#i'm outside on my porch typing this and the air is almost chilly

[gintrinsic-writing]

Drabble writing prompt: Four and Hyrule get stuck in a haunted house, how haunted/phony is up to you!

Hey, Zee!!! Thanks for the prompt! This is semi-based on an actual experience I had in a haunted house, minus the supernatural element haha.

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The chain-link walls rattled as a hulking figure in a black cap grasped at Four. Hyrule grinned delightedly, too focused on the actor’s theatrical growling to notice the puppet that swung overhead until it descended upon them. By the time they turned the corner, both of the heroes were laughing and whispering to each other. 

“You jumped! You actually jumped!” Four said.

Hyrule shook his head and pushed aside a curtain to get to the next room. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” 

“Sure, right. Whatever you say,” Four drawled, grinning still. “Looks like there are two doors to choose from. Left or right?”

Hyrule bounced on his toes briefly, then opened the right door. The hallway ahead was saturated in artificial smoke. A single, flickering lantern provided the only light source. “Creepy. Let’s go!” 

They walked through the smoke, Hyrule in the lead. Seconds passed. Their footsteps were muffled by the soft ground. “I can’t see a thing.”

Four dragged his fingers along the wall, grimacing at the dampness. “The next room can’t be too far.”

They walked. And walked. The smoke swirled around their bodies, cool and thick. 

“This… can’t be right, Four.”

“The barn wasn’t very big. Did we miss a door?”

Hyrule turned around, peering back down the hall; there was no way to differentiate it from the way ahead. “Even if we did, we should’ve hit the end by now.”

Four touched the wall again for reassurance, then felt a little silly. It was a family-friendly haunt. “Weren’t there groups after us?”

“Yeah. Several. ”

“Let’s… go back. Maybe we'll run into them,” Four said, taking Hyrule’s hand.

They turned and walked. And walked. Minutes passed. The lantern at the beginning never seemed to grow closer. “Hyrule…”

“I know,” Hyrule whispered. His throat felt dry. 

“This doesn’t make sense.”

“I know.”

Four licked the sweat beading on his upper lip. The air was clammy. “Do you think we should—”

A growl breached the haze, low and guttural—a snarling bellow that seemed to come from everywhere at once. The lantern dimmed, its flame threatening to die. And the growling grew louder. 

“Do we run?” Hyrule whispered, eyes wide, pupils dilated. 

The flame went out, then returned. The smoke began to roil. Hyrule gripped Four’s hand hard enough to hurt. “Run,” he whispered back. 

Outside, standing near the haunt’s exit under an early night sky, the other heroes shared cotton candy as they waited.