thought it was from watching too many horror movies."
"I told you that horror movies are bad for your health," Dawn teased and soon they were both laughing and joking.
Two days went by and Joey didn't have the nightmare, so it looked like talking with Dawn had helped after all. He had taken her advised and told Daniel the next time they video chatted and his boyfriend was very understanding while pointing out that he should've mentioned something sooner, and then that was when the letter arrived.
Joey had just finished uploading his latest YouTube video on his account when he heard the doorbell ring. He went to the door and opened it, surprised to find a tall, dark-haired man with dark eyes, a faint dark beard, and he wearing a suit that was more suited for the 1920s then for 2016. "Yes, can I help you?"
"Joey Graceffa?" the man inquired, ignoring the question.
Joey started feeling uneasy, but he forced it back, and nodded. "Yes, I'm Joey."
"Mr. Graceffa, my name is Arthur," said the man and presented him with a white envelope, "and I have been asked to deliver this personally to you, sir."
Perplexed, Joey accepted the letter and invited Arthur inside. Going to the living room, Joey seated himself in one of the armchairs while Arthur seated himself on the couch, and he opened the letter.
The young man read through the letter twice, his eyes wide with shock, and he looked over at Arthur. "Wait, is this for real?" he asked. "I've inherited a house?" 'How is this possible? How can I inherit something from a relative I'd never heard of?'
"Yes, you have," Arthur confirmed with a slight smirk. "This house is on an illustrious estate that only exists in the 1920s."
Joey felt his heart dropped into his stomach and images from the nightmare flashed through his mind about the house trapped in time. 'OMG, it's the house from my dream, isn't it?' "A house trapped in time?" he guessed, swallowing a little since his throat had gone dry.
Arthur nodded. "Yes, and it was originally owned by your late cousin twice removed, and upon his death, he left it to you. This is mainly because he hated all of his other relatives."
'Talk about being bitter,' Joey thought and reread the letter, mainly to give his brain a chance to process all of this, and to pull himself together. "So, a cousin I'd never met has left me his entire estate?"
"Yes, and since it only exists in the 1920s, nothing from the modern world will work there," Arthur explained. "If you live there, then you can't take anything modern with you, not even your clothes. I have a car that can time travel between there and the modern world, and if you desire to have someone stay with you, you can. Is there anyone in particular you would care to invite?"
Joey nodded. "Yes, I do know someone else who can stay with me," he said, standing up. "Do you mind if I make a quick phone call?"
"Of course, go right ahead," Arthur agreed with a wave of his hand.
Pulling out his cellphone, Joey quickly retreated into the kitchen, closing the door to a crack so that he could still see his strange guest, and hit the speed dial for a certain number. 'Please don't be filming right now,' he thought, knowing that she was involved with filming some additional scenes for the upcoming film Independence Day: Resurgence. He probably should contact Daniel with the news, but there was someone else he needed to try first, and if that fell through, then he would invite Daniel instead.
`"Joey?"` Dawn's voice asked and it filled with concern when he let out a sigh of relief. `"Joey, what is it? Did that you have that nightmare again?"`
"No, not exactly," Joey answered, peering through the crack to make sure that Arthur was still on the couch before he continued, sharing with her about the arrival of the strange man and the contents of the letter, which he had with him. "…and so it looks like my nightmare might have been a telling of the future instead."
`"Joey, slow down a minute,"` Dawn requested in a tone that said that she was trying to make sense of what he'd just told her. `"Now, I know that visions are real and plenty of people can have them, but if this house is real, then that means that hooded figure with the hook might be real, too."`
Joey hadn't thought about that, having been caught up in the realization that the house that'd been haunting his dreams was real. "Good point, maybe I shouldn't accept the house," he said, but the longing to actually see the house trapped in time was strong.
`"Or we can check the house out together,"` Dawn suggested, surprising her friend, `"and see if it's worth the risk of not having anything modern with us."`
"Wait, you're willing to see the house with me?" Joey asked, surprised.
`"Yeah, I am,"` Dawn responded. `"I admit that I've been curious about whether such a place could exist ever since you told me about your dream two days ago. And I may have done some research online about whether such places exist,"` she added sheepishly.
Joey snickered and laughed when she told him to "shut up". "You and your curiosity strikes again," he teased, earning another "shut up" from his friend. "So, do such houses exist for real?" he inquired, wishing that he'd done the same after he first had the dream.
`"Sort of,"` Dawn replied. `"Apparently these kind of houses are trapped in time warps or something from what I've able to find. Heh, that would explain a bit about the Classic Doctor Who Episode Ghost Light."`
"Yeah, it kinda does," Joey agreed while making a mental note to watch that particular episode again, or at least look it up. "That place was kind of trapped in time wasn't it?"
`"It was in a way,"` Dawn agreed. `"Listen, Joey, I got one last scene to shoot here, and then my part in the movie will be done with. If you can keep that Arthur guy there a little bit longer, how about I come meet him around 4:00 pm?"`
"Sure," Joey agreed. "I'll ask him."
`"Good, send me a text since I need to get back to the set."`
"Ok, see you soon. Bye."
`"Bye!"`
After closing his cellphone and pocketing it, Joey took a deep breath, and left the kitchen to talk with his guest.
At 4:00 pm sharp, Dawn parked next to the sidewalk in front of the house and behind a car that clearly screamed 1920s to her. 'That must the car that belongs to Arthur,' she thought, getting out of her own car and locking the doors before heading up the walkway to the house, ringing the doorbell.
Joey immediately opened the door and greeted her with a hug. "I'm so glad you made it," he whispered into her ear. "This Arthur guy is seriously creeping me out. Come on in, Donny," he said in his more normal voice, ending the hug and moving aside so that she could enter.
"Hi there," Dawn said, stepping into the living room and Arthur stood so that they could shake hands. "You must be Arthur, right?"
"Yes, I am," Arthur confirmed. "And I take it that you're the SciFi actress Dawn Hatcher," he added with a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
Dawn didn't let that faze her since she was used to people approaching her on the streets when they recognized her brunette curly hair, which she was wearing short more often these days, her blue eyes, and her clef chin. "Ah, so you've seen some of the stuff I've been in over the years," she remarked, sitting down in the chair next to Joey's. "So, Arthur, tell me more about this estate that Joey has inherited."
Arthur did so, sharing with them about the size of the estate, the house itself, and what was on the grounds.
After talking for a bit, Joey excused himself and Dawn, and they retreated into the kitchen to talk in private about what they'd learned from the strange man. "So, what do you think?" he asked. "Should I accept the house?"
"Well, we should at least see the place and the grounds," Dawn suggested. "Get a look around before making any serious decisions."
"That's a good idea."
The next day, Arthur drove Joey and Dawn, who were dressed in outfits that they had to come up with that were 1920s, outside of the L.A. area, and as they neared a bridge, Dawn noted as the man opened a compartment in the dashboard to activate some kind of device that had a very steampunk feel to it. Both she and Joey started when there was a flash of golden light and a tingling sensation that shot through their bodies.
Before they could process what had just happen to them, their jaws dropped when Arthur drove through the white gates and before their very eyes, the house magically appeared with the rest of the estate.
"Oh, wow," Dawn whispered as they got out of the car and stared up at the three-story white house with a black roof. "So, this is the house you've dreaming about?" she asked her friend quietly.
Joey mutely nodded and started when Arthur circled the car and gestured them to follow him.
When Joey and Dawn entered the house, they found themselves in a foyer that was wooden paneled with a parlor on one side and a library room on the other. In front of them was a staircase that went upward and behind it was another hallway that went to the back of the house. Waiting for them was a tall woman in a maids outfit with black hair pulled back in a bun and dark eyes, and a slightly overweight man in a brown suit with brown hair and dark eyes.
"Mr. Graceffa, Ms. Hatcher, this is the rest of the house staff," Arthur informed them. "Sarah is the maid and Marvin is the groundskeeper. Sarah, Marvin, this is Joey Graceffa and his friend, Dawn Hatcher. Mr. Graceffa is the gentleman who inherited the house," he added.
Sarah did a curtsy and Marvin nodded in greeting. "Welcome."
Arthur explained that he was the head of staff, basically the butler, and he gave them a tour of the house and the grounds.
After the tour and having lunch in the dining room, Joey and Dawn walked along a path to the pool to talk in private. They were both impressed by the house and grounds, but they were also feeling very uneasy about the whole place, too. And the staff was giving them the creeps, too, especially Sarah the maid.
"What do you think, Donny?" Joey asked when they reached the pool, where they removed their shoes and socks and sat on the edge of the pool to let their feet dip into the cold water, which felt good after all the walking they'd been doing.
"It's a beautiful place," Dawn remarked, "and it does feel like it's locked in time or something. But there's also something off about this place and the staff."
"I know," Joey agreed. "I've been having an uneasy feeling ever since Arthur first showed up at my house. Dawn, I didn't say anything earlier, but last night I had the nightmare again."
Dawn sighed, having feared something like that would happen. "Was it completely the same?"
"Yeah, it was," Joey confirmed. "Should we stay here, or should I tell Arthur that I don't want the place, beautiful as it is?"
"Let's spend the night first and sees what happens."
"Ok."
Letting Arthur know that they would be spending the night, the master bedroom was made up for Joey while a slightly smaller bedroom nearby was made up for Dawn, and after leaving the place to make phone calls to their respective families and friends, they went back to spend their first night there.
It was after midnight when a whimpering noise woke Dawn up from the sound sleep she'd fallen into after tossing and turning for a few minutes, and she thought she'd imagined it at first. She was about to go back to sleep when she heard it again, and she sat up, listening intensely. When she heard it a third time, she got out of the bed, wrapped a robe around her, and padded bare-footed to the door.
Opening it, Dawn peered out into the hallway, listening, and her sensitive hearing picked up the soft whimpering, and she realized that it was coming from the master bedroom. 'Joey!' She hurried into hallway and quietly entered the large bedroom, where she found her friend tossing and turning in the bed, the sheets and blankets were twisted around him, and there was sweat soaking his bleached white hair while his face was twisted with fear.
Although Dawn knew that it was generally not a good idea to try and wake someone up when they were having a nightmare, she decided to take the risk. Going to the side of the bed, she reached out, and she shook his shoulder. "Joey," she said, hoping to wake him from the nightmare before he hurt himself, "Joey, wake up, Joey!"
Joey woke with a start and she jumped back to avoid getting hit. It took him a few seconds to recall where he was and he looked over at his friend, who was watching with an expression that was both wary and concerned at the same time. "Dawn, did I – I-?"
"You didn't hurt me, Joey," Dawn reassured him, stepping next to the bed. "You were having the nightmare again?"
Joey nodded and he was dejected that the nightmare was coming back again. 'When I talked about it with Dawn, it left me alone for two days,' he thought, 'but after meeting with Arthur and choosing to come here, it's back, and it won't leave me alone.' He looked at his friend. "Dawn, do you mind – um, do you mind staying with me until I fall back to sleep?" he requested.
"Of course." Dawn climbed into the bed as he scooted over and they both laid down. She was a bit surprised when he wrapped his arms around her waist, but she didn't move, and even when Joey went back to sleep, she decided to remain instead of going back to her bedroom.
Over the next few weeks, that became the sleeping arrangement with Joey and Dawn, and because of this, they were able to keep the nightmare at bay. They did use the time traveling car to return to 2016 to take care of their daily lives, check in on Daniel, who was back from his own trip and opted to stay at his and Joey's place to look after their dogs, and Dawn did have to go back to Utah a few times. When this happen, Joey didn't have a defense against the nightmare that wouldn't let him sleep, and by the time his friend got back, he was now hearing a voice in the nightmare that hadn't been there before.
`"'This house was not meant to be enjoyed by you and your friend only…invite others…bring your friends to me…'"`
"This voice is telling you to invite others here?" Dawn asked one morning over breakfast, and Joey, who was looking sleep deprived despite her being back, nodded. "Ok, I'm starting to think us remaining in this house was a bad idea, and we should be just leave."
"Dawn," Joey took her hand, surprising her, "a week ago I would agree, but I really want to stay here, and it wouldn't hurt to invite friends to a dinner party would it? According to Arthur, I'll be getting the deed to this place soon."
Dawn hesitated for a moment. She didn't trust Arthur, Sarah, or even Marvin, since there was something about them that left her uneasy whenever she saw them, and too often she saw a strange knowing smirk on Arthur's face, like he knew something about the house that she and Joey didn't know. "Well, ok."
"Great."
A/N: I've made some changes, but not many. R&R everyone!
