Walk Through the Woods

You grip the steering wheel tightly, the sweat on your palms making it slippery. You've been driving for hours, and you're not sure where you are. The headlights of your car cut through the darkness, illuminating the deserted road ahead. The trees loom over you, their branches stretching out like gnarled fingers. You've been driving for so long that you can't even remember the last time you saw another car. You're starting to panic, realizing that you are completely alone in the middle of nowhere. You try to reassure yourself, telling yourself that you'll find your way eventually, but deep down you can't shake the feeling of foreboding that has settled over you. The worst scenario happens, you hear a tire blow. [[Stop the car->Keep Driving]]

You pull over to the side of the road, the car shimmying to a stop. You let out a sigh of frustration as you step out of the car and make your way to the back to check the tires. Sure enough, one of them is flat. You curse under your breath. You're in the middle of nowhere, with no one around to help you. [[Change your tire->Werewolf track]]

As you rummage through the trunk for the spare tire, you can't shake the feeling that you're being watched. You turn around, scanning the woods, but all you see are shadows shifting in the moonlight. You hurry to change the tire, your hands shaking as you work. You can't wait to get back in the car and get out of this place. [[Rush inside the car and slam the door shut]]

You climb back into the car, your heart racing. You can't shake the feeling that something isn't right. As you turn the key in the ignition, the car sputters and dies. You try again, but it's no use. The car is dead. You're stranded in the middle of nowhere. You check your phone, just as dead as the car. [[Go look for help]]

You step out of the car and look around, but all you see is darkness. You're surrounded by woods, and you have no idea which way to go. You feel a sudden, overwhelming sense of dread. You're not alone out here. You can feel something watching you, something malevolent. You start to run, not caring where you're going, just wanting to put as much distance between yourself and whatever is out there. [[Run!]] [[Face it and fight]]

You don't know how long you run for, but eventually you collapse, panting and exhausted. You look up and see a light in the distance. It's faint, but it's there. You start to crawl towards it, hoping against hope that it's not just a mirage. As you get closer, you realize it's a cabin. You stumble towards it, tears streaming down your face, and pound on the door, begging for help. [[Kick the door in]] [[Scream for help]]

It towers over you, its fur matted and flecked with blood. Its eyes glow with a sinister intelligence, and its teeth are bared in a snarl. Its claws are extended, ready to strike. You can see the muscles rippling beneath its fur as it shifts its weight, preparing to attack. You stand and face your opponent, craning your neck up to look at it. By the time you raise your fist, its too late. The terrible things he does to you will make a veteran Sheriff vomit when they discover you a few days later. This is how your story ends. [[Try again?->Start]]

You kick the door to the cabin open, your heart racing. You stumble into the cabin, panting and covered in sweat. You see the small fire burning in the fireplace, the only source of light in the room. You take a step and see the destruction that surrounds you. The furniture is torn to shreds, as if it was clawed by an animal. And in the corner, you see a set of broken chains. Your stomach twists at the sight. [[Turn around and get out of there]] [[Search for a phone]]

A howl greets your scream, it's close. The cabin suddenly shakes as if something large hit it. It happens again and you can hear glass shattering somewhere nearby. You're not stupid; you run. You run with everything you have. Behind you, the cabin shakes again, you can hear large cracking sounds join it. The car should be somewhere ahead. You push yourself to the limit, your legs pumping beneath you. You can feel the branches and brambles scratching at your skin, as you collect cuts on your face and arms, but you don't care. You just have to keep moving. It finally happens, the cabin explodes into pieces, wooden shards pierce the trees around you. One large splinter makes it into your left leg, tripping you up. You fall with no grace but can bring your arms up before your face gets smashed in. The dirt is soft, but the experience still hurts. [[Roll over onto your back to face your demise]]

You turn around, not stupid enough to investigate further, you’ve seen enough movies. You try to make your way back to the car but it’s hard to decide which is the right way. The darkness seems to push into you, narrowing your scope of view. A few steps from the cabin and you hear the rustling of trees. You can’t help it; you look over your shoulder. A werewolf jumps from the roof of the cabin and gives chase. It’s huge, almost bear like but swift. Elongated front arms are capped with white claws that seem to push the dark away enough to show you they mean business. The eyes are red and glow in the night. [[Run faster!->Werewolfrun]]

You throw the mess around, generating more, frantic to find a way to communicate with the outside world. You don't see anything of use, in fact when you take a look at the cabin, there are no wires at all; no electricity and no phone wire. Among the pile of debris you see a book open, odd dark marks on it made with a heavy stroke. [[Look at the book]]

It’s a diary, but the pages are strange. Some are normal, dates and times, about this person’s day living in what they call a natural peace. But other pages are marked with a heavy stroke, the words almost pressing through to the next page, and the wording is bold and frantic. [[Read a normal looking page]] [[Read a frantic page]]

//Dear Diary, I can't believe it's been almost a month since I moved out here to the woods. At first, I was nervous about being alone in this cabin, so far away from civilization. But as the days passed, I started to relax. It's been so peaceful out here, just me and the trees. I've been spending my days exploring the woods, watching the animals, and reading by the fireplace. It's been so long since I've been able to just be with myself, to really think and reflect. I've forgotten how much I needed this. The nights are especially quiet. I go to bed early, listening to the wind rustling through the trees. I fall asleep to the sound of the crickets chirping, and wake up to the birds singing. It's like I'm in my own little world out here. Nice and safe, away from others.// [[Read a frantic page]]

//''It's almost TIME. It will happen again tonight, the same nightmare, trapped over and over again. It's almost TIME It's almost TIME It's almost TIME It's almost TIME HELP ME''// You notice at the top corner of every page is a small picture of the moon in its phases throughout the year. The diary owner was tracking it. The chains jingle behind you [[Look]]

You can //feel// the presence behind you, and you know that you're not alone in the cabin. You turn around, your heart racing. You can hardly believe your eyes when you see the werewolf standing over you. It towers over you, its fur matted and flecked with blood. Its eyes glow with a sinister intelligence, and its teeth are bared in a snarl. Its claws are extended, ready to strike. You can see the muscles rippling beneath its fur as it shifts its weight, preparing to attack. [[Run!->Werewolfrun]] [[Fight!]]

Your heart pounding in your chest. You don't know where you're going, you just know that you have to get as far away from the werewolf as possible. You can hear it snarling and growling behind you, its footsteps pounding on the ground. You know that it's just a matter of time before it catches up to you. You push yourself to the limit, your legs pumping beneath you. You can feel the branches and brambles scratching at your skin, but you don't care. You just have to keep moving. You can hear the werewolf getting closer and closer, its hot breath on your neck. You can feel its claws reaching for you, and you know that you're not going to make it. [[Try again->Start]]

You stand and face your opponent, craning your neck up to look at it. By the time you raise your fist, its too late. The terrible things he does to you will make a veteran Sheriff vomit when they discover you a few days later. This is how your story ends. [[Try again?->Start]]

You turn to see the beast lunging at you, its claws extended. You cry out in fear, knowing that you're no match for a creature like this. You close your eyes, waiting for the end, when suddenly you hear the crack of a gun. The monster is ripped from the air and falls on it's side several feet away, bouncing on the forst floor before finally hitting a tree. "God, kid, are you ok?" A man appears out of the forest. He's gruff looking, a long mangy beard half gone to silver. He has on camouflage hunting gear and a raccoon skin hat. Running to you, he sets what looks like a musket against a tree. [[Show him your leg]]

“Ah, it’s nasty and probably hurts like the dickens but you’ll survive.” He brings out some bandages from his pocket and a canteen of water. “Name’s Jebediah, been hunting that bastard for years. Heard your scream and I rushed over. What was that loud bang?” “A cabin,” you say. “Must be where he was holding up.” The man takes hold of the large splinter sticking out of your left thigh, it is wet and red from the blood. (link: "Wait, don't do it on the dirty ground, get me to a doctor")[(set: $hero to false)(go-to:"You brace yourself")] (link: "You brace yourself")[(set: $hero to true)(go-to:"You brace yourself")]

(if: $hero is true) [ It hurts, it hurts a lot. With one hand braced on your lower leg, Jebediah pulls with the other. A small jet of blood follows after it. You scream in pain. He starts to wrap the wound with a bandage. "You're tougher than you look. Here, let me help you up." He has strength to him and easily gets you off the ground. That's when you hear the low muffled growl.] (else:) [ "Ok if that's how you want it. Let me help you up." He has strength to him and easily gets you off the ground. That's when you hear the low muffled growl.] [[You both look in the direction of the werewolf]]

You watch in horror as the werewolf starts to stir, its body trembling with effort. You can see the bullet wound in its side, but it seems to be healing before your eyes. You glance at your friend, they look as shocked as you. "It's not dead," you cry out, your voice laced with panic. "Here," Jebediah says, and throws you a weapon. Then the hunter runs for his long gun, quickly loading it with powder and ramming down a large gleaming silver ball. He even fixes a bayonet onto the end of the barrel. [[Look at the weapon in your hands]]

It is a pistol, an old one. The handle is made of wood, decorated with carvings hard to see in the dark of the situation. The metal tube on top is not long, maybe a hand’s span in length. You can barely believe your eyes, it’s a flintlock pistol. "Shoot it," Jebediah says. Before he can aim is own larger weapon, the monster charges, leaping on top of him. As they both go down, the rifle fires and a puff of thick smoke rushes into the area. But the weapon was not pointed anywhere near the werewolf. They struggle on the ground, the monster growling and Jebediah grunting with effort. From where you stand, it's only the rifle held between them that is keeping the monster out of biting distance. "The head!" he says. [[You aim the pistol]]

You take careful aim with the weapon. You've fired a gun before but never under this kind of stress. You try to keep your hand from shaking as the push it out in front of you, bracing it. Jeberiah is slowly loosing his battle with the werewolf, the rifle pushes closer to his chest and the jaws closer to his face. You bring your legs apart in a firing position you learned from your single firearm lesson when you tagged along with a friend to a gun range. You aim for the head, it's right in front of you. Jebediah uses the last of his strength to heave the monster up higher. This is the best chance you'll get. (if: $hero is true) [[[You fire->Hit]]] (else:) [[[You fire->Miss]]]

The kick to the weapon is strong and you have to brace yourself to keep it from moving. A puff of acrid smoke billows into the air, making it hard to see. But you focus only on one point. Your aim is true and strikes straight through the werewolf's head. You watch as the werewolf's body goes limp, its weight causing Jebediah to groan in pain. You quickly rush to their side, trying to push the werewolf off of them. It takes all of your strength, but you manage to roll the beast to the side. Your friend is covered in scratches but has a big smile on his face. "Holy hell, one shot. I thought I was a gonner." He slaps you on the back, "Not bad kid." He points to the werewolf corpse, "Help me with this." [[You help Jebediah sling the werewolf over his shoulders]]

At the last moment, the wood sticking out of your leg shifts. The pain is enough to knock you off balance. You pull the trigger at the same time and the same smoke as the musket comes out, clouding the view. But the monster is still snarling. You missed. You think to yourself that it must be all over. Jebediah is loosing strength and it wont be long before the monster finishes him off and goes after you. [[You watch in dismay]]

But something happens. Jebediah screams in rage and with his left leg, kicks off the ground. He and the werewolf flip over, just like some kind of move in a MMA fight like you've seen on TV. It catches the monster by surprise and that's just enough time for Jebediah grab hold of his rifle half way up the barrel and stab down. The bayonet pierces the werewolf in the chest and the man presses down hard, holding it there. He brings the weapon up again and down right through the monster's face. It finally stops moving. [[You go over to help Jebediah]]

With an arm around each other's shoulder, you both limp into the woods. "My car is on the street nearby," you say. Jebediah points a little to his left, "That way to the road." The trip there is quick and the old hunter even helps fix your car. "The wire to the battery slipped off. Should be good now." You turn it over and the engine roars to life. Rolling down the window you say, "Get in." The man shakes his head, "No, that's ok." He points up the road, "Ten miles down that way is a little gas station, just outside the town of Romero." Then he turns and slips back into the woods, like he was never there. [[Drive]]

Years later, you'd still remember the incident, sometimes in your nightmares. Of course when you went to the police, they took down all the details, were kind and profession to your face, but laughed when your back was turned. Some time later you read an article that states hiking and camping disapprearances around the forest have gone down dramatically. You go back to your normal life, meet up with your friends, go to your job, and everything else you need to do. But every once in a while you remember Jebediah, you hope he's still out there somewhere, out there helping people. [[End. Try again?->Start]]

"Let's get the hell out of here," he says. He grunts with the effort of his burden and you are both limping, but you manage to make your way through the woods. Following Jebediah's lead, you find you way to a different road, a dirt road that is barely there. Parked is a powder blue old-school pickup truck with scratches and dents at odd places around the body. When he gets there, the two of you throw the monster into the back of the truck and secure a tarp over it. [["What are you going to do with it?"]]

"This here is all matter of useful for someone like me," he says. "Someone like you," you say. "Aye, you think this is the only one of these around." "There are more?" "Oh yeah, you got werewolves, bog monsters, bigfoots, trolls, even the occassional vampire." He starts to stow his weapons in cases, latching them to truck bed as well. "Say, you did good out there. Want me to teach you a few things?" The shock is obvious in your voice, "Teach me? Like, to hunt monsters?" He nods, "I'm getting old, about time I got me an apprentice. What do you say?" [[Say Yes!]] [[Decline->Drive]]

You learn, you learn through blood, sweat, and tears. It takes years to master what Jebediah has to teach you. It means less time with friends; it means calls of panic from your mother not hearing from you for weeks at a time. You wish you could explain it to them, but they’d never understand. But you push on, you get stronger, you start to make a difference. One little obstacle at a time, you make the world safer. Jebediah bestows the rank of Master on you and you pat him on the shoulder in his La-Z-Boy, it’s time for him to rest. You’re not the only one of your kind out there and they start to whisper your name in awe, while the monsters scream it in fear. [[End. Try again?->Start]]