Truth or Dare. How crude a game. Why was it, half the student body enjoyed the game so much? It didn’t seem fun. Just frustratingly embarrassing. As the girls in dorm room ninety-three shared giggles, and embarrassed blushes, Catherine couldn’t help but cringe. Sometimes it seemed other girls didn’t make sense, at least to her. From what she’d seen, this game was an excuse to get each other to do the most foolish things and listen in on each others deepest secrets. Bringing her arms to curl around her legs and draw them close to her chest, Catherine exhaled softly, putting on a smile and answering the question shot at her with an earnest tone.

It seemed there was no end to this game, and before she knew it, what had begun at one o’clock in the afternoon, was soon breeching seven o’clock in the evening. Smothering a yawn behind her hand, she considered telling them she was tired, but that simply wouldn’t be like her. She couldn’t bare the thought of anything thinking she backed out of something, and she knew, they would assume she had something more interesting to hide, that, or she was simply frightened of playing it any further. Neither of these seemed to please her, and so with a sigh, she pursed her lips and allowed the situation to play on.

Beside her, Alison, a girl in her science class shared a soft giggle with her companions before turning towards Catherine with a sly light in her eye, her fingers kneading into her knees with excitement. “Catherine; Truth or Dare?” She questioned, though it was clear from her expression what she expected. Swallowing down her suspicion, Catherine inclined her head in thought, brushing her thick locks from before her reading glasses, pressing them up her nose ever-so-carefully before smiling.

“Dare.”

So she’d fallen into their trap. So what? She couldn’t very well just back out when she felt a challenge coming her way, though perhaps, she ought have done. “I dare you, to spend a night down in the basement…” Alison paused for a dramatic effect before leaving forward with a curved smile on her plump lips, “Alone,” She said gleefully; a couple of the girls gasping a little. “O-Oh, you really think she should? What about the stories?” One of girls, a meek-looking first year girl piped up with a weak stammer. “Jen. You’re not scared of scary stories are you? It’s just like you said, they’re ‘stories’ and stories alone,” Alison said firmly, glancing toward Catherine with a smirk, “Unless you’re afraid?” She pouted in a taunting tone.

Perhaps she ought have been. But being knew, Catherine had hardly heard any stories of the place, let alone, any scary ones. And even had she, she didn’t believe in things like ghosts, or aliens, or things that go bump in the night. “Fine, I’ll do it,” She stated, Alison laughing happily and clasping her hands together, “See, Jen? Catherine isn’t scared of stories,” She giggled, though something in her eyes betrayed something. Something that caused Catherine, for a brief moment, fear.

[[Hope that's alright ^_^]]

Barely restraining herself from commenting on the pure stupidity of the clothing suggestion, Catherine heaved a sigh, her eyes glancing around the group for any assistance. The least they could do was allow her, her dignity and let the clothing suggestion slide. However, aside from the uncomfortable fidgeting Jen was displaying, no one else seemed to have any protests to voice.

“I guess it won’t matter really,” Catherine began finally, “I mean, even if I were caught by a teacher-It’s not like there’s much punishment for wandering about. I can always claim I was lost, seeing as I’m new,” Catherine reasoned, Alison smiling brightly, “Perfect,” She mused, glancing at a couple of girls nearby, “Well-I don’t have to do it all on my own, find some clothing already,” She tisked out, the girls leaping to their feet immediately leaving Catherine to ponder Alison’s unspoken leadership.

“Y-You know you don’t have to go along with this…” Jen spoke quietly, Catherine casting a careless glance in her direction, “It’s not going to hurt anyone,” She answered, Jen wincing visibly before backing down, “If you say so,” She agreed, a meek, but painfully feign smile on her lips.

“Enough already, Jen. Just because you’re too frightened,” Alison shot with a roll of her eyes and a casual flip of her thick layered hair. “Come on, already,” She sighed impatiently. “Ooh, how about something very tight-Or maybe, we could make a few alterations to the school uniform-?” One of the girls insisted, Alison inclining her head, “Well, we don’t have time to make anything like that,” She sighed as if disappointed by that fact. While a discussion was held, they finally settled on an idea, searching the room for appropriate things, Alison tugging Catherine into the bathroom and thrusting an armful of clothing into her grasp.

After what seemed almost an unnecessary length of time, Catherine emerged nervously, unused to putting her body on such display. She bore a skirt on her waist, not tight, but cropped shortly enough to offer almost her entire backside to display, revealing the laced black thong beneath which only seemed to reveal even more of her. The soft skin of her breasts was pushed up into view by the tightly made blouse, which kept almost to the style of a corset, winding around her torso and lacing tightly at the back causing the female a slightly more petite impression then she usually held. Her attire black, save for the white ruffles along the rim of her skirt, and the silken white lace which held the corset upon her.

“Perfect,” Alison smiled, bringing herself forward without invite and twisting Catherine’s hair into two pony-tails either side her head, deliberating whether to remove her reading glasses, before nodding her head in acceptance and smiling, “That way, if nothing interesting happens down there-You can always attract some attention from the teachers and make it all worth while-It’s no fun if there’s no risk, right?” She smiled innocently, Catherine feigning a smile, “Exactly,” She agreed, though the slightest resentment creeping into her mind.

It was hard to contain a short gasp as the door cut off behind Catherine, suffocating her in the vast shadows throughout. Biting into her lower lip as her stomach tightened in an uncomfortable manner, she struggled with the torch for a moment before the light pierced the shadows, giving her a vague idea of her surroundings, though not doing much for her clumsy behavior; her free hand grasping at an unstable railing as she took herself down the flight of stairs, gladly resting herself against the icy wall, her skin prickling and goosebumps rising on her exposed flesh.

Fumbling with the walkie talkie, she considered calling up toward the others before dismissing it with distaste, in her eyes at least, they’d forced her to go through this. They could at least suffer a few hours believing her dead or missing. Thrusting it into the small purse, she struggled with the map for a moment, shining the torchlight over the sheet of paper, turning her back toward the darkness and shuddering with an involuntary chill running up her spine.

Quickly turning back, she searched the room around her before sighing and turning back toward the map, “There’s nothing in here,” She informed herself firmly, biting into her lower lip again, almost piercing the lip with the force she’d applied, attempting to calm herself then tracing a path across the map. “A storage room…Well, surely that’s better than lingering around here,” She murmured, placing the map aside then slowly trudging forward, ignoring the uneasy feeling bubbling inside her as she moved on.

She’d never been fond of the dark, so it came as no surprise to her that she felt tense and off guard, hopelessly trying the light in each room without success. As she brought her fingers toward another light switch, a frightened gasp escaped her as something crawled over her hand, immediately leaping back and dropping her things to the ground, the torch flickering for a moment before switching off, plunging her into darkness and causing her heart to pound against her ribcage violently, as she slid to the floor, her knees tight against her chest as her breathing slowly evened out and she heard the protesting squeak of a mouse in the direction of the light switch.

“Idiot,” She scolded herself, “It was just a mouse,” She informed herself, and finally leant forwards, sweeping the floor with her hands and gathering the purse and torch into her grasp, wincing in pain as her fingers curled around shattered glass and a disbelieving groan parted her lips. “Oh no,” She sighed aloud, the torch refusing to relight, and eventually, she abandoned it to one side, fishing around in the purse and retrieving the walkie talkie.

Holding her finger down on the talk option, she paused for a moment before swallowing, “Guys-I think I broke the torch,” She began shakily, releasing the button and awaiting for a moment, frowning as nothing but the crackling of the radio answered her. “Alison-Answer already, this isn’t funny,” She insisted into the mouth piece. Again, only the crackling of the radio responded. “Please, answer me,” She spoke into the walkie talkie, her voice shaking slightly as she glanced about her into the darkness. As she removed her finger, the crackling of the radio responded before abruptly dying out, her hands shaking as she tried the buttons, nothing responding to any of her actions.

“Great,” She mumbled sarcastically, standing herself and running her fingers along the cracked surface of the stone walls, attempting to recall the directions she’d made on the map before moving forward, her footsteps quiet, and her ears straining for any noise, not that she could hear much above the pounding of her own heart, and while she reminded herself that she was simply imagining things, she couldn’t help the feeling of isolation, loneliness, and the helpless feeling that she couldn’t do anything to change her situation as she staggered on in the thick shadows.

-----

“Alison-Do you think something happened?” Jen asked weakly, the walkie talkie having not made a sound for some time, “She hasn’t said a thing since she got down there-Oh, do you think something got her?” One of the girls asked in an excited, and frightened tone, leaning forward to toy with the walkie talkie without success. “Don’t worry, I’m sure Catherine can take care of herself. She’s probably perfectly fine, so she hasn’t called us yet,” Alison smiled innocently, her hands in her lap, and her fingers curled around the cold batteries from the back of her own walkie talkie, keeping a smirk from her features as she listened to the others worries without care; eyes filled with a feign concern.

Breaking the calm with a restful exhale, Catherine lifted herself to her feet with effortlessness, dusting off her clothing then folding the map, stowing it aside for later use; her eyes running along the doors with a slight suspicion, as if expecting something to burst out into the open. Somewhat relieved when this didn’t happen, she glanced about the room, surveying it for a moment then finally regarding the lights, crossing the room to the light switch, her hand resting on it for a moment before flicking it off, startled when the light didn’t comply and remained blaringly bright.

Trying the light a few more times, she peered down the corridor. “Hello?” She called numbly, “Is someone there-Anyone?” She called, only to hear her voice bounce back with an echo. Unsure whether to feel relieved or not, the decided not to press the matter and retrieved the key. From what she’d seen in the map, the area was filled with old storage rooms, and knowing better than to sit around and allow her imagination get the best of her, she decided to try a few of the doors; maybe she’d find something helpful, though she doubted that very much.

Slipping the key into one of the locks, twisting it and hearing the lock strain around the key, as if it hadn’t been opened for some time, she tested the door knob. The more imaginative portion of her mind warned her not to go nosing about, but of course, she’d been taught not to listen to that part of herself, and without care, she drew back the door. Startled, she stumbled back as a mess of cleaning supplies came crashing down from where they’d been leaning on the door.

Grimacing at the mess of cleaning chemicals and brooms, Catherine tensed visibly as a few stray mice came scurrying out past her feet, obviously irritated she’d disturbed them. Sighing and attempting to push most of the objects back into the room so as to shut the door, she pinched her nose against the putrid smell of something rotting. “Oh-Gross,” She winced, spotting what seemed to be the remains of an animal, probably trapped in the room and left to die of starvation, and obviously, it prevented the rats from following suit.

“Well-So far, no lost students-But I think a dead animal is enough for me,” Catherine winced, speaking aloud seemed to calm her somewhat, giving her the feeling that she wasn’t standing down there all alone, though it could only do so much before her mind would give her a crude reminder. Finally pushing the door closed with relief, though the musty smell remained with her.

After the surprise she’d been given, she couldn’t help but grimace at the thought of exploring yet another room, but as the old lights above gave a brief flicker, Catherine pushed forward, surely in a place like that there would be some sort of torch, or back up power supply. Slotting the key into another door, she held her breath and twisted it, the door swinging open and her eyes strained through the shadows to make out the sight within.

Fear would have been an understatement. How was it possible for someone to feel less than that? Her breath hitched in her throat at the sights and she couldn’t help but curse her ‘friends’ for even suggestion such a stupid game. The room felt eerie, dense with the scent of neglect, rotting wood from the floors, and her gaze caught the sight of the straining ceiling, as if tonnes of weight was pressing down against the support beams, threatening to give way and leave her buried beneath the rubble. Just the thought of being pinned there amongst those dolls caused an involuntary shudder to run up her spine, her skin prickling slightly.

Breaking gaze with the dolls, Catherine directed her gaze at the floor, attempting to make her way through without touching one of them. Though, without her gaze on the dolls, it almost felt as if their eyes were intent upon her, causing her to stumble more than once, her eyes welling up with frightened tears which she furiously wiped away, turning and abruptly bumping into one of the dolls, screaming as she recoiled from it, the rubber felt almost human beneath her skin and she couldn’t bare the thought that somehow; it felt warm.

Gazing at the doll, Catherine stifled a groan of fear, it’s body was a jumbled pile of limbs from their encounter, but it’s head was inclined revealing the only portion of the dolls features the artist had managed to complete. It’s eyes. And they followed her, at least in her mind, so life like and chilling, that had she had the courage to touch them, she could almost swear they would blink and she would feel dampness beneath her fingertips.

She stumbled from the room clumsily, her hand thrusting into the purse and bringing out the walkie talkie once more; eyes stinging from the terrified tears which she refused to bare, as if those dolls would somehow sense her helplessness. “This isn’t funny!” She shrieked into the receiver, her hand barely steady enough to keep it near. “Guys-Please. I don’t care if I lose this stupid dare!” She whimpered, her body sliding down the wall and resting upon the floor, “P-Please…” She whispered helplessly, her fingers tightening around the walkie talkie before groaning in frustration, and summoning all her anger and hurling it across the room, the sound of static dying out as it shattered, falling in pieces near the door she’d neglected to shut, and her eyes rose toward it wearily.

As much as she couldn’t bare the sight of those dolls, her fear kept her still, kept her from moving to close to door. And the foolish part of her imagination insisted if she were to try, one of them would surely stir. The mere thought of it scared her, and kept her from moving an inch for some time, her chest even pausing in it’s heaving as she strove to make as little noise as possible before swallowing and lifting herself to her feet taking short steps forward, alarms ringing loudly inside her head as she approached the door, cringing visibly as she used the tip of her shoe to shuffle the dolls remains back inside the room, and without hesitation, brought the door slamming back, jerking the key from the hole after locking it.

An unnecessary relief washed over Catherine, but without luck, as she moved her hand, it brushed along the soft rubber of something she’d not noticed before, and recoiled as her eyes rested on the head of one of those dolls, those unforgiving eyes held on her in accusation, and unable to restrain herself, the tears finally came. Angry toward her so-called friends who’d made her do this, frightened of those eyes which didn’t break gaze from her once, and scared that maybe she might not get out of that place. At least, alive.

Terror was running thick through her veins, Catherine staggered backwards, her body colliding against the wall, sliding along it as she refused to tare her eyes from the top of the stairway. Her sight was impaired somewhat from the tears which ran thick down her cheeks and each inch of her body was quivering in fear. As she neared the end of the hall, her fingers curled around the cold steel of a door handle, quickly slotting the key into place, her eyes darting constantly over her shoulder before sliding into the room, slamming the door closed and locking it, resting at the foot of the door with her face in her hands.

This wasn’t right. It wasn’t how a game was supposed to go. She was meant to be sitting in one of those rooms, waiting for the hours to pass, thinking of ghost stories to tell the girls when she returned. Not running from an unknown and defiantly not sobbing on the floor, desperate for anyone to show up, for someone to come and save her.

Forcing herself to stand, she moved on, her breath shallow and her eyes staring ahead unfaltering, refusing to take note of the shadows, though flinching visibly at every sound which met her ears. Tucking her hair behind her ears, she slowed herself finally, trying to take in the sights around her, the dimly lit hallways causing her eyes to strain. “Where now…?” She whispered, her voice unfamiliar to her.

Coming to a stop, she caught her breath, glancing around her wearily at the open space. Whatever had been chasing her was surely gone, there was no way they could have followed her. She’d made sure to lock each door she’d been through, and nothing but the sound of her own footsteps followed. Leaning up against the wall near her, she closed her eyes, breathing deeply for a moment. If she got out of there-Halting in her thoughts, she strained herself, the sound of scraping reaching her ears and causing a sharp intake of breath from her.

“H-Hello…?” She called out daringly, her voice echoing back for a moment then almost too suddenly the scraping stopped and an eerie feeling swept over her and she didn’t know whether to feel relieved at the silence or frightened. Now that she considered it, at least when the noise had been there, she’d known where to go, but without the sound she couldn’t tell in what direction her pursuer was in.

Swallowing, she took a few steps back, deciding she was better off continuing on the path she’d been on, and delving deeper into the shadowy basement, her body beginning to feel numb from the cold and her legs aching under her shaking body.

It was an escape. Just the thought caused a soft smile to surface on her lips. As she ran through the hall, the sound of her shoes thudding against the stone floor, Catherine swung around the corner, panting softly, the illumination of light pooling from the elevator, conveniently held open as if it were waiting for her. Her steps suddenly slowed, and her body tensed visibly, soft breaths escaping her. “Waiting…” She winced visibly, her eyes glancing around the area suspiciously. Surely, it was a coincidence. There was no one else around, and she had passed no one on the way there.

Biting into her lower lip, she stepped forward, and instead of one footstep, she heard two. One shadowing her own and though it was just bare enough to be an echo, Catherine glanced quickly over her shoulder, her throat tightening as the shadows moved in an unnatural manner. Without hesitation, she quickly brought herself into the elevator, pressing the upwards button quickly, backing against the back of the elevator as the shadows grew denser and closer, body quivering in fear as it got closer and closer, the elevator doors shutting finally, nothing outside but darkness. Stepping forward hesitantly, Catherine stared through the darkness before a scream broke past her lips as a pale hand pressed against the window of the elevator before it jolted and began moving slowly.

Shaking in a frightened manner, Catherine moved toward the key pad, inhaling sharply. “Up! Not down-” She cried in frustration, jabbing at the button once again to no result. “Stop-St-” Cutting off, she caught sight of the emergency phone, quickly seizing it and waiting impatiently. “Maintenance desk,” A dull voice answered on one end of the phone, “Help-Please, I’m stuck down here and something is after me!” Catherine cried hysterically into the phone, “Is this some sort of prank?” The voice answered in a bored tone, Catherine groaning in frustration, “No! Please help me, I’m in the basement and…Hello?” She persisted, static filling the phone before it cut off, a sharp beep sounding in her ears.

“Unfortunately, the phone lines are temporarily down. This may be due to weather, service or an accident. Please wait momentarily, the estimated time for reconnection is; Two hours and forty-three minutes. Thank you for your patience,” An automated voice spoke into the phone, Catherine bringing her fist against the side of the elevator in anger, immediately regretting it as her hand began to throb, and barely noticing as the elevator came to a stop until the doors parted noisily, lights flickering over head in the poorly lit corridor.