Chapter Text
It was late at night on an ordinary Wednesday night. The city of angels seemed to be enjoying a rare moment of peace as all of the nightclubs and bars had closed for the night and the parties had ended, with everyone passed out in their own bed or someone else’s. The traffic lights were changing for no one and the streetlights were standing on their own.
All except one apartment, which had only the computer screen illuminating the space. A blonde guy sat there, running his fingers through his hair. His eyes glanced at the corner of the screen.
4am
He sighed as he realised that he had yet to go to sleep, but had a busy day of filming ahead of him. But still he scrolled through the webpages and clicked aimlessly. He hadn’t been able to sleep, his mind spinning with ideas for his next video. It had been about two in the morning when he had given up on the elusive sleep and trudged up the stairs to his loft.
Which is where we find him, slumped over at the computer, scrolling through the list of titles, some of which were familiar and others just weren’t all that interesting. Both of his hands brushed through his hair, pushing his fringe all the way back before letting it flop again. He pushed the sleeves of his blue hoodie up.
Sam sighed again, waves of tiredness sweeping over him, eyes barely staying open. As his eyes flickered across the black lettering of the screen, he caught sight of of a few that sparked his interest. He right clicked, opening them in a new tab. His blue, red rimmed eyes scanned through the text, ultimately deciding to close that tab.
His fans had been constantly leaving comments or tweeting him about doing another 3am challenge. Sam was always down for one, but it was the finding and researching that he hated. Especially now. He had been through several rituals by now, having done most of the interesting and least dangerous sounding ones.
“I have to step up my game.” Sam mumbled, his head falling forward before he caught on, eyes snapping wide open. He needed another 3am challenge like the Midnight Man or the Hosting Game. But most of the games he saw were about asking questions, getting the opportunity to talk to something.
Just then, as he was about to close his browser and drag his tired ass to bed, he saw a title that caught his eye immediately. He right clicked and opened it a new tab. His eyes flickered through the words, a lazy smile appearing in his face. This was the one.
Face to Face
Before reading any further, understand one thing. There is no reward for completing this ritual. The only benefit you get is that you have survived a Face off.
The history of this ritual lies in medieval times, being used an punishment for those who went against the Church. Those who were forced to undertake this ritual never returned the same.
Be aware that no ritual is a fun game. These are not for the faint of heart and certainly are not meant for children. Understand what this ritual entails before beginning the ritual. Because once it’s began, there’s no turning back.
Play at your own risk.
Players:
One principle
Requirements:
- six candles of the same colour
- salt
- a lighter or match box
- a room inside an empty house, where all the lights can be turned off and there are either no windows, or they can be completely covered
Instructions:
The Set Up:
1 - Set up your room so that there is only one light on and the windows are covered. Make sure that there will be nobody interrupting your ritual by stepping into the house.
2 - Turn off any air conditioning or fans that would blow into the room.
3 - Spill the salt on the ground, arranging it into a five pointed star. Make sure the salt line is unbroken or the ritual will not work.
4 - Place each candle at a point of the star, with the final candle being placed in the middle of the star. Make sure none of the salt lines have been broken.
5 - In the corner of the room, spill the salt in a circle, big enough for you to comfortably stand in. Make sure the salt line remains unbroken.
6 - Turn off the last light and use the lighter or match stick as your only light source to begin the ritual.
The Ritual:
1 - Begin at 3am. If you are not sitting in front of the candles with the lights off at 3am, DO NOT PROCEED.
You have now missed the time and will have to try again the next night.
2 - Light the candles one by one, start with the point closest to you and end with the candle in the centre. As you light each one, say the following:
With this light, I call to you.
With this light, I invite you in.
With this light, I open the door for you.
With this light, I welcome you.
With this light, I ask you to stay.
With this light, I summon you to me.
If any of the candles fail to light, try again. If they fail to light for the second time, DO NOT PROCEED.
If the last candle does not light on the first try, DO NOT PROCEED.
If the candles light on the first try, proceed to step 3.
3 - Listen for hear a small knock. This is it. It is inside the house.
If you do not hear a small knock, DO NOT PROCEED.
Lock or block the door, draw up a line of salt by the door. Hide and remain silent and do not move, until 6am.
If you hear the knock, proceed to step 4.
4 - Open the door, just a crack and call out to it, say the following:
I called to you.
I invited you in.
I opened the door for you.
I welcomed you.
I asked you to stay.
I summoned you.
5 - Move immediately towards the salt circle. Do not break the salt line. Step inside it and face the door. Watch for a shadow or sign of something entering the bedroom.
Do not take your eyes off the door. Do not make eye contact with it for longer than 10 seconds.
If you do, then I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.
6 - If you have not made eye contact, you should feel its presence right in front of you.
DO NOT LOOK AT ITS EYES.
If you do, then I’m sorry. I’m so sorry
7 - If you avoid eye contact, it will turn to leave. Do not speak and what for it to leave the room. It will close the door behind it.
8 - Wait to hear a slam, that means it has left through the front door.
DO NOT LEAVE THE SALT CIRCLE, until you have heard the slam.
The End:
Congratulations you have survived the Face to Face ritual. But be warned that once you have opened your door to it, you cannot close it again. It has left the house for now, but why would anything miss the opportunity to come back when you are not expecting it.
FAQ:
How do I make sure it doesn’t come back to my house?
By not playing. The only sure way to keep something out is to not let it in, in the first place. But if that doesn’t stop you, I wouldn’t perform the ritual in my own house. That is, if you feel comfortable with letting someone else bear the weight of your choices.
What is it?
I don’t think that anyone who knows is in a condition to tell us.
What if you look at its eyes?
Don’t, just don’t.
What if I don’t hear the slam?
Then it hasn’t left. Do not leave the salt circle until it has left. Even if the clock strikes 6. WAIT for it to leave. You don’t want to know what happens if you don’t.
What if I light the last candle on the second try?
It is unclear if it’s there or not. There is a reason that you should not light the candle on the second try. But sources have said that it will still be there if you light the last candle. But it will not play by the rules.
What if I light the first candle after several goes?
The ritual will not work.
Sam sat there at his desk, staring at the words in the screen. If there was ever a ritual that would give him undeniable proof, it would be this one. His eyes glossed over the warnings, deciding that if this game has been played all the way from the medieval times, then it mustn’t be that dangerous. He scrolled back up, not seeing the last question.
What will it do in my house?
Sources say that it wants to find a second chance. But as I have said before, I recommend not playing any of these rituals. No matter what. It’s best not to interfere.
“Hey Colby?” Sam asked him when they were lounging around Sam’s apartment. They had just filmed a video for Colby’s channel.
“What’s up?” He asked, head peeking over the couch as Sam stood in his kitchen. He had been grabbing them both a drink but distracted himself when he saw the salt that he had forgot to put away.
“I’m thinking of doing another 3am challenge?” Sam mused, pouring the soda into both cups. Colby groaned.
“Seriously? Haven’t you had enough of those yet?”
“There’s always another one to do. And my fans seem to really love them, and I-“ he trailed off not knowing how to explain to his best friend.
“And you want proof. Right?”
“Yeah, I guess. Something concrete.” Sam handed Colby his soda as Sam joined him back on the couch.
“Well if you’re gonna do it, I recommend getting an air b&b. We just moved out of our haunted house. I wouldn’t want to haunt this one so soon.” Sam twirled the liquid in the cup for a little longer, considering what Colby had suggested. It wasn’t a bad idea, but would Sam feel guilty about haunting someone else’s house?
Colby watched as Sam fell silent, his brows furrowing. Colby knew Sam was considering the option, but could see the inner turmoil written all over his face. Strands of blonde hair fell into the eyes that held the cloudless sky. Eyes that Colby had dreamt of in the first year or two of them living in Los Angeles. The hair that Colby remembered wanting to run his fingers through as they-
“We could probably find an abandoned building that would work. God knows we’ve explored them all.” At his words, Sam pushed his hair out of his face, a smile lighting up Colby’s world.
“You know we can’t risk that. Besides, I don’t think any of them would do. It needs to be a proper house.” They both missed exploring, and while they loved the ghost trips that they were going on now, it didn’t ease the ache of not exploring. Filming Stranded brought back that love, and all of the amazing memories that went with it. But Sam’s right, they shouldn’t risk it.
“Maybe, an air b&b would work. It’s just-“
“What? Sam?”
“Nothing. I’ll go and have a look.” He jumped up, leaving Colby and his drink as he walked up to his loft. Colby sighed as his fingers twisted with his rings. He knew that Sam didn’t want to put anyone else in danger, but Colby was determined that he wasn’t going to let Sam haunt his new apartment.
Colby had stayed down on the couch, while Sam surfed the internet, looking for air b&bs in the Los Angeles area. He filtered his search to look at only low rated and rather expensive places. At least then, if the place only had one star and wasn’t a cheap deal, he wouldn’t be putting a lot of people at risk with this ritual.
It wasn’t the first time, he had rented somewhere else to do 3am challenges, but he didn’t quite understand it all back then. Not since they had changed the Sam and Colby channel to be more focused in ghost hunting, when they realised that they had spirits attached to them. Sam wouldn’t wish that on anyone else.
“SAM? SAM!” The blue haired girl screamed at the top of her lungs. But the only response was the harsh breathing from herself. “SAMUEL! SAM!”
“Katrina, calm down.” She turned to see her brunette friend jogging over to her. How could she stay calm, when her boyfriend was out there? In the woods by himself?
“No! I won’t! How would you feel if it was Corey out there?” Her friend fumbled her words, obviously stumped. Finally she collected her thoughts and her hand touched the blue haired girl on the shoulder.
“I’d be worried. But you have to let them-“
“SAM! SAM!”
She didn’t care, she needed to find him. She couldn’t leave him alone out there in the dark. “I have to find him, Devyn.”
“Kat, you saw what happened the last time. He doesn’t want to see you right now.” She felt her heart break even more. She had been pushing that part down. Her fingers traced the invisible make on her cheek. Her own boyfriend, the sweetest guy she had ever met, had yelled and slapped her, before taking off.
“I don’t care. I need to find him.” She wiped the tears from her face. She had to find him, because she loved him, and she had thought he had loved her too. But maybe he didn’t anymore.