Escape the Night (S1): "It All Comes Crashing Down"

Did Someone Call For An Exorcist? Part 1

"We got it."

Eva's struggling to sound apathetic. 

"What do we do now?"

Silence.

Arthur then slams a few pieces of paper and a black cord down in front of them. 

"This is the ritual from Shane's jacket."

"Shane's jacket?" Tim side-eyes the butler. 

"Why were you snooping through a dead guy's clothes, dude?"

"You did it," mutters Lele.

"That was different! He had just died! We were looking for evidence and shit! Besides, it was Joey who was—"

"Doesn't matter." Matt's voice is sharp enough to cut steel with. 

"Ritual. Now."

Right.

Eva reads.

"The ritual symbol must be drawn in ash and sand seven feet from each side of the center point. Three of the artifacts must be placed onto the marked points of the symbol, while the fourth artifact must be placed in the center of the inner triangle." she finishes. Tim smiles. Okay. 

So this is it. This is all they have to do. One more pinch of crazy demonic shit, and then we can go home. We can live.

"We're gonna go home," Sierra sings in Lele's ear. "We're gonna go shopping." She giggles. "2016!"

The setup process goes by in a blur. Before I know it, the triangles have been drawn, and the artifacts have been placed on their respective points. 

"Looks good." Sierra says.

"Those look like demonic fingerprints," Joey frets, pointing at a few stray fingerprints in the sand.

"Those are mine," says Tim nonchalantly.

"Oh."

I grab the instructions and read the next step aloud.

"One must sit in the center triangle and wrap the black cord around the fourth artifact seven times, while another recites the binding invocation."

"Well, you're all in white," says Tim, indicating Sierra. 

"Are we supposed to sacrifice a virgin?" I chuckle a bit.

"No, no, no..." He's joking. She smiles and we can all tell by the twinkle in his eye, by the cocky little grin sneaking its way across his face. She doesn't expect her friends to take his suggestion seriously...but, much to our terrified surprise, they do.

"You haven't done much, honestly..."

"Yeah, Sierra, why don't you help out the group?"

"Yeah! You haven't! You've just been standing there!"

"Why is everyone ganging up on me?" Sierra moans, choking back tears for the hundredth time tonight. Tim, to his credit, tries to save her. 

"Uh—guys—c'mon—I was joking—" But it's too late. 

"I vote Sierra goes in the center," Joey insists, and the others shout their agreement. Matt turns to her. 

"You gonna do it?" His voice is the tonal equivalent of a shrug. Sierra's hands shake. She sighs, adjusts her tiara, and enters the danger zone. Everyone takes their places around the ring. Arthur dims the lights, and a chill tickles the back of my neck. This is it. If all goes well, the evil will be banished, and we'll be released from the hell that was once his home. But if something goes wrong... It won't.