,,,Your actions have consequences that cannot be undone.
[[BEGIN|dreams]]
(set: $inv to (a:), $eyes to "glowing embers", $hair to "stringy", $face to "serpentine", $body to "sinewy", $being to "a revenant")
CW: gore, body horror, needles, surgical imagerySomewhere, far away, sleep overtakes you. You tumble through hallways, fields, mirror images of familiar places.
Harsh light hits your eyelids. Your body is sore, flu-ish. You are entirely disoriented. Everything spins and folds around you.
You feel cold. You realize you are [[awake]].You open your eyes and recoil. A (text-style:"smear")[bright spotlight] shines down from above. Your face and bare chest are warm. The flat, metal surface beneath you is cold.
Shielding your eyes, you look down at yourself.
(click:"look")[(t8n:"dissolve")[A pang of shock shoots through your body. A Y-shaped incision, roughly stapled closed, runs across your torso.]
(t8n:"dissolve")+(t8n-time: 2s)[You feel sore. A dull ache eminates from your chest, spreading out into your extremities.]
(t8n:"dissolve")+(t8n-time: 4s)[However, despite your grisly appearance, you are alive.]
(t8n:"dissolve")+(t8n-time: 6s)[ [[Examine your surroundings.]] ]](if: (passage:)'s name is "inventory")[<!--Do nothing-->]
(else-if: (passage:)'s tags contains "donotshowinventory")[<!--Do nothing-->]
(else:)[Check [[inventory]].]
<h2>Possessions</h2>
(if: $inv's length > 0)[You have a (print: $inv.join(", ")).]
(else:)[You have nothing.]
(link-goto: "Return.", (history:)'s last)
{(click:"smartphone")[(display: "smartphone")]
(click:"a paring knife")[(display: "small paring knife")]
(click:"a dollar coin")[(display: "coin")]}
You groan as you sit up. The metal table sits in the center of the bright light. The floor is painted black. Beyond is a much larger room, but the darkness conceals its details.
(link: "Let your eyes adjust.")[(t8n:"dissolve")[You squint, looking out into the larger space. Gradually, you begin to distinguish rows of seats, a balcony, a back wall with exit doors.]
(t8n: "dissolve")+(t8n-time: 2s)[You look around yourself, noticing dark curtains, a series of catwalks, a matrix of lights and ropes.]
(t8n:"dissolve")+(t8n-time: 4s)[A theater?]]
(link: "Check your pants pockets.")[(t8n:"dissolve")[A smartphone. Its screen is extremely cracked. You press the power button...]
(t8n:"dissolve")+(t8n-time:10s)[It's out of battery.
[[Stand.]]]]
(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "smartphone"))You stand, bare feet hitting the smooth stage. Your head spins for a moment, causing you to stumble slightly, but you find your footing.
(link:"Listen.")[(t8n:"dissolve")[The structure of the empty theater groans slightly.]]
(link:"Look off into the wings.")[(t8n:"dissolve")[It's dark. You aren't sure how far backstage goes. Off to stage right, a faint red glow is obscured by curtains and pulleys. Is it an Exit sign?]]
Look for an escape backstage ([[stage right|backstage]] or [[stage left]]?)
Get down off the stage and look for a way out in the [[house|audience]].//"It's cracked and out of battery. If only I could find a charger somewhere..."//You creep into the right wing, eyes darting, grasping for light or motion. The (color:red)[(text-style:"smear")[red glow]] you detected before comes into view: a crooked Exit sign, positioned over a metal door.
(link:"Examine your surroundings further.")[(t8n:"dissolve")[(color:red)[(text-style:"smear")[Everything is bathed in the dimmest red. Next to the metal exit door, there is a wooden table, likely meant for props. On it sits a toppled pewter mug(link:" and a small paring knife")[(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "a paring knife"))].]]]]
(click:"small paring knife")[(print:"//Added to inventory.//")]
(link:"Look at yourself in the mirror.")[(t8n:"dissolve")[You hesitate to even see (text-style:"mirror")[[[what you look like|mirror]]] now.]]
Investigate the [[other wing|stage left]].
Investigate the [[seats out front|audience]].
Leave through the [[Exit|alley]] door.You drop down gently off the stage and into the seats. A small cloud of dust emerges from the carpet.
In the darkness it's hard to see, but the theater seats look old and plain, simple wood and upholstery.
(link:"Search the seats for items.")[You briefly comb through the rows of chairs in the dark. You don't see anything particularly useful, but you find a dollar coin, tails up.(click:"dollar coin,")[(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "a dollar coin"))]]
(Link:"Leave through the rear doors.")[(t8n:"dissolve")[You catch [[movement]] in your peripheral vision, up in the balcony seats.]]
Go back up [[on stage|Stand.]]This wing is almost completely dark. Only the dim reflections of the (text-style:"smear")[spotlight] on stage illumiates this wing.
Some kind of large metal panel, made up of a switchboard and a series of mechanical levers, is afixed to the wall. It seems like it might control the lights, curtains, and other machinations of the theater.
(link:"Try to turn on the house lights.")[(t8n:"dissolve")[You are pretty sure you don't have any experience running theater tech. You'll essentially be flipping switches at random. [[What could go wrong?|lights]]]]
Investigate the [[other wing|backstage]].
Investigate the [[seats out front|audience]].//"It's small and in pretty terrible condition, but I may need it later..."//You scan your body, from head to toe.
Your hair is //(cycling-link: bind $hair, "patchy", "stringy", "frizzy", "bristly")//.
Your face is bruised but still //(cycling-link: bind $face, "caprine", "serpentine", "leonine", "aquiline")// in its profile.
Your eyes are like //(cycling-link: bind $eyes, "glowing embers", "dull stones", "empty voids", "glassy marbles", "dirty puddles")// within your sunken eyesockets.
Despite the grisly Y-shaped scar across your torso, your body is //(cycling-link: bind $body, "gaunt", "fat", "blocky", "muscled", "sinewy", "slight")//.
Your tattered grey slacks are //(cycling-link: "too short", "too long")// for your legs.
You barely recognize yourself. You look like //(cycling-link: bind $being, "a corpse", "a revenant", "an apparition", "a faded photograph")//, but you're still standing here. You're still alive... in some capacity.
[[Tear your eyes away.|backstage]]You push the Exit door open. It lets out a groaning creak.
A rush of cold, damp air hits you. You now stand in a dark alleyway. The cracked pavement below your bare feet is slick. It must have just stopped raining. The brick buildings on either side are grimy and worn.
You tilt your head up. The sky is a wash of dark grey. No stars, moon, or clouds break up the wash of darkness.
It looks like this is the only door in the alley. To [[the right|aright]] you see the glow of streetlights, to [[the left|aleft]] chainlink fence.
[[Go back inside.|backstage]]You swipe your hands across the switchboard, clicking most of the switches on. The wings are illuminated by incandescent bulbs.
(color:"white")[(text-style:"smear")[A (color:"red")[multitude] of (color:"green")[colored] (color:"blue")[lights]]] click on over the stage, one nearly blinding you as you turn.
The house lights also appear to be on, though the cast is a dingy sodium yellow, distorting the colors of the walls, upholstery, and carpet to a dull mustardy brown.
(link:"Look out into the house.")[(t8n:"dissolve")[You walk out onto center stage, shielding your eyes from the barage of lighting.
Something seems wrong. Subtle movement flickers amongst the theater seats.
You whip your head stage right. Something $body emerges from behind the curtains. Something with eyes like $eyes. (if: (history:) contains "mirror")[Something that looks almost like you.]
[[Run.|mirrorchase]]]
Call out a [[greeting|mirrorwait]].]You recklessly jump down off the stage, landing painfully on the hard carpeted floor of the audience. The path is stepped in awkwardly long intervals, leading up to a set of double doors at the back of the theater.
You hear the thump of your pursuer dropping down into the seats. Everything is awash in yellowy light.
Push open the doors and [[keep running|lobbymc]].The figure steps out into the bright stagelight, cast in harsh color and shadow.
It too has the Y-shaped autopsy wound on its chest, though its is scarred over, seemingly healed long ago.
It's head is {
(if: $face is 'caprine')[
uncomfortably elongated, twisting upwards into massive, spiralling horns.
](else-if: $face is 'serpentine') [
inhumanly smooth, small, and flat, featureless save for beady eyes and a tiny slit-like mouth.
](else-if: $face is 'leonine') [
grotesquely swollen, torn by a gash-like mouth, bristling with sharp teeth.
](else-if: $face is 'aquiline') [
curved forward, twisted into some kind of sharp, bony point.
](else:)[
inhumanly shaped, twisting neck and head into one clublike mass of flesh.
]}
You weakly call out to it.
//[["Hello...?"|hello]]//The $body figure stops a few meters in front of you. It sways slowly from side to side as it stands.
It gurgles weakly.
You notice its hands and arms are heavily bruised and scraped, leading down to bloodied, ruined fingernails.
(link:"Try to speak to it again.")[(t8n:"dissolve")[You speak again, louder this time.
//"H-hello?"//
Its head twitches when you speak.
//"I don't mean any harm."//
It cocks its head to the side.]]
Back away slowly, and then [[make a break for it|chasealt]].
(if: $inv contains "a paring knife")[Rush forward and [[stab the thing|fight1]] with your paring knife.](else:)[]You back up carefully, not breaking eye contact with the figure in front of you. It continues to sway from side to side.
Suddenly, you turn, attempting to make your escape. In the corner of your vision, you see the figure lurch forward in pursuit.
[[Keep running.|mirrorchase]]This could be your only chance to get away.
You whip the paring knife out of your back pocket and lungee forward, aiming for the thing's neck.
It sinks in, entering the throat right above the clavicle. You attempt to pull it out to stab again, but its muscles clench down, locking it in place.
Its eyes meet yours.
Let go of the knife and [[run|mirrorchase]].
Attempt to [[fight it|fight2]].
(set: $inv to $inv - (a:"a paring knife"))You draw back to hit it, but its hand shoots forward to grab your wrist.
It's grip is firm and ice cold. You attempt to pull away to no avail.
You feel rancid, humid breath on your face.
[[Give up|BE1]]
(link: "Think, quickly.")[(t8n:"dissolve")[
Fight dirty. [[Kick it in the crotch.|chasealt2]]]]You slump over, defeated. You've been caught by this beast.
As your body slackens, your attacker roughly grabs your torso with effortless strength and slings you over its shoulder.
It silently retreats to stage right, walking towards the floor mirror leaning against the wall.
It ducks, climbing into the mirror as if it were a doorway. You feel a wave of cold and numbness wash over your body as you enter the mirror.
Everything fades to black.
**BAD END: INSIDE.**
[[Restart|awake]] or [[continue|hello]]?
(set: $meta to 2)You aren't getting caught that easily.
You knee up at the creature's crotch. Despite how inhuman it may look, it recoils in pain, letting go of your hand.
[[Run.|chasealt3]]You burst into the lobby. It's still dark in here. Directly in front of you are a pair of glass doors, leading to a dark exterior.
You see the dim glow of street lights.
The dull thud of footsteps behind you is rapidly approaching.
[[Keep running.|mcstreet]]You walk out of the alleyway into a street. (color:#FFFACD)[(text-style:"smear")[Dim street lamps]] cast pools of flourescent light.
You see the marquis of the theater you just left. It is unlit and empty. No cars are parked on the street. The other shops and houses are seemingly empty — no lights on, windows covered up with paper, no signs.
It seems like there's no signs of life at all.
(link:"Examine the buildings more closely.")[(t8n:"dissolve")[The storefronts and windows are all blocked by paper or boards. None of the former shops have signage that would indicate what they used to be. The buildings look contemporary and not particularly dilapidated. This street couldn't have been abandoned for more than a few months. Up ahead you see [[something|street]] move.]
Return to the [[alley|alley2]].You walk down the alley, bare feet splashing in shallow puddles. You reach the chainlink fence, about 6 feet tall and topped with barbed wire. The fence gate is chained shut and locked with a heavy padlock. (if: $inv contains "bolt cutters")[[[Cut the chain.|field]]](else:)[]
Beyond you see a field of short grass. Beyond that, a line of tall, slender pine trees. (if: (history:) contains "backyard")[Having seen a similar sight before, it seems like this whole street is fenced in, isolated, and surrounded by forest.](else:)[]
[[Go back.|alley2]]You spend a moment cutting through the chains before queezing through and leave the bolt cutters behind.
You feel chills rush through your body as you pass over, as you escape.
You feel the short grass beneath your feet.
[[Leave.|forest]]
(set: $inv to $inv - (a: "bolt cutters")You are standing in a dark alleyway. The cracked pavement below your bare feet is slick. The buildings on either side are uniformly grimy and worn brick, broken up only by the [[metal door|backstage]] that leads back into the theater.
The sky is undifferentiated grey, nearly black. No stars, moon, or clouds break up the wash of darkness. The air is cold and damp, but despite your lack of clothing
To [[the right|aright]] you see the glow of streetlights, to [[the left|aleft]] chainlink fence.You walk forward and see what looks to be a lit window several blocks ahead.
Strangely there are no side streets or intersections, nor any street signs.
You begin to walk forward, keeping your eyes peeled for any signs of life. The silence is disconcerting.
One house to your left, a near clone of the surrounding suburban houses, catches your eye. [[The door is slightly ajar|house]], revealing darkness within.
[[Keep walking.|hosptial]]
[[Go back.|aright]]You whip your head up to look at the upper level of seats.
A figure stands, hands resting on the balcony railing. A glint of metal catches in the light of the spotlight on stage.
A sterile, metallic voice calls to you from above. (color:"Thistle")[//"You aren't supposed to be awake."//] The tone of his voice is phlegmatic, disapproving.
[[Call back.|mand1]]
[[Leave the theater anyway.|manhalt]]
(set:$man to 1)You call up to him hoarsely.
//"Well, I certainly am now. Who are you?"//
You hear the flick of a lighter. (color:#FFB400)[(text-style:"smear")[The figure's face is illuminated]] in harsh shadow as he lights a slim cigarette. His skin is like paper, his hair molded bronze, his eyes empty glass. He looks like a heavyhanded sculpture of a man.
The light extinguishes, leaving only the glowing end of a cigarette and a silhouette.
(color:"Thistle")[//"I'm the Man. I run this place. Everyone listens to me. But you decided to wake up."//] He takes a drag from his cigarette. (color:"Thistle")[//"You didn't listen."//]
[[Ask about the scar crossing your chest.|manautops]]
Apologize, [[attempt to smoothe things over.|manapol]]You ignore the figure above you, pushing the double doors into the lobby aside. A figure stands just on the other side, startling you.
The same hollow voice speaks. (color:"Thistle")[//"You shouldn't walk away when someone is speaking to you. It's very impolite."//]
You look up. A strange Man stands before you. His suit is unnusually flat, lacking any wrinkles or depth at all. His skin is smooth and papery. His hair is set into place as if it were sculpted from metal wire. His eyes glitter. They barely seem to see you.
His body doesn't move, yet he seems to move closer to you. (color:"Thistle")[//"I won't stand for disrespect in My place."//]
[[Attempt to push past him.|BEman]]
{(if: $inv contains "a paring knife")[[[Stab the Man.|manfight]]](else-if:$inv contains "a dollar coin" and (history:) contains "BE2" or "BE2o")[(link:"Bribe him with your coin.")[(link:"Really?")[[[Bribe.|bribe]]]]](else:)[]}//"These wounds... what did you do to me?"//
You hear a scoff from the Man. (color:"Thistle")[//"You were already dead. Obviously you had no use for your organs. I had the doctors replace them with something more useful."//]
The way he says //"dead"// makes it sound so trivial, so insignificant. It seems impossible, but the steadiness in his dry voice makes him sound totally convinced, the authority on the subject.
(color:"Thistle")[//"Now, stop with the silly questions. Lay back down on the table like you're supposed to and the doctors will be with you shortly, hmm? Doesn't that sound nice."//]
(link:"Talk back.")[The Man just chuckles.]
Obey, [[go back to the table|BE2]].
[[Leave|manhalt2]] anyway.You figure you should try to avoid trouble. You hoarsely apologize.
//"I'm so sorry. I'm very disoriented, and I didn't mean to do anything wrong.//
The Man sighs. (color:"Thistle")[//"Well, go back and lie down on the table. The doctors will be with you shortly. After a procedure as serious as yours, you shouldn't just be walking around."//]
Obey, [[go back to the table|BE2]].
[[Leave|manhalt2]] anyway.//"A gold dollar coin. It has Andrew Jackson on it... Ew."//You walk back and climb up on to the stage again. You feel the gaze of the Man on the back of your head, and you feel your heart sink.
You lay back down on the cold table and close your eyes.
You sense a presence near you. (color:"Thistle")[//"Very good. My doctors will tend to you shortly."//]
You hear the shuffle of multiple people approaching on stage. A grunt.
(link:"You open your eyes.")[(t8n:"dissolve")[Three warped figures stand over you, wearing scrubs. Their heads and faces are not human, but swollen, twisted clubs of flesh. Somewhere in the folds of ruddy skin, there may be eyes or a mouth, but they are not visible.
One of them pulls out a large glass syringe. It lets out a muffled grunt before injecting you.
(link:"Everything fades to black.")[(t8n:"dissolve")[
**BAD END: THE SURGEONS.**
[[Restart|awake]] or [[continue|movement]]?]]]]
(set: $meta to 1)You ignore the Man, pushing the double doors into the lobby aside. A figure stands just on the other side, startling you.
(color:"Thistle")[//"You shouldn't walk away when someone is speaking to you. It's very impolite."//]
The Man stands before you, nearly a head taller than you. His suit is unnusually flat, lacking any wrinkles or depth at all. His eyes glitter. They barely seem to see you.
His body doesn't move, yet he seems to move closer to you. (color:"Thistle")[//"I won't stand for disrespect in My place."//]
[[Attempt to push past him.|BEman]]
{(if: $inv contains "a paring knife")[[[Stab the Man.|manfight]]](else-if:$inv contains "a dollar coin" and (history:) contains "BE2" or "BE2o")[(link:"Bribe him with your coin.")[(link:"Really?")[[[Bribe.|bribe]]]]](else:)[]}You attempt to push past him and out into the lobby proper.
He grabs your wrist and holds it up in front of your face. His grip is impossibly light, yet he manipulates your arm effortlessly. His hand feels strangely rough.
His grip tightens, barely pressing his thumb into the soft part of your wrist. You feel a twinge of pain as his bone white finger plunges into your flesh as if it were clay.
He whispers in a monotone. (color:"Thistle")[//"Perhaps we should have left you as a corpse."//]
(link:"He removes his hand from your wrist.")[(t8n:"dissolve")[There is no blood, just a pit in your wrist like soft dough. You fall, limp and unable to move. You're [[paralyzed|BE2o]].]]You pull the paring knife out of your pocket, swiping at the form of the Man.
The blade catches on the fabric of his suit, and it ripples like pondwater.
The Man's paper skin begins to unfold. Creases, gaps, edges grow and envelop you.
You feel your body come apart at the seams at the encouragement of a thousand paper cuts.
[[Unravel.|BE3]]You pull the coin out of your pocket and hold it up to him, expectantly.
It's slightly tarnished, and embossed with the likeness of Andrew Jackson.
The Man looks confused but still holds out his hand to accept the coin.
(link:"Give him the coin.")[You place the coin in the palm of his hand and he snatches it up, holding it close to his face and examining it intently.
[[Use the distraction to escape.|streeta]]]Your body lifts up off the ground, still limp. You can't tell if the Man is touching you.
You are carried back into the theater, onto the stage, and laid down on the cold metal table where you awoke.
(color:"Thistle")[//"Very good. My doctors will tend to you shortly."//] You feel the Man's presence disappear.
You hear the shuffle of multiple people approaching on stage. A grunt.
(link:"You open your eyes.")[(t8n:"dissolve")[Three warped figures stand over you, wearing scrubs. Their heads and faces are not human, but swollen, twisted clubs of flesh. Somewhere in the folds of ruddy skin, there may be eyes or a mouth, but they are not visible.
One of them pulls out a large glass syringe. It lets out a muffled grunt before injecting you.
(link:"Everything fades to black.")[(t8n:"dissolve")[
**BAD END: THE SURGEONS.**
[[Restart|awake]] or [[continue|movement]]?]]]]
(set: $meta to 1)You bolt to the side and jump down into the seats of the theater. In the corner of your vision, you see the figure lurch forward in pursuit.
[[Keep running,|mirrorchase]]The sky is a wash of dark grey. The ground is wet. The air is cold. None of it matters.
You run out into the street, lined by empty shops and houses.
As you run, you see doors open. Humanoid figures step out of empty houses. Beings covered in $hair hair, beings with many limbs, beings of form and shape. Their heads are grotesquely distorted.
Their voices almost sound human. A chorus of half-words and phenomes.
[[They're coming for you.|BE5]]You gently push the door to the house open. It releases a pitiful creak.
The interior is dark and silent.
The slightest bit of light reveals the inside of the house is empty: no rooms, no walls, only a concrete floor. This house is merely a facade.
There is a backdoor that leads out into some kind of [[backyard]].
[[Leave.|street]]At the end of the street is a multistory, concrete building. It is marked by a red plus, seemingly indicating it is a hospital, but besides the sign, it is featureless.
A window on the second floor is lit up. You see shadows flicker from within.
(if: $meta is 1)[The sight of this place reminds you of the doctors, of the incision across your chest. Nothing about this place makes sense)(else:)[]
[[Investigate.|hospital2]]
[[Go back.|street]]You walk out of the theater and onto the street. A rush of cold, damp air hits you. The cracked pavement below your bare feet is slick. It must have just stopped raining. (color:#FFFACD)[(text-style:"smear")[Dim street lamps]] cast pools of flourescent light.
You look into the dark lobby and see the dark silhouette of the Man. He's not following you. Somehow you escaped. Visions of grotesque doctors standing obver your body flash through your head. When did that happen?
You tilt your head up. The sky is a wash of dark grey. No stars, moon, or clouds break up the wash of darkness.
You see the marquis of the theater you just left. It is unlit and empty. No cars are parked on the street. The other shops and houses are seemingly empty — no lights on, windows covered up with paper, no signs.
(link:"Examine the buildings more closely.")[(t8n:"dissolve")[The storefronts and windows are all blocked by paper or boards. None of the former shops have signage that would indicate what they used to be. The buildings look contemporary and not particularly dilapidated. This street couldn't have been abandoned for more than a few months. Up ahead you see [[something|street]] move.]]You push open the door to the backyard. The space is very small, less than ten feet across, and it is enclosed by heavy chainlink fencing, ten feet tall and topped with barbed wire.
You look left and right, and the small identical yards continue until they are no longer visible in the darkness.
Beyond the chainlink fence is a field of short grass bordered by a line of tall, slender pine trees. (if: (history:) contains "aleft")[Having seen a similar sight before, it seems like this whole street is fenced in, isolated, and surrounded by forest.](else:)[]
(if: $inv contains "bolt cutters")[[[Cut a hole in the fence.|field]]](else:)[]
[[Leave the house.|street]]You cross the field and enter the forest. The pines line up in uncomfortably neat rows.
[[Good end]]You enter the dark hospital. The ground floor is unfurnished. Debris, dead leaves, and crumpled papers litter the concrete floor.
A barren stairwell leads up. [[Ascend.|hospital3]]
[[Leave the hospital.|street]]As soon as you reach the second floor, you smell fire. The first door on the left of the hallway is ajar, and (color:#FFB400)[(text-style:"smear")[the flickering light of a fire shines through.]]
[[Enter the room.|hospital4]]You gently push open the door, and immediately see a figure inside move.
The door swings open, and you see a fire burning in a 55 gallon drum. A person cowers behind the barrel.
They wear layers of tattered clothing. From behind long stringy hair emerges a piglike snout. Their eyes are not visible.
They are holding a hammer.
[[Speak.|pig]]
(if: $inv contains "a paring knife")[Rush forward and [[stab thm|fightpig]] before they can attack first.](else:)[]
(if: (history:) contains "fightpig")[[[Reason|metaconvo]] with the pig. You know they're dangerous.]Your body is fragmented. Subjectivity split forever.
(link:"Everything fades to black.")[(t8n:"dissolve")[
**BAD END: FLAYED.**
[[Restart|awake]] or [[continue|movement]]?]]You put your hands up, showing that you are unarmed.
You speak hesitantly and hoarsely. //"Hi."//
The stranger responds with a weak, youthful voice. (color:Salmon)[//"Hello."//]
The two of you stare at each other in a moment of vulnerability.
The pig gestures for you to sit next to them, to bask in the heat of the trash fire.
[[Sit.|friend]]
(if: $inv contains "a paring knife")[Take advantage of the vulnerability. [[Stab them|fightpig]] before they can attack first.](else:)[]You move quickly and try to stab the stranger with your paring knife.
Despite their skittish stance, the piglike stranger rushes up to meet you, swinging the hammer directly towards your skull.
You hear a crunch. Your whole head goes fuzzy and numb as you hit the floor.
So much for getting the drop on them.
**BAD END: SELF-DEFENSE.**
[[Restart|awake]] or [[continue|hospital2]]?You speak hoarsely but directly to the stranger. //"I know that hammer isn't just an empty threat. I don't want to hurt you. Why don't we talk this out."//
The pig calls out in a deceptively youthful voice. (color:Salmon)[//"Throw the knife on the ground, and maybe we can talk. I know what you did to me before."//]
(link:"Drop the knife.")[(set:$inv to $inv - (a:"a paring knife")) You throw the paring knife to the ground. The pig follows suit and tosses the hammer.
//[["Just tell me what you know.|infopig]] I woke up here, and I don't know what's happening."//
(if: (history:) contains "BE1" and "BE2" and "BE3" and "BE5")[//I need to get out of here. You have to tell me [[how.]]//]Uh oh.The pig looks at you from behind their dark hair, seeming to analyze you for a moment.
(color:Salmon)[//"Once you're out of the fence there's no guarantee you'll make it... But I have these."//] They grab something heavy from underneath a nest of fabric that surrounds them. A set of rusty bolt cutters.
(color:Salmon)[//"Leave these on our side, and I'll find them after you leave."//]
[[Take them.|hospital2]]
(set: $inv to $inv + (a: "bolt cutters"))**GOOD END: ESCAPE.**
[[Restart?|awake]]//"Heavy bolt cutters, given by the stranger in the hospital.//The twisted neighbors close in on you. You can't bear to look at them, yet they are undeniably like you. They reach out to touch you.
(link:"Get away.")[Join them.
(link:"Get away.")[Join them.
(link:"Get away.")[Join them.
(link:"Get away.")[Join them.
(link:"Get away.")[Join them.
(link:"Get away.")[Join them.
(link:"Get away.")[Join them.
(link:"Get away.")[Join them.
(link:"Get away.")[Join them.
(link:"Get away.")[
**BAD END: THE NEIGHBORS.**
[[Restart|awake]] or [[continue|hello]]?]]]]]]]]]]The two of you sit together. No words are exchanged, but the presence of a sympathetic being is comforting.
You are awake now. You don't know where you are. You don't even know if you are alive.
But for now you are here.
**BAD END?: FRIENDS.**
[[Restart|awake]] or [[continue|hospital2]]?