Sole Survivor (Sugarcube Demo Version)

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<<timed 2s>> Get to the door. <</timed>><<timed 4s>> All you had to do was get to the door. <</timed>><<timed 6s>> Just get to the door. <</timed>><<timed 8s>> ''[[But that wasn't what you did.]]'' <</timed>>

<<timed 2s>> Instead, you looked back. <</timed>><<timed 4s>> The chaos that was occurring behind you came back into view. The sight was sickening, from the monsters bearing down on your friends, to their remains littering the halls. <</timed>><<timed 6s>> And then, you saw them. Their eyes widened as they saw you looking at them, before shifting into a glare, eyes filled with terror. "FORGET ABOUT US!" <</timed>><<timed 8s>> ''[["JUST GO!"]]'' <</timed>>

Those were the last words out of their mouth before they were torn in half by one of those monsters. <<timed 3s>> The next thing you remember, you were out the door, wrapped in a blanket, and being spoken to, but you don't remember what they said. Their words didn't seem to reach you. <</timed>><<timed 6s>> ''[[Several hours later...]]'' <</timed>>

<<set $sussis = 0>> <<set $guilt = 0>>//"How are you feeling?"// You're sitting down at a table in a room with warm light coming from a hanging lamp above you. You're home. Well, you think you're home. You're not sure. You look around you and see a couch, a coffee table, a side table with a lamp, some books on the coffee table, a television... It looks like a normal house. But you can't tell if it's your house because you still feel somewhat out of it. "Take your time answering. You lived through something extremely horrifying tonight. It's okay. You're safe right now." You note the woman's dark hair in a low ponytail, her dark blue eyes, her dark coat over dark clothing. Around her neck hangs a badge denoting her as a detective. She speaks with a soft tone. You look at the person speaking to you. She seems like she's genuinely asking how you are, not just out of habit or because it's "her job" or anything. She seems like she genuinely cares. ''[[You still can't believe what happened. You thought the monsters were a story. You all thought they were a story. Thanks to that erroneous belief, you're the only one left alive. Right now, you're numb, and you don't respond to the woman's question other than simply glancing at her and silently shaking your head.->Disbelief/Numb]]'' ''[[It's not fair. You and your friends didn't know that the stories were real. No one did. You were just a group of teenagers, you were curious about the stories. Monsters aren't real, that's what you were told. Maybe if you had been told the truth — that they did exist, and that they truly did live in your town, then maybe everyone else would be alive. What happened wasn't your fault, and you tell the detective as such.->Rationalizing/If Only]]'' ''[[You remember running to the door, leaving everyone else behind. You don't know why you did that, you just remember your best friend telling you to run, and you didn't listen right away. That meant you ended up watching everyone else die right in front of you. You should have done something more to help them. You shouldn't have left them. Maybe then they'd still be alive. Your lack of an answer tells the detective how you're feeling.->Guilty]]'' ''[[Despite what happened, you need to stay calm. What happened wasn't your fault. The monsters killed your friends, not you. You turn your head towards the detective, and tell her that you're fine.->Fine]]''

Her cautiously concerned smile shifts to a sympathetically worried frown. “I’m sorry. You don’t need to answer that right now. I can’t imagine what you must be feeling.” She says to you reassuringly. She moves towards the couch, takes a small square-shaped pillow, and moves back to you, placing it in your lap. The feeling of something tangible gives you a bit of comfort, and you fidget with one of the pillow’s corners as the woman sits down. “Maybe let’s start with something a bit easier to talk about." She pulls out a notebook and flips through it quickly before settling on a page. "I have your name here, ''[[but I want to be sure it’s the right one…”]]''

<<set $sussis += 1>>“I suppose you have a point. If people here had known the truth before and said it instead of telling you otherwise in order to calm you down as a child, maybe none of this would have happened,” she starts, her expression thoughtful. “But then again, no one knew the stories were true. Everyone thought it was all just some old town bedtime story to scare children into behaving.” What she said puts some things into perspective for you, but you still can’t help but wonder why you and your friends were the ones who had to confirm the story for everyone. “I know that no one knew.” You sigh as you say that. “It’s just… It’s not fair. The whole town was so sure none of it was real.” You keep quiet that the detective is talking about the stories like she’s heard them before. “It really isn’t fair.” She concedes as she sits down. “You kids- sorry, teenagers- were supposed to be enjoying your last year of high school, not getting killed.” A silence follows. Both you and the detective look at each other, wary of breaking the sudden silence. “I’m sorry about this, but I need to clarify something with you before we continue." She pulls out a notebook and flips through it quickly before settling on a page. "I have your name here, ''[[but I want to be sure it’s the right one…”]]''

The detective sets a cup of water in front of you before taking a seat across from you, her expression sympathetic. “It’s okay if you don’t want to discuss it right now,” she says reassuringly. “I can’t imagine that what happened is easy to discuss at all.” No, it isn’t easy to discuss at all. It’s hard to look at her, let alone respond; the words get stuck in your throat. You don’t know if you can tell this woman that the last you saw of your friends was them being horribly murdered in front of you, that you ran for your life, that you should have been braver and gone back to help them. Her soft voice breaks you out of your thoughts. “Hey, it’s okay. Breathe.” Her hand is outstretched as if to touch your shoulder, but she refrains from touching you. She puts her hand down, her concern still clear on her face. “Maybe let’s start with something a bit easier to talk about." She pulls out a notebook and flips through it quickly before settling on a page. "I have your name here, ''[[but I want to be sure it’s the right one…”]]''

<<set $sussis += 1>>The detective's cautious smile fades and she falls silent for a moment as she processes your answer. “I see.” She says simply. “You don’t have to pretend you’re okay though. It’s alright to not be okay. You went through something very traumatizing tonight.” You only nod as she sits down. Is she right that you’re not okay? She might be. But you don’t have time to fully reflect on that as she starts talking again. “I need to clarify something with you before we continue." She pulls out a notebook and flips through it quickly before settling on a page. "I have your name here, ''[[but I want to be sure it’s the right one…”]]''

The entire town believed that the stories about monsters in that house were fake. There's no such thing as monsters, or so you believed. One night, you and your friends decided to go monster hunting, planning to simply have a good time as a last hurrah to your lives in high school. //Sole Survivor// is a story about a night with friends gone horribly wrong. After barely escaping the house with your life, you must now go through one of the hardest parts of the aftermath: talking about it. With the wounds and memories still fresh, you must recall what exactly happened… and how it went so wrong. ''CONTENT WARNINGS'' //Sole Survivor// contains: * Flickering text during intense sequences * Mentions of monsters and body horror * Depictions of blood * Interaction with police (The two main characters are the MC and a detective, who hold conversations throughout the story. The detective starts out amicable, but may get aggressive depending on your choices) * Grief * Accidental murder * Bad language * Trauma All characters are 18+. If you are uncomfortable with any of the above topics, it may not be a good idea to play this game. ''[[I understand. I would like to start the story.]]'' [[I would like to exit the story.]]

Thank you for checking out //Sole Survivor//. You may now exit the game.

''[[Mr.->My name is (Mr.)...]]'' ''[[Ms.->My name is (Ms.)...]]'' ''[[Mx.->My name is (Mx.)...]]''

//Many years ago, back when the town was first founded, it came to the people's knowledge that they were not the first to settle here. You see, homes and buildings were already standing, with furniture and personal belongings inside them. Yet, not a single person could be found. The newcomers searched all throughout the town, but no one from the town could be found at all. It was like the place had just been abandoned. With no one around to ask, the newcomers decided to settle in the town themselves, under the impression that no one would return. The new townspeople then tore down old buildings, put up new ones, and eventually the town progressed into its current form today. In order to tell them apart, the people simply decided to call the town that once was “the old town”, as no one could find any indication of a name. What no one realized was that not every home in the old town was left empty and alone. One house, the one that sat at the edge of town, wasn’t empty.// //There were times that people got close to figuring it out. Over the years, some residents said they caught glances of movement in the windows out of the corner of their eye. Others claimed that there were strange traces of things like slime or scratch marks in places where there shouldn’t be any on the porch of the house. But no one could prove anything conclusive.// //Plenty of stories about the house were told over time, but the most popular story about the weird happenings at the house was when during the time that the town founders were rebuilding the town, one of the residents went inside the house to inspect it and determine whether it could simply be renovated or if it had to be torn down. They say that the person went inside at midday and was out of the house after sundown, for something that was only meant to take until the middle of the afternoon at most. The poor soul claimed that he was locked inside the house; that the door wouldn’t budge at all and the knob wouldn’t turn. He claimed that someone had locked the house from the outside. However, people dismissed his claims based on two things: one: none of the residents of the town had a key, and two: he was supposed to inspect the house alone, and ‘’was’’ alone when he went to the house. // <<if $sussis gt 0>> ''[[No one could decide what to do about the house since the man refused to go back inside, so it ended up being the only part of the old town that stayed.->Back to the present (suspicious version)]]'' <<else>> ''[[No one could decide what to do about the house since the man refused to go back inside, so it ended up being the only part of the old town that stayed.->Back to the present (not-suspicious version)]]'' <</if>>

Your parents told you the legends of the town’s most mysterious house when you were a child. At first, you believed that there really was something terrifying about the house, and you always gave it a wide berth growing up every time you passed it. But as you grew older, you gradually stopped believing in the stories. After all, there were some weird things about it, like how none of the town founders stopped to think that maybe people //would// come back to their town and maybe it wasn’t the best place to settle down? Or how maybe the house inspector just fell victim to misfortune that he got stuck inside? What about the weird glances and traces that nobody ever bothered to find out more about? Surely someone would have asked around. You grew up and were taught that there were no such things as monsters. Your belief in the monsters was replaced by the belief that parents told their kids these stories to get them to behave. You’re never teaching //that// to any children you come across, that’s for sure. You’re going to tell them exactly the truth: sorry kids, monsters do exist, and you should check under your bed and behind every door at night because they might be lurking there. Nightmares be damned, you’re not going to be responsible for another person’s horrific demise because you had the ability to warn them long before and you didn’t. Before you can internally reflect more on your childhood horror stories, you hear Detective Diana ending her call and coming back to the table. "I apologize for that. Shall we continue?" She says nothing else as she retakes her seat at the table across from you, her professional demeanor immediately returning. "Alright, now I hope you're alright with diving into why we're really talking here now." She says seriously, taking a moment before continuing. "I need you to tell me exactly what happened tonight, ''[[from when you and the others decided to go into that house.”->The start of the end.]]''

//Earlier that evening...// “Are you actually serious?” Despite her tone, Lucy was trying not to laugh at your best friend’s suggestion. It came out of absolutely nowhere; one moment the four of you were talking about what you wanted to do after your high school graduation and the next thing you knew your best friend suggested going into the old abandoned house at the edge of town. “Yeah I’m serious!” Emery beamed at the three of you. “I mean, come on you guys! One last hurrah before graduation tears us all apart!” “It’s not like we’re going to just drop off the face of the planet, Em!” Your other friend, Willow, immediately protested. “We’re not going to stop being friends and talking to each other just because we aren’t high school students anymore. We have plenty of time for a last hurrah, you know, when we’re all old and wrinkly and every person younger than us wonders how we’re still alive because by all accounts we should have been six feet under ages ago.” “You guys, walking through the town’s weirdest myth would be pretty awesome, you can’t deny. We all know that there’s no such thing as monsters, it’s not like we’re gonna be eaten because we’re a bunch of stupid teens wandering about a place we shouldn’t be!” “Isn’t the house condemned?” You ask. “I mean, that place is so old it’s a wonder it hasn’t been torn down yet.” <<if $PiersonNickname is false>> “Well, yeah, but just imagine it, $name.” Emery said. “It’d just be the four of us, doing something that no one’s brave enough to do despite the fact ''[[no one in town believes the stories.”->Your friends]]'' <<else>> “Well, yeah, but just imagine it, $PiersonNickname.” Emery said. “It’d just be the four of us, doing something that no one’s brave enough to do despite the fact ''[[no one in town believes the stories.”->Your friends]]'' <</if>>

She nods back and smiles politely. "Thank you for confirming that for me, $honorific $PiersonNickname. I apologize, I forgot to give you my name, for formality's sake. My name is Detective Diana-" Before she can finish, her phone buzzes. The device is on silent mode, but in the mostly quiet house, the vibrating noise is loud enough to be heard by both of you. "Excuse me, I need to take this. Would you mind?" "No, not at all. Go ahead." At this, she quickly shoots you an apologetic look before she stands up and takes her call to the living room. As she speaks in a hushed tone over the phone, your mind drifts off to one of the stories told to you by your mother when you were younger, ''[[the one that struck you the most...]]''

You remember when you and Emery Lance were children. The two of you were inseparable; people said you were practically born joined at the hip. You did everything together, from class projects to weekend activities. Between the two of you, they were the leader: the one who usually did the planning, the social butterfly who made a splash at every party because they were enthusiastic about everything and just that nice to people, while you were the one who normally went with the flow, but that didn’t mean people didn’t know you as anything but Emery’s shadow. You had a reputation of your own, and people tended to find you cool in your own right, even if you were not as social as your best friend. To this day, people were surprised at how the two of you could remain so close; not every friendship was like that. What you and Emery shared was unbreakable. You were the first person they came out to, even before their own family — more than once. Willow Grant and Lucy Marsh joined your group at different times; Willow in grade 5, and Lucy in middle school. You and Emery became friends with Willow after a school project where he was put into your group because no one else would take him; you couldn’t understand why after spending a few days with him. He seemed like the typical “nerdy smart kid”, but while you were right about that, he turned out to be a chill and laid-back kind of guy as well, and it struck you as weird that your classmates stayed away from him. Looking back, maybe it was the fact that he has glasses and braces; he looked like a bit of a dork but grew into the definition of “//be careful who you call ugly in middle school//”. After he got his braces out and changed his glasses to frames that fit his face more during your freshman year, you were pretty sure that the number of people who suddenly got crushes on him swelled overnight. You remember the day he first walked in with his new look; you recall glaring at everyone who kept staring at Willow for more than a few seconds because he was awkward about all the attention and //someone// had to get people off his back. Lucy on the other hand was the “girl-next-door/golden girl” sort of person (funnier for you because she //was// your next-door neighbor). She was the kind of student teachers wanted in their classes because she wouldn’t give them any trouble and the kind of friend parents wanted their kids to hang out with because they considered her a “good influence”. It was this exact behavior that caused your parents to introduce you to each other; it happened after you and Emery got into trouble at school, and to try to curb their influence on you, your teacher suggested to your parents that you become friends with Lucy. At first, the two of you pretended to be friends to appease the adult units, leading to you disliking her because of the whole “forced friendship” aspect (you were pretty sure she wasn’t enjoying it either). Ironically, that’s how you two eventually found common ground and bonded. Soon, your fake friendship became a real one, and you inducted Lucy into your little friend group with Emery and Willow, and since then the four of you were the power group of the school. You remember that Lucy came off as polite, respectful, and obedient — all towards authority figures, and thought that she was a stick in the mud for it (the surprise you got later on when she proved herself capable of relentless teasing when Willow got his first crush, as well as the shock you received upon hearing her cuss out loud for the first time had to be seen to be believed). Willow and Lucy were the two biggest “never judge a book by its cover” sort of people in your life. Emery on the other hand was a “what you see is what you get” type of person. They’ve changed over the years — you both have. But your friendship has remained the one constant in life, the sole thing that stayed the same when everything and everyone around you changed. Even when your other friends joined the group, <<if $PiersonNickname is false>>''[[the two of you stuck together.->You in? (no nickname)]]''<<else>>''[[the two of you stuck together.->You in? (with nickname)]]''<</if>>

“I mean, even if you guys don’t want to, I’m gonna go in there.” Emery announced. “I just don’t wanna leave without being able to say that I went in there, you know?” “$name’s right though. That place is practically some kind of death trap, or a fire trap, or…” Willow trailed off as he looked at your best friend. A moment passed before he spoke again. “If you’re going in there, you’re not going alone. I’m coming with you. Just to be safe.” Emery beamed at Willow and fist pumped. “Are you sure we won’t get in trouble for this?” Emery looked at Lucy with a teasing smile. “Oh? Is Lucy “I-don’t-wanna-get-in-trouble” Marsh thinking about coming along with us?” Lucy raises an eyebrow at them, before she relents with a small laugh, betraying her excitement. “So what if I am?” They let out a cheerful whoop before… “That leaves you, $name.” Emery turns to you. “Whatcha think? One last hurrah for us before we leave this town behind in favor of the rest of our lives?” Their expression turns into a pleading one. “I can’t do this without my partner in crime. It’s not complete without you.” Willow and Lucy also look at you, the former with a “don’t let them drag us in there without you” look and the latter with a “you seriously don’t have to if you don’t want to but it would be cool if you came along” expression. All three of your closest friends are pleading with you to go face your childhood nightmares. Granted, you don’t believe in them anymore, but you still stayed away from that house for a reason. ''[[But you can’t let them, especially Emery, go in there without you. You’ve been through a //lot// together, and that's not an exaggeration. You’re not about to change that now. “I’m in.”->Diana cuts in]]''

“Seems like you guys were all pretty close.” Detective Diana comments. “I mean, going from how you just talked about that conversation.” //Pretty close// doesn’t begin to describe it. The four of you were definitely closer than just “pretty close”. “I do wonder though: you told me that Emery Lance was your best friend, and that’s why you agreed to go inside the house with them. If it were Willow Grant or Lucy Marsh who asked you to go inside, would you have said yes to them? ''[[You consider Detective Diana’s question carefully.->If it were Willow]]''

<<set $honorific = "Mr.">><<set $PersonalPronoun1 = "He">><<set $personalpronoun1 = "he">><<set $PersonalPronoun2 = "Him">>(set $personalpronoun2 = "him">>(set $PossessivePronoun1 = "His">><<set $possessivepronoun1 = "his">><<set $PossessivePronoun2 = "His">><<set $possessivepronoun2 = "his">> <<textbox "$name" "">> ''[[Continue->Sorry, there's a canon last name]]''

<<textbox "$PiersonNickname" "">> ''[[“I see.”->"I see." (with Nickname)]]''

<<set $honorific = "Ms.">><<set $PersonalPronoun1 = "She">><<set $personalpronoun1 = "she">><<set $PersonalPronoun2 = "Her">><<set $personalpronoun2 = "her">><<set $PossessivePronoun1 = "Her">><<set $possessivepronoun1 = "her">><<set $PossessivePronoun2 = "Hers">><<set $possessivepronoun2 = "hers">> <<textbox "$name" "">> ''[[Continue->Sorry, there's a canon last name]]''

<<set $honorific = "Mx.">><<set $PersonalPronoun1 = "They">><<set $personalpronoun1 = "they">><<set $PersonalPronoun2 = "Them">><<set $personalpronoun2 = "them">><<set $PossessivePronoun1 = "Their">><<set $possessivepronoun1 = "their">><<set $PossessivePronoun2 = "Theirs">><<set $possessivepronoun2 = "theirs">> <<textbox "$name" "">> ''[[Continue->Sorry, there's a canon last name]]''

<<set $PiersonNickname = false>>She nods back and smiles politely. "Thank you for confirming that for me, $honorific $name. I apologize, I forgot to give you my name, for formality's sake. My name is Detective Diana-" Before she can finish, her phone buzzes. The device is on silent mode, but in the mostly quiet house, the vibrating noise is loud enough to be heard by both of you. "Excuse me, I need to take this. Would you mind?" "No, not at all. Go ahead." At this, she quickly shoots you an apologetic look before she stands up and takes her call to the living room. As she speaks in a hushed tone over the phone, your mind drifts off to one of the stories told to you by your mother when you were younger, ''[[the one that struck you the most...]]''

“I mean, even if you guys don’t want to, I’m gonna go in there.” Emery announced. “I just don’t wanna leave without being able to say that I went in there, you know?” “$PiersonNickname’s right though. That place is practically some kind of death trap, or a fire trap, or…” Willow trailed off as he looked at your best friend. A moment passed before he spoke again. “If you’re going in there, you’re not going alone. I’m coming with you. Just to be safe.” Emery beamed at Willow and fist pumped. “Are you sure we won’t get in trouble for this?” Emery looked at Lucy with a teasing smile. “Oh? Is Lucy “I-don’t-wanna-get-in-trouble” Marsh thinking about coming along with us?” Lucy raises an eyebrow at them, before she relents with a small laugh, betraying her excitement. “So what if I am?” They let out a cheerful whoop before… “That leaves you, $PiersonNickname.” Emery turns to you. “Whatcha think? One last hurrah for us before we leave this town behind in favor of the rest of our lives?” Their expression turns into a pleading one. “I can’t do this without my partner in crime. It’s not complete without you.” Willow and Lucy also look at you, the former with a “don’t let them drag us in there without you” look and the latter with a “you seriously don’t have to if you don’t want to but it would be cool if you came along” expression. All three of your closest friends are pleading with you to go face your childhood nightmares. Granted, you don’t believe in them anymore, but you still stayed away from that house for a reason. ''[[But you can’t let them, especially Emery, go in there without you. You’ve been through a //lot// together, and that's not an exaggeration. You’re not about to change that now. “I’m in.”->Diana cuts in]]''

Willow was pretty hesitant to agree to go inside the house; it took getting him to list off the house being a death or fire trap to convince him to go in, and even then he said it was to “make sure Emery stayed safe”. You know him well enough to know that he //wouldn’t// ask to go inside at all. You’re about to tell the detective this when you stop yourself. Did that mean that if you hadn’t said anything about the house being condemned, he wouldn’t have gone on that tangent? Would he have said no to Emery and stood his ground? Come to think of it, Willow //had// sort of sounded like he was admitting defeat when he agreed to go in. Out of all four of you, Willow was the one who was the most careful about things. Careful with his words, careful with his actions, careful with his objections — maybe too careful. He almost always thought twice, sometimes thrice, before he said anything. He would never have admitted it, but you know that he still held some belief in the town’s legends, regardless of how unbelievable they sounded. The way he was when your best friend decided that nothing was going to stop them from going inside the house made you think that he agreed to go mainly out of loyalty raised by his “better safe than sorry” worldview. ''[[Still, this was Willow you’re talking about. He wasn’t going to let his friends walk into danger alone, and you were his friend; if it had been you asking, he would have responded the same way he did earlier. He was always too cautious for his own good, even about the small things; you felt that going in and facing his fears would help him cut himself some slack. If he had been the one who wanted to go first, you would have still gone in with him.->Yes, but Lucy]]'' ''[[Honestly, if it had been Willow who asked, you would have tried to talk him out of it. He was already conflicted; maybe your refusal could have convinced him not to go through with that suggestion. If he had been the person who wanted to go first, you wouldn’t have gone in with him.->No, but Lucy]]''

<<set $sussis += 1>>Lucy on the other hand didn’t exactly say anything right away about whether she wanted to go into the house or not, only speaking up once Willow agreed to go. Maybe it was some sort of move to protect the “golden girl” image if things went sideways, since she could say then that //it wasn’t her idea, it was Emery’s, and Willow agreed to go in with them//. Lucy had a tendency to appear two-faced because of how she acted so angelic with authority figures but wasn’t afraid to stoop to lower levels when nobody who could punish her was around; and turning the tables on her in that manner wasn’t an option because her attitude of pleasing the adults meant that they would take her side over other people’s. It made the other students talk about her as a “snitch”, asking you, Willow, and Emery how you could hang out with her when it seemed like if she or someone else disapproved of what you did she’d rat on you. Despite how much she presented herself as a kind and sweet person towards everyone, the rumors that she could turn around and get you and your friends into trouble never ceased. What happened tonight was definitely not something your parents, your friends’ parents, or any of the authority figures in town would agree to had they known what you four were going to do. ''[[There was that one time that Lucy caught Emery skipping class in order to be able to grab the latest copy of one of their favorite video games. Emery told you that Lucy never said anything about it, and that’s how they never got in trouble for it. You completely stopped believing in the rumors after that. If Lucy had come up with the idea to go into the house, you would have still gone in with her.->Yes, but Emery]]'' ''[[There was that one time that Lucy caught Emery skipping class in order to be able to grab the latest copy of one of their favorite video games. Emery told you that Lucy never said anything about it, and that’s how they never got in trouble for it. You thought it was a one-time thing, since Lucy never caught Emery cutting class again. If Lucy had come up with the idea to go into the house, you wouldn’t have gone in with her.->No, but Emery]]''

Lucy on the other hand didn’t exactly say anything right away about whether she wanted to go into the house or not, only speaking up once Willow agreed to go. Maybe it was some sort of move to protect the “golden girl” image if things went sideways, since she could say then that //it wasn’t her idea, it was Emery’s, and Willow agreed to go in with them//. Lucy had a tendency to appear two-faced because of how she acted so angelic with authority figures but wasn’t afraid to stoop to lower levels when nobody who could punish her was around; and turning the tables on her in that manner wasn’t an option because her attitude of pleasing the adults meant that they would take her side over other people’s. It made the other students talk about her as a “snitch”, asking you, Willow, and Emery how you could hang out with her when it seemed like if she or someone else disapproved of what you did she’d rat on you. Despite how much she presented herself as a kind and sweet person towards everyone, the rumors that she could turn around and get you and your friends into trouble never ceased. What happened tonight was definitely not something your parents, your friends’ parents, or any of the authority figures in town would agree to had they known what you four were going to do. ''[[There was that one time that Lucy caught Emery skipping class in order to be able to grab the latest copy of one of their favorite video games. Emery told you that Lucy never said anything about it, and that’s how they never got in trouble for it. You completely stopped believing in the rumors after that. If Lucy had come up with the idea to go into the house, you would have still gone in with her.->Yes, but Emery]]'' ''[[There was that one time that Lucy caught Emery skipping class in order to be able to grab the latest copy of one of their favorite video games. Emery told you that Lucy never said anything about it, and that’s how they never got in trouble for it. You thought it was a one-time thing, since Lucy never caught Emery cutting class again. If Lucy had come up with the idea to go into the house, you wouldn’t have gone in with her.->No, but Emery]]''

<<set $sussis += 1>>You tell the detective your answers, her taking notes as you do. “I see.” She said as she added a period to the end of her sentence; you figured as much by the motion she made as her pen met the paper. She stops writing at that point and looks at you. “Ultimately though, from what you said earlier during the initial interview, neither of them asked you. Emery did.” She looks straight at you, her face expressing nothing you can discern. “You said yes to them, in the end. Why?” ''[[“I didn’t want to go in the first place. But everyone else wanted to, and I didn’t want to be left out.”->Don’t leave me behind]]'' ''[[“Emery is… was… my best friend. They’ve stuck by me for so long; I wanted to do the same for them.”->Best friend]]'' ''[[“Emery is… was… my best friend. They’ve stuck by me for so long; I wanted to do the same for them.” You don’t tell her that you felt something deeper than friendship when it came to Emery. You never told Emery themselves. Now you’ll never be able to.->Wish you’d known]]'' ''[[“I was curious about the house and the legends myself. It was an opportunity to see for myself.”->Curiosity]]''

You tell the detective your answers, her taking notes as you do. “I see.” She said as she added a period to the end of her sentence; you figured as much by the motion she made as her pen met the paper. She stops writing at that point and looks at you. “Ultimately though, from what you said earlier during the initial interview, neither of them asked you. Emery did.” She looks straight at you, her face expressing nothing you can discern. “You said yes to them, in the end. Why?” ''[[“I didn’t want to go in the first place. But everyone else wanted to, and I didn’t want to be left out.”->Don’t leave me behind]]'' ''[[“Emery is… was… my best friend. They’ve stuck by me for so long; I wanted to do the same for them.”->Best friend]]'' ''[[“Emery is… was… my best friend. They’ve stuck by me for so long; I wanted to do the same for them.” You don’t tell her that you felt something deeper than friendship when it came to Emery. You never told Emery themselves. Now you’ll never be able to.->Wish you’d known]]'' ''[[“I was curious about the house and the legends myself. It was an opportunity to see for myself.”->Curiosity]]''

“So you believed they would have gone in without you anyway? Even if you’d said no?” “That’s what they said. Even if none of us went with them, they said they would have gone.” You tell her, as calmly as you can. “It’s not a case of FOMO for me, it was just… I thought //‘what if this really is the last time we’ll all see each other?’// What if our life paths took us away from each other and that was it?” “You were scared to split up without a final sendoff, is that what you’re saying?” She seems confused a little bit, but more curious as to what you mean. ''[[“I guess, yeah… If this was the last year we saw each other, I’d have at least wanted things to end properly. A proper last hurrah to our time together.”->That might have come out wrong]]'' ''[[“I guess, yeah… I didn’t want to lose my best friend, or any of my other friends, but what if something out of my control happened down the line and I didn’t get to say goodbye to them? I thought going tonight would have been at least one more memory we got to have together, to remember each other when we were dumb teens, doing dumb teen things together.”->Hanging on to memories]]''

The detective’s facial expression turns sympathetic, and she sighs. “You two really were close, weren’t you?” If you didn’t know any better, you could see something else in her expression, hear something else in her tone. <<if $sussis gt 2>>You doubt she’d appreciate you asking about it though; despite her sympathy, she seemed more guarded than earlier with that stoic facial expression. You decide to ignore it for now.<<else>>The stoic facial expression she gave earlier comes back to you, and you figure that something’s on her mind. You almost voice your observations, but then stop yourself as she suddenly continues the conversation. You don’t have much choice but to ignore the thought for now.<</if>> She releases a breath before speaking. “Alright.” The detective starts, as cautiously as she can. “I’ve been asking you about your friends and what happened before you all went inside, but I’m afraid we can’t hold off any longer. ''[[As much as you can, please talk to me about what happened inside the house.”->It begins]]''

<<set $CrushonEm is true>>Despite your omission, something in your answer, maybe in how you said it, or maybe your expression, seems to tell the detective what you’re hiding. <<if $sussis gte 3>>You think you see a flash of emotion in her eyes for a brief second as she looks at you, but you can't tell what exactly it is as it disappears as fast as you saw it. <<else>>Her face turns sympathetic, a pained sadness in her eyes, and she looks like she wants to say something, but chooses not to. Instead, she settles for looking at you with a pitying sort of expression for a few seconds before shifting back into a professional, stoic demeanor.<</if>> <<if $sussis gt 2>>You’re about to ask her why she was looking at you that way when something stops you. It’s the feeling that she won’t appreciate your question somehow, almost a sense that somehow, she wouldn’t give you a straight answer. You don’t actually expect a straight answer, given that she’s the one who’s supposed to be asking you the questions here, but it seems like the hypothetical answer wouldn’t even be a hint; instead more of a comment you wouldn’t get the meaning behind. With that feeling in mind, you opt to set aside that line of discussion.<<else>>The question of why she was looking at you like that almost leaves your lips, but before you can get it out, she clears her throat.<</if>> She takes a moment and swallows before speaking. “Alright.” The detective starts, as cautiously as she can, her tone slightly sadder than you’d expected at her next words. “I’ve been asking you about your friends and what happened before you all went inside, but I’m afraid we can’t hold off any longer. ''[[As much as you can, please talk to me about what happened inside the house.”->It begins]]''

<<set $sussis += 1>>”So… let me get this straight. You went along with your friends simply because you were curious about the town legend? That’s all?” Something in her tone sounds disbelieving at your answer. You did give her a pretty straightforward answer; it might have just caught her off-guard. You nod. “I see.” She quickly writes it down in her notes. Then, she looks straight at you, steeling herself for the next thing she’s about to say. <<if $sussis gt 2>>You think you see something in her face for a split second. You can’t place it, but you begin to think that maybe she wasn’t just caught off-guard by your answer to her question.<</if>> “Alright.” The detective starts, as cautiously as she can. “I’ve been asking you about your friends and what happened before you all went inside, but I’m afraid we can’t hold off any longer. ''[[As much as you can, please talk to me about what happened inside the house.”->It begins]]''

<<set $sussis += 1>>”Hm… okay, I think I understand.” She jots what you’ve just said down in her notebook. <<if $sussis gt 2>>Her tone sounds cool, but you get the feeling she might be thinking about something you said earlier in a different light than she initially did, almost like she wants to say something but is holding herself back. You ignore the thought for now.<<else>>Her tone sounds mostly warm, but there’s a bit of coolness in it now. You get the sense she might have been a bit concerned by something you said, but ignore the thought for now. You silently realize that what Emery said came true; tonight was the last time you all saw each other.<</if>> When you said you wanted things to end properly, you didn’t mean like how it happened tonight. “Alright.” The detective starts, as cautiously as she can. “I’ve been asking you about your friends and what happened before you all went inside, but I’m afraid we can’t hold off any longer. ''[[As much as you can, please talk to me about what happened inside the house.”->It begins]]''

She nods. “I think I understand.” She jots what you’ve just said down in her notebook. <<if $sussis gt 2>>Her tone sounds cool, but you get the feeling she might be thinking about something you said earlier in a different light than she initially did, almost like she wants to say something but is holding herself back. You ignore the thought for now.<<else>>Her tone sounds mostly warm, but there’s a bit of coolness in it now. You get the sense she might have been a bit concerned by something you said, but ignore the thought for now. You silently realize that what Emery said came true; tonight was the last time you all saw each other. Something really did go wrong tonight. This wasn’t just one more memory; it was the real last one.<</if>> And you never got to even say goodbye properly. “Alright.” The detective starts, as cautiously as she can. “I’ve been asking you about your friends and what happened before you all went inside, but I’m afraid we can’t hold off any longer. ''[[As much as you can, please talk to me about what happened inside the house.”->It begins]]''

This is the end of the current demo for //Sole Survivor//. Thank you so much for playing! I hope you've enjoyed playing through what I have so far; if you have any feedback for me, wanna scream at me, etc., my tumblr is right here: Winter Lazuli Writes: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/winterlazuliwrites] Once again, thank you so much for checking out my story!

"$honorific $name Pierson, 18 years old. Is that correct?" You respond with a nod and a verbal "yes". “Do you prefer to be called something else, or is your given name sufficient?” ''[["I go by a nickname."->Call me...]]'' ''[["My given name is fine, thank you."->"I see." (no Nickname)]]''

Your parents told you the legends of the town’s most mysterious house when you were a child. At first, you believed that there really was something terrifying about the house, and you always gave it a wide berth growing up every time you passed it. But as you grew older, you gradually stopped believing in the stories. After all, there were some weird things about it, like how none of the town founders stopped to think that maybe people //would// come back to their town and maybe it wasn’t the best place to settle down? Or how maybe the house inspector just fell victim to misfortune that he got stuck inside? What about the weird glances and traces that nobody ever bothered to find out more about? Surely someone would have asked around. You grew up and were taught that there were no such things as monsters. Your belief in the monsters was replaced by the belief that parents told their kids these stories to get them to behave. You’re never teaching //that// to any children you come across, that’s for sure. You’re going to tell them exactly the truth: sorry kids, monsters do exist, and you should check under your bed and behind every door at night because they might be lurking there. Nightmares be damned, you’re not going to be responsible for another person’s horrific demise because you had the ability to warn them long before and you didn’t. Before you can internally reflect more on your childhood horror stories, you hear Detective Diana ending her call and coming back to the table. "I'm sorry about that, that was my boss." She apologizes with a slightly sheepish look on her face, almost like she's slightly embarrassed as she sits back down across from you. "Alright, now I hope you're alright with diving into why we're really talking here now." She says seriously. "I would tell you to only tell me what you're comfortable with talking about, but unfortunately I can't extend that to you right now, I'm sorry about that." She takes a moment before continuing. "I need you to tell me exactly what happened tonight, ''[[from when you and the others decided to go into that house.”->The start of the end.]]''

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