GAME

"How far have you gone up here?" You ask.\nJordan grimaces, but does not respond.\n"We have to [[get out|out]] of here," you say.

The heavy key is made of black metal, with jagged teeth that rise along its shaft like the steps of a staircase. You remember the [[locked door|goback]] you discovered earlier...

You follow the wall left until you reach a [[hallway|hallway2]].

<<if $better is "open" >>\n\n...better than you[[...|bttr]]\n...better than you[[...|bttr]]\n...better than you[[...|chess]]\n\n<<else>>\n\n...better than you[[...|bttr]]\n\n<<endif>>

[[BETTER THAN YOU!!!|better1]]\n\n<<set $better = "open" >>

Your roommate slumped over your shoulders, you walk deeper and deeper into the chamber.\n\nAs you step, you begin to hear a familiar churning [[sound|hum]].

You walk to the chair beneath the door. After stepping up, you [[hesitate|hesitate]] for a moment. But then you grab the wooden lip of the doorway and pull yourself up through the hole, through the entrance to the third floor of your [[house]].

You can see into a room on the other side of the [[glass]], but the light is far too dim to make out any details.\n\n"[[Lawn|glass]]..." says Jordan.

<<if $drawer is "locked" >>\n\nThe [[desk|writingdesk]]'s drawer is stuck shut as if locked, but you do not see any keyholes.\n\n<<else>>\n\nYou slide open the drawer, and inside is a [[skeleton key|skeleton]].\n\n<<endif>>

You start to follow the [[sound|sound2]].\n\n

He always won.\n"To get better at chess," he said, "you have to play someone [[better than you|better1]]."\n

"I have to show you something," said Jordan with a grin.\nTogether you walked outside, to the face of your house. Jordan pointed to the windows right in front of you. "That's the [[first floor|first]]."\n\n"[[Obviously|third]]," you said.\n

You run a finger along the wall. Slowly, as it is rough; you do not want to get a splinter. It stretches as far as your light can see in either direction, [[left|door3left]] and [[right|door3]].

You wander back into the darkness. But after a few minutes of walking, you arrive back at another [[wall|choice]].\n\n\n

The Third Floor

When you get up to the first floor, you see through the livingroom window your landlord's car screech out of the driveway and go barelling away into the night. Without a car of your own, there is no way to chase after him.\n\n"What should we do?" you ask. "[[Call]] the police?"\n\n"[[No]], we should..." Jordan trails off, starting to appear delirious once more.

"We'll see about that," says Jordan, and with a sudden burst of energy, runs [[up|up2]] after your landlord to the first floor.

You try to turn the knob, but it is locked. \nThere is a keyhole, shaped for a skeleton key. You [[bang|bang]] your fist against the door in frustration.

In a panic, you try to call 911, but somehow your phone has no service. It does not even ring. Alone, you realize that your only way out is to find that [[door|afraid]].

You run to Jordan's bed, and find it empty. It is late at night, and you imagine that there is only one place Jordan could have [[gone...|chair]]

You turn around and go [[back|back2]] the way you came. \n

After weaving back through what feels like an endless series of doors and hallways, you make your way back to the long wall where you earlier found the ornate doorway. But now you are having trouble remembering, was it to your [[left|bigdoor]], or your [[right|bigdoorright]]?

Your stomping does nothing except hurt your foot, so you begin to [[yell...|cry]]

You open the fridge and bright, cool air pours out. Inside, there is only a half empty jug of milk that belongs to Jordan and a ketchup bottle that was there when you moved in. You close the [[door|latch]].

You remember that Jordan is somewhere in here with you, so you [[stomp|stomp]] on the ground as loudly as you can. A [[cry|cry]] for help.\n\n<<set $crycount = 0 >>

On each wall there is a d[[O|doorA]][[O|doorB]][[O|doorC]]r.\n\n<<set $dooor = "open">>

On each wall there is a d[[O|doorA]][[O|doorB]][[O|doorCexit]]r.\n\n<<set $dooor = "open">>

"[[WHO'S THERE?|landlord]]"

You push down on something cold, something metal, and hear a quiet click from the inside of the [[desk|writingdesk]].\n\n<<set $drawer = "open" >>\n

By pulling it open, you reveal a small room with a [[window|window2]] and a [[writing desk|writingdesk]].\n\n<<set $drawer = "locked" >>

The kitchen was [[packed|left]] with all kinds of pots, utensils, and food recepticles. You pulled an off-white bowl from a stack in the cabinet, and found that it was in perfect condition, just like the [[couch|couch]] in the living room.

"What's that?" you asked.\n\n"I don't know! Isn't it weird? If there's a third floor window, then there has to be a third floor, right? But I have no clue how to get up there. The stairwell ends at our apartment."\n\n"[[Weird|sleep]]," you said.\n\n"A real [[mystery|sleep]]!" said Jordan.

"Sound..." says Jordan.\nWhat is that sound? You know that you have heard it before.\nYou stand perfectly still, try to calm your breath, and [[listen]].\n\n<<fadeoutsound "Grouper6.mp3" >>\n<<set $follow3 = "follow3" >>

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bkjVThW6dSO3HPt9316wsbLRNOGmaXHsgU5lkwN0rf3jU83YCPT9LsdC05NK0uPECcyyk5eVv7zGrW0DpwKncQ0DAAx09KXqeKYCYp1AhhAofgEY7UAeQ6/hfFesdv34/lXVar4KGpatdXw1OWE3DBmRYgw4GPWtozSQzg5sGCXH9w/wAq7H/hXiMpDaxcYPBxCv8AjVOpEDpvC5z4W0vPe3X9OKs6VaJpumW1ishkECbA5GCwrF6sRcOKD69j0OKQDGUelKe560uVMdyq425ByV9OmKmcbuKlxHcitb6SxfDySG2Y5JVgNh7np07ke2aidSmeuPY4x9KmzGdHLGJsLPAZ42GDht64PuOOlc7YXy2TLDI+21Y9QDiP3wOi98dutIDxPU7H+yNUv7GWVY3glaNRyXbbna2OnIx19a0/Hsun33iy6vLWYKrBAGALLIyrgtnsDit46rURzcDBVaaWFZFcEZPGMjGR/ntVa4nMirECFRfuqOgzV2uBXJBc7Rx9aay7cVaEOBypOBSxlQrApkno3pQwEJOeueKMhHGQG9RQBKZZBGo25BGQfWpYboBSAikjG0MOBSA//9Py7VLC7j8RXulYF1di4MZERJDuMhsZPP8A9aneFrV77Xof9Ihh2h5XluQWQBRzvwc85x+NYbI3Ilsprmzl1ieKc28cioTHGVG4nhQe3y456+1dIui6xdeVareCHTZpBJcRsCYrYqzDaV6YAH0O4Dkc1LaQxfCOj3WuJFp2nNcQEhpZ5FYNEilx98YzkhVGM84z0zXq2mzafZwyaVpDF0j2vPOcZlY55JHp09B0FZuSYbD9P0yx0KwGmaWpEQbdLK33pX/vH9f5VZVcf0FSK4gwOMUY5pgHNGPWgDA1bX7iw1CS2htIpY0RHaSW5EeCxIA6H+6awfGpK3V8QTkpa8j/ALaVSQ0aA8XXm8KLCyJJxgX45/8AHa4GIuZI/mY/OO/vVWCx6xp17LqFjHPNCsMm51ZFfcAVOOv4GotGX/QHx/z8z/8Aoxv8akRdKml2nNAhuMUpFADTnBx17UEeuMe9AHPXviPUYtVu7O00yGdbcoDI9xszuGelNtl3eKdYUjn/AEdufXYRVpaINivJ4j11I3c6PZ7UUsR9rznAz0ArU1OEfYZv+ub/APoJp2QrlvTLw3+l2t6UCtPErlQcgZ7Vn+GZN3hbSz2+zL/WpkrOwzXf5gRUZapaGVZYynzCp3IK1PKNM4Dxd4X+22xurCJfOQlmiUffHqMd66u+xBBJNhiI1ZiAcHAGetCbiPRnhDKykg9c4wa7TW9CttStG1TTBu4DuFI+YY647Hrn1rZTT3E4nEM56Yp8pQKgUYI+9WiJIw2OM45pwfGcAUAKFyxw2acEAxyQTzxSGOXAYYxSL/rDzxigD//U850GJInvopopZAIlZGiYKyuG+RskEEAg8HqM10q6LMt3eYuo51ubcSq8cIWNl3EAqB2BU9getcLqo6bHLWt7fXF4kphZYpf3TRQDZHyPmO0HjPU8dRWn4Y08T3E0c0VwxMSlGlGz+L7wPp2NE5xCJ6F8JLNdQGqwzsTJAEXI+rc/iADW78MNK/sq8v2G4iaGMhscEBm7+uCKmLi3oEtjqG8OlZCDMQnUcV0T8jPX2rSyIuYH/CPAE/vjj6VuZ43YYjFFkBijw/HtyZSa2UkXPIIGaLIDyHxfptsmt6nbXAlkRYLQjy/vA7pOn51o+LpoofFOqyTOEQWtryT/ALbj+tL0GtjhhpFihV1ivwAc8hcda1LnWNNCAfaBknHQ09RnQ6MCLOYY6XU4/wDIhq5ptoYbeb0N1OQfX5zSuJkmD6VOUI64oEVipqUigCsw4xUrAUAcbJdNaeKNVdFDEx2/B+hFUtdlkg1/U2ifaxgtj0HTLDvWi2QGhcarLKhjeJArAgkNntXMf2hdm7hUzMUMgDfIOn4CqsCR1fhV/wDilNNz/wA8cfqaq+E5P+KXsR/dRl/8eNKa94DfL8VXMgIqbASl6rl+ODQAzUXiFjMJJEUMjAbj7VUvCH3AgH5Dj8QaTQ0eYRyJYwso1BrhlXPl2ykoGxwSxA+uKikCo8sEa4UD8Puj9eKplIxbmWSWYvPkyNyx6Zqe7G60jb9e9aRfQlgIkmiZuAATginW6kwMAOCMipbsxkLAKI+/FPeM4j9qdwIj8rgVMYx5gJB/GhMVj//VZPKiNYR3KxosyPJKXQoqbd3AK5G0EjBB5LZ71z2k3263a0tSJ90QDs4dSp/55AkHjnsOP5eLOLTOo2bO/a8WWxmhaeOCJSiSOASzkbQhxkA5yVPqfSscvOVndZJkntuUEJVgQvJLH+I5AIAz0JNPl0A774ZmePXtTU2r28DQq0UbtuK4bae2cZBPTgGqPhe7kuZGurq7kuzbhpd0jhQkn8e0IcFN5AwTj0FaU20xPU9mRsryMH3ryaDXr26IZNRuVY5JXz39fTpWvtULkZ6qWUMRvUZGME4rzNtS1Mf8v0xx6yNR7VByHpTT2+NplXP515idU1PqLyc5/wCmrUe1Q+Q6jUfD1jealNfG7vEklUKywFApAJI6g+prlf7U1QdL2U/Vyan2iHym7J4bsiQFurlB3JCE+/8ADWENV1RM/wClsc/3zn+lLnQcp2VraW1vam3jVmjLM/7xsncxyTn6/wA6406xqnB+0Y9wMUc4uU62XR7SQYP2hB/0zl/+tXIHWNUOQblm+uTRzofKdU2g2B4+0XKn3l5/lXFyXmoPMZDPjIPIUg/nRzhynXS6BatjF3eL9XyP5VyY1LVQ+FvJVRRgKC3Bo5w5St400W30KA6rb3d/JczbY2O5AoUHjt79qraratrIT+0GmnCcqGlkwPoM1caiT1DlOTGtRNtEjXrf3v3i/wCFajeGNOz/AMej/wDf2T/GtfbQ7C5GQ6frem2VnHaw+ckaZwH+Y9c9af8A8Ixp5PFvKP8AtrJ/jR7aAcjLKa/YMcG6Vf8AeBH9KrDw1Yhv9RJ/39f/ABpe2gLkZox6rayL8tzCT/vis4+HrHH/AB7MR7yv/jR7aAcjLstwsjvsdWGzqDntWZPoVhbx71sCxzgASN/8VR7SLHy2OQuMEuQCM8kYx2q1eT2LRbLSxWIZB3MzMw/M0Xux9DnJYibTBPTnFSyHhxnqTWqZIlsQbZMZ96jtHAtsE4w2KJLUETS849u1RtKNikcgmpsMVuTjvTGOGUZ6nnFNIR//1uB0LUlsbqWVGEUsYGzYDuQfxOCT98ADPcg44NVbqQaHr2oW8Sq6pI8SGUBhgMOSD34HNefKHMro6jrNLhuLFLdxCzR3SyMJFyHfClf3cg/hyfmH+zz1rm18USrZLbDeRE5aFRMfLjLdcJxiodKVg0N3w4ssWsX1u6lI4oURV6cA0eGrqS51G7MpZpjEpZyxI6+hJx0oaaWo0dVpygalCB79qdp//IUg+jfyNQlqU9g1zzI7mJkldflxgMQOtP10fv4vpVSQkcZrHiK/065jjjYkMmfvt6/X2rM8UD/iY2//AFz/AKmrpxTQNk3/AAlesEbgvHruP+NZ6KPJPrt9adle1hFweMdUkmaIEbl68n/Gue09w9/cYHJJOfTmqcElsFzoJvFmoRWwmkkO8sVKZPAx9awtWH+jLju/9KcYRbBs6/S9Xu76zMksz534wrH/ABrN8PHGnn/fP8hWVSNnoNM9D0MtLp+6Q7jvYZPNQ+FrmK40bzInDJ5jjPTkUKPcTZia1qC2N7O0s7RoJMDk9awPHF1IdZmtfLBj81W3Z74/wpxp31C5YbxNadDeSfk1ZccKbcbVH4UOKuO5qReILe4mSKO5kZnOAMEVjNGE1WwKgDMmOBRyKwXOm+0Sn/lo3/fRpqrxnNRyhccJpD/G3/fRoVaOULgPMaVPnbBI7mpUX94n1qlGwrm9fRgWZP0p16c2ZHrtq0kTc8luW2XTLjgYA56daW7hD3Zkxn8fTNbaDMtmJjLer0jH90w9H/rVkldGKl8AkBsnFKoKu6+350xEm8eSgLd6iCr5Y67s9M0W1AncgMpHIprg4TikgP/X881qHzPG9/C8nl7rmQbnjzz1AIFUjem98RR3coCebcKxAPAyQP61x2aidXUtf2TI0KqEkyHzvEoAx/ukZ/WvTFsYRjaqkKCVBHSsPastRRzPhPTzavNJ5Myb0ALyEYJ3Z4HbiuiW+WW8ktIgDGihi+epzjHSlzOW4NWLFiP+JpEfQH+RotJYob9GlkRBtPLMBTiiWO1s/vYs/wB2qmvX9uZowk0bYX+FgatxuK5w3icf8TK2GR/q/wD2Y0zXCbjUInT5lROSOec5rSEbIGyt0hb6f1rJluL8syiOXbyMbDzVcnUVxmkN/p8p/wBhj+tLZ2lxHcCby2VCCCCDnpVSWgkTaoR9kj9d/wDSnX0Ms0cSKjYLEk7TxxSitRtmz4eYDTSf9s/yFUdNuZbKEQeQzAvnPPoBUyhdgmen+HFVdLwihRvbgDrVDw7qlmmnPHJcRoyyH5WOP51DQM5Lxe1w2r6kJRmFbmMRHHbAqTxfe21xPciGeOQrNGxCnPGBzWkEBXUKqAkfjQhDLgjilyhcrT8alYe0oplyMajZvn/lqP51SjowbOoAqN7iKNtrPhj0GKz5QuTKAaiFzEP4v/HT/hRyhcsjAZPrVVryMMME/wDfJp8oXOiu2/0Q5PQD+dUZtRt5bbAlBcqONp/wpJCPOWYjfuUEh2Gc+5qrNOUvpgT0lcYx7mtWuo0yoVPnSDoOtSSSxlpHUk44NUIpycSt2pJmzM1UthBkA0zPFAibzOMEVDzSsO5//9DxyQlW3DqPT8KY7ZLA+9cx0nQDW9TZF/02427QD+8JyKybS1vryF3ht5ZEDrHlcYDEcD9Knkj1KTO48I3yyllLl5Fi+fJ/2qo+FrO6069dryIxLLbBkLMPmBbjofY1nUS6DTud9YIJr0goHIXuM/561c8Euk2vsrEMBC2RnocgVmhSLRtCP+WAx/uV28nktL9njwWAy3fFaWIucQLWTosJ/Ba7tdMTyyiL1HzHvRysLnAmB8fcbIPp0q/411z+xbdYNNsJLyXdtdYuqjHWiw0ZZAzkqPyrlovE+pSzIj+HLuNWYKzs3Ayep4oswOmJUemDULSryMg+/tQAOV54GPpmoHmxxtOPXtTAhvLiNYn/AHZfBx9zP9KqX15HBtDvgk/wgmnYDyrUreUalMdn7tJAAxGOBwKv63MzXc0SqQrOWBbrjOelbx2EzQjYbV9xWELq6VcCU8f7NNIRp3jf6VZE9POXj8ayTPO0sbO5YowI4pgdutwkTxXGR5kEodsf3W+U/wAxWXpWoW80VykwKu6hAiqW4POayasM7gThiQcrgnqe351jWFzugi8yKRZQmG3Iw/mKmwG0Zc/xfrVTzsDpxRYRPcSf6PLycbT3qrNKDbyemw/yp2A8qvsJqVyvfzGyfxqG/mSfUZ5kzsdywz1rW2gXGYBilwccmo8Dyz6mgAIDSnPemE/PmmA0jBPFK2f1oEGcCkPIpgf/0fF2I3MT0zWrq/hzVdEuEg1OxntZHBIEqY3AdcHoa5lJM6Buka1/Z1jcW5gSTfcRzgnjlAQO3+1VH7LIGBBUj602kx3N062uqXlov2SKBbe2EXyL98gEZP1rLtbe5e4VYgXk6Ki9Wz6VEoqw0z0Pwbey2fiBWsykckqMrkqDlQM45+lVfAqXdr4wtY9Rs57fIcH7RCwUAqR3rJrQo9FfXdViuH23SAyKGLeQufT0rD8Ta1o1lfRQwXKLIEYSDBznI/8Ar0lck15vEOryRGI3ygEYJWFQT+IFcNL4lsRx9qXPoDzVcrA0dVvLjTtPmu2uPM2YJUIATkgdfxrm9V1e31LTZrWG4XfIAAWOBwQf6VShrqFyJvG1x2jk468qP6Vzn9mStnbc2xPp5lXyRFdnolhc3GoafBdfaynmrnbsXjn/AOtXFQ+I59LtobJYo3ES4J3cHk9Knk7Bc7lhMBk3bH/gC157H4qvPtG95N0bHlAOn0ocAuejaVI39s481mzE3U+9c3oGtxnxCoclPkYfOMc4zUuDtcZX+IYxr8OCADbjrnruak8czx3OrW0iSA/uMZHP8R/xrWlsJnJZ91/I1Pgf89D/AN81rckrnP8AeX8jUxAb+Nv++aBlzQLgw6rGgbCyZUgcfSqcZ8qeORWOUYMOPeokroFoeqa5OsOjtK8xiCld0g7dqytc1SBtHfJR8spCDknJB6VnCOo2VwkjxGRb2YgruDA9sda5O/1SaaBBA0kYXIKKpGa05STqrtiNHkbzpS/lH5i5rk7PU5/sNxbS+YyshClh0P1oa1AxJgyOcjHWppIXyFfBPY1V0BV3nbjFT+Qx7UcyEVjnNWPszelHMgIcZFTfZ2o5kBX7VOYSBntRzILH/9LrL2xtL9UivLRZtnQSYkAz6Z6VKQ/DKuSehzXg3Z0mLJ4P0UHcdMgx7ZA/Q1uyhnjIZSMD1FF2Bzj+ENAlGDpSRsOjxswb+dbLSRxBcqS3oaOZ9xmYPDVnZxALc3yIfuhblh+grXExbLeVntktRdhdmN/whmn3iPPNJcMx7vOST+dbgmRQvyIqtwQcmndhqcrN4I0pCAXnQn0lBB/MV0xiVrjysjf1XjoKOaQHK/8ACE6YVHlSzP3IIQ/riuolmS1eNJW2Hplcndk9PT+VLnl3DU42bwTZEHlhn0jQn+VdJJNYfbCJJ3Dn5lXaemQD0+tHPPuOzOQfwVYK2/zsAcfNBHWprGq2a3cWn2SmeZQrziQFFC43A579R2ql7RgkzOfwfZNCY5PJMZ4yIFDfXINa1jrFhdSPEA8c0beXIh5AY5xzjnpSftUJ3M1fBNhMuZNSuN/qsKfh3roZGggYZEgJODk8ZpqtUQamCvw/0Z3xJrN6hzjmBMfzrpYf3xZowDtGGx/9eqVeoBnL8JNLZQRq96wIyDsQAj1rQ07xXFb3sdhcZIOQvBOD7H09q0VaTKSKJ+EWlkcate/98pXXza5ZwysjSEsgyQVPH6VftJD5UcY3wg04HjWLz/v2hrp5PGekRJullkAHohP9KfPIOVHIz/CXT7e2kmOqX77BnbHAjMfoK6+28ZaFdFRHdsHY4CvC4/kKTlIOVHFW3hPQPsiSQJNNGOGbziDnvnFdtqNhpmoyNdRs8V2i48+AFWx23A8MPY8+9ZNTfUlwOLXwj4fyQLF5O+XkY/1qvf6++kzsL2KOSIsVjuYcgO3+51H8qh+0JcWXx4O8PjdJHp0THgYLdP1rIuvGtnFCR5MzuwyBwF/xpL2j0FY0v+Ed0Nf+YbbsR94YJxXNN8QB5rRtYRuvGCWIOO9PkqDsdOPDujEkDTbfcR0EWa5q28eYeTzLVY8jIKknH+RRyVAsdD/wiWjsfm0+3BxngH/GsCfxpcBFEZSMvtI2LnH4n1pctQLG3N4U0THOnwOR2C7f61jnxrJHao7xZ3EnheSaajUuOx//2Q==

You try the third door again.\n\nThis time, it is [[unlocked|third2]].\n

BTTR THN [[Y|why?]]

But no, it was only a dream[[...|real]]

Under the flourescent lights of your basement, you see your landlord come stomping down the stairs in a [[nightgown|emotive]]. When he sees the two of you, wet and bleeding on the floor, he gasps and clutches the railing. You have never seen him so [[emotive]].

"It's cute," said Jordan that day, when you climbed the creaky stairs of the house together, on your way up to the [[second floor|floor2]] that would become your apartment.

That night, as you were lying in bed, you stared up at the dim, white ceiling. You remembered that the [[third floor|beginning]] was above. What could be [[up|beginning]] there?

The desk is slender and textured, you think it might be an antique. A matching chair is pushed in to the desk, facing the [[window|window2]]. There is nothing [[on top of the desk|top]], but you notice that it has a [[drawer|drawer2]].\n\n

It has only been one month since you first moved in. But it feels like so long ago that you first visited the house, when you took that [[tour|tour]]...\n\n

You used to wonder what color the [[house|room]] was on the inside, beneath that painted skin. Now you know.

For a reason you cannot explain, you begin feeling [[afraid|afraid2]]. You listen for Jordan, but cannot hear anything. You turn back to the door so that you can return to your kitchen. But your light is too dim and you cannot see where the [[door|afraid]] is anymore.

Warm water begins pouring out of the cracked hole.\n\n"[[Laundry]]," says Jordan.\n\n<<fadeoutsound "WASHER.mp3" >>

version.extensions.timedgotoMacro={major:1,minor:2,revision:0};\nmacros["goto"]=macros.timedgoto={timer:null,handler:function(a,b,c,d){function cssTimeUnit(s){if(typeof s=="string"){if(s.slice(-2).toLowerCase()=="ms"){return +(s.slice(0,-2))||0\n}else{if(s.slice(-1).toLowerCase()=="s"){return +(s.slice(0,-1))*1000||0\n}}}throwError(a,s+" isn't a CSS time unit");return 0}var t,d,m,s;\nt=c[c.length-1];d=d.fullArgs();m=0;if(b!="goto"){d=d.slice(0,d.lastIndexOf(t));\nm=cssTimeUnit(t)}d=eval(Wikifier.parse(d));if(d+""&&state&&state.init){if(macros["goto"].timer){clearTimeout(macros["goto"].timer)\n}s=state.history[0].passage.title;macros["goto"].timer=setTimeout(function(){if(state.history[0].passage.title==s){state.display(d,a)\n}},m)}}};

When you wrap your hand around the [[knob|knob]], you can feel it suck the warmth from your skin.

It looks like Jordan is about to speak again, but instead collapses into you. You put your friend's arm around your shoulders and lead the way [[back|back3]] across the crackling bones, through the ornate door.

You wander across the bare hard-wood floor. Although you are moving slowly, you become aware of something [[strange...|back]] Even if you had started in the center of the third floor, you imagine that by now you should have reached another wall. But all that you can see with your [[light|light]] is the floor beneath your feet and the low ceiling.

Pushing the heavy door open, you discover something [[terrible]].

There was a plastic chess board on the bookshelf.\nWhen you looked at it, you were reminded of being a child and\n[[playing|chess]]\nthe\n[[game|chess]]\nwith\nyour\n[[father|father]][[...|daddy]]

[[daddy?|father]]

Jordan has been your friend for years, but you never know what will happen when you start to live with someone new. When, after years of drinking wine together and watching bad television, you suddenly need to brush your teeth in the same sink and share \n[[chores|chores]]\n[[chores|dishes]]\n[[chores|chores]]\n[[chores|dishes]]

a dead end.\n\n\n\n<<timedgoto "return" 8s >>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n[[WHERE AM I?|return]]

You carry your friend out to your lawn and sit down, waiting for help to arrive. You are both still wet, and the dark grass is cold, but you are relieved to feel the cool breeze tickle your skin, relieved to be out of the [[house|end]].

A short, stocky man with thin and eternally narrowed eyebrows. He says few words to you and [[Jordan|small]], perhaps no more than is absolutely necessary. You get a sense that there is more going on beneath the deep crinkle of his brow.

Written by [ARIST NAME REMOVED]\n\nUsing Twine, and macros by L (via Glorious Trainwreck)\n\nFeaturing the song "6" by Grouper\n\nThanks for playing!

<<fadeinsound "Grouper6.mp3" >>\n\nWhen you climb into the third floor, it is too dark to see anything without your phone's light. Shining it around, you discover that the [[space|pine]] is larger than you thought it would be; the walls are all too far away for your weak beam to reach them. You step into the [[darkness|darkness]].\n\n

You pour yourself a glass of tap water from the sink. It is cold and refreshing. As you sip, you hear a faint sound like a drumbeat, like someone banging against a distant wall. Strangely enough, it sounds like it is coming from above you. You look up and notice [[something odd|something]] on the kitchen ceiling. It is dim, so you step closer to get a better look.

You snap awake with a gasp. You heard a voice in your [[dream|dream]]. Or was it real? It sounded so [[real|dream]][[...|dream]]

After following the wall left for some time, you come across a door. But it is not the small door on the floor that you came up through, this [[new door|enter]] is [[looming|enter]] tall directly in front of you, its frame carved into an ornate series of loops.

The hallway is framed by a wide arch, stretching like a [[tunnel|tunnel]] into the wall. Your light can not reach its end or illuminate anything of interest along its walls.

[img[HOUSE]]\n\n[[...|up]]

The room is not wide, but long, and smells rotten. Its wooden walls are stained dark red, almost dark enough to be black in some spots. You step on something that cracks and stumble to the floor. Scattered all around you are slender, white objects. You do not realize what they are until your flashlight beam lands on a skull. \n\nYou [[scream]].\n\n

As you get closer, you can see that the light is seeping in through a small circular [[window|window4]]. You try to open it, but cannot find a way to do so without breaking the [[glass]].

Surrounded on either side by enormous apartment buildings, the [[house|room]] looked out of place. Too [[small|small]], too colorful with its white walls with blue garnish. The paint looked new, but you could tell from the decaying wood on its [[face|skin]] that the building itself was old.

You look down, and notice that a [[chair]] has been placed under the doorway. Walking over to examine it, you hear through what sounds like a scream echoing down a long tunnel.\n\n[[Jordan?|jordan2]]

[ARTIST NAME REMOVED]

[[narrow to...|new]]

You follow the wall right... until you eventually reach the large, ornate door. Perhaps it is your imagination, but you think you can hear whimpering through the wood. You slip the skeleton key into its hole and turn it until the gears grind, creaking, [[unlocked|unlocked]].

Your landlord lives alone on the first [[floor|third]] of the house. You still do not know him very well, as he keeps to himself. But sometimes at night, when everything was quiet, you could hear him talking angrily on the phone. Or at least, you hoped he was on the phone.

Jordan is right; what is needed first is an ambulance. The police can wait.\n\nAfter searching through your landlord's apartment, across dusty couches and tacky little lamps, you find a landline phone and use it to dial [[9-1-1|911]].\n

You notice that your landlord is shivering under his nightgown. "No one will [[believe you|up3]] he says," and runs back [[up|up3]] the stairs. You and Jordan share a quick look of disbelief, before you hear a door slam.

Your voice echoes back to you, but there is no other response.\n\n[[...|leftorright]]

“Little solace comes\nto those who grieve\nwhen thoughts keep drifting\nas walls keep shifting\nand this [[great blue world of ours...|hol]]\n\n<<set $better = "closed">>\n\n<<set $dooor = "open" >>\n\n

You consider standing on the table to reach the [[latch|latch]], but that would involve moving it over a few feet. Which would necessitate clearing the tabletop of all the dirty plates and coffee mugs you left there.

[[WHY?|better2]]

You follow the wall left until you eventually reach the large, ornate door. Perhaps it is your imagination, but you think you can hear whimpering through the wood. You slip the skeleton key into its hole and turn it until the gears grind, creaking, [[unlocked|unlocked]].

Upon closer inspection, you can see that [[something|something2]] has been carved in neat little letters into the surface of the [[desk|writingdesk]].

"How far have you gone up here?" You ask.\nJordan grimaces, but does not respond.\n"We have to [[get out|out]] of here," you say.

"Just listen to yourself," your trombone tutor would say. "Just listen for once. You're way off-[[key|knob]]."

"How long have you been up here?" You ask. \nJordan grimaces, but does not respond.\n"We have to [[get out|out]] of here," you say.

[[the walls...|walls]]

<<timedgoto "follow3" 5s >>\n\n<<fadeinsound "WASHER.mp3" >>

Your light falls on a wall of exposed [[wood|wood]].\nYou now know that you must have gotten turned around somewhere, but now you have no idea which [[direction|wood]] to go.

Suddenly, your phone's light goes out. You realize that its battery is [[dead|darkness2]]. You are shrouded in complete [[darkness|darkness2]].

"...Lawnn... Lawnnn.. Lawnd..." sputters Jordan.\n\nYou take your [[dead]] cellphone, and punch it through the glass.

The apartment is not exactly spacious, but the kitchen is a pleasant egg-yolk yellow and the previous tenants were generous enough to leave behind tons of their [[stuff|furniture]].

After a few minutes of slumping through the darkness, you start to see a dim [[light|light2]] in the distance.

"No, no, no!" you say.\n\nYour breaths become short, Jordan is feeling heavier and heavier. Your heart squirms violently in its ribcage.\n\nBut you can still hear that familiar [[churn|hum2]]...

You had thrown away all the photos with your ex in them, but not this one that your ex took of you. It still reminded you of how happy you used to be together, which of course, only made you feel more lonely and depressed. \nBut now that you were moving in with [[Jordan|window]], you thought, you would have someone to keep you company.

With Jordan and the [[landlord|landlord2]], you went up to see what would become your apartment, the [[second floor|floor2]].

...but black air.\n\nYour breaths become short, Jordan is feeling heavier and heavier. Your heart squirms violently in its ribcage.\n\nBut you can still hear that familiar [[churn|hum2]]...

You find [[no|nothing4]][[thing|nothing3]]...

You enter the hallway, and follow it [[until...|until]]

"[[HELP|voice]]!"

You walk past the [[desk|writingdesk]] and look out the window, and see the dark grass of your front yard. You realize that this must have been the window that Jordan showed you earlier.\nIt is too high up to jump through without risking injury or death.

The latch is just a little too high for you to reach it without standing on something. You shine your light around the room. There is your kitchen [[table|table]], its plastic varnish glistening in the beam. Scooted past that are two [[chairs|chair]], simple and wooden. Against the far wall is your humming [[refrigerator|fridge]].

You reach out in front of you, searching for searching for [[something|nothing2]], searching for [[anything|nothing2]]...

You decide to get a [[drink|kitchen]] of water before you go back to sleep. Using your phone as a flashlight, trying to step lightly so as not to wake your roommate, you make your way into the [[kitchen|kitchen]].

<<if $dooor is "open">>\n\nYou try the first door. \nIt is open. \nYou step into another small room with three d[[O|doorA]][[O|doorB]][[O|doorC]]rs.\n\n<<else>>\n\nYou try the first [[door|room2]]. \nIt is locked.\n\n<<endif>>\n\n<<set $dooor = "closed" >>

<<if $dooor is "open" >>\n\nYou try the third door. \nIt is open. \nYou step into another small room with three d[[O|doorA]][[O|doorB]][[O|doorC]]rs.\n\n<<else>>\n\nYou try the third [[door|room3]]. \nIt is locked.\n\n<<endif>>\n\n

<<if $dooor is "open">>\n\nYou try the second door. \nIt is open. \nYou step into another small room with three d[[O|doorA]][[O|doorB]][[O|doorC]]rs.\n\n<<else>>\n\nYou try the second [[door|room2]]. \nIt is locked.\n\n<<endif>>\n\n<<set $dooor = "closed" >>

When you enter the cavernous chamber, Jordan lifts a free arm and [[points]] into the [[darkness|points]].

You find a small hole where the word is missing, and [[press]] your finger inside.\n

#sidebar { display: none; }\n \n #passages { margin-left: 0; border-left: 0px; padding-left: 0; \tfont-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: large }\n\n\n

You decide to call the police, and an ambulance for your friend.\n\nYour phone is still dead. But after searching through your landlord's livingroom, across dusty couches and tacky little lamps, you find a landline phone and use it to dial [[9-1-1|911]].

On the ceiling, there is a small, square door hanging open. You can not remember seeing it before, but it must have been up there all along. It must be the way [[up|chair2]] to the third floor.\n\n

"They must be the old tenants," you say. "We have to [[get out|out]] of here."

The trash is full, balck elastic bag stretched taught with rotten food and [[empty microwavable dinners|dishes]]. \nFruit flies have started flocking into your kitchen, but still neither you nor [[Jordan|Jordan]] has taken the bag away.

You consider calling your landlord, or the police. After all, who knows what inspired that scream. But you know what Jordan would say, "What happens in our house, stays in our house." \nAnd, being honest with yourself, you are too curious, too nervous, too excited to wait any longer[[...|chair]]

[[Where is it?|door2]]\n\n[[Where did the door go?|door2]]\n\n\n\n

[[The End|credits]]\n\n<<playsound "Grouper6.mp3" >>

Jordan sputters out words one at a time, as if each breath is precious, as if air is scarce:\n\n"...[[walking]]..."\n\n"...[[long]]..."\n\n"...[[time]]..."\n\n"...[[door|door6]]..."\n\n"...[[bones]]..."

Dishes have been piling up in your kitchen sink.\nYou cannot even remember anymore which [[grimy|chores]] plates once held food that you ate, which food-flecked forks you once held, and which ones were dropped there by [[Jordan|Jordan]].

"Isn't it weird that they left all their stuff?" you said to Jordan, when you were moving in.\n\n"Not really," said Jordan, pulling sweaters out of a suitcase and stuffing them into a cupboard that was also left behind. "If the old tenants moved somehere far away, it would have been a hassle to take all this [[junk|junk]]."

“...seems a [[house|picture1]] of leaves\n\nmoments before the wind.”\n\n\n-Mark Z. Danielewski \n (House of Leaves)

The [[third floor|darkness]] has a faint smell of dirt and pine, like an old [[forest|darkness]].

The couch, soft and navy blue, was also "[[left behind|things]]" according to your landlord. \nIt could comfortably fit two or three people. Perhaps four, if they were [[close friends|closefriends]] who didn't mind bumping into each others elbows.\n

"Is that the way out?" you ask. Jordan nods. \nYou wonder how Jordan could possibly know, but you have no choice but to trust your friend. You [[follow]] Jordan's finger.

"Why the long face?" asked Jordan the day [[you]] moved in. "Everything okay?"\n\n"What? Yeah I'm good, what's up with [[you|window]]?"\n

He scolded you when you called the knights "horses."\n"But they have [[horse faces|Jordan]]," you said.\n

You did not notice [[Jordan|window]] coming up behind you, you had been staring at a framed [[photograph]] of yourself, smiling, surprised.

You follow the wall right until you reach a [[hallway|hallway2]].

You ran a finger along the polished wood of the [[abandoned|closefriends]] coffee table. It did not feel like junk to you.

You wish you had more close friends.\n\nBut ever since college, they have been turning into [[memories|memories]]. Turning into [[strangers|strangers]].

You start stepping quickly, frantically. You whip your light in circles but cannot find the [[door|door]] back down to your apartment.

You whip your flashlight to illuminate [[Jordan|Jordan4]]'s face. You are relieved for a moment, until your friend begins to speak...

You wait until the water stops gushing and then clear away as much glass as you can. After helping Jordan climb through the small hole, you go yourself into the washing machine, over sopping clothes, and out onto your [[basement]] floor. The jagged glass edges of the hole scrape your skin, and you start to bleed, but you have [[escaped|basement]].

As a child, you played the trombone.\nToot toot toot, breath, tooooot, breath, [[toot|tutor]].

Jordan's finger traveled up one floor to the next set of windows. "And that's our floor." Then, up once more, to a single, dark [[window|mystery]] just beneath the crest of the roof.

You realize that your phone battery is running low, you forgot to plug it in to charge before you went to sleep[[...|back]]

But instead of reaching the wide open space of the third floor, you find yourself stepping into a smaller [[room|room2]].\n\n<<set $dooor = "open" >>

[[begin to...|narrow]]

"The door is back there, and I have the key," you say. "We have to [[get out|out]] of here."

After following the wall right for some time, you come across a door. But it is not the small door on the floor that you came up through, this [[new door|enter]] is [[looming|enter]] tall directly in front of you, its frame carved into an ornate series of loops.

The \ndoor \nhas \na\n[[cold|cold]]\n[[brass|brass]]\n[[knob|knob]]\n

You remember stepping into the basement of your home to do laundry. There was someone standing down there already, you could hear the washing machine churn. At first, you thought that it was Jordan, but then you saw that the figure had only dark windows where their eyes should have been[[...|butno]]\n\n

Suddenly, a [[hand]] grabs hold of yours...

"Fully furnished," said the landlord. Perfect for someone like you who does not own many [[things|things]].\n\n\n