The Midnight Game [YouTubers AU]

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Edited: 21/3/2019 at 23:56

[Brief note: I decided to publish the chapters as I completed them to show I'm not just sitting around on my ass doing nothing; I'm sitting around on my ass and writing. Adios.]

Warning!
The Midnight Game is a pagan ritual  that I highly recommend NEVER attempting and the rules have been ever so slightly changed, so don't try it.

Jack
Something wasn't right. The mattress beneath him was not his own. Jack opened his eyes to see a wood-paneled ceiling. Definitely not his. Sitting up, he saw that he was in a small wooden room, with a door directly facing him.

His eyes fell on a wooden desk. On it was a note, a piece of paper, a knife, a pen, a candle, lighter and salt shaker. He got off the bed and stared at it. Walking to the desk he picked the note up and began to read.

Hello Jack, it read.
You and five others have been chosen to play the Midnight Game.
Do not attempt to escape. It will not end well for you.

First, write your first, middle and last name on the paper under this note. Then prick your finger with the knife I have given you. Let a drop of blood hit the paper and soak through.

Leave the room. Take the candle, lighter and salt shaker on the desk with you. Do not take the knife. To your left you will see a large oak door. Place the paper in front of the door. Ignore the other five pieces of paper.

Light the candle and set it on top of your paper. At the stroke of midnight, I know you have a watch Jack, you must knock 22 times on the door, finishing the knocks before 12:01. Open the door and blow out the candle. Then close the door and immediately relight the candle.

You have now allowed the Midnight Man to enter the house. Pick up the lighted candle. You may now roam the house, avoiding the Midnight Man. If your candle goes out, you have 10 seconds to relight it. If you happen to fail in relighting your candle, surround yourself in a circle of salt. If you do surround yourself in salt, you must remain there until the game ends; at exactly 3:33am. If you fail in both of these, the Midnight Man will then induce a hallucination of your worst nightmare, lasting until the game ends.

You will know when the Midnight Man is near when your candle goes out, you feel a sudden drop in temperature, you hear whispers that you can't place or you see a pitch black figure watching you.

Do NOT:
- Disobey the rules
- Turn on any lights
- Use the lighter as a substitute for the candle
- Go to sleep during the game
- Provoke the Midnight Man. He will not be happy.

Good luck Jack. Your mind will never be the same.

Jack was shaking now. He looked at his watch. 11:35. He had better begin. With shaky handwriting, he wrote his name on the paper and pricked his finger, watching the blood drip onto the page.

He grabbed the paper, salt, candle and lighter and left. Looking to his left, he saw the big oak door. There were five other rooms with doors just like his own, except they each had time locks for slightly different times. 12:11, 12:07, 12:04...

He glanced at his watch, seeing it was already 11:55. Time sure flies when you invite an evil spirit into a house. Glancing at the other pages, he saw familiar names written into them. The note said to ignore them, so he did, placing down his own paper and putting the lit candle on top.

At 12:00 exactly, he began.

Knocking 22 times on the door, he saw the time was 12:01. Perfect. He opened the door, blew out the candle and closed it again, hurriedly relighting the candle with fumbling fingers.

He took a deep breath and let it out. He could wait here for the others but it was probably best to move lest the Midnight Man catch him. Pocketing the lighter and salt, he picked up the candle and marched down the hallway.

Jordan
Jordan woke up in a strange room, definitely not his own. He spied a note and some other stuff on a table. Getting up, he went over to read it.

Hello Jordan.
You and five others have been chosen to play the Midnight Game. Do not attempt to escape. It will not end well for you.

[Rules and such]

However Jordan, five of you needn't knock on the door. You are scheduled to leave the room at 11:42. I know you have a watch. Place down the piece of paper. Return to the room before 11:45. You will then be locked in the room until 12:11 when you may leave with your salt, candle and lighter. Light the candle before you leave the room, as the Midnight Man will already be in the house at this time. Survive until 3:33am.

Good luck Jordan. Your mind will never be the same.

Staying calm, he followed all the instructions, grabbing the candle, lighting it and pocketing the lighter and salt shaker. He sat at the edge of the bed, awaiting 12:11.

When the time finally arrived, a clicking noise came from the door. Standing up reluctantly, Jordan slowly opened it. No shadowy figures in sight. There were 6 other doors in the corridor; one being the front door, the others rooms identical to his, except one that didn't have a time lock. All the doors were opened except the front door and another time locked room. The time set on it was 12:15. Jordan wasn't exactly going to wait for whoever was in there.

Goosebumps rising on his arms, he hurried down the corridor away from the rooms. He took a few turns before arriving in a huge dining area. His candle held high in front of him, only lighting up a tiny bit in front of him, Jordan could see old oil paintings of weird looking men in wigs. They all seemed to be glaring at him. He swore their eyes followed him as he moved past them.

A chill went down his spine as Jordan saw the last painting. It was set up as if there should be someone there, but it was empty. They're behind me aren't they? he mentally sighed, bracing himself. Jordan turned around.

One of the wigged men rushed at him, his face comforting and disfiguring in disturbing ways as he screeched. It took all of Jordan's willpower not to scream. The figure reached out his hands as if to grab him and Jordan leaped aside. The man crashed into the painting which rippled like water.

Jordan realized that his candle had dropped, so when he picked it up and held it near the painting, the man was posed perfectly and none of the other men's eyes seemed to follow him anymore.

He scanned the rest of the room, taking in the two long tables and the multiple chairs along them. At the head of the tables were two wooden thrones. In the right throne, staring directly at him, was a pitch black figure with glowing white eyes.

Tom
Tom didn't want to investigate the scream. But he felt inclined to, so he followed the sound to a large hallway lined with windows that showed the stars and moon. It would've been pretty if the next earth-shattering scream didn't ruin it.

Rounding a corner he caught a brief glimpse of a brunette sprinting at him, before he was knocked over by the sheer force of whoever was running. "Jesus, mate", Tom grumbled, getting up.
The brunette stared up at him. "Tom?" he asked.
"Wait, Matt?" Tom responded. He only vaguely knew the guy, he'd never known that Patrick could scream as high-pitched as that.

"What was all that screaming? Scared me half to death", Tom said, helping Matt up.
"I swear to God, Tom, I saw a girl's body in a noose dangling from the ceiling. It dropped down in front of me, oh my God..." Matt babbled. The man was clearly panicking, so Tom reached out and put a hand on his shoulder until his rambles ceased.

"Alright, we should probably take a guess at whoever else is here and see if we can figure out where they would be", Tom reasoned, taking charge whilst Matt sorted himself out.
"Yeah... wait. My wife. What if she's here?"
Tom hesitated for a moment. "She is", he said.
"How do you know?" Matt said after a moment's stunned silence.

"When we had to place down the candles and paper, I was the second to go", Tom explained. "I saw the name on the first one. Stephanie Patrick right?"
"Jesus", Matt said quietly. "Oh God, oh God."
"Relax. We'll find her and the rest of them, you two can have your moment, then we'll all survive until 3:33am. Yeah?"
"Yeah", Matt said. "Yeah ok."