Allen_psychofgaming_IF_Narrative

Johnathan rumbled down the gravel roads towards the house of his friend he's known since childhood. The sun had set and the dark landscape was illuminated only by the headlamps of his beat up old F-150. The crunch time he'd put in at work made the usually short drive from Lincoln to Bennington seem like an eternity. As he approached his families farm, he thought about stopping by his friend's house. After all, it was on the way. [[Maybe I should visit my old friend]] [[Keep driving]]

If she's home, we could be talking for hours. I wouldn't want to keep my parents up too late since they're expecting me. [[continue home]] [[on second thought->Maybe I should visit my old friend]]

My parents are expecting me pretty soon. Mom probably has some dinner warmed up for me even though I told her that I'd already eaten. She never changes. Dad's probably left the mud room light on for me and is probably staying up watching the news until I get there. [[Pull into the driveway]]

The white, ranch style house sits just West of a small gas station/general store. Two huge Dutch Elm trees are growing on the property. One in the front yard and one in the back. A bird feeder hangs from the tree in the front so people can watch the birds from the dinig room while they eat. The tree in the back has an old tire swing that [[Kelsie]] and I used to play on growing up. [[Pull up to the house]]

Kelsie is the daughter of the woman who runs the gas station/general store that shares the Eastern property line with the house. She's a petit girl who wound up taking over the store as her mother aged. We've stayed friends though I only get to stop by on these holiday vacations. [[continue->Pull up to the house]]

That's strange. Kelsie's old [[corvette]] is in the driveway with the door open and the lights on. [[pull up next to the corvette]]

A soft light eminates from inside the mud room. You pull up in front of the house. Getting out, the cold winter wind stings your cheeks. The weather is worse than you thought. [[approach the door]] [[park your truck in the shed]]

The door is open. That's not too weird since they were expecting me. Going inside, the aroma of tuna casserole permeates the house. you kick off your boots and set them neatly next to the other shoes. Entering the house, only the dining room light is on. [[go to the dining room]] [[go to the guest bedroom]]

The bright red Corvette was her dream car she eventually was able to buy. When I come to visit, we usually catch up while driving around the county roads before heading into Fort Calhoun to grab a bite to eat or some coffee. Sometimes we would just go to the ball field in town and catch a high school game. The players would run up and oogle the car afterwards. Sometimes they'd get a ride around the block and we'd be there until late at night. [[continue->pull up next to the corvette]]

As you get closer to the car, you notice scratches around the door. [[investigate the car]] [[head to the house]] [[go to the garage]]

I hope she's home. I forgot to call before I left work but I usually try to stop by before heading up to my folk's place. [[turn down driveway->Old Friend's House]] [[on second thought->continue home]]

The car has gouges in the door that do not look like door dings or scratches from the gravel roads around here. The inside of the car is wet. Probably from the snow falling. Kelsie's red leather purse is sitting in the passenger floorboards and looks like it was thrown in a rush. [[turn off the car]] [[pick up the purse]] [[look in the back seat]]

As you approach the front porch, you see the front door has been completely knocked off its hinges and lays several feet inside the house. In fact, it looks as if it may have hit the far wall of the living room that is 25 feet away from the front entry. [[slowly enter the house]] [[rush into the house]] [[shout "Kelsie! are you there?!"]]

The garage is locked. You look through the window and don't see anything out of the ordinary. [[head to the house]]

You turn off the car and the lights flicker out. you can still hear your F-150's engine puttering away behind you. [[pick up the purse]] [[look in the back seat]]

You find a keychain with a purple lanyard clipped to it. Nothing else of interest is in the purse. [[take keychain]] [[leave keychain]]

There is a newspaper on the back seat from a couple days ago. [[read the newspaper]] [[leave the car]]

You decide that you should take the keys just in case. After all, you can just give them to Kelsie when you see her. [[turn off the car]] [[look in the back seat]] [[leave the car]]

You decide to leave the keychain where you found it. [[investigate the car]] [[leave the car]]

The headline reads "Mysterious murders sweeping the county! Be Careful!" Police have been investigating a mysterious string of murders. There appears to be no pattern of victims chosen but large gashes and copious amounts of a water-like substance have been present at each of the crime scenes. The coroner's reports have determined that each murder has taken place during the night but no pattern has shown that the assailant waits for the victims to go to bed before attacking. Multiple victims have been found together where it appears a numerical disadvantage does not deter the assailant. The article continues with statements from the families affected and a warning to lock your doors and try not to go out at night. [[pick up the purse]] [[turn off the car]] [[leave the car]]

[[head to the house]] [[go to the garage]]

You cautiously sidle up to where the front door should be and peer inside. The house is dead quiet and dark except for a single light in the kitchen that is a directly left of the front entry. The warm yellow of the incandescent bulb only gives enough light to not trip over the threshold as you slowly step inside. [[go left into the kitchen]] [[go straight into the family room]] [[go right towards the bedroom]]

You rush to the house in a panic. Something is VERY wrong. Just as you are about to enter, you trip on the threshold of the front entry and crash down the hallway into the [[go straight into the family room<-family room.]]

"Kelsie!?" There is no answer. The howling wind and idling engine of your truck makes it hard to hear any answer. You start walking towards the house. "Hey Kelsie! everything alright!? It's John! I was just on my way to my parent's place and thought I'd stop by!" [[slowly enter the house]] [[go to the back yard]]

Drawers have been pulled completely out of the cabinets. A minefield of silverware, pots, notepads, pens, towels and spice containers litters the floor. You can't avoid stepping on fragments of porcelain and metal dinnerware. crunches and tinks seem to echo through the house despite the wind howling from outside the doorless entry just a few feet away. [[Continue through to the dining room->Go to the dining room]] [[Go back towards the entry]]

As you come to a stop with your face scraping against the carpet, you open your eyes to see a familiar face. "uggh... Huh? Kelsie!? Kelsie, is that you?" you ask weakly. *No Response* You roll to your knees grabbing Kelsie's shoulder, you jostle her. "Kelsie! He~" Kelsie grabs you and embraces you pulling your face into her shoulder; muffling your voice. [["Shhhhhh"]]

The hallway is dark leading to the bedrooms, office, and master bathroom. [[search the bedroom]] [[search the bathroom]] [[search the office]]

As you round the corner of the house, you see fragments of the picket fence that used to define the yard. A gaping hole with wooden shards littered around where the gate used to be sends chills down your spine. looking farther into the yard, you see s hulking black figure standing over a lumpy pile of darkness by the elm tree. [[call out to the figure]] [[stay quiet and observe]] [['Screw that!' head back towards the front door->slowly enter the house]]

In the dining room, there is a [[note]] on the table with John written on the front. A single placemat is set with a fork and putter knife on a paper towel to the side. The center of the table has a cornicopia with some dried ears of sweet corn, and blue corn along with a garland of fake autumn maple leaves around it. Three unlit candles are spaced evenly along the length of the table that will eventually seat seven once my sister and her family show up on Sunday.

You drop your bag at the foot of the bed. The plush carpet seems to wash away the fatigue from driving in the snow all the way here. The nightstand next to the queen bed had a worn out leather bound bible and a ceramic lamp decorated with blue and green sandhill cranes. The plush feather bed with goose down duvet looks really inviting. [[go to bed]] [[go to the dining room]]

You jump back in your still warm truck and back up to the large metal shed where the tractors and combines are kept. You jump out, unlatch the large sliding equipment doors and push the corrugated metal enough to pull your truck into the shed. The shed's space heater is running to try to keep things from freezing and though it's not comfortable, it's still warmer than outside. The musty smell of wet dirt and motor oil fills the shed. The old playwood work bench in the Southeast corner has seen better days but is still set up with all manner of tools. Old coffee cans full of assorted screws and nails line the shelves with a stash of spray paint in the corner. A little, red [[Honda ATV]] sits by the lawn mower. [[head to the house->approach the door]]

The little honda was a somewhat recent addition to the vehicles. My sister and I both pitched in to buy it for my parent's 50th anniversary so they could toodle around the farm and not have to walk down to the mailbox and back up the driveway. It looks like it's out of gas. [[back->park your truck in the shed]]

John, Your dad and I are going to the [[Field's place->set note down]] to deliver some canned peaches and apple butter. Feel free to help yourself to the food in the fridge. There's a casserole in the oven that you can heat up too. We'll be back later. -Love ya, Mom

You change into your pajamas and hit the [[sack]].

The next morning, bright sunlight refracting off the snow covered ground wakes you. Rubbing your eyes, you mangage to prop yourself up and throw your legs over the side of the bed. The small alarm radio buzzes to life. "... Police are still searching for the suspect. Up next, a little ditty by some folks across the pond, Fleetwood Mac." You head to the bathroom and put yourself together before wandering into the kitchen for some breakfast. walking to the kitchen, you see the [[dining room->go to the dining room 2]] light is still on.

As you enter the dining room, you flip on the radio. As it buzzes to life, "..ce have reported a tragic incident in Bennington this morning with several people found dead in a rural home off highway 133. Police were drawn to the site by reports of thick black smoke billowing from citizens heading into town for breakfast. The exact cause of the blaze has yet to be determined. This is 91.5 KIOS public radio. We'll be back after this announcement...." Red and blue flashes of light sweep across the walls. As you turn, you see a police cruiser is parked in the front yard and a thin trail of smoke in the distance. There is a knock on the front door. The little brass knocker snaps against the strike three times. With a deep baratone voice, the officer on the other side commands, "Police! Open up!" [[Walk to the front door]]

"John. It's me. Taylor. Taylor Newton. I was in your class ten years ago. You used to help me with math. Anyways, I uh, I need to talk to you. Listen. I got some bad news. You got a minute?" [[open the door]]

"Hey! Who are you?! What are you doing here?!" The figure slowly turns its head towards you over its shoulder; its breath creating puffs of condensation that are quickly swept away by the wind. It's bigger than you thought. It stands a good 8' tall and is not quite human shaped though it stands on two legs. Its shoulders are broad and angular. They taper down to an unconfortably thin waistline. Its hips protrude stretching the greyish blue skin tight. The legs and arms look like a olympic swimmer's with slender muscles built for streamlined power. Disproportionately large hands and feet extend into sharp claws. Atop this figure is a fish-like head with pale, dead eyes. Tufts of hairgrow in unkempt patches off its skull. A crooked smile stretches across its face revealing a wall of needle-like teeth. The massive chest expands and shrinks with each breath drawing air in through shark-like gills lining the side of its neck and clouds of vapor stream out shortly after. In its gangly hand you start to make out the thing it's holding. The severed arm of a person dangles from its grip. The humerous protrudes past ripped muscles and ligaments. The dark pile of viscera the creature is standing over is mangled beyond recognition except for an apple patterened shawl flapping with each gust of wind. Mrs. Fields. Before you can snap back to your senses, The creature coils up and launches with increadible speed straight at you. [[dodge back around the corner of the house]] [[stand and fight making yourself look as big as possible]]

The figure seems unaware of your presence. It's bigger than you thought. It stands a good 8' tall and is not quite human shaped though it stands on two legs. Its shoulders are broad and angular. They taper down to an unconfortably thin waistline. Its hips protrude stretching the greyish blue skin tight. The legs and arms look like a olympic swimmer's with slender muscles built for streamlined power. Disproportionately large hands and feet extend into sharp claws. Atop this figure is a fish-like head with pale, dead eyes. Tufts of hairgrow in unkempt patches off its skull. A crooked smile stretches across its face revealing a wall of needle-like teeth. The massive chest expands and shrinks with each breath drawing air in through shark-like gills lining the side of its neck and clouds of vapor stream out shortly after. It's hunched over apparently eating it's kill. Every so often, it lifts its head and sniffs the air. Maybe you should [[leave]] before it notices you. Try to see what it is [[eating]].

Maybe I should head over to [[Kelsie's place->go to shed]]. I could also [[go to bed]].

You grab your coat and head back out to the shed. Opening the sliding door again, just enough to pull your truck out you glance over at the workbench and see a dirty blue, plastic flashlight on the shelf. Amazingly, it seems to work fine. I thought it would be dead for sure. [[search the shelves for other things]] [[Old Friend's House<-Head over to Kelsie's place]]

You rummage through the coffee cans and tools until you find a matchbook and a heavy duty rope that has saved your bacon a few times pulling the old farm truck out of the mud with the John Deere 40-30. You find your dad's 12 guage over/under shotgun and a box of shells with only 3 shells in it in a tackle box on one of the shelves. Too bad it's so cold this year that trudjing through the snow to hunt wouldn't be very fun. Last year, you were able to shoot one of the turkeys that live around the farm for that year's roast. "Alright. Time to [[head over to Kelsie's place->Old Friend's House]]."

"Mr. Harper! Johnathan Harper! Are you in there? This is Officer Newton, Blair PD." [[open the door]] [[Officer, what is this about?]]

A slightly overweight officer stands on the porch. He's holding his hat in both of his hands and stares daggers into you but looks concerned. Taylor used to be a husky kid the jocks would pick on since he was in the same supplementary classes as them despite not participating in sports or clubs. "Hello Officer." "You may want to sit for this. May I?" He gestures waving hit hat inside. "Sure. Come on in. Would you like some coffee? I can brew up a pot real quick." "No. Thank you." You both move to the dining room table. The note from last night still sits folded on top. [["What's this about?"]] [["What's with the smoke down the road?"]]

"John. I'm afraid your parents were involved with the killings last night. I'm sorry but both your mother and father are dead as well as Ms. Fields. I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to come to the station with me for questioning." "What do you mean dead? My parents are probably still sleeping...." You eventually stagger to Officer Newton's squad car with Taylor's help. Slumping into the back seat, your mind races thinking of anything you could have done. Anything at all. [[END.]]

"Actually, that's what I'm here to talk to you about." [[END.]]

You narrowly avoid a sweeping claw. HOW COULD IT MOVE THAT FAR THAT FAST?! Its momentum carried it well past were you stood moments ago. Its clawed feet were unable to find traction in the snow and it tumbled into the drift of snow against the garage. [[run to your truck->back to your parents place]] [[run into the house->rush into the house]]

The creature is undeterred by your fein of power. As the claws rip through your chest, you can only think of the opportunities you missed to chase the things you wanted, the relationships you never experienced, the friends you'd leave behind. THe fact you never got to see your parents this last time. What would your sister think? What will she do now?... It's cold and everything goes dark. END

You slowly back away towards your truck. Thankfully the wind seems to have covered the sound and you can go [[to your parent's place->back to your parents place]] or you can check inside the house to see if [[anyone->slowly enter the house]] is still in there.

You watch as the creature slams its claws into its victim with wet slaps. After knawing on a piece of meat it tosses the [[remains]] over its shoulder closer to where you are perched.

You jump in your truck and throw it in reverse spinning in the snow to face down the driveway. As you tear onto the county road, you glance in the rearview mirror to see the creaure standing my the corvette in the driveway watching you leave. You drive as quickly as you can without sliding off the roads into the drainage ditches eventually making it to your parent's place. [[call 911]] [[grab your stuff and leave]] [[search for a weapon]]

The bits of flesh that cling to what was once an arm drip with a disgusting mucus. The smell of rotting fish and blood almost makes you gag. You really wish you had a weapon to defend yourself with. [[put the remains down->leave]]

"911 what is your emergency?" "Hello!? Hey. So, I know this is going to sound crazy but there's a big-ass monster Northeast of Highway 133 at county road P38. "Sir? Sir I'm sorry but you really shouldn't be calling 911 as a prank. Please only call in an actual emergency." *click* "Hey! HEY! ... Dammit." [[search for a weapon]] [[grab your stuff and leave]]

You grab your bag from the guest room and head back to Omaha. To safety. You need to get as far away from here as possible and then you'll contact authorities. [[END.]]

You know your dad had a shotgun you've used in the past. Where was it? (if: (history:) contains "search the shelves for other things")[ [[It's in the shed on the shelves.]] ] (else:) [ [[search the house]] [[search the shed]] ]

"Stay quite. It can't hear well I don't think." Kelsie whispered. The creaking of the wooden porch straining under the weight of the creature was drowned out by the thuming of your heart in your ears. *CREEE~AK* *CREE~EEK* *Fwump* It's inside the house. You hold your breath staying as still as possible. Kelsie's blue eyes stare unblinking towards the front door behind you. The footsteps become muffled and more distant. "C'mon." You slowly get up being careful to not make a sound. Kelsie grabs the sleeve of your coat placing all of her weight on one leg. She motions towards the [[dining room]] opposite the way the creature went.

The bedroom is in disarray like the rest of the house. The covers of the bed are ruffled, the cherry armoirelays on the floor and the clothes it held are crumpled around it. The abalone inlayed lamp that sat on the nightstand shattered in thousands of pearlescent shards when it hit the floor. [[search the office]] [[search the bathroom]] [[return to the front entry]]

The bathroom seems relatively untouched by the night's happenings. Inside the mirrored medicine cabinet are some band-aids, aspirin and some sloth bandages. The bowl of potpourri fills the room with a citrus aroma that overpowers everything else in the vacinity. [[search the bedroom]] [[search the office]] [[return to the front entry]]

The office has a typewriter and a stack of files sitting on an oak desk with a view out a small window. some extra folding chairs and boxes of Christmas decorations yet to be put up sits in a corner flanked by an ironing board. There isn't anything in the desk of use. [[search the bedroom]] [[search the bathroom]] [[return to the front entry]]

Excorting Kelsie into the dining room, you see it is a mangled wreck. Kelsie immediately ushers you to the side door. "We have to get out of here. My car keys are hanging on the wall in the bedroom." "My truck is already outside." You carefully twist the knob of the side door. Peeling the door open, you see there is a screen door too. Slowly pushing the screen door, the hiss of the hydraulic closure seems to be the only noise in the house. You make it outside and ask you are easing the door closed, a gust of wind yanks the door from your hand slamming it against the side of the house before rattling closed with several crashes as it bounces off the frame. Time seems to stand still as you and Kelsie stare at each other. [[Abandon Kelsie to save yourself]] [[Pick up Kelsie and make a run for your truck]] [[Give Kelsie your keys and buy time for her to escape]]

In the dining room, the dinner table is broken in half. Chairs are scattered all over the room. Honeycomb shaped shelving units that use to be hanging on the walls full of photos and trinkets have be destroyed and their contents dispersed across the floor. The side door to the yard is closed and the mud room where the washing machine and dryer are has three pairs of boots sitting next to one another. [[take a closer look in the mud room]] [[Go towards the family room]]

[[Go towards the family room]] [[Go towards the bedroom->go right towards the bedroom]]

The ravaged family room has gashes tracing through the walls. A bee hive shaped clock ticks on the mantle of a fireplace on the far wall. Cushions and chairs are strewn throughout the room. The remains of a CRT TV and VCR lay in pieces by two figures in the middle of the room. [[Investigate the figures]]

You carefully approach the figures laying on the floor. One appears to be your dad. The other is Kelsie. THey are both laying face down. The carpet is stained with blood and even where it isn't it squishes with water. "Hey. Can you hear me? Dad! Kels~" [["Shhhh!"->"Shhhhhh"]]

There are two pairs of Sorel women's winter boots that were worn recently and still have snow melting off the rubberized toes. The largest pair are Carhartt's that belong to your dad. [[return to the dining room->Go to the dining room]] [[search around a little more]]

As you open the closet in the mud room to find several coats, hats and some canned food, you hear plodding footsteps coming from the front entry. You peek out of the mud room and see a dark figure looming in the kitchen looking directly at [[you]].

Officer Newton hated days like these. They only happen every now and then but this time, seeing the body of a man he went to high school with hurt more than he's like to admit. The other victims were being loaded into the trucks outside. He thought he should be the one to let John's sister know what happened here. That is, onace they figured out what *actually* happened. The forensics boys seemed stumpped on this one already. [[END.]]

You shake Kelsie grasp on on your coat. She falls to the ground on her bad ankle. You can't bear to look at her while you run for your truck. Her desperate pleas break your heart but you have the best chance of getting away from this, this *THING* if you're not weighed down. As you drive away, you hear Kelsie calling and then suddenly, silence. Those chilling screams haunt you for the rest of your life. END

In a fit of desperation fueled by adrenaline, you sweep Kelsie up in your arms and pump your legs as fast as you can. "Hey! What're you doing?!" [["What does it look like!?"]] [["Ummm, Saving you're life?"]] [["Would you rather walk?"]]

You take your keys and slap them into Kelsie's hand curling her fingers around them. Locking eyes, no words are said. You push her off in the direction of your truck as you head towards the back of the house. Some aluminum trash cans sit partially full against the house so you take the lids and run away from Kelsie. The side of the house explodes in fragments of door and siding as the creature jumps into the open. It's hulking frame seems like it could throw your truck with ease. Kelsie begins starting your truck and the creature's head snaps towards the front. [[Start smashing the trash can lids together]] [[Drop the lids and run as far away as you can]]

You throw Kelsie over the side of the truck bed and jump into the driver's seat. You see the creature erupt from the house launching the screen door 30 feet into the yard where it's caught by the wind and flies off into the night. The truck rumbles to life and you reverse down the driveway almost losing control. Kelsie hangs on despite being bounced around for your erratic driving. Once you get a mile or so down the road, you stop and pack Kelsie inside the cab before she freezes. You head south towards Omaha where you can get Kelsie to an emergency room and contact the police. [[END.]]

You run to the passenger side of the truck and fumble your keys while holding Kelsie. Picking them up off the ground you hear wood snapping as the creature bursts from the house. Opening the door, you toss Kelsie in and run around the truck to the driver's side, throw open the door and stop. Four black, spear-like talons snap through your chest as you are shoved into the cab of the truck. You see Kelsie's terrified face screaming yet you can't hear anything. It's just complete silence. [[END.]]

You clap the aluminum lids together as hard and fast as you can while screaming at the monster standing a few dozen yards away. Its head snaps around to look at you. As it turns, you see some discoloration on the skin of its right shoulder. It almost looks like a tattoo. The creature takes a step towards you when the truck rumbles to life in the distance and the grinding of clutch plates rattles the air. You keep smashing your trash can lids together walking backwards as you see your truck rumble off down the driveway. The creature closes the gap and stands right in front of you. Looking down at you, a nasty smile creeps across its face. The discoloration you noticed is a tattoo. A skull wearing a beret with the phrase "Death Before Dishonor" framing it is clearly inked into the skin of what has to have been a man once. [[END.]]

You drop the trash can lids in the snow with a soft puff. As you turn to run, you hear a scream of terror emanate from the driveway. Shearing metal screeches through the cold night air and the idle engine putters out. You keep walking towards your parent's home. Hopefully that thing won't follow. After several minutes of walking being buffetted by the icy wind, you take a short break next to a tree that marks the edge of your parent's property. Just a little farther. As you crest a small hill, you look back and against the light snowswept fields, you see it. An angular black sillouhette on all fours like a gorilla following the trail you've left in the snow. [[END.]]

[[go left into the kitchen]] [[Go towards the family room]]

"It *LOOKS* like you're achin' for a knock upside the head! I can handle myself." "Well you weren't complaining earlier!" "That was *before* you had to make that thing angry!" [["IT WAS ALWAYS ANGRY!"->Keep running]] [["Suit yourself"->Abandon Kelsie to save yourself]]

Kelsie furrows her brow in feined frustration. She used to do this when you were kids to get her way. "Oh-ho no. That's not going to work this time. I'm carrying you [[whether you like it or not->Keep running]]."

The sting of Kelsie's hand slapping your face burned in the cold night air. "Shut up. You better hope we get out of here or that monster's gonna be the least of your worries." She stares daggers into your eyes trying to hide the fear you both shared. "Yes Ma'am!" Kalsie struggles down out of your grasp testing her ankle and finding it slightly better she readied herself to make the [[run to the truck->Keep running]]. Whether the adrenaline dulled the pain or she hid the discomfort, you wouldn't know.

Fighting through the snow was draining but you only had to make it about 200 yards to the truck. Taking a few deep breaths you can [[hoist Kelsie into the bed->Throw Kelsie in the bed of the truck]] which could save a precious few seconds or [[get her into the passenger seat->Throw Kelsie into the passenger seat]].

You run into the house and begin tearing through the closets and drawers. There's nothing! you take a breath to calm down and think. Your dad usually cleans his guns right after he uses them and the cleaning stand is usually on the upper shelf in the [[shed->search the shed]].

You hurry to the shed and frantically search the workbench area. After knocking screws and nails all over the floor, you find a shotgun in a cabinet. It's unloaded so you continue shearching. Eventually, you tear open some drawers and find a few shells rolling around. With a sigh of relief, you load the shotgun feeling like you might be able to [[kill the monster->head back to Kelsie's house]].

You remember exactly where the shotgun was and head straight to it. Loading the shotgun, you feel a sense that you stand a chance against this monster now. [[head back to Kelsie's house]]

Arriving back at the house, you carefully exit the vehicle and leave it running. Peaking around to the back yard, you do not see the beast. blood soaks the snow under the elm. You can't afford to be distracted now. Your muscels tense ready to react to the slightest sign of danger. You enter the house and hear wet chomping sounds coming from the [[Family Room]].

As you quietly ease father into the house, you see the massive beast hunched over another figure. [[Fire the shotgun]] [[Ease closer]]

You fire the shotgun; blasting a hole the size of a baseball through the back of the monster before you. It reels forward letting out a gurggling scream of pain. It flails, crashing into the marble lined fireplace and ripping gashes in the carpet. You take aim and fire a second shot that rips through the grey skin and erupts in a black, oily fountain. The creature relaxes and stops moving. You see as its massive chest slowly exapands and contracts for the last time. You reload the shotgun and walk up to the creature making sure it's dead. around you, the bodies of your father and Kelsie Fields lay mangled by the creature. Your mother must be the one in the yard. A wave of grief washes over you as the sun peaks over the Eatern hills and pours into the house from the wrecked entry. [[END.]]

You ease closer and shoulder the shotgun. The creature spins faster than you can react ripping the gun from your hands before raking its claws across your chest flinging you into the wall. As you bounce to the floor, the creature stands over you and crouches down face to face. In a sickeningly familiar voice, you hear it speak, "He-llo. Jjohhnn-athann-." [[END.]]

Thank you for playing! There are several endings to this story. If you would like to try different options you can [[restart->Start]].