His face shows that a sudden light is dawning behind his eyes. "Wait -- are these classic movie monsters because they can't be reasoned with?"
"Sure, that and the insatiable murder habit."
Unfortunately, Kari is unable to pry the piece free. It's rusted, but not THAT rusted.
But Kyle steps in and asks if he can have a go at it.
Not mighty enough. He makes a frustrated grunting noise, unable to find another piece of wall in the immediate area that either he or Kari can pull at.
"I hope never to need that knowledge again, but it's useful, so… thanks." He says to Kari as he stares at the wall.
The funhouse is surprisingly clean of things that would be useful to help teenagers escape if they were locked inside.
As soon as Terry bends over to pick up the TREAT, the bats descend on him. They don't seem to be doing much more than being loud and obnoxious, but occasionally they use their little human-like hands to try and get the key away from him, or otherwise get tangled in Terry's hair.
With the roll of the dice, however, the thunderous noise seems to startle the group of bats away from him. You can still hear their titters and giggles nearby, however.
Charlie manages to make his roll as he's arguing the semantics of serial killers with Terry. There's an exaggerated "wah wah waaaahhhhh" noise that reverberates through the sky, and the sound of a clown laughing manically.
Brian declines to weigh in on the discussion or share his knowledge about movie monsters while he makes his roll. And then he cannot weigh in, because like Kari, Brian has gone poof in a cloud of purple smoke, leaving Charlie and Terry alone together in the circus.
Alas! Your 1 on the board has caused you to be whisked away to… where?
You're inside a house that looks like it belongs in a furniture catalog. There are absolutely no personal touches in the room aside from generic Halloween decorations.
"I have a knife, don’t come any closer!" You hear the voice of a panicked teenage boy coming from the kitchen. "I'll… stab you!" He definitely does not sound like he's actually going to stab anything.
"Ugh, rabies shots," Terry turns to Brian to say something additionally, just catching the purple smoke of Brian's vanishing.
Terry rolls his eyes. "Just typical," he grouses, and continues on toward the funhouse.
"Should we be splitting up like this? This feels like a bad idea."
Brian declines to weigh in on the discussion or share his knowledge about movie monsters while he makes his roll. And then he cannot weigh in, because like Kari, Brian has gone poof in a cloud of purple smoke, leaving Charlie and Terry alone together in the circus.
"Oh come on!"
"Should we be splitting up like this? This feels like a bad idea."
"This is a terrible idea. Just textbook bad. I don't recall getting a choice in the matter, though."
Terry nods to Charlie. "I wasn't sure if the doomed feeling was from the surroundings or what was happening or just teenage hormones."
"Glad to know the answer is yes."
"Panicked teenaged boy" is the sort of thing Brian actually knows how to deal with, as opposed to slasher movie monsters.
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't," he says calmly. "My name is Brian. Are you a friend of Amelia's?"
Terry nods to Charlie. "I wasn't sure if the doomed feeling was from the surroundings or what was happening or just teenage hormones."
"Glad to know the answer is yes."
A jittery Charlie says, "So... do you have an iTunes account? Spotify...?"
"I hope never to need that knowledge again, but it's useful, so… thanks." He says to Kari as he stares at the wall.
"You really are doing a good job at keeping an even keel, Kyle." Kari says, looking at the teen. "Even if we don't get out of here on our own, my team will come and find us." She shrugs, "You are one of the people we are here to find. I'm just not good at being still to be found."
A jittery Charlie says, "So... do you have an iTunes account? Spotify...?"
"I do," Terry says. "At home. Also Pandora, Tidal, one of everything. Here?"
He pulls out the cassette case again. "Here I have a Walkman with 23 songs on a 120-minute tape."
He frowns. "I didn't use 120-minute tapes when I was this age. They tend to stretch over time. Never longer than a 90."
Terry peers at Charlie, then nods.
"I do," Terry says. "At home. Also Pandora, Tidal, one of everything. Here?"
He pulls out the cassette case again. "Here I have a Walkman with 23 songs on a 120-minute tape."
He frowns. "I didn't use 120-minute tapes when I was this age. They tend to stretch over time. Never longer than a 90."
Terry peers at Charlie, then nods.
Charlie nods, his nerves getting back under control. "I prefer physical media myself."
"I do as well, but it gets out of control fairly quickly."
Terry pauses for a moment, and adds, "I had to move around a lot when I was younger."
"Do we have a strategy for this, or is it find Kari and Brian and kids and get out as fast as possible?"
"Do we have a strategy for this, or is it find Kari and Brian and kids and get out as fast as possible?"
"That's kind of where my head was. I don't think this place technically functions on horror movie rules, which is good news on some level, but bad news from the standpoint that it's harder to predict." Charlie glances around, making sure he knows where all the shadows are. "I wish I had my Ardeyn powers."
A flash of realization dawns on his face and he unfurls he scroll
"Sound strategy," Terry says. "A variant on my usual wing it until I figure out what's going on."
Terry peers off toward the funhouse. "If there were video games, I would be tempted to look for quarters. But I don't want to stick my fingers where I can't see them."
Although Terry's roll is not particularly good…
It's enough.
The final die thunders through the sky. Fireworks go off above you, and all of the game machines in the circus start flashing and clanging and generally causing a ruckus.
Around one of the booths, Terry and Charlie are pretty sure they catch a glimpse of white hockey mask.
There is a glowing beam of orange light in the distance, and from where Charlie and Terry are standing, they can't tell where it lands. But they'd be safe in assuming that's the actual 'end' goal of the game.
The panicked teenage boy lowers the comically large butcher's knife, clutching his chest with his free hand.
"Jeez, guy, you almost got stabbed." He says with bravado that's one octave too high. He doesn't relinquish his hold on the knife, but he does relax slightly when he sees Brian.
"Yeah, I am. I'm Eric. I don't know you… how do you know Amelia? Do you go to our school? Where are we, anyway?"
"Thanks, I'm really glad Amelia found someone who could help us." He shuffles his feet, trying halfheartedly to pull random things off the wall as he finds them. He seems to be drifting along the edges of the funhouse, checking to see if Kari is following or going elsewhere.
After poking around in the walls and nooks and crannies of the funhouse... Kari does press her hand against a little toy that buzzes her and gives a very clownish laugh.
"So uh… do you know where we are? Are we still in Gwen's house, or somewhere else?"
At the gates of the funhouse, there's an empty podium where a ride operator should be standing. The doors of the funhouse are closed, and if you try to push on them, you also find that they're locked.
Charlie unfolds a note from the Trapper Keeper.
The note has "Charlie S" written on the front of it in cutesey, curly lettering. The handwriting inside is very neat, and very feminine.
... There are little hearts and stars on it, as befitting a folded up note found inside a Lisa Frank trapper keeper. The note says:
Oh paradox, he fligglesniffed
Waving fingers by my ear
A breath, a baskell baited breath
Dapplebeen in sunnywise
We twixt thine being vineously
Pining though and podding scanting
His smile like a hidden light
Moonsy in the gloaming night
I owe you an actual poem, but I couldn't resist Vogoning a little bit. Enjoy your trip... be safe.
Elswhene, Sabine
The note smells very faintly of sunny summer meadows.
From somewhere nearby the funhouse, Charlie and Terry hear a distinct and the sound of someone fumbling and tripping over themselves to move quickly in the opposite direction.
Charlie also finds, with a little bit of extra searching, a button on the underside of the empty podium. Depressing it yields a little 'click' noise that would have been easy to miss if he was not searching specifically for a way into the funhouse.
The funhouse front door is now unlocked.
"So uh… do you know where we are? Are we still in Gwen's house, or somewhere else?"
"It's really is like Jumanji," Kari says as she takes a deep breath, worring her bottom lip, "this is a real life simulation that is tied to the physical board game at Gwen's house, so you are both at her house and in pocket dimension elsewhere."
A smile and a deep breath, "First things first," she holds up the TRICK she just found. "Have you already gotten your own TRICK and TREAT?"
"You'll need those to get out of the game."
A breath out, "Okay, we've tried all the smart ways to get out of here, so now we are left with the stupid." A beat, "You know there are monsters and movie villians in this game world which is why I've avoided the screaming for help, I don't know if my team or the monsters would show up first. However, the walls do look to be made of wood and I do have a bludgeoning object. Do you want to take the risk of something bad being drawn by the loud repetive noise of trying to beat ourselves out of here?"
The funhouse door swings open, Kari flashlight in hand ready to use it, with a teenage boy behind her.
As Charlie reads the note, he initially snorts in laughter, then his expression softens into a smile, then his eyes widen and he lets out an almost Keanu-like "Whoa."
He folds the note, passes it under his nose, then tucks it into the breast pocket of his teal shirt.
"Hey, Terry? Stick close. I've got an aura going that might actually protect us from Jason and Michael. And Freddy, if he shows up."
"Yeah, I am. I'm Eric. I don't know you… how do you know Amelia? Do you go to our school? Where are we, anyway?"
Brian keeps his 'relaxed and in charge' demeanor up. "Nice to meet you Eric. Amelia called for help when you and your friends disappeared. She's been very worried about you."
He looks around the room. "Where are we? In one sense I think we're in the Fun House in the carnival. I could be wrong about that, though. But in a more important sense, we are in the game. The 'Game of Screams' you and your friends started playing that Amelia didn't want to have anything to do with."
"My teammates and I are trying to rescue you and your friends. Finding you is step one, so we're making progress."
"Well that sucks," Kyle says, succinctly. "I'm even more glad you and your team showed up, then. I can't imagine staying in here forever. Did you know fu… freakin' Jason Vorhees is out there? I saw him before I got stuck in here, and I've been afraid he's somewhere in here with me ever since."
He crosses his arms against his chest. When Kari offers one of her TRICKS or TREATS, he holds up a foil wrapped key. "I got one of these, so I think I have at least one of what I need? I don't know."
"I'm not at all against the idea. I tried to kick through a few doors before, but couldn't find any that gave way, even though they all seem so rickity."
He seems totally game to help Kari punch or kick or bludgeon through some doors.
… Which turns out, thankfully, not to be necessary, as she hears the click of a lock disengaging.
The door to the funhouse opens, revealing Kari standing in front of a scared looking teenage boy. He's got the pallor of an already pale person who's been through something harrowing.
"Oh thank god, you're not monsters." He says, looking thoroughly relieved. "Kari was about to break that door down. It was pretty bad ass."
Although he gives Kari props, he wastes no time trying to scoot around her if she's not already on her way out of the funhouse, so he can get some fresh air. He takes a few deep breaths, closing his eyes and turning his head to the sky. He looks on the verge of passing out.
Eric seems to calm by degrees as Brian talks. "You uh… yeah. Totally makes sense. A game came alive and ate us. Why not."
Brian and Eric are standing in the nondescript and non-decorated living room of a house. The front door is locked if Brian tries it, and through the windows, he can see out onto a leaf-littered street. There are glowing pumpkins outside the door.
"I'm glad Amelia didn't play then. Gwen teased her a bunch for it, but Amelia is pretty stubborn about s$!$ … stuff like that." He looks quickly to Brian after the cuss. "I don't mean to be rude, but uh… you don't sound like a teenager. You kinda remind me of the principal at my high school."
"Glad to see you found one," Terry says to Kari. "Now we just need to find the other kids. ...and Brian."
To the kid, Terry says, "Stick close to Charlie there. Not that close."
"You two okay?"
Brian chuckles as he looks around for a way out. "No, I'm not a teenager. Used to be a priest, though."
As he sees the outside view, Brian says "I was wrong about the Fun House. But I think two of your friends are in a house near this one." He pulls out the piece of paper he found earlier and shows it to Eric.
"Oh thank god, you're not monsters." He says, looking thoroughly relieved. "Kari was about to break that door down. It was pretty bad ass."
Although he gives Kari props, he wastes no time trying to scoot around her if she's not already on her way out of the funhouse, so he can get some fresh air. He takes a few deep breaths, closing his eyes and turning his head to the sky. He looks on the verge of passing out.
"Kari is an idiot who needs to start carrying a set of lockpicks because that would have taken forever." She quickly scoots out, "Kyle, this is Charlie and Terry. Terry, Charlie, this is Kyle Langston, one of people playing with Gwen." She looks around, "Did Bryan win and get pulled out of the game?"
"Now we just need to find the other kids. ...and Brian."
"So that is a no. Who won?" She holds up the TRICK she found, "I have two now and Kyle has one."
"Any leads to Gwen, Eric, or Izzy? Or Bryan?" She pauses, "If he disappeared like I did, he might be locked in a location with very little in the way of break-out supplies."
"You two okay?"
"Safe as funhouses."
"We know where the exit is," Terry points to the orange glow in the distance.
"And we have an address where we think another kid or two might be," Terry adds. "It's on a piece of paper that Brian...." He trails off.
"Yeah, so."
"And we have an address where we think another kid or two might be," Terry adds. "It's on a piece of paper that Brian...." He trails off.
"This is why I overshare information," Kari says, "Too much information is a better problem to have than too little."
She considers, "Address doesn't seem very carnival-y, so in the town?" She motions around, "Or do we have more places here to check that might have people locked up?"
Kari looks around for any other structures that would allow for trapped people.
Kyle gives a wave once he is sure he's not about to hyperventilate.
"Hey Charlie, Terry. I mean like, no one thinks to carry lockpicks usually, unless they're criminals." He says, still trying to be supportive of Kari's choices. "Or feds. Are you guys feds?"
"You two okay?"
"Safe as funhouses."
Kyle gives a snort that's almost a laugh.
Kari's focus on investigation and Spinner's encouragement draws enough of the memory of Brian's paper from you all. From that memory, you can navigate fairly confidently towards the house. The address was "#17 Skeleton Lane", and if you follow Spooky Ave backwards the houses, away from the circus, you find the second cross street is Skeleton Lane… and the houses are very clearly numbered under warm, glowing porch lights. Additionally, you all are able to pick up on the more subtle cues - pumpkins marking a pathway from the circus through the town, and one house in particular that isn't the address you're looking for, but has different faces carved on the pumpkins than any you've seen so far. They look more... human.
As you head away from the circus, you see Michael Myers lurking down the street, or between houses. But he seems to be keeping a respectable distance from your group.
You also hear a deep, gravelly laugh echoing between the buildings, and you suspect you're being watched by a monster you haven't directly encountered yet.
"That sounds dangerous. Sleep is amazing."
"Right?" She throws her hands up as she says it. She's definitely a hand talker. "Who could go without dreaming?"
"Which part are you from? We only visited a teeny part of the up top and a teeny part of the down below."
Zaika laughs. "Ardeyn can be pretty intense, even for those of us who lived there. Ruk is a whole different thing. I'd say it's more intense. Did I say 'intense' enough times?" She shakes her head. "Anyway, I'm from the Sunflower Ziggurat. I'm a sky baby," she wiggles her fingers in an upwardly direction. "What teeny parts of the top and bottom did you see? And did you like what you saw?"
Aleph agrees that he'd rather not ruin his appetite before a big meal, but thanks Dia just the same.
"Intent, you aren't asking with the intent of harm. People get upset, they say things they don't mean to, that happens. Intent matters to me."
Aleph says 'ah' in the way that's almost noiseless. "Intent should matter to more people."
"So boarding school, controlled environment, lots of dealing with people 24-7 even if when you wanted to scream. Great training for dealing with retail customers."
"That doesn't sound so different from being conscripted to join a faction," he says, crossing his arms on the table and leaning forward slightly. "How often did you see your family while attending boarding school? I don't know much about education structure on Earth other than it exists."
"The sheer options of what there is available to learn makes it really easy to skim right past things that might be more useful."
He nods. "Plus, you were introduced to the Strange what… a week or two ago? There's no reason for you to cram all of that information into your head, I just wanted to make sure I didn't tell you something you already knew a lot about." He smiles, then continues.
"So in a nutshell, a lot of the comfort that people enjoy in Ruk comes at a bit of a cost. Everyone usually must pledge allegiance to a faction. Factions are… political, corporate, religious, all of that sort of mashed together. In particular, there are two of these factions that are directly opposed to one another. The Karum, which are a group of people that believe Ruk's destiny can never be fulfilled while we… they are tied to Earth. They're extremists for the most part, they often attempt to infiltrate Earth, and they're doing their best to draw Planetovores to Earth by way of destroying recursions or bringing cyphers back to Earth to use maliciously."
He takes another sip of sparkling lemonade. The scent of lemons in both drinks complements the faint scent of whatever it is Aleph is wearing.
"The Quiet Cabal exists to challenge the Karum. That faction works directly with the Estate, and houses some Estate members to keep a watch on Karum activity on Ruk and elsewhere. So I feel very fortunate that at least, I was conscripted on what feels like the 'right' side of things." He says with a wry smile. "But patching up genetically modified, or bio modified people is a lot of work for a kid. I got a few updates of my own," he holds his free hand out. It's steady as stone. "The hands of a sculptor… or a surgeon. I had to go through medical schooling to get the technical details, but my innate ability means that I don't necessarily need to know which bone connects where to figure out how to help someone heal." He doesn't elaborate on any other updates in particular, but more because he doesn't want to wall of text Kari, rather than he's being shy about sharing details.
"So that's how I ended up at the Estate. My faction already worked with them, and when Katherine caught wind of my abilities, she asked Ruk to lend me as often as possible, and that turned into a conversion into Agent-hood and, oddly enough, my personal freedom. I still help fight Karum whenever I can, but… I owe my freedom to Katherine and the Estate. And so, here I am."
Kyle gives a wave once he is sure he's not about to hyperventilate.
"Hey Charlie, Terry. I mean like, no one thinks to carry lockpicks usually, unless they're criminals." He says, still trying to be supportive of Kari's choices. "Or feds. Are you guys feds?"
Charlie indicates his fluffy, aggressive mullet. "This haircut wouldn't fly at Quantico."
Kyle laughs at that.
"I don't know, you might be undercover. Wait..." he looks at Kari. "She told me you guys are here looking different than you normally do." He gestures to himself; he's garbed in 80's gear, but otherwise wouldn't look out of place in 2020, physically. "I don't look much different. I'd never wear these pants except maybe to a costume party, but like..."
He squints as though he can see underneath the aggressive mullet. Then makes the same searching look at Terry.
"So I'm guessing you don't have the mullet normally? Are you like, my parent's ages? Should I be calling you sir?" He's smiling, but it's a smile made of glass as he seems to be slipping into some sort of quiet existential crisis while again acknowledging what an abnormal situation he's standing in.
Kari starts to steer the group towards the nearer of the address house or the humanesque pumpkin house. "I'm definitely not your parents age," she eyes Charlie and Terry, "Maybe Terry if your parents had you when they were in high school." She smiles, "Don't worry about it, think of it as incredibly realistic virtual gaming and our normal bodies didn't fit the avatars availability."
"And private investigators need lock picks, I'm a fan of the Thomas Magnum school of private investigations. You can also order them online along with training on how to pick locks, although I believe that there is an averment that you are learning for educational purposes only." She shrugs, "Never had the spare money to order for myself."
"That doesn't sound so different from being conscripted to join a faction," he says, crossing his arms on the table and leaning forward slightly. "How often did you see your family while attending boarding school? I don't know much about education structure on Earth other than it exists."
"Boarding schools in general tend to exist for the higher socioeconomic side of the equation, places for your kids to learn what they need to and be tended without interfering in your life." She smiles, "Not actually the case for my parents, I got in on a scholarship which covered tuition and boarding, but money to visit Mom down in the islands or Dad whereever in the world he was, not so much." She smiles, "I flew down at Christmas and spent that time with Mom and, once they were around, my much much younger siblings. One summer I was supposed to meet Dad in France, but it fell through and I ended up using the money for my security and first month rent."
"Plus, you were introduced to the Strange what… a week or two ago?
She nods, "Feels like its been at least a month or two, but time is fluid when you don't have a set schedule."
Kari listens carefully to Aleph, smiling a little at the end, "For those of us here, I'm glad that the Estate created a means to your personal freedom." She thinks for a moment, "With the lucky privilege of being from a modern first-world country, since I know there are places on Earth that make picking a faction and living and dying for it still a luxury, does everyone on Ruk have to make their choice so early? Or were you a special case?" She shakes her head, "I mean I've seen studies on the changes in brain structure in humans when we're exposed to things our bodies and minds aren't ready for, as advanced as Ruk is technically, it seems odd that they'd possibly handicap their population."
"Are you like, my parent's ages? Should I be calling you sir?"
Terry gives Kyle the once-over. "Depends on how old you are, but I was about this age in the 80s, so probably old enough." He gestures to himself, then shrugs. "Don't call me sir. When we find Brian again, you can sir him all you like."
Terry pulls out his Walkman, pops the cassette out, flips it over, presses play, and tucks it back away. "Don't miss these days."
Terry peers into the windows as the group passes houses. "We can't be lucky enough to see them from the outside, can we?"
"It was very intense," Terry agrees. "Even the colors were intense. We saw a little village called Efeler, walked through about four hours of woods to a crypt, and went into the ... Underside? Underdark? Down under?"
Terry frowns a bit as he fumbles for the name.
"I drank beer. We met an elf, some dwarfs, and a whole lot of trees. I will be honest, I don't know what the Sunflower Ziggurat is. We were supposed to show up at Hazzarium and travel from there, but we dropped in right at Efeler."
"I liked what I saw, but I saw so little. What's a sky baby? Apart from--" Terry gestures at Zaika, "--you?"
"Because the mental image I get is cherubs from Valentine cards."
...and he doesn't elaborate further, but his face suggests there is more.
"My parents are pretty young, but not that young," Kyle agrees vaguely, looking around the village and jumping at almost every single out of place sound effect as you walk towards the house.
He seems content to call none of you 'sir'.
"Don't miss these days."
"I wouldn't either. You can put what… like… eight or nine songs on that thing?" Kyle asks, jerking his head around behind him when he thinks he spots someone following your group.
Terry can, in fact, see Brian and a dark skinned teenager standing inside the house.
The door is locked, because of course it is. And the shrill laughter of child-faced bats echoes between the buildings as they flutter over your heads again, keeping a bit more distance from you now. Kyle makes a 'blech!' noise and turns his head away from them, refusing to look at the bats any closer than he just did.
"Jesus Christ. I'm never going to play a board game again, I don't know why I let Gwen talk me into this…" he mutters.
Kari does check around for a hide-a-key before going through the effort of looking for a pry bar (because she had horrible luck finding one last time).
"Jesus Christ. I'm never going to play a board game again, I don't know why I let Gwen talk me into this…" he mutters.
"Don't say that. There are a ton of fun board games and most don't pull you into an alternative reality. And now you know when one does, immediately reach out for help."
Charlie takes a quick breather.
Then picks up a big rock from the garden and chucks it through a window.
"Don't say that. There are a ton of fun board games and most don't pull you into an alternative reality. And now you know when one does, immediately reach out for help."
"I don't know, man. I stayed away from board games for a long time, first one I played, blam, I'm in a funhouse." He shakes his head. "I used to say board games were for nerds. This must be karma."
When Charlie chucks the garden rock against the window, it bounces off and lands on the porch with a loud thud. No cracks appear in the glass, and it seems relatively unharmed.
... But then the window falls into the house, in one piece, still without breaking once it hits the floor inside the home.
"F@&@!" The kid inside yells, diving behind the nondescript couch in the living room. He peeks from behind it, seeing a group of not-monsters standing outside, and he stands up and brushes himself off casually.
"I threw so much s~#@ at that window before..." the teen inside says, looking less terrified and more annoyed. "Nothing makes sense here. I hate it." He says firmly.
"At least you were stuck in a house, Eric. I was in a funhouse, and it was not fun." Kyle says in response.
"I used to say board games were for nerds. This must be karma."
"It isn't like being a nerd or a geek is a bad thing." Kari says dryly.
... But then the window falls into the house, in one piece, still without breaking once it hits the floor inside the home.
"Very nice, Charlie." She waves at Brian, "Glad you found," she looks at the kid with a smile, "Eric?"
"I threw so much s+&@ at that window before..." the teen inside says, looking less terrified and more annoyed. "Nothing makes sense here. I hate it." He says firmly.
"At least you were stuck in a house, Eric. I was in a funhouse, and it was not fun." Kyle says in response.
"I tried Kyle," Kari says in flat tone that should indicate she's joking. "It's a board game, it is much easier to break out the prisoners than to free yourself."
"Ready to go rescue Gwen and Izzy?"
Brian climbs out of the window, making sure Eric is following.
"Yes, this is Eric." Brian starts making introductions. "Eric, this is Kari. This is Charlie. And this is Terry. With a 'Y'."
Brian looks up and down the street to orient himself. "Gwen and Izzy shouldn't be far."
"Better funplex than funhouse," Terry says. "Please to meet you."
"Don't worry Kyle, Eric, if this was really the 80s, after we all got back to Greenlake, Nancy Reagan would step out from behind the davenport and tell us all to Just Say No to drugs."
Terry shakes his head at this. "As though the history of rock and roll meant nothing."
"Don't worry Kyle, Eric, if this was really the 80s, after we all got back to Greenlake, Nancy Reagan would step out from behind the davenport and tell us all to Just Say No to drugs."
Kari looks just as confused, if not more so, than the actual teenagers.
Kari looks just as confused, if not more so, than the actual teenagers.
Terry rolls his eyes, then realizes she's being serious. "Oh come on, I'm not that old. Brian? Charlie?"
Terry rolls his eyes, then realizes she's being serious. "Oh come on, I'm not that old. Brian? Charlie?"
"Former first lady, right? I didn't know she was famous for hiding behind davenports."
Terry slaps his forehead in typical teenage high-drama style.
"Ugh. I am that old!"
"It isn't like being a nerd or a geek is a bad thing." Kari says dryly.
Kyle shrugs, looking a little uncomfortable. "I mean I guess I'm a nerd for hockey?" He offers after a few long moments.
Standing in front of the house, Eric and Kyle stand next to each other, arms almost touching, and slightly removed from the rest of the group.
"I thought Regan was the 70s?" Kyle asks, to the group but mostly as an aside to Eric.
"No, man, we just had a test on this. Regan was '81 to '89."
"Right, yeah, the 80's, okay."
"Did you even pay attention while we were studying this shi… stuff the other night?"
Kyle gives Eric a look that indicates that he was paying more attention to Eric than any studying they were trying to do.
"I mean kind of, I just don't really care about politics, I guess," Kyle says sheepishly. Eric rolls his eyes, elbowing his friend.
"You're gonna be lucky to escape that class with a C."
"Ugh. I am that old!"
"Well you don't look a day over like 16 now!" Eric says, trying to cheer Terry up.
The walk to the final address is not far - one "block" down and over leads you to another house where the pumpkins in front have green fire glowing on the candles inside. Contrary to the house Brian and Eric were in… the front door on this house is already wide open.
Charlie dons the LED harness and walks inside, brave as can be.
"Well you don't look a day over like 16 now!" Eric says, trying to cheer Terry up.
"Thanks," Terry says, offering a wan smile to Eric, and turning up the volume on his tunes.
Terry walks in after Charlie, as alert as he can be.
Charlie immediately discovers the reason the front door is open, by way of a large butcher's knife being swung down on him when he steps into the house.
Michael Myers isn't the talking sort. But as the knife pierces your skin, you get a Flash of Insight.
You're someone's Laurie Strode
You missed the forest for the trees when you stepped inside the house, and Michael Myers, for the moment, seems completely unphased by the note you're carrying in your pocket.
However, his next swing of the knife is stopped by the LED cypher you've activated, taking you out of phase and unable to be attacked.
The Halloween movie theme tickles your ears, and you hear the voices of two women screaming from upstairs...
... then flying downstairs as two teens, one Hispanic and the other as pale as Kyle charge towards the Shape that pushed Charlie into the living room with the force of his attack.
They are swinging what appear to be toy bats at Michael Myers, who seems not to notice them at all. The girls don't seem to register Terry standing in the doorway either as they swing their bats at the monster.
"It isn't like being a nerd or a geek is a bad thing." Kari says dryly.Kyle shrugs, looking a little uncomfortable. "I mean I guess I'm a nerd for hockey?" He offers after a few long moments.
Kari waves her hand, "I generally prefer geek, if only because the historical carny geek is so different from the current use."
Since guns didn't work before, Terry attempts to knock Michael down and away.
Brian moves to interpose himself between the girls and Meyers, staff at the ready.
Completely unbefitting an encounter with Michael Myers, the resulting melee is more comedic than terrifying.
"Come on, Michael! Over here! Come and get me!" Charlie calls, leading Michael away from the others. As his LED harness is active, Myers' knife slides cleanly through Charlie without impact or damage. He turns instead to face the girls hitting him with bats.
At that point, Kari moves past Terry and squeezes the clown horn that Brian gave her to disorient Myers. The loud Squeaka squeaka! noise does the trick, and he seems unsure of who to turn towards to attack.
Brian moves to interpose himself between the girls and Meyers, staff at the ready. The two girls stand back when they realize the cavalry has arrived, running away from the chaos in the living room to hug Eric and Kyle and move a few steps back into the kitchen.
Since guns didn't work before, Terry attempts to knock Michael down and away. Using teenager agility, he makes a short dash to build up momentum for a flying kick that catches the killer right in his broad chest, knocking him through a window behind him. Again, the glass doesn't break, but instead pops out of the frame, with Michael right behind it.
Anyone looking out the window sees that Myers is gone.
"What the f&*% just happened?" Gwen Delfino asks, mouth agape as she witnesses a horror legend getting juggled, clown-horned, and kicked out a window.
"I'm pretty sure they're feds," Eric whispers loudly to her.
"That answers literally none of the question."