Dead Weight

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<<link "Stats">> <<script>> Dialog.setup("Stats"); Dialog.wiki(Story.get("stats").processText()); Dialog.open(); <</script>> <</link>> <<link "Credits">> <<script>> Dialog.setup("Credits"); Dialog.wiki(Story.get("credits").processText()); Dialog.open(); <</script>> <</link>>

Working on it

Dead Weight

/* MC Stuff */ <<set $name to " ">> <<set $surname to " ">> <<set $mc_they to "they">> <<set $mc_them to "them">> <<set $mc_their to "their">> <<set $mc_theirs to "theirs">> <<set $mc_person to "person">> <<set $mc_plural to false>> <<set $hairl to "none">> <<set $hairc to "none">> <<set $eyec to "none">> <<set $height to "average">> <<set $exhaustion to 0>> <<set $genuine to 0>> <<set $snarky to 0>> <<set $stoic to 0>> <<set $candy to true>> <<set $dogs to "whatever">> /* dogs: love, nervous, whatever */ <<set $weapon to "none">> /* weapon: axe, machete, sledgehammer */ <<set $killing to 0>> /* 0 is don't like, 1 is fine with it */ /* Ruby */ <<set $r_met to false>> <<set $r_trust to 0>> /* Jamie */ <<set $they to "they">> <<set $them to "them">> <<set $their to "their">> <<set $theirs to "theirs">> <<set $person to "person">> <<set $plural to true>>

<<widget "are">><<switch $plural>><<case true>>are<<case false>>is<</switch>><</widget>> <<widget "were">><<switch $plural>><<case true>>were<<case false>>was<</switch>><</widget>> <<widget "s">><<switch $plural>><<case true>><<case false>>s<</switch>><</widget>> <<widget "dont">><<switch $plural>><<case true>>don't<<case false>>doesn't<</switch>><</widget>> <<widget "say">><<switch $plural>><<case true>>say<<case false>>says<</switch>><</widget>> <<widget "es">><<switch $plural>><<case true>><<case false>>es<</switch>><</widget>> <<widget "mc_are">><<switch $mc_plural>><<case true>>are<<case false>>is<</switch>><</widget>> <<widget "mc_were">><<switch $mc_plural>><<case true>>were<<case false>>was<</switch>><</widget>> <<widget "mc_s">><<switch $mc_plural>><<case true>><<case false>>s<</switch>><</widget>> <<widget "mc_dont">><<switch $mc_plural>><<case true>>don't<<case false>>doesn't<</switch>><</widget>> <<widget "mc_say">><<switch $mc_plural>><<case true>>say<<case false>>says<</switch>><</widget>> <<widget "mc_es">><<switch $mc_plural>><<case true>><<case false>>es<</switch>><</widget>>

<a href="https://www.motoslave.net/sugarcube/2/docs/">Sugarcube 2 Documentation</a> <a href="https://github.com/ChapelR/custom-macros-for-sugarcube-2">Chapel - custom macros collection</a> <a href="https://github.com/cyrusfirheir/cycy-wrote-custom-macros">Cycy's custom macros</a>

!<div class="header">prologue</div> You stand frozen in place, ears straining to hear into the next room. //Not yet, not yet, almost...// The floorboards creak and you hear a low thump followed by the slow scrape of something against the wooden floor, as someone -- some//thing// -- moves closer to where you stand. You lean against a wall, right next to the open door, waiting patiently as the thing approaches. You hold your breath and press yourself further into the wall, keeping as still as possible. You hold on tight to the knife in your hands, the handle of the blade a small comfort. Finally, it passes by the door and you lurch into action. Readying your knife, you move from the wall and into the next room. The creature has walked right past the door and you get a good look at it. It's a sunken thing, unsteady on its limbs. Nails broken, fingers bent and bloody -- blood so dark it's nearly black. You don't waste any time and you reach out for it, trying not to gag when you wrap your arm around the rotten flesh of its throat, and quickly bury your knife in the side of its head. You feel it all as the knife pierces its flesh and sinks in even deeper, until the blade finds the creature's brain. You feel the creature go limp in your arms and you do your best to keep a hold of it. You keep your arm secure around its neck as you carefully lower it to the ground. You pull away and allow yourself to relax a little, the immediate danger now gone, but you must still be careful as you haven't cleared the rest of the house. Without thinking, you take a deep breath and immediately regret it, recoiling away from the foul smell that permeates the air. Over six months and you're still not used to the stench of rotting flesh, though you suppose that's something that is hard to get used to. It's especially hard given your keen sense of smell. Who would have thought you would ever have reason to be jealous of humans? [[Next|0.2]]

Before you let yourself get too comfortable, you have to finish checking the house. You make your way steadily through a hallway toward your right and find a closed door. The door is covered in blood with deep scratches etched into it. The smell of the dead is too overpowering for you to be able to rely on it, so for now you press your ear against the closed door and try to listen. You also try not to breath from your nose, but -- with the heavy way that the smell seems to coat everything in the house -- that's less successful. You listen carefully for a few tense moments, but you don't hear anything on the other side of the door. So you lift your hand and knock. Immediately, there is a loud growl and something rushes over and starts banging on the door. You pull away and brace yourself, but the door stays put. Listening again, you think you can only hear one creature growling, but you won't know for certain until you get the door open. Since the door is holding strong, you decide to come back after the creature has forgotten about you and move further down the hall to keep checking the house. The only other doorway here has been left open, so you carefully peek your head in. It's a bedroom, a pretty small one, though the house itself is small as well. There is a bed shoved up in the corner by the window and a dresser with a TV on it in the opposite corner. On the other side of the room there is a cluttered desk, a small closet, and what you think might be a chair if it weren't buried under a mound of clothes. The room seems clear. You give it a quick once over to make sure you are truly alone, checking under the bed and opening up the closet. Nothing. That just leaves the room behind the blood covered door. [[Next|0.3]]

Whoever lived here before is gone now. There isn't much here, so you make your way back to the kitchen. Food is definitely a priority. It won't be long until the weather turns and, though you'll still be able to hunt, moving around is going to get tougher. Having something to fall back on will make you feel better, so you need to stock up on things that will last. It doesn't help that you require more food than the average person, especially if you plan on hunting. To hunt, you either need to shift or to shoot. Shifting requires food and shooting requires ammo... and a gun. As it is doubtful that you are just going to stumble onto a gun, you know you need to prepare for the amount of energy it takes to shift. It also doesn't help that you need to shift at least once a month. Curse of the moon and all that. Placing your duffle bag of food on the floor, you grimace at how light it is. You haven't been very lucky in any of the other houses that you've picked through today. Hopefully your luck is changing, and at least this house doesn't appear to be in complete disarray. The outside of it was damaged, but inside doesn't seem as bad. You make your way over and open up a cabinet. You let out a sigh of relief when you see food. You grab what you can, focusing on the cans and anything else that you know will last. It isn't much, but it's more than you've found all day and it gives you some breathing room. [[Next|0.6]]

You pick the picture up and wipe some of the dust off of it. The picture is of a young couple, arms wrapped around each other as they smile brightly for the camera. You set the picture down carefully and try to ignore the sorrow tugging at the back of your mind. This was someone's //home//. You sigh and turn away. <<include [[0.5]]>>

You flip the picture down. You don't need a reminder of the people that used to live here, the people that once called this place their home. <<include [[0.5]]>>

You pack everything up and get ready to head out, eager to get some fresh air. Or fresher air at least. The city reeks of death. You've never been a big fan of cities to begin with, but you had to come here so that you could scavenge. Cities before were loud and crowded and, well, they smelled bad before too. But after the world went to shit they have become even more dangerous. Cities tend to be rife with raiders, people that have decided to make the most of this new world by stealing and killing and doing anything they please. Not exactly people you want to get caught up with. You've done a good job of avoiding them and anyone else that may be lurking around so far, but you'll feel better when you're back in the woods. You've been running on fumes for a while now. It's hard to do this all alone, to get a proper night of sleep when you have to be ready to run at a moments notice. But what can you do? Zombies weren't the only startling revelation, for humans at least. In the chaos after the initial outbreak, all the careful rules meant to keep the supernatural world a secret from humans went out the window. And it's hard to blame the humans for being scared. [[Next|0.7]]

Witches were easy to accept, they were practically human anyways. And aside from the magic, witches are just as vulnerable to the virus as humans are. Vampires, however, are immune to the virus, //but// they need humans to live. It didn't take long for vampires to panic and start to treat humans like cattle in a desperate attempt to make sure that their food supply doesn't run out. And then there are the werewolves. You've always known how werewolves were viewed by other supernaturals, but in the wake of the zombie virus it has only gotten worse. Wild animals, dangerous and unstable. It wasn't true before, but now... now you aren't so sure. The virus effects werewolves differently. It isn't always a death sentence, though that doesn't guarantee survival. And when a werewolf becomes a zombie, they become something even worse. You remember what happened to your pack. None of you were prepared for Owen to turn. He didn't lose his strength, in fact he seemed even stronger -- a feral, half-shifted creature that didn't know anything about restraint or self-preservation. He -- whatever took his place -- broke their own bones with the force of their attacks, the viciousness in their strikes. He killed others. And those that died came back. It was all you could do to escape with your life. You've been alone since then. [[Next|0.8]]

You take a step outside and take a deep breath, holding it in for a moment before letting it out in a long sigh. It's already starting to get dark and you want to find someplace safe to hole up in for the night. You start moving. Your time in the city hasn't been terrible so far, but you're still anxious to leave. There has always been something so cold and ominious about cities. Maybe it has to do with how trapped they make you feel. Doing your best to shake off the feeling, you continue through the city carefully, making sure to keep an ear out for anyone -- infected or otherwise. It is too quiet and that sets you on edge, but aside from having to take a few detours to avoid some infected, you don't run into any trouble. Not at first, at least. You've let down your guard a little, tired from being on constant alert. You still make sure to move throughout the city as quietly as you can, but you are hurrying a bit more than you know you should. You turn a corner carefully, keeping an eye and an ear out for anything out of place. There isn't any movement on the street, though you spot the entrance to an alleyway a few feet ahead of you. It isn't the first alleyway you've passed by, but it has you slowing your steps a little. As you get closer, something grabs your attention. [[Next|0.9]]

You stop and listen closely and you can just make out an odd scraping noise coming from the alley. The noise is faint, and it seems to be coming from far enough away that as long as you're quiet, you should be able to get past without alerting anyone or anything to your presence. You grab hold of the handle of your knife and keep moving, bracing yourself for whatever may lay behind the corner. Right as you make it to the mouth of the alley, you hear a loud crash. Immediately alert, you take a step into the alley, eyes scanning for whatever could have caused the sound. The alley is empty of any people, though it cuts through to the street on the other side of these buildings. There is a large dumpster, some trash cans, and all the trash that didn't manage to make it into either. Right at the front of the dumpster you spot shards of broken glass and take a half step closer. You have no way of knowing how long the glass has been here, but the loud crash could have easily been the sound of glass breaking. Before you can think on it too much, you are distracted by another sound, this one far more familiar. The loud, unsteady thump of something not meant to be walking. It's accompanied by that retched smell and you know what is lurking behind the dumpster before the zombie walks out of the shadows on wobbly legs. Sighing, you set your duffel bag of food down and raise your knife. It's annoying, but you would rather make sure there isn't anything trying to follow you. You also need to be quick because you don't know what else could have heard the noise. [[Next|0.10]]

You move closer and prepare yourself, making note of the two other zombies that are following behind the first. It's easy enough to dispatch the first zombie, you bury your knife in it's head and feel it go limp. It falls to the ground and you keep hold of your knife, grimacing a little as its head slide off of your blade when it falls. You hear the scuff of a shoe behind you and quickly turn your head to find not a zombie, but a human. You can't make out much about them as the little thief grabs hold of your duffel bag and takes off as quickly as they can, stumbling a little as they try and hoist it over their shoulder. Panic and anger war within you, but you are forced back to the more pressing issue as the second zombie roars and takes a swipe at you. You just manage to dodge under their arm, thanking your quick reflexes, and you get your leg up to kick the zombie in the center of its chest, launching it back and into the third zombie. The weight of the zombie takes the other one down with it and you are on them before they can even think to right themselves... if they even have the capability to think? You bury your blade in each of their heads and then you turn and take off after the thief. [[Next|0.11]]

It doesn't take you long to catch up to the thief, given your superior speed and your incredible tracking skills. The thief is quick, but clearly struggling under the weight of //your// bag of food. They must be able to hear you running after them because they take a quick look over their shoulder and you can smell their desperation. Looking around, they take a sudden turn and cut through an old construction zone. It's hard to predict where they are going, but there isn't exactly a lot of options. Especially when they turn a corner only to find themselves blocked by a crowd of infected. They turn again and grab onto some scaffolding and immediately start climbing up to the top of it. You climb up after them. You chase them up the scaffolding and then around the outside of the building, doing your best not to think about how unstable it all feels. Finally, the thief reaches the end of it and -- with nowhere left to go -- they turn around. It's when she looks up at you, eyes full of fear, that it dawns on you just how //young// she is. She looks to her left and sees a long wooden plank that connects to the other side, then she looks back at you. You can see it in her eyes the second she makes her decision, and before you can do anything she is off. <div class="choice">[[I try to grab her.|0.12a]]</div> <div class="choice">[["Don't --" I try stop her.|0.12b]]</div> <div class="choice">[[I'm frozen, unable to do anything.|0.12c]]</div>

You reach out and try to grab hold of her before she can get away, but she slips just out of reach and keeps going. <<include [[0.13]]>>

"Don't -" you say as you try to stop her, but she doesn't even hesitate. <<include [[0.13]]>>

You're frozen in place, caught off guard and unable to do anything to stop her. <<include [[0.13]]>>

She runs over the plank even as it bends a little underneath her. She only makes it a few steps before you hear a crack and when she immediately stops, you know she heard it too. She turns around and tries to head back, but the board gives out. You take a step closer without thinking as the board starts to drop. You hold your breath, hand half reaching out, utterly useless as your stomach drops with it. The girl falls forward and wraps her arms around the board as though it that could somehow save her. Then you hear a thud and the board stops falling, for the moment at least, seemingly caught on something below it. You look down at the girl, holding onto the plank for dear life, and then you look down even further to the large group of zombies that have come alive at the noise. They clamor below her, reaching up, ready to tear her to pieces. <div class="choice">//[[You can't just let her die.|0.14]]//</div>

You step onto the board as carefully as possible, moving slowly across it to get to her. She's shaking, eyes shut as tight as her grip on the board. She still has your bag of food slung over her shoulder somehow. You reach her and bend down to grab her arms and pull her up. The second you touch her she jolts back, but you manage to keep a hold of her. However, the movement is too much for the wooden plank you are standing on and you can hear the slow subtle creak of the wood as it strains beneath you. You hoist her up and turn as quickly as you can, and you push off of the plank as hard as you can, but it starts to crack under your feet. You can feel the board give out and you lose your momentum as you try to clear the distance and make it back to the platform. You scramble to get your arm out and just barely reach out and grab onto the side of the scaffolding as the plank completely breaks apart and falls to the ground. You hold on tight, to the girl and the only thing keeping you both from falling into the horde below. Thanking your enhanced strength, you heave the both of you up and over the edge, until you both make it onto the platform. You take a few deep breaths, kneeling there and trying to wrap your head around what just happened. When you look up, the girl is still shaking. You reach out to gently put a hand on her shoulder and ask if she is alright, but as soon as you make contact, she turns to you and launches herself in your arms. She grips onto you so tight, scared out of her mind, and just buries her head against your chest. //She almost died, she almost died, she almost died.// [[Next Chapter|1.1]]

!<div class="header">chapter one</div> It takes you a while to find someplace to stay for the night. Eventually, you stumble upon a cramped townhouse where the front door seems to be mostly intact. The lock is busted, but that works for you. You open the door carefully, keeping an ear out for any sounds of movement inside. It doesn't smell like rotten flesh, at least. You step inside, still on alert, and the kid follows in behind you. She's quiet -- hasn't said a word since you rescued her. The place has clearly been trashed, though you can't say whether it was because the people who lived here left in a hurry or because of scavengers. Probably both. Aside from the mess, this place seems like a decent enough place to stay for the night. The kid accepts it readily enough and she walks further into the room to get a better look at it. You watch her look around and it's the first time you get a proper look at her. She is a tiny thing, and she seems even smaller with the way she hunches in on herself. Her long, wavy black hair is a tangled mess that is kept half up, tied back just enough to keep her hair out of her deep brown eyes. She's tense and alert, clearly ready to bolt at a moments notice. And with the way she keeps glancing back at you, it isn't just the unfamiliar space that has her so clearly on edge. She scowls at you, but it's undercut by the puffiness under her eyes, tan skin rubbed raw from trying to push away her earlier tears. The impact is lessened even more given her tiny stature. <div class="choice">[[Though, admittedly, I am about the same height as her.|1.2][$height to "very short"]]</div> <div class="choice">[[Though I am only a little taller than her.|1.2][$height to "short"]]</div> <div class="choice">[[I am quite a bit taller than her.|1.2][$height to "average"]]</div> <div class="choice">[[I am much taller than her.|1.2][$height to "tall"]]</div> <div class="choice">[[I tower over her.|1.2][$height to "very tall"]]</div>

You head back to the door and note that the banging has stopped, though you can hear something moving on the other side. Taking a deep breath, you grab your knife in one hand and the door knob in the other and then you turn. Shoving the door open, you rush into the room and manage to catch the creature by surprise. It attempts to turn towards you and throws an arm out to grab at you, but you bat its arm aside and grab its neck. You keep its head steady as you sink your knife into the side of its head, just as you had done earlier with the other one. Once again, the creature goes limp, but this time you don't even bother trying to catch it and it falls to the floor with a heavy thump. You take a deep breath to calm yourself, this time remembering to breathe through your mouth and then look around the room. It's a bathroom, though it is clear that the creature has been locked in here for a long time. The shower curtain has been pulled down and torn and anything that was on the counter has found its way to the floor. The mirror is cracked, though it is intact enough to offer you the first real glimpse of yourself that you have seen in a while. You look tired. There are heavy bags under your dull <<cycle "$eyec" autoselect>> <<option "blue">> <<option "gray">> <<option "green">> <<option "hazel">> <<option "brown">> <<option "dark brown">> <<option "black">> <</cycle>> eyes. You can't remember the last time you got a full night of sleep. You run your hands through your <<cycle "$hairl" autoselect>> <<option "short">> <<option "chin-length">> <<option "shoulder-length">> <<option "long">> <</cycle>> <<cycle "$hairc" autoselect>> <<option "blonde">> <<option "red">> <<option "brown">> <<option "black">> <<option "white">> <</cycle>> hair and push the thought away. You'll find a safe place to rest later. Right now you need to focus. You are alone and finally able to do what you came here to do; scavenge. You get to work rifling through anything and everything you can get your hands on, looking for anything that could be of use to you. You make your way back to the bedroom and begin to look through it when something on the desk stops you in your tracks. Resting on top of the desk is a picture, covered in dust. <div class="choice">[[I pick the picture up.|0.4a]]</div> <div class="choice">[[I flip the picture down.|0.4b]]</div>

♡ ↺

You don't say anything, content to let her explore. <<include [[1.4]]>>

"Be careful," you say. She gives you a mumbled 'whatever' and keeps going. <<include [[1.4]]>>

"Stay where I can see you," you warn. You can feel her eyes on you for a long moment, but she turns away without saying anything. <<include [[1.4]]>>

You look around to find something sturdy enough to brace the door with, but the place is pretty barren. A lot of the furniture that remains is busted up and strewn about the room. There is a sturdy looking couch which has been left mostly intact and you decide to move that over and set it in front of the door. That should work well enough, at least for one night. Secure in the knowledge that you have at least inconvenienced any potential thieves or murderers, you turn around to get a better look at this temporary home. Given how trashed this place is you doubt that there is much left to scavenge, but it doesn't hurt to look around a bit. And you want to make completely sure that you haven't missed anyone or anything that could be hiding here. Glancing over, you spot the kid poking around in what appears to be a kitchen. Most of the cabinets are already open and you can't imagine that there will be much left to find. You head to the stairwell on your right and poke your head upstairs. There is no lingering stench of death and you can't hear anything when you get to the upper landing. You are, however, met with three doors. One is wide open and it looks like an office of some kind, but the other two are closed. <<include [[1.5]]>>

You can't imagine what she's thinking. She clearly wasn't expecting the person she tried to rob to risk their life to save her. You weren't expecting to risk your life to save the person that tried to rob you. Sighing, you turn away. //She's just a little kid.// You aren't sure how old she is exactly, but she can't be much older than thirteen. As you move to find something to brace the door with, you hear her start to wander further into the townhouse. <div class="choice">[[I let her explore.|1.3a]]</div> <div class="choice">[["Be careful," I say.|1.3b]]</div> <div class="choice">[["Stay where I can see you," I warn.|1.3c]]</div>

<<if not $q1>><div class="choice">[[↺ I check out the office.|1.5office][$q1 to true]]</div> <</if>><<if not $q2>><div class="choice">[[↺ I head through the door on the left.|1.5bathroom][$q2 to true]]</div> <</if>><<if not $q3>><div class="choice">[[↺ I head through the door on the right.|1.5bedroom][$q3 to true]]</div> <</if>><div class="choice">[[I head back downstairs.|1.6]]</div>

The office is small and it feels even smaller with the massive bookshelf that has been crammed into it. Most of the books have been knocked off the shelves and trampled over. There is a desk in the corner, and the computer moniter that sits on top of it has been smashed. You head over to the desk and shift through the papers that cover it and go through the drawers, but there isn't much that could be of use to you. Old papers, a handful of pencils, a stapler... an empty stapler. You look around a little more and check over by the bookshelf before deciding to move on. <<include [[1.5]]>>

You press your ear against the door on the left and when you don't hear anything you give one solid knock. Nothing happens. Slowly, you open the door and when nothing moves to attack you, you relax a little. Looking around, you have found the bathroom and it appears to be in a similar state to the rest of the house. The mirror has been smashed and pieces of it are littered across the floor, the shower curtain has been torn down, and someone shoved a book into the toilet for some reason. Not the worst thing you could find in a toilet. You manage to scrounge up one singular roll of toilet paper and half a tub of toothpaste, but most things in here are either half destroyed or utterly useless. You secure what you can in your bag and head back out the door. <<include [[1.5]]>>

As you move closer, you notice that the lock on the door is busted and the door is slightly open. You push the door open fully and find a bedroom. You quickly check under the bed and in the small closet to make sure that no one is hiding in here. There isn't much in the room and even less that's been left standing. The bedframe is still upright, but the matress has been knocked off of the bed and onto the ground and appears to have taken a lamp down with it. There is a dresser in the corner that has been tipped onto its side, two of its drawers pulled out and laying on the floor beside it. You poke around a little, though it is clear that this place has been picked clean of anything useful. <<include [[1.5]]>>

You head back downstairs and, honestly, there is a small part of you that is surprised to still see the kid here. But it's been a long day and you know you're both exhausted. Plus it's getting dark and it would be a challenge to find another safe place to wait out the night. The kid is curled up on a small loveseat in the corner of the living room. She looks up and watches you as you enter. With a heavy sigh you go sit down on the couch that you moved in front of the door, finally letting yourself relax. For a long moment, the two of you just watch each other. It's easy to see that she still doesn't know what to make of you. You aren't entirely sure what to make of her either. You decide to be the one to break the tense silence. "Did you find anything?" You nod your head towards the kitchen. She keeps a tight hold of her backpack, eyes scanning over you. She doesn't reply for long enough that you think she won't say anything, but then she does. "No." It's quiet, terse and to the point, but it's something at least. It hangs in the air for a moment as you struggle to figure out what you want to say. Out of everything that you can say, all the questions you have, you decide that it is best to start slow. "My name is... <<textbox "$name" "">> [[Confirm|1.7]]

"My name is $name," you offer. "What's yours?" She just watches you and you can practically see the gears turning in her head as she thinks things through. Finally, she mutters, "Ruby." It's so quiet you almost don't hear it. You attempt a smile, though you know it comes across as a little forced. "It's nice to meet you, Ruby." She scoffs, but doesn't say anything. "Right," you sigh. This is going to be... difficult. Your eyes drop down to your duffel bag of food and you decide that a peace offering is in order -- even though you think you have been rather nice given the circumstances. "Are you hungry, Ruby?" At that, her eyes snap to you and you can //see// how hungry she is. But she doesn't respond, her mouth locked in a deep frown. //What is up with this kid?// Brushing aside her lack of a response, you dig into your bag and pull out two cans of food. You stand up and move to hand her one, but she flinches at your quick movement and it stops you in your tracks. She stares up at you, eyes wide, clearly as surprised as you are. Slowly, you extend your arm and offer one of the cans of food and it feels like an eternity until she reaches out to take it. But as soon as she touches it, she snatches it and cradles it close to her chest, like she's worried you'll try to take it back. You move back to plop down on the couch again. [[It is quiet while the two of you eat.|1.8]]

Ruby kept watching you, at first, but when she realized you weren't going to try and talk to her again she relaxed a little. You can't help but notice how quickly she is eating and -- not for the first time -- you wonder when she last had a decent meal. You wait until the both of you are done eating before you try to talk to her again, hoping that the food will have put her in a better mood. "So, Ruby, why are you out here all alone?" you ask. She scowls at you, voice low with anger. "Why do you think?" "I'm sorry," you say. "How long have you been on your own?" She shrugs and looks away, eyes focused on the ground. "Long enough. I know what I'm doing." Though she tries to hide it, her voice shakes and you can see her try to blink back tears. She shakes her head and then looks up at you. "What about you, huh? Why are you all alone?" You think about your old pack, about your friends and family and all the people you'll never see again, and it //hurts//. You also think about why it is you are still traveling alone. //You're a werewolf//. You're dangerous and it is better she doesn't know that. You're lost in your thoughts for too long and she takes your silence as an answer. She turns away from you and mutters, "That's exactly what I thought." She pulls her knees up to her chest and wraps her arms around them, then she rests her head on her knees. She is quiet again for a long time, but eventually she asks, voice small, "Why did you save me?" <div class="choice">[["I wasn't just going to watch you die," I say.|1.9a][$genuine to $genuine + 1]]</div> <div class="choice">[["I just wanted my food back," I say, giving her a small grin so she knows I'm joking.|1.9b][$snarky to $snarky + 1]]</div> <div class="choice">[[I just shrug, not really sure myself.|1.9c][$stoic to $stoic + 1]]</div>

"I wasn't just going to watch you die," you say. She looks away and chews on her lip, and it seems like she has something to say, but she remains silent. <<include [[1.10]]>>

"I just wanted my food back," you say, giving her a small grin so she knows you're joking. Whether it is because your answer managed to catch her off guard or because she seems half asleep already, she huffs in amusement and for just a second you can see the smallest of smiles cross her lips. <<include [[1.10]]>>

You shrug, a little helplessly. You honestly aren't sure why you did it, it just seemed like the only thing that you could do at the time. You half expect her to demand a better answer, but all she does is give a slow nod, as though your answer makes perfect sense. <<include [[1.10]]>>

Ruby sits up a little straighter and meets your curious gaze for a second, but she quickly looks away and curls further into herself. She looks down at her hands and plays with her fingers. "Thank you," she says, her voice small but sincere. She clears her throat and speaks a little louder. "Thank you for saving my life." She doesn't even try to look at you, but you give her a tired smile all the same. "You're welcome, Ruby." Ruby yawns and tries to shake herself awake. She shivers and pulls the oversized red flannel she wears tighter around herself. There is still so much more to say, but the day has been long enough already. All your limbs feel heavy and weighed down and you sink deeper into the couch. Ruby seems to be fairing worse than you in the fight to keep her eyes open. As much as she might not want to, it's clear that she has been running on fumes and with what must have been her first real meal in while, Ruby starts to fall asleep. It only takes a few minutes for her breathing to even out and then you know she's out for the night. You bury your head in your hands. Things just got a lot more complicated. What are you supposed to do with this kid? This //human// kid? You obviously can't just leave her to die, but keeping her with you is dangerous too. The full moon is a few weeks away, so you have some time to figure out what to do with her. The best option you can think of is to find the nearest human settlement and drop her off there. Sighing, you glance over at her. For the time being, she is your responsibility. <div class="choice">[[I get some sleep. I trust her and I need to rest too.|1.11a][$r_trust to $r_trust + 1]]</div> <div class="choice">[[I get some sleep. I don't trust her, but I'm too tired and I need to rest.|1.11b]]</div> <div class="choice">[[I stay up and keep an eye on her. I don't trust her.|1.11c][$exhaustion to $exhaustion + 1]]</div> <div class="choice">[[I stay up and keep an eye on her. I trust her, but I'm also worried about her.|1.11d][$r_trust to $r_trust + 1; $exhaustion to $exhaustion + 1]]</div>

There's a long road ahead of you and you know that you'll need to be rested to be able to deal with it. You trust her and you are exhausted, so you decide to get some sleep as well. The place is locked up tight -- or as tight as it can be -- and you trust that you'll be able to hear if anything tries to break in. You close your eyes and it doesn't take long for you to drift off. [[Next|1.12a]]

As much as you may not want to, you know that you need to sleep. You're exhausted and if you keep going like this you're bound to make a mistake. So, even though you don't trust her, you decide to get some sleep as well. The place is locked up tight -- or as tight as it can be -- abd you trust that you'll be able to hear if anything tries to break in or if the kid tries something. You close your eyes and it doesn't take long for you to drift off. [[Next|1.12a]]

You're tired and you know that you could use the rest, but you don't trust her. She may just be a kid, but the end of the world has made everyone a threat and she already tried to steal from you once. You aren't planning on giving her a chance to do it again. Besides, this place may be as secure as it can be, but that still isn't very secure. You peak through the curtain and look out into the dark, bracing yourself to stay up all night and keep watch. [[Next|1.12b]]

As tired as you may be, you know that you can't let yourself sleep. You trust her, but you're also worried about her. She's too young to be doing this all on her own. This place isn't very secure and you need to make sure that nothing happens. Tomorrow is going to suck, but you can't afford to let your guard down. Not now. You peak through the curtain and look out into the dark, bracing yourself to stay up all night and keep watch. [[Next|1.12b]]

//The elders won't admit it, but you know that something is very wrong. Something has been very wrong for a while now. The pack has always been rather isolated, but lately they've been even more closed off.// //You've heard the people on the news. The talks of a virus going around and making people aggressive. You don't know what to believe.// //Some members of your pack have come down with a horrible fever. You can't remember the last time you've been around a sick werewolf. Maybe when you were a child, one of the other kids caught something -- back before they had their first change. It only lasted an afternoon.// //It's different now. Three members have been sick for days. Ryan was sick too, but eventually his fever broke and he seems alright now. You can't say the same for the others. The elders won't let anyone in to see them.// //You're sitting outside when you first hear the screaming. It's so sudden you hardly have any time to react. All you know is that you turn around and there is Owen, only it isn't him. Not really.// //His claws are bloody, mouth too. And he ''screams''. He ''howls''.// //He grabs someone as they rush over to try and help and he ''bites''.// //All you can focus on is the body on the ground and the gaping hole in their throat. Blood soaking into the earth. The body is still moving, twitching around. And you can hear these awful gasping sounds and you--// [[Something touches your arm.|1.13a]]

It's a long night and it feels even longer with the way you have to focus on keeping your eyes open. A few times you have to get up and walk around a little bit to keep yourself awake. You're sitting on the couch, staring out the window, but you can't actually focus on anything in particular. All you can really think about is the burn in your eyes and you wonder how long it has been since the last time you had a good night's sleep. At first you think that it was before you lost your pack, but then you realize that it was even longer than that. You remember how it was, the few weeks right before everything went to shit. Everyone was on edge. Three members from your pack had been sick for days with a horrible fever. Werewolves don't get sick, at least they aren't supposed to. Ryan was sick too, but eventually his fever broke and he got better. You thought the others would get better too, but-- //You're sitting outside when you first hear the screaming. It's so sudden you hardly have any time to react. All you know is that you turn around and there is Owen, only it isn't him. Not really.// //His claws are bloody, mouth too. And he ''screams''. He ''howls''.// //He grabs someone as they rush over to try and help and he ''bites''.// //All you can focus on is the body on the ground and the gaping hole in their throat. Blood soaking into the earth. The body is still moving, twitching around. And you can hear these awful gasping sounds and you--// [[You hear a whine.|1.13b]]

You pull yourself away, eyes opening wide, as you gasp for air. It's Ruby. Just Ruby. She is standing next to the couch you're sitting on, her hand pulled back, but still hovering in the air. She watches you closely and both of you are frozen in place. Slowly, she let's her hand drop down to her side, her eyes never leaving yours. She chews on her lip, hesitant. She speaks slowly, voice low and gentle. "You okay?" You don't trust your voice so you just nod. She watches you for a moment longer, but keeps quiet and lets you get away with the obvious lie. Clearing her throat, she steps back over to her bag and checks to make sure that everything is packed. You take a deep breath and check your own bags. The sun has begun to rise and you want to get as far away from this awful city as you can before it sets. You pull your jacket back on and find Ruby waiting at the front door for you, her own backpack strapped tightly into place. [[Next|1.14]]

The two of you pick your way through the city carefully. You haven't had much trouble here, but you know how easily that can change. You're glad that Ruby is willing to travel with you without much convincing, though a part of you realizes she must be more shaken up from her near death experience than she is letting on. <<if $exhaustion > 0>>Ruby refuses to acknowledge any of your concerned glances and the one time you attempted to ask her about her nightmare, she immediately shut you down.<<else>>You have caught Ruby glancing at you a few times, brows furrowed in either concern or curiosity, but -- thankfully -- she doesn't ask you about your nightmare.<</if>> The two of you carry on silently, making good progress when you are suddenly forced to stop. The street you've been walking on has been blocked off by a mess of cars. You can't see what caused the crash, but there is no getting around it safely. Sighing, you look around and spot an alleyway. When you move towards it, however, you find that the alleyway has been crudely blocked off by a van at the other end of it. Again, you sigh, debating what you should do. You would rather avoid backtracking, but sometimes it can't be helped. "Come on," Ruby says, and you had forgotten she was standing there. She moves further into the alley. "We can climb over the van." "We don't know what's on the other side." "Well, if we get on top of the van, then we'll be able to //see// what's on the other side." You want to argue more, but she hasn't stopped walking and so you hurry to catch up with her. [[Next|1.15]]

You jerk your head up, pulled back to the present and you hear it again. It's faint and it takes you a second to put the pieces together, but then you look over and spot Ruby. Her eyes are shut tight, brow furrowed in what looks like pain. "No," she pleads. It's soft and heartbroken and she sounds so //scared//. She turns over, frown deepening, and you can hear her breathing pick up. She's having a nightmare. It breaks your heart. You approach her carefully, but there isn't really a way to do this without scaring her. You kneel beside the loveseat she is curled up on and make sure to keep a bit of space between you. Reaching out, you tenatively put a hand on her shoulder. "Ruby," you say, trying to keep your voice as gentle as you can. She bolts upright, pulling her arm away from you and throwing a punch with her other. The punch doesn't connect; it's haphazard and she's still clearly out of it. "Hey, hey, hey," you try to calm her down. "It's okay. It's just me." Her eyes snap to you and you watch as she takes you in, as the day before slowly comes back to her. She swallows. "Oh. Sorry." You wave her off and move back to your bag to give her some space. "Don't worry about it." You can hear her shuffling around behind you, so you start to get your stuff ready to go. The sun is beginning to rise and you want to get as far away from this awful city as you can before it sets. Luckily, it seems she is of the same mindset because as you pull your jacket on, you turn around to find Ruby waiting for you at the front door, her own backpack strapped tightly into place. [[Next|1.14]]

"Hold on a second." You rush forward and step in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. She looks <<if $height !== "very short">>up <</if>>at you, thoroughly unimpressed. "What?" "At least let me go first and check it out, okay?" She looks like she wants to argue, but she nods instead. "Fine." You turn around and step up to the van. It doesn't open on this side, but it shouldn't be too hard to climb. <<if $height == "very short" || $height == "short">>Though you may need a boost up. Looking around, you spot a plastic crate left carelessly and you pull it over to the van, ignoring Ruby's failed attempt to muffle her laughter. You set it up next to the van and are relieved when it holds your weight. <</if>>You ready yourself and jump up, grabbing the top of the van and hoisting yourself up and over it. The roof of it creaks under you, but it holds and you stand up to look around the street. It is mercifully clear and you kneel down to help Ruby up. You reach a hand out and she <<if $r_trust>>takes it immediately<<else>>hesitates for a second before taking it<</if>>. When she reaches out, you can't help but notice a loose bandage poking out from the edge of her sleeve. As soon as you pull her up, she pulls her arm away and tries to push the bandage back up her sleeve. "Hey," you try to stop her. "What is that?" "It's nothing." "It's not nothing." You wait for her to respond, but she won't meet your eyes. "If you're injured, I need to know." "It's just a little scratch, don't worry about it." "Ruby, please." [[Finally, she looks back at you and sighs.|1.16]]

Ruby rolls up her sleeve and shows you her arm, the makeshift bandage falling away without her sleeve there to keep it in place. "I just hit my arm when I fell yesterday. It isn't that bad." There is a nasty red scratch on her forearm. Truthfully, it isn't that bad, but even small cuts like this can be dangerous if they get infected. "You should have told me about this." She scowls and moves her arm away, pulling her sleeve back down and over it. "It's none of your business." She starts to walk away, moving to slide down the front of the van. "Ruby--" "I don't have to tell you shit," she cuts you off, hopping down the front of the van to the ground below. And she keeps walking, heading down the street without so much as a glance in your direction. You hustle after her. "I just meant that you could get sick if we don't take care of this properly." "I took care of it." "Not very well," you huff. She stops walking completely and turns to glare at you. You catch up to her. "I'm sorry. Would you please just let me clean it up and bandage it?" You look around the street you are on and spot a convenience store at the end of the street. "We can stop in there and look around for some supplies too." She crosses her arms and looks from you to the store and back again. "Fine." [[Next|1.17]]

You make it to the store with only mild complaining. After a quick look around to ensure that there isn't anyone or anything dangerous lurking around, you have Ruby wait by the counter at the front and go to see if there is anything salvageable left here. It doesn't seem too likely given how trashed the place is, but it doesn't hurt to look. Most of the shelves have been picked clean, but you do manage to find a candy bar that had fallen back between two of the metal racks. You pocket it for later and keep checking. You're able to scrounge up a few basic first aid supplies scattered around and take them back to the front where Ruby is sitting on the counter. She's playing around with something in her hands and it isn't until you hear a little click and then see a small flame that you realize it's a lighter. She looks up when she notices that you are getting closer and waves the lighter at you. "Look what I found!" She's smiling, it's small and crooked, but it's also the happiest you've seen her so far. <div class="choice">[["Cool," I say. It's nice to see her excited about something.|1.18a][$genuine to $genuine + 1]]</div> <div class="choice">[[I smirk. "I'm not gonna have to start worrying about you setting me on fire, am I?"|1.18b][$snarky to $snarky + 1]]</div> <div class="choice">[[I sigh. "I will give you a dollar if you promise not to set me on fire."|1.18c][$stoic to $stoic + 1]]</div>

"Cool," you say, giving her a small smile. "Cool?" she responds. "That's it?" You raise a brow. "As opposed to...?" "I don't know." She frowns. "A lecture on fire being dangerous or something." You chuckle. "I mean, I hope you are going to be careful with it, but I'm just glad to see you excited about something." She freezes and looks at you with wide eyes. "Oh, uh." She looks down and brings a hand up to gently scratch at her cheek. "Thanks. I guess." Your smile widens, but you decide to take pity on her and change the subject. You step forward and set your supplies on the counter. "Alright, let me take a look at that cut." <<include [[1.19]]>>

You smirk. "I'm not gonna have to start worrying about you setting me on fire, am I?" Her crooked grin takes on a more mischievous edge. "Are you saying that you think I would purposely set someone on fire?" You chuckle. "Oh, I know that you would. I'm just hoping that it'll be someone else." "I guess we'll see." "Alright, pyro." You step closer and motion for her to hold out her arm. "Let me take a look at the cut." <<include [[1.19]]>>

You sigh. "I will give you a dollar if you promise not to set me on fire." Ruby looks at you, eyes scanning your blank face. "Do you even have a dollar?" You keep your face carefully neutral. "No," you admit. You recognize the mischievous spark in her eyes and step forward before she can respond. "Alright, let me see the cut." <<include [[1.19]]>>

Immediately, she frowns. Her shoulders slump as she leans forward and holds her injured arm out so that you can get a better look at it. You set about cleaning the wound as gently as you can. Luckily, you have some antibiotic ointment and you carefully put it on the wound. The cut is thin and surface level, but it is long, so you wrap some gauze around it and tape the ends down. You look up and see Ruby frowning down at her arm. "Does it hurt?" you ask. She jumps a little and looks up at you. "No. Not really." She chews on her bottom lip and glances down at her arm again. "As long as I don't bump it on anything." "Okay. We'll check it again later, alright?" She rolls her eyes. "It really isn't that big of a deal." "I know, but it doesn't hurt to be careful," you say. Ruby frowns, but you cut her off. "Just humor me. Please?" She sighs, but you can see the ghost of a smile beginning to form. "Fine." You watch her for a moment and then you remember the candy bar that you found. <div class="choice">[[I give her the candy bar.|1.20a][$r_trust to $r_trust + 1, $candy to false]]</div> <div class="choice">[[I hold on to the candy bar.|1.20b]]</div>

You reach into your bag and pull out the candy bar you found. "Here, I found this." You hold it out to her. She frowns down at it, brows furrowed as though she is trying to decipher some hidden trick. "Take it," you say. She glances up at you. "Are you sure?" <<if $snarky > $stoic && $snarky > $genuine>>"What? Now you've got a problem taking food from me?" "That wasn't -- I didn't... Shut up," she huffs. <<elseif $stoic > $snarky && $stoic > $genuine>>"Wouldn't be offering if I wasn't," you say. She looks back down at the candy bar. "Right." <<else>>You give her a small, reassuring smile. "Of course." She watches you for another second, almost in disbelief. "Thank you," she says. <</if>>She reaches out and takes the candy bar from you. You turn away and go look out the windows to make sure that the street is still clear. When you look back at Ruby, her eyes are still fixed on the candy bar and there's a tentative smile on her face. She slides down off of the counter and turns to face you. "Alright, ready to go?" "Yeah," you say. [[Next|1.21]]

You decide to hold onto the candy bar for now. Clearing your throat, you step back and move to look out the windows. The street is still clear. You glance back at Ruby and see that she's looking down at the gauze on her arm. With a sigh she slides down off of the counter and turns to face you. "Alright, ready to go?" "Yeah," you say. [[Next|1.21]]

Traveling with Ruby isn't as bad as you thought it would be. She's a smart kid -- though she would have to be to survive this long on her own. You aren't sure exactly how long she has been alone, she doesn't share much about her past. While you would like to know, it's better not to risk her turning the questions around on you. You're probably hiding a bigger secret than she is. The full moon is getting closer and closer and you still aren't quite sure what to do with Ruby. You've spent most of the apocalypse avoiding humans and now finding a group of them seems like such an impossible task. To be honest, you half expected Ruby to sneak away with your food by now, but she seems more and more comfortable traveling with you. Those first few days she would hardly say anything, but now -- a couple weeks later -- she can't seem to go five minutes without some kind of snarky remark. [[I hear some leaves rustling and stop in my tracks.|1.22]]

You hear some leaves rustling off to your left and immediately stop in your tracks. Ruby bumps into you and stumbles backwards with a huff, only just able to stop herself from falling. "What the--" Ruby starts, but you cut her off with a frantic wave of your hand. "I hear something," you whisper, head turning to search for whatever caused the noise. Ruby turns to look as well. "I didn't hear anything," she whispers. You ignore her and keep looking, taking a deep breath to try and see if you can smell it. Since the forest doesn't reek of rotting flesh, you are sure that it isn't a zombie. You take a step closer and hear the crunch of leaves on the ground. Another step closer and you've got it. A rabbit. You're tempted to shift and grab it when a branch snaps behind you and the rabbit bolts away. You whirl around to see Ruby right next to you and you sigh. "What's your problem?" she asks. "We need to teach you how to move more quietly." "What?" She crosses her arms defensively. "I'm plenty quiet." You shake your head. "Maybe in the city, but not out here. The woods are different and if we want to be able to catch anything to eat, you're going to have to learn how to move around out here." She drops her arms, eyes widening as she starts to smile. "Wait. Are you gonna teach me how to hunt?" Her enthusiasm catches you off guard. "I guess so," you say. "Just the basics." [[Next|1.23]]

It's not hard to teach her the basics of it all. She's a quick study and her penchant for thievery aids her as you show her how to move quietly through the woods. You take care in showing her were to place her feet and how to shift her weight. She has a bit of difficulty when you teach her how to track things. It's understandable, you've built your skills up all your life and -- being a werewolf -- some things are easier for you to notice than they are for her. Even so, she sticks with it, determined to soak up all the information you've given her. You'll have to keep up with her training as the two of you keep traveling together. By the time the sun starts going down, you're happy with her progress. There's a feeling dancing around the edge of your chest and if you didn't know better, you would say that you feel a twinge of pride. She's a talented kid and, for half a second, you wonder what she'll be like when she's older. But you push that away. Remind yourself of what you are doing. The full moon is coming and you need to get her someplace safe before it happens. Pushing those thoughts away, you look around at the fading sunlight. Wandering in the dark will do you no good, so you search for a spot and start to make camp. Ruby is eager to help with that too. [[Next|1.24]]

There isn't much to the camp you set up, you don't really have many supplies. As a werewolf, it wasn't something that you had to worry about too much before. You're equipped to survive in the wilderness on your own. But now you have Ruby. You're reminded once again that humans are fragile creatures. It doesn't take long to get the fire going and you find yourself thankful that Ruby found that lighter. With the sun gone down, the cold starts to set in. Ruby sits by the fire as you rummage through your bag and begin to prepare dinner for the both of you. You've been rationing the cans as best you can, but you'll need to find some more soon. Once dinner is ready, you and Ruby sit by the fire in silence. Ruby eats more slowly now, and you like to think that it means she trusts you more, that she isn't worried you'll try and take her food away. A breeze rolls in and you can't help but notice the way that Ruby shivers. She tries to hide it, but she curls into herself and scoots a little closer to the fire. "You alright?" you ask. She jolts at the sound of your voice, but when she meets your eyes, her gaze is steady. "Yeah, I'm fine." Despite her words, she shivers again and you watch her pull her flannel tighter around herself. It's only going to get colder. She needs a proper coat. <div class="choice">[[I give her my jacket.|1.25a]]</div> <div class="choice">[[I'm not sure what to do.|1.25b]]</div>

She shivers again and you know that you can't let her get sick. You take off the jacket you're wearing and scoot closer to her so that you can wrap it around her. Ruby tenses for a moment, as you drape your jacket around her shoulders, but then she starts to relax. It's a far cry from that first night, and you can't help but remember how she flinched away from you when you tried to give her food. She doesn't flinch now. In fact, she scoots even closer to you as she pulls your jacket tighter around herself. You watch in silence as she stares at the fire, hands playing with the hem of your jacket. She's stopped shivering, and you're glad for it, but this isn't a permanent solution. As you're trying to think of the most likely places to find a sturdy coat, Ruby's voice draws your attention. "Thank you," she says, and you have to strain your ears to hear it. You can't help the smile that tugs at the edge of you lips. "You're welcome," you say, voice just as soft. You focus on the fire again and try to relax. [[Next|1.26]]

She shivers and you're not sure what to do. You want to help, but you're stuck. You don't know how to look after a kid, especially not a human kid and you are not sure what she'd even be comfortable with. As you're stuck in your own head, Ruby sighs, pulling her flannel even tighter around herself. And then she scoots a little closer to you. She moves again, even closer, and you freeze. You don't want to scare her off. She moves until she is pressed against your side and you can feel how tense she is, back straight and eyes locked on the fire ahead of you. You watch her, concerned, and then she rolls her eyes and nudges you with her shoulder, some of the tension fading out of her. "Stop staring," she says. "It's cold and you're like a freaking space heater." You huff, a smile pulling at the edge of your lips. "Sorry." It's touching, in a way. You know it's mostly because of the cold, but the fact that she feels safe enough with you to seek comfort means something. You can't help but think back on that first night. The way she flinched when you tried to give her food. You focus on the fire again and try to relax. [[Next|1.26]]

The crackling of the fire and the subtle sounds of animals in the woods make this moment feel almost peaceful. For a second you imagine a time before all this began, with your friends and family. You close your eyes and take a deep breath of the cold, crisp air. There is something about the way the air feels when it's colder out -- it's refreshing. "You know," Ruby starts, "I've never actually been camping before." You look over to see her looking down, playing with her hands. "Never?" She nods. "My parents weren't really big on the whole 'outdoors' thing." She lifts her shoulders in a half-hearted shrug, eyes going back to the fire. "One time my dad set up a tent in the backyard, but that's --" her voice shakes "-- that's the most I'd ever done before..." Her voice fades out and you don't need to be a genius to know where she was going. Before everything went to shit. You wait for a while, but it seems that's all she's willing to say. You take a breath. She shared, so should you. "My family went camping all the time." "Really?" she asks, glancing at you from the corner of her eyes. "Is that how you learned how to hunt?" "Yeah," you nod, smiling as you start to reminisce. "We would go out hunting whenever we could. The elders loved it because it meant they could get some peace and quiet for a while." Ruby's brow furrows in confusion. "The elders?" //Shit//. "Uh, yeah," you say, awkwardly trying to think of the best way to explain it. "There were a lot of us that lived together. We weren't all related by blood, but we were family." "Oh," she says. "That sounds kind of nice." "It was." [[Next|1.27]]

It isn't long before Ruby's eyes start to droop and you feel your own exhaustion catching up to you. You set up a makeshift bed for Ruby, finding a particularly comfortable patch of ground for her to sleep on. She uses her bag as a pillow and you've surrendered your jacket to be her blanket. You're falling into a rhythm with Ruby, even if you don't want to admit it. It's hard not to. You enjoy your time traveling through the woods, but you know it can't last. You need more supplies and that means going back to civilization. It takes a few more days before you and Ruby stumble out of the forest and find yourselves on a road. You don't know exactly where you are, but all you have to do now is follow it. The road is long and fairly isolated, which leaves you walking for a few hours before you see anything worth investigating. There is a small, quiet neighborhood. It feels almost peaceful in the afternoon sunlight, but you know it is better to not let your guard down. The houses here are run down, most of the front doors wide open or torn down altogether. You and Ruby carefully pick through a few of them, but there isn't much left to find. There are a handful of cars, some parked in driveways and some parked along the street. Most of the cars are in even worse condition than the houses, but you manage to find one that's been covered up with a tarp. [[You walk up to it.|1.28]]

The door to the house that it's parked out front of is barely hanging on it's hinges. You take slow, steady steps to the car parked in the driveway, keeping your ears pricked up for any sign of danger. Ruby follows close behind you, eyes scanning the neighborhood. You make it to the car and stop. Turning back, you share a look with Ruby. She nods and you turn back to the car, reaching out and grabbing ahold of the tarp. Then you pull. The flutter of the tarp sounds deafeningly loud against the tense silence that had taken hold of the neighborhood. Letting the tarp drop to the ground, your eyes quickly scan the neighborhood again to make sure that you and Ruby are still alone, and then you turn back to examine the car. It's a gray four door sedan. You don't know that much about cars, but it seems to be in decent condition. Or, at least, nothing wrong on the surface. You move around to the front, checking the windows to see if there is anything inside the car. It's empty and you try to open the driver side door. Locked. Of course. Otherwise it would be too easy. You don't even know if this car can run... or has any gas in it. But you need one if you want to actually make it anywhere. Sighing, you tell Ruby to stay here and keep watch and you head over to the front door of the house. [[With any luck, the keys will be somewhere inside.|1.29]]

You keep your knife at the ready as you step through the front door. Almost immediately, you are hit with an all too familiar foul stench. The smell of rotting flesh sits heavy in the air and you freeze for a moment to try and forcibly settle your stomach. With a grimace, you continue further into the house as silently as you can. You've entered into a living room and you can see through to the kitchen. The furniture has been knocked around and there is trash all over the floor, but you don't see any bodies. You don't see any zombies either. There is a small entryway table to your left that has been pushed over onto its side. You go and check around it and in its drawers to see if the keys are there, but come up empty handed. Sighing, you get up and move further into the house. You peak into a room to find a small, empty bathroom and keep moving. You keep going until one of your steps causes the floor to let out a loud creak. Immediately, you stop and hold as still as you can, listening for any sign that something heard you. A low growl rumbles from behind a door a few feet away and you brace for a zombie to come running at you. But nothing happens. The growling grows louder and you can hear the creature thrashing around, but it stays where it is. [[Approach the door.|1.30]]

Slowly, you open the door and find a small bedroom that has been completely trashed. The furniture has been thrown all around the room and you immediately zero in on where the growling is coming from. There is a zombie in the far corner of the room that has been caught underneath a large dresser. It's laying on its stomach and, as you step further into the room, it thrashes wildly, arms scrabbling at the floor as it tries to pull itself out. "$name?" You jump as you hear Ruby's voice behind you and you turn to see her standing right in the doorway. "I told you to wait outside," you whisper yell, trying to recover from the shock. She shrugs, looking around the room. "There's nothing out there and I thought I heard--" She stops abrutly as her eyes land on the zombie caught under the dresser. She swallows. When she speaks again, her voice is strained. "I thought I heard that." She points at the zombie and gets an answering roar. <div class="choice">[[I step in between the two.|1.31a][$stoic to $stoic + 1]]</div> <div class="choice">[["So you thought you'd come into the zombie house?" I ask.|1.31b][$snarky to $snarky + 1]]</div> <div class="choice">[[I sigh. "It's not safe."|1.31c][$genuine to $genuine + 1]]</div>

You watch her with concern as her eyes stay locked onto the zombie. You shift to the side and block her view and her eyes immediately snap up to look at you. She shakes her head and frowns at you. "Relax. It's not like I haven't seen a zombie before. I survived on my own perfectly fine until you showed up." You cock your head, arms crossed and brow raised. You're not sure that failed robbery counts as doing //perfectly fine//. She rolls her eyes and waves you off. "Whatever. Have you found the keys yet?" <<include [[1.32]]>>

"Right." You cross your arms. "And you thought your best bet was to barge into the zombie infected house?" She meets your gaze, thoroughly unimpressed. She crosses her arms. "Someone need to make sure you didn't get yourself killed." Despite the harsh words, you grin. Ruby's eyes narrow on your smile and she looks up at you with suspicion. Her frown deepens as your grin widens. "Were you worried about me?" you ask. Her eyes widen and you can see the faintest blush starting to spread across her cheeks. She looks away from you, eyes taking in the rest of the room. "Definitely not." You open your mouth to tease her again, but she immediately cuts you off. "Have you found the keys yet, or do you plan on sticking around with your new friend?" Ruby asks. <<include [[1.32]]>>

You quickly look Ruby over, checking for any signs of injury. Finding nothing out of place, you sigh. "It's not safe." Her face scrunches up in annoyance. "Nothing's safe anymore." "That doesn't mean you should take unnecessary risks." She scoffs. "Oh, cause making sure you haven't managed to get yourself killed is an unnecessary risk?" She glares at you. "Don't treat me like I'm helpless." //Oh.// She was worried about you. That's actually... really sweet. But still... "I know you're not helpless, Ruby." You meet her eyes and hope she can feel your sincerity. "But you are still a kid. There are things you shouldn't have to go through." She stares at you for a long moment, eyes wide. Then she seems to snap out of whatever thought she was stuck in and looks down at the ground. "It's too late for that." She brushes past you to get a better look around the room. "Did you find the key yet?" <<include [[1.32]]>>

"Not yet," you say. "Well..." She bites her lip and glances back to the trapped zombie. "I know at least one place you haven't checked." You look over to the zombie still trapped firmly in place by the dresser. Then it dawns on you. "No," you say. "Oh, come on. It's worth a shot." "I--" //don't have an excuse.// You sigh, resigned to it. You've managed to avoid rifling through the pockets of the undead so far, but you suppose it was only a matter of time before you would need to. Gripping your pocket knife, you carefully move closer to the zombie. It's still trapped, but you aren't going to let your guard down until you are sure that it is dead. As you get closer, the zombie thrashes around more violently, its arms swinging wildly to try and latch onto you. You hold your breath as you get closer, desperate to avoid the rotten stench as best as you can. The smell is so thick when you are this close. When you get close enough, you stomp down on one of the creatures arms to keep it steady. You lift your arm up... [[...and plunge the knife deep into its skull.|1.33]]

All at once the creature stops moving, body going completely limp. You nudge the zombie with your foot and it stays dead. Your breath comes out in a rush. You want to get out of here as soon as you can, so you turn to the side and lift the dresser up and off of the zombie. Heavy as it may be, it is easy enough for you to move given what you are. You set it down as gently as you can and then turn your focus back to newly re-deceased. The corpse makes your stomach churn. It has clearly been rotting under that dresser for some time. There is a large gash across the top of its back, where the edge of the dresser had been digging into, and one of its legs has been completely severed. The other leg is still there, attached by one thin strand of muscle. The jeans it wears are coated in blood and filth and you take a moment to steady yourself before you reach down to check it's pockets. The first one you search is empty and if you had to do all this only to come up empty you are going to scream. You take a step over the body, so you can reach down into the pocket on its other side. However, as it was thrashing around, the zombie managed to roll over just the slightest bit, but enough that you can't really reach into its pocket. With a grimace, you grab onto the cleanest bits of its clothing and try to turn it over. It makes a horrible //sloshing// sound for some reason and it's enough to make you gag. You close your eyes for just a second to try and get some composure and then you keep shifting the body. Three horrible, agonizing seconds later and you've managed to shift it enough to get your hand into its pocket. [[Next|1.34]]

When your fingers touch the cool metal of a set of keys, you nearly scream with joy. You pull the keys out as quickly as you can and are relieved to see that one of the keys is clearly for a car. You look up and meet Ruby's eyes and she smiles at you. And then she immediately turns around and rushes out of the room. You are quick to follow, shutting the door to try and block off the smell. Once you get outside again, you all but collapse onto the ground, taking in greedy gulps of fresh air. Ruby has walked back over to the car and she leans against it, looking down at you with amusement. You ignore her, focusing on the cool breeze that washes over you and willing it to take away the thick air that clings to you. You walk over to the car for the moment of truth. Is the key for this car? Does the car even work? Sticking the key into the lock, you can feel the tension in your shoulders lessen when it fits. It lessens even more when you turn it and the door unlocks. You climb into the car, unlocking it for Ruby to join you, and then stick the key into the ignition. You stop for a second, bracing yourself before you try to start the car. [[Turn the key.|1.35]]

The car starts and you sink back into the seat as the tension fully leaves you. Out of the corner of your eye, you can see Ruby practically bouncing from excitment. Your moment of celebration over, you step back out to get your bags and load them in the backseat of the car. Ruby gets out and helps, though you only really have a few bags between you. Bags loaded, you grab the handle to get back into the car. "Wait!" Ruby stops you. You look up at her and immediately recognize the look in her eyes. That look and the crooked grin she gives you mean trouble. "Can I drive?" she asks. You blink at her. "Do you know how?" "Nope." Her grin doesn't falter for a second. <div class="choice">[["Then no," I say.|1.36a][$genuine to $genuine + 1]]</div> <div class="choice">[["Right, good idea," I say, sarcastically.|1.36b][$snarky to $snarky + 1]]</div> <div class="choice">[[I open the door and get into the driver's seat.|1.36c][$stoic to $stoic + 1]]</div>

"Then no," you say, already moving to get into the car. <<include [[1.37]]>>

"Right, good idea," you say, even as you open the door and get into the driver's seat. <<include [[1.37]]>>

You stare at her for a second. Rather than answer, you just open the door and get into the driver's seat. <<include [[1.37]]>>

Ruby pouts, but gets into the passenger seat anyways. She immediately starts rifling through the glovebox. You look around the car to make sure everything is ready. The car seems to be in pretty good condition, especially given it's been sitting idle for who knows how long. You only have about a quarter of a tank of gas, so you'll need to find a way to get some more soon. But the car runs and that's all you need right now. Adjusting your seat, you glance over at Ruby. "Find anything interesting?" She's got a glasses case in her hand and is wearing a new pair of sunglasses. She reaches up and pulls the sunglasses down, looking over at you from the top of the frame. "Depends. Can I drive?" "Still no." She sighs, pushing the sunglasses back up the bridge of her nose. "Then nope," she replies, making sure to pop the 'p'. She turns away from you and looks out the windshield. "Lameass." It startles a laugh out of you and when she smirks, you find yourself mirroring it. [[You pull out of the driveway and continue on your way.|1.38]]

The drive is peaceful, the radio doesn't work and there are no stations to listen to anyways, but you and Ruby are content to enjoy the silence. She rolls down her window and leans against the frame, eyes watching as the world passes by. You run through a few spots where you have to maneuver carefully through abandoned cars -- and there is a tense moment where you get out to push one out of the middle of the road -- but you eventually make it to a little strip mall. There are a bunch of cars still parked in the lot and you can see a few of the storefronts have already been busted into, but it seems like it might be worth it to stop and check for supplies. You drive along the storefronts and stop at a clothing store. "What are we looking for here?" Ruby asks as you put the car in park. <div class="choice">[[You smirk. "We need to get something to keep you from turning into a popsicle."|1.39a][$snarky to $snarky + 1]]</div> <div class="choice">[["We need to get you an actual coat," you say.|1.39b][$genuine to $genuine + 1]]</div> <div class="choice">[["It's a clothing store," you say. "What do you think?"|1.39c][$stoic to $stoic + 1]]</div>

"We need to get something to keep you from turning into a popsicle," you say, already stepping out of the car. "What?" She frowns and crosses her arms. "I'm fine." You turn around and start walking into the store. "Come on, or else I'll pick out the ugliest one." <<include [[1.40]]>>

"We need to get you an actual coat," you say, already stepping out of the car. "What?" She frowns and crosses her arms. "I'm fine." You smile at her, slowly moving towards the front of the store. "Come on, humor me?" <<include [[1.40]]>>

"It's a clothing store," you say. "What do you think?" You get out of the car without waiting for her answer. "Wow, how helpful." She leans over your seat. "Care to elaborate?" "We need to find you an actual coat before you freeze to death," you say, already heading into the store." "Wha-- I'm not gonna freeze to death." You ignore her. "Hurry up, I don't know what size to look for." <<include [[1.40]]>>

"Whatever," she huffs, getting out of the car and following after you. When you get inside, it's easy to tell that the store has been picked through, but there is still enough clothing scattered around for you to think you'll be able to find something for Ruby. You do your best to keep an ear out for anything out of place, but everything seems quiet. And the store is open enough that you don't worry about losing track of Ruby. You and Ruby spread out a little to look through the mess, though Ruby stays close enough that -- if you focus -- you can pick out the slow, steady beat of her heart. It startles you a little, to realize that her heartbeat has become so familiar to you. The two of you search in silence for a while and there is something so unsettling about looking through all the clothes. Being reminded again and again that the world stopped months ago. There isn't much of a selection, but eventually Ruby finds a thick, deep red, fleece lined corduroy jacket that she seems happy with. The jacket is a few sizes to big, but hopefully she'll have a chance to grow into it. The two of you grab some more clothes and you're a little excited at the idea of having something new and //clean// to wear. You load up the car and look out into the parking lot. [[Next|1.41]]

Everything is quiet today. It's as peaceful as it is worrying. You're half waiting for something to go wrong. Taking a deep breath, you look out at the cars parked in the lot. There aren't that many and some have been broken into already, but you are reminded of your need for gas. You glance over at Ruby. "Hey." She looks up at you. "Wanna learn how to siphon gas from a car?" She grins. "Hell yeah." The two of you scavenge around the shops and cars for a little while and you're lucky enough to find exactly what you need. Ruby is fascinated by the whole process and is a little sulky when you don't actually let her try it out for herself. It takes some time, but you manage to fill up your tank and another two gas cans. You make your way back to your car and put the two gas cans in the trunk. When you look back over your shoulder, you realize that Ruby didn't follow you. You start to head back to the car you left her at when you hear a faint scratching sound. Panic starts to set in because you still can't //see// Ruby. You hear her voice, faintly from the next row of cars. "Holy shit," she whispers. And then you hear the scratching pick up, panicked fumbling, and a solid thud. [[You're scrambling between the cars as fast as you can.|1.42]]

You cross through the line of cars and your eyes land on Ruby immediately. She lets out a peal of laughter and you stop, frozen in place as you try to process what exactly you are seeing. Ruby is laying on the ground, flat on her back, as a dog licks at her face. She is laughing, loud and bright, and this has to be the happiest you've ever seen her. Her hands reach up and attempt to brush aside the dog's face, but the dog seems determined to nuzzle into Ruby's neck. And you stand there for a few seconds, dumbstruck. Your shoulders sink as the tension starts to fade from your body and you give another careful look around the parking lot. You can't hear anyone else around. You step closer to the pair and the dog shifts its focus to you, looking up at you as its tail wags furiously behind it. The dog's fur is a fluffy smattering of black and white. One eye is completely surrounded by black fur that goes all the way up its ear while the other is broken up by white. Ruby pushes the dog back a little so she can sit up, but she stays close to pet it. The dog keeps its brown eyes fixed on you, but eagerly leans into the touch. "You okay?" you ask Ruby. "Definitely," she says. [[Next|1.43]]

Ruby reaches up and finds the dog's collar. "Luna," she reads. The dog perks up and Ruby smiles. "Is that your name, girl?" Luna tries to lick Ruby's face again and she giggles, leaning away to try and avoid it. You move closer and Luna shifts her focus back to you, leaning forward and nudging your hand with her nose until you give in and pet her. "Where do you think she came from?" Ruby asks. "No idea," you reply. Looking the dog over, you can't help but notice how skinny she seems, the matted parts of her fur. It is likely that her owners probably died or abandoned her a while ago. Ruby gets up and you can tell by the frown on her face that she probably had the same thought. "Can--" "No," you interrupt. Ruby huffs. "You didn't even know what I was gonna say." "We can't keep her. We don't have enough supplies. Besides, we don't actually know if she is alone." "Oh, come on." Ruby gestures all around her. "There's no one else here. And she could be useful!" You shake your head. "Ruby..." Ruby looks up at you, anger fading and shifting to a pout. Ruby gives you the biggest puppy dog eyes you have ever seen and //that is cheating//. "Please, $name. We can't just leave her here. I mean, look at her." You glance back down at Luna only to be met with another set of puppy dog eyes. This is definitely cheating. You close your eyes and sigh, accepting your fate. "Alright, fine." [[Next|1.44]]

Ruby is so happy that the thought of having another mouth to feed doesn't seem so bad. The three of you pile in the car and head out again, except this time Ruby is in the backseat with Luna sprawled across her lap. And Luna is a good dog. The three of you keep traveling together, scavenging food and other supplies where you can. Luna stays all but glued to Ruby's side. You've managed to carefully cut out the matted patches on her fur and both Luna and Ruby seemed grateful. Luna is smart and well trained, though she also prefers to listen to Ruby. It's cute, if a little infuriating. <div class="choice">[[Having Luna around is great, I love dogs.|1.45][$dogs to "love"]]</div> <div class="choice">[[Dogs make me a little nervous.|1.45][$dogs to "nervous"]]</div> <div class="choice">[[I don't really care as long as Ruby is happy.|1.45][$dogs to "whatever"]]</div>

Time continues to pass and you get more and more anxious. And conflicted. You need to find somewhere safe for Ruby, but you have to admit that you are going to miss her. You have to keep reminding yourself that it is for the best, she won't be safe with you. But is anywhere really safe? It doesn't matter. All this time you spent avoiding humans and now, when you actually need them, they are nowhere to be found. The full moon is right around the corner and you are at a loss for what to do. Maybe you should tell Ruby? She has gotten so comfortable with you now. There is still a distance between the two of you, the weight of everything you haven't said. Neither of you have really talked about your pasts, even if you've shared a small story here and there. Neither of you know how the other ended up alone. Even so, you have to admit that you are fond of Ruby. And you are terrified. You should tell her, but you won't. You can't. You couldn't stand it if she was scared of you. If you told her your secret and she called you a monster. You remember the day you both met, when she looked up at you and was //terrified//. So you can't tell her. [[But you've also run out of time.|1.46]]

The full moon is finally here. You've felt it building the past few days and all of today you've been practically buzzing out of your skin. The energy builds and builds and full moons are especially hard when you haven't shifted at all in the past month. There is this itching feeling, tingling just under your skin. This desire to let go and lean into it. To finally stretch a muscle that has been tense for so long. The day passes by slowly and all too quick. Ruby can tell there is something off, she only asks if you are okay twice, but you can feel her watching you with concern all throughout the day. It doesn't help that you've been extra protective of her these past few days. Even Luna seems to be keeping an eye on you. You go through the day carefully, holding tight onto your wolf. You know that you have to shift tonight, but you try to hold it off for as long as you can. It aches in you, but you've done it before. Knowing that you have to sneak away, you are even more thankful that you found the car. And Luna. You've parked the car somewhere secluded by the woods, in as safe a spot as you can manage. Ruby and Luna are sprawled out together in the backseat, buried under all the halfway decent blankets you've managed to find. Ruby should be safe in here and you will come back as soon as you can. You gently open the door and Luna lifts her head to look at you, but Ruby doesn't budge. "Keep an eye on her for me, girl," you whisper and slip out of the car, closing the door behind you as quietly as you can. [[Next|1.47]]

You're outside in the dark of night, full moon keeping careful watch above you. You head into the woods, tension boiling up in the pit of your stomach with every step you take. Eventually you deem youself far enough away and you take off your clothes, carefully stashing them in a tree. You look up at the moonlight trickling down from between the tree branches and you let it wash over you. You close your eyes, take a deep breath, and //change//. Normally, you have a degree of control over the change and how much you shift. However, with the call of the full moon singing in your blood -- and the fact that you haven't properly shifted for weeks -- you shift completely. The snap, twist of your leg and you're down on your knees, hands scrambling for purchase in the dirt. You gasp as your shoulder pops and shifts and you hunch in on yourself as your back tears itself apart and pushes itself back together. Your fingers push into the earth beneath you, and you feel that familiar burn at the tips of your fingers as your nails turn to claws. Through the break and bend and snap of your legs, your arms, your hands and feet, you tilt your head up to the moon. Your teeth feel heavy and sharp, too clunky in your mouth until that too starts to move and form around them. The itching beneath your skin intensifies and fur spills forth, covering you completely. You let go and feel your body shift and break and bend as you change in one white hot, agonizing instant. The change never really stops hurting, but it becomes familiar. And when you give yourself over to it, it happens so quickly that the pain passes and all you are really left with is the overwhelming relief. Like finally taking a full breath after weeks of gasping. [[Next|1.48]]

The next thing you know, you find yourself on four furry legs. You give yourself a shake, relaxing into your new body. Out here, under the moon like this, you feel //right//. In a way you haven't felt for a while. This is a part of you, something so important to you. But it's still bittersweet. You're alone. Wolves aren't meant to be alone like this and it's a stark reminder of everything you've lost. You don't have time to dwell on it though, you have a kid to get back to. You take off running, stretching your legs and getting reacquainted with this version of yourself. You savor the moment for a little while, the air rushing through your fur and the ground beneath your paws. There isn't much time, though, so all tos soon you turn your attention to the hunt. The change leaves you ravenous and you don't have enough supplies as it is. <div class="choice">[[My ears catch the sound of running water to the left and I head towards it.|1.49a]]</div> <div class="choice">[[The wind shifts and I catch the faintest scent of something to the right, so I go to investigate it.|1.49b]]</div>

Your ears catch onto a light trickling sound off to the left and you know that there will be a stream that way, so you head towards it. You probably won't be the only thing around here that needs a drink. You move through the woods quietly, keeping an ear out for any sign of movement around you. The only thing that you can hear is the familiar hum of bugs and the sound of the water as you get closer. It doesn't take long for you to find the stream. You stay back in the line of trees and scan the area around you. That's when you spot them. On the other side of the stream, a little further down, you see two deer. One deer has its head down as it drinks from the stream and the other is closer to the trees. <div class="choice">[[I move fast, launching myself at the one that is closest to me before either of them can react.|1.50a1]]</div> <div class="choice">[[I can't risk letting them escape. I take a second to survey them and look for the weakest link.|1.50a2]]</div>

The shifting wind brings in the faintest scent of something to the right, so you head that way to investigate it. You move slowly, stepping silently through the woods as you follow a scent that becomes more and more familiar to you the closer you get. That is a deer. You follow your nose to the edge of a small clearing and find the deer there, head stretching up to reach a leaf on the tree next to it. You glance around and spot two other deer, one with its face buried in the grass and another alert and looking around the clearing. None of them seem to have noticed your prescence yet, but you don't know how long that will last. <div class="choice">[[I move fast, launching myself at the one that is closest to me before any of them can react.|1.50b1]]</div> <div class="choice">[[I can't risk letting them all escape. I take a second to survey them and look for the weakest link.|1.50b2]]</div>

You move fast, rushing into the clearing as quickly as you can. You startle them and watch as they start to scramble away from you. The one closest to you turns to run, but you are hot on its tail. It only manages to make it a few steps before you have caught up to it and you waste no time in lauching yourself up and into it. You get your jaws around the back of its neck and bite down, twisting to throw it to the ground. You don't let go, biting down harder until you are sure it's dead. <<include [[1.51]]>>

As hungry as you are, you can't risk letting them escape. You take a moment to think it over and form a plan, watching the deer and searching for the weakest link. It only takes a minute for you to realize that the one on the left is hardly putting any weight on its front right leg. That's it. You focus on that deer and get ready. Then you're off. You burst through the clearing and see all the deer start to scramble away from you in panic, but the one you singled out is moving slower than the others. It has only just begun to run when you catch up to it, swiftly launching yourself on its back and biting down on its neck. You twist and throw it to the ground, biting down harder until you are sure that it's dead. <<include [[1.51]]>>

It's all over in a matter of seconds and you cannot help the relief you feel knowing that you have a good meal for tonight. You take your time eating, keeping an ear out for anything strange, but the night is thankfully peaceful. [[Next|1.52]]

You move fast, leaping over the small stream and rushing after the deer as quickly as you can. They startle and attempt to flee, but you've already closed the distance between you. The deer closest to you has barely turned to run when you launch yourself at it. You crash against its side and manage to get your jaws around the back of its neck, biting down hard. You twist to the side and throw the deer to the ground, holding on and biting down harder until you are sure that it is dead. <<include [[1.51]]>>

As hungry as you are, you can't risk letting them escape. You take a moment to think it over and form a plan, watching the deer and searching for the weakest link. It only takes a minute for you to realize that the one by the trees is hardly putting any weight on its back right leg. That's it. You focus on that deer and get ready. Then you're off. You burst through the trees and leap over the stream as quickly as you can -- the deer attempt to flee, but the one you have your sights on is moving slow. It has only just begun to run when you catch up to it, swiftly launching yourself on its back and biting down on its neck. You twist and throw it to the ground, biting down harder until you are sure that it's dead. <<include [[1.51]]>>

The successful hunt has lifted your mood and you take what little time you can to enjoy the crisp night air. Eventually, you make your way back to the tree you left your clothes in and shift back. The change back is smoother, though it's still uncomfortable as your bones snap and shift back into place. It's a dull ache, body sore all over as though you've had a rather intense workout at the gym. After you change back, the only thing you can really focus on is the bone deep exhaustion you feel. You aren't always this tired after, but you've been running on fumes as it is and the stress of everything has left you desperate to get back and get what sleep you can until you have to keep moving. You dress as quickly as you can with the heavy feeling in your limbs and then make your way back to the car. You're nearly there when something catches you off guard and you immediately perk up, tension coiling through your body as you try to figure out what is out of place. It's the sound of someone sucking in a ragged breath that tells you what has you on edge. //Someone is crying.// [[You rush through the trees.|1.53]]

Bursting through the trees, you spot Ruby, sitting on the ground and leaning against the side of the car. She has her knees tucked up against her, arms wrapped around them to keep them in place. Her head is buried in her knees and her shoulders shake as she takes in heavy breaths. //She's crying.// Luna is sat at her side, leaning against her as Luna keeps watch on the woods around them. Luna's eyes lock onto you immediately and she gives a small bark. Ruby looks up and her eyes go wide when she sees you. Rushing forward, you crash onto your knees right in front of Ruby, gaze searching for any injury or whatever could be the reason she is crying. You start to reach out, hands hovering around Ruby as you try to figure out what you should do. "Ruby, what happened?" you ask. She stares at you in disbelief for a second and then all at once her face twists to anger. She shoves you back and you scramble to catch your balance. You look at her in confusion and she tries to wipe away the tears in her eyes, but they only fill with more. "You-- you //asshole//!" Ruby pushes at you again, but this time you hardly budge. "What's wrong?" you ask, almost desperately. She stares at you for what feels like an eternity. [[And then she launches herself into your arms.|1.54]]

Ruby throws all her weight -- which is admittedly not much -- into you and she grabs on tight to your shirt, sobbing into your chest. Instinctively, you wrap your arms around her and try to provide some kind of comfort. You rub soothing circles on her back. "Hey, it's okay. You're alright, Ruby," you whisper. She seems to hold on even tighter. You let her cry for a minute, unsure of what to do. "Ruby, what's wrong?" you ask again. She doesn't answer and you can feel her shake her head against you. It breaks your heart. "Come on, pup, talk to me," you beg. She takes a few deep breaths and then finally she speaks. "I woke up and you were gone." Her voice sounds so small. It's fragile, unsteady. "I thought you left. That you weren't gonna come back." <div class="choice">[["I'm sorry," I say. "I'm not going anywhere."|1.55a][$genuine to $genuine + 1]]</div> <div class="choice">[["As if you'd be able to get rid of me so easily." I try to joke, but I know my voice sounds strained.|1.55b][$snarky to $snarky + 1]]</div> <div class="choice">[[I pull her closer, unsure what to say.|1.55c][$stoic to $stoic + 1]]</div>

"I'm sorry," you say, hoping that she can feel the sincerity of it. "I'm not going anywhere." She shakes her head a little, but you can't tell what she's feeling since she keep her face hidden. <<include [[1.56]]>>

"As if you'd be able to get rid of me so easily." You try to joke, but you know your voice sounds strained. She let's out a small, breathless chuckle, but she doesn't say anything else. <<include [[1.56]]>>

Words get caught in your throat and you don't know what to say, how to express what you feel. So you pull her closer. You hold onto her and hope that that will convey what you mean. When she doesn't pull away, you think that maybe she understands. <<include [[1.56]]>>

The both of you stay like that for a long while and Ruby seems to calm down. Eventually, you lift her up and the both of you sit in the back of the car in silence. [[It's a few hours later when she finally breaks the silence.|1.57]]

The sun is just starting to rise and, even though you are tired, you can't fall asleep yet. Ruby has mostly calmed down. She's curled up and leaning against you, half asleep. "My mom got sick," Ruby says, voice quiet in the silence of the early morning. "Sick?" you ask, when she doesn't elaborate. "Not... not like //that//." She takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "It was just a regular sickness. But she wasn't getting better." She pauses again, but you don't try to rush her. "My dad went to try and get help and I stayed behind to look after her." That's a heavy burden for anyone, much less a child. "She just, she wouldn't get better." Ruby's voice breaks. "I-I tried to help her, but we hardly had any food and she wouldn't even try to eat. She kept telling me that I needed to eat, but //she// was the one who was sick." Ruby pulls at the ends of her sleeves. She shakes her head. "She wouldn't listen." She goes silent again and you glance down to see her eyes glazed over, fixed firmly ahead without really taking anything in. [[Next|1.58]]

"One night," she starts, but immediately stops to suck in a shaky breath. "One night, I was sleeping and a loud crash woke me up. I went to investigate and it was Mom. She was up and moving, but, but it wasn't right." You watch as Ruby's eyes fill with tears. She closes her eyes. "She was one of //them//. And then she saw me and I had to... to kill her." She starts to tremble, but quickly shakes her head. You squeeze her shoulder and she leans further into your side and your already broken heart crumbles to dust. "And Dad still wasn't back. I didn't know what to do." She picks up speed, voice coming out in a rush. "I waited there for a few days, but he never came back. And we barely had any food and I was so, //so// hungry and I just couldn't wait anymore." She takes in a deep, shuddering breath. "I left. He told me to wait for him to come back, but I left." Her face contorts, caught between agony and guilt. <div class="choice">[[My voice is soft, as gentle as I can make it. "He would understand."|1.59a]]</div> <div class="choice">[[I'm blunt with what I say, serious and desperate for her to understand. "You did nothing wrong."|1.59b]]</div>

You pull away a little and lean down to try and get her to look at you. She only meets your eyes for a second before she looks down at her hands. "Ruby," you say, voice as soft and gentle as you can make it. "He would understand." Her eyes shut tight and she shakes her head. "He //would//." "You don't know that." "Ruby, if there is one thing that I am sure of, it is that your father would have wanted you to be safe." You lean down again and this time when she meets your eyes she doesn't look away. "You did what you had to to survive. It was a hard, unfair choice and I am sorry that you had to make it." <<include [[1.60]]>>

You pull away a little and lean down to try and get her to look at you. She only meets your eyes for a second before she looks down at her hands. "Ruby, you didn't do anything wrong," you say. She shuts her eyes tight, a tear falling down her cheek. "I mean it. You had to leave. You would have died." "I left him." "No," you say, more forcefully then you intended. You stop for a second to compose yourself. "Ruby, he left you." Her head snaps up and her wide eyes meet yours. "Maybe he had a good reason, but he was still the one that left. And you waited, you waited for so long. You did what you had to do to survive and that is all that matters." <<include [[1.60]]>>

Ruby collapses back into you, shoulders shaking as she cries, and you wrap your arms around her and let her cry herself to sleep. Even once she is asleep, she doesn't let you go and you don't have the heart to push her away. She hasn't looked this fragile before, not even during your first encounter with her. As scared and alone as she was then, she still had her walls up. But now, now she has let you see the part of her that is raw and wounded and aching. And there is so much that you are still so uncertain about, but you do know one thing. [[You cannot leave her. Not anymore.|1.61]]

After that night, something has shifted between the two of you. It's unspoken and you can't fully explain it, but there is an understanding there. She has decided to really, truly trust you and a part of you feels guilty for not doing the same. In reality, not much has actually changed. She's still snarky and she still doesn't really like to talk about her parents, but she seems lighter almost. She tells you bits and pieces about her past, like when she learned how to skateboard and how apparently she knows how to pick locks. It isn't much, but it's more than it was before. Your plans to find somewhere to leave her have officially come to an end, which has left you with new plans to tell her about what you are. Nearly a week passes and you still haven't really figured out how to tell her. It shouldn't be this hard, but you don't know how to bring it up or what you'll do if she freaks out. And the longer you put off telling her, the more worried you seem to get. "$name?" You straighten up, heading whipping to the side to find Ruby looking at you from the entrance of the aisle, Luna close behind. "What?" you ask. She makes her way closer to you, glancing around at the few items that remain on the shelves. The two of you have found yourself inside a city once again and with the car parked on the outskirts -- somewhere hopefully safe -- you both agreed to stop and scavenge what you could. It was Ruby's idea to search the hardware store you find yourself in now. [[Next|1.62]]

"Find anything interesting?" Ruby asks. "Not really." You've been too lost in your own thoughts to properly look around. She frowns, eyes scanning your face and you know that she's a smart kid. She has to know that something is going on. You speak before she can say anything. "Have you found anything?" "Unlike you," she grins, "I've been productive. Check this out." Ruby reaches into her pocket and, with a quick flick of her wrist, she holds out a brand new pocket knife. She looks up at you and beams. "Cool, right?" It's a little bit terrifying if you're honest. "Oh!" She stands straighter and quickly puts the knife back in her pocket. Reaching back into the side pocket of her bag, she pulls something else out, but before you can see what it is, she clicks something and you are blinded by a bright beam of light. With a yelp, you close your eyes and bring a hand up to try and soothe them. "Oops," she says. When you can see again, Ruby gives you a sheepish smile. "Sorry about that." "Yeah, yeah," you wave her off, turning away to take a better look at the aisle you're in. Coming to a hardware store isn't a terrible idea. It hasn't been completely ransacked and there are some camping supplies that you could definitely make use of. And while there isn't really any food, you do spot a couple of those large water jugs. [[Next|1.63]]

As you start to make your way down towards the water, you hear a crash as the front door slams open. Immediately, you crouch down to hide yourself in the aisle. You look back to find Ruby doing the same thing. Luna lets out a low growl, but goes quiet when Ruby reaches out and pulls her closer. Tense, you keep as still as you can and try to listen and hear what is going on. You can easily make out at least two deep voices. "You sure this is the place?" "I told you. I saw them go in here." "Alright, alright." The voice gets louder. "Whoever's in here, why don't you come on out. We just wanna talk." You aren't sure who these guys are, but you are sure that they do not just want to talk. Ruby looks at you, eyes wide and fear clear on her face, and she shakes her head. Slowly, you silently make your way back over to her. "You're making this harder than it needs to be!" the voice calls out. It's clear that whoever this guy is, he is getting frustrated. "Fuck it. Fan out guys, we'll find 'em ourselves." There is no telling how many of these guys there are or what weapons they have. "Take Luna and hide," you whisper. Ruby starts to speak, but you cut her off. "Now." She frowns, but she heads back further into the store with Luna on her heels. Luckily, these assholes don't seem to care about keeping quiet and you can hear them stomping through the store. Them splitting up works in your favor. [[Let the hunt begin.|1.64]]

With one deep, steadying breath, you're off. You pull out your knife and hold it at the ready as you move down the aisles. Keeping an ear out for the people around you, you peek around the end of the shelving. You carefully pick your way through store. Listening to the heavy steps of one of the guys in the aisle next to you, you follow behind to the end of the aisle and wait. A second later, a large man steps right in front of you -- a large machete in his hands -- and you launch yourself at him before he can even register that you're there. Leading with your knife, you stab into his shoulder with one hand. He screams in pain and tries to swipe at you with his machete, but you grab his wrist with your other hand and shove him backwards. He stumbles back and slams into a shelf and you keep hold of him. Whatever was on the shelf falls to the ground and the loud clatter draws attention from the man's friends. You hear them as they shout in concern and begin to run towards the noise. The man reaches up with his other hand and tries to push you away, but you throw him to the floor. He let's out another scream as your bloody knife slides out of him when he falls. He lays on the ground, blood steadily pulling around him and you take a step closer to finish it. A gunshot rings out before you can and you quickly duck back into the aisle as a couple more shots follow close behind. You rush through the aisle and barely make it around the corner when another couple of shots ring out. Looking around, you don't have a lot of options. <div class="choice">[[I spot a long piece of wood and grab it, ready to swing when he comes around the corner.|1.65a]]</div> <div class="choice">[[I see some glass cups and grab them, ducking behind a nearby counter.|1.65b]]</div>

You spot a long piece of wood and grab it, lifting it up and getting ready to swing as soon as the man with the gun comes around the corner. It's a few tense seconds of waiting before the man takes a single step and you immediately swing. The wood breaks over his head and the man drops to the ground. There is a second man right behind the first and you only spare a glance at him before you are both diving for the gun that the first man was holding. In your rush to grab it, you knock it just out of your reach and the other man elbows you in your side as he tries to crawl forward and grab it. His hand just brushes the edge of the gun when you knock him to the side and lunge forward, grabbing hold of the rough grip. You turn over to try and aim the gun at the man and are met with a foot to the stomach. Pain lances through you, but you manage to keep hold of the gun as the man drops on top of you -- knee pinning one of your arms to the ground as he grabs onto the gun and tries to point the barrel at you. It's clear that he was not prepared for you to be as strong as you are, but with one hand pinned and all his weight bearing down on you, you're still at a disadvantage. It's all you can do to keep the barrel angled away from your face. As the barrel looms overhead, you find yourself running out of options so you do something potentially stupid. Launching yourself forward, you headbutt the man, satisfaction burying the pain when you feel the crunch of his nose against your forehead. He yelps and you take advantage of his distraction to shift him over and slip your arm out from under his knee. You grab onto the gun with both your hands and press the barrel deep into his gut. [[Pull the trigger.|1.66]]

You see some glass cups nearby and quickly grab them, ducking behind a nearby counter and getting ready for the man with the gun to pop out into the open. You keep your head down and strain to hear the man's footsteps. He's moving fast and it is hard to pinpoint where he is exactly, but you wait until he gets close and then pop up, arm pulled back and ready to throw. Quickly taking aim, you throw the glass at the man, watching in grim satisfaction as it shatters across his forehead and he stumbles back. The man falls to his knees, dropping the gun as his hands go up to cradle his face. There is a second man right behind him, so you immediately grab another glass and throw it at him. The second throw is even more rushed than the first and you barely manage to clip his shoulder. He rushes backwards to hide behind one of the shelves as you throw your final glass and it crashes against the sturdy metal frame to his left. With nothing left to throw, your attention turns to the gun on the floor. The first man is still kneeling on the ground, hands trying to get the glass out of his face as blood drips down his forehead. The gun is on the floor right in front of him. You look back up at the second man and can tell the moment he realizes it. You both spring to action at the same time -- the man stumbling forward as you launch yourself over the counter and dive for the gun. The second man stumbles into his friend and it gives you the second you need to grab hold of the gun. There isn't enough time to get up, so you turn over and try to aim the gun at the man, but he shoves his friend into you. His friend yelps, still unable to see, and you kick at him as hard as you can and he goes flying back into the shelf behind him. You hear the loud thunk as his head hits the metal of the shelf and he drops to the ground, unmoving. The second guy is still up and he jumps onto you while you're still distracted, grabbing the gun with both of his hands to try and pry it away from you. You hold on tight, using your other hand to help press the barrel deep into his gut. [[Pull the trigger.|1.66]]

The bang echoes in your ears as the bullet pierces flesh, blood rushing quickly out of the new wound, and you pull the trigger again. You hear his pained whimper and look up to see his eyes go glassy and as he slumps forward, you push his body to the side, letting him crash to the ground next to you. You take a second to catch your breath, but you know you aren't out of the woods yet. Shakily pushing yourself up to your feet, you spare a single glance at the bodies on the ground before you rush off. You need to find Ruby and get out of here. You head towards where Ruby went to hide, hoping that you dealt with all the bandits after you. Your stomach drops as you hear a deep, threatening growl. Pushing yourself to run even faster, you all but throw yourself around the corner, skidding to a stop as you take in what's going on. Luna is crouched low, growling as she stands between Ruby and a single man. The man is tall, but has less muscle than the ones you fought before. He's dressed in the same rugged style as the others, though his leather jacket seems to be made for someone much larger than him. A wooden bat hangs heavy at his side and as Luna leans closer, he swings at her. Luna ducks out of the way, moving closer to Ruby. With a quick look, you don't see anyone else around you. The man takes a step forward and Luna barks at him, bearing her teeth. Luna lunges forward and he kicks her back, shoving her off to the side. She yelps in pain, crashing to the ground a few feet away. As he takes a step towards Ruby, you call out to him, aiming your gun at him as you move closer. He goes stock-still, frozen in place and everything about him reads //prey//. [[Pull the trigger.|1.67]]

You pull the trigger and the gun clicks. You're out of bullets. The man realizes it a split second after you do and laughs. "Hey, asshole," Ruby says. He turns to look at her and she immediately turns on her flashlight, blinding him. He screams and shields his eyes and Ruby takes the opportunity to kick him in the knee and he stumbles, barely managing to catch himself on the shelf in front of him. Ruby immediately takes off and you move to close the distance between you and the man. He scrambles upright as he hears you coming and just as you go to tackle him, he swings his bat and catches you in the ribs. The subtle crunch of bone rings in your ears and the force of it knocks you into the shelves to your right. He swings again and the force of it takes your breath away. He tries to swing again, but this time you get a hand up and you catch the bat, trying to ignore the pain that bursts forth in your hand. You hold on tight to the bat and //pull// and it slips right out of his hands. His face drains of color and he turns to run as you push yourself back upright. You throw the bat at him and it hits his legs, tripping him. He falls forward, hands outstretched to try and catch himself. You look around. You need a real weapon. You need to end this. <div class="choice">[[Further down the aisle, there are still things on the shelves. It is there that I find an axe.|1.68a][$weapon to "axe"]]</div> <div class="choice">[[There is a machete on the ground, barely peeking out from under a shelf.|1.68b][$weapon to "machete"]]</div> <div class="choice">[[A sledgehammer has been left, discarded underneath some empty boxes.|1.68c][$weapon to "sledgehammer"]]</div>

Further down the aisle, there are still things on the shelves. An axe is left hanging up, ready for you to grab it. So you do. It feels solid in your hands. Edge sharp. You grip onto the handle with both hands and keep moving. Keeping your eyes trained on the man, you watch as he pushes himself up onto his knees and tries to stand. You are there before he can. Hoisting the axe up in the air, you bring it down, right in the spot between the man's shoulder blades. He collapses down onto the floor with a broken scream. His scream sounds far away and you plant your foot firmly on his back so that you can pull the axe out from where it is lodged, lift it up, and slam it back down. You do it again and again until he stops moving completely and then you do it one more time to make sure he's really dead. <<include [[1.69]]>>

There is a machete on the ground, barely peeking out from under a shelf. You grab it and pull it out into the light. The edge is sharp, unused, and you take a practice swing to get a feel for it. Turning your attention back to the man in front of you, you watch as he pushes himself up onto his knees and tries to stand. You are there before he can. Lifting the machete high up in the air, you bring it down, slicing deep into the spot where his shoulder meets his neck. His arms fail and he collapses down on the ground with a broken scream. His scream sounds far away and you bend down to plant a hand between his shoulder blades so that you can pull out the machete, lift it up, and swing again. You slice clean through his flesh again and again until he finally stops moving and the you do it one more time to make sure he's really dead. <<include [[1.69]]>>

A sledgehammer has been left, discarded underneath some empty boxes. You shove the boxes to the side and grab the sledgehammer in both your hands. You know the true weight of it, but right now -- adrenaline coursing through your veins -- it feels feather light. The handle feels right in your hands. Turning your attention back to the man in front of you, you watch as he pushes himself up onto his knees and tries to stand. You are there before he can. You stomp down on his back and he collapses back onto the ground with a scream. Standing over him, your foot digs into his spine to hold him firmly in place even as he tries the squirm out from under you. Lifting the sledgehammer up over your shoulder, you bring it down. Your first swing lands hard on his shoulder and he lets out a broken scream as you feel the bones crack. Quickly, you lift the sledgehammer back up and bring it down again, this time right on top of his head. His skull caves in and you do it again and again until his head is nothing but mush and you are sure that he is completely dead. <<include [[1.69]]>>

Panting, you pull back and look around you. The entire area is even more of a mess than it was before, red coating everything around you. There is something warm on your face and when you bring a hand up to wipe at it, you realize that it is blood. You look down to actually take in what you have done and see the mess of a body at your feet. There's more blood on you, splattered across your shirt. And you know not all of it comes from the man before you. You try to catch your breath, but with every deep inhale, you are met with that familiar rusty, metallic smell. <div class="choice">[[I've killed before, but that doesn't make it any easier.|1.70][$killing to 0]]</div> <div class="choice">[[Killing is a part of life now. I'm used to it.|1.70][$killing to 1]]</div>

The screech of tires outside pulls you from your thoughts. You keep going and call out to Ruby. She pops out from around the corner and she falters at the sight of you. You don't have time to talk about it. "Can Luna run?" you say. "Uh, yeah," Ruby stammers. You keep moving, following the signs above towards the emergency exit. Ruby hustles to keep up with you, Luna dutifully following along. The three of you quickly make it to the emergency exit on the side of the building and you poke your head out. Ruby has caught on to what you are doing and keeps watch behind you as you peer outside, shielding your eyes at the sudden daylight. The area around the door is empty, but you can hear more of the bandits start to pour into the store. "We need to move," you whisper, looking back to make sure that Ruby understands. There isn't any time to waste as the bandits grow louder and louder -- it's clear that there are even more of them than before. You, Ruby, and Luna only make it a few feet before you hear the bandits start screaming to each other and you know that they found the bodies you left behind. A few of the bandits that were waiting out front spot you and you have no choice but to run. [[Next|1.71]]

You, Ruby, and Luna take off as fast as you can. You aren't sure how far back the bandits are, but you don't risk looking back. The three of you make turns at random, cutting through alleys when you can, anything to try and shake off your pursuers. You make a left and immediately stop. Ruby slams into your back, but you barely pay attention to it. The street ahead of you is swarming with zombies. And they are all headed your way. You turn around, grabbing onto Ruby's hand and start dragging her in a new direction. Everything going on has been loud, so loud. Of course all the zombies nearby would flock to the noise. As you head back the way you came, a bandit turns around the corner and you let go of Ruby to shove him to the ground. You push him hard enough that he leaves his feet for a few seconds, flying through the air to crash hard on the ground. Your blood turns to ice in your veins when you hear Ruby scream behind you. [[Next|1.72]]

You whip around just in time to see her falling to the ground, a legless zombie reaching out from underneath a car and holding on tight to her ankle. You move as fast as you can, angry with yourself for how far away you had gotten. The zombie pulls itself even closer to her and a growl rumbles deep in your chest. Luna is on the zombie in an instant, teeth digging into the rotting flesh of its arm as she whips her head around until the zombie is forced to let go. Ruby crawls forwards a little, eyes wide and filled with tears, and you make it to her. There isn't any time as the rest of the horde of zombies keeps getting closer, so you scoop Ruby up into your arms and take off again. Luna rushes out in front of you, guiding the way forward. You keep moving. It's all you can do. [[Next|1.73]]

You keep running with Ruby cradled in your arms until your legs feel like jelly. You're exhausted and worn and when you are sure there aren't any bandits or zombies chasing you anymore, you search for a place to hide out. It doesn't take long to find an apartment over a coffee shop that will do the job. After securing the door, you carefully set Ruby down on the couch in the living room and then quickly search the apartment to make sure that there is no one else around and any entrances are sealed. When you make it back to Ruby, she is curled up in a little ball -- knees pressed tight against her chest and knuckles white from how harshly she holds onto the fabric of her jeans. There are tears welling up in her eyes, but she doesn't seem to be paying attention. She's zoned out, eyes staring blankly ahead at the wall in front of her. She looks haunted. It's only when she looks up at you that she starts to break. Her face twists and you hear the start of a sob in the way her breath catches. You rush over, crouching down in front of her and placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. Squeezing her eyes shut, she pushes you away. "I-- I," Ruby tries, but she can't get enough breath to speak. "It's okay, Ruby," you say, even as your stomach sinks. "You're gonna be okay." She shakes her head, hands tightening against the rough denim. She swallows and you watch as one of those hands lets go to grab onto the bottom of her pant leg. She lifts up the edge of her jeans. [[She's been bitten.|1.74]]

It's a clean bite, right above her ankle. You stare at it for a second, trying to process exactly what you are seeing. There's blood dripping down -- it isn't much, but it makes it clear that the bite pierced her skin. You grip on tight to the couch, suddenly unsteady, and attempt to swallow past the lump in your throat. This isn't right. //She can't die.// "$name?" Ruby says and you look up to meet her puffy eyes. You reach out and grab onto her hand, holding as tight as you can without hurting her. The silence around you is overwhelming. Uncomfortable. It's an oppressive weight that hangs heavy on your shoulders. And her weak voice, small and shaky, cuts through it all like a knife to the spine. "I don't want to die." And you don't want her to die, can't even bear the thought. But there is only one way you know of to survive a zombie bite. You hardly think it over -- hardly need to. It's the only chance she has. You open your mouth and everything comes tumbling out before you can stop yourself. [["There might be a way you can live," you say, though it comes out more like a plea.|1.75]]

Ruby looks at you, brow furrowed in confusion, and you look down at the ground. You shut your eyes tight and try to find the right words, but your thoughts are jumbled and desperate. You let your teeth shift around, canines growing longer and feeling heavy in your mouth. The familiar rush of the transformation courses through you and when you open your eyes again, you know they're glowing a bright gold. Looking up, you watch as Ruby takes you in. As she finally realizes what exactly you are. You brace yourself for her to scream or yell, but she stays quiet. Frozen. "Werewolves can survive the bite," you explain. "It's a risk, but it gives you a chance." Your voice breaks on the last word and you stop to take in a shuddering breath. "I can change you. Turn you into a werewolf. The-- the change is painful and this isn't a guarantee and the people I've seen survive before were already werewolves, so I don't know exactly how this will work -- if it will even work. But it is the only thing I can offer." Ruby just looks at you, a deep crease in between her brows as she takes in everything you've just said. You wonder what she must think of you now, crouched before her, covered in blood, with sharp teeth and glowing eyes. <div class="choice">[[I'm still the same man I was before.|1.76][$mc_person to "man", $mc_they to "he", $mc_them to "him", $mc_their to "his", $mc_theirs to "his", $mc_plural to false]]</div> <div class="choice">[[I'm still the same woman I was before.|1.76][$mc_person to "woman", $mc_they to "she", $mc_them to "her", $mc_their to "her", $mc_theirs to "hers", $mc_plural to false]]</div> <div class="choice">[[I'm still the same person I was before.|1.76][$mc_plural to true]]</div>

Ruby looks down and you wish she would just say something, //do// something so that you had some kind of idea of how she was feeling. She toys with the bottom of her jeans, fingers hovering over the bite near her ankle. "You've seen people survive being bitten?" she asks. "I have." You swallow. You sigh. "It happened pretty early on. Some of the people in my pack got sick and we didn't know what was wrong with them. Werewolves don't usually get sick, so we knew it had to be something bad. Some of them got better." She glances up at you. "And the others?" Shaking your head, you try to push away the memories of that day. "It was bad. Have you ever seen a zombie werewolf?" "I've never even seen a werewolf." She smirks and it's small and forced, but it makes you feel just a little bit lighter. "Well, not when they're in dog form at least." You huff, smiling for just a second. But all too quickly your frown is back in place. "Zombie werewolves are... bad." "What happened?" "We weren't prepared." You shrug, far too casual for talking about the very moment your world fell apart. "It was chaos. So many of us died and I... I've been on my own since then." Ruby carefully reaches out and squeezes your hand. "I'm sorry." [[Next|1.77]]

"Look," you say, "this is a risk. And even if it works, it won't be easy." Ruby meets your eyes, determined. She speaks and her voice is strong. Steady. She has had to grow up too fast and you can see that burden on her now more than ever. "I want to do it." There is no sense in questioning her, you can see the certainty in her eyes and the way she holds herself -- back ramrod-straight and jaw clenched. It feels like there is a hand wrapped around your heart, squeezing it tighter and tighter. You've no idea how you are meant to feel about this. "Okay," you say. Slowly, you reach out and grab a hold of Ruby's arm -- giving her time and space to pull away, to change her mind. You lift it up and push back her sleeve. Glancing up at her, Ruby gives you a curt nod. And that's the final confirmation you need. This could all go horribly wrong, but it's the only chance she has. So you lean down and you bite into her forearm, up close to her elbow. You bite down until you taste blood and plead that it works. That you won't lose her. [[Next Chapter|2.1]]

!<div class="header">end of demo</div> Thanks for reading!