You are Max. You are 13 years old and live in a small town in upstate NY called Freytown with your mom and grandparents. You have lived here for almost a year since your parents divorced, but you still feel out of place.
You lay in bed bored, but luckily for you, your friends //Thomas// and //Laura// have come knocking on your door and are asking if you would like to hang out.
[[YES!]]You put on your [[sneakers]], grab your [[sweater]], and head outside ready to enjoy the beautiful day!
[[Lets have fun!]]You really like these sneakers; your dad sent them to you on your 13th birthday. Too bad you haven't seen him in a while.
[[...->YES!]]You go outside, and the weather is perfect for a November day—not too hot or too cold.
You ask Thomas and Laura, "What is the plan for the day?"
Laura looks at Thomas and asks as well. [["Yeah, what is the plan today?"]]
Mom has been wanting you to throw out this sweater for a while now as the pockets have tears, but you can't seem to get rid of it. You remember getting it during a family trip to Los Angeles three years ago and falling in love with it.
[[...->YES!]]Thomas, responds "I thought it would be fun to explore the //Mayholm Forest//."
Laura looks annoyed with this answer and asks Thomas, "Why? That sound so boring?"
Thomas laughs at her response and says, "Better than going to the mall, like we always do. Plus the weather is perfect for a walk."
[[A few minutes pass...]]
After a bit of back and forth, Laura finally accepts Thomas's idea, and you all head into the forest.
You look around at the [[beautiful scenery]], and the [[wildlife]] around you, while enjoying the nice breeze and fresh air.
"This is relaxing," you tell Laura and Thomas.
Thomas responds, "See Laura, unlike you, Max is actually not afraid to do something different every once in a while."
Laura looks at him with a funny face, and you all have a good laugh.
[[Let's keep going.]]
You recall that the last time you saw scenery like this was when you were a little girl and your grandparents took you hiking. You would like to do that again with them in the future.
[[...->A few minutes pass...]]
A blue jay catches your attention. You take a picture before it flies away to show mom later.
[[...->A few minutes pass...]]
After a few hours of walking around and exploring, you all decide to rest for a while.
You ask Thomas, "Should we start heading back?"
"Sure," he says.
"Before that, you guys want to hear a story?" Laura asks.
"This should be good." Thomas speaks with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
[["What's your story?"]]
"Have you guys heard about the creature that haunts this forest?" asks Laura.
"Which one? The one with the guy wearing a hockey mask, or the one with the Kiler garden gnome?" Thomas jokingly asks.
"Neither of those stupid." Laura retorts.
You laughed at the exchange of words between your two friends.
"I'm talking about the one with the skinless creature." Laura replied to your confusion.
[[Thomas chimes in]]"Oh, that one. Yeah, I've heard that one multiple times since I was a kid." Thomas says.
"I doubt Max has because she just moved here, so I'll be happy to hear your crappy version of it."Thomas continues.
"Good. Then shut up and listen." Laura responds.
She adds, "Are you ready, Max?"
[[You listen to Laura's story]]
It took a while for Laura to finish her story.
The story basically went that, 30 years ago, a group of hunters were hunting in the Mayholm Forest when they noticed a person standing in the middle of nowhere. They claimed that person was fully covered in what they said looked like blood, so they approached them to offer help. As they got closer, they started to smell something foul coming from them and started hearing them make strange sounds, which startled them.
The hunters then saw what they described as "exposed muscle." The figure then started to turn around, revealing a terrifying face, which promptly caused one of the hunters to aim his rifle and start shooting at it. This caused it to make what the hunters claim was a sickening screeching sound and start to run away. They said they didn't get very far because the creature, despite standing like a human, began running on all fours at a high speed before climbing Mayholm's tall trees at an incredible speed and disappearing into the darkness.
[[Thomas starts to talk]]
"Hey, I'll give you credit; that was actually pretty good." Thomas says. "That's pretty much the same as the stories I've heard about the skinless creature."
"Well, thank you." Laura says this with a satisfied look on her face. "But I'm actually surprised that your parents didn't tell you that one. "Hasn't your family been here longer than 30 years?" she asks.
Thomas replies, "Yeah, but they usually don't believe in those sorts of things, so they just don't bother."
Laura looks at you and asks, "So, Max, what did you think about my little story?"
[[You look at Laura and respond]]
"It was great, [[I enjoy a good horror story.]]" you reply in response to Laura's question.
"Great! I'm glad you liked it." she responds, still with a satisfied look on her face. "Should we get going then?" she adds.
[["What time is it?"]] you ask.
"It's almost six." Thomas responds. "I guess we lost track of time. It's a bit of a walk back, but it should be easy getting out of here, so no worries."
[[You start heading back to where you started you journey]]
Even though you say this, in reality Laura's story kind of creeped you out, and the last thing you want is for your friends to think you're still a little kid afraid of made-up boogeymen.You've started to notice that the sun has started setting. After a while of walking, Thomas says, "Hey, I just remembered about a shortcut. Do you guys want to take it back or do you want to go back the same way we came?"
"I don't really care." Laura responds.
"Okay, I guess it's your choice, Max." Thomas says awaiting your response.
[[1. Let's keep going back the same way. (You tell yourself this is definitely the safest option.)]]
[[2. Sure, the shortcut is fine with me. (This is the faster option; everything should go fine with Thomas leading the way.)]]"Alright, no problemo." Thomas says in response to your reply. "Let's keep going."
You all return on the trail you took when you first arrived. [[The Mayholm Forest is now shrouded in darkness and near silence.]] The temperature has also started to drop.
"How much longer do you think it will take us?" asks Laura.
"Maybe another 30 minutes. It's kind of hard to see the trail right now, so we should take our time just to be safe." Thomas responds.
[[You suddenly start to feel uneasy]]
"You got it." Thomas tells you in response. "Just watch your step and we should be out of here quick."
You both follow Thomas and even though you were scared at first, he got you both out of the Mayholm Forest safetly.
[[Great! ]]You have a hard time seeing your way. The only light source available is from flashlights on your smartphones and the bit of moonlight passing between the large tree branches. You are scared, but your friends are here with you. This keeps you at ease."Hey guys, I think I have to use the restroom." you say to your friends.
"Seriously, can't you hold it? There's no restroom around here." Laura tells you.
[[You think about it]]...
"No, I really have to go now!" you say urgently.
"Just go behind a tree or something." Thomas says.
"Yeah, you don't have much of a choice; I'll accompany you if you want," Laura says.
"Thomas, stay here. We will be back in a few minutes." Laura tells Thomas.
"Got it." Thomas responds. "Try not to take too long; that skinless creature might be lurking somewhere around here." he jokingly adds.
[[You go take care of business]]
NOPE! You drank too much water and can't hold on much longer. The creepy atmosphere doesn't do much to help you. You finish your business and feel much better.
Laura is standing near the spot where you were. You get back to her.
"Hey, you all done?" she asks.
"Yep, thanks, we should get back to Thomas; I don't like him being alone right now." you tell Laura.
"Don't worry about him; I don't even think a bear would want him as his next meal." she says jokingly.
This eases your fear, and you head back to where you both separated from Thomas.
[[A few minutes go by]]
"Hey, Thomas, we're back." Laura states
You both notice that Thomas is nowhere in sight.
"Are we in the right spot?" you ask Laura.
"Yes. I'm sure of it; that tree has a marking on it that I saw earlier, so we are definitely in the right spot." Laura resonds.
You both start calling out to Thomas. "Thomas!" "Thomas! "Where are you!?"
[[No response...]]
"Hey! This isn't funny, dumbass!" [[Laura shouts]]
You continue to scream for Thomas.
Suddenly, you both start to hear something and stay quiet.
[["Laura! Max! Where are you guys?!"]]
You both swiftly and loudly reply to his call.
"Thomas! We're right here! Where are you?!"
You keep shouting while running towards where you believe you hear Thomas was last calling for you both.
[[You run as fast as you can!]]
You look at Laura. As you are still a bit deep in the Mayholm Forest, You and Laura can't find a cell signal to contact Thomas by phone.
She is starting to look really worried, usually she is almost always calm and collected. Seeing her like this makes you feel tense.You arrive at the spot you both swore you could hear Thomas from, but no one is there.
"Thomas!" you both shout.
"Do you think he couldn't hear us?" you ask Laura, out of breath.
"He definitely should have; there's no way he wouldn't hear us if we could hear him," she says, out of breath as well.
[[You notice a red substance around where you are standing.]]It's Thomas! "Hey Laura, look at this." you say.
Laura looks at the red substance and follows the trail to some bushes. She then carefully looks behind the bushes and starts to gag, She covers her mouth and quickly moves away from the bushes.
You decide to look behind the bushes.
It's the [[corpse of a dead deer]]. You take a few moments and finally have enought.
"Maybe Thomas saw this and got scared, so he went further into the forest." you tell Laura who is still trying to not puke.
[[She starts to compose herself]]
It's been skinned. All you see is the pool of blood and its exposed muscle. You also noticed that its eyes have been gauged out. You believe this is the work of a hunter and start to wonder why a hunter would leave a deer like this."Your probably right." she responds. "But what should we do Max? I don't want to leave Thomas behind, but its too dark and we should really get help and come back for him."
[[1. "Your right Laura. Let's both head back and get some help. I hope Thomas finds his way back, if not we'll bring everyone to help bring him back home."]]
[[2. "No, Laura. I'm scared, but I feel bad just leaving Thomas alone to begin with. You should head back and get help, but i'm staying a bit longer to look for him."]]Once you get out of the Mayholm Forest, you say your goodbyes and go home ready to show mom and grandparents the pictures you took of your adventure today.
You turn on the TV and are about to change the channel when you see a report about some people who have gone missing in the Mayholm Forest. This gives you chills as it you were just there and the story Laura told you is still fresh in your mind.
[[END 2]]Congratulations! Usually the shortcuts are always the worst, but not this time! You all made it out safely!
If you want to find out what happens if you choose to go back using the trail you used when you entered the Mayholm Forest, click the button below! Thanks so much for playing my game!
[[Go back in time!->You start heading back to where you started you journey]]You and Laura get back on the trail, and you both hold each other's hands tightly for security until you get out of the forest and head straight to your parents, who call Thomas's parents and the police.
You hope Thomas made it out okay, but it's been two days since you all went into the Mayholm Forest and there are no signs of him anywhere. The police, along with the residents of Freytown, form a search party to look for Thomas. You and Laura want to help but are told to stay put.
[[One month later...]]
Laura looks at you surprised and responds "Are you serious Max, I'm not going to leave you alone, we need to stick together."
Although you are terrified you know Laura is the fastest in your group and has a better chance to get help immediately.
A month has passed. Unfortunately, you received the bad news you were hoping to avoid. Thomas was found, but not alive.
Thomas had been found in a cave; he had been dead for a while now; his body was completely skinned, and his eyes were gauged out; his death is now being investigated as a homicide.
You start to cry, but you also start to recall the deer you and Laura had found back then. You decide to do some research on animals that would be able to skin their prey or even on the techniques hunters use. You find nothing and start to research stories related to Laura's "Skinless Creature" story as a last resort.
After a while, you come across a term that catches your attention: "skinwalker."
[[ENDING THREE]]
Congratulations! You and Laura made it out safe, unfurtunatley the same cannot be said about Thomas. You chose to get help, and no one can blame you for that.
If you want to find out what happens if you choose to stay to look for Thomas, click the button below! Thanks so much for playing my game.
[[Go back in time!->She starts to compose herself]]