We All Fall Down
A Word: I should stop poking at dead kink memes, but this one asked for part of the team getting lost in a house, and that's not something I could resist. Not sure I'll be able to continue it here for formatting reasons, or even if I will. Knowledge of the book House of Leaves is highly recommended for understanding this fic bit.
.
.
"Did we just," Benji trails off and Will looks up to see the man looking around. The thin beam of his flash light bouncing erratically off the walls. He's going to give them away if he keeps that up and someone spots the light from outside.
"The windows," Will hisses. Quiet even though there's no one actually inside the building with them. The low tone gets through to Benji though. He snaps the light down until it's only illuminating the floor. Will goes back to leafing through the files he's pulled from a desk. One eye looking for certain words and the other observing Benji's confused face. "What is it?"
"The stairs," Benji says. Reluctant even as he turns back to the windows. The beam of his light creeping carefully up the beige colored walls and carefully avoiding the windows. "We came up the stairs, right?"
"This is the second floor," Will says and turns back to pull out another pile of files. Carefully replacing the ones he's already gone through. "And neither of us is Ethan. So, yes, Benji we came up the stairs. How much did you have to drink before we left the bar?"
"No, no, that's not-" Benji makes a frustrated sound and Will sees him move out of the corner of his eye. "We came up the stairs and turned left. Twice. We turned around the whole room from outside, Will!"
"Uh huh," Will frowns. The files they were so sure to find aren't in the desk, and the other drawers are all empty. Completely empty. There isn't even a single paper clip or lint ball in any of them. Something uneasy uncurls in his chest, and he's not really listening to Benji as the man paces from one window to the next.
"The stairs, Will," Benji says and there's something a little panicked in his voice, "Where are the stairs?"
Will opens another two drawers before the question really registers and makes Will freeze. Slowly he straightens up and turns to look at the windows that clearly look out into the front yard. His mind spins through calculations and measurements that don't add up. They went up the stairs from the front room and ended up in a hallway. They walked down one length of the room and turned left. Walking down a second side of the room before turning left again. The third side of the room had the door they entered through.
Where's the stairs?
Will has just enough time to register a faint shudder under his feet before the floor slides out from under his feet. Benji's shout of alarm swallowed up by a rolling growl as Will falls.
And falls.
And falls.
And f
a
l
l
s
.
.