Escape the night

The Spirit Speaks

As the ten remaining YouTubers run screaming through the door, leaving the ashes of their time-traveling car behind them, Matt's heart is beating faster than a pronghorn antelope on cocaine. He can hear Justine screaming Joey's name, as well as several people shouting expletives, but all of the craziness seems so far away...like he's a character in a movie, and this is all just make-believe, and he isn't trapped in a house that's possessed by the freakin' devil or something.

This can't be happening. It can't be. Not to him.

"Okay, what just happened?" Tim asks loudly. He still appears to be the calmest of the bunch, and Matt's glad of it. At least somebody managed to keep his head.

The group gathers around a table in the library, all of them rattled by what they just saw. The images are still seared in Matt's mind—fire and smoke everywhere, that horrific cracking noise, his friends' terrified screams...and the man, the man they passed on their way back in, lying on the ground with his face in the grass...

"I don't understand what just happened," says Oli, his voice shaking.

GloZell has a hand to her forehead and a panicked expression on her face. "I can't believe it!"

"Who was that guy?" questions Lele, who's grabbed a seat next to Justine. "Was that the driver?"

"Yes! He was just lying on the ground!" shrieks a still-hysterical Sierra.

This prompts a flurry of comments from the group about whether they should go back for him, but the debate is cut off by a clearly livid Lele. "I'm not going near that car at all!" she seethes, crossing her arms in defiance.

And that's when Matt realizes: they're stuck.

They're trapped in this house, which means that they're going to have to go get those artifacts Shane spoke of, which means that (if that letter was right) people are going to die. Which means that he could—

No.

It won't happen. He won't let it. He has a family, friends, a girlfriend, a career...he has a life. He, Matthew Haag, otherwise known as Nadeshot, is not going to die tonight.

He'll make sure of it.

Justine's sitting at the table, nestled between Eva and Lele, trying to process what she's seen tonight. Everything happened so fast; one minute, they were having fun and enjoying the party like normal people, and now...Shane's dead, the house is evil, she saw a car blow up right in front of her, omigod what if we actually were in that car we'd all be dead oh God...

"Here's the thing." Matt's trying to keep his voice steady, but Justine's known him for too long to fall for it—he's just as terrified as the rest of them. "I'm trying to get back to 2016. We've got to find the four artifacts, or...we can't go home. That's really what it comes down to."

Can't go home...the mere thought is enough to send Justine dangerously close to a full-blown panic attack. Fortunately, she manages to restrict herself to a few quick, sharp breaths (and maybe one or two tears, but nothing noticeable).

GloZell, hilarious as she is, is not helping Justine's nerves. "Well, somebody's gon' die—maybe we can just decide who gon' die."

"No!" Joey stares at her as if she just suggested sacrificing the butler to Satan. "Omigod!"

Justine shoots a quick smile his way. Even if what the note said is true—even if somebody really has to die—she's still got Joey Graceffa on her side. And Joey would never let them hurt her...would he?