**************************************************
THEN:

The sky around Chapel Hill turned black as night fell. The darkness enveloped the manor as if some sort of gargantuan beast had placed the world between it’s jaws and swallowed it whole.

Suddenly, the door to the manor swung open. A group of children ran out into the night, screaming against the silence of the monster's belly. They ran forth: some into the garden, others behind the manor, and one brave little boy even dared to run into the tree line just past the small chapel on the grounds.

Moments later, other children ran outside armed with flashlights to search for the first group as they did their best to hide.



Inside the manor, lights remained off to accommodate the children’s game in every hallway and room save for those in the north wing where the faculty resided. Once a week, on a Friday such as this one, the children were allowed a game before bed. Having chosen to play hide and seek in the dark, the children now ran around hiding blindly while the seekers used flashlights to locate their targets. Some children played outside while head caretaker Ms. Sophia watched carefully from the large window in the manors dining area. Others played inside, hiding in closets or behind chairs so long as they did not enter the north wing.

MADISON:

A young girl runs into the dining hall. She wants to play with the other children but the caretaker tells her she can’t. A family is coming tomorrow. The Coles, bright and early. She tells the girl to go back to bed. Tomorrow she is going to her forever home.

IZZY:

Little Izzy was a hider, searching for a place in the dark where she wouldn’t be too noticeable. The yellow nightgown she chose to wear did her no favors in the way of camouflage. She ran down the hallway peering into rooms to check for a spot. From out of a pitch black doorway, a red ball rolled against the floor and stopped at Izzy’s feet.



EVELYN:

Evelyn ran around looking for other children inside the house. She was a fragile girl, small even for her age, so much so that she struggled to hold her flashlight as she moved from room to room. Entering the library, she began searching behind couches and bookshelves. She moved her flashlight around the room, holding it with both of her hands to steady it. The beam stopped when she caught someone at the foot of a spiral staircase. They bolted up the stairs out of her beam quickly. She shouted after them and gave chase up the stairs leading to the attic door. But when she arrived at the top... she was all alone. She shines the flashlight around to be sure. Suddenly, the attic door creaks open…



LIAM:

Another young seeker, Liam, attempted to make a catch in the study. He moved around the room slowly and methodically until he was certain nobody was in there. On his way out of the room he noticed an armoire he hadn’t seen before. He moved closer to the armoire but stopped when he heard a noise. He pointed his light at the knob and squinted behind his glasses. The doorknob to the armoire was slowly turning from side to side…

PENELOPE / SUSIE:

From her hiding spot inside a hallway closet, Penelope heard a small noise. When she opened the door a crack to peek, she saw Susie Polaski standing in the hallway looking for somewhere to hide.
No.
She wasn’t looking for somewhere to hide. Someone was talking to her. Penelope opened the closet door a hair more, revealing the priest from the Chapel standing in the hallway. He grabbed Susie by the hand and led her into a room, shutting the door.
No.
Susie was in the closet. Susie was in the closet and the man took Penelope into the room. Susie began to cry in her hiding spot.


CHLOE / JOHNNY:

Chloe ran around the parlour in the south wing far from where the game had started. Little Johnny Nelson ran with her, typically staying by his pseudo-older sister’s side. It was his idea to run this far. Get as far away from the Seekers as we can and then hide was the strategy he had proposed. Chloe went along with anything he wanted. As they ran through the parlour, Chloe stopped when she heard a noise. The TV had clicked on but was only showing static. Johnny called to Chloe from the other side of the room, peering into the hallway to assess their next move. He called again but Chloe didn’t move an inch. Johnny looked back into the hallway and saw...another hallway branching off? But was that there before? He called Chloe a final time but moved to investigate on his own when she once again gave all of her attention to the TV static.



LILLIAN:

Down a stretch of hallway in the west wing, a girl stood in front of the large entrance to an even longer hallway that appeared to her from where she stood to go on forever. . The girl was sure she had never seen it before. She took a few cautious steps down it. The walls and the floor were the exact same as the other hallways, but this particular hallway was devoid of any ornamentation. There was light yet no fixtures hung from the ceiling. The girl, Lillian, walked for what felt like at least ten minutes before she reached the end: only to find a blank wall, a dead end. Confused, she turned around to look back to where she had come. She thought she saw a figure move across the entryway but it was so far back now she couldn’t tell for sure. When she turned to examine the wall further… she saw a door.

NICHELLE / ALICIA

Nichelle ran to hide in the garden outside. She sang while she skipped, not caring if anyone heard or saw her. She knew they already knew where she was because she always hid in the garden. It was her favorite place at the orphanage and no one else ever hid there. When she knelt behind a large statue, she saw a flash of blue out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head and saw a strange looking girl in a babydoll dress standing a few yards away.

Nichelle followed her with her eyes when she began to run, wondering how she couldn’t place the face she saw. Curiosity led her to leave her hiding spot and follow the tiny stranger to the statue she disappeared behind. Her bravery wavered as she got closer and her steps got slower. She held her breath as she turned the final corner. Relief only came when she saw Alicia standing behind the statue instead.

STU / ETHAN / NICK

Stu hid in the forest, several yards away from the treeline. He technically wasn’t supposed to go that far but Sister Agnes hadn’t come out yet to bust his balls so he continued to do what he wanted. He planned on giving it ten more minutes before he switched hiding spots and pretended to have been following the rules the whole time. Then, he heard a twig snap behind him… He turned around but couldn’t see anything despite his eyes being well adjusted to the dark. When he turned around…
“BAM BITCH!” Ethan jumped in front of Stu, shining his flashlight on his friend's face.
Stu shielded his face with his hand and stood up. “Bullshit! You cheated!”
Nick popped out and tried to scare Stu again but he didn’t even flinch.
“Bullshit my balls, we found you fair and square!” Nick replied.
“Yeah, besides, you’re the one cheating going past the treeline.” added Ethan.
“Yeah, so how did you know I was out here if you didn’t cheat?” Stu grew confident, thinking he put his friends in checkmate.
“Uh, because you hid here last time numb nuts” Nick rolled his eyes and turned, ready to go back to the manor.
The boys followed Nicks lead, walking back to the treeline while they continued their discourse.
“Dude, no I didn’t!” Stu sounded incredulous.
Fed up, Ethan shot back: “Then where did you hide last time? The kitchen?”
“Fuck you Adler!” Stu worried he sounded too emotional when he replied. He went to make a smart ass comment about Ethan’s bitch aunt but a twig snapping behind him caught his attention.
He stopped dead in his tracks. “Guys, did you hear that?”
The other two kept moving. Stu swiveled to see what was there but then quickly turned back around to catch up to his friends before he got left behind.

ROCKY / THEO:

Inside a small room, while all the other little children played, two boys laid in their respective beds on their sides of their shared bedroom. A woman, a blonde of timeless beauty, entered their room and spoke in a soft voice.
“Rocky? Rose was looking for you a moment ago…”

Rocky replied from his bed, where he sat upright against his headboard. “I know, I told her I didn’t want to play.”
The woman frowns.
“Well why not dear?”
The boy in the other bed, Theo, answered for him. “He doesn’t feel good.”
“Oh?” The woman moved to sit on Rocky’s bed with him. “Is that so? Come on, let me feel.” She placed her cold hand on his head.
“Hmmm, you do feel a little warm. Here, lets tuck you in.”
Rocky moved in protest and pulled his blanket up himself. The woman stood, initially upset he rebuffed her but she then plastered on a bright smile.
“Well then. I suppose you are a big boy now, aren’t you. But not too old for a bedtime story, I hope…” She looks over to the younger Theo, hoping to gain an ally.
“Storytime!” Theo yelled.
The woman laughs. “Alright settle in you two.” She waited for Rocky to settle into bed.

The woman moved to sit on Rocky’s bed once again, this time on the side nearest Theo’s bed.
“Alright. Once upon a time, there were two boys. These boys were special because they came from a special family. Their family was so special, because the house that they lived in was special…”

***********************************************
NOW:

Rocky stands at the window in the dining hall overlooking the grounds. He sips a glass of champagne while waiting for cars to arrive. He thinks back to the night before: the bed, the girl, the blood. He looks back to the stairs, half expecting to see Rose coming down them. He flashes back to their night together again. The champagne, the dinner, the knife in her stomach. A car circles into the drive. Rocky puts the champagne glass down and fixes the cuffs on his blazer, preparing to greet his first guests...

Alright! Again sorry for the amount of content here! I don’t want to overburden you but I had a lot of great ideas for everyone and I wanted to get everyone included! There are a couple characters that were newer apps that I didn’t have time to plan for this episode but I will get you next time around <3

When the episode starts everyone will be just arriving at Chapel Hill either by taxi or rental car or what have you. Rocky will be there to greet guests when you arrive. It is a reunion/dinner party this evening and it will be for you to reconnect with old friends and establish new relationships with your characters. Later tonight we will also be playing a game of hide and seek in the dark where the participating characters will all have an opportunity to unlock a memory from their past.

Posting begins at 5 pm CST. See you all then!

(me at young Ethan fat shaming Stu)

*********************** You may begin posting! ***********************

Susie:
*Susie rides in a taxicab on her way to Chapel Hill. She had given the cab driver the address from memory. Now, as they neared the manor, a pit grew in her stomach*

(Here, but can't stay all the way till the end)

Rocky:
*Rocky finishes fixing his cuffs and checks his hair in a large mirror by the front door*
*He checks behind him again, looking for Rose but finding no one*
Guess I'm on solo duty

(That's all good! Just be as active as you can and have fun!)

*Alicia watches from her cab as the manor comes into view*

Alicia: What did I take to agree to this?

*She tries to stay calm as it gets closer*

*Izzy is en route to Chapel Hill, with the assist of the GPS installed in her car. She drives attentively, her eyes fixed on the road. For a brief moment, she takes a quick glance through the rear view mirror to see her daughter, Forest, sitting in the backseat with a game console in hand*

Penelope looks out from the cab window, seeing Chapel Hill slowly come into view.