Blue had begun to feel the dull ache in her joints a short time ago, but had simply written it off as nothing out of the ordinary — they were inside of a house that appeared to be inside of another house, so the measurement for what exactly was normal here was a little skewed. Every few minutes, she’d try twisting her wrist, rolling her shoulders, or tilting her head from one side to the other to try and relieve the feeling, but it seemed to be getting worse.

Nonetheless, she had Gansey with her, which Blue found to be a blessing in itself. He kept her grounded, made her feel safe, and she kept a close trail behind him as they explored more and more, her fingers laced between his. Each room was as perfectly decorated as the one before it, but a good half of those decorations were either painted on, or completely fake altogether (tiny outlets painted on the walls, light switches that don’t budge.) and the eeriness of it all was making Blue want to squirm uncomfortably.

Gansey’s question captures her attention — a welcomed distraction from the creepiness of the house they were trapped in — and her eyes focus on his hand outstretched in front of them.

It looks… Different. Not right.

“Maybe it’s the light?” Her head spun on a swivel, looking around at all the windows to try and find the light source that was to blame for the glossy effect. “Everything is a little strange in here."