Woods
You are in the woods. There is a fork in the road, one road going up to who knows where, the other down to a cave.
[[Up->Up]]
[[Cave->Cave]] Upper Path
You find $20 bucks on the ground. A skinny kid says it's his and asks for it back.
[[Give back the money->Thanks]]
[[Keep the money for yourself->Skinny Fight]] He thanks you and leaves.
[[Continue->Small Market Give]] Cave
You travel down the cave.
You hear loud breathing, and see a large grizzly bear.
[[Run->But The Bear Was Nice...]]
[[Hug the Bear->It's Certainly Cuddly...]]Market
You arrive at a small market.
You see many interesting things, including Pepsi, a First Aid Kit, and Chocolate.
You can't buy any of it.
You leave.
[[Continue->The Squirrel Attack 1]] You continue on your hike.
A rabid squirrel attacks your leg and bites you.
With your leg bleeding profusely, and no chance of medical help out here, you have no choice but to chop off your leg to save your life.
...
This done, you stagger up, find a tree branch for a wooden leg, and continue on your hike.
[[Continue->The Hole 1]] You fall down a ten-feet-deep hole. You are not injured, but you can't get out. You become starved after two days pass by.
[[Continue->Death by Starvation 1]] You die slowly.
[[Restart->Woods]] He pulls out a knife.
[[Fight Back->Don't Underestimate Skinniness]]
[[Run->Skinny Fight Run]]You now require immediate medical attention.
You call for help, yet no one comes.
[[Continue->Death By Skinniness]] You die a slow death.
[[Restart->Woods]] You get away by hiding in a tree.
[[Continue->Small Market Run]]Market
You arrive at a small market.
There is a First Aid Kit for $20.
Alternatively, a 10-pack of Pepsis and 10 chocolate bars are on sale for $20. You purchase--
[[First Aid Kit->The Squirrel Attack 2]]
[[Pepsi and Chocolate->The Squirrel Attack 3]]You continue on your hike.
A rabid squirrel attacks your leg and bites you.
Luckily, you have your newly purchased First Aid Kit handy!
...
Your wound is healed!
You continue on your hike.
[[Continue->The Hole 2]]You fall down a ten-feet-deep hole.
You are not injured, but you can't get out.
You become starved after two days pass by.
[[Continue->The Hunger Dilemma]]You desperately need to eat!
[[Eat First Aid Kit->What An Idiot!]]
[[Starve->Death By Starvation 2]][[Idiot.->Death By Starvation 2]]You die a tragic death.
[[Restart->Woods]] Having no other choice, you consume all your food and drink.
A day passes and a strange man finds you and offers help.
[[Accept->Out Of The Hole]]
[[Decline->...Well, He Offered You Help...]]The man helps you out and leads you into the mansion.
You live.
GO TO MANSION; WIPHe leaves.
Another day passes and a young woman approaches.
She shoots you with a bazooka.
You both die.
[[Restart->Woods]] The bear appreciates the hug.
He hugs you back.
He offers to take you to the lake to go fishing.
[[Accept->How Nice!]]
[[Refuse->How...Not Nice!]]You and the bear go fishing.
You have lots of fun.
When you're done, you hug the bear again and he lumbers off.
[[Continue->Skinny Dipping]]The bear runs away, crying.
Another not-so-nice bear comes and eats you.
[[Restart->Woods]] You run past the bear, stop, and look back.
Maybe going into the cave wasn't such a good idea...
[[Continue->What, Trying To Leave?]]You see the exit, but hear a bear by the exit.
Exiting would just put you back at the fork in the road, though...
[[Exit->Up 2]]
[[Go Deeper Into The Cave->This May Be Dangerous...]]You come to a fork in the cave passage.
[[Left->To The Tiki Room]]
[[Right->Right Cave Passage]] You run past the bear and make it out of the cave, putting you back at the fork in the road.
You don't really want to go back inside the cave, so you set out on the upper path.
[[Continue->Up]]You arrive at the Tiki Room.
You get lit on fire.
[[Stop, Drop, and Roll->Putting It Plainly]]
[[Run->Snake Bite!!!]] You see light at two ends, the exit and a secret exit.
[[Exit->Guillotine]]
[[Secret Exit->Snake Bite!!!]] You die.
[[Restart->Woods]] The bear decapitates you.
[[Restart->Woods]] You make it out alive.
You accidentally get bit by a snake.
[[Call for Help->So Bears Can Cook...?]]
[[Hope it Passes->Just A Common Garden Snake...]] The bear hears you and kills you.
You taste good cooked medium rare.
[[Restart->Woods]] It turns out it was nothing.
You can go further off the trail or go around the cave, hoping to find the trail.
[[Off-Trail->Ah! Civilized Country!]]
[[Go Around the Cave->Up 3]] You find yourself back on the fork in the road.
Since there's no way you're going back in the cave, you set out on the upper path.
[[Continue->Up]] You find a large house to the right, and a lake to the left.
[[Go swimming->Skinny Dipping 2]]
[[Go to the mansion->Going the Long Way 4]]You continue on your hike.
A rabid squirrel attacks your leg and bites you.
With your leg bleeding profusely, and no chance of medical help out here, you have no choice but to chop off your leg to save your life.
...
This done, you stagger up, find a tree branch for a wooden leg, and continue on your hike.
[[Continue->The Hole 3]] You fall down a ten-feet-deep hole.
You are not injured, but you can't get out.
You become starved after two days pass by.
[[Continue->Starvation Avoided!]]You decide to go swimming in the lake.
It's really cold in the water, so you get out and make a fire, because night is falling as well.
You're just about to eat the fish you have left (the bear ate most of them) when you see something out of the corner of your eye...
Turning your head, you see a skinny kid, waist-deep in the lake water, and sopping wet, as if he had just climbed out from it.
Before you can react, he shoots towards you faster than you could have believed.
He asks you to give him some fish. What do you do?
[[Give him some fish->A New...Friend?]]
[[Refuse->Skinny Fight 2]]He pulls out a knife.
[[Fight Back->Don't Underestimate Skinniness]]
[[Run->Skinny Fight Run 2]]When you make a motion to run, the kid lashes out. He doesn't successfully hit you, but in the commotion a $20 dollar bill falls out of his pocket. Snatching it up, you run back up to the forest and hide in a tree.
[[Continue->Small Market Run]]The skinny kid thanks you and sits down with you at the fire. You offer him some fish on a leaf. He eats it, and stares directly at you, in a creepy sort of way.
He continues to stare at you, so you tentatively eat your fish.
You stand up.
He stands up.
You say goodbye, but he does not move.
You take a step backwards.
He takes a step towards you.
You raise your eyebrows.
He does too.
You walk around him.
He walks around you.
This turn of events is quite strange to you, and the skinny kid mirrors every movement you make.
After walking backwards for a fair bit, your ankles hit water, and you look down. The ripples in the lake shimmer your reflection from the moon and the flickering fire, but on this otherwise windless evening, it quickly subsides -- and you see what you've been seeing for the entire night - the skinny kid.
You ask yourself if you're insane. You think many deep thoughts about your predicament.
You see the skinny kid walking up behind you, holding a knife -- and...!
[[Continue->Awakening]]You wake up in a cold sweat, lying on soft sand.
A gentle breeze plays across your damp body, and the bright sunlight filtering through your eyelids burns at the thin skin.
You blearily open your eyes and sit up. A stinging pain can be felt just above your elbow, and a small hornet is buzzing on the sand feebly next to you.
You shakily stand up and take in your surroundings. It seems you passed out after the kid came up behind you -- or was it just a dream? The smoldering remains of last night's fire, the half-eaten fish on a plate -- wait.
It seems that there was only one plate to begin with - no trace of the kid's visit can be seen. Except...!
You see a white shard of paper, held down by a rock next to the fire. Rushing over, you free the paper from the rock and read:
*To the Lone Hiker:*
*I daresay I must have given you a fright last night, and I would like to apologize.*
*The fish was outstanding - very well made.*
*I do have something important to tell you, though, and just in case, I would like you to burn this message once you have finished reading.*
*I know that we shall meet again in the near future, and at that time I must request that you fufill anything I require of you, no matter the costs or the job in question. Fail to do so - and you ''will'' suffer the consequences.*
*Good day,*
*The Skinny Kid*
You close the letter. You find this rather interesting, and are not sure whether you'll comply with the Kid's requests.
The Kid requested that you burn the letter. What do you do?
[[Burn the letter->Evidence Destroyed]]
[[Keep the letter->Noncompliance]]Rekindling your fire, you drop the letter into the flames, where it curls up, pops, and turns to ash. As the carbonized remains float away on the wind, you wonder if it was really the right thing to do.
But you know the answer immediately. If you hadn't burned it, he would know. The Skinny Kid would know.
Shuddering, you dump some water over the fire.
What now?
[[Wander around a bit
[[Go back up to the woods->Not Skinny Woods 2]]You don't quite trust the Kid, so you hold on to the letter. You know - and you know this for sure - that the Kid will find out - the Kid *knows.* You feel a prickling on the back of your neck and look behind you. Nothing. But he knows now that you have failed him -- and the Skinny Kid never forgets. Never.
Realizing this, you know now that you have to get away from this place -- and fast.
The woods are close by, but there are more hiding spots for the Kid there. Dangerous, but you could try.
There is a mansion across the lake, which seems like a good spot to hide. If you can manage to hide from the Kid, you could escape safely.
Where do you go?
[[Woods->Skinny Woods 2]]
[[Mansion->To the Mansion]]How are you going to get to the mansion?
[[Swim across the lake->The Swim]]
[[Go around->Going the Long Way]]You step into the dark trees, abandoning the mansion and the sandy shoreline of the lake behind you. Though by now familiar, the forest somehow seems more foreboding than before.
You know of two areas in the forest that you can go to from here; the Market or the Cave. You've not yet been to the Market, but you know that you may be able to get some supplies there.
Where do you go?
[[Market->Small Market Give]]
[[Cave->Cave Blockage]]You strip off your unessential clothing and step into the frigid water. In a leap of faith, you lunge forwards into a front-stroke and start to swim across.
[[Continue->The Monster of the Deep]]About halfway across, you feel something on your ankle. An icy-cold hand is gripping you and preventing you from swimming. As you look behind you, you see a shape rise slowly up out of the water, hair dripping with moss and weeds, skinny body caked with mud. "YOU HAVE FAILED ME, TRAVELER." it says with an impossibly gutteral voice. It opens its eyes--
...and pulls out a knife.
You die a gruesome and bloody death.
[[Restart->Woods]]After a short journey, you arrive at the front of the mansion. The trip there took a little longer than you would have liked, but at least you didn't have to swim in the frigid water.
Feeling rushed for time, (your life is in danger, after all) you try opening the front doors. Locked, of course. The mansion is in a dilapidated state; it probably hasn't been lived in for many years.
What do you do?
[[Go around and search for an opening->
[[Abandon this idea and escape through the woods->Skinny Woods]]It seems as though the nearest entrance to the cave is blocked by a bear.
Not wanting to risk it, your only choice from here is to hide in the mansion.
[[Continue->Going the Long Way 2]]After a short journey, you arrive back at the front of the mansion.
You try opening the front doors again. Locked, of course. You just checked them about an hour or so ago; why would they be unlocked?
You don't want to go back into the woods, so you'll have to see if the mansion can protect you from the Skinny Kid.
What do you do?
[[Go around and search for an opening->After a short journey, you arrive at the front of the mansion.
Feeling rushed for time, (your life is in danger, after all) you try opening the front doors. Locked, of course. The mansion is in a dilapidated state; it probably hasn't been lived in for many years.
What do you do?
[[Go around and search for an opening->You step into the dark trees, abandoning the mansion and the sandy shoreline of the lake behind you. Though by now familiar, the forest somehow seems more foreboding than before.
You know of two areas in the forest that you can go to from here; the Market or the Cave. You've not yet been to the Market, but you know that you may be able to get some supplies there.
Where do you go?
[[Market->Small Market Give]]
[[Cave->Cave Blockage 2]]It seems as though the nearest entrance to the cave is blocked by a bear.
Not wanting to risk it, your only choice from here is to hide in the mansion.
[[Continue->Going the Long Way 3]]After a short journey, you arrive at the front of the mansion.
You try opening the front doors. Locked, of course. The mansion is in a dilapidated state; it probably hasn't been lived in for many years.
What do you do?
[[Go around and search for an opening->
[[Abandon this idea and go into the woods->Not Skinny Woods]]You step into the dark trees, abandoning the mansion and the sandy shoreline of the lake behind you.
You know of two areas in the forest that you can go to from here; the Market or the Cave. You've not yet been to the Market, but you know that you may be able to get some supplies there.
Where do you go?
[[Market->Small Market Give]]
[[Cave->Cave Blockage 3]]It seems as though the nearest entrance to the cave is blocked by a bear.
Your only choice from here is to seek shelter in the mansion.
[[Continue->Going the Long Way 5]]After a short journey, you arrive back at the front of the mansion.
You try opening the front doors again. Locked, of course. You just checked them about an hour or so ago; why would they be unlocked?
You don't want to go back into the woods, so you'll have to see if the mansion has anything worthwhile in it.
What do you do?
[[Go around and search for an opening->After a short journey, you arrive at the front of the mansion.
You try opening the front doors. Locked, of course. The mansion is in a dilapidated state; it probably hasn't been lived in for many years.
What do you do?
[[Go around and search for an opening->You step into the dark trees, abandoning the mansion and the sandy shoreline of the lake behind you.
You know of two areas in the forest that you can go to from here; the Market or the Cave. You've not yet been to the Market, but you know that you may be able to get some supplies there.
Where do you go?
[[Market->Small Market Give]]
[[Cave->Cave Blockage 4]]It seems as though the nearest entrance to the cave is blocked by a bear.
Your only choice from here is to seek shelter in the mansion.
[[Continue->Going the Long Way 6]]You decide to go swimming in the lake.
It's really cold in the water, so you get out and go fishing. You catch a good amount of fish, so you make a fire, because night is falling as well.
You're just about to eat some fish when you see something out of the corner of your eye...
Turning your head, you see a skinny kid, waist-deep in the lake water, and sopping wet, as if he had just climbed out from it.
Before you can react, he shoots towards you faster than you could have believed.
He asks you to give him some fish. What do you do?
[[Give him some fish->A New...Friend?]]
[[Refuse->Skinny Fight 2]]