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[crystalninjaphoenix]

Love the puns from Pun Hub

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Many Roads Diverge in the Woods - Second Run - Finale

The Beginning | Previous

The results are in.

You have reached the end of your path. Will you be happy with what you’ve found?

Thank you to everyone who participated in this event! It was amazing to see everyone still chip in to a second run of this fic. And if you guys are wondering, yes, the full thing is currently up on AO3! Whoo! I'll include a link at the bottom of this part beneath a Keep Reading, but basically, the name is "Many Roads Diverge in the Woods - An Interactive Story" and my username is CrystalNinjaPhoenix! So basically the same as here XD There are about 300k worth of more routes to explore! I'd love to see you all there ^-^

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“Wait a minute.” Chase’s eyes go wide. “JJ, you didn’t just get blood all over your hands. You got it on your sleeves, too. Your white sleeves.” He tugs on one of JJ’s cuffs. “Even if you wiped your hands off, there should still be a stain!”

“Wait, wait!” Schneep grabs JJ’s other arm, and JJ promptly yanks both his hands free. “Gah! Sorry, Jamie, I was just checking to see. You are right, Chase. There is no sign that there was ever any blood.”

“And... why does this matter?” Jackie asks, frowning. “I-I know it’s weird, but... what does it mean?”

The others are silent for a moment. Then JJ raises his hands to speak. Maybe... maybe I was right. Maybe Marvin isn’t dead.

“But—but we all saw that, right?” Chase says. He shudders just remembering the sight—the sounds—all of it. “He definitely slit his own throat.”

“And JJ definitely got his hands and sleeves covered in that blood,” Schneep says. “And yet...” He trails off, looking thoughtful. “What if... what if it was not real?”

“How the hell would it be ‘not real’?” Jackie demands. “There was no pulse!”

“I know! But if we are dealing with the supernatural, we have to account for perhaps—perhaps some sort of elaborate trick,” Schneep says. “Some sort of magical illusion that could also feel real as well as look real.”

“I-I guess it’s possible,” Chase says. “Meaning... Marvin isn’t dead? But then... Look, he’s the only one of us who would be able to make a magic illusion. And why would he do that?”

Unless it wasn’t him. JJ taps the book Chase is still holding open. Specifically, the illustration.

“You mean—you mean some sort of spirit possessed him?” Jackie asks in a hushed voice.

“In that case... where is it now?” Schneep wonders.

JJ suddenly stiffens. He turns and runs back down the hallway.

“JJ! Hey!” Chase drops the book as he tries to reach out and grab JJ, but he’s moving too fast and his grip just barely closes on empty air instead of JJ’s arm. So instead he runs after him, leaving Schneep to pick up the book again. “Where are you going?!”

He was going to the room with the ritual circle. Chase catches up with him as he hesitates outside the open door. JJ glances at him—and at Schneep and Jackie, who are running down the hallway after them. Once everyone is there, he reaches into the dark room and turns on the lights.

A figure is crouched in the center of the ritual circle, one hand pressed against the burned lines making it up. Somehow, the four wooden chairs from the other room are in here now, spaced evenly around the edge of the circle. A rope is coiled on the seat of one. The figure looks up. It’s Marvin. It’s definitely him. But his eyes... They’re all black, no whites or irises to be seen. A smile stretches across Marvin’s face. It is not his smile. “So... you figured it out?” he asks. Or, rather, the creature using his body asks. “No matter.” It raises Marvin’s other hand, and—

Suddenly, Chase feels something push against him, shoving him forwards into the room. He cries out as he falls to the floor—and then again as Jackie falls on top of them. All four of them had been pushed forward by some mysterious force and are now in the room, lying on the floor. And behind them, the door slams shut. “Y-you!” Jackie gasps, standing up first. “What are you?!”

“So much more than you. That’s all you need to know.” The creature gets to its feet in one smooth motion. “Now. Are you our first volunteer?” That smile stretches Marvin’s face again—and suddenly there is a knife in his hands, a thin silver dagger, and he rushes towards Jackie.

Jackie cries out and dodges to the side. The creature starts to lunge for him again—but Chase, thinking fast, reaches out and grabs Marvin’s ankle, now nearby. The creature gasps in surprise and stumbles, almost falling but catching itself against the wall. “Guys?! What do we do?!” Chase asks.

JJ gets to his knees. He points at Schneep—no, he points at the book that Schneep is still holding. Schneep looks at him. Read! JJ says.

“O-okay.” Schneep nods. “You all keep him distracted!” He opens the book up to the marked page and starts scanning it.

“What is that?” the creature asks in Marvin’s voice. Is that surprise in its words? “Where did you get that?!” Marvin’s body spins around and runs for Schneep—but Chase launches himself from the ground and right towards Marvin, knocking him back. The creature screams in frustration. There’s a flash of silver—but then Jackie grabs Marvin’s arm right before he’s able to plunge the dagger into Chase’s back.

“I-I just have to read what’s written out loud,” Schneep stammers. “I-if we—if we do it right his body will seize, r-remember not to hold him when that happens.”

“You motherfucker!” The creature growls. With one arm being held by Jackie, it moves Marvin’s other hand, wrapping it around Chase’s throat and squeezing. JJ gasps and hurries over, prying his fingers free. Chase gasps as his airflow resumes.

“Do it, Schneep!” Jackie shouts.

Schneep nods. He looks down at the page, hesitating, and starts reciting the words. “Sp—spiorad gan i-iarraidh, a... ordú againn... duit im-imeacht.” He goes slowly, unsure how to pronounce the words.

“No!” The creature shouts. Suddenly, Jackie, JJ, and Chase are all thrown away. Marvin’s body scrambles upwards again and he lunges towards Schneep again, But, yelling in rage, Jackie gets to his feet and tackles Marvin to the ground. The dagger falls from Marvin’s hand and skitters across the ground. JJ quickly scoops it up again. The creature notices this and growls. “Do you think I need that to kill you?!” it threatens.

 JJ nods. He looks at Chase and points towards Marvin and Jackie. The two of them are struggling on the ground as Jackie tries to keep Marvin’s body pinned. Normally Jackie would have been easily stronger than Marvin, but the creature is fighting with all of Marvin’s strength, not caring if it hurts Jackie or Marvin in the process. Chase nods back to JJ and hurries over, arriving just in time to stop Marvin from punching Jackie in the face. The creature screams wordlessly and thrashes against Chase and Jackie’s grip.

Suddenly, the lights go out, plunging the room into total darkness. Schneep’s voice, slowly chanting the words, falters. Then JJ pulls out his phone and turns on the flashlight feature, shining it towards Schneep, who continues.

The creature growls and flings Marvin’s hand out. The book jerks forward, like someone is trying to pull it from Schneep’s grip, but he holds it steady—though he glances at the others with a panicked expression.

JJ glances back at the struggle. Marvin, he signs, causing the light to waver, but not enough to deter Schneep. Fight.

“H-he’s right!” Chase gasps. “Marvin, you have to be in there somewhere! You have to fight this!”

“Fuck off!” the creature snaps.

“Ní l-leatsa an corp a... ghlacadh,” Schneep continues. “Ní leatsa an ai-aigne a... úsáid. Ní leatsa an t-anam a... a-adh-adhlacadh.” He still stutters a bit, but it’s clearly not affecting the spell. 

Jackie grabs Marvin’s hand and pulls it back. “If you can hear us, Marv,” he says, “we need your help! C-can you hold it back? Please! Try, at least!”

“You don’t have to do it forever!” Chase adds. “Just long enough for Schneep to finish!”

Marvin’s body shudders. The creature starts to snarl something—and then abruptly stops. The black in his eyes flicker back to normal for a moment. “T-try...” Marvin whispers. His limbs jerk, but overall he stops fighting. Jackie still holds him, though, arms wrapped tight around Marvin’s torso. Chase watches, tense, waiting.

And then, suddenly, Marvin’s muscles tense again. He screams, head throwing itself backwards and arms and legs starting to shake. “I-it’s the seizing!” Chase gasps. “Like Schneep said! Let go of him!”

Jackie abruptly does so, scooting backwards across the ground. He watches Marvin with wide eyes. As do Chase and JJ. They all stay where they are, looking and feeling helpless as Marvin convulses and screams on the floor. “W-we have to do something,” Jackie says desperately.

“Maybe we can hold his head still.” Chase reaches out—

“No! Th-that’s gotta be as bad as holding him!”

“I don’t want him to hit his head, though!”

Jackie hesitates. “I got it!” He takes his jacket off, bunching it up and placing it under Marvin’s head. “B-better than nothing.”

Schneep glances at this and nods approvingly as he continues to chant. He’s getting a hold of the words. Soon his voice rises, more confident. “Díbrím thú! Fág an corp, aigne agus anam seo. Díbrím thú! Téigh go dtí an domhan eile atá ag fanacht leat. Díbrím thú!”

All at once, Marvin goes still. His screams end abruptly, but his mouth stays open as a thick black smoke pours out. It rises into the air, and there is the shape of a person in the cloud, a writhing mess of limbs struggling to reach back in. Glowing green eyes appear, glaring at the others with unmistakable malice... and then they wink out as the smoke disperses. Marvin goes limp against the floor. The lights turn on again.

CRACK!

All of them jump in surprise at the sound—and look down at its source. The wooden floor has splintered, a large divide going across the ritual circle burned into the ground. A red liquid pools in the new crack and spills out over the floor.

But they have more to be concerned with. JJ drops his phone and rushes to Marvin’s side, falling to his knees next to him. He grabs him by the shoulder and starts to shake. Schneep runs over as well, and Jackie and Chase crowd around Marvin in turn. “Marvin?!” Chase says. “Marvin! A-are you okay?!” 

Marvin groans and opens his eyes. They are back to normal again. “All of you... get... the fuck away from me.”

They all abruptly jerk backwards. JJ laughs, a sound of relief. “Well sorry for being concerned,” Jackie says, sounding irritated but smiling nonetheless.

“No, he is right, he needs his space,” Schneep says, gently pushing the others back. There are tears in his eyes. “Marvin, I-I... I am so glad you are okay.”

“Yeah...” Marvin breathes. “You.. y-you did great, Schneep. Mispronounced a few things, but I don’t blame you. And it worked. Th-thank you.”

How do you feel? JJ asks.

“...tired,” Marvin mumbles. “That sort of tired where it’s on the edge of everything hurting.”

“Are you okay to move?” Jackie asks. “I... don’t really want to be in a room where the floor is bleeding.”

“Th’what?” Marvin turns his head to the side, seeing the red liquid bleeding across the floor. He frowns. “I think... I think that means whatever spell it’s about is... broken? Whatever. Blood isn’t good. I dunno if I can move, but... if you guys wanna get out of here... I can try.”

Jackie shakes his head. “No, don’t make yourself. Uh, I can carry you, if you want?”

“That’s fine.”

“Okay.” Jackie stands up, taking Marvin with him. The other three stand up too and follow them out of the room.

Are you really okay, Marvin? JJ asks. That must have been terrible.

“I-it was... more confusing at first,” Marvin says quietly. “Things were... I saw... I-I don’t really remember some of this night. Then I woke up again, and I... saw him. And he... was using my body...” He shudders.

“It’s fine, Marvin,” Chase whispers. “It’s over now. We can get out of here.”

“Is that what we do now?” Schneep asks. “Just... leave?”

“I think so. I don’t want to stay in the cabin with a weird evil ritual circle in the basement. And I want to ask Jack what the hell this was all about. It’s his cabin, he has to know.”

“I don’t think we can ask Jack...” Marvin says. “He... th-that spirit, he made a comment... something about getting Jack out of the way...”

Fear jolts through Chase’s heart. “Then we definitely have to get out of here.”

Maybe we should rest first? JJ asks. Marvin’s not in great shape. All of us are exhausted.

“I’m fine with leaving soon,” Marvin says. “I can... can lie on the couch while you all pack your stuff.”

Jackie nods. “Sounds good to me. What about the rest of you?” 

“I can drive in the dark,” Chase says.

“I do not think we should stay here,” Schneep mutters.

Whatever you all think, JJ adds.

“Then we’ll do it. Come on.” And Jackie heads for the stairs. The rest of them follow.

It doesn’t take them long to re-pack their stuff. They didn’t really have time to unpack fully before everything went terribly. Marvin lies on the sofa, and the others take turns waiting by him, not wanting to leave him alone. He keeps muttering things that don’t make sense. Things about blood being life, and life being power, and what the symbols in the circle meant. When someone asks, he says he doesn’t know what he’s saying. That there is just knowledge in his head now. Knowledge he doesn’t want.

They load the car with their stuff, then head on out. Marvin claims the passenger seat, saying he doesn’t want to be crowded by the others right now. The others let him have it. It’s the least they can do. As Chase starts the car and heads out, they debate calling someone. But in the end, who could they call? Who would believe them?

As the cabin disappears into the woods, Marvin leans his head against the cool window. “Guys...?” he says. “Th... thanks. I-I lov... I really appreciate it. Thanks.”

They all know what he almost said. And they all feel the same.

Ending Reached: Banishment

(Congratulations for reaching the best ending on the Marvin route! :D And here's the link for the full version now uploaded to AO3!)

[crystalninjaphoenix]

the "came back wrong" trope except like... they didnt. like this mad scientists wife died, and so he studied necromancy, brought her back, and she came back and it all worked. like she came back exactly the same as she was before with literally no difference. but the scientist guy is like "oh no... what have i done.... shes Different now!!!! she came back Wrong!!!!" and shes just like. chilling. reading a book. cooking dinner. shes just so so normal but in the guys mind hes like "oh shes soooo weird" but shes just normal

[crystalninjaphoenix]

wdym an average platonic bond cant be deep and meaningful do none of you remember the power of friendship

[crystalninjaphoenix]

ttrpg is bad actually because it makes you do things like ‘make fanmixes for a character literally five people have heard of' 

[crystalninjaphoenix]

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Many Roads Diverge in the Woods - Second Run - Part Nine

The Beginning | Previous

The results are in.

You've made your decision. Wonder what you'll see?After the landscape 100% vote a while ago it's strange to see so many close votes come after it XD Well that's just how it works sometimes.

The poll at the bottom to decide what happens next is only open for one day, expiring on April 26th at 12:00pm PST. THIS IS THE LAST PART WITH A POLL. Your last chance to affect the ending! After this, the final part will be uploaded on April 27th at 12:00 PST.

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Nobody says anything for a while. Then Chase sighs. “Well, that’s all the answer we need. If we don’t know what to do, we have to get out of here.”

“Do we call the police?” Jackie asks in a hushed voice. “Wh-what the hell do we even say?”

“We should try, at least,” Schneep says.

“I’ll do that, then,” Chase says, opening up the number pad on his phone. “Let’s walk as I do that. Get out of here.”

JJ walks to the room’s door and gently opens it, looking outside. As Chase dials the number, he jerks back and looks at the others. Marvin is gone, he says, hands shaking slightly.

Schneep blinks. “What do you mean?”

Gone! JJ repeats, gesturing down the hallway.

The other three also look outside. They’d left Marvin’s body on the hallway floor just outside the next door down. It’s not there anymore. “...run for the stairs,” Jackie whispers. “Now!”

They all move as one, bolting down the hallway and up the stairs. Chase keeps his phone pressed to his ear even as he runs up the steps. It’s ringing. It’s ringing. It’s ringing. Why isn’t the call being picked up?!

The door at the top of the staircase is closed. Jackie reaches it first, grabbing the doorknob—and stopping short as it doesn’t turn. “Oh come on!” he cries. “Not this shit again!” He looks back at the others, and his eyes land on Chase. “Tell them we’re stuck!”

“I-I don’t think it’s going through,” Chase says shakily.

“What?!”

“It’s just ringing forever.” But just as he says that, the ringing stops. “Oh! Hello?”

SKREEEEEE—

“Gah!” Chase drops his phone, which clatters to the floor. Its screen is covered in static as white noise blares from the speakers. And then the screen cracks and the static disappears. A small puff of smoke comes from his phone. “O-oh... That’s... not normal.”

“Fuck it!” Jackie slams the door some more but it doesn’t even move. “We’re going back downstairs to find some way out of here!”

“There are no other ways into the basement, though!” Schneep says.

“Well clearly we’re stuck here! So maybe there’s something to help break it down!” Jackie turns around and rushes back down the stairs. The others glance at each other, then follow.

Jackie runs straight down the hallway towards the big room at the end. It’s unchanged, with the bookcases and junk and wooden chairs. He starts searching through the boxes. Schneep and JJ glance at each other, then help him. Chase hangs back, uneasily glances around. He can’t shake this feeling that something is going to happen at any moment. And then his eyes land on the nearest bookcase. Specifically, on the middle shelf. “Wait. Guys.”

The others all glance back at him. What? JJ asks.

“Remember this?” Chase walks over and picks up the book from earlier. “It was hidden, right? I think you mentioned this earlier, JJ, something about... maybe it was hidden deliberately?”

JJ nods. He hurries over to Chase, signing as he walks. Open it up and look through it. Maybe there’s something that can help.

“So we’re going back to that, then?” Jackie stands up straight. “We’re doing something, not leaving?”

“I suppose it’s worth a try,” Schneep agrees. “But Jackie, I think we should keep looking, just in case.”

Chase flips through the yellowed pages of the book, trying to go slowly out of fear of damaging it. And that’s when he notices it. One of the pages has its corner folded over. He stops to look at that one. The book is handwritten, like a journal, with ink that was once black but has faded to brown with time. The left page has an illustration of a person lying on the ground, some sort of smoke emanating from their body and forming a vaguely humanoid shape. The right page has a block of text and a title that reads “Expulsion of Unwanted Spirits.” JJ’s eyes widen. He whistles to get the others’ attention.

Jackie and Schneep glance at each other, then stop searching and walk over to join Chase and JJ. “What is this?” Schneep mutters.

“It’s like... an exorcism,” Jackie says. “Do you guys think this is why Marvin... did that?” He touches his throat, shivering.

JJ leans forward and reaches for the book, intending to indicate part of the text. Chase jerks the book away from him. “Hey, careful! You’ll get blood on it!”

“What?” Jackie looks at him, then at JJ. “What’re you talking about, Chase?”

“JJ’s hands. They’re covered in...” Chase trails off, staring at JJ’s hands. There is no blood on them. “Huh?”

“Oh, you mean because he was trying to stop the bleeding, yes?” Schneep says. “He wiped his hands off.”

“O-oh...” That makes sense, but Chase still frowns. Something’s bothering him about that. And it’s bothering JJ, too, as he looks down at his own hands with a hard-to-read expression.

This is... just a weird feeling, right? There’s nothing wrong with JJ’s hands and clothes being clean. It’s not... important, is it?

[crystalninjaphoenix]

leitmotifs never get old to me like holy shit dude there’s this melody that corresponds to this one guy and if you hear the melody it means the guy is there. holy shit. and sometimes it refers to ideas too not just guys. has anyone heard about this

[crystalninjaphoenix]

- (excited for the comics let’s gooo)

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Three hours left to vote!

After this, there is only one more poll to determine the ending!

Many Roads Diverge in the Woods - Second Run - Part Eight

The Beginning | Previous

The results are in.

You've made your decision. Wonder what you'll see?After the landscape 100% vote a while ago it's strange to see so many close votes come after it XD Well that's just how it works sometimes.

The poll at the bottom to decide what happens next is only open for one day, expiring on April 24th at 12:00pm PST. Part Nine will be up the next day, April 25th, at the same time.

<><><><><><><><><><><>

“I’m gonna help you, Jackie!” Chase scrambles to his feet and rushes towards the door. “W-we can get it down together!”

“Alright!” Jackie says. “Where are you?” He reaches out to the side and grabs Chase’s upper arm. Chase yelps, and he quickly lets go again. “Sorry! Just, uh—here, g-get next to me!”

“JJ, where are you?” Schneep asks. “W-we cannot hear you—ah! There you are. Maybe we should help them?”

“We don’t want to all go tumbling out,” Jackie says. “Let me and Chase try together first—”

Someone laughs.

The group goes silent. “That—that wasn’t any of us, was it?” Chase says slowly.

“It definitely wasn’t me,” Jackie says. The door rattles in its frame some more. “Ch-Chase! On three we’re gonna try to break the door down together, okay?! Aim directly in front of you, we don’t want to run into each other. On three, okay?”

“Okay!”

“One... two... three!”

As the two of them run at the door together, a strangled scream rings out behind them. They bounce off the door and Chase spins back around. “What was that?! JJ?!”

“JJ?!” Schneep shouts. “What are you—let go! Let—” He suddenly gasps. “Wh-what is this?!”

“What’s happening?!” Jackie asks.

“Something i-is—is—just keep trying!” Schneep says. “I-I can take care of this!” Some sounds come from their direction, the rustling and light thudding of a scuffle.

“O-okay,” Jackie says reluctantly. “Chase, we gotta try again!”

“Didn’t you say something once about aiming for a spot on a door?” Chase asks. “Some specific spot where it’s weak?”

“Right, right! We have to aim for the handle. We’re gonna end up hitting each other, maybe, but—”

Schneep shrieks. The scuffling sounds intensify.

“Just do it!” Chase says. “On three, right?”

“Right!” Jackie pulls Chase slightly closer to him. “On three! One—two—three!”

The two of them ram the door together. It judders in its frame.

“Again! One, two, three!”

They rush forward together, each of them putting everything into the motion. Chase’s shoulder hits the door hard and he winces as something bends awkwardly—but then the door flies open and he tumbles onto the floor with a yelp. Jackie manages to stay on his feet and leans down to help him up. The hallway is just as dark as the room was. “G-guys!” Chase gasps. “We can go!”

“We are trying!” Schneep snaps. Groans of effort come from the room, followed by the sound of something dragging across the wooden floor.

“What the hell is happening?!” Chase reaches into his pocket and grabs his phone, turning on the flashlight feature and pointing it into the room just as Schneep and JJ come rushing out.

Schneep is pulling JJ by the arm—just one arm, because the other one is in the grasp of someone else. Marvin’s hand is wrapped around JJ’s wrist, the skin unnaturally pale and veins strangely dark. His body remains limp as it’s dragged along, but that hand will not let go.

“Jesus fucking hell!” Jackie gasps. He rushes forward and stomps on Marvin’s arm, right in the elbow. The arm spasms and the hand lets go of JJ’s arm, who goes flying backwards as Schneep continues to pull him forward. Schneep yelps and stumbles but doesn’t fall. “What the fuck?!”

Chase shines his flashlight on Marvin’s face. It's just as pale as his arm was, with those same dark veins. His eyes are inky black. And then his mouth twitches into a smile. “What the fuck?!” Chase gasps. He grabs Jackie and runs down the dark hallway.

“H-hey!” Schneep and JJ follow the two of them.

Chase goes into the first room he sees, rushing inside and slamming the door closed as soon as everyone is inside. He breathes heavily, heart pounding in his chest. “D-did you guys see that?”

“See what?” Schneep asks.

“M-Marvin’s face! He—he smiled.”

“What?!”

Jackie pulls out his phone and turns on the flashlight as well, looking around the room. It’s the room with the fuse box. “Well... the lights went out again,” he says, stating the obvious. “We might as well turn them on again.” He walks over to the box mounted on the wall, opening it up and fiddling with it.

Are you sure about the smile, Chase? JJ asks.

“One hundred percent, bro.” Chase nods.

“Th-that could have been some—some post-death twitching,” Schneep stammers.

Is that what him grabbing me was? JJ raises an eyebrow. I don’t know much about dead bodies, but I don’t think they have the strength to hang on like that.

Schneep looks like he wants to protest, but he doesn’t, shoulders slumping. “You are right. A-a fresh body should not be—rigor mortis should not be—Wh-what the fuck was that, then?!”

Maybe something... not normal, JJ says slowly.

Chase raises an eyebrow. “Are you suggesting, like... some supernatural shit?”

The lights suddenly turn on. “I got it!” Jackie says. “What were you all talking about? Something supernatural?”

“I-I do not want to believe it,” Schneep says haltingly. “But... maybe?”

“We all saw that thing on the floor in the room,” Chase says. “Marvin called it a ritual circle. For spells. Maybe... maybe some sort of spell... made him... do that?”

“Whoa whoa whoa, I agree, that was fucking weird,” Jackie says. “But Marvin was always clear that his witch stuff was harmless. That’s not—I mean, obviously what just happened—It can’t be the same thing, right?”

Maybe... the witchcraft HE does is harmless, JJ says. But... not all of it is?

“If we’re right about this, and this is some—some magic shit going on,” Chase says, “what do we do now?”

“W-w-we need to get out of here, I think,” Schneep says, going pale. “None of us know anything about this sort of stuff. W-we cannot fight against it.”

“Y-yeah, but... it feels... wrong to just leave,” Jackie says quietly. “What if this spell will—will spread or something? We don’t know anything! Oh!” He snaps his fingers. “Those books in the other room! What if there’s something there?”

“It’ll take us a while to look through everything there, though...” Chase says slowly. “And I don’t think it’s safe here. We can’t just sit and read.”

But we have to do something, JJ says.

“Can we do something?” Chase asks quietly.

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Many Roads Diverge in the Woods - Second Run - Part Eight

The Beginning | Previous

The results are in.

You've made your decision. Wonder what you'll see?After the landscape 100% vote a while ago it's strange to see so many close votes come after it XD Well that's just how it works sometimes.

The poll at the bottom to decide what happens next is only open for one day, expiring on April 24th at 12:00pm PST. Part Nine will be up the next day, April 25th, at the same time.

<><><><><><><><><><><>

“I’m gonna help you, Jackie!” Chase scrambles to his feet and rushes towards the door. “W-we can get it down together!”

“Alright!” Jackie says. “Where are you?” He reaches out to the side and grabs Chase’s upper arm. Chase yelps, and he quickly lets go again. “Sorry! Just, uh—here, g-get next to me!”

“JJ, where are you?” Schneep asks. “W-we cannot hear you—ah! There you are. Maybe we should help them?”

“We don’t want to all go tumbling out,” Jackie says. “Let me and Chase try together first—”

Someone laughs.

The group goes silent. “That—that wasn’t any of us, was it?” Chase says slowly.

“It definitely wasn’t me,” Jackie says. The door rattles in its frame some more. “Ch-Chase! On three we’re gonna try to break the door down together, okay?! Aim directly in front of you, we don’t want to run into each other. On three, okay?”

“Okay!”

“One... two... three!”

As the two of them run at the door together, a strangled scream rings out behind them. They bounce off the door and Chase spins back around. “What was that?! JJ?!”

“JJ?!” Schneep shouts. “What are you—let go! Let—” He suddenly gasps. “Wh-what is this?!”

“What’s happening?!” Jackie asks.

“Something i-is—is—just keep trying!” Schneep says. “I-I can take care of this!” Some sounds come from their direction, the rustling and light thudding of a scuffle.

“O-okay,” Jackie says reluctantly. “Chase, we gotta try again!”

“Didn’t you say something once about aiming for a spot on a door?” Chase asks. “Some specific spot where it’s weak?”

“Right, right! We have to aim for the handle. We’re gonna end up hitting each other, maybe, but—”

Schneep shrieks. The scuffling sounds intensify.

“Just do it!” Chase says. “On three, right?”

“Right!” Jackie pulls Chase slightly closer to him. “On three! One—two—three!”

The two of them ram the door together. It judders in its frame.

“Again! One, two, three!”

They rush forward together, each of them putting everything into the motion. Chase’s shoulder hits the door hard and he winces as something bends awkwardly—but then the door flies open and he tumbles onto the floor with a yelp. Jackie manages to stay on his feet and leans down to help him up. The hallway is just as dark as the room was. “G-guys!” Chase gasps. “We can go!”

“We are trying!” Schneep snaps. Groans of effort come from the room, followed by the sound of something dragging across the wooden floor.

“What the hell is happening?!” Chase reaches into his pocket and grabs his phone, turning on the flashlight feature and pointing it into the room just as Schneep and JJ come rushing out.

Schneep is pulling JJ by the arm—just one arm, because the other one is in the grasp of someone else. Marvin’s hand is wrapped around JJ’s wrist, the skin unnaturally pale and veins strangely dark. His body remains limp as it’s dragged along, but that hand will not let go.

“Jesus fucking hell!” Jackie gasps. He rushes forward and stomps on Marvin’s arm, right in the elbow. The arm spasms and the hand lets go of JJ’s arm, who goes flying backwards as Schneep continues to pull him forward. Schneep yelps and stumbles but doesn’t fall. “What the fuck?!”

Chase shines his flashlight on Marvin’s face. It's just as pale as his arm was, with those same dark veins. His eyes are inky black. And then his mouth twitches into a smile. “What the fuck?!” Chase gasps. He grabs Jackie and runs down the dark hallway.

“H-hey!” Schneep and JJ follow the two of them.

Chase goes into the first room he sees, rushing inside and slamming the door closed as soon as everyone is inside. He breathes heavily, heart pounding in his chest. “D-did you guys see that?”

“See what?” Schneep asks.

“M-Marvin’s face! He—he smiled.”

“What?!”

Jackie pulls out his phone and turns on the flashlight as well, looking around the room. It’s the room with the fuse box. “Well... the lights went out again,” he says, stating the obvious. “We might as well turn them on again.” He walks over to the box mounted on the wall, opening it up and fiddling with it.

Are you sure about the smile, Chase? JJ asks.

“One hundred percent, bro.” Chase nods.

“Th-that could have been some—some post-death twitching,” Schneep stammers.

Is that what him grabbing me was? JJ raises an eyebrow. I don’t know much about dead bodies, but I don’t think they have the strength to hang on like that.

Schneep looks like he wants to protest, but he doesn’t, shoulders slumping. “You are right. A-a fresh body should not be—rigor mortis should not be—Wh-what the fuck was that, then?!”

Maybe something... not normal, JJ says slowly.

Chase raises an eyebrow. “Are you suggesting, like... some supernatural shit?”

The lights suddenly turn on. “I got it!” Jackie says. “What were you all talking about? Something supernatural?”

“I-I do not want to believe it,” Schneep says haltingly. “But... maybe?”

“We all saw that thing on the floor in the room,” Chase says. “Marvin called it a ritual circle. For spells. Maybe... maybe some sort of spell... made him... do that?”

“Whoa whoa whoa, I agree, that was fucking weird,” Jackie says. “But Marvin was always clear that his witch stuff was harmless. That’s not—I mean, obviously what just happened—It can’t be the same thing, right?”

Maybe... the witchcraft HE does is harmless, JJ says. But... not all of it is?

“If we’re right about this, and this is some—some magic shit going on,” Chase says, “what do we do now?”

“W-w-we need to get out of here, I think,” Schneep says, going pale. “None of us know anything about this sort of stuff. W-we cannot fight against it.”

“Y-yeah, but... it feels... wrong to just leave,” Jackie says quietly. “What if this spell will—will spread or something? We don’t know anything! Oh!” He snaps his fingers. “Those books in the other room! What if there’s something there?”

“It’ll take us a while to look through everything there, though...” Chase says slowly. “And I don’t think it’s safe here. We can’t just sit and read.”

But we have to do something, JJ says.

“Can we do something?” Chase asks quietly.

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Sign at the Ithica, NY Science Center.

[crystalninjaphoenix]

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Caverns & Creatures - Part Two

Paranormal Preteens AU: Episode Twenty-Three

A JSE Fanfic

This second part of the two-part mini-arc! It's longer than the first, and considerably more happens. The five kids are still stuck in the fantasy game of Caverns and Creatures, and have to figure out how to beat the game to escape. Jackie is ready to do everything he can as a good game runner to help them... but that might be difficult with Anti there, constantly making things more "fun." And yeah. I think this part is really fun :)

More of this AU | From the Start | Read on AO3 at CrystalNinjaPhoenix

++++++++++++++++++++

“This is boring!”

Chase started awake. For a moment, he looked around the room in confusion. The wooden walls, the starchy white sheets of the bed, the lanterns in the corners—it was like nowhere he’d ever been. Then he remembered. Right, he and most of his friends had been pulled into that Caverns and Creatures game. He had laid down for a moment. Must’ve dozed off. Schneep, on the other bed, blinked awake as well. That shout hadn’t been him.

“Isn’t this supposed to be a game? What sort of game is watching people hang around?”

The ceiling had a green glowing circle in it, a window back to the real world. Anti was up there. He had his face pressed up close to the window, looking down at them.

“I was going to time-jump through the short rest!” A hand reached out and pulled Anti back. It was Jackie, who was now visible. “We weren’t actually gonna sit around for an hour!”

“It’s still boring!” Anti protested.

“Ohhh, would you shut the fuck up?” Marvin’s voice said. Chase and Schneep looked around in confusion, but Marvin was nowhere in sight.

“Marvin? Is that you?” Another voice said. Stacy.

“Whoa, what the fuck?” Marvin gasped. “I can hear you guys! Even though we’re in different rooms!”

“I guess out of character talking gets magically transmitted to you guys?” Jackie guessed.

“Really?” Schneep stood up, stumbling for a bit, clearly still not used to the wings that had been magically given to him. A part of the character he’d created. “I suppose that makes sense. It is not part of the game world, so we... ah... actually, I don’t think it makes sense.”

“No no no, keep going,” Marvin said. “JJ is also asking that you keep going. Huh. Guess sign language doesn’t get... transmitted. Booooo.”

“Okay, uh, how do you guys feel?” Jackie asked. “You should have healed during the rest.”

“I’m still a bit tired,” Marvin said.

“Uh... maybe that’s because you used a spell slot?” Jackie speculated.

“Huh?”

“That fireball spell you cast at the fly-dragons in the forest. Spell slots only recover during long rests, not short ones.”

“Oh yeaaaaaah! Fuck. I probably should’ve stuck to one of the ones you can use whenever. The, uh, what’s the name—”

“Boring!” Anti interrupted. “Let’s make something interesting happen! Suddenly, bandits are coming up the stairs! They’re gonna kill you and take your stuff!”

“Whoa, really?” Chase got up and hurried over to the door of the room in the inn. Some numbers rolled past his head, a counter of yellow numbers that ended on a 19, and then a +3 appeared, raising it to 22. Suddenly, Chase heard it clearly, footsteps creaking up the staircase. He even heard a couple voices, making evil-sounding ‘heh heh heh’ laughs. “Oh crap! We gotta get out of here!”

“JJ’s saying that we can fight them!” Marvin said. “He’s grabbing the flail-thing in preparation!”

“I don’t want to fight people right now!” Stacy protested. “We just fought those fly-dragons!”

“You don’t have to fight them if you don’t want to!” Jackie quickly said. “You can find some other way out of this!”

Chase shook his head. “Whatever we do, we should all be together when doing it.” He opened up the door to the room and hurried out into the inn hallway. He knocked on the doors of the other rooms—the one where Stacy was staying, and the one where Marvin and JJ were. They all came out into the hallway, as well. Chase jumped slightly. He still wasn’t used to the additions to their appearances that they’d all gotten when getting pulled into this world. Marvin’s horns, JJ’s pointed ears, and Stacy’s supernaturally pale skin. But he pushed that off for now. “Okay, so, what d’we do?!”

We fight them! JJ said. His weapon—that massive flail—is strapped to his back in preparation. It wasn’t too hard to fight the dragons!

Schneep joined the group in the hall as well. “I do not think that’s a good idea,” Schneep said slowly. “I do not have forever healing potions. I will run out eventually. We still do not know what happens if our health in this game runs out.”

“Whyyyy is it taking them so long to get up the stairs?” Anti complained.

“Things in the game always slow down for conversation,” Jackie snapped, annoyed.

“Schneep’s potions are our only way to recover health,” Marvin says. “I don’t think we should waste them. As cool as it’d be to cast more fucking awesome magic, I think we should get out of here.”

JJ sighed, looking uncharacteristically disappointed. Was he really looking forward to a fight?

“How do we get out of here, then?” Chase looked around. “Out a window?”

“Seems good to me!” Stacy said. “C’mon, we can go into my room and block off the door to buy time.”

The kids all do so, hurrying through the doorway and slamming the door closed. “Who’s the strongest?” Marvin asked. “I mean—who has the highest Strength stat?”

“JJ, obviously,” Chase said. “His class is all about strength. Uhh... mine is a 16, I think that’s the second highest, if you need help.”

JJ nodded. Let’s move this together, then, he said, and pointed at the wardrobe.

The two of them started pushing the wardrobe across the floor. Numbers rolled past them, landing on a 10 for Chase and a 17 for JJ. Together, they managed to block off the door—though Chase could definitely tell JJ was doing most of the work. Meanwhile, the other three gathered around the window. Stacy pushed it open and started to climb out.

“Oh, careful of the sun, Stacy,” Jackie said. “Remember, your character Morgana is a vampire.”

“I remember.” Stacy opened up her umbrella, covering her head.

“Won’t it be hard to climb down while carrying that?” Marvin asked.

“Right. Yeah. She’d probably have disadvantage.”

“What’s that again?” Chase asked.

“Well, she’d roll twice and have to use the smaller number,” Jackie explained.

“I have a +5 to this, I’m sure I can get out safely,” Stacy said. She started to climb down. Pink numbers appeared by her head. The first one was a 20, with the +5 making it a 25. The second was a 4, turning to a 9. Stacy yelped as she disappeared from sight. There was a thud! as she landed on the ground. “Owww. No fair!” her voice called up.

Jackie winced. “That’s just how the rolls go sometimes.”

Footsteps walked outside the door. It jiggled slightly. “Whasthis? The door’s blocked!” a raspy voice said.

“Something valuable hasta be inside!” another said. “Kick it down!”

Chase’s eyes widened. “Everyone else go out!”

Marvin nodded and climbed out the window next. The numbers by his head landed on 15, and there was a quieter thump as he got out the window. “Got it!” he shouted back up. “Schneep, you next!”

“No, Chase and JJ should go first,” Schneep said.

“Really?” Chase said, he and JJ hurrying over to the window. “I think me and JJ could fight them off if we had to.”

“I insist.” Schneep shoved Chase a little.

“Okay, okay.” Chase climbed out the window awkwardly. He hesitated, scanning the side of the building for footholds. Then he started climbing out. The numbers landed on a 17, and he found himself easily climbing down, like it was second nature to him—even though it definitely wasn’t. “Way to go, Fahl Trailblazer,” he said, grinning as he complimented his character for the skill.

Once he reached the bottom, he, Marvin, and Stacy all looked up towards the window. A few tense moments passed. Then JJ jumped out the window. He jumped. Out the window. The numbers flashed through the air, ending up on an 18. JJ landed on his feet perfectly, grinning.

“Whoa!” Marvin jumped, then laughed. “You’re really getting into character as Ion, aren’t you?” JJ nodded in response, doing a little victory dance.

“Schneep?!” Chase called worriedly.

Schneep also jumped out the window—but he fell much slower. Gliding, in fact. With his wings spread wide. He lowered himself to the ground slowly, then looked back at the others smugly.

“Oh for crying out loud!” Chase threw his hands in the air. “I was worried for nothing!”

“You are the one who forgot that I chose the birdfolk! How is it hard to forget these?” Schneep’s wings flapped.

“I guess I forgot they, uh, worked?”

“Guys?” The window in the sky had moved, still above them. Jackie stared down through it. “You should probably run. They’re going to see you through the window.”

“Right!” Chase nodded. “Everyone, run!”

The group ran, reaching the city streets of the fantasy city, Suilara. They kept running for a while, until the Unicorn’s Crown inn disappeared. When they stopped, they found themselves in a wide central square of some kind with a fountain in the middle, depicting beautiful women pouring water from jugs and vases. People in fantasy clothes walked around. “Are they gone?” Chase asked.

They all looked behind them. Numbers rolled by each of their heads. Marvin, who got the highest, shook his head. “We lost them.” Then he looked up at the window in the sky. “Not fucking cool, Anti!”

“Was that less ‘boring’ to you?” Stacy shouted.

“Yeah!” Anti said, grinning. “There was like—action! I mean it wasn’t as good as the dragon fight, but it was fun!”

Marvin scowled, then looked back down, glancing around the others. “Alright. Well... now what?”

Silence.

“Okay okay, I-I can work with this,” Jackie said, flipping through the pages of the booklet for the Secrets of Suilara campaign. “Uh—roll perception. Oh shit, uh, that doesn’t make sense when you’re in the game. Uh, look around.”

They all did. More numbers rolled, and Chase’s eyes suddenly landed on something. A short someone hurrying across the square. “Huh. Isn’t that the, uh, dwarf lady?”

“Oh! I see her too.” Schneep nodded. “And she has that same bag that we delivered to her.”

Stacy frowned. “That’s not weird, is it? I mean, weren’t they jewels or something? Maybe she’s gonna sell them. Or use them to buy stuff.”

Chase blinked. “Huh. Uh, actually, I caught a glimpse of what was in the bag when we gave it to her in her store. It looked round and gold. And it was glowing slightly.”

“What?!” Marvin gasped. “Wait, did we know that?!”

“Uh, no, you guys didn’t know that,” Jackie said. “Dalrun the dwarf told you it was jewels.”

Glowing gold is definitely not jewels, JJ said, frowning. Something strange is going on.

“Think we should follow her?” Chase asked.

Stacy nodded. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

As the group sets off after Helga, following her down a curving city street, Jackie said, “You’ll all have to roll for stealth, I think. Uh... this’ll be a collective roll, so we’ll add them up and find the average.”

The numbers rolled by their heads. 05, 23, 09, 11, 14. Then they flew together, becoming a 12 in glowing white. Chase noticed that the townsfolk around were looking at them, but Helga seemed too busy. “Who got the five?” Chase muttered.

“You did,” Stacy said.

“What?”

“Yeah, it was a yellow number. You all are so lucky my character is good at this.” Stacy smiled smugly.

“And yet, you cannot climb down from trees and windows,” Schneep said teasingly.

“Hey!”

Luckily, that ‘out of character’ shout didn’t draw Helga’s attention. The group followed her down the street, watching as she ducked into a side alley. They all slowed down, standing near the alley entrance. Stacy peered around the corner of a building into the alley. A roll next to her head landed on 14. “I see her messing with a statue at the end here,” she whispered back to the others. “Dunno what she’s doing. Uh... she’s walking down into a hole at the base, maybe? Aaaand she’s gone.”

Well, let’s go after her! JJ said, and hurried down the alley.

Marvin raised an eyebrow. “Well. Might as well.” He followed JJ.

“That’s the spirit!” Anti said from the window excitedly. “Go in there and, uh... kill her! That’ll be fun!” Jackie gave him an annoyed glance.

“I think it is more important to get information from her,” Schneep said as the other three all followed the twins. “We need to beat the game to escape, yes? I think she can help us do that.”

The shadowy alley ended at a stone brick wall. In front of the wall was the statue Stacy mentioned. A metal wolf standing on a hexagon-shaped plinth, fearsome teeth bared and its mouth open. The eyes of the statue were replaced by rubies, giving the wolf a menacing red gaze. “What is this?” Schneep asked, frowning. A set of numbers rolled by his head. 05 +4 for a 09. “Ah, it is some sort of dire wolf... I think.”

“Why’s it at the end of an alley by itself?” Chase asked. “And where’s that hole Stacy saw Helga go into?” Sure enough, the floor was solid. Not even a crack in it, much less a hole big enough for a dwarf to disappear into.

“Hmm...” Marvin crouched down next to the statue. “Maybe the statue got moved over it.” More numbers appeared, landing on a 13. “Yeah, I think that’s it. I feel a breeze coming from under it. We have to move the statue, I think.”

Sacy frowned. “I don’t think she was moving the statue... she was just, like, messing with it somehow.”

We can try moving it first, then if it doesn’t work, we’ll try to figure it out, JJ said.

Marvin laughed. “Really? I think it’s usually the other way around with you.”

JJ shrugged. This isn’t the real world, it’s not like we’re actually going to damage someone’s property. He walked up to the statue and started pushing. The numbers by his head rolled, landing on a 15. Slowly, with a loud scraping sound, the statue started to move, then stopped. There was indeed a hole beneath it, a ladder leading downwards. But the statue got stuck when there was only about six inches of the hole exposed, nowhere near enough space to climb down. JJ frowned. Marvin, do you have any magic that could help?

Marvin shook his head. “The shrinking spell is like… a level four spell. We’re still only level one.” His face screwed up in concentration. “I don’t think I have any other spells that could help... Do you think the statue is broken? I have the Fix Object spell, if that’s the case. That might work.”

“It is stuck,” Chase said. “I say that counts as broken.”

“Uhhh no, I don’t think that’s how Fix Object works,” Jackie said from above.

“Well I can use it whenever I want,” Marvin said. “So I might as well try.” He rubbed his hands together, causing them to glow yellow-white, and then put them on the statue. The light spread around it... and then faded, and nothing had changed. “Well... fuck, then.”

Stacy giggled. “I guess we have to figure out the puzzle, then?”

“Noooo!” Anti complained, his voice distant as he wasn’t currently in the window. “She’s getting away!”

Jackie turned to look at him and frowned. “What’re you doing?!”

“I’m looking at your books for this game.”

“Be careful with those!” Jackie lunged to the side, disappearing from the window. “They cost so much!”

“But there are so many cool monsters in this one!”

The five kids all stared up at the window while this happened, then slowly looked back down at the wolf statue. “Let’s just... roll to figure it out quickly,” Schneep said slowly. “The sooner we are out of here, the better.”

All of them leaned close to the statue, squinting at it. Numbers rolled by... 09, 08, 04, 05, 01. “Yeah, uh... I don’t get it,” Chase said.

“Are we sure this statue even moves?” Marvin said.

“What?! You were the one who said there was a hole beneath it!” Chase pointed out. “We saw it move right now!”

“Oh yeah. Uhh... I dunno, I guess my brain just stopped working for a minute there.”

Jackie laughed. “You rolled a nat one and forgot what you’d just seen. That’s hilarious, actually.”

Schneep shook his head. “I think we all rolled pretty low. I do not know what the trick to this is at all.”

“Oh boo.” Stacy frowned. “How are we gonna get through, then?”

Let’s just try pushing it again! JJ said. Chase, you and me together, like in the inn.

“Right!” Chase nodded. He and JJ started pushing the statue again. Numbers rolled... an 11 and a 12. Chase felt it give slightly, but then it stopped.

“Welp.” Marvin folded his arms. “Guess we’re fucking stuck. Unless we all want to try together?”

“Ja, let’s all push together,” Schneep agreed.

They all gathered up next to the statue and pushed. More numbers rolled—and Marvin’s green set of numbers landed on a 20. Suddenly, the statue gave way, and all five of them fell forward. They yelled in surprise, more numbers rolled, and Chase landed hard on the ground along with all the others. He saw a yellow 12 by his head roll down to a 10. Lost two hp from that fall. He saw everyone else’s health roll down by two as well.

“Are you kidding?!” Stacy shouted indignantly. “I’m the agility girl! I’m the one who lands!”

The guys all burst into laughter. She glared at the rest of them, but eventually started giggling too. They all got to their feet one at a time and looked around. Behind them was a stone ladder built into the wall, leading back up to the alley. Ahead of them was a long tunnel made of stone bricks, with torches in sconces on the wall. Chase squinted. “Really dark down there.”

“Really? It’s more dim than anything,” Marvin said.

“Yes, it gets dark eventually, but we can see all the way to the staircase,” Schneep said.

“What staircase?”

The staircase at the end of this hallway, JJ said.

“Are you guys messing with me?” Chase asked. “It’s so dark! Like, a wall of shadows.”

“Wait, you really can’t see it? Oh, I get it!” Stacy’s eyes widened. “All our characters can see in the dark except for yours! He’s just human.”

“Are you kidding?!” Chase threw his hands up into the air. “Fine! Fahl Trailblazer is good at other things!” He grabbed a torch from a nearby sconce. “Let’s go after Helga. I think she’s up to some shady stuff.”

“Probably a good idea,” Marvin agreed. “Let’s go.”

The group set off down the tunnel. As the others said, there was a staircase at the bottom, and the group descended it into another, slightly more rough-hewn tunnel. They continued forward for a while in silence. Then Schneep gasped. “Wait! What if there are traps down here?!”

“Huh?” Chase looked at him.

“Jackie said that the Caverns in Caverns and Creatures sometimes have traps!”

“I did say that,” Jackie said. “Uh... roll to keep an eye out for traps, I guess? You and Stacy would probably be best at finding and disarming them.”

Stacy and Schneep nodded. Their numbers rolled, landing on a 19 and a 20. The second one was accompanied by a flair of fireworks. “Wow... I am absolutely sure there are no traps down here,” Stacy said.

Jackie laughed. “It’s a good mentality though! If this was another campaign you might have to worry about it.”

“...so there are no traps at all in this game,” Marvin said.

“Oh, uh... pay no attention to me,” Jackie said.

Chase laughed.

The tunnel gradually sloped downwards. The group continued on for a while more—

“It’s boring again!” Anti suddenly said.

Jackie’s eyes widened. “Oh, uh, don’t worry, it’s going to get exciting soon!” he said hurriedly. “They’re going to encounter a—”

“A shifting ooze!” Anti interrupted.

“What the fuck?!” Jackie shouted, aghast.

A dripping sound came from behind them. A gloopy, splashing sound. The group spun around and saw black goop dripping from the ceiling. It gathered on the floor, clumping together, raising into a humanoid figure, strands of goop dangling from its limbs and purple eyes peering from its head. “Holy shit!” Marvin gasped. “That’s so fucking cool!”

“Guys, get out of there!” Jackie shouted, leaning close to the window in the sky. “Shifting oozes are recommended for level ten parties! You guys are still level one!”

“Oh fuck!” Marvin’s awe quickly turned to fear. “Guys, go go go go!”

Numbers rolled through the air, one for each of the kids, and another for the shifting ooze. That one landed on a 19, the highest of the bunch. It lunged forward, hands shifting into black claws, and swiped at Marvin. More numbers rolled, the claws slashed through Marvin’s tunic, and his health appeared, a 07 going immediately down to -01. Marvin collapsed.

JJ shrieked. He tried to rush forward, but couldn’t move from the spot; it wasn’t his turn. It was Chase’s. Chase ran forward instead, checking Marvin over. Numbers rolled by his head—a 08, followed by a +3 then a +2 for a total of 13. “I-I can... can stabilize him,” Chase said, voice shaking. “He’s not—he’s badly hurt, but we can fix that.” He reached into a pouch at his belt and pulled out some cloth bandages, quickly wrapping them around Marvin’s torso. Then he grabbed him and stood up again, starting to run away from the shifting ooze—but he couldn’t move. His turn was over.

Now that it was his turn, JJ rushed forward and swung his flail at the shifting ooze. The spiky ball at the end splashed into its gloopy body. The hit succeeded, passing through the ooze’s armor and doing 05 damage. But the ooze was unphased.

“Guys, I’m not kidding!” Jackie shouted. “Get out of there!”

JJ looked up at the window in the sky and nodded. He ran back to where he was before, grabbing Chase and Marvin as he went and dragging them a short distance away.

“Ah—ah—” Schneep looked through his potions. His eyes widened. “Ah!” He pulled one out and threw it at the ground in front of the ooze. The glass bottle broke, forming a wall of fire. “Run!” he shouted, and then turned and did just that. Stacy did the same. The ooze hesitated in front of the fire, then tried lunging forward. Numbers flew up from the point of contact, and it shrieked. It got through the flames, but didn’t move further. Even with that damage, it still didn’t look too bothered.

Chase shuddered in fear. “Y-yeah! Let’s go!” He picked up Marvin—surprisingly not feeling the weight of him—and ran. JJ was right behind him.

The group sprinted down the tunnel until they reached a fork, a branch heading to the left and to the right. Where did that dwarf lady go?! JJ asked.

Chase squinted. Numbers rolled by his head, landing on a 15. He noticed imprints in the dust on the tunnel floor—footprints. “This way!” He pointed to the left. The group all ran down that way. Behind them, they could still hear that gloopy, drippy sound of the shifting ooze. They continued to run, not stopping until that gloopy sound was well out of earshot.

“What... the heck?!” Stacy panted.

Jackie sighed in relief. He shot a burning glare at Anti. “You can’t just put any monster you want in the game! That thing can hit for up to 20hp! Marvin would’ve di—w-would’ve lost right away if he took 14 damage!”

Chase also glared up at Anti through the window. “Y-yeah! It wouldn’t be fun if we just lost immediately!” 

“It’s not fun if you just walk through dark caves the whole time, either!” Anti snapped back.

“Can we please just keep going?!” Schneep asked, exasperated. “I feel like we are getting close to beating the game!”

“Uh... y-yeah I guess.” Jackie still looked a bit shaken by the shifting ooze attack, but he pushed it away. “I mean... technically there’s more you can do around the city and in the forest, but we’re sort of skipping that whole thing, because it might be, uh... ‘boring.’” He glanced at Anti warily.

“Good!” Anti said, not catching onto Jackie’s look. “Keep going, then!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Chase muttered. “But first, we gotta help Marvin. Schneep, you have healing potions, right?”

Schneep nodded. He reached into his bag and pulled out another potion. “Do I just... put it in his mouth?”

Game logic should take over from there, yes, JJ said. Please hurry!

“I am, I am.” Schneep uncorked the bottle. “Chase, set Marvin down.” Chase did so, and Schneep knelt down, propping Marvin’s head up with one hand. He used the other to tilt the health potion into Marvin’s mouth. Marvin’s health counter appeared again, going back up to 03.

Marvin groaned, and opened his eyes. “Wha...?”

JJ slumped in relief. He knelt next to Marvin. How do you feel?

“Uh... fine, I guess? My chest kinda hurts.” Marvin touched the claw marks on his torso. “Oof. Oh fuck.”

“W-well, at least we know what happens when your health reaches zero now?” Stacy said.

“Yeah... makes sense, your character doesn’t die right away when your hp reaches zero in normal C&C anyway,” Jackie said. “You have to fail some death saves... but, uh, hopefully you guys won’t have to worry about those!” He laughed. The sound was a bit strained. “A-anyway. Keep going!”

Marvin got up and the group continued down the tunnels. Chase had dropped the torch back when the shifting ooze attacked, but he grabbed another from the wall easily enough. The tunnels continued to go down, down, down. Every so often, the floor would end at a cliff and the kids would have to climb down a rope. Or there would be a pit in the ground and they’d have to cross a bridge to get across it. Chase tried not to look down when these obstacles appeared.

Eventually, the tunnel ended at a wall. A massive stone door blocked their way, embedded in an archway with two strange statues carved on either side. The creatures’ main bodies were that of a wolf, but with dragon-like wings and snakes for tails—not snake-like tails, but actual snakes for tails. The creature had another head next to the wolf head, that of a goat. “What the fuck are those?” Marvin muttered.

“No idea,” Stacy said. “I guess you can roll for it?”

Marvin nodded. He walked up to one of the statues, touching it. His numbers rolled by, landing on an 05. “Nope, no idea.”

“Um... I can try,” Chase said slowly. He walked up to the other statue, squinting at its wolf head. His numbers rolled past, landing on an 02. But then they rolled again, and this time landed on 17. “Oh! These are marakdas. They’re like chimeras!”

Schneep blinked. “Why did your numbers roll twice?”

“Because Chase’s class has a feature where he gets advantage on rolls related to creatures,” Jackie said. “Not necessarily fighting them, but... knowledge about them, you know?”

“Ah.” Schneep nodded.

Well now we know, but how do we get inside? JJ asked.

They all stared at the door. More numbers rolled by the guys’ heads... And then Stacy walked forward and casually pressed down on one of the statues’ front paws. It sunk into the arch of the doorway, and the stone door slowly slid up. “You guys didn’t notice that?” she asked, looking back at the others.

“...oh,” Chase said.

“Ah!” Schneep’s eyes widened. “I noticed that, but I did not realize it was important.”

Must have been because you two were looking for traps, JJ said. Light came from the now-open doorway. A flickering, purple-pink light. Now let’s go.

“Yeah! Whooo!” Anti cheered from the window. “Kick her butt!”

“Oh shut up,” Marvin snapped. “We’re beating this game cause you put us in here, we’re not gonna make you happy for doing a dick move like that!”

Anti blinked, looking momentarily confused. “I... don’t want you to ‘make me happy.’ I want to have fun with you.”

“Well we don’t want to have fun with you!” Marvin shouted.

“Then why d’you keep playing?”

“Ugh.” Marvin threw his hands in the air. “Whatever. Let’s go, guys. See how this game ends.”

As the group walked through the door, Jackie flipped through the booklet. “Okay, uh, since Anti has clearly proven that we can just say whatever we want and it’ll happen, fuck it. You’re all level five now, and the cavern is setup for endgame. You don’t have to go find the silver and bronze orbs, they’re already there.”

“Silver and... huh?” Chase glanced up at him in confusion.

But the confusion was wiped away when he looked at the room. This was a vast, circular room, made of stone in varying shades of gray. Statues lined the edges, carvings of all sorts of fantasy races found in Caverns and Creatures—humans, dwarves, elves, fiends, dryads, birdfolk, dragonfolk, fish-like waterfolk—all of them holding their arms up like they were supporting the ceiling. The ceiling itself was decked out with crystals, making it look like the night sky full of stars. Torches of purple-pink fire lined the walls. In the center of the room was another statue of the creatures outside the door. A marakda, apparently. Behind it was a pit lined with a stone wall. The marakda’s three mouths were open. There was a bronze orb in the snake’s mouth, a silver orb in the goat’s... and standing before the open wolf mouth was Helga Wolffighter, just about to place a glowing golden orb in there.

“Hey!” Chase shouted. He grabbed his bow, quickly nocking it—like before, his arms moved on their own like he’d known how to do this for ages. Then he aimed it at her. “What’re you doing?”

Helga Wolffighter spun around. “When we awaken the monster beneath Suilara, it will follow our orders! We will be able to threaten anyone into doing our bidding!”

“We?” Marvin asked, confused.

“Oh, uh—she’s supposed to have accomplices, we sort of skipped all that,” Jackie explained. “Don’t worry about it. Probably could’ve done the dialogue better—ah, we’re in a rush.”

Let’s stop her before she can wake up the monster! JJ said. He pulled his flail off his back.

“Whaaat? No!” Anti complained. “Monster fight! Monster fight! She puts the thing in the thing and wakes it up!”

Suddenly, as if skipping through scenes on a movie, the golden orb appeared in the wolf mouth and Helga was standing off to the side with her arms raised. The circular cavern started to shake. “Rise!” Helga shouted. The kids all stumbled. Numbers rolled, and Marvin and JJ fell to the ground prone while the other three managed to keep their feet. A massive paw appeared on the edge of the stone wall around the pit. And then a second one. Both covered in white fur, with long curved silver claws. A beast lifted itself up from the pit. It had a wolf head, covered in gold fur, and a goat head, its white fur slightly shaggier, with silver horns curling from its head. Large scaled wings unfurled, coppery-gold in color, and a snake whipped around from behind, its diamond-shaped head and body covered in bronze scales. The three mouths all opened, letting out a howl, a scream, and a hiss.

“Holy shit!” Marvin gasped. “That thing’s like—fucking three times as tall as us!”

“Are you sure level five is enough, Jackie?” Stacy asked worriedly.

“It’s uh—bigger than it’s supposed to be, I think,” Jackie said. “I’m gonna blame Anti for that one. But you guys can do it! I know you can!”

“I do not think we have a choice but to do it,” Schneep muttered. He pulled out a couple potions. “So let’s do it!”

“Yeah!” Chase shouted.

JJ nodded determinedly.

The monster—a marakda, just like the statues—leaned down, and its wolf mouth opened up wide. Lightning shot out of its maw, blue and crackling, and hit Helga, sending her flying back and slumping to the ground, barely conscious.

“Let’s roll initiative, then,” Jackie said.

Numbers appeared, rolling by each of them. Despite having three heads, the marakda only had one set of numbers. And despite its clear power, it rolled the lowest, ending up at the end of the turn order. Chase was first. He immediately took aim at the wolf head and fired his arrow. It flew through the air, trailing numbers behind it, and embedded itself in the wolf’s skin, doing 10 damage. The marakda roared.

“How much health does this thing have, Jackie?!” Marvin asked.

“Uh—a lot?” Jackie said. 

JJ’s turn was next. He clambered to his feet and rushed forward—but only got halfway across the room before he ran out of movement. He stopped, frustrated. Then his eyes widened. Oh I can do something cool! He closed his eyes, then opened them up wide, now glowing completely red. Glowing red designs also appeared on his skin around his eyes, looking vaguely like runes.

“Oh hell yeah! Your rage stuff!” Marvin grinned and also got to his feet. He pointed at the marakda and three streaks of green-blue light shot out of his hand, one rushing for each of the marakda’s head and hitting it for 4, 4, and 2 damage. All of the heads cried out, shaking off the magic. Then Stacy ran forward, completely crossing the room (to JJ’s dismay) and running up to the marakda’s front legs. She pulled out two knives and stabbed downwards. One missed, but the second dealt 8 damage.

“You can attack with two weapons?!” Chase shouted. “Can’t you only attack once per turn?”

“Uhhh—” Stacy looked down at her knives. “Guess that’s cause Jackie leveled us up!”

“Ooo! That should mean—I was looking at this potion on the list—” Schneep fumbled through his stuff. “Yes!” He pours one on the ground between him and Marvin. It forms an icy blue fog upon contact, and Marvin, Schneep, and Chase all glow slightly. The numbers representing their health appear, and a spectral blue 10 appears over them. “We all have more temporary health!”

“Great! I think my health sucks,” Marvin said. “Even leveled up I apparently only have 21.”

The marakda raised one of its legs and swiped at Stacy. She yelped and tried to dodge, but still got hit and flew backwards, her health rolling down from 42 to 30. “Good thing we got more hp with the level, then!” she said from where she was lying. Its snake tail lunged forward as well, trying to bite her, but she rolled out of the way.

With the additional health, Chase felt safe enough to run forward. He nocked another arrow as he went, aiming it at the marakda. He narrowed his eyes in concentration... and a glowing yellow rune appeared in midair over the marakda’s main body. His eyes widened slightly, but it didn’t distract him from firing his bow again. The arrow hit once more, right at the base of the creature’s draconic wings. 9 damage appeared—and then an additional 6 damage. “Oh!” Marvin gasped. “Chase, did you just do magic?!”

“I, uh, guess?” Chase said. “I think I marked it or something and that made it so I did more damage.”

“That’s exactly what that was!” Jackie said proudly. “Hunters get a couple spells—that was their Tracking Mark!”

“Cooool.” Chase grinned.

“Yeah, we’ve all got more spells now!” Marvin said excitedly.

JJ grinned. He closed the rest of the distance to the marakda and bashed its front knee with his flail. 7 damage appeared, with a +2 bumping it up to a 9. He tried hitting it again, but that didn’t land, instead just bouncing off its fur.

“Whoo! Fuck yeah, JJ!” Marvin shouted encouragingly. He hesitated for a moment, thinking about what magic to use. Then he gasped, made some weird gestures, and vanished from sight. “Don’t worry, I’m still here!” he said, voice drifting to the side.

Schneep laughed in delight, then looked down at his potions. After Stacy tried attacking again—hitting for 4 and 4 damage—he ran across the room, drinking a potion as he did. A glowing purple aura surrounded him, and he pulled a dagger out of his belt, hitting the marakda for 3 damage. He frowned, disappointed. “I thought that would do more damage.”

The monster roared again. Both its wolf and goat mouth opened up wide, and lightning poured out. Chase gasped and tried to brace himself, and he saw the others doing the same. Numbers rolled, and he was thrown backwards, health rolling down from 56 to 36. He saw the others all affected as well, though JJ managed to keep his feet and only lost 10 hp. “W-we gotta take this thing down quick!” says Stacy.

“I think we’re doing good so far!” Chase shouted, getting back to his feet and firing another arrow at the goat head. It hits for a total of 7 damage. The goat head reeled back, bleating in shock, then looked at him—and despite it not being its turn, it leaned down and headbutted him with its horns. He shouted in surprise as he fell down again and his health went down to 27. “Hey, what?! No fair! It’s not your turn!”

“Some creatures can take actions out of turn order,” Jackie said. “They’re called Mythic Actions.”

“That would’ve been helpful to know earlier!”

“I hadn’t read this monster’s stats yet, I didn’t know it had Mythic Actions!”

JJ growled. He looked up at the monster—and then jumped up, grabbing its fur and climbing up its leg. The marakda roared in surprise and tried to kick him off, but JJ kept his grip as more numbers flew through the air. He climbed up to the spot in between the two heads, pulled his flail out, and bashed it against the marakda twice for 5 and 10 damage.

“It is not looking so good!” Schneep shouted. “We are doing it!”

“Oh no, JJ, can you move?” Marvin’s voice called.

JJ looked towards the spot where his invisible twin probably was. What do you mean?

“I was gonna do a thing!”

Do it anyway!

“It might hit you!”

I still have 80 health, I’ll be fine!

“Okay, if you insist,” Marvin said reluctantly. Then, from underneath the marakda’s two front legs a blast of ice and snow spirals upwards, hitting the marakda’s two heads. It roars, and a massive 25 damage appears overhead. Suddenly, the marakda collapsed. JJ tumbled off onto the ground, and Marvin yelped in surprise, taking 10 damage as the monster landed on him.

“Omg, did Marvin just do it?!” Stacy gasped. “I think he just did it!”

“Yeah, it’s not getting back up, is it?” Chase grinned. “That was awesome, Marvin!”

Marvin flickered back into visibility. “Whoo!” He gave a smile and a thumbs-up. “I wouldn’t have been, uh, confident enough to do that if Schneep hadn’t given me those extra health points. Not to mention you guys all brought it down, too!”

“Yes, we could not have done it by ourselves!” Schneep beamed.

JJ clapped his hands in celebration. He ran over and tried lifting up the marakda. Luckily, he rolled a perfect 20, and was able to lift it up enough for Marvin to scramble out.

“Now what?” Chase asked. “We... won, didn’t we?”

“Uh... maybe there’s more we need to do,” Marvin said.

Maybe we need to take the orbs? JJ asked, pointing at the statue.

“Well, Stacy? Do you want to do the honors?” Chase asked. “Didn’t you say something about wanting treasure earlier?”

Stacy stuck her tongue out at him. “It’s not me, it’s Morgana. She has a background as a thief, but then she broke into the wrong place and got turned into a vampire. I actually don’t care all that much.” 

“Oh, uh... sorry?”

“You put that much thought into your backstory?” Schneep asked.

“Yeah, I even have an idea for what the vampire who turned her could be named.”

Marvin stood up, brushing himself off. “Well—I think JJ’s right, let’s grab the orbs. Axitios is also very excited for treasure, though he’s more into jewels than coins and stuff.” He walked over to the statue and reached up, easily taking the golden orb out of the wolf mouth. As soon as he did, the wolf head on the statue crumbled. Stacy and Chase also walked over. She grabbed the bronze orb and he grabbed the silver one. And just like with the gold one, the goat and snake heads immediately crumbled into dues the moment the orbs came out.

And then the floor started to glow green.

The kids all looked down in unison. Chase covered his eyes as the green glow became too intense to look at, lighting up the entire room—

++++++++++++++++++++

Jackie scrambled back as the game board started to glow intensely. Anti didn’t move at all, staring down at it and grinning. Then there was a flash of green light—and suddenly the five younger kids were all back in place, sitting around the table. They blinked, confused. Marvin felt his head, noticing the lack of horns, and JJ grabbed the tips of his now-round ears. Schneep shifted in his chair and Stacy patted her face. Chase looked at his belt for his quiver of arrows but saw nothing. None of them looked hurt at all.

“Oh thank god.” Jackie ran forward. “H-how do you guys feel? Are you all okay?”

“Y-yeah, I think so,” Chase said.

“Yay!” Anti appeared, leaning onto the table between Marvin and JJ. “Congradoo—Congradala—Congrats! You won!”

Marvin turned and glared at him. “Dude, shut the fuck up! We didn’t want to play your stupid fucking game!”

“Huh? But of course you did!” Anti grinned. “That’s why you’re here! To play a game!”

“W-well, ah—that was not—the way we wanted to do it!” Schneep stammered.

“Why? Was it scary?”

It wasn’t NOT scary, JJ said.

Anti glared at him. “I still dunno what you’re saying.”

“Look, you just—just get out of here!” Chase stood up. “You can’t just show up and put people in a game! So just leave! Go go go!”

Anti blinked, clearly surprised. “Okay, okay, fine. You could just say that you didn’t have fun.” He folded his arms, and the lights overhead flickered. When they turned back on, Anti was gone.

Jackie sighed. “I’m so sorry, guys. I-I really didn’t want this to happen.”

It’s not your fault, Jackie, JJ said. You couldn’t expect Anti to show up out of nowhere.

“Still.” Jackie looked down at the game board, now back to normal. He started gathering up the pieces and dice. “I’m sorry. I-I shouldn’t have gotten you, uh... I shouldn’t have pushed you guys to play Caverns and Creatures. I get it if you guys never want to see this game again.”

“Huh? What’re you talking about?” Marvin asked. “That was awesome!”

Stacy nodded. “I-I mean, it was a bit, uh, freaky to get pulled into the game, but it was cool! I-I’d like to play a more normal version.”

“If all games are like that, it will be very interesting to play!” Schneep said. “And less dangerous when we are not actually fighting monsters.”

I normally don’t fight everything like that, it was fun to be stronger! JJ said.

Jackie looked back up at the kids. His expression slowly lightened. “You... you guys liked it? Y-you’d want to play more?”

All the kids nodded in unison.

“Even though the real version is just gonna be a bunch of dice rolling and moving pieces?”

“Well, now that we’ve gone through something like that, we can like... picture it in our brains.” Chase tapped the side of his. “So it’ll be even more awesome!”

Jackie laughed, looking relieved. “Th-that’s good to hear! Well, uh, exams are really coming up, so I don’t think we’ll be able to meet for a proper game soon. But once winter holiday starts, do you guys want to... try again?”

“Aww, do we really have to wait so long?” Marvin whined.

“No, Jackie’s right, exams are important,” Stacy said. She sighed. “We can wait. I’ll be thinking a lot about Morgana in the meantime. I hope I can make her, uh, an even better character.”

“I don’t wanna wait, either,” Chase groaned. “But I guess we do have to do tests and stuff.”

Jackie grinned. “Study hard, guys. I can make a good game for you all in the meantime. Maybe something more custom than this one. So your characters can really shine.”

I’m looking forward to it! JJ beamed. 

“We all are!” Marvin agreed.

Jackie laughed. “Well, uh... we’ve been down here for a while. It’s probably around time for you guys to go home.”

“Right, yeah.” Chase nodded. “I’ll call Mom, then.” He took his phone out of his pocket. Huh, that hadn’t been there while in the fantasy game. Maybe it was too modern.

“I’ll call my parents, too,” Stacy agreed.

“JJ and I can just go whenever,” Marvin said. “We biked here.”

“Well, before you go, take some snacks, at least,” Jackie said. “And the rest of you, feel free to eat while you wait for your parents to come pick you up.”

A few minutes later, JJ and Marvin said goodbye to the others, heading out on their bikes. They’d arrived here around two in the afternoon, and now it was evening, the shadows growing long. They had to leave quickly to get home before dark. As they left, Chase noticed JJ fumbling with something in his bag. Right... that weird doll. Being sucked into the game had made them all forget about that thing. They’d have to talk about that some more later.

Shortly after, Mom arrived to pick up Chase and Schneep. Stacy’s parents arrived around the same time, and they all said goodbye.

Chase stared out the window as they drove away. He wondered what else they could do while playing that game. It felt like they’d barely scraped the surface of the possibilities. He didn’t want it to be known that he was playing a nerdy game like Caverns and Creatures... but who cared? It was fun. It didn’t matter if the game was nerdy or not, as long as he was playing with his friends.

A shadow watched them all go. Anti was... confused. They’d talked about how fun it was after they thought he had left. So then... why had they shouted at him? Did they just want to lie to him? He didn’t like liars. But he still couldn’t help but like these guys. He didn’t get it.

Well, one thing was clear. If these guys could take down a giant monster in a game, they could handle the Circle. Maybe he should start pushing the two of them closer. He giggled to himself. Yes, that would be fun. He was already looking forward to it.

[crystalninjaphoenix]

whenever i say “something just happened.” it 100% is a sonic snapcube dub reference. btw

[crystalninjaphoenix]

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Many Roads Diverge in the Woods - Second Run - Part Seven

The Beginning | Previous

The results are in.

Your path has been altered. Strange how such a small choice can change so much. These choices were really close! I think there's probably only one vote of difference in here.

Warning for possibly gruesome descriptions! If that's not your thing, skip the fourth paragraph.

The poll at the bottom to decide what happens next is only open for one day, expiring on April 22nd at 12:00pm PST. Part Eight will be up the next day, April 23rd, at the same time.

<><><><><><><><><><><>

Chase starts forward, intending to stop this, but Schneep reaches out and pulls him back. “What are you doing?!” he hisses. “Let me go! Marvin, put it down!”

“I-I don’t think you should get close to someone holding a blade!” Schneep stammers, pale.

“I’m not the one he’s threatening with it! None of us are!”

Marvin grins. And that grin doesn’t fade even as he digs the knife into his neck and pulls it to the side. His hand shakes. But the blade cuts easily as he pushes it further and further into his throat. Flesh tears. Blood pours from the wound. The sound of wet, labored breathing fills the room. The four others only stare at the gruesome sight; horror has frozen them all in place.

And then Marvin collapses and they all move at once.

Chase is the fastest, kneeling by Marvin’s side. “Marvin?! Marvin?!” He fell forward so Chase grabs him and turns him over to look at his face. He flinches upon seeing the wound.

JJ is next, then Jackie, then Schneep. One by one they also fall to the ground next to Marvin. “Schneep, you’re a doctor, do something!” Jackie shouts while JJ reaches forward and presses his hands against the wound, desperately trying to stem the tide of blood.

“Th-there is nothing we can do for this!” Schneep stammers. “I cannot—not—Chase, I-I am so sorry, I shouldn’t have stopped you! Marvin! Marvin, I am sorry!” Tears fill his eyes.

“Fuck!” Jackie picks up one of Marvin’s hands. He yanks off the fingerless glove he’s wearing and presses his fingers to the bare skin of his wrist. The color drains from his face. “There’s... th-there’s no—”

JJ shakes his head, denying what Jackie’s trying to say. He presses harder against the wound. Blood covers his hands and stains the cuffs of his white shirt. But he doesn’t care.

Chase looks at Marvin’s face. He’s still grinning. It’s a strange grin. Like it’s not Marvin’s at all. And above that grin, his eyes are dull, seeing nothing. “Jays,” Chase whispers. “He’s—”

“No!”

Chase stops immediately, shocked that JJ actually shouted that. It was hoarse and strangled, but the word was unmistakable. Schneep and Jackie also stare at JJ, surprised. JJ doesn’t look at any of them. He keeps pressing on the wound, leaning forward, panicking and hoping—

“Jameson.” Schneep reaches over and gently puts his hand on JJ’s shoulder. “It’s too late.”

JJ looks at the other three, eyes darting between their faces and Marvin’s. Then he leans back. He stares down at Marvin’s body. He’s not dead, he signs, the movements slow.

“I’m... I-I’m afraid he is,” Schneep says. He wipes his eyes. “We... w-we have to... call for an... We have to call for paramedics. To...” He can’t finish what he’s saying. He takes a shaky breath, clearly trying to avoid crying.

“I don’t... understand...” Jackie whispers. “What... what just happened?”

Chase shakes his head slowly. He’s not sure himself. They came to this cabin to have fun. And somehow their friend is dead.

The dim lightbulb overhead flickers.

“Let’s... get out of here.” Jackie staggers to his feet. “We can take him upstairs. To... I don’t know.” He walks to the door, grabs the handle, and tries to turn it. Then he tries again. And again. And then he looks back at the others suddenly worried. “Uh... guys? I think the door’s stuck.”

Chase blinks. “Wait a second. Who closed the door? I thought I was the last in, and I know I left it open.”

The dim lightbulb flickers again.

“I closed it.”

Everyone jumps in unison. That wasn’t any of them. “Um... hello?” Schneep calls, looking around. The room is empty except for the four of them and... and Marvin.

A laugh slithers through the room. The lightbulb flickers again—and goes out.

Chase hears the sound of the door shaking in its frame. “We have to get out of here!” Jackie shouts.

“Break down the door!” Chase shouts.

“I don’t know if I can! Where are the keys?!”

“Marvin had them, remember?!” Schneep shouts.

“I-I don’t want to search his body!” Jackie protests.

“Well I don’t want to be stuck in here!” Schneep says.

“Guys, calm down!” Chase says. A primal fear pumps through his veins. The hair on the back of his neck is standing up. They have to get out of here fast!