It Chases

The first sign of the underworld intruding on reality was the massive slam against the door he had just snuck through, accompanied by a chaotic roar from the monster he had tricked.

The second was the quickly descending darkness coming from the hallway leading back to the foyer.

His fight-or-flight response quickly kicked in, and he made a mad dash toward the study.

As he did, he noticed a third problem, his breathing was now producing a mist.

After noticing this, he also realised that the temperature had dropped considerably.

Running for his life, he got to the T intersection.

Turning to the right showcased a frightening greeting from the chef, who was just a few meters away.

Deciding that the darkness was better than death, he did a 180 and sprinted headfirst into his old friend.

By this point, he was in a bad position. His leg was bleeding profusely, he was absolutely exhausted, and he had no idea what was waiting in the dark hallway.

Luckily, the darkness only went on for a while.

He soon came to an intersection with a turn to his left or the option to go straight. With this in mind, he could create a simple mental map of the area.

To put things simply, the area of the hallways made a shape like the symbol for Pi. The two hallways he had access to at the start were the bottom of the two lines, and the hallway he had just run down was the top line.

After figuring this out, he decided to turn left with the knowledge that it would lead him back to the foyer, hoping his pursuers wouldn't be able to leave the area.

His feeble plan was decimated the next moment as he rounded the corner.

What awaited him was a door.

The problem was that he recognised this door.

After all, he had walked through the damn thing 8 times while trapped in the repeating hallway.

He wasn't sure what would happen if he were trapped in there while being chased. So, he decided to bet on the unknown and returned to his original path to continue straight ahead.

His eyes skittered left and right as he desperately searched for an interactable door, anything he could use to escape this mad chase.

Especially now that he had lost even more time due to stopping to try and turn.

But there was nothing, no door, no tool.

No more tricks up his sleeve.

He was out of luck and nearly out of hallway.

Jacob saw the window that marked the end of the hall, having still failed to locate any doors he could open.

So, he stopped and turned.

He looked back at the monstrous hunchback, the toothy chef, the encroaching darkness, and even the frost beginning to coat the walls of the hallway that seemed to shrink without moving.

Every ghost he had encountered was here.

He had felt so clever when he had escaped them the first time.

But he wasn't.

He was just a random guy, unlucky enough to find himself in an impossible situation.

Maybe if he had avoided getting stabbed.

Maybe if he had conserved his energy better.

Maybe if he had noticed things a little quicker.

Maybe…

No.

Even then, it wouldn't have mattered.

Whatever sick being had placed him in this house had practically doomed him from the start. 

From the moment he was selected to take part in this demented haunted house he had lost.

His only role was to struggle desperately, flailing in agony before he perished.

But…

He didn't feel like it.

He didn't want to give the prick who put him here any satisfaction.

If this really was just some game, he might not win, but he sure as hell wouldn't let his opponent enjoy his victory.

It seemed he still had one trick up his sleeve after all.

So, he turned.

And he ran.

With all 5 horrifying creatures of the spiritual realm on his heels, he put everything he could into moving just a little faster.

And eventually, he jumped.

Straight through the glass window.

And into the unknown.