NIGHTMARE BURGER HELL

You are sitting in a booth at GORILLA BURGER, a local burger joint. The roof has a giant plastic gorilla on it and the meals on the menu all have monkey themed names. The booth itself is sticky but the smell coming from the kitchen is good. Your friend Emma sits across from you swinging her legs. "Hey" says Emma "You should try the BIG MONKEY burger challenge. If you win you get a free meal and two t-shirts. That's pretty cool." "I dare you try it" [["why don't you try it?" ->gluten]] [[hell yeah, you'll conquer that big burger ->accept]]

The waitress finally arrives to take your order. "One BIG MONKEY burger please!" She gives you a look you cant quite decipher. Pity? Disgust? Severe annoyance? (set: $eavesdrop to 2) [[whatever, who cares what she thinks ->wait]]

"I would", she sighs and looks down at the menu trying her hardest to look bummed "but they don't have a gluten free bun that size." "And you gotta eat the whole burger not just the meat and cheese." She looks up, grinning "Plus, if I eat the whole thing I won't have room for ice cream later." [["okay, fair enough" ->start]]

The waitress shuffles away having taken your order. There's nothing to do now but wait for the burger to arrive. [[look around->look]] [[talk to emma->talk]] (if: $eavesdrop > 1)[[[eavesdrop on the waitstaff->eavesdrop]]]

"UGH" says an annoyed looking waitress wringing her apron, "I just cleaned this from the last one." The waitress who took your order rolls her eyes "I wouldn't worry too much. I doubt that that one's got what it takes" "And, if they do, we get the week off!" another chimes in. (set: $eavesdrop to $eavesdrop - 2) [[keep waiting for the burger->wait]]

You two are the only ones in the restaurant besides the employees. There's lots of kitchy decorations around and tons of postcards pasted to the walls. A sign challenges guests to try the BIG MONKEY burger. You wonder if anyone's been able to finish it before. There aren't any pictures of the winners up on the wall. [[the burger is here ->arrival]]

You and Ema chat about D&D for a bit. Mostly about goblins and knifes but you do discuss at least one dragon. [[the burger is here ->arrival]]

Well. It is certainly the biggest burger you've ever seen and it looks delicious too. You wonder if you will be able to eat the whole thing after all. At the very least it's going to take a *loooong* time to finish. Emma cheers you on which steels your resolve. (set: $burg to 0) [[take a bite ->eating]]

(if: $burg < 10)[[[take another bite (set: $burg to $burg + 1) ->eating]]](else:)[[[IT'S OVER. THE BURGER HAS BEEN CONQUERED. ->finished]]]

Emma claps enthusiasticly. The waitstaff looks less thrilled. Something shimmers behind Emma. [[wait what's that->glimmer]]

A form is slowly emerging in the center of restaurant. You hear a slight humming sound. A voice booms out. "YOU HAVE DEFEATED THE CHALLENGE" "YOU MUST BECOME THE NEW BURGER KING" The Burger King opens his arms and starts to walk towards you. [[oh no->what]]

The Burger King is approaching you. Emma stands up, "I think we need to leave now." [[call to waitstaff for help->waitstaff]] [[look for an exit->exit]] [[confront the king->confront]]

You move towards him and get into a fighting stance. "STOP!" you yell "Don't get any closer!" He keeps moving towards you. You throw a punch. He easily blocks it and grabs you by the neck. You hear Emma scream behind you. He speaks again. "YOU MUST TAKE MY PLACE" "YOU MUST" "you must" [[you scream]]

You gotta get outta here now. You frantically look around for a way out. The doors have been covered up by the walls growing over them. The wallpaper is slowly starting to block the windows. [[shit]]

You call out for help turning aound to look at them. You stifle a scream. All the employees seem to be melting *and* decomposing at the same time. The waitress who took your order is now just a puddle of bubbling gunk on the floor. [[they can't help you->what]]

Fuck fuck fuck. There's gotta be something you can do. As you desperately look around the restaurant you lock eyes with The Burger King. You hear a strange humming noise. His eyes are spinning, constantly changing colors. you can't look [[away]]

''CRASH'' You hear glass shattering behind you. Emma's broken one of the remaining windows. She grabs your hand pulling you out of your trance. You both [[jump]]

You barely make it through the window before it closes behind you. You both crash land onto the pavement outside. [["hey emma, you okay?"->hey emma]] [[look at the restaurant->melting]]

The gorilla on the roof has melted down into bubbling plastic and the whole building looks like it's collapsing in on itself. Wait, no, it seems to be forming some kind of shell, or a cocoon? [[oh jeeze, dont think about it, just breathe->pavement]]

"My hands are scraped up a bit from the fall. And I'm gonna have nightmares for weeks but yeah. I'm good" Her twin buns are falling apart but other than that she looks as okay as you can be after something like that. [[look at the restaurant->melting]]

You try to calm yourself. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Just focus on the solid ground... and wait is the pavement pulsing? [["hey emma is the pavement moving?"->itsmoving]]

You look at each other, nod, and turn to run. You dont have a paticular destination in mind. you just [[run]]

You hear a loud cracking sound behind you as the restaurant cocoon splits itself apart. And then you hear a humming noise behind you. You have to keep [[running->run2]]

You keep running. Soon you're on the outskirts of town approaching the harbour. You can't keep running much longer. [[run onto the docks->dock]]

You can no longer here the humming sound. The layout of the docks must have confused The Burger King. Emma doubles over trying to catch her breath. You know he'll be back soon. [[grab a net off the dock to use->weapon]] [[hide in a nearby boat->hide]]

You hide inside the cabin of a boat, trying not to breathe, trying not to make a sound. It doesn't matter- he finds you anyway. He lifts you up so you are looking in his eyes. They seem to be spinning faster now. "YOU MUST TAKE MY PLACE" "YOU MUST" "you must" [[you scream]]

The Burger King soon finds you again. As he approaches you toss the net over him. He stumbles and lets out a loud noise that sounds like an engine malfunctioning. He's blocking the way out. There's nowhere to go. [[unless you get on a boat->boat]]

You don't have time to think about if this was a smart decision- you just have to get out of here ''now''. You and Emma paddle as fast as you can, slowly moving the boat from the dock. Your lungs burn but you keep [[paddling->paddle]]

You keep paddling. Still tangled in the net The Burger King tries to pursue you. The net is choking him but he doesn't make any attempt to cut it. He struggles against it moving closer to you. Suddenly he stops. [[oh->pop]]

''SQUELCH'' The net disconects his head from his body like a Barbie doll. It rolls off into your boat. His body stiffens and then collapses. It goes completely still. [[gross]]

"Thats upsetting" says Emma weakly. You nod. You both lean against the sides of the boat too tired to do anything else for now. You listen to the waves and try to breathe. The head of The Burger King sits between you, his eyes still spinning.

Your body burns. It is no longer yours. You are no longer you. You will wait for a new challenger.