Author's Note: OOF. What's this? An update? Excuse? What? Night is not actually dead after all?

Soo... very sorry for the huge delay in posting this next chapter, guys. I basically just like disappeared off the face of the earth the end of last year. I don't know why... like i was busy as like sorta normal at work but im striving to get back on track with updates in my fics. It is like a goal to regularly write stuff for not only Subscribe but also Bound since that's been put on pause too.

So, i've left this as October's date and I'm gonna play catch up. From today, I am going to post a chapter each Wednesday until I get to February's chapter. Then it will go back to the last Wednesday of each month. ^.^

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans. Obviously.

3AM Challenge | The Midnight Game

Uploaded by Gar Logan

31st October 2019

Length: 00:36:45

11:36pm

Gar smirked as he lifted his camera high into the air, the lens facing him as well as revealing the backdrop of his bedroom where three of his friends were patiently waiting for him to start his recording.

"Whaaat's up, guys. It's Gar and welcome back to my channel!" He hollered, throwing his hand back from one of his signature 'peace' signs. As he turned, his smile widened and he tilted his head in a telltale manner,

"So, today is… HALLOWEEEEEN!" He yelped, causing his dark haired girlfriend to frown at him from where she was perched on the end of their bed.

"Weird how your voice went super high when you said that." Raven murmured, picking at the thread of his green comforter she was sat upon.

Gar blinked and turned to look at her, "What way should I have said it?"

"Most people would probably do a low, deep voice… y'know scary and all…" Dick mentioned from where he was sitting in the black bean bag situated in the corner of the room, with Kory sat on the floor, slotted just between his legs with her head resting against his knee.

Rolling his eyes, Gar cleared his throat and tried again, "So, today is… HALLOWEEN…" He boomed, aiming high for a spooky, demonic type of voice but not sounding that much different to before.

Kory lifted her head and offered him a gentle smile, "It was a good attempt, Gar…"

He pressed his lips together in a thin line and pulled a deadpan expression, "Thanks, Kory."

She giggled and leaned back against Dick, fiddling with the cuff of her sleeve, "You are welcome."

Waving a hand dismissively, Gar returned his attention to his camera which was continuously blinking red at him, signalling that he was still recording, "Anyway! Today is Halloween which means… I'm doing a spooky video… it's the first of a new segment I'm gonna be doing on my channel from now on."

Trailing off, Gar shuffled until he could perch on the very end of his bed, still managing to keep Raven, Dick and Kory in frame as they passively waited for him to continue.

"I am going to be doing a series of '3AM challenges' and there are… flippin' lots on the internet and what better way to celebrate Halloween then to do one of these creepy challenges?"

"I mean… there are probably quite a few ways to better celebrate Halloween, Gar." Dick mentioned, playing with the very ends of Kory's firey locks as she rested her cheek against his thigh again, an arm draped over as well.

"Probably but this is a funner way!" Gar exclaimed,

Raven narrowed her eyes at him, "Yeah because that's a word."

"You guys are such party poopers tonight." He grumbled, grinning as Raven shook her head at him, "Anyway, tonight I am going to be doing a ritual called, 'The Midnight Game' and good news about that is, I can do it with multiple people… hence why I am joined by Raven, Kory and Dick! Vic probably woulda done it too but he's outta town at the moment, visiting his girlfriend Karen."

"And as you can tell, we're all super excited." Raven murmured in her monotone,

Gar chuckled, "It's gonna be great, guys. You won't regret it."

Kory frowned, her brows knitting together in a show of fear, "I highly doubt that, Gar."

Turning back to the camera he smirked, "Alright guys, back in a sec where I'll explain the rules and everything of this one."

With that, he clasped a hand over the lens, shrouding everything in darkness.

Gar sat back in his chair as he pushed himself away from the desk where his laptop was open and he glanced into the corner where the camera was now fixed into place via the tripod. Raven sat with her legs crossed, leaning against the palms of her hands which were flush against the mattress of their bed situated behind him.

Dick was still lounging in the bean bag, with Kory curled up between his knees. She had shuffled up a little more so that her cheek was resting on his stomach whilst he absently drifted his fingertips up and down her upper arm, brushing against the fabric of the baby blue sweater she wore.

"Okay guys, so the The Midnight Game is a creepy game where you basically invite an entity called The Midnight Man into your home for like 3 hours-"

Raven raised a brow at that and tilted her head, "We're inviting spirits into the house?"

Gar grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck, "Maybe a little bit."

Before Raven could respond to him, Gar turned back to his laptop which was open on a webpage explaining the game, "Uhh… yeah so he comes to your home for 3 hours and this is what it says online: The invitation welcomes an entity known as The Midnight Man inside your home. The goal of the game is to avoid meeting The Midnight Man in the dark. Continually moving about your home will make it more difficult for him to find you; should you stop moving at any point, he will catch you. Accounts differ as to what befalls players caught by The Midnight Man. Some claim he will induce a hallucination of your worst fear until the end of the game; others claim he will remove your organs one by one. Both outcomes are to be avoided at all costs."

Kory made a small noise of concern whilst Dick shifted to sit forward on the bean bag, his hands on her shoulders as a way of comfort.

"You can't just ask us to play… a board game or something, like normal people?" Dick chuckled,

Gar smirked and turned to look at him, "That's no fun, dude!" He paused and stared into the camera for a moment, "Oh and small disclaimer, please don't try this at home because I really don't want all my followers getting haunted or-"

"We are going to get haunted?" Kory asked, sitting upright at the mere mention,

"Well… not if we play it right." Gar mumbled, scrunching his expression up as he looked into the camera's direction.

Kory pulled a face and lifted her shoulders, likely the least of them to ever be excited about horror or creepy games whereas Raven and Dick were much more steeled in terms of nerves.

Raven sighed and sat up a little straighter, "C'mon then… tell us the rules."

Gar beamed, "Thanks babe."

She shook her head, "When you decide on doing these things, there's no talking you out of them so I might as well just go along instead."

He winked at her before eyeing the webpage, "So… it says… you must begin prior to midnight. Then, we each write our full names on pieces of paper and… we have to prick our fingers and put a drop of blood onto the paper as well-"

Dick's brows hit his hairline, "What?"

"Did you just say we have to offer our blood?" Kory queried, sitting up and crossing her legs,

Gar puffed out a nervous laugh, "Yeah… only like… a tiny bit though; I got thumb tacks!"

"Yay." Raven deadpanned, giving him a look that told him they probably should have been given an earlier warning.

"After, we turn off every light in the house. Place the papers with our names in front of a closed, wooden door. Cool, so we'll do our door, Rae."

Raven lifted her head and cast his a look that said she was less than thrilled about that.

"C'mon, you're into creepy stuff like this." Gar pointed out,

"Yeah, but I never invite demons to hang out with us."

Gar grinned, "Well, I do!"

He turned back to the laptop, scrolling through the instructions on how to play the game.

"Light your candles using matches or a lighter and place each on the pieces of paper. Then, leave the room and close the door. Knock on the door 22 times. The final knock must occur precisely when the clock chimes 12am. Then, open the door, blow out the candle and close the door. Relight your candle immediately."

"What happens - Keeping your candle in hand and your salt and matches or lighter close by, begin to move about your home. Should your candle go out, you must relight it within the next ten seconds. If you are successful, continue moving about your home. Do not stop moving until 3:33am. If you are unsuccessful in relighting the candle, immediately surround yourself with a circle of salt. Remain inside the circle until 3:33am."

"Why is it so specific?" Dick queried,

Gar shrugged and gave him a hapless expression, "Dude, I don't know. Demons like witching hour." He paused and continued reading, "How to end the game - At 3:33am, it is safe to stop moving or to step outside your circle of salt. You may also turn the lights on. The game is over."

"Great, so if things go south, we'll just sit in a salt circle for 3 hours." Dick said,

Kory frowned, "Or… we could just not play it all?"

Dick smiled whilst Gar turned back to her and pouted, "Kory, it'll be fun, I promise!"

"Your definition of fun, differs to mine, Gar." She replied,

"I'll tell you what, if the Midnight Man tries to take your organs, I'll let him take mine instead. Deal?"

Kory rolled her eyes but giggled at his proposal, "Fine. Deal."

Gar grinned and slapped his hands together, his forest eyes skimming over any remaining details, "Uh… it says indications that the Midnight Man is near include but are not limited to sudden drops in temperature, the sound of a soft whisper from no discernible source, the appearance of a humanoid figure within the darkness or your candle going out."

"Anything else?" Raven wondered,

"Yeah, it has a couple of things not to do. Do not turn on any lights during the game, do not use a flashlight during the game, do not go to sleep during the game, do not use a lighter instead of a candle during the game, do not use a person's blood other than your own during the game, do not attempt to leave your home during the game and do not attempt to provoke the Midnight Man during the game."

"That's a lot of things not to do." Dick sighed, standing up from the bean bag and pulling Kory up with him before moving to sit on the end of the bed where Raven was still sat.

"So, you can't use the light on your camera then." Raven commented,

"Nope." Gar sighed, "So it's gonna be hella dark."

Kory flopped backwards on the bed, covering her face with the sleeves of her sweater whilst Raven looked back at her, giving her a sympathetic smile, "Kory, I apologise for my dumbass boyfriend."

"It is okay." She mumbled in response,

Gar chuckled and looked pointedly at the camera lens, "Alright guys, see you in a sec to prep the stuff for this."

11:53pm

"So, right now, we're gonna write our names on paper and put our blood on em'." Gar explained to the camera, showing the four pieces of paper in his hand.

He moved around the room, handing them out to each of his friends who all looked equally unsure with what they were about to do and deeply considering any repercussions that may come from testing fate.

After passing pens out to all of them, they started scribbling down their individual names. Gar sat down at his desk and wrote, 'Garfield Mark Logan' on his own sheet of paper before he turned in his chair and looked back at the others,

"Okay guys, hold up your sheets of paper."

Raven sighed and lifted hers to the camera with her name, 'Raven Roth' written upon it. Kory followed suit, holding hers up to reveal, 'Kory Anders' neatly scrawled in orange pen. And lastly, Dick held his up, with 'Richard John Grayson' marked down neatly in royal blue shade.

"See? Easy, guys." Gar told them,

"We still have to prick our fingers." Raven reminded him,

Gar waved his hand, "It's okay, that's easy."

Dick snorted and shook his head, "You're so weird, sometimes."

"But you guys love it!" Gar sang, before he reached for the box of thumbtacks. He withdrew one and stared at his index finger, "Oookay… time to do it…"

"It's easy… remember, Gar?" Raven smirked,

He narrowed his eyes at her briefly before he took a deep inhale and pressed the point of the needle against his finger, gritting his teeth as he pushed harder until it pierced the layer of skin and a drop of blood seeped to the surface.

Kory waved her hands around, bouncing in place from where she was sat on the bed, "Gar! I do not want to do that!"

Gar offered her a small smile, "It's fine; a piece of cake, Kor."

With that, he pressed his index finger to the piece of paper, staining it with a dotting of blood. Gar smiled triumphantly and turned to face them, "Who's next?"

The three of them blinked at him but none of them were in any rush to move and prick their own fingers next.

"This is so cult like… I feel like we're about to do some satanic shit." Dick muttered, finally standing and snatching the box of thumbtacks off of Gar's desk.

Kory watched as Dick did the same as Gar and pricked his finger with the needle of a fresh one, "Shit." He hissed, a sharp pain shooting through his hand,

"Dick…" Kory whined, squeezing her eyes shut and lifting her shoulders,

Dick pressed his finger to his own sheet of paper, leaving a circle of blood on it before he pulled back and shook his hand to try and alleviate the stinging, "That actually hurt."

"I mean it's better than using a knife, dude."

Nodding, Dick shrugged, "Good point."

Gar pulled his phone out from his pocket to check the time, looking straight at the girls, "C'mon, girls… we've literally got like 7 minutes."

Raven sighed and took two thumbtacks from Dick who still had the small box of them in his grasp. She closed her eyes and quickly pricked her own and dotted some blood against her sheet of paper, careful to hide her expression from giving anything away, before she looked up at Kory,

"Kory-"

"I really do not want to, Raven."

"It'll be really quick and… it doesn't hurt that bad." She said, giving the boys a mocking expression.

Kory pressed her lips together and looked towards Dick, opening her mouth to say something before Raven swiftly grabbed her hand and stabbed one of Kory's fingers with the other thumbtack.

"Ow! Raven!" She yelped, snatching her hand away from her best friend,

"Well… you wouldn't have done it otherwise…" Raven mumbled, giving her a somewhat apologetic look,

Kory huffed, unable to argue with that logic and wiped her finger onto her piece of paper, completing the early part of the ritual.

Gar grinned and wandered back over to where the camera was sat, removing it from where it was attached to the tripod. He turned it to his friends, "Okay, we need to hurry up and turn off all the lights in the house and I also need to grab salt from the kitchen."

"Hold on, I'll go grab it and turn off the downstairs lights." Dick offered, moving towards the door,

"Cool, thanks man. I'll turn off the upstairs lights. Girls, can you start lighting the four candles on my desk?"

Raven nodded and accepted the lighter from him, turning towards Kory as Gar left the room, wandering around each room of the upper level and turning the lights out until the whole of the upstairs was shrouded in a stifling darkness.

"Yo! This place is so frickin' creepy in the dark!" Gar yelled, Dick's chuckle echoing through the hallway downstairs and travelling enough to be heard on camera as well.

He waited at the top of the stairs until he heard Dick jogging back up towards him. When Dick reached him, Gar looked at him expectantly from behind the camera,

"Lights all off?"

"Yeah."

"Got the salt?"

Dick pulled it from his back pocket and shook it, wordlessly confirming that he had it in his possession.

"Awesome… let's go back to mine and Rae's room." Gar mumbled, turning the camera towards the door he shared with his girlfriend, the darkness seeping in around the lens.

He opened the door and saw that Raven and Kory had the candles lit and in hand. Gar moved closer and took his one from Raven whilst Dick took his from Kory, who appeared even more nervous than when they first started the ritual.

Gar turned the camera on himself, with his friends loitering just behind him

"Alright guys so we've got our candles lit and we've got our pieces of paper and… it's…" Gar paused to slide his phone out of his pocket, "We have 3 minutes so let's set them up. We need the 22nd knock on the door to happen at midnight exactly so…"

With that, the four of them gently placed their sheets of paper down in front of Gar and Raven's door, carefully propping their candles on top as well, ensuring they didn't accidentally extinguish the flames when they moved around.

Gar looked towards them and cocked his head, "Ready?"

"No." Kory muttered, stepping over the candles so she was on the other side of the door.

Dick smiled sympathetically and followed after his girlfriend, also stepping over the threshold so they could close the door and proceed with the knocks.

Raven quietly copied their movements, turning and raising an eyebrow at Gar and the camera, as if mentally willing him to hurry up.

"Okay…" Gar mumbled as he juggled the camera whilst getting to the other side of the door as well, "So, we gotta knock on the door 22 times and the last knock has to be on midnight exactly."

He reached forward for the door knob and pulled the door closed before looking to his friends, "Shall we?"

The four of them lifted their fists and almost simultaneously knocked on the door, counting each thud as they went.

"18, 19, 20, 21, 22." They chorused, their voices mingling together in the silence of the house.

Gar quickly checked his phone, making sure that their last knock had occurred at precisely midnight.

"So… game has started. We have to go back in, blow out the candles and then relight them and start moving." Gar mentioned, his tone quiet as a slight chill befell the air around them.

The others nodded and allowed him to open the door, each of them hopping over the line of his door and approaching their respective sheet of paper and lit candle.

"Okay, everyone blow out your candles." Gar murmured, turning the camera on his friends as they all crouched down and snuffed the lick of flames from their individual votive candles.

He too bent down low enough so that he could blow out the lit wick of his own one, before he picked it up. Standing straight, he dug into his back pocket, juggling the votive and the camera.

Bringing out the lighter, he turned to Raven, "Rae, could you hold my camera for a sec?"

She nodded and slipped it from him, turning it to show what he was doing. Using one hand, he pressed down and a flame burst from the lighter. Gar lit his own candle before he went between the others, lighting Dick's and then Kory's before lighting Raven's candle last.

He nodded to them as he retrieved the camera back from Raven.

"So, now what do we do?" Raven asked,

"Shh…" Gar hissed, waving his votive around, "I told you the rules."

"Yeah but I wasn't really listening."

Gar looked at her with a blank expression, "Dang it, Rae."

She merely shrugged, watching the wax as it started to melt and pool in the center of her candle.

Ushering them all back out of his room and closing the door behind them, Gar eyed his girlfriend as he repeated the rules of the game, "We have to keep moving around the house until 3:33am so that the midnight man doesn't catch us."

Kory pressed herself against Dick's arm, her furrowed brows apparent under the dim glow of the candlelight; their only source of light, and comfort, for the next several hours.

"So… he is here?" She asked, her tone quiet,

Gar turned his head towards her, "Guess we'll find out once we start moving around. Let's go… and remember, if your candle goes out, it's a sign he's nearby and you've gotta relight it within 10 seconds or he'll come for you."

The three of them exchanged glances, suddenly feeling a heavy weight to this little game that had not existed beforehand.

Taking a deep breath, Gar beckoned them all to follow as he descended down the stairwell, planning to stay on the move on the lower floor of their home.

"So… we just walk around for 3 hours, hoping not to see or be caught by… the midnight man?" Dick asked, lifting his candle higher so he didn't trip down the last few steps.

"That's pretty much the plan, yeah." Gar murmured, turning every which way to get his bearings in the darkness.

"I never realized how… creepy our home is at night." Kory whispered, her fingers wrapped around Dick's upper arm like a vice,

"That's because we usually have the lights on… like normal people." Dick muttered, his own heart rate increasing just a little, despite his determination to quell the fear simmering within.

The small group began to slowly wander, starting with the games room since it joined onto the main room. They made their way through, being careful not to touch any of the stuff in fear of setting off sounds that would inevitably frighten themselves.

As Dick moved to go around the Pacman machine, he accidentally bumped the corner with his hip and held his breath, waiting for the infamous sound effects to echo around the room but confusion gripped him when nothing happened.

"Gar." He whispered, "Are these on?"

Gar glanced around at all of the different game pieces, "No, chrome dome must have shut off the control panel that they're all hooked up to before he left to see Karen."

Dick let go of a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, strangely relieved by that knowledge since there was no chance of them turning on with the main power switched off.

Raven rolled her shoulders back and nudged Gar, "We're standing in place for too long. Isn't that one of the things not to do?"

"Good point, babe. Let's keep moving around." Gar confirmed, continuing through the archway linking the two rooms together.

The lounge seemed so very oppressive as all around them was pure darkness, a smothering sheet of pitch black, only partially lit by the dull glow of the candles in each of their palms.

"Okay… this is super freaky…" Gar hushed, leading the way through the room,

"I don't know about freaky but… it's definitely dark." Raven mentioned,

Gar turned his head towards her briefly, "C'mon, you can't tell me that you aren't scared by this?"

"It's a little eerie, I'll admit but… I don't believe there's anything beyond us here."

"Well, we're only about 15 minutes into it so we'll see if you keep that same thought process, Rae."

Despite not looking at her face, he garnered from her silence that she was rolling her eyes at that.

Suddenly, a quiet, insistent tapping could be heard from elsewhere within the house.

"Wh-What is that?" Kory whispered, her grip on her boyfriend's arm growing ever tighter.

Gar opened his mouth to reassure her but stopped short when the insistent pitter patter against the hardwood flooring grew louder and closer, an overwhelming presence approaching.

"Gar?" Raven prompted as they moved closer to the door to peer out into the dark hallway.

Just as they rounded the door frame, Gar prepared himself to see something truly paranormal, his heart already beating in his ears. Raven, Kory and Dick hesitantly joined him just in time to see their supposed intruder.

Kory released a big breath as her large fluffy dog came bounding towards them, tail wagging back and forth in excitement, "Oh… Silkie!"

Gar's shoulders slumped and Dick ran a hand through his hair as Silkie reached them, rubbing up against Kory's shins. She knelt down and scratched beneath his chin, feeling a tad more settled with her beloved pup by her side. But, she ultimately decided that she wanted him to be safely out of the way. Kory gave him a peck atop his head and nudged his damp little nose with hers and murmured, "Bed, Silkie."

Her pet gave her hand a brief yet affectionate lick before he trotted up towards hers and Dick's bedroom to snuggle down in his basket for the night.

Chuckling, Gar momentarily flipped the camera towards himself, "We forgot about Silkie, guys."

1:06am

"So, guys… we've been walking around for about an hour… just keeping ourselves occupied. Beyond Silkie scaring the crap out of us… not a lot has been happening…" Gar explained as he filmed the other three walking just ahead of him.

"If nothing happens, surely that means he isn't around and we can just stop and go to bed, right?" Raven mumbled, staring intently at the flickering flame of her candle with a somewhat bored expression,

"No, Rae. Once you invite him in, which we did, you can't stop until 3:33am or else he haunts the house." Gar replied, giving her one of the most serious faces he could muster.

Together, they slowly migrated from where they were situated in the home cinema room, the faint light of their candles reflecting off the wall sized tv as well as the popcorn machine in the corner.

The small group headed for the kitchen, each of them trying to ignore the immediate pull to the windows, looking out into the night, in fear of seeing something they would rather not.

Suddenly, Raven froze and a shiver racked her body from head to toe.

"Uh… am I the only one who felt that?" She asked, not wanting to play into the dramatics but it was strange that she had just had such an icy atmosphere come over her.

"The temperature change?" Kory whispered, earning a nod from Raven.

"Maybe… maybe it's because we've moved to the kitchen? It's always colder in here than the rest of the house." Dick murmured, rubbing one of his arms.

"Yeah… maybe…"

Gar spun around to face them, a chill shooting through him for a different reason, "Dudes… don't you remember? One of the signs that he's nearby is a drop in temperature."

There was a beat in silence before Kory gasped, causing the three to look over at her.

A thin trail of smoke wafted from her candle, the flame having gone out completely.

"Quick! You only have 10 seconds!" Gar told her, frantically passing her the lighter.

Kory swallowed nervously and pushed on the trigger of the lighter several times before the flame became steady, allowing her to relight the wick of her candle, even with the plain shake of her fingers. She sighed in relief before she huddled back against Dick's side, seeking a sense of safety.

"How did that go out?" Raven asked, eyeing Kory's candle with a subtle air of fear, something she tried hard to avoid admitting to ever experiencing.

"Did you accidentally blow it out?" Dick queried, looking to his girlfriend,

She frowned at him, "No. It simply went out. It flickered lots and then the flame was gone."

"But there wasn't a draft or any wind either." Raven pointed out, causing Kory to make a quiet sound of concern.

Gar nudged his girlfriend's arm, "Guys, we've been standing here for way too long. We gotta keep going."

The three of them nodded in response and moved out into the hallway after circling the whole kitchen area, being careful not to walk straight into the island counter or dining table and chairs that were in the middle of the large room.

As they exited the kitchen, all four of them immediately stared up at the chandeliers above their heads. Each of them were swaying back and forth; having had no encouragement to move from any other source.

"Am… I seeing things or are the chandeliers moving?" Gar asked,

"No… they're definitely moving…" Dick whispered, being cautious not to move as to not distort his vision.

The four of them continued to stand there and stare at the chandeliers, all moving back and forth like a gust of wind had prompted them to do so, despite all the windows and doors being firmly shut throughout the house.

"Can we just do a circle of salt already, Gar?" Kory asked, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment, as if hoping the chandelier movement was merely an illusion due to the darkness or their minds playing tricks on each of them.

"No, we've only got another 2 hours or so… we can do this." He urged, trying to inject some positivity into the situation,

No words came from any of their mouths but each of their faces read that they hoped the time would pass by as quickly as possible.

2:21am

"Okay guys so we've been in the main room for a little while because the chandeliers completely weirded us out. They've stopped moving now but… I don't know… I can't shake this weird feeling." Gar explained as he held the camera up, filming his face whilst holding the candle with his free hand.

"We should probably start walking into other rooms again…" Dick mentioned from where he stood by the archway, leading into the main hallway.

"Yeah, you're ri-"

Gar was abruptly cut off in his response as they heard a quiet click followed by an eerie squeaking that echoed from right down the corridor. Blood drained from Dick's face and he took a couple of steps backwards so that he stood directly in the centre of the long hallway, his eyes widening at what he saw in the silver strip of moonlight streaming through the window of the front doors.

"Dick?" Kory asked,

He felt his heartbeat increase and he racked his brain for some kind of explanation that would not only reassure them but that was also rational, as well.

"Uh…" Dick stammered, acutely aware of the girls and Gar as they hurried over to where he was, anxious to see for themselves.

As they reached the spot, the three of them all followed his gaze; fear striking each of their faces.

Right at the beginning of the hallway, the door that led out into the garage was now wide open, when Dick had been certain it had been closed when they'd started this ritual of theirs.

"Was that not closed before?" Kory whispered, a tremor in her voice,

Dick nodded.

"Hello?" Gar called, earning a light smack on the arm from Raven,

"Ow!" He yelped, turning to look at her, "What'd you do that for?"

"Considering you've seen practically every horror movie in existence… do you not think calling out might be a stupid idea?" Raven asked,

He tilted his head from side to side, "Good point… but, if it's the midnight man, then he isn't really gonna answer."

"And if it's some crazy person who got in the house?"

"Then we'll have a new problem to deal with."

Dick rolled his eyes at the two and hushed them, jerking his head in the direction of the garage as a signal to check it out, a need to find out the truth.

Taking the lead, he slowly crept along the wood flooring of the hallway, judicious not to make a single sound, with the others following suit.

As he reached the door, Dick peered around the corner, holding his candle out in front of him as a source of guidance. The darkness was stifling with his blue eyes hardened in concentration, forcing his imagination not to run wild with what could be inside.

He scanned the garage, looking for something or someone that shouldn't be there but he soon came up empty with nothing but the shrouded shadows and unsettling blanket of silence filling the room.

Swallowing the nervous lump in his throat, Dick turned to Gar, Raven and Kory, "No one's in here."

"Okay, so that rules out some crazy guy being in the house." Gar commented, using Raven's words, "which would mean…"

Kory pressed her fist to her chest, the sense of calm suddenly being snatched away once more, "The midnight man…" She whispered,

Before anyone had the chance to reassure the redhead, Raven blinked at the sudden disappearance of her candle's flame. Maintaining her facade of not being afraid of anything, she gulped and looked up at Gar,

"Uh…" She murmured,

Gar turned and physically jerked, frantically reaching into his back pocket for the lighter, "Shit, Rae. You only have 10 seconds to relight it!"

"Then pass me the lighter already." She muttered, her brows knitted together,

He did as asked and bit his lower lip, watching as she clicked the lighter once or twice before a spark caught light upon the wick, reilluminating the candle.

"Phew, that was close, babe." He puffed, giving her a gentle smile to which Raven gave him a half mirrored version of.

"Friends… we are not addressing why or how this door opened all by itself." Kory commented, cupping her votive candle with both hands, as if protecting herself with its warm glow; a contrast to the growingly sinister atmosphere permeating the rest of their home.

"Kory, I want to reassure you and say it was just a draft or something but… I-I'm not so sure." Gar explained,

She stiffened as trepidation gripped her at the prospect of this game actually having real, paranormal repercussions.

Dick slipped to her back, a hand on her waist in an effort to soothe her ruffled nerves. He was a little freaked out too, he had to admit, but he wanted to be there for her more.

Raven tilted her head and gently touched Kory's shoulder, "It's okay… sure it's a little creepy but… we're almost done." She turned to her boyfriend with an eyebrow raised, "Right, Gar?"

The jokester jerked before peering down at the watch strapped to his wrist. It wasn't a normal piece of attire for him to wear but since the game had a strict rule on not using phones, he had to avoid to urge to slip his phone out and check the time.

"Uh… yeah. We have about an hour; just over left." Gar replied, lowering his arm again and being cautious as to not inadvertently extinguish his flame.

Dick suddenly stiffened before a shiver racked his body from his shoulders, all the way down to his feet,

"Whoa…"

"Dude? You okay?" Gar asked, taking a step towards him.

His friend nodded and rolled his shoulders in what appeared to be an attempt to shrug off whatever had overcome him. Kory furrowed her brows and gently touched his upper arm,

"What happened?" She asked,

He shook his head and cleared his throat, "I just… felt really cold suddenly. I don't know… it was… weird."

"Duuude, that's one of the signs that he's nearby. It's the same thing that happened to Rae earlier!" Gar whispered, shifting the camera in the palm of his hand so that he could hone in on Dick's expression which only shifted minutely.

"Well… how come we all didn't feel it then? When Raven got chills, we all sorta felt it."

Gar lifted his shoulders, "Maybe… Midnight Man wants to play with just you, Dickie."

Raven rolled her eyes and nudged Gar with her elbow, "Gar. Don't be an ass."

"I'm just saying the possibilities of why Dick was the only one who felt cold right then."

"Whatever the reason… I believe we must keep moving. We have been standing still for a long time now." Kory murmured, her fingers interlocking with her boyfriends for her own peace of mind.

"Oh shit… you're right…" Gar cursed, beckoning them to follow him as they wandered up the length of the hallway again before they turned into the lounge; a room they had only visited some time beforehand.

Being careful not to walk into any bits of furniture that were dotted around, the four of them shuffled back and forth. Separating from their tight knit huddle to explore corners of the room by themselves, they made sure to keep moving as to not threaten the safety that lay within the rules of the game.

"Should we move into-"

Raven froze as she was cut off by the echo of animated sound effects; lively and fun, erupting from the games room. She blinked and turned herself around to face the archway leading into the room where she could see the faint white glow of an arcade game screen.

"Uh…"

Gar gulped and tried to maintain a steady hand as his grip tightened around the camera, despite the hammering of his heart in his chest only intensifying. He felt cold as he crept up to where Raven stood, just before the entrance to the games room.

"Didn't… didn't we say that they were all switched off?" Dick remembered,

Gar swallowed heavily as he slowly made his way over the threshold into the room, only to find the Pacman machine that had been silent and apparently off earlier on in the night was somehow on and pulsing with life, the small characters bursting with colour on the screen.

"Um… yes…" Gar replied, hesitant to even go near the machine which had miraculously come to life.

"But… you said-" Raven paused as Gar shook his head,

"I know… I thought they were… I… I don't…"

At a loss for words, Gar chewed on his bottom lip before he leaned down and unplugged the machine, causing the room to descend back into an inky abyss, with only a dim flicker from their individual votives.

"I do not wish to be in this room…" Kory whispered, her fingers grasping at the material of Dick's shirt for some form of comfort.

"For the first time tonight… I kind of agree. Let's go somewhere else in the house." Raven added, shifting her eyes back and forth to see if they were missing something in the room that didnt belong.

Gar nodded and together, they headed out the door and aimed for the home cinema room across the hall. As they exited, Kory threw one last frightened expression over her shoulder, willing her eyes not to see anything in the shadows they were leaving behind.

3:30am

Gar exhaled from where he had the camera on himself, showing as he sat on the edge of the island in the middle of the kitchen, Raven sat just beside him, her shoulders back as she stared at the window facing the pitch black backyard. Dick was stood in front of the freezer, his back against it with Kory's back pressed to his chest, his arms around her waist.

"Hey guys… so, it's been about an hour… uh… and we're almost done with the game. We only have about 2 or 3 minutes left until we can say buh-bye to our house guest." Gar paused and his brows lifted, "Luckily… since the weird thing that happened with the Pacman machine… we haven't had any more noises or spooks… so, I'd say we're all tons calmer than we have been through this whole thing…"

"As calm as you can be when doing this sorta thing anyway…" Dick pointed out, earning a sheepish smirk from Gar.

"I think… it's been okay… our candles didn't even go out that many times which is a good sign…" Gar explained,

Raven cocked a brow, "Did you miss the random noises and everything else though?"

Gar chuckled, "No, but when I was researching the game, a lot of people who have tried it said they found their candles went out loads and ours didn't really so I'll take that as a win."

She smiled and shook her head at his enthusiasm over such a small thing in comparison to what they had heard and experienced throughout the early morning hours.

As he opened his mouth to speak again, a quiet beep came from the device wrapped around his wrist and Gar glanced down, confirming the time.

"Thank God… guys… its 3:33am… we can go back to mine and Rae's room to end the game." He whispered, hopping down from the counter before offering a hand to Raven which she may not have needed but he was happy when she accepted it to get dow, nonetheless.

As a small unit, they moved out of the kitchen and headed up the stairs, their footsteps rapid as they hurried towards Gar and Raven's room to finally put this creepy night to bed. Raven was ahead as she opened the door and switched the light on, engulfing the room in the brightness.

Kory visibly relaxed and she smiled, "That is better… I did not realize I would ever miss the light so very much."

Gar smirked and signalled to them all, "Blow out your candles, guys. Game is over and we survived. High fives all round."

With his hand now free from his candle, Gar held it up in offering but turned his camera to show the blank expressions his friends were giving him.

"No? Not even one? Okay, fine… maybe later." He reasoned, holding the hand up in defense instead.

Gar stared back at the camera with a relieved smile on his face, "Dudes… that was so creepy…"

Dick breathed out a laugh from where he was now perched on the end of the bed, running a hand through his dark tresses, "I… really didn't expect there to be so many sounds and freaky feelings…"

"Right?! It was super weird…"

"I have to admit, it had my heart racing a couple of times." Raven admitted, hands on her hips as she rolled her neck from side to side; joints sore from being on her feet the last couple hours.

Gar pulled a mock expression of shock, "Whaaat? Rae, my underworld queen who can't be shaken… you were scared?"

She narrowed her eyes, "I don't think I said I was scared. I just said my heart raced a few times. Don't push your luck, Gar. You're gonna have to get us to do something even scarier than this to freak me out."

Gar pursed his lips in a look of determination as Raven smirked at him, a challenge in her eyes.

He turned back to the camera, eyeing Kory through the viewfinder, "Kory? What'd you think?"

She hugged her arms and frowned, "It was horrible and I do not want to do it again."

Gar chuckled, "That's the spirit!"

"Alright, so that is all from me this time guys… I hope you enjoyed this video… I'm pretty sure it's gonna be hella long but I'll try to edit it so it's not too long." Gar paused and swung his free hand backwards, flashing his viewers a toothy grin, "If you want more videos like this, please let me know in the comments below… now, we're all… pretty tired so I think we're gonna go to bed. Don't forget to like this video and smash that subscribe button to join to Logan youtube family."

"Wrap it up, Gar. The pillows are calling me." Raven yawned, behind her hand,

Gar smiled and winked at the lens, "That's it from me, you guys. I'll see you in the next one." He paused and held up two fingers, "Peace!"

3rd November 2019

Gar sat in the dip of his beanbag and ran a hand through his locks of dark, green tipped hair. He exhaled loudly and scooted forward, eyeing the red light of his camera as it stood on a tripod before him, the lens awaiting his message.

He threaded his fingers together and anxiously smiled, his knee bouncing up and down as nerves built in his stomach.

"Hey guys… so, just a tiny update but… it's been a couple days since we played The Midnight Game and… uh… well…" He paused and swallowed, "We've been noticing some really… creepy noises and things happening… and I can't…"

Taking a deep breath, Gar stared straight down the center of the lens of the camera, "We ended it the way we were supposed to. I've checked the rules over and over but…"

There was a long pause as he bit down on his lower lip.

"Guys… I don't think he left… there is something still here… and… from what I've read online… we have to play it again… to get him out, once and for all… and I hope it's true because… some of the stuff that has been heard the last few nights… I can't explain it..."

"Catch you guys soon…" He explained, his green eyes holding a flicker of hesitation before he simply nodded and held two fingers up, the camera going black.