LAMBros Unlimited Flow Prologue

The walls appeared to be bleeding.

"What shitty special effects." The teenager's voice was full of judgement.

Of the seven other people scattered around the dilapidated foyer, two were in various states of panic. The other five looked on in disdain at the newcomers. After all, those refusing to believe their circumstances either learned quickly or died horrible deaths.

There was one more participant, however. The man looked on indulgently as the silver haired teen continued to criticize the surroundings. And nodded along to the comments calling it a 'low budget haunted house'.

One of the older gentlemen called everyone's attention to him and began to explain their situation. "This is a 'game'. We are the 'players'. Make no mistake, however. This isn't some silly prank show with no real consequences. The ghosts and monsters are real. If you think crying and denying your fate will save you from death, you are sorely mistaken."

Having finished giving what was likely a standard introduction to newcomers, he gestured to an old looking piece of parchment on the table in front of them. "The task should be to leave the mansion successfully. What is written on the paper should be a clue to figure out the story of this place. And with it, they key to escaping."

The teenager looked less than impressed by the explanation the game veteran tried to give the small group of newcomers. And when he tugged at the man's jacket to pull him away from the group, muttering about mentally ill dumbasses, no one stopped him. There was no reason to stick their necks out for naïve children determined to seek death. Everyone else, including the other timid newcomers, gathered together to discuss their next course of action, pouring over a note sitting on the table.

Leaving them behind, the pair exited the nearest door.

"Ghosts. Hmph! Do they think we're that gullible?" He pulled the dark hair man behind him into the dim corridor, unafraid of the gloom.

"Indeed." His companion responded lightly. "They're obviously taking your intelligence lightly, Fuuchan."

The teen was completely blind to the grasping hands and hungry eyes lurking in the shadows of the corridor, watching their every move. But the golden eyes of the man behind him caught everything. Their unnatural glow and his fanged grin froze the beings in their tracks.

"Shall we look for a way out then, little brother?" He hummed. As they passed by unmolested, his free hand reached out to pluck one of the spirits from the wall. It disappeared with a soundless shriek as he crushed it, leaving his hand to wave innocently in the air as his brother finally glanced back at him through the darkness.

He returned the suspicious glance with an innocent smile. "Yes. Let's get out of here before we catch some terrible disease." The boy continued to tug him along.

They walked for what felt like ages. The hallway twisted and turned, but no doors appeared only stained walls and cobwebs, with only the occasional portrait interspersed with flickering candles sitting in ancient looking candleholders. Finally, the teen slowed to a stop, glaring up at a portrait of on old man. His twisted grin and dark eyes seemed to be mocking the pair. Especially as the teen took a few steps to the side and the man's eyes followed him.

"It’s a simple trick, but at least its more interesting than dust and fake blood…" He begrudgingly admitted.

"Do you think we're going in circles? This places can't be that big, but I'm not sure how we're getting turned around."

"Hmm, perhaps they have something swapping the hallways around as they walk. I think I've heard of some haunted houses that could be rearranged to make them seem bigger."

"How rude! They can't actually keep us here like this. Isn't this practically kidnapping?"

"Well, how about I make a mark on the wall and we'll see if we pass it again? If they have a problem with me defacing this place, they simply have to let us out." His voice had fallen to a threatening purr by the end, as he tugged his jacket sleeve out of the teens grip and marched to the wall. His nails scrapped a rude word into the dull paint as he grinned at the painting. Its eyes had begun to bleed as its mouth twisted even further in outrage.

"Let's go." He returned to his brother.

"How immature." The boy grumbled with a pout as he eyed the new markings on the wall. But when a hand was offered to him, he grabbed it without hesitation. The older brother gave it a squeeze and led the way down the hallway with a soft smile.

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When the four remaining players finally pieced together the story of the haunted mansion and arrived at the placed they determined had the item they needed in order to escape, and dragged their weary, bloody bodies into the grand dining hall, they were met with a shock.

The two players that had abandoned them to go to their deaths were seated at the table. So too was a third figure. The horrific figure collapsed in the chair at the head of the table would have been more frightening if not for the defeated slump of his shoulders and the resigned look on his pallid face. Even the gaping, bloody, hole in his chest had less of impact than it should.

"Really! This whole place is a safety hazard. The main staircase has holes in it! And the dust could suffocate a horse!" The teenagers heated voice filled the room.

The other man hummed in agreement and nodded along. "Very irresponsible. What if my dear brother had been hurt on those stairs? You should take responsibility for the upkeep of this place as the master of the house." There was an edge of steel in his voice.

The already pale ghost seemed to pale even further at the veiled threat, and bowed his head in apology.

As the group of players stood stunned in the doorway, the man cast them a glance. "What took you so long to get here?" He judged.

"You-h-how-did" As a player entering the game for the fourth time, the leader of the group had considered himself something of a veteran. But he'd never seen a boss so cowed.

The boss actually looked relieved by their entrance. Almost in a rush, the boss rose from his seat and hurriedly presented an old locket to the leader. The very locket they had been prepared to struggle desperately for.

With a deep bow to the pair at the table, the ghost vanished through the door immediately afterwards. If the leader didn't know better, he'd say the boss was fleeing.

"Do you think he's learned his lesson about trying to scare people and putting them in danger with his shitty attempted haunted house?" The teen asked his brother with a huff.

"How about I contact the authorities once we're home and they deal with him?" Came the reply.

The silver haired boy seemed to agree with that plan, as he instead turned his attention to the worn group still standing stunned by the door.

His nose wrinkled. "Did you trip into that fraud's stash of fake blood?" A frown. "Where are the rest of the people from earlier?"

Before any of the other players could even begin to think of a response, his brother interrupted. "I'm sure they'll catch up eventually. Why don't we go ahead and exit the mansion first?" He nodded to the locket clutched in the leader's hands.

With shaking fingers, the man snapped open the locket. A key clattered to the floor. Disbelievingly, he bent to pick it up and offered it to the dark haired man.

With a hum, the man snatched it from him and went to open the nondescript side door.

Click. He beckoned his little brother through the door, and followed him into the light of the exit. He paused only to throw a challenging smirk over his shoulder. The rest of the group scrambled afterward. Distantly they could hear the pair's unhurried conversation. "I'm hungry" "What would you like to eat?" "Hmm….how about takoyaki?" The light swallowed them.