Night 046

[allthekeys]

|| THREAT DOWN

|| NIGHT 046: GENERAL Night comes with a lightning strike. There’s a split second of too-bright illumination before everything sinks into heavy darkness once more, and after another moment there’s the telltale rumble of thunder, hanging low and threatening above the houses. The bell that marks the hour almost gets lost in the noise. Almost. There’s an uncomfortable static feeling in the air for a while. Outside, the rain keeps coming down, not letting up even for a moment. Some windows are forced open by the wind that’s just as relentless as the rain and are left beating loudly against the walls as they’re just about forced from their hinges. The water coming inside pools on the floors and sinks into carpets and floorboards, making the floors soft and wet to walk, smelling more and more dank as the night draws on. Perhaps there’s water damage. Mold. Maybe it doesn’t matter. The Radios and spark to life all at once, with a sharp burst of white noise and acoustic feedback. It’s deafening for the brief moment it lasts – it’s as suddenly over as the lightning strike, like whatever just happened was some kind of reflection, something to pair it with – but although relief is quickly found, no matter what you do with a radio tonight, it just won’t behave properly. They crackle with static and turn on and off at what appears to be random times and seem to transmit sounds that just don’t make any sense. Any electronic device behaves similarly. Perhaps most strange is the fact that this happens whether these items are powered or not. Cell phones long since dead start ringing, screens glitch, then die again; laptop or camera pieces forgotten, broken and scattered throughout the houses whirr to life and make noise; a camera lens focusing in and out without even being connected to a camera anymore. Outside, things are eerily quiet. The creatures that normally haunt the nights might be seeking shelter, and neither deer nor dogs can be seen. Instead there are Wraiths slowly circling the houses, seemingly untroubled by the rain that crashes through their very beings, and they seem drawn to the openings into the houses the weather has afforded them. Though they rarely enter, the way they linger makes it seem like they’re waiting for people to exit, or perhaps just look a little too closely out the too-open windows. The Hunters are the only ones thriving, and they stalk the premises slowly and comfortably, teeth bared and ready but bodies not coiled to leap and strike unless someone comes too close. Where the ground dips and the rain can form puddles, some hunters lie still. They seem to enjoy the weather but that also means that they’re even more dangerous if provoked – this is their element. Throughout the night there’s more lightning and thunder, though none as powerful as that very first strike. Rats scurry too and fro throughout the house, often pausing in the middle of the hallways to watch the houseguests and wash their paws, seemingly disturbed by the storm. The Ballroom is empty, but on occasion, faint sounds – almost like footsteps – can be heard around the edges of the room. The plastic sheeting on the mannequins in the Sewing Room is blowing wildly, flapping in the wind outside, though not a breeze penetrates the walls. The plastic flares out from each of the humanoid figures, quickly creating confusion and chaos and an unnavigable room. The coin in the Rough Kitchen stops spinning, falling flat and unmoving. The baby sleeps peacefully, not stirring. In the Rose Garden, the roses are in bloom, but the flowers are bleeding; red drops occasionally drip from the blooms and the thorns. There is a table covered in the makings of party in the Cafeteria the cake remains, but other festive items have been added. The cake reads “Happy Birthday ----“ with the name smeared out. But otherwise the room seems entirely ready for a party that hasn’t materialized. When the lightening flashes outside, the lights in the room dim and the cake lights itself, casting shadows on the floor. It seems as though something has splattered all over the cake, but the liquid vanishes the moment the lights return. On the wall behind the cake when the candles are lit, the words “Are you happy now” have been written in a messy scrawl. There is a figure standing in the centre of the Courtyard, arms extended to the sky. From a distance they seem harmless, but coming too close reveals the stench of burning hair and flesh. The Electrocuted Ghost sobs and heaves as the water pour down upon it and occasionally is lit up by strikes of lightning coming close to it. It is deadly in the moments right after a stroke of lightning hits, leaving the creature flooded with power too overwhelming for any normal person to handle. The Leaky Basement continues to flood at an increasingly rapid rate. The water quickly reaches levels high enough to wade through, and this accompanies one very alarming thought: there is someone under the water. Nothing much seems to be happening tonight. Isn't that right? || THREAT DOWN First House 1. Front Door 2. Entry Way 3. Coat Closet 4. Parlor 5. Formal Dining Room 6. Blue Kitchen 7. Doll Bathroom 8. East Hallway 9. Library 10. Study 11. Dawn Room 12. Closed Closet 13. Nursery 14. Dollhouse Room 15. Dollhouse 16. The Crack In The Wall 17. Maid Hallway 18. Clean Bedroom 19. Dirty Bedroom 20. Closet Room 21. Smoke Room 22. Yellow Bedroom 23. Vanity Room 24. Ivory Bathroom 25. Door to Basement 26. Supply Closet 27. Ballroom 28. Oak Hallway 29. Locked Door 30. Theater 31. Backstage 32. Locked Door 33. Music Room 34. Pool Room 35. Locker Room 36. Spa 37. Sauna 1. Hallway 2. Student Bedroom 3. Student Closet 4. Mirror Bedroom 5. Journey Bedroom 6. Fairy Bedroom 7. Red Bedroom 8. Mask Bedroom 9. Trophy Room 10. Gallery 11. Observatory 12. Sewing Room 13. Glass Bathroom 14. Perfume Bedroom 15. Library 16. Cherry Hallway 17. Thin Bedroom 18. Dark Bedroom 19. Light Bedroom 20. Loft Bedroom 21. Ink Bedroom 22. Mosaic Bedroom 23. Day Room 24. Narrow Hallway 25. Store Room 26. Open Bathroom 27. Blind Bedroom 28. Door To Floating Hallway 29. Corkscrew Stair 1. Basement 2. Dirt Hallway 3. Waiting Room 4. Doctor's Office 5. Supply Closet 6. Recovery Ward 7-11. Examination Rooms 12. Treatment Room 13. Surgery Room 14. Ward 15. Morgue 1. Main Room 2. Green Room 3. Half Bath 4. Small Kitchen 5. Garden Closet 6. Empty Hall 7. Radio Room 8. Carpenters Room 9. Painter’s Room 10. Shared Bath 11. Glass Blowers Room 12. Tapestry Bedroom 13. Dollmaker's Workshop 14. Pottery Room Second House 1. Straight Hall 2. Public Restroom 3. Glass Half Empty 4. Fake Bedroom 5. Model Bedroom 6. Locked Door 7. Viewing Bedroom 8. Memory Bedroom 9. Photography Bedroom 10. Dark Room 11. Shelter Bedroom 1. Stairwell Room 2. Wallpapered Parlor 3. The Open Door 4. Plain Kitchen 5. Pantry 6. Dining Room 7. Hallway 8. Half Sized Bath 9. The Blank Library 10. ??? Room 11. Open Hall 12. Rose Garden 13. Chapel Courtyard 14. Priest's Room 15. Priest's Bedroom 16. Hallway 17. Locked Door 18. Rough Kitchen 19. Junior Dormitory 20. Bell Tower 21. Courtyard Third House 1. Wind Tunnel Hallway 2. The Front Door 3. Sitting Room 4. Leather Study 5. Gentlemen's Lounge 6. Diamond Dining Room 7. Professional Kitchen 8. Stable 9. Locked Door 10. Orchard 11. Hanging Tree 12. Hot Springs 13. Locked Door 1. Red Hallway 2. Herbal Bedroom 3. Costumed Room 4. Bell Bathroom 5. Locked Door 6. Playboy Bedroom 7. Statuary Bedroom 8. Candy Store 9. Stalker Room 10. Satin Room 11. Scented Bathroom 12. Birdcage Room 13. Hedonist Room 14. Carved Parlor 15. Silk Room 16. Get Away Cabin 17. Vanity Bathroom 18. Velvet Bedroom 19. Wax Bedroom 20. Husk Bedroom Fourth House 1. Hanging Hall 2. The Slaughterhouse 3. Meat Freezer 4. Cheese Room 5. Salt Room 6. Preserved Storage 7. Fresh Storage 8. Hallway 9. Distillery 10. Humidor 11. Cramped Stairs 12. Hook Hallway 13. Smoke House 14. Drying Shed 15. Hot House 16. Lift 1. Tea Room 2. Cafeteria 3. Entrance Hall 4. Courtyard 5. Bakery 6. Patisserie 7. Overstuffed Kitchen 8. Ladies' Room 9. Mis-sized Dining Room 10. Men's Room 11. Servant's Kitchen 12. Unidentified Restroom 13. Empty Kitchen 14. Opium Den 15. Seedy Bar 1. Checked Hall 2. Wine Room 3. Green Bedroom 4. Soft Bedroom 5. Carnivore Bedroom 6. Herbivore Bedroom 7. Sweet Bedroom 8. Chamber of Purification 9. Nasty Bathroom 10. Horrific Hotel Room 11. Locked Door Fifth House 1. Outside Door 2. Plastic Hall 3. Bachelor's Kitchen 4. Garage 5. Abandoned Nursery 6. Boarded Room 7. Rough Hall 8. Old Bedroom 9. Bathroom 10. Pillow Room 11. Empty Bedroom 12. Patio 13. Poet's Room 14. Forgotten Storeroom 15. Mildewed Hallway 16. Broom Cupboard 17. Den 18. Unfinished Stairs 19. Workman's Room 20. Guest Bedroom 21. Lily Bedroom 1. Upstairs 2. The Nest 1. Leaky Basement 2. Ruined Apartment 3. Drained Parlour 4. Decaying Bathroom 5. Jammed Door