The Midnight Game, page 8
Callum scuffed the match into a flame, and it illuminated the wet cheeks behind Mei’s gold-framed glasses. “OK,” she sniffed, her eyes not leaving the candle.
“Six…”
“It’s not catching,” Callum hissed. Reece knew he’d tried to keep his voice low, but Mei was too close not to hear him. “I think the wick is trapped in the wax.”
“Nononononono.” Mei twisted her hands in the hem of her T-shirt as the countdown went on behind them. The others continued to walk around them, a macabre version of some kids’ game. Out of the corner of his eye, Reece saw Ellie trying to search her bag and balance her candle at the same time.
“Four…”
“Dig it out!” Callum’s voice was higher than usual, and Reece lowered one knee to the floor, placing the candle flat on the ground. Trying to keep his own candle still, he plunged his fingers into the hot wax of Mei’s.
“Shit!” He pulled his scalded fingers out, but as soon as they hit the cooler air, the wax began to solidify on his fingers. He tapped them together, hoping they’d afford him a little protection against the liquid wax, and shoved them in again, fishing around the molten pool for the wick.
“Two…”
“It’s no good.” Reece pulled out a small, blackened lump that smeared across his fingers in the white wax. Mei’s eyes were closed now, her palms pressed together as she rocked slowly back and forth, muttering under her breath. “The wick has snapped. It’s a dodgy candle. Mei? Mei, listen to me. Do you have a spare candle?”
“Salt,” she croaked, opening her eyes and staring straight into Reece’s soul.
“One.”
“What?” Reece looked back at the rest of the group.
“Salt! Get the salt!” She licked her lips feverishly.
“Time’s up.” Ellie appeared as if by magic, a large container of table salt in her right hand. “Mei, stay still. You two, move.” Reece abandoned Mei’s candle and got to his feet again, stepping backward as Ellie began to pour a thick line of salt around the sobbing girl. The room was deathly silent otherwise. “Come on, you’ll be fine.” Ellie shot a look at the others, and Reece heard them finally speak up.
“Yes, it’s just a game.” Hugo sounded more robot than person, especially compared to Toni, whose voice was soft for once.
“It’s fine, Mei. Just stay in the circle and we’ll get your spare candle,” she whispered. She crept behind Hugo to stand with Reece and Callum as the four of them tightened into a knot, watching as Ellie continued pouring. A cool draft of wind pushed its way through the open doors of the hall and caught the hem of the long curtains that lined one wall. A ripple passed through the thick material.
“That shouldn’t be happening,” Callum said, his voice low. He was staring at the curtains too, his eyes so wide that Reece could see the whites all around them. “They’re so heavy, you have to use a pulley to open them. They have weights sewn into the bottom.” Another ripple shivered through the velvet, and Reece’s eyes grew transfixed on one spot where the shadows seemed to congregate, thick and deep. He pointed.
“Is…” Reece peeled his tongue from the roof of his mouth and tried again. “Is that a man?”
A scream tore through the silence, and he realized that Mei had heard him. Her salt circle had been sealed, but Ellie had retreated to join the pack, so Mei was alone, in the shadows, feet away from them. “Don’t leave me!” she said. “He’s here. Reece can see him, can’t you, Reece? Please.” Mei’s voice cracked as she dropped to her knees and curled herself into the smallest ball possible, pressing her face down into her lap. Her wails continued, muffled by her own body. “Don’t leave me! He’ll get me, he’ll get me, he’ll kill me….”
“Jesus.” Hugo’s voice was hollow. “I thought she was the sensible one.”
“Same,” Toni agreed, her voice wobbly. “What do we do?”
“Where’s her bag?” Ellie snapped. The group looked around the hall. Reece knew that like him, Hugo didn’t have one. Callum had what looked like his old schoolbag dangling from one shoulder, while Toni and Ellie had stayed glued to theirs. The candlelight did nothing to illuminate more than two feet in front of them—how the hell did olden-days people live like this? Even so, it was clear there was no bag.
“Mei?” Reece crouched down in front of the tightly knotted girl. It seemed to him that the darkness was pressing down on her, making her even smaller. “Mei,” he repeated, trying to keep his voice level, gentle, “do you remember what you did with your bag?” A mumble escaped the salt circle and Reece gritted his teeth in frustration. The others were pacing behind him, staying far away from the curtains, which still swayed gently. “Mei, I can’t hear you. You need to look at me.” She moved in slow motion, peeling her blotchy face away from her forearm. Her glasses hung at a wild angle, and all Reece could see were her huge, black pupils. Her voice was just as hollow as her eyes.
“Library.” The word scratched the air and Reece craned his neck around at the others.
“Hell, no,” Toni spat. “I’m not getting it.”
“Nobody asked you to.” Ellie shot her a sidelong glance as she stopped beside Hugo. “We’ll go, won’t we?” Reece clocked the light hand on rich boy’s arm and the flush of his cheeks. Not even the lack of light could hide Hugo’s crush.
“Erm, yeah, OK,” he choked, still looking down at Ellie’s hand.
“We can all go,” Reece suggested. He wasn’t going to let Hugo snag the hot girl so easily, no chance.
“No!” Mei wailed from the circle. She was sat up on her knees now, both hands pulling at the hem of her top again, her fingers twisting it into knots. “I can’t leave the circle!” She broke into ugly sobs, and for the first time, Reece wondered how old she actually was. “Don’t…leave…me….” She lost it again, huge moans wracking her body.
Reece hadn’t even thought about it being real until that point. She could leave the salt, couldn’t she? It was just a game, after all. But she was so worked up, so scared…
“What do we do?” Callum asked quietly. The five of them moved closer, Mei’s sobs echoing through the large hall. “She’s lost all sense of reason. Does anyone have an extra candle?”
“Oh, God, of course! Wait.” Ellie dropped her shoulder, allowing one of the handles of her tote to slide off. She transferred her candle carefully to the other hand and started to dig around as Toni begrudgingly swung her little backpack around and unzipped it. “I was sure I had a couple of spares.” Ellie rummaged a little more. “I…I can’t find them.”
“Mine is gone too,” Toni spluttered, showing the contents of her little patent-leather bag. “I brought another and some more matches, but they’re missing as well…,” she trailed off, looking at the group around her. “Who the hell has been in my bag?” she demanded, her face wrinkled in fury.
“It wasn’t one of us,” Mei’s voice piped up, dull and monotone once more. “It’s him. He’s doing this so we can’t play, so he can…can…”
“Oh, please,” Reece said out loud, trying to inject his voice with confidence, even though his spine had turned to jelly. “He’s not real. The Mid—”
“DON’T SAY IT!” Callum and Ellie burst out at the same time. Hugo had lost the pink glow from his cheeks, and even Toni winced.
“Don’t say his name,” Ellie whispered. “Just in case.”
“Fine.” Reece felt stupid, like a kid who had just been told off for swearing or something. “Well, we have to do something.” He checked the time, turning his wrist just enough so the candle illuminated the watch face. “There’s two and a half hours of this left. We need to sort her out.”
“What do you think we should do?” Hugo asked. Reece almost felt bad at how genuinely worried about Mei he seemed.
“I don’t have my inhaler,” Mei’s small voice wheezed in the darkness. “I need my bag, but you can’t all go. Someone stay with me, please?”
The five remaining players looked at one another.
“Fine.” Reece took charge. “Ellie, you should stay with Mei.” She went to argue, but he held up a hand. “Your blood sugar will be more stable if you stay still, right?”
“Well, yeah, I guess.” She didn’t look happy, but Reece took it as a win anyway.
“And she feels safe with you,” he said. Ellie nodded, so he resumed giving out orders. “The rest of us will go and find Mei’s bag. Safety in numbers and all that.” Hugo, Callum, and Toni exchanged looks, and finally each of them nodded in agreement.
“Fine,” said Callum, tapping a hand on Reece’s shoulder. “Good plan.” Reece felt a little bit of pride blossom in his stomach.
“Be careful, you guys.” Ellie took her place beside Mei and started pacing around the girl in the salt circle. She looked at the smaller girl pointedly. “Don’t be long, yeah?”
“Quick as we can,” Hugo said as they began to walk toward the doorway.
Reece hid a smirk as the other boy fired off some kind of salute. What a dweeb.
Callum led them out into the upper hallway and hesitated.
“What now?” Reece asked. “Don’t tell me you want to stay too?”
“It’s not that.” Callum faltered, looking at the staircase and then back to the corridor they had come down earlier. “What if her bag isn’t in the library? We peeked into all the rooms on the way up—it could be in one of those. It might even be in the hut we started in. I don’t remember seeing it, do you?”
Reece shook his head.
“No,” Toni said quietly.
“Me either.” Hugo shrugged.
Callum looked at the stairs again. “In which case, these stairs are the fastest way back to the beginning. If we all do the walk we just did up here and back again, covering every single room, it’s going to take forever.”
“Spit it out.” Toni sighed.
“Spit what out?” Reece asked, watching Toni sidle up to Hugo. Seriously, what was the appeal of this guy? Was it because he was loaded?
“The line,” Callum answered as Toni groaned. “You know, the line that someone says in a scary movie that makes you scream at the TV.”
“Sorry, dude, you’ve lost me. I don’t really watch scary movies,” Reece admitted, embarrassed.
“Well, in that case, allow me.” Toni lifted the candle so it illuminated her dark lips as she affected a high-pitched, breathy voice. “Oh no, what shall we do now?”
Reece could hear the smirk in Callum’s voice as he responded. “I think we should split up.”
10/25/2021 23:45
WitchesBrew_2007: Hey, guys. Feeling pretty nostalgic tonight and thinking about all the creepypasta stories I read as a kid. Ready to go down a rabbit hole—hit me with your faves! Games specifically. Trying to organize some Halloween fun…
MindMannequin_X07: Ooh, not been on here in forever, but got to recommend the Eleven Mile Game. You want a link?
WitchesBrew_2007: Please!
MindMannequin_X07: No problem.
MindMannequin_X07: www.gamesyoushouldntplay.com/eleven-mile-game
MindMannequin_X07: Enjoy!
WitchesBrew_2007: Thanks—I’ll check it out now!
The Eleven Mile Game
Want to scare yourself silly? Or maybe go on a bit of a road trip? Well, in this ritual game you can do both. Yay! Just follow the rules and you’ll get a reward at the end…if you reach your destination alive, that is.
Tell me more….
You’ll need a few things before you start the game. Each item is super important and must be as close as physically possible to the description listed here for the ritual to work. If it’s not, nothing will happen. Waste of time, right?
So what do I need?
Apart from nerves of steel, you will need the following items:
A car. Make sure the gas tank is FULL—you do not want to run out.
A car radio, or some kind of radio frequency connected to the car.
Your car must have a roof. If you have a soft top, make sure it’s closed properly. No open sunroof, either.
At least one other person to go with you.
That’s it! As long as your car is functioning, full of gas, and has no windows missing, you’re ready.
Are there any rules?
A few. Some are basic road safety, and others are a little more…well, scary as hell. And, as an added disclaimer, the forfeit for breaking any of these rules is said to be DEATH. Cool.
DO NOT open a window or exit the car until the game is over.
DO NOT run out of gas.
DO NOT summon a demon into the car no matter what. Because just NO.
DO NOT take any haunted objects with you. That would be bad.
DO NOT place any of your limbs outside the vehicle at any mile—EVEN IF YOU ARE TOLD TO.
Say I still want to—how do I play?
It’s pretty easy to start. Jump in the car with a friend, check that all the windows and doors are shut, and then set off. You will want to drive out of the city, or to a quiet, rural area close by. When you get there, a road will eventually appear on the right-hand side of the street. You’ll know it’s your road if it doesn’t appear on the map or it doesn’t have a name. Make sure your radio is OFF and take the right turn.
Godspeed for the next eleven miles.
What happens now?
Technically, all you have to do is drive, stay calm, and follow the rules. But these things are sent to try us, so you’ll find yourself tested at each mile. This is what to look out for:
Mile one: It’s gonna get cold. Wrap up and put the heating on.
Mile two: No, really—put the heater on, or weird things will happen to your body.
Mile three: Those shadows out there in the trees? They’re not human, no matter how they look. IGNORE THEM.
Mile four: The voices will begin. Don’t listen to them—and certainly don’t do anything they tell you.
Mile five: A glowing moon will appear over a large, calm lake. It will look inviting. DO NOT stop.
Mile six: Your radio will turn on. IGNORE IT.
Mile seven: There will be whispers from the back seat. DO NOT LOOK BEHIND YOU.
Mile eight: Your headlights will flicker or maybe even go out. Slow down and be safe, but don’t stop. You do not want them to catch up with you.
Mile nine: The car is going to stall. DON’T PANIC, but you need to close your eyes until you can restart the car. Do not open them until the engine is working again and you can drive.
Mile ten: DO NOT LOOK IN ANY OF THE MIRRORS.
Mile eleven: You’ll lose power a bit, but keep driving until you reach a red light. When it turns to green, you should feel the power come back. Drive past some old-fashioned buildings. Keep going until there is a brick wall directly in your path. Stop the car.
What do I get out of all this?
Your reward, silly. Once you’ve stopped the car, say your wish out loud. You’ll feel dizzy and may even black out, but when you come to, you’ll be parked outside the place where you started. If you wished for an object, check the trunk and the back seats—it might be there. If it’s not an object, give it a few minutes and it should happen. Have fun!
Sunday, July 3, 12:51 a.m.
ELLIE
“Split up? Are you joking?” Ellie could almost feel Hugo’s panic as he backed into the hall. The poor guy looked terrible.
“What’s going on?” Ellie asked.
Hugo turned to her with wide eyes and pointed at Callum, who now hovered in the doorway. “He,” Hugo spat, his candle shaking dangerously, “wants us to split up. Have you ever heard anything so ridiculous?”
“I promise it’ll be so much faster,” Callum reassured him, stepping into the hall. His candle flickered, casting long, thin shadows on the doorframe above him. “Just go as quickly as you can without compromising the candle. We can all check different areas and get back here as soon as possible. Deal?”
Ellie avoided Hugo’s gaze as he glanced around in panic. Callum was right.
Silence echoed through the room; even Mei was quiet.
“Fine,” Hugo finally said, muttering something unintelligible under his breath.
“Great.” Callum turned to Ellie and her charge. Mei had curled herself back into a tiny ball on the floor, and Ellie wasn’t really sure what she should do about it. “We’ll be back before you know it. Just, you know”—he motioned down to Mei, and Ellie was sure he did a cartoon gulp before finishing his sentence—“make sure she stays in the salt circle.”
“No problem.” Ellie’s voice echoed in the dark hall, despite the words feeling small in her throat. Tension knotted in the pit of her stomach while she watched the others leave again, the room growing smaller and smaller as each beacon of light departed. Finally, only the two of them remained, and all Ellie could see was what her small candle illuminated.
