[hotel staff, they're about to say, just in time to... get showered in stardust!
This isn't a good idea.
Objectively, you know that. But danger is not something you've ever shied away from, not really - and there are three people with you. There's safety in numbers, and you say as much as you cheerfully grab one of the sharp objects lying about despite the fact that you already have a weapon of your own.
The entrance is boarded up, and one of you moves silently, tearing down some of the signs so you can all slip in behind her. One of the others grabs some protective head coverings, and some rope - and then the four of you head into the darkness.
"What do you think we'll find?" One of them asks.
"Maybe—" You're looking straight ahead, not down at your feet, so you almost lose your footing and fall into the giant, gaping hole in the ground right in front of you, but when you feel your foot start to go a little too far down and you feel as though you might be unbalanced, you manage to jerk back at the last second. You fall on your butt, but at least you're safe. "...Well, I wasn't going to say a giant hole, but that, apparently."
You all peer down into the hole.
"Yeah, can't say this is the first thing I was expecting to see, either. Weird."
...it sort of seems like the only way to proceed is down, so you speak up -
"Did anyone bring a long enough rope for that? If we can lower ourselves down there, maybe we'll find something good..."
Your suggestion is not immediately shot down, which sort of surprises you - you're used to being scolded for your lack of caution.
"I can help anchor whichever one of us decides to go down. It sounds as though there's something there."
"I can check it out, if anyone wants to climb down with me."
Your third companion shakes her head and gestures at the one who said she'd anchor - which you suppose leaves you to accompany the one who volunteered to check it out. "I'll go with you!" is what you say, and it works out. With your wimpy little arms, it's better if you're not the one serving as an anchor.
She looks to you.
"You wanna start going down first, or should I?"
Your answer is obvious.
"I'll go. What kind of man would I be if I let someone get hurt because they went ahead of me?"
As you're speaking, you secure the rope around yourself. Your silent companion is the one who will be serving as your anchor, and once you've gotten the go-ahead from her, you start to lower yourself over the side. You're pretty focused on making it down safely, but you're vaguely aware of it when your partner in hole crimes starts to lower herself after you.
Or - pit crimes, really. Because as it turns out, this is a deep, dark pit, as you discover when your rope snaps and you fall the last eight feet to land roughly on the ground. Only it's not just the ground - the bottom of the pit is littered with bones, some of which snap under your fall, and you curse loudly, because what the hell. It smells like death down here, and it's obvious why - there's dried blood and the like on the ground, the remnants of clothing hanging off the skeletons, and it's clear that they were all left down here to rot.
There are also two fresher dead bodies here, which look vaguely familiar. And a pile of weapons? ...you go for the weapons, because honestly, the more of them you have at this point, the better. There is something very, very wrong here.
It's not so quiet, now - the two up at the top of the pit are yelling down to ask what happened, and your companion inside the pit is warning you not to just run off and grab things. But something is clearly wrong here - those two dead bodies were either killed and dumped here, or they fell down and were killed here. If it was the latter, you don't plan to be caught defenseless.
...if it was the latter, you should probably escape; that's what your companion says, and you know she's right. Perhaps you can use the weapons to help you get back up. If they're sharp enough, you could use them to make handholds in the smooth rock wall, since you don't have a working rope anymore.
You start to gather weapons, but as you do, you call up to tell your companions whose corpses you found down here - and you realize you only know the name of one of them. The second you vaguely recognize from seeing him around... but you never spoke. And the girl down here with you is in the same boat. Oops.
She uses a pickaxe to hit the smooth rock wall along the pit, just as you find a flashlight and power you on - but her pickaxe shatters, against all logic, and the ground beneath her begins to shift and move. She's sinking, somehow, into the skeletons. It's like they're pulling her in.
She does not like that at all.
"No no no no no. Nope. Oh my god. Fuck, okay, you wanna give me a hand? Seriously, I could really use one right now! And more rope would be awesome right now!"
You rush over and grab for her wrist - if you can hold onto her, then maybe she won't get pulled in? But it's harder than it looks.
"Shit...!"
There's a lot of yelling - from you, from your companions. One of them throws down a new line of rope, and you try to get it secured around the waist of the girl who's getting pulled in - if they can pull her up, she'll be safe. That's the important part.
"Come on come on come on—"
...but the rope isn't quite long enough.
The girl sinks down, vanishing beneath the skeletons, and you -
Fool that you are, you try to dig down after her, and you're swallowed up by them, too.
oh. uh. hm. they weren't really expecting that. give them a moment.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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[he gives them a wave in turn.]
Uh, something kind of weird is happening... I was hoping you might know a way to make it, uh, stop?
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[he starts to say, before that very same dust settles around them, and the two of them will experience a very serious and not at all silly memory.]
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what the hell does one even say that.]
Um.
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Yeah, that seems about right.
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[hotel staff, they're about to say, just in time to... get showered in stardust!
oh. uh. hm. they weren't really expecting that. give them a moment.]
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You - what the heck happened?! Were you alright? Why were—
[skeletons!! hello!!]
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[rupert she just said don't talk about it!!]
Were you safe?
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[he looks very much like he still wants to talk about it because he's obnoxious]
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[they huff.]
...do me a favor? Don't tell anyone what you saw. I don't want other people knowing my business.
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[he pauses for a moment.]
I won't talk about it any more, but - I'm really sorry that happened to you.
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Thanks for saying that. But - really. I'm over it. It was a long time ago.
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[he does seem a little relieved to hear that, at least.]
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