You wake up in the bunker. Again. You stretch your neck, sore from the stiff cot. Again. You draw a tick on the wall. Again. Your sharpie is beginning to run out. You count the ticks. 1...2...4.... There are 1267 ticks on the wall. You have woken up 1267 times. The majority of those happened with absolutly no consent from the owner. Your father and mother are slowly waking up as well. Dad begins to prepare the canned peaches for breakfast. Again. Mom prays at the grave of your little brother, who died of the cold on day 134. A loud bang resonates througout the bunker, eminating from the hatch. From outside.
"Don't worry," Your dad says. "It was probably just a tree falling,"
You kept eating your peaches, except far less relaxed this time. You've been asking to leave the bunker for years. Everytime you ask, you get shunned. But what if that wasn't a tree? What if it was a person? If someone is out there, doesn't it mean that the radiation is gone?
"Dad? I wanna lea--"
BANG BANG BANG
No. That was no tree. That was a sledge hammer. We watch as hatch caves in and the raiders faces fill the hole above. Do [[go hide -> you hide]] or do you [[try to stay and fight->you stay and fight]] The raiders drop through the hole and land with a bam as their dusty boots hit the floor. They are all wearing bandanas and sunglasses or ski goggles. And they are all armed. You grab a can of beans off the counter and hurl it at one of the goons. He laughs, then his face goes deadly serious. He charges, raising a board with a nail above his head. Just as he reaches you, your dad leaps in front of you. The nail sinks deep into his collar bone and he unleashes a howl. Look at your mother with horror as her ribs are crushed with a devistating blow from an ax. Tears sreaming down your face, you sprint towards the ladder. You feel your heart pounding through your shirt and sweat and blood forming droplets on your forehead. Time slows down. You grab the prepared Evacu-Bags by the ladder and fly out of the tunnel, taking rungs 3 at a time. On the last rung, you slip and cut your forearm on the torn hinge of the hatch. The pain means nothing. For the first time in years you take a breath of new air. For the first time in years you see the sun. Do you [[stop and look around-> You Stop]] or [[do you keep running-> You keep running]]You run into the latrine. The only place to hide is under a shelf in that room. You squeeze yourself into the space and blink back tears as you hear screams of your parents being slaughtered. The raiders heavy boots clomp against the cold concrete, getting louder. You see their boots in front of you now. You close your eyes and wait for death to come. You open your eyes just in time to see a crowbar swinging towards your face.
[[Restart->The Beginning]] You look around and see what appears to you an alien landscape. The sky is an ugly brown-orange color and the sun is bright smear. The lush field where you once built a bunker is a dusty plain. The only reminants of your one big Colorado home is a pile of wooden planks and bent window frames. All the trees look dead and dry. A forest fire waiting to happen. You dont see any birds or squirrels or deer or rabbits. You keep crying as you realize the world you knew will never be the way it was. [[You jog off into the forest, knowing your parents are dead.-> Into the forest]]
Adrenline coursing through every muscle, every nerve, you blast across the lush field where you once built a bunker, now a cold, dusty plain. You look around and see what appears to you an alien landscape. The sky is an ugly brown-orange color and the sun is bright smear. The only reminants of your once big Colorado home is a pile of wooden planks and bent window frames. All the trees look dead and dry. You dont see any birds or squirrels or deer or rabbits. You keep crying as you realize the world you knew will never be the way it was. [[you run off into the forest.-> Into the forest]] After running for 5 minutes, you begin to tire. Do you [[rest->Rest]] or do you [[push on-> Pushing onward]]Thinking you're far enough away from the raiders, you stop beneath a large tree. You take a deep breath and wipe your tears. You kneel down and take off your pack. You pull out the medical kit. You take your first real look at the wound on your arm. It isn't too bad; about 4 inches long down your arm along the same line as your thumb. It is already a bit dirty from the dust but also pretty shallow. You wash it out with some water in disinfect it. A gauze pad does the trick. You quench your thirst and take note of the smoke in the distance behind you. You [[keep walking-> Interstate 15]]
Ignoring the pain in your arm, you keep moving. You take a swig of water. You tie gauze pads together and use them as filter so you can breathe without inhaling dust. After walking aimlessly for a while, darkness begins to set in, ealier than usual. You look for a place to sleep. Do you sleep in a [[tree->Sleeping in a tree]] or do you sleep [[beside a boulder in a clearing?->Sleeping by the boulder]]You break through the trees onto interstate 15. It is littered with rusted out car bodies and melted tires. As darkness sets in, you find a van in reletively good condition and unfurl your sleeping bag in the back. [[You drift off to sleep->Fire!]], with your knife in hand and the smoke on your mind.The flames lick the trunk of the tree you're sleeping in, and you choke on smoke. The trees around you are lighting up like the fourth of july. A branch hits you in the head and knocks you off your perch into the flames.
[[Restart->The Beginning]] Fire rages around the edge of the clearing, eating up everything in its path. Safe by your rock, you [[wait out the fire-> The Next Day]]
Fire races along the sides of the road, smoke filling the air. Safe on the road, you eat breakfast and look at your wound, which shows signs of healing. Do you [[wait out the fire in your van-> Collapse]] or do you [[get out and keep traveling->Encounter]] The next day you find yourself walking down interstate 15. With no particular destination in mind, you follow it west, hoping to find civilization at the bigger cities there. In the near distance, you hear a bellowing roar. Do you [[go investigate->Mutant]] or do you [[run the other way->Infection]]As you cautiously walk from car to car, you see something moving down the road. You get a closer look and your heart stops. Standing on a pickup truck is //massive// hairless gorilla. Its 15 feet tall, at least, but its skin is flaky and red. Something about it doesnt seem right though... It doesn't look quite like a gorilla. Just then it lets out a big roar. Out of the corner of your eye, you see another person! In the position your are in right now, you are hidden from both the person's view and the... //thing's// view. The other human looks to be a guy about your age, maybe a little older. He is sporting a nice looking bag and a metal pipe. He slips the bag off his shoulders and crouches into a running stance. He bolts off, leaps onto the hood of a car, then the roof, and, without losing any momentum, leaps into the air. He uses all his weight to bring his pipe crashing through the skull of the monster, which erupts in a white, chalky powder and black sludge. Do you [[stay where you are]], [[go steal his bag->Theif]] or do you go [[try to talk to him-> Converse]]You wheel around and begin to run. Then, without warning, the world begins to spin around you. You've managed to ignore your fever, but now it feels like you are being steamed like broccolli. Dark spots fly across your vision, dancing like sprites and fairies. The ground stands up and smacks you, hard. The last thing you see before you [[black out->Hero]] is your infected arm... Outside, you hear a huge CRACK. In the blink of an eye, a huge, flaming tree trunk crashes down on the roof of your van. The rusted steel and aluminium do nothing to stop the thousand pound tree. Your torso is pinned, and getting burned by the heated metal. Your ribs are broken. You are trapped there for days, and no-one ever comes to rescue you. You slowly die of thirst, seeing as your bag is trapped below you as well.
[[Restart->The Beginning]] You get out of the van and head down the road, keeping your westward route in mind. Feeling confident for the first time since you left the bunker, you walk in the middle of the four lane highway, your head held high. Suddenly your eye catches some movement down the road. Do you [[crouch behind a car->Stay hidden]] or [[go investigate?-> Investigation]]You wake up in darkness. You think you have died and passed onYou stay put until he is out of sight. You continue walking down the road and look to find a place to sleep that night. You remember that you will need to find food and [[water soon.->Attacked]]You look closer and see that its another person! The first one you've seen since you left the bunker. Desperate for company, you run up to him, yelling that you want to help. uppon seeing you, he turns and bolts off, far faster than you can run, especially after having little excercize inside the bunker. You soon lose him, and go back to the road, sad about losing a possible friend. In the distance, [[you hear a roar.->Attacked]]Double-click this passage to edit it.You run for his bag. Just as you get there, it's owner turns around.
"HEY! Get away from there!" He says.
you throw the bag on your back and sprint.
//thud-thud//
//thud-thud//
//thud-thud//
his footsteps get closer and closer. "HEY" you shout to your new friend. He flinches, and backs up a few steps. Then he stops, and a smirk crawls across his face
"No, No, No, dont be scared" you say, desperate for a companion.
"Oh don't worry, I'm not," he says, "Not by someone like you,"
"Hey, I could take you!" you say, angry. You rush the stranger. He dodges, grabs you by the hair and flips you onto your back. Breath escapes your lungs. [[ You inspect your attacker-> Character Bio]] A mass of dry flesh and chalky bones lumbers onto the highway before you. You freeze, your heart beating and adrenaine coursing. Glass crunches beneath your feet as you turn to run. But your shorter legs are no match for those of the beast behind you. you become lunch.
[[Restart->The Beginning]] Double-click this passage to edit it.