"Reyna come on, the line's already super long," Nico whined to his best friend, gazing worriedly at the mob of people already waiting ahead of them for the haunted house.

The Amityville Horror, a two story home in Amityville, New York. According to the legend, Ronald DeFoe had murdered his entire family in November 1974 using a .35 Marlin Rifle. When questioned by authorities, he claimed that he was being controlled by evil spirits and that he could hear voices. The police disregarded this though and sentenced him to six life sentences. Yikes.

The tale had gotten even spookier from there. A year later, Kathy and George Lutz moved in. It only took them a month to get freaked out by the place; they claimed to see black ooze coming from toilets, doors blown off hinges, unexplained teeth marks, a pit to hell in the basement, and of course the bleeding walls. Certainly a supernatural mystery worthy of Sam and Dean.

The scary part though? George Lutz looked creepily similar to Ronald DeFoe. In fact, some people had trouble telling them apart. Some people believed that the demon that Ronald DeFoe claimed to have possessed him had moved on into George Lutz.

In more recent years, a new set of renters moves into the paranormal house but had yet to report anything sinister. Instead, they took glee in a good story and turned their house into a haunted maze full of twists, turns, and jumpscares galore. When Nico and Reyna, horror enthusiasts, had discovered this home on Tumblr, they absolutely knew they had to at least check it out. Thankfully, it was only a two hour drive from their town.

Reyna had been a bit more hesitant on the matter. She didn't particularly enjoy death or murder scenes for that matter, but the hopeful look in Nico's eyes had convinced her to accompany him. After all, she couldn't just let him go alone. She was just going to protect him, no other reason whatsoever. Psh, it wasn't like she had a crush on him, because that would just be such a tragedy.

Nico just couldn't help but be all wide-eyes and smiles when Reyna had agreed to go with him. There was nobody he'd rather be with, he was certain of that. Besides, when he inevitably got scared he's need a hand to hold, and Reyna held his hand all the time. It was all "completely" platonic though.

Somehow, they reached the front of the line. A strange sense of terror overcame Nico, almost like he could feel the danger within that building. No wonder they were at the front so quickly; people had most likely chickened out once they felt that dreadful emotion.

Nico, however, was not a chicken.

The guy at the front held out his hand and Reyna fished through her pocket for some money and produced two ten dollar bills. The many snatched them up and opened the door.

"Good luck," he muttered boredly, sliding the cash into a metal box. Nico rolled his eyes. This guy was totally killing the immersion.

Reyna and Nico stepped inside and had to stop for a moment to take in their surroundings. Realistic looking cobwebs hung in corners and on the ceilings, giving the whole room a very abandoned look. The long staircase in the entryway didn't help the creepy vibes either, and Nico couldn't help but note that this whole house looked quite Victorian.

Spooky.

"Should we go up the stairs?" Reyna asked hesitantly, fear already catching in her throat and showing in her voice. Nico studied the corridors on his left and right carefully.

"I don't like the looks of the hallways. They're dimly lit and there could easily be people hiding in there waiting to scare us as well as loads of other creepy stuff. I say stairs," Nico said with confidence. Just as he spoke, the front door slammed shut behind him. Nico squeaked in alarm and jumped into Reyna.

"S-sorry!" Nico stammered, his voice still high pitched with fear. Reyna laughed.

"I thought you weren't scared of anything," she teased. Nico scowled and regained his composure before stomping up the stairs. Reyna had no choice but to follow.

Once they reached the top, they were met with a door or a hallway. Nico stood back, pondering the options before heading down the hallway. As we passed the door, we heard screaming and banging on the other side, then a fit of maniacal laughter.

"I really don't like this place," Nico whimpered. Reyna laced her fingers with his and shot him a reassuring smile.

"Hey, we're going to be fine. Let's keep going," Reyna said soothingly, trying to cover up the shakiness in her tone. Nico relaxed into her grip and continued walking forward.

As if a dark, barely lit hallway wasn't terrifying enough, the paintings of the people with eyes that seemed to watch you were really unnerving. Reyna's skin crawled just from looking at them.

When they reached the end of the hall, there was a door. Nico tried to open it but it was presumably locked. I was watching down the hallway for any signs of demons or Ronald DeFoe.

Then, the whole house went silent. It was so quiet that Reyna's ears rang and the only sound was Nico's shaky breathing beside her.

That's when the lights shut off.

"F-fu.." Nico began to curse but he was trembling to violently to finish. Reyna squeezed his hand tighter, focusing completely on her breathing.

Then, the whole room erupted into ripping noises, as though paper were being slowly torn apart.

"Run," a high pitched voice giggled into Reyna's ear. She didn't need telling twice.

Laughter filled the hallway as Reyna grabbed Nico's hand. They dodged what Reyna has assumed to be people, but upon closer inspection, Reyna actually realized that the people were the people from the paintings. Shuddering violently, they escaped the hallway and fled down the stairs, leaving the deranged paintings behind.

"That was.. terrifying," Nico gasped, looking at Reyna with a grin. Reyna smiled back, finding relief and love in the sight of Nico's smile.

"Which way do you reckon next?" Nico asked, glancing from the left hallway to the right.

"Hmm.. my gut says the left, although I know both ways are probably gonna scare the shit out of us," Reyna said with a small chuckle. Nico laughed weakly and followed as Reyna led the way.

This hallway had barren, tan walls made out of some sort of bumpy material. Jagged edges faded into the color, making it appear as though the wallpaper was peeling. Still, it wasn't as creepy as the painting hallway.

Reyna and Nico finally reached the end of the hall after what felt like years of tense silence. There was a door on the right side of the hallway, but when Reyna attempted to open it, she found it to be locked.

"Let's go ba-" Nico was cut off by a terrifying roar. Reyna looked down the hall and was horrified by the sight. A tall, bulky man with sheet-white skin that seemed to be cracking and glowing red eyes was running toward them at an alarming rate. Reyna desperately jiggled the handle, her panic growing.

"Fuck, please!" Reyna sobbed, pushing the handle harder. The man was only feet away now.

At the last second, the door gave in and Reyna fell into the room, Nico right behind. Just as the giant man was about to follow them through the door, Reyna shut it. Fists pounded on the door for a moment, and Reyna, curled up on the floor, held Nico close, trembling as they awaited their deaths.

The pounding stopped, and Reyna could breathe again.

"I wanna get out of here," Nico sobbed. Reyna kissed him on the cheek gently.

"So do I, but we'll make it, don't worry," she mumbled gently. Reyna got to her feet, adjusting to her shaky legs for a moment before pulling Nico up too.

"I think this is a kitchen," Nico stated, looking around and the plethora of cupboards and drawers. His theory was proven to be true when we saw the fridge and the oven.

The duo took a moment to look through the cupboards, hoping to find any means of escaping. There weren't anymore doors in the kitchen, and opening the door that they had just come through was definitely out of the question.

"Reyna, come here!" Nico squeaked. Reyna slammed the cupboard shut that she'd been snooping through and looked at a piece of paper Nico was holding in his trembling hands.

Hansel and Gretel.

Suddenly the sound of sharpening knives screeched loudly from behind them. Reyna and Nico spun around and found themselves face to face with the undeniable face of Ronald DeFoe.

"I like guns, but this is more fun," Ronald crowed in a singsong voice. He raised his knives and sliced down dangerously close to Nico.

Reyna and Nico tried to run but there was nowhere to go. No more exits, no more safety points. They were completely screwed, probably goners.

Giant, burly paws grasped the collars of Nico and Reyna. Then, Reyna felt herself get shoved into a very cramp space. Nico was pressed against her and she could feel his warm skin against hers. In a normal circumstance, she would've blushed, and perhaps she did because her face was getting awfully hot.

"I'm hot," Reyna gasped, struggling to breathe. The temperature was nearly unbearable and the metal of the cramped box they were in reflected the heat, causing Reyna's skin to burn.

"We're in an oven!" Nico screeched, sobbing. He tried to push open the door but it wouldn't budge. They were trapped for good.

The heat began to make Reyna dizzy, causing her to see black spots and red splotches. Reyna even thought she saw Jason Grace in the oven for a split second.

"No, Reyna, stay with me," Nico wheezed. The carbon dioxide was going to kill them if the heat didn't.

Reyna saw something, a small glimmer of hope; a small hole of evening air. A screw was missing from the back of the oven.

Reyna kicked out as hard as she could as her vision began to fade. Nico saw what she was doing and tried to assist, but he was even weaker. Reyna was sliding in and out of consciousness as her skin boiled and her mind melted.

Then, everything was cold.

Reyna sucked in air, relieved to feel the soft patches of grass beneath her. She was even more relieved to see Nico breathing heavily beside her.

It felt like years that they'd laid there in the chilling night air of Amityville, New York. Despite their near death experience, Reyna realized there was nobody she'd rather be with.

"Would they have actually let us die?" Nico gasped, alarm in his eyes. Reyna shook her head.

"No, silly, there are guidelines for that at the least. They probably would've pulled us out before anything could happen. The oven probably wasn't even that hot either, maybe 110 degrees or so but not enough to harm us too badly," Reyna explained. Nico laughed.

"Good, I don't know what I'd do without you," Nico mumbled, gazing up at Reyna through his lashes. Reyna's heart slammed in her chest and it took all her willpower not to kiss him right then and there.

"Shall we go?" Reyna asked, getting wearily to her feet. Nico nodded and held out his hand. Reyna took it and helped him up, but did not let go until they were safely driving away from the murder house, far far away from murderers and scary hallways.

---

feedback is always appreciated! be sure to let me know what ship you'd like me to do a fic for :)

Until next time,

-Callie