"So what's our plan?"

"The Dead Man."

"What? The ghost?"

"Yeah. We could use him."

"Ghosts aren't real, Hazel. Maybe you should sit down."

"I saw him."

"Ghosts aren't..."

"Becca, our friends have been kidnapped by demon-summoning cultists, and you don't belief in ghosts at the moment?"

"I... I guess."

"Yeah. Let's go pay him a visit."

You turn and lead Becca off towards the Dead Man's Barn. After about five minutes of jogging, you reach the empty field that's brightened in the moonlight, with the large, old abandoned barn standing there.

"Come on!" you say.

You reach the barn, and begin prying plywood out of the way. You pause, remembering the Dead Man's hatred of Becca, pause.

"I'll go inside alone," you say.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," you say.

Becca shrugs, pulling the plywood out of the way and clambering inside. You are immediately engulfed in darkness. The soft rustle of the grass ceases as the entire barn is filled with a silence. Then, a whistle breaks out. The Dead Man begins whistling a slow, soft tune, the only thing that breaks the silence. Each note is mixed with the wet squelching you heard the last time. You see him leaning on a large wooden beam, his long, cut open grin staring back at you. The whistling stops as shadows seem to enrapture him. He disappears from his position leaning on the beam, and you feel hot breath on the back of your neck.

"I didn't think you'd come around here, darlin'. I was certain you'd be smarter," you hear him whisper from directly behind you.

A gloved hand begins to stroke your hair as you feel a metal blade press against your throat.

"No bother. I won't mind cutting you up a little."

"Wait! I want to make a deal with you!"

The blade stops and twists so that the flat of the blade is rubbing your neck.

"Alright... you bought yourself a minute. Explain."

"I want to help you get revenge."

"No you don't.You want something that coincides with me getting my revenge. What?"

"I need Mrs Jordan, Alison, Sheriff Buckly and Doctor Kessel."

"Alison. What's her last name."

"Parker."

"Oh yeah, Parker... Damn right I want my revenge. But it seems you're far more desperate than I am."

"I..."

"I want something. The Montgomery girl."

"What?"

"I want you to bring me her."

"I don't have her. She left..."

The Dead Man smiles as his grin is elongated once again because of the cuts as a wave of blood spills down his cheeks. He leans forward, running a hand against your cheek and down your neck.

"Bring me the girl... and I will help you kill every last person you want dead."
> You lie and escape while claiming to be luring Becca in
"OK. I'll go get her."

"Oh, I can't let you leave until you Becca's here."

"She's not going to come wander into the darkness just because I'm calling. I need to go out there personally."

"...Hmm... Alright. Go get her."

You nod, and head out of the barn slowly. Each step you expect to feel the steel blade slicing through you, but you keep walking, trying to appear calm and collected. You reach the ray of moonlight, and climb out of the barn, finding Becca.

"What happened?"

"We... we need to go. Come on."

You grab Becca's arm and quickly pull her quickly away from barn, heading back into the field.

"What happened there?"

"It doesn't matter. Just make sure to never go inside that barn."

"What do we do now? How will we rescue our friends?"

"I had a few more ideas."


You wait until he's closer, take a deep breath, feel the adrenaline coursing through your veins, and charge. You turn around the counter and in a single bound reach him. His eyes widen in panic before you stab your blade, slicing through skin and flesh, straight through the neck. You pull your blade out and stab again, and again, until his neck is nothing but a hunk of meat that falls to the floor, blood spilling into a puddle on the floor. You stand over him as he dies, watching as the life goes out of his eyes. As a result of an adrenaline rush and primal instincts taking over, you try not to focus on the pathetic, dying man in front of you, and head to the door. You open it to a crack, peering out. Mason, Kyle, Carter and Ant sit in the rusted cage, with Sheriff Buckly watching over them. Mrs Jordan and Alison are placing blood-stained stones in a circle. Doctor Kesel stands with something cradled in his arms, although it's too dark for you to see.
> You pick them off one by one
"We need to attack," you whisper.  "What?" Lucy asks in surprise. "They have a gun!"  "It's dark, we can sneak up on the sheriff and take him out with our knives, and get the gun. Then, we stop this and free our friends."   Lucy nods, and you edge out of the door, heading towards Sheriff Buckly. You stay low, immersed in the darkness. You slowly edge forward, before you're less than a dozen feet away from him. Then, Sheriff Buckly turns, noticing you.  "Ah, shit..." he sighs, raising his gun.
> You charge him
You charge forward, slashing your knife. Sheriff Buckly backs up with a yelp, firing randomly. Although he's firing without thinking or aiming, the amount of lead he puts in the air makes it sure that one finds it's way through your skull, killing you instantly.


"We need to attack," you whisper.  "What?" Lucy asks in surprise. "They have a gun!"  "It's dark, we can sneak up on the sheriff and take him out with our knives, and get the gun. Then, we stop this and free our friends."   Lucy nods, and you edge out of the door, heading towards Sheriff Buckly. You stay low, immersed in the darkness. You slowly edge forward, before you're less than a dozen feet away from him. Then, Sheriff Buckly turns, noticing you.  "Ah, shit..." he sighs, raising his gun.
> You run
"They're escaping!" Sheriff Buckly roars at his allies.

You break into a sprint, heading away from the camp. You manage to make it to the trees, but you hear gunfire behind you. You turn your head slightly, seeing a spurt off blood go from the back of Lucy's leg as she collapses forward, skidding along the earth to a halt. Becca makes it to the trees next to you and stops.

"Shit, do we go back?" she asks in a terrified panic.

You look back. In the darkness, you might be able to get to Lucy and help her disappear into the trees. If you both reach the tree line, it'll be almost impossible for Sheriff Buckly to track you.


You awaken strapped to a gurney, covered in blood, wearing a hospital gown. You're in the RV, and the lights are turned off. You can't see anything, but you can here a someone whimpering.

"Hello?" you ask.

The whimpering stops, and you begin to hear a deep, guttural panting.

"Hello?" you ask again.

As your eyes begin to adjust to the darkness, you make out two figures in the darkness. One sits in the corner, the other stands above them, rubbing them with a long coil of rope that moves like a snake.

"Mason? Becca? Kyle? Carter?" you ask, staring towards the figures.

The standing one turns, and you see the sitting one quickly flick on a light switch, brightening the RV. In the light, you notice that the sitting figure is Becca, whose eyes are red with tears and seems terrified. Your eyes scan, and see the second figure, slowly approaching you. The figure is one of the monster-children. It has long brown hair, but her face is nothing but a mucus-encrusted, lipless mouth and two nostrils. It wears a tattered, blood-stained blue dress, with a long, red tentacle coming from it's stomach and wrapping around its body. The tip of the tentacle slowly moves towards you, and you spot a yellow eye poking out from the end of the tentacle slowly edging towards you, staring into your eyes. You scream, and struggle against your bonds, before the tentacles begins to wrap around your leg, leaving a long lane of sticky pus that oozes out of the tentacle. You scream as it continues to edge towards you, heading towards your face. The tentacle snakes up your chest, before intertwining around your neck, before stopping inches from your face.

"Hello..." the monster-child rasps.

You stare at the eye, seeing a mixture of pain and child-like curiosity in the eyes. Then, you hear a yell. Out of the corner of your eye, you see Becca charge forward with a long, thin knife, stabbing the monster-child through the neck. The creature howls, gargling blood, before Becca draws her knife and begins slashing at it's face and neck, before finally running the knife through it's skull. It collapses, and the tentacle in front of you falls on your face, wiggling like a dying fish. You whimper, and Becca comes over to you and begins cutting you free of both your restraints and the tentacle that intertwines around you. You eagerly get up, pulling the bits of tentacle off you as you struggle not to vomit.

"What happened?" you ask, shivering.

You feel a dull pain in your stomach, pulling it up slightly slightly to reveal you're thankfully still in your underwear, although you see your stomach is heavily bandaged.

"They cut you open and pulled... something out of you. It was alive, and wiggling, and..." Becca says, before shivering in terror. "We need to get our friends and get out of here."

You hear a thumping from the bathroom door, and quickly go to listen.

"Hello?"

"Hazel? Get me out of here!" Lucy screams from inside.

You unlock the door, finding Lucy.

"Thank God. They locked us in here and put the guys in the cage. We need to get out of here and stop them."

You nod, and head to the kitchen, finding a large butcher knife. The door to the RV opens, and Lucy and Becca quickly hide behind the counter with you.

"Iris? Are you finished playing with your new friends? I hope you didn't hurt them. We're going to need them if this newborn isn't the Key-Bearer. I haven't even got to see the k... Iris?"

Louis the Mechanic walks in, looking around.

"Hello?"

He takes a few steps forward, walking into the kitchen towards you.
> You stay hidden
You stay hidden, and Louis walks over. He leans over the counter, his head just over you. Then, he spots the edge of Lucy's foot.

"Shit!" he shouts, turning and running out of the RV.

"Hey! The girls got loose! Where's the gun?"

Within seconds, Sheriff Buckly is standing by the doorway, aiming his gun.

"Come out or I'll blow your brains out!" he roars.
> You surrender
You raise your hands in surrender, and step forward. Sheriff Buckly grins.

"Come on, there you go, drop the knife."

You drop the knife, and step forward. He swings his gun, smacking into the side of your head and sending you spiraling into unconsciousness.
> You awaken
Apocalypse

You lie in the rusted gurney, at the edge of a large circle. Your friends are gone, but you only look for a second before you see the preparations for the portal. A large circle of stones lies, each stained with a drop of blood. Standing around the circle are the cultists. Standing around them are a half dozen monster-children that make you want to vomit, the failed attempts at rearing a Key Bearer. They're so deformed, so mutated, they barely qualify as children. One is missing both it's arms, replaced with long, thin, slimy tentacles like pasta. A second is missing most of its face, a gaping hole in its place filled with tiny, wiggling tentacles from the walls, back, roof and floor of the mouth. A third looks like a cute, perfectly normal girl of around four years old, except her mouth hangs open and her eyes are completely black. Another, one of the worst, looks like a cross between a schoolgirl, a fetus and an octopus, and stands wiggling. Still, that's nothing compared to what sits in the middle of the circle. Sitting in the middle, wiggling, is your child. The Key-Bearer is the size of a cat, and is nothing but a seething mass of tentacles that whip around, seemingly drawing lines of purple lightning around itself in the symbol that was carved into you.

"Ah, you're here!" Doctor Kessel says eagerly.

"Where are my friends?" you scream, terrified of the creatures that surround you.

"It doesn't matter now! Now, we begin! We will witness the glories of Crexiciliatanian's creation!"

The Key-Bearer speeds up, painting the symbol across the very fabric of reality. The ground begins to crumble away, turning in pure blackness. Suddenly, there's a flash, and the portal opens.

Then, it begins.


Nine hours later, you're ready to go. You've somehow convinced Dad to let you go out, not daring to tell him your actual destination and instead claiming you're staying at Lucy's house. You meet up at the Lucy's house with the group, and walk into the living room, where they're all sitting around.

"Are we ready?" you ask.

"Damn straight!" Ant smiles, holding up a large backpack. "Spare food, water bottles, lighters, matches, rope, fireworks, some knives and flashlights. What'd you guys bring?"

Carter holds up half a chocolate bar he's been chewing on.

"Half a M-Mars bar," he says, before taking another bite. "A q-quart-quarter of a Mars b-bar."

"I brought a penknife and a lighter," you shrug, and Ant looks around disappointedly.

"No one brought anything?" he pouts. "You guys suck."

You hear a horn outside, and look outside. A large RV drives up the driveway, stopping outside. Lucy skips out the door, before running up to him, and you follow her outside.

"Hey, Hazel," Drake says.

"Drake's friend, Ed, has the pick-up, so we're driving to the woods, meeting him and switching vehicle," Lucy tells you.

"OK," you say, walking into the RV. You raise an eyebrow as you notice that the RV's windows are covered with shutters and bin bags, and the actual interior looks like a scene from Breaking Bad, covered with beakers, test tubes, Bunsen burners and other Chemistry gear.

"Well, you're blatant," you say.

"Hey, it's effective."

"I mean, yeah, but Breaking Bad made this a trope. Don't police search RV's for this."

"Breaking Bad helped my sales enough that I'm bribing the deputy. You'll be surprised how much extra meth heads are willing to pay for a product when you add some blue dye."

You shrug, and take a seat in the RV, as your friends pack in.

"Be careful back there. Knock one thing over and this place could blow."

"Really?" you ask.

Drake grins and shrugs, and begins driving.

"Maybe. I mean, there's a distillery back there as well as the lab. I'd imagine one speed bump and boom!"

"That's unnerving," Ant says.

"I guess. So, why the hell am I dragging all your friends into the middle of the woods to the old freakshow cage?"

"I told you already," Lucy reveals.

"That nightmare bull isn't convincing me. What's the real reason?"

"That is the real reason."

Drake turns around to stare at you in annoyance.

"What...?"

"Eyes on the road, Drake," Kyle says.

"Fine," Drake says, turning around. "Still, I want an explanation why I'm driving into the woods because the new girl had a nightmare."

"It wasn't a nightmare!" you say.

"Sure," Drake says.

You all sit in awkward silence until you reach the outskirts of the woods. Drake pulls over, and you stand and head out the door. Although you couldn't tell because of the shutters and blacked out windows of the RV, you can now see that night has fallen. An empty red pick-up truck with four seats sits next to the woods. Drake strides forward, pulling out his phone.

"Ah, shit," Drake says. "Of course Ed left the truck here and went off on his quad rather than just take back the RV like he was supposed to."

He locks the RV and hides the keys in the wheel well.

"I'll text my friend and get him to pick up the RV. Come on, get inside. Let's go drive to a dumbass cage in the woods."

Drake, Lucy, Carter and Ant go in the seats while you, Mason, Becca and Kyle sit in the back of the pick-up. You sit, half-lying on Mason who wraps one arm around you. The emotional part of your brain momentarily forgets all fears in favor of a childish infatuation and hormonal lust towards Mason that causes you to blush and your heart to flutter, the rational part of your brain reminds you to stay vigilant in case the cultists or that beast do show up. You and the rest of your friends pull out flashlights and fire the beams off into the darkness, illuminating trees and undergrowth.

"We're nearly there," Drake shouts. "It's a hell of a lot easier to get here because a path's been made."

Your ears perk up at that.

"What do you mean?" you ask, as Drake rolls down his window fully.

"What'd you say?"

"I said what do you mean? You said there's a path."

"Yeah. It's like a big RV drove over the undergrowth and knocked a dirt path along."

"What, you think Ed's been driving out here to work in the RV?" Lucy asks.

"Nah, Ed's terrified of the woods. Said something about a monster or something."

You feel a flash of fear as you remember the RV from last night. You stare outwards, illuminating every shadow, both hoping to and terrified of seeing something hiding in the dark.

"Here it is! The old freak show's cage!" Drake says dramatically.

As Drake pulls the pick-up into the clearing in the woods, you see the massive, rusted cage, although there's no RV. You shiver in fear, and Drake steps out of the truck.

"Let's investigate and get home," Drake says, firing his flashlight beam towards the cage.

The flashlight beam illuminates the cage and its insides. The old rusted gurney sits there, now encrusted with dried blood.

"Well, that's new," Drake mentions.

You step back nervously.

"Hazel said there was a gurney in her dre... when she was abducted," Ant points out.

"Fuck, this is some creepy shit. I'm calling the sheriff," Drake says.

Drake takes out his phone, and makes a call.

"Hello, Sheriff Buckly? I just found a gurney in the middle of the cage in the woods covered in dried blood. I think some weird... oh, really? OK, you know where the cage from the... oh, great.. Cool, see you in a few minutes, or an hour, or whatever."

"What was that?"

"The sheriff said he'll come here straight away."

"Good," you sigh in relief.

You really can't imagine having to deal with this without the help of the law. Now, it's out of your hands. You wait patiently for Sheriff Buckly to arrive. Eventually, you spot a flashlight heading towards you.

"There he is," Drake says.

You shine your light ahead, illuminating the figure of Sheriff Buckly. He swears, and holds his hands to block his eyes.

"Turn that off!" he says, and you do.

"Fuck, how'd you even get the truck out here? I can barely walk through the undergrowth," he says. "Where this bloody gurney?"

You point at the cage, and Sheriff Buckly walks over and looks at it.

"Jesus... who else saw this? I'm going to need to gather all the witnesses and find out what was going on," he says.

"We're the only people who've seen this, although Hazel got a bit of a closer encounter."

"So you didn't tell you pa about this?" Sheriff Buckly asks.

You shake your head, and Sheriff Buckly nods.

"Good," Sheriff Buckly says.

Sheriff Buckly draws his revolver, and quickly aims at Drake's head and fires. Drake's head snaps back as it explodes partially, sending chunks of gray brain matter, pale skull and pieces of red flesh at you. You scream as Lucy runs over to Drake as his body collapses backwards. Mason runs for the truck, before the Sheriff barks an order.

"Stop! Move another muscle and I'll blow the brain out of everyone of you!"

Mason stops, raising his hands. Sheriff Buckly points his gun at all of you, forcing you to raise your hands into the air.

"Everyone, calm down. Nobody needs to get hurt," Sheriff Buckly says.

"Fuck you!" Lucy screams. "You killed him! You killed him you piece of..."

Sheriff Buckly steps forward and cracks her across the head wit his revolver.

"Shut up! Carter, Mason, Ant, Kyle, get in the fucking cage!" he shouts.

Mason, Ant, Kyle and Carter slowly walk into the cage.

"Now, back the fuck up to the end of the cage!"

The boys comply, and the Sheriff draws a set of keys from his pocket, locking the cage door. He turns to you, Lucy and Becca.

"Just don't move. They'll be here in a minute."

You stand in silence, the cold wind blowing, the silence only broken by the occasional soft sob by Lucy as she stands over Drake. After about half an hour of waiting, you see the RV pull up along the path. It stops, and four masked men step out.

"Anyone escape?" one asks.

"No," Sheriff Buckly responds. "Fuck, I didn't even know they were coming out here. You said whatever the fuck you injected the girl with would make her forget everything."

"I said it probably would. Her phone's bugged. How didn't you find out?"

"She didn't make any calls saying she was going to do it!"

"Well, at least no one escaped," the masked man says, pulling off his mask.

The group remove their masks. You vaguely recognize them, one being the mechanic who found you, one being the town doctor, Doctor Kessel, another being a German teacher from school and the final one being the bartender of the local bar.

"What are you going to do with...?" Becca asks, before Sheriff Buckley lets out a bark.

"Hey! Shut the fuck..."

"No, Jake, let the girl ask her question," Doctor Kessel says.

"What are you going to do with us? Who are you? Why did you send a monster to hunt me?"

"What are we going to do with you? Nothing, ideally. We only need to borrow you. Who are we? Well, surely you must recognize us. Louis, Sheriff Buckly, Mrs Jordan, Alison and me, Doctor Kessel. "As for the monster, I assume you're referring to the Black Beast. That's not an issue, I assure you. Although I'm not sure of its origins, if you look at town records, it actually kills most of the bears in the area, which reduces the amount of attacks so much it's saving lives. If I was in your situation, I'd be much more worried about us."

"What do you want? Are you going to sacrifice us to Satan?" Becca asks again.

Doctor Kessel lets out a chuckle.

"No, Rebecca, we're not. We're not satanists. Real satanists don't even believe in Satan. We're... researchers. We're humanitarians. We're explorers. When we were little kids, we used to be the best of friends. We played in these very woods. When we were little, we found... a book in one of the caves. We took it and read it, and we found out the most amazing things. Do you know how insignificant not only we are, but this planet, this solar system, this galaxy and this universe is? There are so many amazing things we learned about these beings that we can't even comprehend, but compared to what's out there, we learned so little. So we kept reading. The book included some instructions to summon them, to summon these beings that are stronger than any gods we've ever imagined, more alien that any alien we've created in fiction, more incredible than anything you could experience here. If we create a Key-Bearer, we can create a portal to these beings."

"That's insane! How do you know they won't wipe us out, or enslave us all, or worse!" you cry.

"I don't," Doctor Kessel admits.

"It could destroy everything!"

"You just need to calm down and listen!" he hisses. "Imagine you're stuck in a room. There is a small tap for water, a toilet and a small machine that creates a nutritious yet tasteless paste. You have everything you need to survive and continue your blank, boring existence. Now, one day, a door appears in the room. It's unlocked. Do you go through?"

"What the fuck does...?"

"We are trying to open that door. Just as the person in the room doesn't know what's on the other side, anything is better than the bland, boring existence of the room. We're trying to open the world up to experiences unknown to man, good or bad, because it has to be better than this meaningless existence."

"What are yuo even talking about? What the fuck's a Key-Bearer?" Mason shouts, as Sheriff Buckly aims his gun at his head once again.

"Shut up," Sheriff Buckly grunts.

"Ah yes, the Key-Bearer. That part's the worst for you guys. A Key-Bearer is a creature birthed of the beings' power of a human womb. We've had several attempts at this, but every time we failed. Instead of creating a Key-Bearer, we created half-human, half-monster children who aged rapidly. Finally, we settled the problem. The mother of the Key-Bearer had to be a virgin, post-puberty, below 21 and to have AB Negative Blood. You'd imagine my luck when I found one such target walking around the cave where I was sacrificing some former mothers to keep the beings' interested in our world. I simply pumped out some gas I had on hand to help knock her out, and voila! I got to work."

You stare at him in horror, putting a hand on your stomach. There's a series of gasps and shouts from the group, before Sheriff Buckly fires his gun in the air.

"SHUT IT!" he roars.

"I'm sorry, Hazel. It'll be over in a few hours."

"A few hours? It's only been two days, how...?" you ask in horror.

"The Key-Bearer grows incredibly quickly. It should be able to be birthed within a day at most."

You feel something wiggle in your stomach, in your womb, and a pain shoots through you.

"Listen, Hazel, it'll be OK," Doctor Kessel says. "In a few hours, you'll be fine, and we'll be in a whole new world."
> You run
You try to run, but Doctor Kessel is faster, sprinting forward and grabbing you. You scream, as a needle enters your neck.

"Don't worry, I'm going to help you sleep for the next few hours. When you wake up, it'll be all over..."

You scream as you begin to feel sleepy, before closing your mouth. Your heavy eyelids close, as the needle presses into your veins, sending you into a deep sleep. Knowing what they're planning to do, you hope you overdose on this rather than waking up...


You awaken in your bed, terrified and curled up in your blankets. You briefly wonder if you dreamed everything, but know that that's impossible. Your knee hurts where you scraped it, your window is still open, and you know your mind couldn't conjure up everything you saw last night.

"Honey? Are you OK?" Dad calls.

You pause, wondering if you should tell him, before realizing he'd never believe you.

"Yeah, I'm fine," you reply, wondering what you should do.

It's Saturday, so you could visit your friends and explain the situation. If you're more optimistic, you could go through the normal, legal means, although you're almost certain that will be complete and utter bullshit.
> You go through legal means
You take out your phone and make a call to the police department. You immediately reach the Sheriff, who answers. You quickly explain your situation, only to have him chide you.

"Now, Hazel, I get you're still scared after the last night, but you can't be calling the sheriff's office over a little nightmare!"

With that, he hangs up. What a cunt.
> You try again
You make another call, and get the police voicemail. You go through the normal bullshit, asking you what you want to report, and you notice there's not exactly a number to press for your complaint, and the "Other" button will lead you back to the Sheriff. The automated voice does tell you there's a police website where you can make an official report.


You charge forward, swinging at the first man. You hit him with some force in the jaw, and he grabs your arm. He slaps you hard across the face, knocking you to the ground. The men grab you, and force you into the gurney. They strap your hands up my your head and your feet together, leaving you stretched out on the gurney. A ball gag is stuffed in your mouth and strapped tightly. You wince one off them puts surgical gloves on, before drawing a thermometer that's pushed into your ear. He checks it, before placing a cold hand on your stomach. He pushes gently, before squeezing.

"I'm right. Get the injections ready."

You shake and try to scream as one of the men takes out a needle that's almost comically large and sharp. He jabs it into your stomach and you scream into your gag and presses down, releasing the liquid into your stomach. You begin to tear up as he repeats the process with several more needles, and by the end your eyes are obscured with tears. He smiles at you through the ski mask, before another man arrives with a large burlap sack. He opens it, pulling out a small mammal like a rat or a ferret, and a large knife. You watch in horror as he slices the mammal's throat open, letting blood flow out onto your stomach. He tosses the carcass aside, and begins to use his fingers to draw various patterns along your belly as you wince and shake. He sighs, and slaps you hard across the face.

"Stop shaking," he says, before turning to one of the other men. "Tomorrow night."

He finishes drawing his patterns, before taking out a small black notebook. He begins to read from it in an insane language you don't understand, like the spluttering of a madman. The pain in your stomach intensifies greatly as you let out a petrified scream as you feel yourself being torn apart. Finally, he stops, as does the pain.

"Ah, good. Get the chloroform and untie her. Then, bring the kids back from their walk."

They free you from your straps, and you notice the door's still open.
> You stay still
You stay still, as one of them takes out a large rag and a glass bottle. He soaks the rag, before holding it to your mouth. You try not to breath, but after about a minute you take a gasp for breath, inhaling the fumes.


When you wake up six hours later, you panic. You're lying in a rusted, iron cage, surrounded by pitch darkness. You stand slowly, finding yourself in the middle of the woods. You look around desperately for a way out, but it seems you're stuck in here. The wind blows through the trees, rustling leaves and giving you a cold chill as you realize you're in your underwear. You look around, spotting a large RV next to the cage. Two figures step out and begin walking towards you. They both wear ski masks, hoodies and baggy black pants, with one carrying a doctor's bag. A third appears, pushing a gurney towards you. You scream for help and back away to the back of the cage. One of them steps forward and unlocks the cage door, and they enter the cage.

"Hands behind your head, don't move," one of the figures said.
> You make a run for the door
You run towards the gate, but the men are faster and bigger then you. The men grab you, and force you into the gurney. They strap your hands up my your head and your feet together, leaving you stretched out on the gurney. A ball gag is stuffed in your mouth and strapped tightly. You wince one off them puts surgical gloves on, before drawing a thermometer that's pushed into your ear. He checks it, before placing a cold hand on your stomach. He pushes gently, before squeezing.

"I'm right. Get the injections ready."

You shake and try to scream as one of the men takes out a needle that's almost comically large and sharp. He jabs it into your stomach and you scream into your gag and presses down, releasing the liquid into your stomach. You begin to tear up as he repeats the process with several more needles, and by the end your eyes are obscured with tears. He smiles at you through the ski mask, before another man arrives with a large burlap sack. He opens it, pulling out a small mammal like a rat or a ferret, and a large knife. You watch in horror as he slices the mammal's throat open, letting blood flow out onto your stomach. He tosses the carcass aside, and begins to use his fingers to draw various patterns along your belly as you wince and shake. He sighs, and slaps you hard across the face.

"Stop shaking," he says, before turning to one of the other men. "Tomorrow night."

He finishes drawing his patterns, before taking out a small black notebook. He begins to read from it in an insane language you don't understand, like the spluttering of a madman. The pain in your stomach intensifies greatly as you let out a petrified scream as you feel yourself being torn apart. Finally, he stops, as does the pain.

"Ah, good. Get the chloroform and untie her. Then, bring the kids back from their walk."

They free you from your straps, and you notice the door's still open.


The ride home is long and quiet. Dad can clearly tell you don't want to talk, so he leaves you alone. Eventually, you pull into the driveway.

"I've told your teacher you won't be coming in today. Go upstairs and have a shower, you can have the day to relax. I'm staying home to look after you today."

You nod, and walk inside. You pull off your mud-covered shoes, and walk upstairs, leaving a trail of muddy water behind you. You walk into the bathroom, and slowly get undressed. You unbutton and pull off your jeans, then step out of your underwater. You pull off your jumper, than your shirt. As you go to unclasp your bra, you freeze as you notice yourself in the mirror. One of the strange, alien symbols you saw covering the cave walls above the disgusting, shuddering, skinless bodies, is carved into your stomach, just below your belly button. You shriek, and you hear Dad call up to you.

"Hazel? Are you OK?"
> You say "There's... Something carved into me!"
"What?"

"There's... just come here!"

Dad quickly comes up as you grab a pair of towels to cover yourself. Dad knocks on the door.

"Can I come in?"

"Yeah," you reply.

Dad enters, and winces as he sees your wound.

"God... what happened?"

"I think someone carved it into me while I was sleeping," you say.

"Don't be ridiculous!" he says. "You must've fell and cut yourself last night."

Over the next few minutes, Dad bandages up your wound.

"Good. It's a very shallow wound, you'll be fine. Now, go shower."

You nod, and walk off to the shower, frustrated at Dad's naivety.


You change direction, bursting towards the few caves that these woods have. You can here the beast right behind you, feeling its hot breath on the back of your neck, blowing your hair out of the way. You spot two caves you think... well, hope you can reach before it catches you. One is a small crack in stone that you think you can dive through that's definitely far too small for the beast to follow you that leads into a tunnel further in. The other is an opening to a large cavern that's also too small for the beast to follow you and that widens considerably further down.
> You go through the opening to the cavern
You sprint as fast as you can, the rush of adrenaline overtaking you as you mind fixes on its one and only purpose: SURVIVE! With several bounds you manage to make it to the cavern, barreling down the cave. The beast stops just before it would've gotten itself stuck in the opening, and stares at you. There's no emotion behind the crimson pools that stare at you like giant rubies without their sparkle, only pure, animalistic hunger. You turn, and begin heading further into the cave. You walk down into the larger cavern. You pull out your phone and turn on the flashlight and only now learn its purpose. The entire cavern seems to have turned into what is a massive animal den. The tattered furs and skins of creatures ranging from rabbits to deer to even bears lie around, with an endless number of deep red stains and piles of crushed and shattered animal bones. You whimper at the sight of this, before noticing what looks like man-made creations. Wooden idols and necklaces lie, spread around the cavern, while under the bloodstains that cover the walls you notice images, with a large oak staff lying among them. You lean in to get a better look, noticing pictures of stickmen surrounding what appears to be a badly painted picture of the beast that chased you. The pictures continue, beginning to tell a story. There's images of the beast massacring stickmen, before you see a picture a tall stickmen wearing several necklaces like the ones scattered around the floor holding a large staff standing in front of the beast. The next picture shows the beast retreating. You stare in confusion, trying to make out what the other images obscured by blood show. You give up, looking around again. Then you see it. At the other end of the cavern stands the beast. You only notice now that the cavern's ceiling is partially caved away, revealing a path for the beast to enter. It's slowly approaching, although now that you've been noticed it's sure to speed up.
> You charge the beast in an attempt to slip past
You charge towards the beast, and it bats its paw. The paw slams into you, sending you headfirst into the stone wall. Thankfully, your skull breaks open and shatters, saving you from the painful death of being torn apart and devoured.


You sprint as fast as you can, the rush of adrenaline overtaking you as you mind fixes on its one and only purpose: SURVIVE! With several bounds you manage to make it to the cavern, barreling down the cave. The beast stops just before it would've gotten itself stuck in the opening, and stares at you. There's no emotion behind the crimson pools that stare at you like giant rubies without their sparkle, only pure, animalistic hunger. You turn, and begin heading further into the cave. You walk down into the larger cavern. You pull out your phone and turn on the flashlight and only now learn its purpose. The entire cavern seems to have turned into what is a massive animal den. The tattered furs and skins of creatures ranging from rabbits to deer to even bears lie around, with an endless number of deep red stains and piles of crushed and shattered animal bones. You whimper at the sight of this, before noticing what looks like man-made creations. Wooden idols and necklaces lie, spread around the cavern, while under the bloodstains that cover the walls you notice images, with a large oak staff lying among them. You lean in to get a better look, noticing pictures of stickmen surrounding what appears to be a badly painted picture of the beast that chased you. The pictures continue, beginning to tell a story. There's images of the beast massacring stickmen, before you see a picture a tall stickmen wearing several necklaces like the ones scattered around the floor holding a large staff standing in front of the beast. The next picture shows the beast retreating. You stare in confusion, trying to make out what the other images obscured by blood show. You give up, looking around again. Then you see it. At the other end of the cavern stands the beast. You only notice now that the cavern's ceiling is partially caved away, revealing a path for the beast to enter. It's slowly approaching, although now that you've been noticed it's sure to speed up.
> You run back the way you came
You turn, and sprint back towards the opening. You dart through it, although you know the beast has your scent. With your head start, you might make it back to town, although you could head down the smaller tunnel to escape the beast.


You walk alongside the stream, your shoes squelching in the wet mud. You walk along to the drier earth, but they're already ruined.

"Fuck," you sigh, walking along. "Kyle! Kyle! Are you there?!?"

You hear what sounds like twigs breaking behind you, and quickly twirl around. Must've been your imagination. You continue walking along the stream.

"Kyle! Kyle! I don't care how drunk you are, do something! I'm getting sick of looking for you!"

You hear the rustle as leaves as the wind picks up, and what was earlier a hot, humid night is now turning bitterly cold, as the light that the moon was provided dims considerably. For the first time, you realize that you're walking in the middle of  a place you've never been, late at night, with no one around. You consider turning around and heading back, but you know if Kyle's passed out somewhere, you need to find him.

"Hello!" you call.

Your voice carries out across the trees. Then, the silence resumes. There's a silence so deadly quiet it's painful. There's no birds, no small mammals scurrying among the trees or undergrowth, not even a cricket. You take deep breaths in an attempt to calm yourself down, before you here a low growl. You turn around, flicking your head around desperately to find the source of the noise, desperately wanting to run but not knowing which direction to do so.

"Kyle? Is that you?" you whimper.

The growl stops, and the silence resumes. You stand perfectly still, not wanting to disturb whatever's out there. Then, it lets out a roar. The roar's incredibly loud and you scream in pain as the sound like shattering glass as concrete scrapes against each other. You feel pure, unadulterated terror, which is amplified when you spot the beast.

The Beast stands on four legs, the shape of a bear but the size of a large truck, covered in thick fur that's so dark it consumes what little moonlight makes it through the trees. It's eyes are pure red, the all-consuming crimson of fresh blood that peer through your eyes and bore into your soul. As it roars, it revels a mouth filled with hundreds of teeth the size of daggers, pure white and sharp enough to drill through solid steel. It stands, blocking the route back towards your friends. You need to do something, now.
> You stay perfectly still
You stand perfectly still, hoping its vision is based on movement. It lets out a rumbling growl that shakes you to your core. As you wince in terror, it charges. It sprints towards you faster than a truck, and barrels into you. Your bones break and crack as you're sent spiraling through the air. You land in a heap by the soft mud by the stream and let out a shriek as your limbs twist at incredible angles that they're definitely not meant to go. The creature walks slowly towards you, and you try to crawl away but find yourself unable to move. You see the flash of the beast's teeth and a spurt of crimson before it finishes off its prey.


"Please... I don't want to die."

"I didn't either, kid. It ain't so bad. Tell your grandparents I said "Fuck you.", ok?"

"Please!" you say, breaking into a sob.

"HEY! Mason shouts from outside. "Are you OK in there?"

You feel cold metal touch your throat.

"Tell him you're fine, darlin'."
> You ask Mason for help
"Mason! I...!"

The cold metal of a blade slices open your throat as before you can get out another word as cold steel mingles with hot blood.

"Dumb bitch."


"Cool," Mason grins, passing you the bottle of alcohol.

You take a long drink, downing much of the bottle. Ant is right, it does taste like piss. Still, you manage to gulp down half the can, before passing it on.

"Shit. The new girl can drink," Ant smiles.

You continue sitting around the campfire, which is really a lot closer to a glorified candle sitting in a pile of leaves. Mason grabs the bottle of vodka and sits down next to you and your heart flutters. A large part of you knows that this is just infatuation and a childhood crush, mixed in with a fair bit of hormonal lust, but still… he’s really, really cute. The others seem bored, with Kyle downing what seems like more than his weight in booze.

“Well, this is boring,” Lucy complains, tossing a bottle in the middle. “Let’s play spin the bottle.”

“No way!” Ant complains. “I’m the odd guy out. Kyle and Becca go together, you and Carter and then Mason and the new girl.”

You blush at that comment as Carter nods in agreement.

“I agree. I d-don’t w-want to play spin the bo-bottle,” Carter says.

Briefly glancing at the indifferent Mason, you feel a twinge of annoyance of all possibilities of spin the bottle disappears as Ant suggests a new game.

“Truth or Dare!” Ant suggests, to the groans of Kyle and Becca.

“Remember what happened last time?” Becca points out.

“That’s not fair! That wasn’t my fault! You should’ve protected your dad’s stuff. How was I do know that that painting was worth a fortune?”

“You shouldn’t have been drawing over paintings in the first place, Ant!”

“It wasn’t skin off your dad’s nose! That rich bastard can handle a loss! Jesus, we all know his ancestors made his money off the backs of Kyle’s ancestors!”

“Fuck you, Ant!” Kyle shouts, slurring from his drink.

“Gentlemen, gentlemen, calm down,” Mason says. “There ain’t no issues! We’re all friends here! I say a game of truth and dare would calm us all down.”

“Fine,” Becca says.

Mason downs the rest of his drink, and tosses the glass bottle in the middle. He drops to his knees and spins it, landing on Carter, who lies in the back of the pick-up.

“Truth or dare, Carter?”

“If I p-pick dare, will you… will you make me st-stand up?” Carter says lazily.

“Maybe,” Mason says slyly.

“Truth, t-then.”

Mason grins, glancing at him and Lucy.

“Have you ever kissed Lucy?” he asks.

“Nope. Sorry to disa-disa-disappoint.”

“Damn. I was certain,” Mason sighs, pulling out his wallet and tossing Kyle a crumpled bill. “You just cost me twenty bucks, Carter.”

Ant leans over, spinning the bottle. It slows to a stop, pointing off into the woods.

“Is that closer to Becca or Hazel?” he asks.

“Becca,” Carter says.

“Oh, fantastic. Truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

“Dammit, Becca. Fine, I’ll make this awkward. How far has Kyle got with you?”

“Shut up, Ant!” Becca hisses.

“Hey, you gotta answer!” Lucy says.

“Oh come on! That’s private!”

“We’re all friends here,” Mason says.

“Fine! We’ve… you know. Done it.”

“Respect, Kyle,” Ant smiles, holding back a giggle.

Becca goes red, grabbing the bottle and twirling it. Through pure luck or skill, it points directly at Ant.

“Shit,” Ant sighs.

“Truth or dare. I have a lot of embarrassing questions to ask.”

“Dare,” Ant grimaces.

“Well, you have a lot more balls than I though. You’ll suffer from it. I dare you to go into Herr Eichel’s basement.”

“No!” Ant replies.

“Come on, Becca! Herr Eichel’s tear out his throat if he caught him!” Lucy complains.

“Who’s Herr EIchel?” you ask.

“Oh, I’ll tell her. I’ve been practicing this story for my little brother,” Mason says, before clearing his throat. “During World War II, a young soldier rose through the ranks of the SS. He had a habit of hunting Jews and personally escorting them to the Camps. He would hunt men, women, children, and torture them all for information. He showed no mercy. Eventually, when the Russians invaded, he escaped by pretending to be a civilian, fleeing from Berlin to France to Britain to the US. He hid right here in Dawnwood, hunting down any Jews he could find. His name is Herr Eichel.”

“That’s the biggest load of shit!” Lucy complains. “Everyone knows that any Jew in Dawnwood would be scared off by Carter Sr. and his white power bullshit.”

“He doesn’t w-w-want white pow-power!” Carter says. “He wants white p-pride. There’s… a difference.”

“No there isn’t, Carter, now stop ruining the story. Where was I?” Mason asks.

“You just finished,” you point out.

“Oh. Well, now Herr Eichel’s going to kill Ant.”

“Becca, I’m sorry! Please change the dare!”

“Fine. You have to go into the Dead Man’s Barn and go up to the attic.”

“That’s even worse!” Ant complains.

“Nah, that ain’t bad,” Mason says. “Nazis are real and will kill you. Ghosts aren’t.”

You raise an eyebrow, and Mason smiles.

“OK, story time. Once, there was a Sheriff back in the Western times who used his power to wipe out any competition of the big ranchers of the town. One of the small time ranchers, Daniel Edwards, stood up and told the Sheriff he wouldn’t sell his farm to his competition despite threats. The Sheriff led a posse to bring him down, and Edwards tried to fight back. He killed two dozen men and took near a hundred bullets before he went down. They tortured him for a few days, even cutting his face wide open to give him... what'd ya call it, a Glasgow Grin. Eventually, you just hung him to finish him off. Rumor is he still haunts the barn where they strung him up. It’s a historical building so it can’t be torn down, so the owner just leaves it vacant.”

“I’m not going!”

“Don’t pussy out, Ant.”

“Will one of you go with me?” Ant pleads.

“Spin the bottle, and whoever it lands on has to go with you,” Lucy suggests. “I hope it’s Becca. That’d be ironic.”

“Sure,” Carter says. “Let’s do that.”

Ant thanks Lucy and spins the bottle. It wobbles and slows to a halt, pointing directly at you.

“Well, I guess Hazel’s going to Dead Man’s Barn,” Mason says.

“No, she can go to Herr Eichel’s if she wants. Eichel’s just an old, slow dude. The Dead Man’s a supernatural murderer,” Lucy says.

“Let Hazel pick,” Kyle says, trying to stand before stumbling and leaning back on the truck.

“Yeah. Go ahead Hazel. Ghost or Nazi.”
> You go with Ant to Herr Eichel's Basement
"Fine, we'll go to the Nazis."

Ant nods nervously as Mason winces.

"If... if you think so," Mason says.

You nod. The group begins to stand, and starts walking towards Herr Eichel's house.

"I'll... I'll stay here!" Kyle slurs, collapsing into the back of the pick-up truck.

Lucy shrugs, and continues leading the group out of the forest. The group drops the various empty cans among the shrubs as you emerge in yet another one of the bland, boring suburbs that make up Dawnwood. The sun's fallen, so Lucy brings out her phone and turns on the flashlight. She leads you to a house that looks identical to every single house on the street.

“Is this it?” you ask.

“Yeah,” Lucy says.

“Well. I expected swastika banners hanging from the roof or something.”

“The closest thing to a swastika here is the one on Carter’s dad’s arm.”

“Fuck you!” Carter says, “H-he’s not a naz-naz-nazi!”

“Yes he is, Carter.”

“We’re not arguing now. Quiet down, we don’t want to wake Herr Eichel. Ant, take Hazel ‘round back, there’s always an open window to the basement. We'll stay here. The ruckus of half a dozen kids 'round back would wake the Nazi," Mason says.

“Probably to air out the smell,” Becca says. “You know, of his victims.”

You begin to sweat nervously, and you follow Ant around the back. Like Mason said, the basement window is wide open. Ant looks at you, nodding.

"Uh... ladies first," he says nervously.

"Coward," you spit, before dropping to your knees.

You crawl forward on your hands and knees, turning around and sliding through the window. You wiggle, taking a good minute to squeeze through, before dropping into the darkness of the basement. You lose sight of everything, and are left in complete and utter darkness that even the light of the moon can not penetrate. You listen, and the silence is broken by the quiet yelp and thud of Ant falling through the window.

"Ssssh!" you hiss.

"Fine," Ant says.

You hear him fumble around in the darkness, before silence resumes. A tiny light flickers as Ant lights his cigarette lighter, his face being the only thing illuminated in the darkness. You draw your phone, turning on the flashlight, a more modern solution to the darkness. A workshop table is illuminated, with several... pieces of bone and flesh covering the tables.

"What the fuck...?" Ant says, stepping back. "It was only supposed to be a rumor. I was nervous, but I didn't actually... I..."

"What the hell is this place?"

"We need to get out of here," Ant hisses.

You stare at the table in pure horror. You turn your phone over, making out several more of these workshop tables covered in gristle and pieces of former victims. A large tool rack covered in blood stained knives, some deadly sharp, some serrated, some large enough to easily carve through bone as if through butter.

"Hazel, snap out of it!"

"OK, OK," you say, shaking your head. "I'll boost you out the window, you pull me up afterwards, got it?" you say.

Ant nods, and you hurry to the basement window. He puts his foot in your cupped hands and you give him a boost. He grabs the window frame, and begins to pull himself through the door. You push him as he wiggles through the door. It takes a good two minutes for him to squeeze back through, before turning to grab your hand.

"Come on, let's go!" you say.

You hear a creaking. You turn off your phone as a beam of light from an opening door bursts in.

"Hide!" Ant whisper loudly. "He's coming!"

You look around. In the darkness, you see only two eligible options for hiding place: Under the workshop table or behind the "tool" rack. Then again, you could always try to squeeze through the window, although even with Ant's help, Herr Eichel might get you first.
> You hide behind the tool rack
You drop to your knees and quickly crawl behind the tool rack, curling up as you wrap your arms around your knees and curl up in a ball, trying not to move or make a noise. You hear an old voice begin to hum as the stairs begin to creak.

"Muss i denn, Muss i denn, zum stadtele hinaus..." the old man sings. "...stadtele hinaus..."

You wince as you hear him draw near.

"Und du, mein schatz, bleibst hier?" he sings, as you hear the clank of metal as he grabs a blade from the tool rack, right in front of you. "Wenn i komm', wenn i komm', wenn i wiedrum komm'..."

You let out a sigh of relief as he walks away, heading to the workshop. You hear the squelch as blades slicken as they slice through flesh. There's a thud and you gasp, before another thud, before a thud and a crack as Herr Eichel breaks open a bone with a hammer. Herr Eichel stops, pausing for a second.

"Is there someone there?" he asks, his eery sing-song voice giving way to an elderly' grandfather's with a thick German accent. "I promise, if you come out now, there... won't be a problem."
> You continue hiding
You stay hidden, trying not to breath as Herr Eichel begins moving around the room, singing all the while.

"Kehr' i ein, mein Schatz, bei dir. Kann i glei net allweil bei dir sein..." he sings.

You hear a chime as the doorbell rings, and the room falls silent as Herr Eichel stops singing.

"Ah. Guests," he says.

You hear his boots thud away as the stairs begin to creak as he climbs them. You hear the door shut, and immediately get out of your hiding place. You head to the window, and leap up through it. You grab the window pane and begin to pull yourself through, wiggling to help you move on through. You pull yourself through and collapse onto the grass, and begin running around to the front. You freeze as you notice Herr Eichel standing directly in front of you.

"Hello," he says in a thick German accent. "I am Mr Eichel."

"I know."

"Ah, so you've heard of me. Tell me, what are the current rumors. Am I said to be the assistant to Josef Mengele? The personal aid of Adolf Hitler? A camp doctor as the Concentration Camp?"

You stare at him in silence.

"Well, the rumors are completely untrue. I am simply an immigrant and a taxidermist. I came here when I was a boy. Sure, I served my country during the war in the Werhmacht, but I surrendered first chance I got. It's simple fear of foreigners that makes children think I'm so terrible boogeyman, not any real facts. Did you take any... souvenirs from my basement?"

You shake yor head.

"Good, although I warn you, my dear, that if you and your friends break into my house again I will be calling the Sheriff. And tell... give me a sec, my vision isn't great... Mason, Rebecca, Anthony and Carter that there's better things to waste your time on then bothering old men. Quite ironic that Carter's here to see a nazi with the family he has... Now, please leave me alone to my work, dear."

You nod, and run out towards the trees. You find the group, with Mason standing terrified, waiting for you.

"What happened? Why'd he just let you go? Carter says he was carving up a body!"

"He said he's just an old immigrant and a taxidermist, and to leave him alone or he'd call the sheriff."

"He was cutting up a person!" Ant shrieks.

"That was probably a deer!" Lucy says. "You're drunk as fuck, Ant."

"It was a person," Ant says, stubbornly.

"Well, we probably just annoyed an old man. Let's get the fuck out of here and go find Kyle."
> You head back into the woods
You walk back through the woods, heading towards the trucks.

"S-s-so, this w-was a bad id-idea," Carter says.

"Yeah, it was. I risked my life to annoy a harmless old man," you say.

"We risked our lives to annoy what could have been a harmless old man," Ant says.

You arrive at the camp, and Mason swears loudly.

"FUCK! Where the hell is Kyle?" he asks.

The camp is empty, with no one in sight.

"R-r-remember last time we lost Kyle when he was drunk?"

"Oh dear God, he ended up pissing in my garden. He wasn't pissing into the garden. He was standing in the garden, pissing on my house," Becca says.

"We need to find him. Is anyone not sober enough to find this place again?" Mason says.

There's silence.

"Good. We'll split up and try find him. Ant, you head towards the Rotten Trees, Lucy, go towards our old tree house, Becca, towards the old drinking point, Carter, back towards town. Hazel, you're new here. There's a stream just over there," Mason says, pointing. "Just walk along there, and keep your phone on. If you can't find him, follow the stream back here."

You nod. Time to find Kyle.


You drop to your knees and quickly crawl behind the tool rack, curling up as you wrap your arms around your knees and curl up in a ball, trying not to move or make a noise. You hear an old voice begin to hum as the stairs begin to creak.

"Muss i denn, Muss i denn, zum stadtele hinaus..." the old man sings. "...stadtele hinaus..."

You wince as you hear him draw near.

"Und du, mein schatz, bleibst hier?" he sings, as you hear the clank of metal as he grabs a blade from the tool rack, right in front of you. "Wenn i komm', wenn i komm', wenn i wiedrum komm'..."

You let out a sigh of relief as he walks away, heading to the workshop. You hear the squelch as blades slicken as they slice through flesh. There's a thud and you gasp, before another thud, before a thud and a crack as Herr Eichel breaks open a bone with a hammer. Herr Eichel stops, pausing for a second.

"Is there someone there?" he asks, his eery sing-song voice giving way to an elderly' grandfather's with a thick German accent. "I promise, if you come out now, there... won't be a problem."
> You reveal yourself
You slowly leave your hiding spot, and are faced with Herr Eichel. His face is gaunt and haggard, wrinkles covering everything that was once smooth. His hair is all but gone, a few snow white pieces clinging onto his scalp. With how weak and feeble he looks, you're impressed he can stand. A pair of wire frame glasses sit on his nose as he looks you over.

"Hello," he says in a thick German accent. "I am Mr Eichel."

"I know."

"Ah, so you've heard of me. Tell me, what are the current rumors. Am I said to be the assistant to Josef Mengele? The personal aid of Adolf Hitler? A camp doctor as the Concentration Camp?"

You stare at him in silence.

"Well, the rumors are completely untrue. I am simply an immigrant and a taxidermist. I came here when I was a boy. Sure, I served my country during the war in the Werhmacht, but I surrendered first chance I got. It's simple fear of foreigners that makes children think I'm so terrible boogeyman, not any real facts. Shall I escort you to the front door?"

You nod, and follow him up the stairs. He walks you through an old, dust covered house, stopping at the front door to open it for you.

"I warn you, my dear, that if you and your friends break into my house again I will be calling the Sheriff. And tell... give me a sec, my vision isn't great... Mason, Rebecca, Anthony and Carter that there's better things to waste your time on then bothering old men. Quite ironic that Carter's here to see a nazi with the family he has... Now, please leave me alone to my work, dear."

You nod, and run out towards the trees. You find the group, with Mason standing terrified, waiting for you.

"What happened? Why'd he just let you go? Carter says he was carving up a body!"

"He said he's just an old immigrant and a taxidermist, and to leave him alone or he'd call the sheriff."

"He was cutting up a person!" Ant shrieks.

"That was probably a deer!" Lucy says. "You're drunk as fuck, Ant."

"It was a person," Ant says, stubbornly.

"Well, we probably just annoyed an old man. Let's get the fuck out of here and go find Kyle."


"Fine, we'll go to the Nazis."

Ant nods nervously as Mason winces.

"If... if you think so," Mason says.

You nod. The group begins to stand, and starts walking towards Herr Eichel's house.

"I'll... I'll stay here!" Kyle slurs, collapsing into the back of the pick-up truck.

Lucy shrugs, and continues leading the group out of the forest. The group drops the various empty cans among the shrubs as you emerge in yet another one of the bland, boring suburbs that make up Dawnwood. The sun's fallen, so Lucy brings out her phone and turns on the flashlight. She leads you to a house that looks identical to every single house on the street.

“Is this it?” you ask.

“Yeah,” Lucy says.

“Well. I expected swastika banners hanging from the roof or something.”

“The closest thing to a swastika here is the one on Carter’s dad’s arm.”

“Fuck you!” Carter says, “H-he’s not a naz-naz-nazi!”

“Yes he is, Carter.”

“We’re not arguing now. Quiet down, we don’t want to wake Herr Eichel. Ant, take Hazel ‘round back, there’s always an open window to the basement. We'll stay here. The ruckus of half a dozen kids 'round back would wake the Nazi," Mason says.

“Probably to air out the smell,” Becca says. “You know, of his victims.”

You begin to sweat nervously, and you follow Ant around the back. Like Mason said, the basement window is wide open. Ant looks at you, nodding.

"Uh... ladies first," he says nervously.

"Coward," you spit, before dropping to your knees.

You crawl forward on your hands and knees, turning around and sliding through the window. You wiggle, taking a good minute to squeeze through, before dropping into the darkness of the basement. You lose sight of everything, and are left in complete and utter darkness that even the light of the moon can not penetrate. You listen, and the silence is broken by the quiet yelp and thud of Ant falling through the window.

"Ssssh!" you hiss.

"Fine," Ant says.

You hear him fumble around in the darkness, before silence resumes. A tiny light flickers as Ant lights his cigarette lighter, his face being the only thing illuminated in the darkness. You draw your phone, turning on the flashlight, a more modern solution to the darkness. A workshop table is illuminated, with several... pieces of bone and flesh covering the tables.

"What the fuck...?" Ant says, stepping back. "It was only supposed to be a rumor. I was nervous, but I didn't actually... I..."

"What the hell is this place?"

"We need to get out of here," Ant hisses.

You stare at the table in pure horror. You turn your phone over, making out several more of these workshop tables covered in gristle and pieces of former victims. A large tool rack covered in blood stained knives, some deadly sharp, some serrated, some large enough to easily carve through bone as if through butter.

"Hazel, snap out of it!"

"OK, OK," you say, shaking your head. "I'll boost you out the window, you pull me up afterwards, got it?" you say.

Ant nods, and you hurry to the basement window. He puts his foot in your cupped hands and you give him a boost. He grabs the window frame, and begins to pull himself through the door. You push him as he wiggles through the door. It takes a good two minutes for him to squeeze back through, before turning to grab your hand.

"Come on, let's go!" you say.

You hear a creaking. You turn off your phone as a beam of light from an opening door bursts in.

"Hide!" Ant whisper loudly. "He's coming!"

You look around. In the darkness, you see only two eligible options for hiding place: Under the workshop table or behind the "tool" rack. Then again, you could always try to squeeze through the window, although even with Ant's help, Herr Eichel might get you first.
> You hide under the workshop
You drop to your knees and quickly crawl under the workshop, curling up as you wrap your arms around your knees and curl up in a ball, trying not to move or make a noise. You hear an old voice begin to hum as the stairs begin to creak.

"Muss i denn, Muss i denn, zum stadtele hinaus..." the old man sings. "...stadtele hinaus..."

You wince as you hear him draw near. You see his old, mud covered boots stomp down right next to you as he walks past.

"Und du, mein schatz, bleibst hier?" he sings, as you hear the clank of metal as he grabs a blade from the tool rack. "Wenn i komm', wenn i komm', wenn i wiedrum komm'..."

You wince as he stands at the end of the workshop, right by you. You hear the squelch as blades slicken as they slice through flesh. There's a thud right above you and you gasp, before another thud, before a thud and a crack as Herr Eichel breaks open a bone with a hammer. Herr Eichel stops, pausing for a second.

"Is there someone there?" he asks, his eery sing-song voice giving way to an elderly' grandfather's with a thick German accent. "I promise, if you come out now, there... won't be a problem."


"Fine, we'll go to the Nazis."

Ant nods nervously as Mason winces.

"If... if you think so," Mason says.

You nod. The group begins to stand, and starts walking towards Herr Eichel's house.

"I'll... I'll stay here!" Kyle slurs, collapsing into the back of the pick-up truck.

Lucy shrugs, and continues leading the group out of the forest. The group drops the various empty cans among the shrubs as you emerge in yet another one of the bland, boring suburbs that make up Dawnwood. The sun's fallen, so Lucy brings out her phone and turns on the flashlight. She leads you to a house that looks identical to every single house on the street.

“Is this it?” you ask.

“Yeah,” Lucy says.

“Well. I expected swastika banners hanging from the roof or something.”

“The closest thing to a swastika here is the one on Carter’s dad’s arm.”

“Fuck you!” Carter says, “H-he’s not a naz-naz-nazi!”

“Yes he is, Carter.”

“We’re not arguing now. Quiet down, we don’t want to wake Herr Eichel. Ant, take Hazel ‘round back, there’s always an open window to the basement. We'll stay here. The ruckus of half a dozen kids 'round back would wake the Nazi," Mason says.

“Probably to air out the smell,” Becca says. “You know, of his victims.”

You begin to sweat nervously, and you follow Ant around the back. Like Mason said, the basement window is wide open. Ant looks at you, nodding.

"Uh... ladies first," he says nervously.

"Coward," you spit, before dropping to your knees.

You crawl forward on your hands and knees, turning around and sliding through the window. You wiggle, taking a good minute to squeeze through, before dropping into the darkness of the basement. You lose sight of everything, and are left in complete and utter darkness that even the light of the moon can not penetrate. You listen, and the silence is broken by the quiet yelp and thud of Ant falling through the window.

"Ssssh!" you hiss.

"Fine," Ant says.

You hear him fumble around in the darkness, before silence resumes. A tiny light flickers as Ant lights his cigarette lighter, his face being the only thing illuminated in the darkness. You draw your phone, turning on the flashlight, a more modern solution to the darkness. A workshop table is illuminated, with several... pieces of bone and flesh covering the tables.

"What the fuck...?" Ant says, stepping back. "It was only supposed to be a rumor. I was nervous, but I didn't actually... I..."

"What the hell is this place?"

"We need to get out of here," Ant hisses.

You stare at the table in pure horror. You turn your phone over, making out several more of these workshop tables covered in gristle and pieces of former victims. A large tool rack covered in blood stained knives, some deadly sharp, some serrated, some large enough to easily carve through bone as if through butter.

"Hazel, snap out of it!"

"OK, OK," you say, shaking your head. "I'll boost you out the window, you pull me up afterwards, got it?" you say.

Ant nods, and you hurry to the basement window. He puts his foot in your cupped hands and you give him a boost. He grabs the window frame, and begins to pull himself through the door. You push him as he wiggles through the door. It takes a good two minutes for him to squeeze back through, before turning to grab your hand.

"Come on, let's go!" you say.

You hear a creaking. You turn off your phone as a beam of light from an opening door bursts in.

"Hide!" Ant whisper loudly. "He's coming!"

You look around. In the darkness, you see only two eligible options for hiding place: Under the workshop table or behind the "tool" rack. Then again, you could always try to squeeze through the window, although even with Ant's help, Herr Eichel might get you first.
> You try to get out the window
You shake your head and jump up. Ant pulls desperately as you use your spare hand to pull yourself through the window. You wiggle as Ant pulls with all his strength. You slide through the window as your hear a sigh behind you. You turn your head, seeing Herr Eichel, an old, wrinkled man with metal spectacles and a balding head staring at you. You shriek when you see him and jump to his feet, grabbing Ant and pulling him after you. You run around to the front, where the rest of your friends are waiting.

"Let's go! Ant shouts, as you burst towards the woods.

You run through the trees, slowing down as you make reasonable distance from Herr Eichel's house.

"What the fuck happened?" Mason asks.

"Guts... flesh... cutting people up..." Ant asks.

"Shit. Did he see you?"

"He saw Hazel."

"That's OK. That's fine," Mason says.

"Do we go to the police?" you ask.

"Shit, no. W-we can't g-g-go to the p-police," Carter says. "Just l-leave an anon-anonymous tip."

Mason pulls out his phone and makes a brief call to 911, trying to disguise his voice all the while. After a few minutes of him trying to explain the situation, he ends the call.

"So... this might've been our bad."

"What?" you ask.

"So... the cops have been to Eichel's house many times before. He's not a murderer. He's a taxidermist, and he was probably cutting up an animal."

"That was definitely a person!" Ant says.

"It could've been a deer," you admit.

"What, so the police aren't coming?" Ant asks.

"I guess not."

"That's bullshit! I saw a person in there!" Ant yells.

"Well, you are more than a little drunk," Lucy says. "Hazel is too, and she said she it might'a been a deer."

"Well, I guess we just harassed an old man. Let's go back to Kyle, he's probably passed out in the back of a pick-up trucks," Mason says.


"Cool," Mason grins, passing you the bottle of alcohol.

You take a long drink, downing much of the bottle. Ant is right, it does taste like piss. Still, you manage to gulp down half the can, before passing it on.

"Shit. The new girl can drink," Ant smiles.

You continue sitting around the campfire, which is really a lot closer to a glorified candle sitting in a pile of leaves. Mason grabs the bottle of vodka and sits down next to you and your heart flutters. A large part of you knows that this is just infatuation and a childhood crush, mixed in with a fair bit of hormonal lust, but still… he’s really, really cute. The others seem bored, with Kyle downing what seems like more than his weight in booze.

“Well, this is boring,” Lucy complains, tossing a bottle in the middle. “Let’s play spin the bottle.”

“No way!” Ant complains. “I’m the odd guy out. Kyle and Becca go together, you and Carter and then Mason and the new girl.”

You blush at that comment as Carter nods in agreement.

“I agree. I d-don’t w-want to play spin the bo-bottle,” Carter says.

Briefly glancing at the indifferent Mason, you feel a twinge of annoyance of all possibilities of spin the bottle disappears as Ant suggests a new game.

“Truth or Dare!” Ant suggests, to the groans of Kyle and Becca.

“Remember what happened last time?” Becca points out.

“That’s not fair! That wasn’t my fault! You should’ve protected your dad’s stuff. How was I do know that that painting was worth a fortune?”

“You shouldn’t have been drawing over paintings in the first place, Ant!”

“It wasn’t skin off your dad’s nose! That rich bastard can handle a loss! Jesus, we all know his ancestors made his money off the backs of Kyle’s ancestors!”

“Fuck you, Ant!” Kyle shouts, slurring from his drink.

“Gentlemen, gentlemen, calm down,” Mason says. “There ain’t no issues! We’re all friends here! I say a game of truth and dare would calm us all down.”

“Fine,” Becca says.

Mason downs the rest of his drink, and tosses the glass bottle in the middle. He drops to his knees and spins it, landing on Carter, who lies in the back of the pick-up.

“Truth or dare, Carter?”

“If I p-pick dare, will you… will you make me st-stand up?” Carter says lazily.

“Maybe,” Mason says slyly.

“Truth, t-then.”

Mason grins, glancing at him and Lucy.

“Have you ever kissed Lucy?” he asks.

“Nope. Sorry to disa-disa-disappoint.”

“Damn. I was certain,” Mason sighs, pulling out his wallet and tossing Kyle a crumpled bill. “You just cost me twenty bucks, Carter.”

Ant leans over, spinning the bottle. It slows to a stop, pointing off into the woods.

“Is that closer to Becca or Hazel?” he asks.

“Becca,” Carter says.

“Oh, fantastic. Truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

“Dammit, Becca. Fine, I’ll make this awkward. How far has Kyle got with you?”

“Shut up, Ant!” Becca hisses.

“Hey, you gotta answer!” Lucy says.

“Oh come on! That’s private!”

“We’re all friends here,” Mason says.

“Fine! We’ve… you know. Done it.”

“Respect, Kyle,” Ant smiles, holding back a giggle.

Becca goes red, grabbing the bottle and twirling it. Through pure luck or skill, it points directly at Ant.

“Shit,” Ant sighs.

“Truth or dare. I have a lot of embarrassing questions to ask.”

“Dare,” Ant grimaces.

“Well, you have a lot more balls than I though. You’ll suffer from it. I dare you to go into Herr Eichel’s basement.”

“No!” Ant replies.

“Come on, Becca! Herr Eichel’s tear out his throat if he caught him!” Lucy complains.

“Who’s Herr EIchel?” you ask.

“Oh, I’ll tell her. I’ve been practicing this story for my little brother,” Mason says, before clearing his throat. “During World War II, a young soldier rose through the ranks of the SS. He had a habit of hunting Jews and personally escorting them to the Camps. He would hunt men, women, children, and torture them all for information. He showed no mercy. Eventually, when the Russians invaded, he escaped by pretending to be a civilian, fleeing from Berlin to France to Britain to the US. He hid right here in Dawnwood, hunting down any Jews he could find. His name is Herr Eichel.”

“That’s the biggest load of shit!” Lucy complains. “Everyone knows that any Jew in Dawnwood would be scared off by Carter Sr. and his white power bullshit.”

“He doesn’t w-w-want white pow-power!” Carter says. “He wants white p-pride. There’s… a difference.”

“No there isn’t, Carter, now stop ruining the story. Where was I?” Mason asks.

“You just finished,” you point out.

“Oh. Well, now Herr Eichel’s going to kill Ant.”

“Becca, I’m sorry! Please change the dare!”

“Fine. You have to go into the Dead Man’s Barn and go up to the attic.”

“That’s even worse!” Ant complains.

“Nah, that ain’t bad,” Mason says. “Nazis are real and will kill you. Ghosts aren’t.”

You raise an eyebrow, and Mason smiles.

“OK, story time. Once, there was a Sheriff back in the Western times who used his power to wipe out any competition of the big ranchers of the town. One of the small time ranchers, Daniel Edwards, stood up and told the Sheriff he wouldn’t sell his farm to his competition despite threats. The Sheriff led a posse to bring him down, and Edwards tried to fight back. He killed two dozen men and took near a hundred bullets before he went down. They tortured him for a few days, even cutting his face wide open to give him... what'd ya call it, a Glasgow Grin. Eventually, you just hung him to finish him off. Rumor is he still haunts the barn where they strung him up. It’s a historical building so it can’t be torn down, so the owner just leaves it vacant.”

“I’m not going!”

“Don’t pussy out, Ant.”

“Will one of you go with me?” Ant pleads.

“Spin the bottle, and whoever it lands on has to go with you,” Lucy suggests. “I hope it’s Becca. That’d be ironic.”

“Sure,” Carter says. “Let’s do that.”

Ant thanks Lucy and spins the bottle. It wobbles and slows to a halt, pointing directly at you.

“Well, I guess Hazel’s going to Dead Man’s Barn,” Mason says.

“No, she can go to Herr Eichel’s if she wants. Eichel’s just an old, slow dude. The Dead Man’s a supernatural murderer,” Lucy says.

“Let Hazel pick,” Kyle says, trying to stand before stumbling and leaning back on the truck.

“Yeah. Go ahead Hazel. Ghost or Nazi.”
> You refuse to go
"I'm not going!" you proclaim loudly.

"Come on! You have to, it's a dare!" Lucy says.

"Don't p-p-pussy out on... us," Carter says.

"No, I'm not doing,"

There's a collective sigh from the group as you're hit by a barrage of complaints, sighs and insults, before the group settles down. You sit back onto the ground, noticing Mason has shied away from you slightly. Well shit. The group resumes their activities, which all consist of various ways of drinking.
> You keep drinking
You continue drinking and hours go past. The group constantly shifts positions, before Mason realizes something.

"Hey guys, where's Kyle?" he asks.

"I think he went to go pee," Lucy shrugs.

"When was that?"

"About an hour ago," Becca says.

"FUCK! Where the hell is Kyle?" he asks.

"R-r-remember last time we lost Kyle when he was drunk?"

"Oh dear God, he ended up pissing in my garden. He wasn't pissing into the garden. He was standing in the garden, pissing on my house," Becca says.

"We need to find him. Is anyone not sober enough to find this place again?" Mason says.

There's silence.

"Good. We'll split up and try find him. Ant, you head towards the Rotten Trees, Lucy, go towards our old tree house, Becca, towards the old drinking point, Carter, back towards town. Hazel, you're new here. There's a stream just over there," Mason says, pointing. "Just walk along there, and keep your phone on. If you can't find him, follow the stream back here."

You nod. Time to find Kyle.


You sit down.

"So Hunter, how was school?"

"Good," Hunter mumbles.

"Hey, Dad..." you ask.

"Yes?"

Now's the perfect time to ask him whether you can go or not... or you can just sneak out later.
> You say "Can I go to a friend's house?"
"Hazel, it's your first day knowing these people. You don't know anyone here well enough to trust them," Dad says.

"OK," you say dejectedly, already planning how to sneak out.

You quickly eat most of your dinner before faking a stomach ache and disappearing into your room.


You sit down.

"So Hunter, how was school?"

"Good," Hunter mumbles.

"Hey, Dad..." you ask.

"Yes?"

Now's the perfect time to ask him whether you can go or not... or you can just sneak out later.
> You say "Nothing."
"Uh... OK," Dad replies.

You eat your dinner quietly, before faking a stomach ache and disappearing into your room.


"Fine!" you sigh, as your brother gleefully snatches the remote and switches to the latest cartoon that's far too old for him.

You jump up from the couch, and grab your laptop, binge-watching Youtube until you hear Dad come through the door.

"Hello! I'm home!" he calls.

"Hey Dad!" you yell from the kitchen.

He walks in, smiling.

"You're not fighting. That's pretty impressive," he smiles, referring to you and your brother. "I'll put on dinner. We have chicken curry."

He begins to turn on the stove and start cooking.

"How was school, honey?"
> You say "OK."
"Well, honey, that's pretty good."

"Yeah, I guess."

You shrug and turn on your phone. After about an hour, Dad begins serving dinner.


The rest of the school day is easy. You learn about the history of the town in History Class, the history teacher eagerly abandoning the notion of McCarthyism to explain what appears to be her favorite topic. Apparently, the town was once home to a large tribe of Native Americans, who were promptly wiped out by Colonists. The town rose to prominence due to its large number of cattle farms, before falling into obscurity as the modern age dawned. Eventually, it became the shithole it is today. After school, you take the bus home and say goodbye to your friends. Dad's still at work, so you collapse in front of the TV for a barrage of nearly identical Crime Shows. One features a team of guys who just kind of stereotype criminals, one features some guys who look at glowing stains, one features a guy who knows when you're lying and one features a modern day Sherlock Holmes.

Just as the team find a new bit of information about how the clown's car is full of some... particularly dirty stains, you hear the familiar whine.

"HAZEL! Can I watch TV!?!"

"No! I'm watching. Go play your games."

"But It's out battery!" he whines.
> You don't let him watch TV, for he is a whining, snivelling brat
"Screw off!" you say, flinging a cushion at Hunter.

"Fine!" Hunter shouts, storming off.

You continue watching your show (the clown was being blackmailed by the mother about his time in jail so she could get the insurance money), until eventually you hear the slamming door that signifies Dad's home.

"Hello! I'm home!" he calls.

"Hey Dad!" you yell.

He walks in, smiling. Immediately, Hunter starts to whine.

"Dad! Hazel won't let me watch TV!"

"Who was watching first?"

Hunter falls silence as you follow Dad into the kitchen.

"God, you're at each others throats," he smiles. "I'll put on dinner. We have chicken curry."

He begins to turn on the stove and start cooking.

"How was school, honey?"


"Oh, good! Come on, let's go!"

You follow Dad to the car, and climb in the passenger seat. You don't even need to turn your head to know your brother's in the backseat, hearing the opening tune of Angry Birds: Stalin's Show Trials or whatever the fuck version they have now. You lie back in your seat and stare out the window as you go through the town. Eventually, you arrive at some shitty, greasy pizza joint, and get out of the car. You walk inside, and find yourself in a Chucky Cheese knock-off. You walk up to the counter and find yourself faced with a girl your age with long brown hair and a massive zit that looks like a red dot sight in the middle of her forehead.

"Hello, welcome to Pizza Corner, can I take your order?" she asks.

"Yeah, can we have a large Pepperoni Pizza and three Cokes?"

"Sure thing. Small, Medium or Large?"

"Medium."

The girl begins pouring the drinks as another, far prettier blond girl appears from the kitchen, holding a large piece of dough. She glances briefly at you, before grabbing a cloth with her spare hand and disappearing back again.

"So, are you new here?" the cashier asks.

"Yeah, I just moved in."

"I'm Lucy."

"I'm Hazel."

“Oh, really? Well, it’s a good town. You can’t find much work except in a dull pizza joint, but there ain’t much here to even spend the money on. Some old clothes stores and a cinema, and that’s about it.”

“Do you work here full time?”

“Jesus no. If I got to the point where I was working here full time I’d dip my head in the deep fat… well, I wouldn’t be happy. Im still in school.”

“What grade?”

“10th.”

“Oh, I’m starting there tomorrow. I guess I’ll see you there.”

“”Sure. If you want, I can always get you a job here. Becca, the blond girl, has literally done shit all since we started. She’s only working so her daddy an think she’s learning real-life experience and still feel justified buying whatever she…”

“I can hear you!” a voice calls out from the kitchen.

“I know, Becca, I’m getting a point across!”

Dad appears standing next to you, grinning.

"Look who's already making friends!" he smiles.

You roll your eyes.

"Yeah, sure. Let's just sit down," you say, pulling Dad towards a booth to sit in.
> Two Days Later...
The school is a shitty building filled with no good kids who are learning about geography and Shakespeare despite the fact that they’ll almost certainly end up in the shitty jobs that are needed to keep this town running. You walk through the doors, a backpack slung over your shoulder.

“OK, it’s not so bad,” you mutter, walking past a row of lockers down the hall. "I just have to find my classes and…”

“Hey, Hazel!” a voice cries.

You turn to find the familiar, zit stricken face of the pizza cashier, Lucy.

“Hey,” you reply.

“So, it’s your first day, huh? Do you know what classes you’re in?”

You search your pockets and pull out a crumpled class schedule, handing it to her.

“OK, we have the same Spanish, English, Math, History… you do Chemistry? Gay! That’s the hardest class!”

“Well other than that we seem to share a suspicious amount of classes.”

“Yeah, I talked to the principal and begged him to put you in my classes… it’s a tiny school, what do you think would happen? Of course we share most classes. Oh look, Carter’s here.”

You turn to see Carter, the kid from the day before, bounding over.

“I know,” you say. “We met the day before yesterday.”

“Y-yeah. How’ve y-you been?”

“Good.”

“Well, you made friends without me? I feel left out. Anyway, if you want, we can both show you around. Between the two of us, we should share pretty much every class.”

“Except Chem… Chemistry,” Carter points out.

“Yeah, you’re pretty much fucked for that, but that’s your problem. Now we have double Math and English, and Miss Loaves is genuinely the easiest Math teacher to have to deal with. She’s the only one who lets you get books from your locker when you forget them rather than giving a write-out or detention or just yelling for ten minutes. Come on, we’ll show you around.”


You pick up your backpack again and walk up to your new room. It has a large wardrobe, a large double bed, a desk and chair and two dressers. You sit on the bed, taking out your laptop, and go on Facebook. Thankfully, the WiFi's already set up, so you can go on. You go down your Timeline, seeing all your friends having fun. Fiona had a party, Dan's now dating Leone and a bunch of other shit's going on that you wish you could take part in. You sigh, and continue flicking through pictures and posts. After an hour or two, Dad calls you down again. You close your laptop and go downstairs, finding Dad waiting there in the kitchen.

"Hey, sweetie. The house is pretty barren, so we're going to go out to eat and I'll pick up groceries in the morning. I saw a pizza place in town. Do you want to go?"
> You say "No."
"For God's sake, Haze! This isn't fair! You can't punish me forever because of the mood! I'm sick of this bitchy behavior! Now, get in the car!"

You follow Dad to the car, and climb in the passenger seat. You don't even need to turn your head to know your brother's in the backseat, hearing the opening tune of Angry Birds: Stalin's Show Trials or whatever the fuck version they have now. You lie back in your seat and stare out the window as you go through the town. Eventually, you arrive at some shitty, greasy pizza joint, and get out of the car. You walk inside, and find yourself in a Chucky Cheese knock-off. You walk up to the counter and find yourself faced with a girl your age with long brown hair and a massive zit that looks like a red dot sight in the middle of her forehead.

"Hello, welcome to Pizza Corner, can I take your order?" she asks.

"Yeah, can we have a large Pepperoni Pizza and three Cokes?"

"Sure thing. Small, Medium or Large?"

"Medium."

The girl begins pouring the drinks as another, far prettier blond girl appears from the kitchen, holding a large piece of dough. She glances briefly at you, before grabbing a cloth with her spare hand and disappearing back again.

"So, are you new here?" the cashier asks.

"Yeah, I just moved in."

"I'm Lucy."

"I'm Hazel."

“Oh, really? Well, it’s a good town. You can’t find much work except in a dull pizza joint, but there ain’t much here to even spend the money on. Some old clothes stores and a cinema, and that’s about it.”

“Do you work here full time?”

“Jesus no. If I got to the point where I was working here full time I’d dip my head in the deep fat… well, I wouldn’t be happy. Im still in school.”

“What grade?”

“10th.”

“Oh, I’m starting there tomorrow. I guess I’ll see you there.”

“”Sure. If you want, I can always get you a job here. Becca, the blond girl, has literally done shit all since we started. She’s only working so her daddy an think she’s learning real-life experience and still feel justified buying whatever she…”

“I can hear you!” a voice calls out from the kitchen.

“I know, Becca, I’m getting a point across!”

Dad appears standing next to you, grinning.

"Look who's already making friends!" he smiles.

You roll your eyes.

"Yeah, sure. Let's just sit down," you say, pulling Dad towards a booth to sit in.


An hour later, you pull into Dawnbrook, and find you were far too optimistic. The town is a shitty series of low buildings. Hunter looks up from his Kindle briefly, before shrugging and looking back down. You pull up to one of the many, generic looking houses pulling into the driveway.You can already see faces peeking out from windows at the new arrivals. Dad opens the car door and lugs two suitcases up to the door and fishes through his pocket for his keys and opens the door.

"Here we are! Home!" he says cheerfully, obviously trying to raise his children's spirits.

You follow Dad inside, dropping your backpack on the floor.

"I'll begin unpacking, you guys can get settled in or go meet the neighbors or explore," Dad says.
> You go outside
You walk outside, and two snot-nosed, dirty kids with long, uncombed brown hair appear, staring blankly at you. They both have shoulder-length hair and wear mud-stained clothes, a boy and a girl.

"Who are you?" one asks as she begins to pick her nose.

"Hazel. I'm new here."

"Where you from?"

"New York."

"My dad says New York's only full of greedy Jews and angry Negroes."

"Jesus Christ, kid, maybe your dad's a prick," you say aghast, staring at the pair.

A tall boy who seems to be your age jogs over, grabbing the two children. He has short brown hair and wears shorts and a t-shirt, both of which are far too small for him, as well as an awkward smile that stares at you.

"Hi. S-S-Sorry if these t-two were bothering y-you. TJ, Emma, go b-b-back inside," the boy stutters.

The pair of kids shrug and run off. The boy extends a hand, which you grasp and shake.

"I'm Carter," he says, smiling.

"I'm Hazel."

"So, d-did you just-m-m-move in?"

"Yeah, I did."

"Cool. What g-grade are you i-in?"

"10th."

"Oh! Me too! W-when are you star... starting?"

"Day after tomorrow."

"Cool. I guess I'll s-see you then. It was a... a pleasure to meet you," he smiles.

Carter rushes after his siblings, and you watch as he jogs off. You hear Dad yell from your house, and turn to see him.

"Hey, sweetie. The house is pretty barren, so we're going to go out to eat and I'll pick up groceries in the morning. I saw a pizza place in town. Do you want to go?"