Player 2

Darkness had fallen in the quiet neighborhood. The man sits in his car, watching the same house he had been for a week. He never saw anyone enter or exit, and there were no cars in the drive, and there was never any movement he could see. He assumed it empty, but there was also no "for sale" sign, making him suspicious. Taking a deep breath, he exited the car, sneaking around the side of the house. Even though there weren't any lights in the neighborhood, he was taking no chances.

He quietly peeked through a window, taking off the screen and seeing if it would open. It slid up easily. He cautiously lifted it, sure not to make too much noise, and looked inside, not seeking anything but some furniture and some pictures on a coffee table. It looked like someone still lived here, nothing dusty or covered in spider webs or anything.

He lifts himself up, hopping through the frame and landing on his feet on the other side. Suddenly, heavy steel curtains cover all windows and doors leading to the outside. Startled, the thief looks around as the lights turn on. He quickly tries to pull up the curtain on the window, but it won't budge. He then hears a woman's voice, seemingly coming from everywhere at once.

"Player Two has entered the game," echoes eerily throughout the house. Terrified, the thief turns his back to the wall, not knowing what to expect. He pulls his knife from where he keeps it in his boot, holding it in front of him and looking around warily. He stays as quiet as possible, listening for any sign of what the hell is going on. He then hears what sounds like footsteps coming down the stairs, and he panics, breathing escalating, his heartbeat picking up pace.

He stares at the place the noise is coming from, shaking, almost unable to move. As the footsteps hit the ground floor, there's a metallic clank, followed by the sound of metal being dragged along wooden floorboards as the footsteps draw closer. He then saw a girl round the corner, dragging what looked like a long saw blade attached to a sword handle behind her. She was thin and lanky, wearing a tattered, dirty pink dress, eyes hidden behind a dark circus mask, and a wide, crazy smile adorning her face. Her dark hair covered half her face as she cocked her head, grinning impossibly wider.

"Finally," her soft voice croaked out. It sounded like she had been silent for an extremely long time. "Someone new to play with. Since you don't know the rules, I'll tell you. Only one of us can leave. The only way the house opens back up is if there is only one beating heart left. I've been the reigning champ for a long time. I'll go ahead and give you a head start. Let's say..." she paused and tilted her head back, seemingly looking at the ceiling. "Ten seconds?" She brought her head back down. "Better start running. Make this fun for me. Ten."

Finally pulled out of his shock, the man sprinted out of the doorway that the girl wasn't blocking, searching for a place to hide, or a weapon, or something.

"Nine."

He ran up the stairs, seeing the girl out of the corner of his eye turn to look at him. He reached the landing.

"Eight."

He sprinted out of her view, running down a hallway. He opened the first door he came to, seeing nothing but a bathroom. He groaned and closed the door.

"Seven."

He sprinted to the next room, opening it. He stopped, wide eyes taking in the room. I guess this is her room, he thought.

"Six."

He rushed into the room that had weapons hanging like trophies on every wall. He put his knife into his boot, grabbing another short knife and putting it into his other boot. Can never be to prepared, I guess.

"Five."

He grabbed a sturdy looking sword off the wall, and huffed as he looked around some more. No firearms. Guess it's all hand-to-hand combat.