Eternity/Fatality (IC)

[Katie]

Minnesota Flatts
Bulnei Apartments, 5^th Floor – Minnie’s Room
Thursday 7^th of November – First Dream, First Phase

She wipes up her spit with a tissue and chucks it in the trash. Gross of her, super, super gross. If anyone knew she drooled that would be the end of her.

The noise makes her jolt a little bit, and very tired, she decides to take the advice from that dream way back and check her window. Not that she had more than one real window, but that’s what you got when you lived in an apartment.

[Sei]

Tiera Artemis
Artemis Residence - Tiera's Room
Thursday, November 7th - Sunset

The sound of keys clicking ends just as soon as it begins.

The room once again falls into a peaceful silence and all that's left is a single sentence to occupy my mind. A single question asking if anyone is there.

I stare at it- naturally- and find myself slowly drifting off into a world of still thought. All the words and images of the day fade away into a clear white void as my mind is given a bit of reprieve. There is no immediate stimulus. No need for me to think, hear, or listen... No need for me to pay attention to the things around me. Because within this room- through this computer screen- time seemingly moves at the pace that I want.

My own little world...

It's hard to say how much time really passes when I'm just sitting here staring aimlessly at the walls and ceiling. But every so often, when I do remember to be mindful of things, there's usually a little something different to divert my attention. If only for a moment.

GoldenHeroine: ?

My computer makes a small sound as another username pops up under mine.

GoldenHeroine: Oh, hi Tiera.

GoldenHeroine: I thought the chat was disconnected lol.

GoldenHeroine: Sup?

I can't help but smile a little as my fingers reach for the keys once again.

Atra: Nothin' really. Was bored so I thought I'd check out chat for a bit.

Atra: Anything interesting happenin' in these parts? :P

This is pretty much how most of our conversations in the chat start. It's just a little something that spawned from all the silly rumors and urbans legends that used to be the main attraction here. I would always jump into the conversation late and ask if something worth note was being talked about. Mockingly, of course. However, since then, it's become something of a running joke between my friends and I.

But...

GoldenHeroine: Now that you ask, yes.

I'm never met with a serious response...

GoldenHeroine: There's this little thing

GoldenHeroine: But I'll make it a surprise.

*GoldenHeroine has sent DreamWeave.rar

I stare at my screen in disbelief for a bit. Fully expecting this to be some quick troll, I wait for another response. Something to tell me that "nothing's really going on" or an emote to downplay the whole thing. But nothing comes...

Staring at the document sent, I skeptically hover my mouse over its name.

GoldenHeroine: It's something that Tink found.

GoldenHeroine: Not a virus.

GoldenHeroine: But lets say u'll find it interesting.

Probably realizing my hesitation, Goldie tries eliminate my first assumption. Naturally, that this thing is some kind of virus. But even if she tells me that, the way she's acting doesn't exactly make me feel better.

Atra: Lol. What's this supposed to be? Some kind of game? XD

Atra: Where'd Tink find this?

Atra: It just screams virus!

GoldenHeroine: No idea, but it has been

GoldenHeroine: something

GoldenHeroine: I don't wanna spoil u the surprise.

GoldenHeroine: Don't worry if it says waiting after you install

GoldenHeroine: You'll see what's about later.

GoldenHeroine: *what that's about later.

Jeez... She's really selling me on this "mysterious" file. I mean, no matter how you look at this, something about this situation definitely isn't right. It just all seems to shady. But Goldie keeps insisting that I should check it out... And "don't worry" about the things it says after I open it up and probably damage my computer...

Atra: ...

I can just hope that she and the others are diving too deep into the internet. Lord knows I want nothing to do with the stuff you find there.

Atra: Okay.

Atra: But if this messes up my comp, you owe me a new laptop. O_o

Atra: But I guess I'll go ahead and check it out.

GoldenHeroine: I'll buy you a new last generation laptop.

GoldenHeroine: In fact I'll buy one for you anyway.

Ignoring her, I go ahead and unpack the file. Almost immediately, I get the sense that I should go ahead and delete the whole thing; however, once again, I ignore my better judgment. With just a few more clicks, a window pops up and the installation begins. And, whatever it is, it starts installing fast... Not even a full minute passes before the install is complete and the window shrinks down, only to be replaced by a new one.

I honestly don't know how I'm supposed to ignore just how weird this is. Hell, I don't even know how I'm supposed to feel about what just happened. I just installed some weird thing on my computer and have no idea what the heck it does. Honestly, not my best decision.

GoldenHeroine: BTW Tiera, have you been having weird dreams?

GoldenHeroine: In the group everyone looks kinda tired and sleepy

GoldenHeroine: I also didn't get much sleep

GoldenHeroine: But you look alright.

And just like that, she changes the subject to make things even weirder. Still staring at the giant blue text on my screen, I'm slowly leaning more and more towards the idea of this being some kind of elaborate troll.

Still, I guess I'll just play along for now.

Atra: Well... Yeah. Kinda. I had some weird dreams here and there for a bit, but not much recently.

Atra: ...

Atra: So um, Goldilocks. What exactly does that have to do with this?

Atra: Honestly starting to creep me out a bit. ^-^;

Atra: Your creep-o-meter is getting dangerously close to the red!

GoldenHeroine: I'm not very sure. It just seemed weird to me that everyone starting having weird ass dreams at more or less the same time.

GoldenHeroine: And they're all different.

That... Didn't really answer my question...

GoldenHeroine: Al says his dreams remind him of some weird Asimov books or some weird shiz like that.

GoldenHeroine: And then this

There's a bit of a pause.

GoldenHeroine: What if I told you

GoldenHeroine: Wait

GoldenHeroine: Wtf was that

GoldenHeroine: I gotta go

GoldenHeroine: Will be back later

GoldenHeroine has disconnected.

I can only stare at my screen, slightly dumbfounded.

I was already having a little trouble following the direction of the conversation... and then that happened. I probably read her last messages over in my head three or four times before slumping back in my chair and letting out a big sigh.

"Nice try, girl..." I rub my face and let go of what little stress I'd managed to build, "Worst. Troll. Ever. ...Honestly, who types out reactions when weird things are happening irl?"

After all of that, I can't really say I feel like talking to anyone else. After all, it seems like one big joke that everyone's in on. So I just close out of the chat and scoot back in my chair.

"And to think she almost had me going there."

Disappointed in myself, I eye the still open "Dream Weave" application and shake my head before closing it too.

"Guess I should go ahead and do a virus check before heading downstairs..."

[arkturus]

Alice Levitts
Levitts Residence – 1^st Floor, Living Room
Thursday 7^th of November – First Dream, First Phase

Alice stood frozen not from out of fear, although the fear was present, but from curiosity. Subconsciously her mind had categorized these three beings as "rare or uncommon creatures" and she had simply acted accordingly so as to not disturb them more than she already had. However, she soon realized that this act was futile as they already seemed to be staring at her as if waiting for her to do something.

Well maybe since they weren't attacking her right this very second she should check and see if they were intelligent. Who knows, maybe they were friendly.

"Uh, hi there!" She gave a little wave to all three of the creatures and gave a little smile as she made eye contact with them. "I'm Alice. Who are you?"

[RacingeR]

Olivia Grace
Grace Residence – 2^nd Floor, Storeroom.
Thursday 7^th of November – First Dream, Second Phase

You charge through the mist filled hallway as fast as you can, your bat held on high as you try to be the smallest target possible. This time, your mysterious assailant seems to be still in the generalized direction of the stairs, as when you’re halfway through the distance between the storeroom and the start of the hallway, you hear the faint whistle of the incoming projectile, and feel a dart impacting against your stomach.

The sheer force behind the attack is impressive, and you instantly understand why it hurt so much to just get grazed by one. The dart pierces through half of the book, and the sheer force of the impact is enough to rattle your bones and send you skidding backwards five steps. You nearly trip to the floor, and find yourself forced to pause your charge despite your intentions, as the air has been forcefully pulled out of your lungs.

Despite it all, you notice that you’re unhurt, much to your surprise. In fact, you notice that there is a faint luminescence being emitted from your body, and you suddenly feel much sturdier than before. Still, you also understand that despite this… surprise, there is no way for you to make any progress this way. With your enemy’s rate of fire, he can keep you pinned down with the sheer force behind its attacks, and while it does not damage you as long as you’re hit in an armored section, you also have no way to reach your enemy. And there are no guarantees it won’t be able to hit an unprotected area…

And then, suddenly, there is a voice.

“Miss, don’t stand around, keep moving!” A polite voice coming from the outside of a window suddenly encourages you. “You just have to avoid being hit once!”

You hear the sound of flapping wings once again.

- - - Updated - - -

Lumina Aurora
Aurora Residence – Luna’s Closet (Ether Stage)
Thursday 7^th of November – First Dream, First Phase

Cressela stares at you for a moment, blinking her (you’re fairly sure it is a her) eyes, then slowly nods, more to herself than to you.

Then, much to your complete surprise, she turns around and goes towards one of the doors you had yet to try and scratches it. You try to open it, and… nothing happens, the door seems to be locked. You try the remaining doors, and you find that none of them can be opened.

Finally, Cressela returns to the door that leads towards your room, and scratches it, then turns around and looks towards you, unblinking.

[RacingeR]

David Baudelaire
Baudelaire Estate – Second Floor’s Hallway
Thursday 7^th of November – First Dream, First Phase

You walked into the darkness two more steps, before being assaulted once again, this time a sudden attack from the back. You feel a massive impact on the back of your head that shakes your consciousness. You feel your legs buckle, but you manage to keep your head clear and force yourself to remain standing.

You turn around and slash blindly at the enemy, but your attack misses, as the imp has already eased itself back into the darkness. It doesn’t take long for a second attack to come, the sharp ends of the imp’s hands causing a bloody gash on your right leg and nearly making you fall once again. You hear a giggle as the monster once again fades into the surrounding darkness. It seems to be enjoying itself quite a lot.

The imp seems to keep using basic hit and run tactics, moving around you silently and attacking when you least expect it. You have no way to see it through the darkness, but at the very least, it doesn’t seem to be very strong in comparison to your average human, or otherwise your wounds would be much worse. Still, there’s no telling how long you’ll be able to hold out under this continuous assault.

[palad1n]

Lumina Aurora
Aurora Residence – Luna’s Closet (Ether Stage)
Thursday 7^th of November – First Dream, First Phase

"You... want me to go back?"

Lumina stared at Cressela as she continues to stare at the girl without blinking. She blinked once, unable to match the cat's piercing and unblinking gaze, before looking once again at the door that will leads her back to her room.

Lumina hesitate. She still remembered at what happened there, of the mysterious being that was searching for her, and to say that she was scared out of her mind is a severe understatement. Going back to the room where she managed to narrowly escape doesn't seem to be the most interesting prospect, to say the least.

But then again, what else could she do? None of the doors here could be opened, she couldn't fall asleep, and merely just waiting isn't ideal either. Really, this is the only option left...

So Lumina braced herself, taking a deep breath once, twice, thrice. It's all or nothing. She should just relish the tension that she is feeling at the moment, or something among those lines; her friends said that it is when the tension is the highest, when you felt the scariest out of your mind that you felt the most alive. At least, that's what they said when the group was playing a particular horror game together...

"I hope it had already left the room..." She said to no one in particular before holding the handle of the door. At least she could always run back here if there is something dangerous beyond the door, right?

Taking a final deep breath, Lumina looked at Cressela one last time before giving the cat a nod.

"Well... here we go."

She opened the door.

[RacingeR]

Clyde Madison
Madison Estate – Left Wing, 2nd Floor (Ophelia’s Room)
Thursday 7th of November – First Dream, First Phase

You slowly entered your stepsister’s room.

Whenever she was home, this room was an absolute mess, often veritable mountains of clothing practically flooding the room. Your sister seemed to own a ridiculous amount of clothing, with little variety in them: they were almost all colorful, following the same punkish style. Of course, Elizabeth had tidied it up while she was at the boarding school, so the room was clean for once.

The walls were covered in soft pink paint, and lined up with random posters of girl stuff, some boy bands, the center-piece being Rainfield’s own punk rock band, Rising Wave, which had been, well, rising in popularity the last few years. There was her audio equipment, as well as her own TV, two big placards where she stored her clothing, a nightstand, and not much else. Given she only spent the holidays and some weekends here, it was not surprising her room was relatively bare. You noticed there were some red curtains over her window, probably something she forgot to bring with her.

There was also a lack of anything suspicious. Yet, for some reason, you felt your tension rise as the electrical current running through your veins intensified to an almost unbearable point. Suddenly, you heard a noise, and turned around in time to see a strange shadow projected in the floor before the door was slammed closed. You rushed towards it, only to hear the sound of the lock being closed from the outside.

[RacingeR]

Julia Miles
Miles Residence – 2^nd Floor (Hallway)
Thursday 7^th of November – First Dream, First Phase

Without hesitation, you fling your door open, and burst into the small hallway that connects the second floor of your house together, which consisted merely of your room, your dad’s room, and a small, mostly unused study in-between. The windows were open, and let out the somewhat strange light, but you barely took note of the hallway or any other details as you rushed towards the stairs…

And found yourself falling against the floor, a sudden burst of pain on your arms as you managed to use them to shield your face. At first, you didn’t understand what had just happened. Only when, still on the floor, you looked back, you saw your feet had gotten entangled into some sort of thin wire that had been placed across the hallway, both extremes piercing into the wall and keeping the wire tensed a few centimeters above the floor. You blinked, and noticed that apart from being almost invisible in plain sight, the wire was somewhat sharp, as you had a cut on your left ankle.

A dull pain shot up from your leg. It was going to be hard to move quickly with it, at least not for a bit.

[RacingeR]

Minnesota Flatts
Bulnei Apartments, 5^th Floor – Minnie’s Room
Thursday 7^th of November – First Dream, First Phase

Moving towards the window, you easily see what the strange writings were referring to: the fire exit stairs, that pretty much connect all the apartments on this side of the building, and leads all the way to the roof, or to the alley below, if the stairs were to be pushed down.

Peering through the window reveals… not much about your location, only that the buildings at the side of yours seem to have disappeared. Instead, a faint darkness surrounds it, a decaying light shining far above. You get the feeling you should really be able to see more of your surroundings, but attempting to from this place makes you dizzy due to the faulty light. It is weird and disconcerting.

And then you hear the noise. It is a loud, rhythmic, repetitive noise that sounds like some big drums are being hit over and over again. The beating repeats for six times, then another six, and then two more, and goes silent. For some reason, the noise makes you tense up, stressing you out terribly, as if you had some sort of semi-conscious psychological reaction towards it. You’re fairly sure it is coming from below.

Then, there’s another noise. This time, coming from your computer, indicating someone is talking to you through chat. You blink. For some reason, your phone isn’t picking up the message.

[RacingeR]

Tiera Artemis
Artemis Residence – 2^nd Floor (Tiera's Room)
Thursday 7^th of November – Night

After closing the program and running an antivirus, you discover nothing weird at all. You blink, and finally decide to not think much about it. It is somewhat strange, since Abby is not the pranking type most of the time, but it is easy to imagine someone putting her up to it. Or it might just be Al getting up to some shenanigans again. Either way, you shrug it off and go have dinner.

It is a short, mundane dinner, without anything noticeable about it. Soon enough, you climb your way back upstairs to your room, intending to spend the last few hours of your day at your computer. However, once you made your way to the room, you were hit by a sudden wave of dizziness. Your eyes feel heavy, and you feel all of your energy slip away in a single instant. For some reason, you have the strange feeling that the world around you has gone completely still.

You attempt to persist, after all, it is way too early to sleep, but you are soon forced to give up as your body grows heavier by the minute. It is night anyway, you figure that dropping out early for once won’t matter much. You plop down into the bed… and soon fall asleep.

And then, you start dreaming.

Thursday 7^th of November – First Dream, First Phase

The oddest thing is, as you get off the bed, that there is no transition whatsoever. At one moment, you close your eyes and fall asleep, at the other moment, you are experiencing what feels like a lucid dream.

You examine your surroundings, feeling a certain vague wrongness, as if part of you understood that this wasn’t your typical dream. Your room is like always, except for the big red, uh, couch… bed thing that is on a corner of your room. You’re fairly sure this is new, although the piece of furniture itself seems somewhat worn and aged, as if used frequently.

Apart from that, you noticed that your window was open, letting in a cold light, and your door was slightly ajar.

[RacingeR]

Levitts Residence – 1^st Floor, Living Room
Thursday 7^th of November – First Dream, First Phase

You could’ve heard a pin drop in the silence that followed your words.

The creatures stared at you, then at each other, then at the mess they had made of your living room. They seemed slightly ashamed. Then, they looked at each other again, and back at you, seemingly reaching the conclusion that they needed to eliminate all witnesses. They pounced.

One of them moved directly towards you, claws at the ready. You stepped back in fright, just in the nick of time, as the claws ripped the front portion of your top, barely missing your skin.

You felt cold sweat starting to form at your back as you stepped backwards once again. You noticed that the other two had moved around you instead, one blocking the path back to the stairs, the other trying to maneuver to cut your other path of retreat. Thankfully, they didn’t seem to be too fast, but you were risking being pinned down at the couch at this rate.

[Airen]

Olivia Grace
Grace Residence – 2^nd Floor, Storeroom.
Thursday 7^th of November – First Dream, Second Phase

It was so heavy it had literally pushed her back.

Forced to stop, forced to breathe, to understand the sheer power behind what should be a simple dart, there are many things that shoot through the frantic but determined mind of the raven-haired teenager.

That she was alright in spite of being slammed with so much force she had literally been pushed back an easy five paces, that each following shot would be at least as strong as this one and thus she wasn't going to make any headway, and-

“Miss, don’t stand around, keep moving! You just have to avoid being hit once!”

-That not everything in here seemed to want her head for decoration.

"Yeah, yeah-!"

It's not like she needed to be told that... From the start, she hadn't had any real intention of stopping-! Worried about whether or not she would get hit, whether or not this strange light would be enough at point blank, all of those worries...!

Were things that no longer mattered if she just didn't get hit in the first place-!

It's a simple thought, albeit one that bears a hint of what some would call desperation, but if she had to label it as something...

"Alright, shitty monster-!"

...It was simple belief that she could at least dodge a single attack.

The attacks weren't silent, she could always hear something right before the impact, a whistle, the sound of it cutting through the air at those absurd speeds.

She just has to dodge one.

The next one.

"I can do it, I can do it-!"

A mantra for self-belief, motivation to try again until she succeeded, faith that she could certainly dodge at least a single thing. No more running away, only forward, towards the enemy-!

She doesn't have to be able to see the dart itself, in the shadows that may be asking too much... It's hard to read that sort of things with just your eyes in this kind of scenario, but...

She could hear the darts, and they had to go in a straight line.

If she dodges the instant she hears that sound, just throws her all into going towards a single side as fast as possible, catching herself on the wall so she doesn't fall completely down... She should make it.

No...

She will make it.

Eyes hardening...

Olivia keeps moving.

[arkturus]

Levitts Residence – 1^st Floor, Living Room
Thursday 7^th of November – First Dream, First Phase

Alice's heart sunk in horror as the things moved to surround her, cut her off from all avenues of escape. She could feel the cold night wind through her ruined comfy pajama shirt. Her eyes wiped over to the direction of the breeze, the front door on her right. The creatures must have busted through it to get inside. Maybe that was the noise she heard earlier?

She turned to face the door but froze again. Was it the smart choice? Sure she could make it outside but what if there were more waiting for? Would she be able to outrun them? Probably not, a bookworm like her that neglected her health couldn't possibly count on outrunning anyone. B-but where else was there to go? Every second that she took to think they got even closer!

Suddenly--without thinking--Alice bolted to her left, away from the door and directly at the creature blocking the stairs.

"Oh God I'm gonna die!"

The creature leaped at her but she quickly pivoted around a corner into the dining room, slamming the door behind her. The air whistled as the creature met empty space. Quickly, the girl grabbed on of the dining room chairs and wedged it underneath the doorknob. She steadied herself on another chair and took sharp, deep breaths to calm her beating heart.

But she couldn't sit down. Not yet. There were more rooms that had to be secured: the kitchen and the wine cellar below it.

Slowly she made her way to the door leading to the kitchen and took a peek inside.

[Mormarth]

Clyde Madison
Madison Estate – Left Wing, 2nd Floor (Ophelia’s Room)
Thursday 7th of November – First Dream, First Phase

I entered slowly, casting my gaze around sharply, squinting, like that would make much of a difference. The room was pastel pink, soft, girly colors, some boy band posters dotted the walls, pictures of some actors that had caught her fancy while she'd been staying here.

Also the local punk guys, Rising Wave had to be chalk-center of at all.

Bunch of dicks, I made a face at their image on the wall, 'oooh look at us we're sooo punk, now buy all our merch and don't pay attention as to how we're a bunch of hypocritical douches who play into this thing for kicks'.

I scoffed, moving my eyes further along the wall, nothing too surprising, a stereo, that notch in the wall she'd kicked when I last shit-talked her taste in music, and some red curtains at the windows.

Weird, you'd think she'd take stuff like that along with her when she left, no use for curtains in an empty room.

Nothing too out of the ordinary.

Still, the weird feeling crawling up my back skittered around my shoulder blades, shuffling greasy scales down my neck, an electrical tinge to it.

I whirled at the sound of a noise behind me, hand already on my very impressive firearm.

There was a shadow, a silhouette, almost like a projected image on the door, and it slammed shut.

I rushed toward it, cursing loudly, lowering my shoulder as I made a charge for it, only for the loud, merciless clunk of the door's lock to shut.

Which really made this even more surreal, how would a door be able to lock from the other side? Locking someone in their own room? What purpose does that serve, aside from being kind of eff'd up.

I whirled around, there was no way to unlock the door from this side, and breaking down the door was a fool's errand with most doors, let alone these freakjob ones.

The room was bare, there wasn't much to use, certainly nothing that'd get me through that door.

So I turned my attention to the window, and the curtains that covered it.

It wasn't much of a distance down to the first floor, and I had to move quick, hope she doesn't suffer some cognitive feedback or some bullshit from this.

I leaped across the room, bounding towards the curtains like a gazelle, I flung them aside, revealing the window, open like the others.

I took one of the curtains in hand, thick, dull red cloth, not some gauzy thin stuff, almost black-out curtain level stuff.

Still, it was flexible enough to suit my purposes, I briskly took it off the overhanging rack, and set-about making myself a make-shift ladder down, tying one end around one of the legs of the chest of drawers where she kept her things when she was around.

It wouldn't get me all the way to the ground, but I'd be close enough to at least not hurt myself.

[Sei]

Tiera Artemis
Thursday, November 7th - First Dream, First Phase

Something feels off.

The last thing I recall is having dinner and then going back up into my room. Bits and pieces of information are missing. Inconsequential stuff, but stuff all the same. And it doesn't really feel like my mind is completely here either. I'm able to take in what's going on around me, but the intake of information pretty slow. It's like I'm dragging my feet even though I'm telling myself to run. Or something like that.

"Must be a dream," I think lazily to myself, "Only thing that really makes sense."

My thoughts still haven't really caught up to me yet, but I think I can figure out this much. The details are still a little foggy, but I'm pretty sure I shouldn't be here. I should still be in my room and I definitely shouldn't be on my feet. And while this place may look like my room, the visuals are all outta whack and some things just don't belong. But that's just how these dreams are, I guess.

There's no telling when I'll wake up. Not that it really matters, but I guess I should do something while I'm stuck here. Chances are I won't remember any of this, but it'd still be pretty boring to stand around until I actually come to. So I guess I'll go check out the rest of the house. Suppose I could always see what else is off if my room is anything to go by.

[Frantic Author]

David Baudelaire
Baudelaire Estate – Second Floor’s Hallway
Thursday 7^th of November – First Dream, First Phase

It's annoying.

That's all Dave was thinking about as he glared around the room, looking for the imp. It was really, really fucking annoying. And when he couldn't see dick all, it just got even worse. He took a deep breath, and used the classic strategy he always fell back on -

What Would The Maid Do?

And almost smacked himself in the head for being a complete tool. Dave pulled out his phone, flicked on the flashlight, and dropped it at his feet. The room illuminated, his eyes scanned the area, looking for the imp, and ready to whack it in its stupid face.