Monday 8:00 AM

You groggily wake up from the sofa like you always do, dreading to have to go to work at your pointless job. You haven’t been sleeping well lately, you don’t know what the hell the problem is, and all you know is you’re going to be tired for work again. As you go through your routine of getting ready, the TV can be heard; as usual you left it on from the night before.

“…And peace talks broke down today, as several ambassadors engaged in a physical fight at the UN…Neo-Communist party gaining favor in Russia… more terrorist bombings in European Union cities…US troops won another victory in the Middle East…mysterious epidemic in China, several million dead…skirmishes on the Indian-Pakistan border…world wide tensions at an all time high…”

Same old doom and gloom on TV; you wonder why you even bother watching the news anymore. Still it does seem like things are getting worse, late at night when you’re suffering from your usual insomnia, you’ve been catching infomercials attempting to sell bomb shelters, like something out of a 1950s propaganda film. It seems silly, but you do wonder if it’s only a matter of time before someone presses the button.

Then again you live out in the boonies, you’ve always thought that if the world ever did blow up; you’d doubt you’d even notice until you drove to work the next day and saw the ruins of the city. Speaking of which you better get going or you’ll be late.
> You buy a bomb shelter
Fuck work, the world’s about to end soon and you need to prepare yourself for that! You immediately call up the number that the infomercial mentioned. You know the damn thing by heart since you’ve been watching it night after night. Eventually a chipper female voice picks up on the other end.

“Ground Zero Survival Inc. How may I help you?”
“Uh, yeah I’d like to buy a bomb shelter.”
“That’s wonderful sir! In these uncertain times you can never be too careful and we here at GZS are thrilled that you’ve chosen to trust us in your continued existence! You and your family’s utmost protection is as important to us is it is to you! Our shelters are the best you’ll find and, we have many shelters still available at various prices, but really can you put a price on your loved ones protection? Of course not! So I’m sure you’ll want one of our top of the line models that are still left! Okay so how many are in your family?”
“Um, just me.”
“Oh…” the voice suddenly gets less chipper.
“What?”
“Sir, don’t you have ANY family? Like a wife at least, maybe a cousin?”
“No, not really.”
“Oh dear…”
“WHAT!?”
“Well sir, its just that, we here at GZS are a family friendly business and we feel that the survival of the human race will best be served by those who have a strong sense of family ties and a respect for the family unit. We aren’t in the business of selling shelters to those of low moral fiber sir…”
“What the fuck?! Just because I’m single I gotta be some sort of low life? I’m not luring fuckin’ little girls into my car with lollipops! I have a fucking job and pay my goddamn taxes!”
“Sir, I don’t like you taking that tone with me when there isn’t any call for it and I would appreciate it if you didn’t blaspheme, I’m a God fearing woman. Now then I understand your frustration, but there’s nothing we can do. Our shelters were primarily built for families of at least four. To put singles in them wouldn’t be fair to families that have children who shall surely be the ones to rebuild civilization, not to mention it would be a waste of resources. A single person would have an overstock of food and water since as I said we primarily cater to families and stock the shelters with families in mind.”
“I fail to see how me having MORE than enough food and water is a bad thing…”
“I see sir, so you would be selfish and deprive a possible family of survival?”
“I didn’t say that! And wait a minute; wouldn’t I be doing that anyway if I had a family of my own?”
“Yes, but it would be different.”
“How?”
“You would have a family sir.”

You’re about ready to throw the phone against the wall in frustration.

“So basically what you’re telling me is you’re not selling me a shelter.”
“Ah now I didn’t say that sir! Since you’re interested in buying our product and by your previous outburst I can tell you ARE a productive member of society. And it is only due to your poor social skills that you have been unable to take the necessary steps to have a family of your own! But never fear, GZS HAS kept your type in mind!”
“Gee, thanks…”
“You’re quite welcome sir! We have the Community Shelters for singles! It is basically a giant shelter filled with singles such as yourself. You will be given a separate room to live in, but everything else you must share. Don’t worry we have stocked these shelters with supplies to last for years! It is our hope that nature will take its course and when it comes time to return to the surface a fully functional tight knit community of families will emerge to rebuild civilization once again!”

Sharing isn’t something you’re good at. You like your privacy and your space and your solitude. You can’t imagine sharing stuff when your very survival is at stake.

“Look, don’t you have ANYTHING I can get by myself?” you demand.
“Are you serious sir? You actually want to be alone?” the voice says as if you must be nuts to ask that kind of question.
“If possible yeah.”
“Well…I shouldn’t really tell you sir, because you snapped at me earlier, but it is my job to make sure any potential customer is serviced to the best of my ability. That and the fact that these other Special Shelters we have are a bit…experimental.”
“Experimental? What do you mean?”
“Well I don’t know too much about these Special Shelters myself sir, all I know is they have been equipped with the latest technology and VERY expensive. Anyone can buy one as long as they have the money to do so.”
“Well how experimental are these things exactly?”
“As I said sir, I know little about these Special Shelters other than they are equipped with the latest technology. GZS has run tests and they are considered very safe and will protect you in the coming apocalypse, however due to time constraints GZS may have missed a few minor things, and as such we are legally required to warn…er inform potential customers before they buy them.”
> You buy a room in the Community Shelter
As much as you’re not keen on sharing, you’re less keen on the idea of being shoved in an experimental shelter. Sounds like they didn’t work all the bugs out of the system, and it’s filled with hi-tech equipment? God help you if something broke down. You wouldn’t know how to fix it. At least if you’re with other people, there’s bound to be people with different skills to compliment each other.

Of course everyone could just be incompetent like they usually are.

You’re not going to dwell on it too much, you’ll take the safer choice; maybe it won’t be so bad.

“Okay I’ll take a room in the Community Shelter.”
“Wonderful sir! You won’t regret this decision! Now I’ll need to know some vital information about yourself before I can direct you to our nearest Community shelter in your area where upon you shall pay the automatic teller just inside the foyer of it so that the main door can open and you will be able to enter your new residence during Armageddon! Okay let’s start with your name sir.”

You give out your name, address and such. It’s all pretty routine stuff until the questions get more personal.

“Have you ever committed a felony sir?”
“No.”
“Do you have a history of mental illness sir?”
“No.”
“Are you a drug addict or smoke sir?”
“No.”
“Are you handicapped in anyway sir?”
“No.”
“Do you believe in God sir?”
“Huh? Uh…sure I guess.”
“Hmmm…okay…” the voice says a bit disapprovingly. “Do you have any physical diseases or suffered from any in the past sir?”
“No.”
“Do you have AIDS or any other STDs sir?”
“What the hell? I just told you I don’t have any diseases! Sexual or otherwise!”
“Are you sterile sir?”
“What?!”
“I said are you shooting blanks sir?”
“What difference does that make?”
“Please sir, just answer the question.”
“(Sigh) No. As far as I know, I’m packing a loaded fucking weapon. I know because I had to take an overly thorough physical for work recently.”
“Wonderful sir! Okay are you a homosexual or ever had homosexual feelings?”
“WHAT THE FUCK?! NO!!”
“Sir, I told you before don’t take that tone with me.”
“Well you’re asking me a lot of fucking personal questions! Why do you need to know all this shit?”
“Sir, as I said, we are a family orientated business, we aren’t just a money motivated corporation, we are interested in the survival and well being of the human race. The human race can’t thrive if people don’t meet the necessary…requirements. How can civilization be re-built if children aren’t being born? I mean would you want to live in a society built by drug addicted mentally ill homosexual criminals? That’s the reason the world is ending now, because people have turned away from a righteous way of living!”
“Look I’d live in a fucking society with transsexual midgets if it’ll get me to the fucking shelter already!”
“Hmmm, well despite that comment, your non-committal answer on the belief in God, and your overall anti-social tone, you do qualify for one of our rooms in the Community Shelter in your area. I can only hope some of the other more sociable residents rub off on you, and cause a change in your personality. I’ll give you the location of the shelter sir.”

You are given the location of the Community Shelter which you are surprised to find out is closer then you think, it shouldn’t take too long for you drive there. You are then given the price, which is pretty steep, but you can afford it. Besides if the world is ending it’s not like you’re really going to need money anymore. Which makes you wonder why GZS is in business at all. What’s the point of going to the trouble of building bomb shelters for Armageddon if all the profit they make is most likely going to be useless in the aftermath?

Oh well that’s not your concern, you’re just glad you passed the damn interrogation and got into the shelter. Of course now you’re subjected to some last minute rules.

“Okay sir, you are now in the system and registered. You may move into the Shelter at anytime as long you pay the fee required to the automatic teller as previously described to you. If you don’t pay, you can’t get in obviously. Cash, check, or debit card are acceptable. NO Credit Cards will be accepted! Now then some rules. You do not have to bring anything with you, but it is recommended that you do bring your own clothing if you wish to wear something different as the days go by. Food and drinkable liquids are acceptable, but not necessary. Do not bring in private medical supplies or repair equipment, the shelter has been stocked with those items, we do not want people bringing in potential weapons or illegal drugs. Speaking of which, DO NOT attempt to bring in any kind of weapon! Guns and knives are strictly prohibited! Attempting to bring in either one will result in non-admittance of the shelter! Same goes for drugs of any kind. Alcohol is frowned upon, but accepted. There WILL be a machine to scan you before you’re allowed to enter, so do not think you will be able to sneak anything in! Now then I trust our transaction has ended. If you have anymore questions please contact our customer service line. Good day sir, may your first child be a masculine one and thank you for choosing Ground Zero Survival!”

That’s it, all you have to do is get what stuff you want to take with you and move in, might as well do it now, no sense in waiting until you see the nuclear cloud. You wonder if you shouldn’t try to “beat the system” by sneaking your weapon in though.

Ultimately you decide this is survival. You need every advantage you can get. You don’t know what kind of people you’re going to be stuck with, so you take your pistol with you and a few “non-lethal” supplies such as duct tape. You also you just pack some clothing, food and water. You then set off on your way.

After a couple days of driving you finally arrive at the location that you were given. It’s in a fairly desolate place with a single solid metal structure with a door standing there. There’s also a few other cars parked nearby, you obviously aren’t the first one here. You park your van and enter the structure with the items you brought with you. You’re in a small foyer with an elevator door and ATM like machine; you’re guessing that’s the automatic teller you were told about.

Before you start pressing buttons you need to figure out how you’re going to get your pistol through the scanning process, because you can be sure if you fail something nasty will happen…
> You duct tape the pistol to the ceiling
GZS probably has some sort of scanner that does a little more than just scan your body, so just not having the gun on your person most likely isn’t going to work.

You get the idea that the machine is probably not going to scan the ceiling though, so you get out your duct tape and fix it to the pistol, you then climb on top of the automatic teller and jump up to stick the pistol on the ceiling. You end up falling on your ass, but you succeed. You then press some buttons on the machine, where it proceeds to ask your name and how you’re going to pay. You type in your name and insert you debit card where upon it drains most of your account. The door you stepped through sudden shuts and a hum is heard. You take a deep breath and hope for the best.

“Now scanning for unauthorized items…Scanning…Scanning…Scanning complete. You have been allowed entry, the elevator doors will now open, your room number is 23, thank you for choosing Ground Zero Survival!” an  emotionless electronic voice remarks as the elevator doors open. It worked!

You quickly climb back up on to the teller and jump up to grab your pistol, (this time able to maintain your balance better) toss it into the elevator opening and then rush in with all your belongings and take the long elevator trip down.

When you get to bottom the elevator door opens to large sterile hallway with lines of other closed metal doors on either side As soon as you enter, the elevator doors slam shut and you hear it going back up, you also notice there aren’t any buttons to call it back…before you’re able to worry about that little detail you’re met by a few of your new neighbors. One is some tall skinny guy another is a brunette woman who begins talking to you.

“Hey, another new neighbor! My name is Nina and this is Ron, what’s your name?”

She is entirely too fucking friendly given the situation.

“Why aren’t there call buttons back on the elevator?” you ask ignoring her question.
“Huh? Oh I guess it’s a safety feature. The elevator automatically goes back up so the other people can get in as quickly as possible. Ron suggested that they might’ve thought someone would deliberately try to keep the elevator down here to prevent anyone else from seeking shelter. Though I can’t honestly imagine that anyone would do such a horrible thing.”
“Been living on earth long Nina?” you ask rhetorically. “Great, so I’m basically trapped down here due to the brilliant engineering minds of GZS…so is it just us so far or are their other people here too?”
”There are a few others, if you come with us we can introduce you to…”
“Maybe later, look we’re gonna be stuck down here for a long time so I’ll get to know everyone soon enough, right now I just want to go to my room and rest.”
“Erm, okay…” Ron says as you push past them both.

You head to your room which is equipped with the basic requirements; food and water dispenser, shower, bed, and a cabinet. (You hide your pistol in your mattress) There’s a standard Shelter Operations Manual sitting on the table as well as a Shelter Booklet about socialization, rules, guidelines and such, both of which you skim through every now and then. There’s a big public recreation area and a couple of other public rooms where your neighbors gather, but you stay in your room and keep to yourself for the most part. Sometimes in the middle of the night when nobody else is around you’ll watch the TV in the living area to keep up on current events.

You hear other people arriving over the month. Ron and Nina greet them all, you can tell those two are going to be the ones to “organize” shit and probably try to decide what’s “best” for everyone. Always saying stuff that they read in the booklet.

“Fucking busy bodies…” you say as you fall asleep watching the world in its death throes on TV…

Monday 8:00 AM

“…BEEEEEEEEEEEEEE…”

You groggily wake up and see a test pattern on TV.

This is it.

You feel a small tremor and then you turn off the TV, just as Nina and Ron come walking in.

“What was that?” Nina asks.
“Test pattern, I think Armageddon arrived.” You answer.
“What?! I can’t believe it!” Ron exclaims.
“Why are you so surprised? I mean that was the whole point of coming down here right?”
“Yeah, but I dunno…I just wasn’t prepared for it actually happening.”
“Christ, Ron I’ve overheard you say you were the first one in this goddamn shelter, you of all people should’ve long gotten used to the idea of living down here.”
“What is your problem? You been nothing but hostile since you’ve got here!” Nina exclaims.
“My problem is I’m stuck down here with a bunch of people I don’t really know and if you two are any indication I don’t want to know.”
“How did you even qualify to get a room down here?”
“Good clean living I guess, so is there supposed to be something special we do now?”
“Uh, yeah I think so, it mentions something in the booklet I was reading that came with the shelter, we’re supposed to gather everyone and tell them.”
“Okay well I guess you guys go do that then. I’m just going to check on something here.”
“Okay, but we’re supposed to have some sort of vote to decide on how this place is going to be run, if you don’t show up you don’t get a vote.” Ron reminds you.
“I know Ron, I’ve read the booklet.” You answer unenthusiastically.

Ron and Nina leave you and go tell the others of the situation and follow other things it states in the booklet. You’re wondering if you should even stay down here. All these people seem completely different than you. You wish there was someway to call the elevator back down, but after checking a GZS computer it states that it won’t come back until it detects that the surface is safe for habitation again…which basically means not in your lifetime.

It’s probably just as well since the surface probably isn’t the safest place you’d want to be, lord knows what the hell it looks like now, not to mention the radiation factor. Then again you’d still like the option to leave if you wanted to. You go back to your room, read and enjoy the solitude until Nina comes to get you.

“Hey! You didn’t show up for the meeting! We’re discussing which ways this place could be run, are you coming or what?”
> You go vote
“(Sigh) Fine, I’ll attend this exercise in futility, but what the hell are we doing exactly, so I’m not just jumping into shit.” You ask as you and Nina walk towards the conference room.
“Well right now we’re voting on a shelter leader. Someone to make the final decisions about important things. So far Ron is tied with another. In fact the only reason why I came to get you, was so you could break the tie.”
“Whoopie, I feel honored I can take an important part in this democratic process. So who’s the other person?”
“Oh, that would be Elliot. He was one of the later arrivals, but is very personable. Not that you’d know since I doubt you’ve even seen him given that you lock yourself in you room all the time.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know who he is, bald guy. So I take it you want Ron to win huh?”
“Well…I’d be lying if I said I didn’t, but Elliot’s seems like a good guy too, so I’m sure he’d make a good leader as well.”
“Why haven’t you run? I mean you seem to like to organize things.”
“Me? Oh no, I’m not a leader.”
“Well from what I’ve seen of Ron, he isn’t either.”

Nina stops you in the corridor.

“Damn it, stop being an asshole! At least Ron makes an attempt to get involved in things! You haven’t done shit since you got here except insult people and lock yourself away! Like it or not we’re ALL in this together! And you better start getting with the program and contribute!”
“What the fuck? I am contributing; I’m going to this goddamn meeting aren’t I? And you better watch your tone; remember I’M the swing vote for your boyfriend.”
“Ron isn’t my boyfriend! I mean…not yet…uh…”
“What? You mean he isn’t taping your ass yet? Shit, he’s stupider than I thought then, because he’d be lucky to get someone who looks like you even if you are annoying.”

Nina stands and stares at you in disbelief.

“…could you possibly be any more vile?”
“Probably, but we don’t have time for that, I gotta vote for some dickhead.”

You continue to the conference room (with Nina no longer walking with you) and when you finally arrive everyone is there as if they’ve been waiting for you. You don’t even really care who’s in charge since more than likely no matter who you vote for is going to be an intrusive bastard wanting everyone to do something.

You can vote for Ron. As far as leadership material, you don’t really see him as one, though he seems to have some planning skills and friendly to people so maybe he’s got the stuff.

Elliot you barely know anything about, he also seems to be an organizer and friendly to everyone, but not to the point that it’s irritating. Though to you there’s something a little creepy about him.

Ah what the hell, you know this is something Ron wants more than anything why not give it to him? Besides he’s not very “strong” which means you can probably get away with disobeying him on a regular basis without causing a big scene.

“I’ll vote for Ron.” You say, Nina looks surprised and Ron jumps up and down like an idiot in celebration. You take that as your opportunity to go back to your room, Nina once again stops you in the corridor.

“I just wanted to say thanks for doing this; I know you don’t even like Ron…”
“I don’t care one way or another about him, if he wants the headache of running this place he can have it, he better just not ask too much of me, I did my bit. You can think of me as his kingmaker. See ya around.”

You go back to your room and that’s where you spend a majority of your time. You don’t really mix with anyone, and nobody really makes the attempt with you either. You’re asked to contribute to some “events” sometimes, but you always ignore such requests and nothing happens. Nina still hangs around Ron like a love sick school girl, but for god knows what reason he seems completely oblivious to the fact. And obviously she hasn’t told him how she feels about him. You watch this comical display replay itself over and over.

“Yeah, GZS really picked some excellent candidates to pair up to create families for the so called future, what a joke.” You mutter to yourself.

Time goes by and Ron goes about his duties which mainly consist of discussing pointless plans in the conference room. The idiot can’t do ANYTHING without talking about it with others he appointed as advisors first! If somebody’s shower is broken they have to discuss when, how and WHY it has to be fixed! Naturally everyone disagree about one point and they have to start all over again which usually means nothing gets done. A lot of planning and organizing of ideas, but no actual implementations of those same ideas.

The shelter starts falling into disrepair, a few fixes are made here and there, but they’re more jury-rigged ones more than anything. Nobody has perfectly functioning rooms from what you know…well except yours since you do nothing, but study the shelter manual all the time attempting to learn more about how it works giving you an edge in repairing your own room. (In fact you just permanently took a repair kit for yourself out of the equipment room) You really don’t understand why other people aren’t doing the same instead of waiting around for things to get repaired or complaining about needing things to get repaired. Everyone has the same damn operations manual. Read it!

About six months go by and finally you’re given an unexpected visit during the night. You answer your door. It’s Elliot and some other people.

“May we come in?” Elliot asks.
“What do you want?”
“Just to talk about the future of the shelter.”
“Yeah? Well you can talk to Ron about that, he’s the big shelter leader.”
“Yes he is, thanks to you. And that’s also why this shelter is in such bad shape. Ron is ruining this place with his ineptitude.”
“Oh no, don’t blame that shit on me, that’s RON’S fault, not mine. And besides MY room works fine. If you lazy bastards would actually read the damn shelter manual you wouldn’t have any problems.”
“Oh I’ve read the manual, I’m sure many people have. But surely you must realize most people don’t have the natural talent to fix thing that perhaps you have. Besides I’m sure you must also be aware that in a community each person has his own talents. For example Leon behind me used to be a bouncer. Don’t you think with his skills he’d make an excellent head of security around here?”

Leon folds his big black arms almost daring you to say “No.” before Elliot continues.

“My point is me and a few others are planning to take Ron out of office for gross incompetence. Did you know Fred and Greta are planning to have a baby? The first one to be born in here. The population in this shelter isn’t going to be stable forever. It’s going to grow and we NEED to keep this place running efficiently if we’re ALL going to survive. I know you’re a solitary person…I even respect that, but the time has come for you to choose between life or death. By joining our group, you’re choosing life. By remaining locked away in here, you’re choosing death not just for all of us, but for yourself. No man is an island.”

Elliot has a bit of duality to his speech. Part of him sounds genuinely concerned for the future of the shelter; he may even have a point. But the other part of him sounds like he’s politely threatening you. And you’re not sure of the whole “taking Ron out of office” thing. It almost sounds like he plans on taking over by force. You get the impression he and his little group are going to do just that regardless of whether you join or not.
> You decline
“Yeah, well you do what you have to do, just leave me out of it. Your little power struggle with Ron isn’t any of my concern. And if and when you do take power don’t think you’re going to be ordering me around either.”

Elliot’s expression changes to that of someone very perturbed by your response.

“I’m very disappointed to hear you say that, I really thought you could have a place in the new community I was planning.”
“Think again, now get outta here…”

You begin to shove Elliot out of your doorway, but Leon reaches over his shoulder and shoves you back with great strength. You fall backwards on to your floor, Elliot and his gang start to enter. He pulls out a scalpel, something he probably got from the medical supplies. You happen to be right next to your mattress, so you reach in and grab your pistol to point it directly at Elliot. Now they all look like they just seen a ghost and all the bravery has drained out of them except Leon, who looks like this isn’t the first time he’s had a gun pointed at him, but he’s still stepping back.

“You wanna fuckin’ take another step motherfucker? Go ahead, I fuckin’ dare you!”
“Holy shit, he’s got a fuckin’ gun Elliot!” a women in his group says.
“I can see that Brenda! Okay, look maybe we got off on the wrong foot here. I mean obviously you’re a more resourceful man than I thought…I mean as far as I know you’re the only one in this place with a goddamn gun. How’d you manage that?”
“Never you mind, just get the fuck outta here!”
“Very well, but remember, you don’t have any friends in this place, and you can’t watch your back all the time…”

Elliot has just announced his intentions of eliminating you whenever it’s possible. You’ll have to live in constant paranoia now. Unless…
> You shoot him now
Always one to solve a problem before it starts…

You pull the trigger and blast Elliot square in the chest. He looks down in disbelief and then slumps down on the floor by your feet. You then get up from the floor as everyone else runs out of the room.

“Yeah that’s what I thought! So much for your fearless leader!”

As you drag Elliot’s body out of your room, everyone else in the shelter has come out of their own rooms after hearing the gun shot and screaming.

“OH MY GOD! HE’S GOT A GUN!” someone shouts.
“HE’S KILLED ELLIOT!” another screams.

Everyone is very afraid of what you’re going to do next. Only Nina dares approach you.

“You…you killed him? I always knew you were anti-social, but…oh my god…”
“Yeah I fuckin’ killed Elliot! And YOU of all people oughta be damn well glad I did! He was planning on taking over this place from your boyfriend Ron!”
“Ron’s not my boyfriend! And I don’t believe you! Elliot was gracious in his defeat! He was a good man unlike you!”
“Yeah he was so good he tried to recruit me for his little rebellion gang, and don’t try to hide in the fuckin’ crowd Leon and act like you weren’t there! All of you fuckers hiding right now, came to my room with Elliot! And lemme ask you this, WHY the hell would ANY of them come to MY room? Everyone knows I don’t invite people!”
“I dunno what to say right now…please just put down the gun…I don’t want you to kill anyone else…”
“For fuck’s sake Nina I’m not a mass murderer! It was self-defense! He was gonna kill me, just like he was gonna kill Ron and shit maybe he should’ve, the fuckstick’s supposed to be the shelter leader and he’s not even here for this! Where is Ron?”

Nina suddenly wonders where he’s at as well, she runs over to his door which is still shut.

“Don’t tell me, he’s THAT much of deep sleeper.” You mutter while standing by Elliot’s dead body.

Nina doesn’t even knock, apparently she’s got her own key to get in his room. You’re STILL wondering why nothing has happened between those two yet, your questions are soon answered, and everyone is in for another surprise this eventful night.

“EEEEEEEEEEEK! NO!” you hear Nina scream when she goes inside the room and then runs back out crying. Ron steps out in his underwear.

“No, wait! Nina, its not what it looks like!” he shouts to her and then another guy in his underwear comes out. You think his name is William, you never knew too much about him before, but you know MORE than you wanted to now!

“Get back inside William!” when Ron sees that there’s a whole crowd of people staring in various states of shock. It’s too late though now, everyone knows.

“Wow Nina sure is a good judge of character, she thought Elliot was a good man and she thought you were straight. Looks like I wasn’t the only one with a secret in this shelter! Heh heh.”

Ron finally turns to you and sees what you’ve done.

“…You got a gun? YOU FUCKIN’ KILLED ELLIOT?”
“(Sigh) Not this again! Yeah I fuckin’ killed him. He tried to kill me and he was planning on killing you to take over this dump!”
“Now just calm down, and put down the gun…”
“I’m not putting down shit and I’m not killing anyone else unless someone gives me cause to do so! What the fuck, was the dick in your mouth so good to you, you didn’t hear the gunshots and screaming out here? I’m sick of explaining this twice! Now I’M going back into MY room to get some sleep! And none of you better fucking disturb me for the rest of the night! And someone better clean up Elliot’s carcass from in front of my room when I wake up tomorrow!”

You return to your room.

“Yeah, I think that went well.” You say to yourself.

After the night of multiple “incidents” a lot of things happen. The first, is Elliot’s body being the first one dumped into the incinerator. The second being that Ron is immediately voted out by his own council who all follow the GZS guidelines. Apparently being gay was more of an offense than being incompetent, since GZS guidelines were explicit in not wanting homosexuals in the Community Shelters which he obviously lied about. Nina is unsurprisingly the most vocal about his vote out; in fact she ends up taking over. Ron and William move into a separate far room together and become social pariahs. Everyone who was previously friendly with Ron suddenly starts treating him like garbage. You never really cared for him, and thought he was an incompetent moron, but even you think it’s shitty for them to all just turn on him over who he happens to be fucking. But that’s how people are and that’s why you try to avoid them.

Your situation is a little different, they can’t really treat you like a social pariah mainly because you were always one to begin with and another because everyone’s afraid you’ll shoot them. All of Elliot’s former friends have no doubt reinforced the belief in others that you’re dangerous. You don’t really care though, just as long as nobody fucks with you and stays out of your way (Which everyone does for the most part since you now walk around with it at all times)

A year passes…

The shelter sees its first baby born and there are a couple of other pregnant women ready to pop as well. Nina has improved the place a little bit more. No doubt without anyone to fawn over now she’s throwing herself into her work. There’s actually a guy (Kyle) who’s has some medical knowledge now, they still don’t really have a good “tech guy” though and things are still being jury-rigged. Nina knows with a growing population this shelter needs to be in tip top running condition.

You get that expected knock on the door.

“Hello, Nina.” You say.
“Yeah hi. Look, I just want to know if you have any intention of helping us out or if you’re still going to remain an isolated asshole.”

Nothing like being blunt. Politics has really hardened Nina, she’s all business now it seems and lot less naïve.

How strangely appealing…
> You help out the community
“You know what Nina? I’m in a charitable mood. What do you need?”
“We need you to hack into the central GZS computer system to bring the elevator down.”
“Wow, I didn’t expect that one. What’s going on?”
“Can you do it?” Nina asks without answering your question.
“Well in theory I might. I’ve fucked around with that computer when nobody was around in the past, but I’ve never really gotten into the inner workings of the system, and I’ve read as much as I can about the shelter itself. Damn thing’s touchy though. I just worry that if I do the wrong thing I’ll end up shutting the whole shelter down and doom us all.”
“You mean doom yourself.”
“Well that too, but you still never told me what you want to bring the elevator down for.”
“Are you gonna do it or not?”
“Okay, what happens if I don’t?”
“I’ll just get one of my own people to attempt it and hope they don’t doom us all accidentally.”
“(Sigh) Well played Nina, you know I’m gonna do it now. Alright, let’s go.”

You and Nina enter the Community Shelter computer room, where a couple of Nina’s tech’s are tinkering with the Central GZS computer.

“What are you doing!? Give me that!” you yell taking a screw driver away from one of them. You recognize them both Todd and Charles if you remember correctly.
“Oh man, its you! Okay, don’t get mad!” Todd says backing off. Charles does like wise.
“Sheesh, I’m not going to shoot you! I’m just trying to prevent you from fucking up what’s basically our life support system! Its barely working right as it is! I swear GZS put us in a death trap down here.”
“Alright then do you need any help? Or should we leave you alone while you do this?” Nina asks.
“What do you think fearless leader?”
“Right. Come on let’s go.”

Nina and the other two leave and you get to work. You first do a system scan to what’s going on exactly. Wow, this place really is in some bad shape! You can see where some fixes have been made, but without a really skilled technician routinely checking in on stuff, things are never going to get better in this place, you shutter to think what would’ve happened with Ron still in control. This place might’ve very well lost all power. You’re sort of glad you’ve begun to take an interest. MAYBE after you manage to get the elevator down you might just volunteer to upkeep this thing.

You start delving into the inner working of the system; GZS really didn’t want folks bringing the elevator down! You accidentally cut some lighting temporarily which causes you to hear some yelling from a distance.

“Oh toughen up.” You say to yourself.

You continue to work and eventually you successfully override the safety protocol for the elevator and it starts its decent.

“Ha ha, I rule.” You say as you come out of the computer room.
“Did you do it?” Nina asks.
“Sure did. NOW are you going to tell me why we’re bringing it down?”
“You’ll see for yourself. Leon, bring both of the perverts out, this has been a long time coming…”

You notice that everyone’s standing around right now, like some special event is going down. Leon eventually comes back with Ron and William in tow, and he looks like he roughed them up first so they’d struggle less.

The elevator door opens up for the first time.

“Put both of these…criminals in the elevator Leon.” Nina says. Leon does so, with a lot of protesting and pleading from both, but another couple punches shut them up. Now you know why Nina wanted you to bring the elevator down…exile. If this was a year ago and they were throwing Ron out in the wasteland for his bungling of shelter management, you’d probably be the first to applaud. But what’s going on right now is for the wrong damn reasons, and you know Nina’s just being a petty bitch who’s still harboring resentment for shit she really brought on herself with completely clueless judgment on her part.

“Alright, Nina I know you’re fucking upset because your make believe boyfriend turned out to be a fag, but that was a goddamn year ago…”
“Shut up! This has nothing to do with that! This is about justice! These two are in violation of GZS guidelines carrying on with…”
“Oh will you shut up about that shit? I’m starting to believe the entire GZS Corporation were a bunch of fucking loonies with too much time on their hands! They build these fucking shelters that break down all the goddamn time, with no way to get back to the surface and trapping everyone down here.”
“Why the hell are you defending these two? You’ve never been one to give a fucking shit before! You know I’ve never seen you pursue any women around here even if you were slightly appealing enough for any of them to have you. What are you gay too?”
“(Sigh) No, Nina because if I was I’m sure you would’ve been the first one to want to spread your legs for me. Look I’m just saying this ain’t fucking right okay?”
“Oh and YOU’RE the fucking expert on what’s right? You fucking KILLED a man! You fucking snuck a gun in here a shot somebody! So is the gun an extension of your manhood and you just couldn’t live without it?”
“Y’know Nina, you seem awfully pre-occupied with my sexual habits. Shit, if you want me to fuck you already just come out and say it and stop beating around bush. I’d say that’s what you’ve been needing since you got in here anyway, because I haven’t seen YOU with anyone either, that didn’t turn out to be a complete fucking homo of course.”

Your remark is met with a long period of silence. The rest of the shelter population has been in absolute awe, this is probably the most exciting thing that’s happened since you shot Elliot. Nina looks at you hard and recomposes herself.

“Are you going to send the elevator up, or not?”
> You send the elevator up
You throw your hands up.

“Alright, fuck it then. You’re right. What the hell do I care? Shoulda been more careful Ron.”

You turn around and go back to the computer room to send the elevator up, you hear the pitiful begging from Ron, followed up by a couple of verbal abusive insults from Nina. Sheesh, she’s turned into a real bitch. You better make yourself semi-useful so that vengeful attitude doesn’t turn too much on you. You figure the best way to do that is to start monitoring and working with the GZS central computer, besides you need to look after this thing anyway. You don’t feel safe with those other two idiots looking after it.

“(Sigh) Looks like I’m working again.” You say as you press the button to send the elevator up.

Four years pass...

You’ve been here five years and things have changed.

The population has grown a bit, but not a lot since Nina’s pettiness helps keep the population down. Nina, has thrown at least ten people into “exile”. Anyone who only mildly displeases or disagrees with her, is often shown the elevator…unless they happen to be providing a useful skill like you. Nina really hates the fact that you’re the only competent technician she has. You manage to keep things from breaking down constantly like they were, but only just the minimum. You purposely don’t keep things running at maximum efficiency, since as long as you’re needed you won’t be in danger…of course there IS the fact you have a gun that also keeps you safe, but there’s never any harm in having a couple of safety nets. The more the better.

In fact, you wonder about losing one of your safety nets. Todd and Charles have increased in their technical knowledge over the years, and granted they still aren’t as skilled as you; they might actually be competent one day. And they do a lot less back talking than you…

You wonder if you should do something to ensure your position. Todd and Charles come in talking about some old movie they watched in the community living area. It would be really easy to just shoot them. Who would stop you? And what could anyone do about it?
> You shoot them both
Oh well, you were never that close to them anyway…

You reach for your weapon, while Todd and Charles are still talking. You blast Charles in the neck making blood spurt all over Todd who stares in shock. Your next shot hits Todd in the head.

With both of them dead you suddenly feel a whole lot better and go back to work. Naturally the sound of the shots brings people to come running.

“OH NO! HE’S DONE IT AGAIN!” someone shouts and runs back out of the room. Pretty soon Nina and her goon Leon come in. Nina sees the two bodies on the floor and looks more pissed off than afraid of you.

“What the fuck did you do that for?”
“Just ensuring my position Nina, I’m sure you understand.”
“You fucking psychotic sonofabitch! You can’t just go around shooting people!”
“Oh don’t EVEN be claiming moral superiority here Nina, you who throws people into Exile just because they’re looking at you funny! In fact Todd and Charles deaths are your fault not mine, I can’t help if I feel threatened that you might replace me and throw me out on to the surface as well.”
“Goddamn you, if you didn’t have that gun or the only reliable tech, I’d throw you out of here so fast…”
“Exactly! So I’m glad we’re in agreement…it’s all your fault.”
“What the…look, just because you got that fuckin’ gun doesn’t mean shit! I’M still in charge of this place!”

You stand up and shoot Leon three times, he falls backwards smacking his head against a table before taking his last breath. Now Nina starts to get worried, you just shot her head goon who was intimidating everyone else. She doesn’t have that leverage anymore. Of course right now she’s not worried about staying in power, for the first time she’s worried about you shooting her. You’re up close and personal, threatening her with it.

“See that Nina? What the fuck are ya gonna do now? Who are ya gonna get to throw people into exile? In case you haven’t realized it yet, but I’M in fuckin’ charge of this goddamn place! I just let you think you are! Now I suggest you take your ass outta here and try to figure out how you’re gonna stay in power. Because I’m sure there’s a lot of people not fond of you either, but unlike me they can actually do something about you.
Guess I know who’ll be the next exile! Ha Ha!” you then lick Nina’s face.

Nina backs out of the room in a hurry, leaving you alone with a room full of dead bodies.

“Get up, you lazy fucks, we got work to do!” you say kicking Todd’s body in a macabre joke to yourself.

 Perhaps stepping over the line of killing Todd and Charles with no provocation unhinged you a bit. And killing Leon certainly put you over the edge. Granted Nina’s no saint, but what you’re doing is just as bad. You kind of got a power rush, from your deeds today and you must say you really liked it.

After making sure everything’s working properly and even increasing the efficiency a bit, you decide to call it a day at the computer room. You leave stepping over the bodies that nobody’s come to clean up yet.

“Well, if you’re still here, I guess I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” You say.

You make your way back to your room. The corridors seem to be clear of folks, probably afraid of all the stuff that went down today so they’re keeping their heads down. Good.

Before you get ready to go to sleep, you get a knock on the door, you answer it, ready to shoot someone else again, but see Nina in her underwear instead. You’re a little surprised.

“Nina, what the hell are you doing?” unsure of how to respond.

Nina begins to talk in a way you’ve never heard her speak before, seductive, yet vulnerable.

“I was doing some thinking like you said back in the computer room…and you’re right. I won’t hold anymore power here anymore…I’ll probably get thrown onto the surface like you said…unless I ally myself with someone who has power, and you’re the only one with that kind of power.”
“I see, so what does this conclusion you’ve come to mean exactly?”

Nina takes your hand and puts it on her body, starting with her firm breasts and moving it lower to the promised land.

“It means I’m yours, in everyway imaginable, every night, any time, just please don’t let anything happen to me.”

Nina then nuzzles up against you and begins kissing on you gently for further enticement in her desperate plan to save herself.

It’s a bit hard to resist her offer. In more ways than one. This reminds you of those prison movies where one of them offers to be the bitch in exchange for protection, except this is better because Nina’s female!
> You accept her offer
You don’t think about it, you don’t answer; you let your actions speak. You pull her inside and close the door while she continues to kiss on you. As she kisses on your chest you begin pushing her head lower. She gets on her knees and begins servicing you like a common whore.

After you reach your climax, she insists that she’s not done and wants to show you even more of what she’s capable of tonight. You and her fall back to the bed where she slips off her panties, mounts you and begins the second round.

In the throes of love making while you’re closing your eyes saying “Ride the horse baby! Ride the fuckin’ horse!”  you climax again, and when you open them, you get a nasty surprise of your own fucking gun being pointed at your face.

“Raise your fuckin’ hands motherfucker!” she says calmly. You comply.
“Whoa! Hold on! Don’t shoot! Weren’t we just having fun?”
“Maybe you were, but this was just a means to an end for me…I fully intend on scrubbing myself thoroughly after this, the fact that you came inside me twice sickens me.”
“Okay, just settle down Nina, I know you’re a little upset about what I did earlier today, but I wasn’t actually going to hurt you. Just got a little trigger happy that’s all! I dunno I’ve been under a lot of stress lately! I…”
”SHUT UP! You ain’t talkin’ your way outta this! This is about survival and being in control!”

Sensing nothing else to lose you become threatening.

“Oh yeah? Well fuck you! Because I’M still in fuckin’ control then! Without me nobody knows how to run the goddamn computer the right way! I’m fuckin’ necessary to your fuckin’ survival, you stupid bitch!”
“I’m nobody’s bitch! Especially not yours!”

Before you can retort to that remark, Nina blows your brains out.


What a nice Italian suit of armour. You open the door and the guard kindly steps aside to let you pass. “Addio piccola persona!” He calls after you. “Cercate di non morire in un modo brutto!”

The next room is a rather cheerful change of pace in this otherwise rather depressing haunted tower. A little girl’s room, painted pink with little purple curtains draped over a little bed and more toys than a princess could ask for. Dollhouses complete with furniture and little tea sets for the dolls, rocking horses, every kind of toy animal you can think of and the most incredibly life like puppets.

In the centre of the room is a table on which sits a little model village. On one side of the village is a little river with an island in the middle. There are three men and a little boat on the island.

“Have you come to play with me?” You hear a little voice ask, and you turn around to see a young girl, about five years old, dressed up in a pretty green dress with a crown of flowers in her hair. Apparently the girl fancies herself a bit of a princess. Unlike the rest of the people in this tower though, the girl is not a ghost. Everything about her seems completely real. “I’ve been trying to finish this game for ages.” She tells you, standing up on a stool to get a better view of the model village. “My Daddy gave it to me. He says only a real smart person can figure it out.” The child then turns to you and considers you for a moment. “You don’t look very smart.” She says sadly. “But I’ll let you play anyway.”

Before you can either agree or object, you suddenly find yourself shrinking down to the size of a little toy soldier. Rather carelessly, the girl picks you up between her thumb and forefinger and drops you on the little model island.

“Now listen carefully.” The girl tells you with a rather bossy tone. “There’s three men on the island. The ugly one is a bad man who threw a lady in the river and drowned her. The angry one is the lady’s brother, and he’s very cross with the bad man for killing her. The scared looking man saw the ugly one drown the lady, he’s very scared because he thinks the bad man is going to kill him too, so that he won’t tell anybody what happened. You are the ferry man and you have to get all three of the men to the village so that they can take the bad man to court, but you can only take one man at a time. You can’t leave the lady’s brother alone with the bad man, or the lady’s brother might get angry and kill him. Also, you can’t leave the bad man alone with the scared man, because if you do then the bad man might kill the scared man so that he can’t tell anyone what happened. Now, who are you going to take first?”
> You refuse to play and give the little brat a good finger wagging!
You refuse to be a child’s plaything! You wag your finger at the little girl and give her a very stern telling off. “I don’t have time to play games with you! I need to escape this tower! You change me back right now! I swear if I was my real height I’d put you over my knee and give you a good spanking so you’d know to respect your… Wait, what’re you doing?”

By now the girl has picked you up and is looking at you rather crossly. “Bad toy!” She yells at you. “I don’t like you anymore!” And with that she dunks you in the model village’s river and holds you under until you drown. You never were very good with children.


The artist applauds your reply. “You zee! You zee! Oh you vonderful peasant, you zee ze ring! Now I can finally move on knoving zat my vork, it is appreciated! Good luck escaping vith your life and all zat.” And with that the ghost leaps into a blank canvas which  quickly becomes a painting of a rather eccentric looking artist with a paintbrush and palette in his hands.

Opening a door at the end of the hallway, you find another staircase. As you descend the stairs you pass by a window which shows you are almost halfway down the tower now. Keep up the good work and you’ll be free in no time.

At the bottom of the stairs you open a door to reveal another round room. This room has six doors and they are each guarded by a suit of armour holding a different flag. No ghosts appear to give you advice, so you head towards the centre of the room to choose a door. It is then that the suits of armour come to life and bang the ends of their flags on the ground in unison.

The first guard is holding a blue flag with white and red crosses going both from corner to corner and through the centre of the flag. The guard shouts, “None shall pass!”

The second guard is holding a flag with vertical blue, white and red stripes. He shouts, “Personne ne peut entrer!”

The third guard is holding a flag with red stripes at the top and bottom, a yellow stripe in the middle and to the left a picture of a shield with a crown on top. He shouts, “Nadie puede pasar!”

The fourth guard is holding a flag with horizontal black, red and yellow stripes. He shouts, “Niemand darf passieren!”

The fifth guard is holding a blue flag with a yellow cross going through. He shouts, “Ingen kan passera!”

The sixth guard is holding a flag with vertical green, white and red stripes. He shouts, “Vieni dentro piccola persona!”
> You need a hint
First I need to apologize since the flags are not historically accurate considering this game is meant to be set in medieval England. Second, for those of you that don't speak six different languages, avez-vous entendu parler de google translator?


You open the door with the wolf engraved on it and the game keeper nods with approval. “Good job kid. Did you put together the first letters of every sentence or was it just a lucky guess? Either way I suppose it’s time for me to move on. Good luck with the next riddle, but watch yourself. I hear there’s a killer on the loose in the tower.” You want to ask the game keeper more but by the time you turn around both the man and the hawk have already vanished.

The doorway leads to a large dining hall with one great table, decorated with candles and long enough to host a royal banquet. The plates, cutlery and candle sticks are all covered in dust and all the seats are empty save for the last five at the far end, all of which are filled by ghosts.

Two men sit on the left of the table and two women on the right. Judging by their clothing they are all servants of different standing within the tower, but at the head of the table sits a young woman about your own age, just barely into adulthood. Both her fine velvet dress and the refined way she sits show her to be a woman of noble birth.

“Have you come to free me from my torment?” The noble woman asks as a ghostly tear runs down her cheek. “My father sent me here to become the Wizard Lord’s bride, but while I was a guest in his tower, the scoundrel had me poisoned by one of his own servants. I cannot be free until I know who my killer is. All I know is that it is one of the four sitting at the table, and that only one of them ever speaks the truth.”

In unison the four servants all turn to you and begin to argue in their defence.

“The maid is the murderer.” Says the butler.

“The cook poisoned the princess.” Says the maid.

“I didn’t kill the girl, I swear!” Says the gardener.

“The maid is lying.” Says the cook.
> You need a hint
This riddle is pretty straight forward. You know only one of them ever tells the truth, so that must mean the rest of them are lying. Luckily only one of the servants made a comment that can be true whilst all the other comments remain false.


You press the engraved stone and a secret door in the stone wall gradually slides to one side and reveals a hidden passage way. Congratulations, you’ve escaped your cell! That wasn’t too difficult was it?

As you follow the empty passage way, you seem to be circling the dungeon and walking deeper and deeper into pitch darkness. Eventually you see a light at the end of the passage and find yourself in a room dimly lit by torches that hang from the wall. The room is small with only a spinning wheel and an old rocking chair to decorate it, both of which are coated in cob webs. There is a door on the other side of the room.

Having nowhere else to go, you head towards the door when suddenly you hear the creaking of the rocking chair behind you. For a brief moment you hold your breath and try to reassure yourself that it’s just the breeze rocking the chair, but there is no breeze in the room. Eventually you force yourself to turn around and see the ghostly figure of an old woman sitting in the chair.

Before you can run or scream, the old lady speaks up in a gentle yet eerie voice. “No need to be afraid of me child.” She tells you as she slowly rocks in her chair, stroking a small, ghostly cat on her lap. “You’ve nothing to fear from poor old Nana. I’m just here, pondering the old riddle to myself. Are you good at riddles child? I do hope so. They’re the only way to get out of this tower you see, ever since the old master went mad and cursed the place. Oh and that reminds me, I’m supposed to ask you the riddle aren’t I? Now let’s see if I can remember.

What does man love more than life,

Fear more than death and mortal strife,

What the poor have and the rich require,

And what contented men desire,

What the miser spends and the spendthrift saves,

And all men carry to their graves?”
> You need a hint
I can’t really help you with this one. You have a list of answers, choose the one you think is right… Or scream like a little girl. It’s up to you.


Chapter I: Humble Beginnings

You stand in front of a large hut, watching as your two older brothers, Gruzub and Mazkil, fight with large wooden clubs, battering each other until they're bleeding profusely. Your oldest brother, Bagig, appears in the doorway of the hut.

"Dag!" he shouts, "Come on! We have an appointment with Lurkhim Deathforge."

Bagig stands at 6'4 and towers over you. His green skin ripples with muscles that make his black tattoos of wolves and bears ripple as his sharp teeth curve into a grin. Despite being a fearsome monster that would make most men run in terror, he's the kindest of your brothers and probably one of the nicest Orcs in the village. You nod, and eagerly rush over to follow him as he begins walking towards the center of the village.

"Now, promise me you won't tell Mama what we're doing. I can imagine her shrieking. 'Oh, Bagig! What were you thinking, giving a sword and dagger to an eight year old!' She'd howl louder than a dragon that's lost its tail!"

You giggle, smiling at your brother.

"Still, you're an Orc, for fuck's sake! What does she expect you to do? We were born to spill blood."

Eventually, you come across the stone forge. Rows of iron swords, axes and maces are stacked there. Lurkhim appears behind the forge, working on a large war axe. She's heavily scarred from years of battle and forging accidents, her face being so scarred you can barely tell if she's angry or cheerful.

"Hello! Look who it is, it's Dagden Youngblood! You're getting so big, aren't you? Big enough for a sword, hmmm?"

"Yes, Lurkhim."

"Damn right you are. I had a sword twice my height at your age. Ran it through a neighboring boy who tried to take my apples, I recall. Ah, the days of youth."

She leads you over to the weapons rack, and picks out a tiny dagger.

"There. Try it out. It should be well balanced for someone of your height."

You look at the blade, filled with disappointment, and Lurkhim bursts into laughter.

"Ha! I'd be ashamed to give that to a baby!" she says, grabbing a much larger sword from a rack.

"Here. Stain it red, Dagden. May your life be long and your enemies' short."
> You take a few practice swings
You take a few swings of your blade. It takes some effort and strength to properly swing the heavy blade, but it does work quite well.

"Hey! Watch it, you little shit!" Bagig growls, as you realize you've sliced open his knee.

"Oops."

"He's already drawn blood. A promising start," Lurkhim grins.

"We're not called Red Blades for nothing," Bagig says, rubbing dirt into the cut.

"Sheath your blade, Dag, you're not in a battle yet, despite how much you may hope," she says, handing over a tiny leather belt that looks custom made for you.

You put the belt on and quickly sheath the weapon.

"Now, shall we get you a dagger? A dagger for Dag? Fitting."

You nod eagerly, as she takes you over to a row of knives. You look through them.

"Go ahead. Pick your favorite. You can tell a lot about an Orc from the dagger he picks. Whether it's gilded or plain, big or small, large or short..."

You quickly eye your favorite.

"That one."

Lurkhim laughs, picking it up. It's a deadly sharp knife made of bone, simple yet elegant.

"Ha! I like your choice! So many boys your age pick the biggest or the shiniest. You know what you want, Dagden."

You smile, as she hands you the knife.

"Keep it in your boot, so you always have it. An Orc should never be caught without a blade handy. Do you know what kind of knife that is, Dagden? What kind of bone is it?"
> You dragon
"Dragon?"

"Ha! A clever one, aren't you? He knows what he wants, Bagig, and what it's made of. Damn right it's dragon. A fierce, fiery red Dragon, slain by your grandfather Chieftain Torag. Alright, then. I have a damn many axes that need to be forged. Go now, Dagden, and make sure that knife tastes a lot of blood in its life."

"Thank you, Lurkhim."

"Of course," Lurkhim smiles.

"Come on, Dag, let's go home," Bagig says.
> You head home
You walk out of the forge, your new sword swinging at your side and you bone dagger tucked away in your boot.

"Now, if Mama asks, I was taking you to practice milking goats."

"Yes, Bagig," you nod.

You walk along home, the same time Dendar arrives.

"Bagig! Are we still taking the twins out hunting?"

"Damn right we are!" Bagig laughs, leaning into you. "Do you think I could get Gruzub and Mazkil to eat deer droppings?"

You giggle and nod eagerly as Dendar bursts into laughter.

"Damn right we're getting them to eat deer droppings."

Bagig pats you on the head, before leaving to grab his bow and head off to hunt. You watch as they leave, quickly breaking into a jog which the twins struggle to keep up with. You quickly rush inside and hide your sword under your bed, though you keep the dagger hidden in your boot.

"Dag! We're going to the woods to go gather eggs and fruit!" You hear Oragga, one of your friends, yell from outside your house.

You smile, and eagerly run outside to see her. It'll be a fun day.
> Six Months Later...
"Dag!" you hear Dendar yell, and you rush up from the goat fields towards the Chieftain's Hut.

"I'm here!" you yell, shouting as loud as you can.

You rush up and reach the Chieftain's Hut. You see Dag waiting there, his bow on his back.

"Dag! We're going hunting!"

"Hunting?" you say, shock, excitement and exhilaration all hitting you at once. "Really? I can't wait!"

"Now, you're only nine, but I think you deserve to go. The twins weren't allowed to go until they reached double digits, but they're idiots."

You laugh, and rush off to your room. You grab your warmest, toughest boots and put them on, sliding your knife in the boots. You grab your sword and sheath and put it on, finally grabbing the brand new Oak Bow that you've been practicing with every day you've had it. You sling it over you shoulder, as well as your arrow sheath, and rush out to meet Dendar.

"Hey! Where are you going without saying goodbye?" Mama yells.

You stop, pausing to turn around and rush off. Papa and Mama sit in front of a roaring fire. Mama knits as Papa polishes his blade, as usual. You give Papa and Mama a kiss each.

"I love you both."

"I love you too," Mama replies, sweet as always.

"I'll love you if you bring me home a boar," Papa says, which causes Mama to gently stab him with a knitting needle. "Hell, we don't need to say it every thirty seconds for fuck's sake. My Papa told me he loved me when I was born, when he died, and the day I bit out the throat of Lark Ramshead for calling Mama a whore. I still knew he loved me 'till the end. I love you Dagden, you know that.

You nod, and rush off with Dagden. Time to hunt. You have a feeling you'll catch a hell of a lotta food.
> The next night...
You were wrong. You sit by a dwindling campfire, looking out into the darkness.

"Well, this wasn't a great journey," you say softly.

"It was fucking miserable," Bagig replies, holding up your catches; three crows, a rodent and a young deer that had just taken its first steps when you shot it.

You hear the cracking of small branches nearby.

"Bagig...!"

"I know," Bagig whispers. "Deer, probably."

You slowly grab your bow, not wanting to startle the prey.
> You stay still and let Bagig kill the prey
You stay very, very still, waiting patiently for Bagig to strike. Bagig motions at you.

"It's your kill, Dag. I've killed enough deer. You need to get blood on your hands."

"Thanks," you say, eagerly raising your bow.
> You go over to kill the prey
You creep over towards the noise. You move through the trees, until you face a massive wall of leaves. You push the leaves aside, and move forward. You stop as you knock into something suddenly. You raise your hand, touching the a massive furry wall.

"What..." you begin to wonder, before getting smashed across the woods by a clawed paw.

You fly through the air, landing on the cold earth. You quickly stand, despite the fact that blood is dripping from your face and you have several broken ribs, only to be faced with the snarling face of a massive bear. You scream as it roars, and immediately begin scampering backwards.

"Dagden!" Bagig roars, and you can hear him rushing towards you.

The bear's warm breath is on you face as it growls.
> You fire your bow
You fire your bow, hitting the creature in the shoulder. It roars and quickly bats you away, sending you up against a tree trunk and slamming your head against it. You yell in pain as the massive creature lets out a powerful, terrifying roar. You see Bagig sprint over with a sword drawn and quickly attack the bear, slashing its body open with several powerful swings. The Bear stands on two legs, slamming against Bagig. Bagig is flung against a tree trunk like you were, except with more force. Bagig screams as his back is smashed and grabs his sword in an effort to protect himself.
> You help Bagig
You charge over, and leap onto the bear as you draw your knife. You stab it several times through its side, and it turns and quickly goes forward to bite you. Its mouth goes around your side, biting deeply.
> You scream
You let out a pitiful scream as the massive creature bites into you. You take your knife and stab it repeatedly through the eye with all the force you have left. You force your dagger deeper and deeper into the bear as it roars, releasing you. You push the dagger further in, straight to the brain. The bear lets out a final roar, before collapsing on the ground. You groan, all the strength going from your legs.
> You collapse
You lie on the ground, groaning as blood flows from your broken body.

"Fuck me, Dag! You killed a bear! Dagden Bearbane! A fitting title!" Bagig says, standing.

He stands up, before laughing. He doubles over in pain as he laughs, before smiling again.

"Well, I feel like hammered shit. You?"

"Yeah, same," you say.

"Come on," he says, picking you up from the ground and dragging you over to the campfire.

He lies you across a log, patting you on the head.

"A nine year old kills a bear. Who'd have thought it? Papa and Mama will be so impressed with you. I'm sure that Oragga girl will be impressed." Bagig winks.

You use the last remaining once of your strength to throw a rock at him.

"I don't like her like that!"

"Sure," Bagig chuckles. "You need rest. You can sleep once you've eaten some bear meat and I've bandaged your wounds."

Over the next hour, Bagig puts strips of bear meat on the fire, bandages himself and you up, and pours alcohol in your wounds, a procedure you'd rather not have done.

"It prevents infection," Bagig chides.

"I'd rather have the infection than have done that!" you moan.

Bagig chuckles, taking a spit off the fire and tossing it to you.

"Go, eat."

You eat eagerly, finishing off every last bit of delicious meat.

"Now you're a true Orc, Dagden Bearsbane," Bagig smiles proudly.

"Is my name really going to be Dagden Bearsbane?"

"Damn right. A lot better than Gruzub and Mazkil Boarsbane," Bagig laughs. "Once I've told Papa, as Chieftain he will decide whether your feat has earned the nickname, which I'm sure he will."

"Cool."

"Go to bed now. Sleep. You'll be healed enough by the morning for us to be able to head home. You did well, Dag. I'm proud of you."

You nod, before closing your eyes.
> You embrace Sleep
You fall into a sleep. Your dreams are soft and pleasant. You imagine carrying the bear carcass over your shoulder and throwing it in the village square to the applause of your friends and family. Eventually, your blissful sleep is broken by a cold object poking you.

You open your eyes, to be faced with dead, soulless eyes.

"AH!" you scream.

It's the middle of the night, but thanks to the dying embers of the fire, you can make out some of the scene that's unfolding in front of you. A cloaked figure stands above you, a sword clutched in its hands. Its rotting skin is peeling away to reveal a pinkish flesh that the rot has already set into. You almost cry out in fear when you realize that its a an undead monster. It seems to be a zombie, although you've no idea. You've never had undead this far, and the sight of one is terrifying. You see Bagig awaken out of the corner of your eye, with a similar cloaked undead monster above him. Bagig roars, grabbing his bow as the zombie above you stab downwards, at your heart. You roll to the side, the sword impaling through the ground next to you, the cold blade slicing through your clothes and just scratching you to draw a thin stream of blood. The zombie stares at you and growls.

"NO! My brother didn't deserve to be killed by a cursed corpse-fucker!" Bagig roars, firing his bow.

The arrow flies through the air and through the rotting head of the zombie, killing it instantly. The zombie falls to the ground, its body thumping against the ground. The other zombie quickly thrusts its sword downwards, straight through Bagig's heart. Tears begin to well in your eyes as you see Bagig gasp, before falling still. The zombie stands, heading towards you.
> You play dead
You lie there, struggling to stay silent. The zombie pokes you with its sword a few times, before picking up your sword and bow and tossing it in the fire. It growls, and two more zombies approach. One lifts Bagig up, while the other places its rotting hands around you and lifts you up. It carries you forward, and you see a massive wooden cart, stacked with corpses, mostly human and orc. You struggle not to scream in terror, as you're tossed into the cart. Your small body sinks between two freshly-killed corpses, and Bagig is thrown on top of you. You squirm slightly, moving your head to breath, and struggle not to cry as you see your brother's face, now permanently twisted in pain, his eyes now cold and soulless.
> You wait
You lie among the corpses for what seems like an eternity. The smell is the worst thing you've ever smelled, but the knowledge that it's dead bodies moving against you is terrifying. Still, you know that the idea of the undead monsters yanking you from the pile and tearing you apart is even scarier, so you stay silent.

You have no idea how long you spend in the cart. How many hours? Hell, it could be over a day by now. Eventually, the cart stops. You hear growls outside, before a shout.

"How many?" a young man's voice cries.

"Twenty-seven. Thirteen Orcs, thirteen Men, one Dwarf."

"A dwarf? I wonder what that small little bastard was doing in that region. Ah, who cares. Prepare them."

You hear zombies yank corpses from the cart. One of them pulls Bagig off you and you close your eyes and go limp. The zombie yanks you forward, and quite gently lays you on the ground. You open your eyes slightly, to see you're being laid out in rows. You're in the courtyard of what appears to be a massive castle made from black stone. You're surrounded by undead monsters, with one exception: A human, wearing hooded black robes, holding a steel sword. His face is paler than bone, and his angular facial features tells you there's probably some High Elf lineage in him. His black hair is slicked back undead his hood, and he eagerly looks at the corpses like a warrior among battle. An undead knight who had been leading the pack rides forward, looking at the man.

"Are you raising them, or is the Grand Necromancer?"

The Grand Necromancer. Papa's told you about him. A cowardly mage who uses raises the dead to fight for him. You know he has some lesser Necromancers, which probably included the robed man.

"No, I shall raise them today."

The Necromancer turns and raises his hands.

"Rise, Minions! The Grim Reaper shall not take you today! Shrug off the eternal sleep and wake!" he laughs.

His eyes turn black as his pupils consume his irises and corneas. A faint blackness appears to flow from his fingertips outwards, enrapturing the corpses. The corpses begin to shudder as the black, magical energy floods into them. Then, the dead begin to rise. Slowly, the corpses begin to stand, their eyes still as soulless as before. The Necromancer pauses, spotting you. You attempt to stand slowly, like the newly created zombies, but stumble and fall flat again.

"Ah, someone from the land of the living is here! Hello!"

Cold hands grab you, and you are yanked up. You crane your neck to see Bagig, holding you in his rotting hands. No, Bagig is dead. Bagig was loving, friendly, funny and kind. This... abomination, has black, soulless eyes. You draw your blade and sink it into the side of his head. Bagig's corpse releases you, and falls to the ground. Bagig has always loved you. His body deserves to rest.

"Ah, a fighter!" the Necromancer laughs.

Rotting hands grab you, and the knife is ripped from your hands. You see several Orcs, seemingly alive, approach.

"What's the issue, Trant?" one of them growls.

"My title is Necromancer Trant, servant of the Grand Necromancer. I will not be addressed as simply "Trant" by some lowly mercenary!"

"Don't make me ask again, Trant!"

"There's a survivor."

The Orc, apparently the leader of a band of mercenaries, looks at you, and you get a good luck at him. He's quite a fair bit taller than Bagig was, although his body is covered with scars. Several scars run across his face, including one that's taken out his eye, leaving a disgusting hole in his face.

"He's just a boy. I doubt he's been on his first hunt yet."

"Well, he should be dead," Necromancer Trant says angrily.

"I ain't killing him..."

You breath a sigh of relief.

"... for normal pay. Five times if you want me to kill a kid."

"Fine. I'll pay out of pocket. I don't want to... bother the Grand Necromancer with this."

"Ha! Hiding something from the Master of Death? Alright then, it's your head," the Mercenary Leader says.

You're dropped by the undead, and the Mercenary Leader quickly kicks you in the chest, knocking you backwards. You fall on the ground, and he grabs your arms. You watch with terror as a chopping block is brought out. One of the Orcs binds your hands with ropes, tightening them behind your back. You're shoved to your knees, and the chopping block is dropped in front of you. Your neck is forced to the chopping block. A bucket is shoved in front of you, no doubt for your head to fall into. The Mercenary Leader is handed a massive battleaxe.

"Don't worry, kid. I'll make it quick. I'm good with an axe. I've filled that bucket many a time."
> You beg for mercy
You begin to cry, which turns to sobs.

"Please! I don't want to die! Let me go, I won't say a word!"

The Orc sighs.

"Sorry, kid. Let's get this over with."

The Orc swings the blade with such speed you don't even feel it.
> You death
Eternal Sleep

Your life force is taken from you as you enter the endless sleep of death.