Star Trek: Starbase 777 - haunted-house

The haunted house was an imposing, darkly coloured structure set up quite near the main circus tent, contrasting massively with its red and white exterior. It had nobody walking around it, even though most of the rest of the terrain had all manner of workers and guests traversing it. Signs outside warned the faint of heart not to go in... while simultaneously beckoning the daring and bold to test their resolve.

Maggie waddled up to the house like a penguin, she was dressed up as a giant wormhole, with a big suit (like a big burger suit) clearly based on the Bajoran Wormhole. “Hello? I scare easy! So go easy on me! Please!”

Vanik, not dressed up but rather dressed down by Vulcan standards, walked over to the Haunted House entrance, intrigued by its appearance and its lack of people walking near. He saw someone dressed up as a wormhole off to the side and walked up to them. "Greetings, I am Vanik. Are you going inside the house that claims to be haunted?"

“AHHHH!” Maggie said as she ducked behind a pillar of the house, spooked by the Vulcan appearing. “Are you a ghost?”

"I am a corporeal Vulcan. I do not believe in ghosts." He stood very still, gazing at Maggie the Worm Hole.

“Oh! Okay! I’m Maggie! I’m here for the house.” She said with an awkward run of her head.

Vanik nodded. "Greetings, Maggie. I am also here to experience the Haunted House. I am interested in learning more about this phenomenon. Would you mind if I accompany you?"

“Sure!” She nodded. “That’s fine!”

Vanik made a quiet humming noise in affirmation and then turned to walk toward the door/entrance to the Haunted House tent. "I believe we enter over here." He said gently, waiting for Maggie and then walking side by side to enter.

Wanting to not be in completely alone, Melody noticed two people she was unfamiliar with, and scurried up to meet them. "Hello!! Can I join you both??" Melody asked politely. "Pretty please with whipped cream on top??"

A long hallway loomed in front of them, dimly lit by flickering lights. Six doors.

1

Vanik peered over his ridiculously tall shoulder at Melody the Baker and nodded. "Yes, you may join. I am Vanik. It is a pleasure to meet you." He turned his attention back to the hallway before them and considered which door to open first. "I believe the purpose of this hallway is to guide us through the experience. Though it appears we have a choice to make. Which door would either of you like to open first? I believe we could work our way through the apparatus methodically, unless you have a preference."

"Yay!! Thank you!!" Melody replied. "Melody Marshall! Singing baker! Nice to meetcha!" Melody said. "Nice to meet you too, uh, whatever your name is, friend!" Melody addressed Maggie. Well, here goes nothing - Melody peered into the hallway to see what was going on. Flickering lights? Six doors? Which one to choose?? "Uhhh... eenie, meenie, meinie mo, catch a Tiger by-- oh goodness, I don't even want THAT to choose!" Melody said. "Uhhhh... that one? Second one on the right?" All of a sudden Melody regretted her decision, but stuck with it. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"You chose the second door from the right. I accept this choice." Vanik peered down at Maggie-the-Wormhole. "Are you ready?" Even though Vanik had some issues with anxiety, he was not afraid. Haunted Houses, from what he understood, were designed to scare people to induce adrenaline for fun. He did not have a reaction to adrenaline the same way that many did, so he believed with the power of being a follower of Surak that he would be fine.

Maggie was an anxious mess but she gave a nod. “Yes, I’m ready! Let’s do this!”

"As you wish." Vanik made a small hum and walked toward the second door from the right and opened it.

The room was empty; hardly any light besides a violet lamp. Furniture scattered around the room arranged almost like a living room, covered in dust and white sheets.

2

Melody looked inside to see the room was empty - arguably that was scarier than if someone was already inside and just popped out to scare the group! She examined more of the room where she could - white sheets? The dust -- oh no. The sheets were being used to cover the furniture from the dust... someone was coming back... "I think we're gonna have company..."

"It does not appear that anyone is in this room. Somehow it is dusty, though this tent has been here less than a full day's rotation. Curious." He took a step insdie, hands now dangling at his side.

A soft humming filled the air, ethereal and faraway in nature as a chill ran through the room. The lights flickered and died as wood scraped against the floor, all of the furniture dragged away from the center of the floor. Blood began to leak from the ceiling, dripping onto the floor and walls.

“AHHHH! AHHH! AHH! THERES BLOOD!” Cue Maggie running around like SpongeBob with an on fire brain,

Since Melody knew music and sound, as well as the science behind sound, as soon as she heard the soft humming filling the air, she knew something was definitely making that sound. Be it a speaker or... Something else. She didn't know for sure, even though it was probably just a speaker. But then the lights flickered out, the furniture moved AND blood leaked from the ceiling?? Melody toughed it out as much as she could, breathing in and out. If Maggie's reaction was anything to go by, she needed to surpass it. "It's scary... But that's okay. It's scary but that's okay. It's scary but that's okay." She repeated a few times to herself, while staying put where she was. Inside she was panicking. But on the outside she needed to be brave.

A sinister giggle followed as the door to the hallway swung open, slamming against the wall in a way that made the whole room tremble.

1

“AHHHH AHHH AHHH AHHH AHH!” She screamed, running around in a circle.

"AAAH--!" Melody flinched as she looked behind her, but she stood her ground. She needed to be brave -- she needed to be... Brave! Come on! Come on... Her body began to tremble as Maggie screamed. "Actually keep screaming so I don't have to," Melody asked Maggie. "It helps." As she looked at the open door. "I mean... We can leave the room, it's letting us leave!" As she took a step in the direction of the door, fully prepared in case it closed on its own again. (edited)

Nope. Still open.

Oh! Okay! Melody just stepped on out of the room back into the hallway! "Well... That's not so bad!" Melody said. "I expected it to be worse! If that's what each room is gonna be like, then the rest of this should be a piece of cake, right? Right...?" Melody obviously had never been to any haunted houses in her life... Of course on the inside she was terrified, she just didn't want to show it. (edited)

Vanik heard the noise first with sensitive Vulcanoid ears. He turned his head, trying to figure out where the sond was coming from when suddenly the room's layout changed and there was blood and moving furniture. He raised an eyebrow, looking down at the shorter folks that had accompanied him into the room. They seemed very afraid. At this point, Vanik was confused, but not afraid yet. "Maggie," Vanik said calmly to the screaming-wormhole, "this room is certainly doing what it is designed to do. But we may move on to the next?" He looked over at Melody who had left the room and walked in her direction, hopefully ushering the screaming wormhole out of the bloody mess as well.

Five doors left.

13:40

(though, of course, you aren't obligated to go through them all.)

Vanik waited for Melody and Maggie to exit, then made his way to the next door on the right and opened it, not knowing what to expect.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Another long hallway, but with no doors this time. The only thing at the end was a large grandfather clock. Shadows moved along the floors. Tick. Tick. Tick.

"Well, go on then," came a whispery cheerful voice from behind the trio. "Don't be shy."

"Hh--huh??" Melody said. "Who---i-it's just a speaker! It's just an audio recording! It has to be! Yep! Nooooobody else! Nothing else there! Nope! Nooooope!" Melody hoped it was just a recording... as she looked at the grandfather clock, noticing the shadows that moved along the floors... "Heh... I know what that is! I'm not scared of a grandfather clock!" Her feeble attempt to try and trash-talk at the grandfather clock obviously wasn't the best tactic...

Whoever was behind prodded Melody gently in the back, prompting her to move forward into the hallway. "We don't have all day!" they giggled.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!" Melody wailed, as she nearly zoomed into the hallway. "WHO WAS THAT?? OHHH MY---hoo," Melody said. "Nope! I'm not scared! That was just an animatronic! It had to have just been! They're not real! They can't see us! They don't know my name!"

The door slammed shut behind them, and the lock clicked. Only way to go was forward, huh.

Huh!? "AHh--! No! We're locked in!!" Melody said, as she could only look at and then step forward towards the grandfather clock. "ohhh jeez... this is... this is fine... I'm fine! I'm fiiinneeee, I'm finnnneeeee..." Melody said aloud, trying to keep her composure but utterly failing. It was rather amusing, actually. "this is just a haunted house attraction! It's not actually haunted! It's all for the scares! Yeah! Toootally fine! Absolutely fine!" (edited)

"Something touched you?" Vanik asked Melody, now slightly concerned. And then the lock clicked. Now he was starting to feel a bit uneasy. The hallway was one thing, the logical way to get through the attraction was to go travel through it. But being locked in seemed...wrong. "We must move forward so that we may exit. Remain calm, unless you are enjoying being afraid. I will walk forward now."

Deeper into the darkness— something sticky, something clinging to faces and shoulders, something that was too dark to see. "What do you think, Tibi?" Another voiced mused, a little lower than the other. "Have we caught something worth eating?" The first giggled. "I don't know, but I do so love to watch them squirm~"

Melody immediately froze in the center of the room, her body trembling as she looked from side to side at the voices that were speaking. "Uhhhh... I'm too sweet! I have way too much sugar in me! You wouldn't like it! Or--actually, you know what? I'm too sour! I have a ton of malic acid in me! It's going to be too sour for you! Or don't eat me, eat them!" As she pointed to Vanik and Maggie.

1

"Hello?" Vanik called out into the sticky, disgusting abyss.

“WHAT! YOU BITCH!” She said before leaping into Vanik’s arms like the Scooby to his shaggy (somehow even in the dark). “Save me Vanik!”

A silhouette swung down from the ceiling, hanging upside down directly face-to-face with the trio.

"Boo!" The masked figure laughed, high pitched and merry.

Melody of course jumped at seeing this, her legs stepping off and on the ground like a jackhammer. "AAHHHHHH!!" She screamed, completely abandoning the 'not-scared' look...

Vanik stood still, holding Maggie so that she didn't fall. The actor dropped down and he flinched ever so slightly, blinking, but not dropping Maggie or taking a step backward. He could, however, feel his heartbeat increasing.

"Can you hear their little hearts racing?" A voice from behind, this time, hanging upside down in the same way as the first figure. "What a rush!"

“AGHHHHHHH! AHHH!” She said as she began to shake like a cartoon in Vaink’s arms. “I want my coffee…”

Vanik turned his head to look behind himself and Maggie to the other actor. "What mechanism is allowing you to be suspended in the air in this manner?" It was mostly rhetorical, but Vanik had never been in a Haunted House. He was curious. He also was not sure if it was time to continue walking to the next room.

"WHO GIVES A FUCK??? THEY'RE FLOATING!!!" Melody said, now absolutely scared out of her mind. "AAHH! AAAAH! AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

"Magic." She touched to the ground, creeping in closer to the group with a knife twirling between her fingers. The blade glinted in the light. "Hold very still, now.."

"Aww, let's play with them a little!" her twin begged, looping around to stand beside the other actress. "It's no fun if you don't let them run first!"

"P-p-p-pl-pla-p-pl-play??" Melody asked, looking back and forth worriedly between the scare actors. "H-how-ho-ho-how-how are you gonna...p-pl-p-p-p-pl-pla-play??"

"Let's seee.." A bloodied fireaxe dragged along the floor beside her as she leant forward, making a sickening metal scrape. "Tie you up by your own innards, maybe? Stick you in a maze like a couple of rats? Decisions, decisions!"

Vanik's eyes narrowed, honing in on the knife, trying to figure out in the low light if it was real or a prop. "Magic..." He repeated quietly, his heart now beating very quickly. He could feel Maggie's grip tightening on him but from what he'd gathered about the two women, if this wasn't a standard haunted house...if that knife was real, he needed his hands to be free.

Melody couldn't stop looking between the two scare actors, her teeth now chattering loudly as she did, her eyes wide open and dilated as the adrenaline coursed through her body. This was a baaaaad idea... "d-d-d-d-de-de-dec-decisions??"

The other half of the pair rolled her eyes, leaning forward until she and Melody were maybe centimeters apart from bumping noses. "Now is the part where you run."

Maggie leaped out of Vaniks arms and began to run like a cartoon character, legs becoming windmills to the naked eye as she ran.

Melody's eyes crossed when the actor's nose nearly touched hers, and did as they said. "AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!" As she ran in the complete opposite direction of the scare actor, didn't matter where, she just ran and didn't stop. Likely she was gonna run into a wall. Which would be funny.

"One," the actress called out, slinging her bloody axe over her shoulder. "Two... Three.... Four..."

Melody actually did hug the closest wall she could, the back to the wall, as she tried to move away further from the scare actors. She clutched her baker's hat to her chest as she legitimately near-toppled over from losing her balance.

Maggie was out of his arms in a flash and running down the hall. Vanik saw Melody almost fall and reached out an arm to steady her, walking his very long legs in the direction of the exit. “Let us take our leave,” he said to his fellows as he walked.

"YUP! YYYYYUP! NOT GONNA BE IN THAT ROOM ANYMORE! NOOOPE!" Melody said as she walked with Vanik towards the exit. "Next room, next room come on next room!! Anything has gotta be safer than this room!"

Door swung open. You're free!

"Eight..niiiine...ten! Ready or not!" Very Fast Footsteps. Better move!

"Oh thank goodness, let's get out of he--AAAAAH!" Melody said as she BOLTED out of the room, waiting for Vanik and Maggie to get out before she closed the door, and stood against it, back to the door to prevent the door from opening. "Oh jeez... I wasn't scared! Nah!" X to doubt...

Long legs took even faster steps that could be construed as running.

2

SLAM. "Aww, come on..! We don't bite!"

"You're definitely not gonna bite me!" Melody said, keeping the door shut. "I don't know if they're gonna open the door, guys, we should head into the next one, I think, so they don't get us..."

“I believe they were lying.”

Melody sloooooowwly stepped away from the closed door to see if it was going to open or not... she eyed the next door that they hadn't taken yet. "Maybe that one? That one doesn't look as ominous!"

All of them looked exactly the same but go off ig

3

"Uhhhhh... this one!" Melody chose the door, and ever so gently turned the handle to open the door and peer inside... "Ohhhhh gosh..." She hadn't even fully peered inside and she was already nervous...

Vanik took a moment to try to regulate his breath, and then followed Melody to the next door wondering what he would find beyond.

What's behind door number threeeee! A mirror maze!

A mirror maze?? Melody looked inside and noticed the many reflections of her-- "AAH!" Before she realized all of the reflections jumped too! Then, she reached her hand out, and noticed all of the reflections doing so too! "Oh! It's a mirror maze! Come on, you guys! We can do this! I hope..." Melody clutched her baker's hat and cautiously stepped into the maze while holding the door for Vanik and Maggie...