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The Houses of Penance #2
The House of Thirteen
The thrilling, action-packed sequel to the House of Twelve has arrived – and this time the ‘guests’ not only have access to their memories from the offset, but a genuine way back to their old lives before their supernatural incarceration began.
Welcome once again, dearest guests—
As your previous stays with us have been such a pleasure, it is our honour to upgrade your accommodation to that of the illustrious House of Thirteen.
During your many stays at the House of Twelve (as you can now vaguely remember) you’ve all proven yourselves to be truly beyond redemption time and time again.
Whilst we’ve enjoyed hosting you for the most part, your continued presence here is beginning to grow repetitive and stale, and no matter how we pair you all up, the outcomes are usually the same. As such, we’ve decided to ‘clean house’, so to speak, and remove you from existence.
All deaths here (with the exception of those who have truly atoned for their misdeeds in life) will be FINAL. Make no mistake: this is your last chance. You will not awaken in another house, or on the outside world. Your soul will be completely and utterly destroyed.
However, in order to be generous (and to make the whole process sporting), we’ve decided to up the ante; we are giving you another shot at not only redemption, but your old lives too.
Just follow the updated rules, look out for clues, and do what you do best!
Rule one: You can’t escape through regular means. The outer wall is impregnable and impassable, so DO NOT attempt to breach it! Aside from redeeming yourselves, only the keys on your collars will get you out. There is one key for each housemate, which makes for a total of thirteen, but collect them wisely—the collars have a tendency to ‘bite’.
Rule two: An early morning curfew is in place. Guests MUST be present in their designated bedrooms between the hours of 00:30 and 06:00.
Failure to comply with rules one and two will result in harsh penalties or death, depending on the severity of the infraction.
Rule three: Make what you have last. Whatever food and water you currently find in the house is all that you will be provided with during your stay. No more will be given to you under any circumstances.
Rule four: When the music stops, someone must die. The music you can all hear in the background MAY cease between 23:00 and 00:00. When this happens, someone must die. Suicides are acceptable. Failure to comply with this rule will result in the total annihilation of all residents.
Rule five: Only one, and only when the music stops! One death, and only one death, must occur in the allotted time between eleven o’clock PM and midnight. Again, failure to comply with this rule will result in everyone’s death. Deaths from accidents, injury, dehydration, poison, etc. count towards this rule, so play it safe and take heed of rule three.
Will you win back your life, earn your redemption, or be relegated to nonexistence? Make your choice, enjoy your final stay, and good luck!
All the best,
The Houses of Penance Management Team
PS. As you eight have been so hellbent on being ‘the last one standing’ throughout your time with us, we’ll award a bonus prize to the individual who survives until the end of day thirteen! (This includes your five absent neighbours). We’ll even revoke Rule 5 on that day so that you don’t have to get clever with your kills!
Don’t say we never give you anything!
X O X O X O X
Welcome once again, dearest guests—
As your previous stays with us have been such a pleasure, it is our honour to upgrade your accommodation to that of the illustrious House of Thirteen.
During your many stays at the House of Twelve (as you can now vaguely remember) you’ve all proven yourselves to be truly beyond redemption time and time again.
Whilst we’ve enjoyed hosting you for the most part, your continued presence here is beginning to grow repetitive and stale, and no matter how we pair you all up, the outcomes are usually the same. As such, we’ve decided to ‘clean house’, so to speak, and remove you from existence.
All deaths here (with the exception of those who have truly atoned for their misdeeds in life) will be FINAL. Make no mistake: this is your last chance. You will not awaken in another house, or on the outside world. Your soul will be completely and utterly destroyed.
However, in order to be generous (and to make the whole process sporting), we’ve decided to up the ante; we are giving you another shot at not only redemption, but your old lives too.
Just follow the updated rules, look out for clues, and do what you do best!
Rule one: You can’t escape through regular means. The outer wall is impregnable and impassable, so DO NOT attempt to breach it! Aside from redeeming yourselves, only the keys on your collars will get you out. There is one key for each housemate, which makes for a total of thirteen, but collect them wisely—the collars have a tendency to ‘bite’.
Rule two: An early morning curfew is in place. Guests MUST be present in their designated bedrooms between the hours of 00:30 and 06:00.
Failure to comply with rules one and two will result in harsh penalties or death, depending on the severity of the infraction.
Rule three: Make what you have last. Whatever food and water you currently find in the house is all that you will be provided with during your stay. No more will be given to you under any circumstances.
Rule four: When the music stops, someone must die. The music you can all hear in the background MAY cease between 23:00 and 00:00. When this happens, someone must die. Suicides are acceptable. Failure to comply with this rule will result in the total annihilation of all residents.
Rule five: Only one, and only when the music stops! One death, and only one death, must occur in the allotted time between eleven o’clock PM and midnight. Again, failure to comply with this rule will result in everyone’s death. Deaths from accidents, injury, dehydration, poison, etc. count towards this rule, so play it safe and take heed of rule three.
Will you win back your life, earn your redemption, or be relegated to nonexistence? Make your choice, enjoy your final stay, and good luck!
All the best,
The Houses of Penance Management Team
PS. As you eight have been so hellbent on being ‘the last one standing’ throughout your time with us, we’ll award a bonus prize to the individual who survives until the end of day thirteen! (This includes your five absent neighbours). We’ll even revoke Rule 5 on that day so that you don’t have to get clever with your kills!
Don’t say we never give you anything!
X O X O X O X
261 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 24, 2020
5 people are currently reading
25 people want to read
About the author
Sean Davies
17 books52 followersSean Davies lives in the Essex countryside with his wife, three sons, and their two crazy cats.
He works in IT by day, and writes whenever he gets the chance – usually at night once the kids are in bed.
If he has any spare time between working and writing, he enjoys playing computer games, painting miniatures and drawing.
He works in IT by day, and writes whenever he gets the chance – usually at night once the kids are in bed.
If he has any spare time between working and writing, he enjoys playing computer games, painting miniatures and drawing.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 26, 2020
This was amazing and better than the first
November 13, 2020
The house of thirteen was an amazing sequel to the house of twelve. It brought back characters from the first book that we know and love, but this time gave us a more detailed look into their past, which was something I thought was missing in the first book. The book also introduces new characters, a new house and new twists, keeping you on the edge of the seat throughout the entire read. I highly recommend this series.
May 26, 2024
Not the worst, but the first book was better and felt more put together. There were some weird mistakes that made me stop reading. One mistake that really irked me was that it seemed the author had some character confusion in a few places. People who couldn't possibly be anywhere near the conversation were reacting to the conversation. (They were too dead to react) I'm assuming the book wasn't proof read which is fine. It's written by an indie author, so I expect mistakes. The plot was entertaining enough to finish the book, and it answered some questions from The House of Twelve. It's a solid 3.
September 12, 2021
Great sequel to The House of Twelve
Thirteen people stuck in a new and *improved* house with some returns from original characters and more insight into their backgrounds!
Thirteen people stuck in a new and *improved* house with some returns from original characters and more insight into their backgrounds!
April 8, 2021
Interesting sequel and development on the idea of the house of 12. It was helpful to find out more about the characters from their back stories and some were truly horrible people. I did have a bit of a problem where editing had missed some character name mix ups but that was a minor irritation. On the whole a good read.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews