More Bones Than You Can Count

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<center><img src="images/More Bones Than You Can Count cover.jpg" style="max-width: 100%;"> Click [[here|wake up]] to begin your journey.</center>

You find yourself at the bottom of the hole... no, not just a hole, a grave pit. An empty grave pit. As you rise to your feet, you notice a [[crumpled|clue newspaper clipping]] piece of paper sticking out of some loose soil. But you feel an overwhelming urge to climb [[out|climb out]] as fast as you can.

The skeleton statue is draped in a long robe. It holds a chrysanthemum in one outstretched bony hand. The skeleton lingers over a grave, guarding it from the elements. Leaning down, you try to make out what's written on the marker, but thick vines entangle the stone, revealing nothing. <<if visited("other gravestones")>>\ Go [[back|lightning]].<<else>>Other [[tombstones|other gravestones]] form an ocean around you. <<endif>>\

Gravestones line the ground, dotting the landscape like freckles on a weatherworn face. Squinting down, you read the names carved onto some of the nearby tombs, but none of them seem familiar. Above you, a full moon glints in the sky. In the distance, you can almost make out the twinkling lights of a city sprinkled across the horizon. <<if visited("skeleton statue")>>\ Go [[back|lightning]].<<else>>The [[skeleton statue|skeleton statue]] is still smiling slyly. <<endif>>\

The paper is dirty and has been folded and refolded dozens of time. Spreading it out, you realize that it's been ripped from a newspaper. Most of the text has worn away over time, but you can still make out a few straggling words. "Military... a new symbol... missing... consitutional rights of... adversity... planned execution..." None of it makes any sense to you. There's [[nothing|climb out]] else in the pit. <<set $clue = $clue + 1>><<audio newspaper play>>\

You awkwardly climb out, dirt falling onto your face as you drag yourself upwards. A light rain meets you at the surface but dies down almost instantly. Suddenly, you hear a whimper and look around. You see a statue of a woman, but something about it looks... [[strange|crying statue]]. <<audio newspaper stop>><<audio climbing play>><<audio whimper play>>\

The stone woman hunches over a grave plot, one hand clenching the tomb and the other covering her face. Her body is covered in moss and rot and most of her torso has crumbled away. Looking closer, you notice teardrops slowly sliding beneath the woman's palm and down her cracked cheeks. But the tears are a deep crimson — and much thicker than water. Go [[back|to black van]]. <<audio climbing stop>><<audio cryingstatue play>>\

You approach the van. You can see [[shadows|inside van]] through the tinted windows. Some of the glass is broken, forming lopsided spider webs that glimmer in the moonlight. Goosebumps cascade down your arms. You're not sure why, but you [[don't|forest]] want to get any closer. <<audio whimper stop>><<audio atvan play>>\

You hesitantly walk closer, holding your breath, feeling it clenched in your chest. Taking one last step towards the tree, you finally get a better view of what it is — a piece of fabric. Untying it, you recognize it as a torn flag. But you can't distinguish the colourful broken symbols on it, which have been spattered with the dark, dried blood of those long since gone. You can't make anything else out in the [[darkness|gravestones1]]. <<set $clue = $clue + 1>><<audio forest fadeout>><<audio flag play>>\

You find yourself in the middle of the graveyard. The fog seems heavier now, nearly covering the tombs, which stick out of the earth like newly planted buds reaching up towards the moon. The skeleton statue [[catches|skeleton grave1]] your eye. <<audio van stop>><<audio skeleton play>>\

The skeleton remains posed over the gravestone, still burdened by thick, encompassing vines. <<if $clue >= 1>>However, as your eyes pass over the slate, you [[notice|checkpoint1-a]] something new.<<else>>However, as your eyes pass over the slate, you think you [[notice|checkpoint1-b]] something new.<</if>>

Chunks of wallpaper hang feebly, peeling off the walls like loose skin. A faded rug beneath you is barely visible under mounds of dirt and debris. A soiled divan stretches out between a smashed [[bookshelf|book shelf]] and a neglected [[fireplace|mantel]]. <<audio livingroom play>><<audio bookshelf stop>>\

A few dusty books sit in a broken wooden frame, which appears to be buckling under their flimsy weight. As you reach down, the bookshelf collapses, but not before you're able to grab one of the thin paperbacks. You inspect the cover, but most of its words have been worn away. You try to flip through its pages, but most of them have been torn out or burnt. For some reason, the book feels familiar. It might have contained poems at one point. Go [[back|living room 2]]. <<audio bookshelf play>>\

The traces of a few scorched logs lie in the firebox. The fireplace has seen better days. Although it likely used to be a beautiful centerpiece, it now lies in ruin, a badly preserved relic of a better time. Splinters of wood hang off it limply and large chunks have been eaten by pests. A series of picture frames decorate the mantel, most of which are empty or broken. But you notice one [[frame|clue family photo]] that is still intact.

You walk towards the direction of the ringing. It sounds like it's getting louder... And louder and... Louder. Your head pulses with each ring. You see a phone. You instinctively reach out a [[hand|clue threatening text]] to pick it up, but something holds you [[back|gravestones2]]. <<audio livingroom fadeout>><<audio ringinglouder play>>\

Shielded by the glass frame is a photo of a family. Two adults stand on either side of young child, a toddler nestled into the one of their arms, beaming. Your fingers trace over their faces. Their eyes have been scratched out. You feel uneasy as you place the frame back on the mantel. Go [[back|living room 2]]. <<set $clue = $clue + 1>><<audio familyphoto play>>\

Finally, the ringing ends as you hastily grab the phone, your damp palm gripping the aluminum. The call drops. Instead, the screen lights up in the darkness. A message appears. "We know who you are. It's too late. Your family is next." A trickle of sweat trails down your back. You're not sure what it [[means|gravestones2]]. <<audio ringing fadeout>><<audio ringingstops play>><<set $clue = $clue + 1>>\

You find yourself in the middle of the graveyard again. It's getting darker. And it feels as though the statues scattered around the cemetary have moved. They're now facing you, staring straight at you with their empty stone sockets. The skeleton statue [[draws|skeleton grave2]] you towards it. <<audio ringing stop>><<audio beforeskeleton2 play>>\

Once again, you study the smiling skeleton and the strange tombstone it guards over. <<if $clue >= 3>>Something seems different as you [[peer|checkpoint2-a]] down at the worn grave marker.<<else>>Something seems different as you [[peer|checkpoint2-b]] down at the worn grave marker.<</if>> <<audio skeleton2 loop play>>\

You're in a small room. A rusted [[metal|table]] table stands in its center, while a [[strange|tiger chair]] chair rests in a corner. Although it isn't as decrepit as the living room, somehow this room feels far more ominous. <<audio skeleton2 fadeout>><<audio interrogation play>>\

The chair sits, encumbered with straps and buckles, which sprawl out freely and without purpose, hanging from the armrests. Tucked against the chair's backrest is a [[worn|wallet]] leather wallet.

The table is vacant except for a discarded mug, which reads "World's Greatest Uncle" in a blocky, colourful font. You remember this mug, seeing it in the youthful hands of someone... someone bad. Under the mug is a sign with big [[red|clue missing poster]] letters.

All of the vines have withered away. Finally, you can read the name etched onto the cracked slate... <<timed 4s t8n>>Your name.<</timed>> <<timed 7s t8n>>All of your memories come flooding back. You remember... the middle of the night... men dressed in black with charged guns aimed at your face... shoving you into the back of a van... driving away from your home and family... forever.<</timed>> <<timed 16s t8n>>The statues around you hum as you begin to recognize some of the names written on other graves — those who stood beside you and fought for justice... before meeting a similar fate.<</timed>> <<timed 23s t8n>>The skeleton statue smiles down at you affectionately. Your eyelids grow heavy as you release one last, long sigh. You can finally [[rest|end1]].<</timed>> <<audio panic fadeout>><<audio clock fadeout>><<audio ending1 loop play>>\

The wallet has no remarkable features. It's brown leather is plain, but it appears to have been used frequently. You shake its flaps open and out falls a [[photo|clue ID photo]]. <<audio wallet play>>\

You pick up the image and peer down at it. It's an ID photo, one you'd use for a drivers license or passport. But someone has crossed out the person in the image, covering their face with a large black X, making it difficult to discern any distinguishable features. You feel tense. Go [[back|interrogation room 2]]. <<set $clue = $clue + 1>><<audio id play>>\

More Bones Than You Can Count

Jen

<<cacheaudio "mainsong" "music/Ambience.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "thunder" "music/Thunder.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "newspaper" "music/Newspaper.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "climbing" "music/Climbing.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "whimper" "music/CryingStatueWhimper.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "cryingstatue" "music/CryingStatue.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "forest" "music/Forest.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "flag" "music/Flag.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "approachvan" "music/ApproachVan.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "atvan" "music/AtVan.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "van" "music/Van.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "ringing" "music/Ringing.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "ringinglouder" "music/RingingLouder.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "ringingstops" "music/RingingStops.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "dimoutlines" "music/DimOutlines.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "livingroom" "music/LivingRoom.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "bookshelf" "music/Bookshelf.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "familyphoto" "music/FamilyPhoto.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "beforeskeleton2" "music/BeforeSkeleton2.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "light" "music/Light.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "interrogation" "music/InterrogationRoom.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "wallet" "music/Wallet.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "id" "music/ID.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "poster" "music/Poster.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "gunshots" "music/Gun.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "gunshots2" "music/Gun2.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "whisper" "music/Whisper.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "clock" "music/Clock.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "panic" "music/Panic.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "checkpoint1" "music/Checkpoint1.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "checkpoint2" "music/Checkpoint2.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "skeleton" "music/Skeleton.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "skeleton2" "music/Skeleton2.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "skeleton3" "music/Skeleton3.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "ending1" "music/Ending1.mp3">> <<cacheaudio "ending2" "music/Ending2.mp3">> <<set $clue to 0>> .slowfade .macro-repeat-insert, .slowfade .macro-timed-insert { -webkit-transition-duration: 400ms; -o-transition-duration: 400ms; transition-duration: 400ms; }

The vines still cling desperately to the skeleton's tombstone, concealing any details carved onto the aged slate surface. <<timed 5s t8n>>You can barely make out anything else around you as the fog inches up, slowly swallowing you and the graveyard whole.<</timed>> <<timed 10s t8n>>The skeleton statue is gone.<</timed>> <<timed 14s t8n>>You hear distant screaming... <</timed>><<timed 16s t8n>>It's getting closer... <</timed>><<timed 18s t8n>>You try to run... <</timed>><<timed 20s t8n>>But everything goes dark.<</timed>> <<timed 22s t8n>>Time has [[run|end2]] out.<</timed>><<audio ending2 loop play>>\

Panic washes over you like an ice-cold wave. <<timed 2s t8n>>You stagger to the skeleton and its gravestone. In the corner of your eye, you can see shadows moving closer and closer.<</timed>> <<timed 7s t8n>><<if $clue >= 4>>Your [[breath|ending1]] catches in your throat.<<else>>You choke on fog as you frantically look around, gasping for [[breath|ending2]].<</if>><</timed>><<audio clock play>><<audio panic play>>\

Squinting through the window, you can make out some objects inside. A child's bear sits propped up on a back seat and below, on the floorboard, lies an automatic rifle. Suddenly, the engine turns on. You [[run|gravestones1]] away. <<audio van play>>\

Tall but stark trees form a copse along what you first assumed was the outskirts of the graveyard. But the cemetary seems to go on forever. More statues stand around a cluster of tombs, varying in shape and size. Looking up, you examine the brittle, naked branches of the trees, which eagerly stretch upwards as if calling for salvation. You notice something small [[hanging|clue torn flag]] from one of the fragile trunks. <<audio forest play>>\

Thank you for playing. You haven't uncovered the secrets buried here, but you can always [[try again|Start][state.restart()]]. <<audio ending2 fadeout>><<audio mainsong fadeout>><<audio panic stop>><<audio clock stop>>\

Some of the vines have fallen away from the cracked stone and a few letters are now visible. But it's still impossible to read out what it says. Go [[back|dim outlines]]. <<audio checkpoint1 play>>\

Examining the cracked stone, you realize nothing has changed. The stone is still choked by heavy vines that won't budge. For a brief moment you thought you saw something, but it must have only been the reflection of the moon. Go [[back|dim outlines]]. <<audio checkpoint1 play>>\

A pile of vines rests at the foot of the headstone like a long-forgotten bouquet. New letters have manifested upon the old stone. But you still can't make out an entire name. Go [[back|bright light]]. <<audio checkpoint2 play>>\

The sturdy vines haven't moved and nothing seems to have changed. Your mind is playing tricks on you. Go [[back|bright light]]. <<audio checkpoint2 play>>\

You scamper across the graveyard and between countless stone statues. You look down at the fog, which is steadily consuming your lower body. You blink and find yourself in a living room. But no one has [[lived|living room]] here for a long time. <<audio skeleton fadeout>>\

You try to locate the noise, but it's much darker now. The tombstones are no longer visible below the rising coat of thick fog. You can barely make out the cemetary's statues, which have moved even closer and are now [[circling|skeletongrave3]] you and the skeleton statue. <<audio interrogation fadeout>><<audio gunshots stop>><<audio whisper play>>\

You slide the sign out from under the mug and hold it up. It's a missing person poster. Between dark coffee rings, you inspect the photo of the missing person, their dark eyes staring at you defiantly. But their name and other details have been redacted. You wonder what happened to them... Go [[back|interrogation room 2]]. <<set $clue = $clue + 1>><<audio poster play>>\

Thank you for playing. [[Play again|Start][state.restart()]] <<audio mainsong fadeout>><<audio ending1 fadeout>>\

You open your eyes. You're in a graveyard. You can't remember how you got here. You catch a glimpse of your hands out of the the corner of your eye and hold them up, examining each crevice and cuticle. They seem foreign to you. You look around. A sea of tombstones and scattered monuments paying homage to the dead surround you. A blanket of fog covers the ground, snuggling the heavy [[stones|other gravestones]] into the cool earth. A statue of a skeleton hovers above you, [[smiling|skeleton statue]] downwards. <<audio mainsong loop play>>

A loud rumble of thunder and blast of lighting illuminates the stone markers around you and, for an instant, you can see shadows of people hovering beyond them. Startled, you stumble backwards. You try to reach out for something to grab on to, but it's too late. You can feel yourself [[falling|hole]]. <<audio thunder play>>\

The smiling skeleton stares down at you as you search its face for meaning. Beyond it, you see dim [[outlines|to living room]], which have appeared alongside a group of towering monuments.<<audio dimoutlines play>>

You look up from the grave just as a burst of glaring light blinds you. You shield your face from the fluorescent glow, which shines maliciously above you. A [[room|interrogation room]] pulses in and out of focus as your eyes slowly begin to adjust. <<audio light play>>\

The [[metal|table]] table lingers in the center of the small room. The [[strange|tiger chair]] chair tucked into the corner. <<if visited("table") and visited("tiger chair")>>\ <<audio gunshots2 play>>You can still hear gunshots in the [[distance|to skeletongrave]].<<else>><<audio gunshots play>>Suddenly, the sound of gunshots breaks out in the [[distance|to skeletongrave]]. <<endif>>\

The soiled divan, smashed [[bookshelf|book shelf]], and neglected [[fireplace|mantel]] stand idly in the room, their presence heavy. <<if visited("book shelf") and visited("mantel")>>\ <<audio ringing loop play>>The [[phone|phone ringing]] continues ringing.<<else>><<audio ringing loop play>>A [[phone|phone ringing]] rings. <<endif>>\

Turning, you see a black van sitting near the [[outskirts|black van]] of the graveyard. You're pretty sure it wasn't there before.<<audio approachvan play>>