7 Minutes in Heaven

The Intro

You groaned and lifted yourself off of the ground, wearily taking in your surroundings. Of all the stupid things to do... you fell down a well. A freaking well. Not your most graceful moment. However, despite the fact that you're fairly sure you have a concussion, it seems that you've actually ended up someplace. Someplace really creepy and cliché, complete with a dark forest in the dead of night. For a second, you humorlessly think that this is something out of Alice in Wonderland, you being Alice. Instead of chasing a rabbit down a hole, though, you fall down a well due to your own clumsiness and end up in what looks like the cheesy beginning to a slasher film.

But it seems that despite being here for only a short amount of time, you've already received something. "What is this, a welcoming gift? How thoughtful." You mutter sarcastically to yourself as you picked up the object that manifested at your feet. It was a manila envelope with a huge circle on the front that had an 'x' going through it, and inside were directions. Common sense told you to ignore the invitation and concentrate on getting out of wherever the hell you were, but you felt compelled to follow the directions anyway. Maybe they lead to a way out?

Don't bet on it.

After a good hour of getting lost through a seemingly endless woods, you debate on taking your frustrations out on the map. The thing seemed to taunt you, with its ink blots that were supposed to represent landmarks. Or where they supposed to be territories...? With a yell you throw down the map as hard as you could manage, only to have it gently float down to the dirt, making you look kinda stupid. Giving up, you slumped down to the ground. You were tired, pissed at the map and at yourself for getting into this mess, and your head was still throbbing from your little escapade earlier.

Right now, things=not good.

While you were in full pity party mode, you didn't notice a figure approaching your location. It was as silent and smooth as a shadow, gliding closer and closer to you, not bothering to try and be stealthy. It continued to advance on your oblivious form, snake-like appendages swiftly extending from its back. The inky tentacles slowly enclosed around you...

That is, until you decided that then would be a grand time to look up.

You were face-to-no-face with a blank, pale head, devoid of any facial features. The creature wore a crisp suit, as dark as night itself, and it took you a moment or two to register exactly who you were staring at. After another appalled second or two of gawking, you then gasped, bolted up, and ran screaming through the forest.

You proceeded to continue your lovely display of frantic flailing and yelling until you came to an abrupt halt, thanks to the tree in front of you. As you sprawled across the forest floor, you look past the offending tree to see a mansion. It was a derelict old place, but even though it appeared to be obscenely old, there were lights inside, and music pouring out from the cracks in the windows. For a minute, you have a flashback to the envelope. It was more than a map, wasn't it? It was an invitation. But to what...? From afar, it almost seemed like a party...

Upon closer inspection, you found your assumptions to be correct. It was a party. In an old, looking-ready-to-collapse mansion. Alone in a dark forest. At night. Common sense decides now to speak up and tell you to high tail it back into the forest. You tell common sense to shut up.

Cautiously, you inch your way up to the front door, as if one wrong move could trigger an explosion or something equally painful. Every so often you'd throw a paranoid glance over your shoulder to see if the lovely thing from before was still pursuing you. To your relief, you seemed to have lost him back in the deeper area of the forest. Finally, you reached the door to the mansion. Slowly, hesitantly, you gently rap your knuckles on the wooden door. The breeze picks up slightly, making the house creak and sway in the wind. Rogue strands of your hair fly freely in cool air, your pulse picking up with each second you stay on the doorstep.