text: > Look around
  The Candle Store is the second-most picketed store, right after Choad's. It used to be a lot worse when it was a nail and board emporium, though. Some old and independently wealthy latin guy owns the place, though, and he just doesn't care about the Cash-In of the Christ.
  
  Christ's Candles is decked out in a similar manner to the Bead Store, hippie stuff and dark shadows even when the power isn't completely out. This isn't the kind of city where one can set up a number of candles on stands like in the video to 'Wrapped Around Your Finger,' so instead all the candles and other objects are on shelves.
  
  The floorspace towards the rear of the store is completely taken up by the long display table against the western wall.
  A Revenant and Audrey are here.
  
  > talk to Revenant
  Please select one:
  
  (1) "A vampire, Kali, is your killer."
  (2) "Yeah. Sorry about that. I honestly thought she killed you."
  (3) "What was supposed to happen upon you finding your killer?"
  (4) "The vampire wasn't your killer, was she?"
  
  > 1
  "Then this 'Kali' shall be boiled away into hell!" booms the Revenant. "Off we are!"
  
  Please select one:
  
  (1) "Yeah. Sorry about that. I honestly thought she killed you."
  (2) "What was supposed to happen upon you finding your killer?"
  (3) "The vampire wasn't your killer, was she?"
  
  > 1
  The Revenant silent stares ahead for an uncomfortable amount of time. Should I leave or something? Add more? He's really difficult to gau--
  
  "Mistakes are made," he says with infinite calm. "No real harm has been done." Whatta guy.
  
  The Revenant heads off to the east.
  
  > 4
  "She was not," the Revenant says quickly. "It is of little matter, however. Mistakes get made. She offered no real value to this world or any others. She will not be back for the foreseeable future."
  
  "That's excellent," I reply. "Thanks."
  
  "There is no need for thanks. It was not a favor I did, but an attempt to uncover the truth about my death." I give him a quick look of sympathy and understood pain, but it's totally fake. I'm hoping he can't determine my ruse, what with the flamb?ed face and eyes and everything. But either way he seems pretty relaxed.
  
  Please select one:
  
  (1) "A vampire, Kali, is your killer."
  (2) "Yeah. Sorry about that. I honestly thought she killed you."
  (3) "What was supposed to happen upon you finding your killer?"
  
  > 3
  "REST!" bellows the Revenant. I'm momentarily taken back by his outburst: there are absolutely no other sounds audible this far into the Mall. "A sweet, everlasting relaxation that I so richly deserve. Many cultures have had many different names for it. Nirvana... Heaven... Ragnar?k..."
  
  "Actually, Ragnar?k wasn't a final state of bliss, like the Sanskrit Nirvana, but rather a foretelling of -- " The Revenant cuts me off and continues his monologue. What a complete cock!
  
  "A final resting place for a warrior such as I. It is as I deserve. I crave it, desperately... but first I must find the one that put me into this state and remove her from this world."
  
  I give the guy the fingerguns sign. "Good luck with that," I tell him. Jerk.
  
  Please select one:
  
  (1) "A vampire, Kali, is your killer."
  (2) "Yeah. Sorry about that. I honestly thought she killed you."
  
  > 1
  "Then this 'Kali' shall be boiled away into hell!" booms the Revenant. "Off we are!"
  
  Please select one:
  
  (1) "Yeah. Sorry about that. I honestly thought she killed you."
  
  > Yes
  Thanks for playing!
  cheaphe quit with exit status: 0
  
  > check your inventory
  I am carrying my glasses (being worn), the gaming glove (being worn), Barnaby's Big Gulp drink, a pleather purse, some socks, the Magic: The Gathering cards, Gibs's lacrosse stick, the phone, the aged text, the blue balloon, an urn, and the menorah.
  
  > talk to Audrey
  Please select one:
  
  (1) "Well, what is fun, then? Educate me."
  (2) "Are we looking for a particular candle?"
  (3) "Whoa, that was you in the vision! What does a plus mean?"
  
  > 3
  "What does a plus mean?" asks Audrey. "On a home pregnancy test? It means that you're not pregnant. Thank God."
  
  "Did you have a close call or something?"
  
  "Yes, we had a close call. Don't you remember? It wasn't that
  long ago. I had got off ICQ talking to one of your ex-girlfriends the night before. She told me that you, quote, 'wig out' when spoken to in Elvish or some other made-up language along those lines."
  
  Audrey continues her story, but I start to get a flood of memories back from that night. I had actually deigned to go out clubbing with her for a night a few weeks back. (I usually don't, as I am such a lousy, self-conscious dancer.) She was wearing this tight little gray dress with slight horizontal lines across it, made out of this fuzzy fabric -- the outfit practically squealed 'do me' by itself.
  
  Audrey was grinding her way up against me every time I went onto the floor. I just seizured out. That's the only way I know how to dance. I almost never really consume much alcohol, but that night I was taking pull after pull of some Safeway Vodka that Sydney had smuggled into the club as if the contents of the bottle were nothing more innocuous than Mexican Kool-Aid. Audrey and I took a cab back to her place, and we were all over one another before we could find the light switch.
  
  She was on top of me for what seemed like the better part of an hour when she dipped down and whispered something into my ear.
  Tye-mela'ne. It's Tolkein Elvish for 'I love you.' We don't
  seem to say that to each other very much, but even drunk I instantly translated what she said and I... well, I went off like a Soviet Catapult: unexpectedly, unpredictably, and altogether quite messily.
  
  I hadn't thought about it -- about the consequences of it -- until just right now. I didn't mean for her to go through a pregnancy scare like that by herself. I just wasn't thinking about the details.
  
  (For what it's worth, the story that Audrey related as I had this flashback was pretty much exactly like mine, except that she said that we only jammed for something like fifteen minutes. She's got this crazy, post-Einsteinian view of how time really works though, so don't believe her.)
  
  Please select one:
  
  (1) "Well, what is fun, then? Educate me."
  (2) "Are we looking for a particular candle?"
  
  > 2
  "Um... I'm not really sure," said Audrey. "If I remember right, the candle or candles didn't have an apparent identifying trait that I could see..." She screws up her face in thought for a moment. "I'll think, though, about it..." It's probably nothing more than ego on my part, but I could swear that there was a hint of, 'if I don't
  get it, I am betting that my charming and resourceful boyfriend certainly will.' OK, maybe a lot of ego, but still.
  
  Please select one:
  
  (1) "Well, what is fun, then? Educate me."
  
  > look
  The Candle Store is the second-most picketed store, right after Choad's. It used to be a lot worse when it was a nail and board emporium, though. Some old and independently wealthy latin guy owns the place, though, and he just doesn't care about the Cash-In of the Christ.
  
  Christ's Candles is decked out in a similar manner to the Bead Store, hippie stuff and dark shadows even when the power isn't completely out. This isn't the kind of city where one can set up a number of candles on stands like in the video to 'Wrapped Around Your Finger,' so instead all the candles and other objects are on shelves.
  
  The floorspace towards the rear of the store is completely taken up by the long display table against the western wall.
  Audrey is here.
  
  > examine table
  The display table is a sort of countertop, approximately fifteen feet long and about three feet deep. It is made out of a hard plastic, faced off with a chipping formica plate.
  
  > search it
  (assuming you mean the long display table)
  I don't find anything.
  
  A horrible scream pierces the air, originating from the far end of the Food Court.
  
  > go to the east
  Mall, First Level, Southern Edge
  This is the southern-most section of the Mall. There's a large block of impenetrable cement to the south, which covers over the failed Outlet Store, and two paths to two other stores: the candle store (west) and party favors store (east).
  
  Audrey follows me.
  
  > Go north
  Mall, First Level, Central Corridor
  This stretch of the Mall hallway is covered with just a bit of rubble. There are clear exits to the west and south. The gate to the Record Store is down to the north.
  The cross is here.
  The spectre is here.
  
  Audrey follows me.
  
  The spectre heads off to the north.
  
  > go east
  Mall, First Level, Eastern Edge
  This bit of hallway features an enormous and beautiful fountain. There are exits in all four primary compass directions.
  
  Audrey follows me.
  
  > Go east
  Mall, First Level, East Edge
  This is the first level, or ground floor, of the Funtime Teen Mall. The lone Mall Exit leads in a westerly direction, past a few more stretches of darkness-enveloped corridor, and the Food Court. There's also a few more stores to the west, with the Mall passageways expanding to all four directions at that point.
  
  Exits lead west to the rest of the Mall, and inside to the elevator.
  
  In the center of the corridor is a sculpted marble statue.
  
  Audrey follows me.
  
  > Go south
  The Poster Store sells posters... and little else. There's a hanging flip-rack of posters in the corner of the store, and a few hanging up on the walls.
  
  Alongside the far wall is a set of oversized disembodied lips.
  
  Audrey follows me.
  
  > go north
  I'm not quite sure why sunglasses and shades are only sold in 'huts' but this store is very un-hut like. There are three very solid walls here and a roof made not of thatch, but poured, cracking cement. The floor is hardly comprised of peat or mud, but the same tile present everywhere else in the Mall.
  
  A fair bit of ether has snaked itself into the room. It combines with the hand-picked and market-researched atmospheric lights that still function to give off a very deep, defracted and soothing look to the room. Vibrant purples and deep blues dominate the walls and counters of the Sunglasses Hut.
  
  I worked at this place for a week once when I was fighting with my manager at the D&D store. I acquired a little bit of trivia regarding this place (for instance, the center display case will open if it's tapped upon) but nothing useful otherwise.
  
  Audrey follows me.
  
  > Hit case
  I give the case a good whack, and it opens with ease.
  
  Inside the center display case are the mirrored shades.
  
  > take the shades
  Got it.
  
  > examine them
  (assuming you mean the mirrored shades)
  They are circular frames, with perfect mirrors on the outside. My eyes are completely hidden while wearing the sunglasses, at the expense of a lot of light getting through.
  
  > remove the glasses
  I can't remove my specs like that! They are a valuable information-gathering tool!
  
  > wear the shades
  I take off my glasses and put the shades on. Things get considerably darker.
  
  > look
  A fair bit of ether has snaked itself into the room. It combines with the hand-picked and market-researched atmospheric lights that still function to give off a very deep, defracted and soothing look to the room. Vibrant purples and deep blues dominate the walls and counters of the Sunglasses Hut.
  
  I worked at this place for a week once when I was fighting with my manager at the D&D store. I acquired a little bit of trivia regarding this place (for instance, the center display case will open if it's tapped upon) but nothing useful otherwise.
  Audrey is here.
  
  > wear the glasses
  I put my specs back on.
  
  > go west
  Mall, First Level, Central Corridor
  This stretch of the Mall hallway is covered with just a bit of rubble. There are clear exits to the west and south. The gate to the Record Store is down to the north.
  The cross is here.
  
  Audrey follows me.
  
  > Go north
  The gate to the Record Store is down, blocking my path.
  
  > knock on the gate
  No response.
  
  > Go west
  Mall, First Level, West Edge
  The area is free from the wreckage. Gibs, though is just standing up, completely motionless, facing the inky blackness that shrouds the Food Court from here. Casey is nowhere to be found.
  Gibs is here.
  
  Audrey follows me.
  
  "She was here, Duffy. She was beautiful."
  
  "Who was? Casey? Where's Casey?"
  
  "Casey... " Gibs turns and looks at me for the first time since I came back. "No... not poor Casey. We finished up getting all the wreckage out of the way and as I looked up Casey was entranced by the most beautiful creature I have ever seen. Her skin was so pale, so fragile. She had this dark shock of bangs that framed her perfect face. As soon as I looked up, I froze. But she had locked eyes with Casey. I knew her name was Kali, but not how. Casey didn't seem to be able to move, at first, just like me. Then -- "
  
  "It was a vampire, Gibs. I was hoping we'd avoid one, but -- "
  
  "She took Casey by the hand and they both walked that way... into the darkness."
  
  > drop all
  glasses: I can't drop my specs! They are a valuable information-gathering tool!
  gaming glove: I will have to take the gaming glove off first. lacrosse stick: Dropped.
  phone: Dropped.
  aged text: Dropped.
  blue balloon: Dropped.
  urn: Dropped.
  menorah: Dropped.
  mirrored shades: Dropped.
  
  > go east
  Mall, First Level, Central Corridor
  This stretch of the Mall hallway is covered with just a bit of rubble. There are clear exits to the west and south. The gate to the Record Store is down to the north.
  The cross is here.
  
  Audrey and Gibs follow me.
  
  > go west
  Mall, First Level, West Edge
  The area is free from the wreckage. Gibs, though is just standing up, completely motionless, facing the inky blackness that shrouds the Food Court from here. Casey is nowhere to be found.
  Gibs's lacrosse stick, the aged text, the blue balloon, an urn, the menorah, the mirrored shades are here.
  The phone is here.
  
  Audrey and Gibs follow me.
  
  > Go west
  The Food Court is a vast, open area and I can only see about half of it from here due to the lack of light -- the entire western end of it is cloaked in darkness. There are a number of cheap square tables and static plastic chairs bolted to the floor here, although a few have somehow broken off and are loose.
  
  To the northeast is a Nutrition Store. They carry a large assortment of tabs, pills, drugs and spices. The Court has another section to the west, and there is an exit east from where we came.
  
  Audrey lets out a little surprised 'yip!' and runs over towards me.
  
  "Jarret!" she says, "I felt something brush up against my leg! Something's here, in this area with us!" Before I can pooh-pooh her objections to this area, a metal chair comes flying at us. It appears as if a poltergeist has infected the food court.
  A fluorescent light, a garbage can, a brown table, a short gray table, a plastic chair, a metal chair, a broken chair, and some chair parts are here.
  Casey is here.
  
  Audrey and Gibs follow me.
  
  A garbage can comes flying right at me!
  
  A garbage can strikes me, and I take a little bit of damage.
  
  I notice something moving over in the far corner of the Food Court. It's a girl. She is wearing a reserved violet dress and has the most perfect, slim little figure I have ever seen.
  
  The vampire, I guess. It has to be; she's just as stunning as Gibs said.
  
  Focusing harder, I see Casey beside her, unmoving, defeated, completely obedient. The vampire whispers softly to her -- Casey snaps back into proper consciousness, and after a moment begins to look at her with loving trust. They are both several yards away, but I can make what the vampire says to her perfectly: Follow me, my
  pet.
  
  The vampire heads off to the west.
  
  Casey heads off to the west.
  
  > Go west
  I can't get by the Poltergeist!
  
  "I don't think Casey has a lot of time," says Gibs. "I don't remember as much D&D crap as you do, Duffy, but I'm thinking she has maybe fifteen minutes."
  
  > go to the north-east
  The Nutrition Store is dominated by a series of five-foot high shelves that make up four distinct aisles. The walls are a sickly shade of green which some junior ad exec no doubt thinks promotes quick sales decisions, when all it truly does is make customers eager to get the hell out before they add an equally off-putting color to the surrounding by use of their own acrid vomit.
  
  In the rear of the store is a modest plastic counter and an ancient analog cash register. Further behind that is a closed metal door that really clashes with what's going on otherwise, stylistically.
  
  There is no front gate to the Nutrition Store, only a ten foot cut in the wall. The opening is not quite centered, however, and a 5'x3' pane of glass has been placed into the southern wall.
  
  Exits lead to the southwest and through the door.
  
  "There should surely be some garlic here," I say to myself...
  
  Audrey and Gibs follow me.
  
  > open the door
  "I'm going to take a quick look below. Be right back."
  Opened.
  
  > go inside
  I can't go that way. I can go down to the basement entrance or southwest to the food court's east half.
  
  > go through the door
  I descend the stairs and enter the basement. The air is at least twenty degrees cooler down here than it is up above and it has a bit of a tangy, acrid -- almost 'chewy' quality to it. My breath turns into wispy, stringy clouds the instant it leaves my lips and I begin to feel my very bones come across a deep chill. I usually prefer winter to summer, so normally I wouldn't be put off by the frost down here and a few bad smells, but there's something different about the chill in the air down here. The temperature of the air seems malevolent, almost.
  
  The ceiling of the basement is about five and a half feet high, so I have to lurch over like I'm the hunchback of Notre Dork just to get around. The walls have a very rough texture to them, as if they were blasted away and then sanded down in a very half-assed manner.
  
  The corridor continues into darkness to the north.
  
  > Go north
  The light is very poor in this room, all of it coming from what can seep and pour through the metal door up above. The floor has turned to earth, however, and the walls seem to have a texture wholly different from the blasted rock earlier in the corridor. I can't say I'm totally suprised to find this area down here below the Mall, as rumor was that the place was built upon some burial grounds. I just never knew that they were, in parts, integrated.
  
  Exits lead south and further on to the north.
  
  > go to the north
  The basement ceiling gets much taller in this room, about up to 15 feet or so, I'd guess. At the very top is a small torch, which is providing a fair bit of the light in the room -- the rest of it is reflected from the coffin in the corner.
  
  The ground is no longer soft earth, either, but rather blocks of cold stone. The walls are made of some kind of brick which reflects a bit of light as well, although nowhere near as well as the coffin.
  
  A support beam has been installed next to the coffin. Beyond it, to the right, is a small and very dark alcove.
  
  > get the torch
  It's too far up.
  
  > look at it
  (assuming you mean the alcove)
  It's a very small and hidden away subsection of the basement. It's to the east.
  
  > Go east
  I practically have to crawl to get into this little cave-like section cut away from the basement. The light is gobbled up from something inside, as nothing from the coffin room manages to get in here.
  
  The only thing of note here is a very small trestle up against the wall.
  
  > look at the trestle
  In the corner of the alcove is a single trestle. It's obviously rotting away, and emitting a little bit of an old musty smell. It stands about two feet high and looks as if it might crumble at any time.
  
  The trestle has a garlic clove on it.
  
  > get the clove
  I take the garlic.
  
  I hear metallic stone sliding up against metallic stone coming from the next room.
  
  > go west
  The ceiling in this room is unique within the basement, as it is actually enough up where I don't have to hunch. At the top of the ceiling is a single, lit torch, held at a diagonal against the wall with a bracket. All available light is strongly reflected from the coffin, which sits quietly in the corner of the room. The walls are made out of a flecked brick, and a support beam stands to the right of the coffin.
  
  Exits are south towards the stairs and east into a tight alcove.
  The lid is here.
  
  I see two bandaged hands slowly emerge from darkness. They grope at the sides of the coffin. A figure rises, I see first the unwrapped, rotting head and then the torso, wound tight with stinking fibers and rags.
  
  The mummy turns its head directly towards me.
  
  > hit the torch with the cross
  I cruelly break the torch!
  
  > look at the beam
  The support beam is a strong and long block of stone keeping the ceiling up nice and high.
  
  The mummy exits the coffin.
  
  The mummy slowly begins to moan, seemingly within a weary, endless pain. It quickly shifts this to a scream. Its keen is of a deep tenor, and it begins thrashing about. Small scraps of deteriorating bandages fall from its person and onto the floor.
  
  The mummy strikes the support beam! Chunks of the ceiling fall downwards and it sounds as if the entire Mall has collapsed a little.
  
  The chaos breaks me out of my fear-trance. I feel I could flee now if I wanted to try.
  
  The mummy attacks and hits me!
  
  I feel awful after that last touch.
  
  > go to the south
  This stretch of corridor is little more than a narrow, forgotten passageway. Soft earth makes up the floor, a distinct change from the cement seen to the south.
  
  The mummy follows me.
  
  The mummy attacks and hits me!
  
  > Go south
  The temperature of the air down here in the basement is quite cold, probably no more than thirty degrees Fahrenheit. The ceiling is just over five feet high, and the walls have a very rough texture to them, as if they were blasted away and then poorly sanded.
  
  The mummy follows me.
  
  The mummy attacks and hits me!
  
  > hit the mummy with the cross
  I attack, but miss the mummy!
  
  There's a flash of pain right where the mummy first struck me.
  
  The mummy attacks and hits me!
  
  > Go south
  I can't go that way. I can go up to a health store or north to a basement corridor.
  
  > go up
  The Nutrition Store is dominated by a series of five-foot high shelves that make up four distinct aisles. The walls are a sickly shade of green and contrast with the subdued nature of the shelves and all the jars of pills placed upon them.
  
  In the rear of the store is a modest wood counter and an ancient analog cash register. Even further, behind the counter and register, is a metal door.
  
  There is no front gate to the Nutrition Store, only a ten foot cut in the wall. The opening is not quite centered, however, and a 5'x3' pane of glass has been placed into the southern wall.
  Audrey and Gibs are here.
  
  The mummy follows me.
  
  "Duffy, look out! Somebody's followin' you!"
  
  "Christ, I know, Gibs! Help me kill it!"
  
  The mummy attacks and hits me!
  
  > hit the mummy with the cross
  I clobber the mummy with the cross.
  
  (The cross breaks as a result, and I throw it down.)
  
  "Bring back pre-casting, beeeeyatch!" I scream!
  
  Audrey looks at me with a little bit of inquisitive sympathy, but I don't say or reveal anything.
  
  The mummy attacks and hits me!
  
  > Go southwest
  The Food Court is a vast, open area, and I can only make out about half of it from here. (The entire west end is shrouded in darkness.)
  
  To the northeast is a Nutrition Store. The Court has another section to the west, and there is an exit east from where we originally came. A fluorescent light, a garbage can, a brown table, a short gray table, a plastic chair, a metal chair, a broken chair, and some chair parts are here.
  
  The mummy, Audrey, and Gibs follow me.
  
  The mummy attacks and hits me!
  
  > Go east
  Have you got a photographic memory? If you have you will find the following question to be very easy. If you haven't, please find your novella that came with the game called 'Which Witch?'. Please turn to page 17, then find line 5 (please note that lines start at 1, 'chapter' lines are included, but blank lines are not.) And count to word 6.
  
  Now please enter this word. Or just hit enter. You have three chances to get it right.
  Please enter word :
  Have you got a photographic memory? If you have you will find the following question to be very easy. If you haven't, please find your novella that came with the game called 'Which Witch?'. Please turn to page 17, then find line 5 (please note that lines start at 1, 'chapter' lines are included, but blank lines are not.) And count to word 6.
  
  Now please enter this word. Or just hit enter. You have three chances to get it right.
  Please enter word :
  %% Enter a save filename to read:
  
  > look at the candles
  These boxes contain reams of cheap, short blue birthday candles.
  
  > check your inventory
  I am carrying my glasses (being worn), the gaming glove (being worn), Barnaby's Big Gulp drink, a pleather purse, some socks, the Magic: The Gathering cards, Gibs's lacrosse stick, the phone, the aged text, the blue balloon, an urn, and the menorah.
  
  > get the blue candles
  I haven't encountered any "blue candles". (If you're sure you need to refer to that, try putting it another way.)
  
  > Go east
  Mall, First Level, Southern Edge
  This is the southern-most section of the Mall. There's a large block of impenetrable cement to the south, which covers over the failed Outlet Store, and two paths to two other stores: the candle store (west) and party favors store (east).
  
  Audrey follows me.
  
  A horrible scream pierces the air, originating from the far end of the Food Court.
  
  > Go east
  This store is mostly unfurnished, with a low, bare ceiling, cold floor covered in cheap carpeting, and blankets and rugs thumb-tacked up to hide the peeling wallpaper and crumbling drywall.
  
  The contents of the room are a cluttered mess, as this place seems to be more of a craftsman's think-tank and construction area than pure chamber for commerce like so many other shops in the Mall. There's a workdesk and mirror along the northern wall and a file cabinet across from it. A small window is visible behind some junk, and directly across from the entrance are seven masks attached to the back wall in a proud display. Attached to one of the naked support beams is a disco laser pointer.
  
  Audrey follows me.
  
  > examine the laser
  The laser pointer is out there jivin'! It's scattering laser light everywhere and it's turned this placed into a Block Party Central! Whoo-hoo!
  
  > examine the balloon
  It's colored blue, but the material used is a heavier than I'd expect -- like an expandable metallic bag. It floats in the air about where it's placed, so presumably it's got some helium in it, though a fair amount has leaked out.
  
  > look at the masks
  There's a collection of masks in the Party Store, though many of them valueless, and all of them locked up tight to the wall.
  
  > Go west
  Mall, First Level, Southern Edge
  This is the southern-most section of the Mall. There's a large block of impenetrable cement to the south, which covers over the failed Outlet Store, and two paths to two other stores: the candle store (west) and party favors store (east).
  
  Audrey follows me.
  
  > Go north
  Mall, First Level, Central Corridor
  This stretch of the Mall hallway is covered with just a bit of rubble. There are clear exits to the west and south. The gate to the Record Store is down to the north.
  The cross is here.
  
  Audrey follows me.
  
  The spectre arrives from the north.
  
  > Examine Poster
  The last scene shows vibrant fire all over the edges, and the subjects all seem burned to a crisp. There is no sign of the ghost, but the bodies of the boy, the girl, and all their compatriots are viciously chunked and charred. It's a beautiful little bit of art, regardless of how horrible the scene it depicts, and how terrible the ulcer is that begins to grow in my stomach.
  
  > Turn poster
  I flip the posters in the rack all the way back to the start.
  
  > flip the rack
  I flip to the next poster in the series and take a look at it.
  
  The first poster in this set depicts a kind of ritual. There is a red pentagram on the floor, and a bunch of pilgrims, quakers or hippies holding hands around it. (I can never really differentiate between the three.) It's eerily reminiscent of the attempt at an invoking performed earlier by Audrey, Gibs, Syd and Casey... Relatively speaking, anyway, as encountering a wraith and zombie tonight has raised the scale for what I will consider 'eerie' in the future.
  
  > Continue
  I flip to the next poster in the series and take a look at it.
  
  The second poster shows a ghost -- a child's rendition of a spirit, really, with looming, evil eyes and a reversed teardrop shape. It's emerging from some other world or dimension inside the pentagram.
  
  > Keep going
  I flip to the next poster in the series and take a look at it.
  
  Er, this poster is actually one of Samantha Fox pouring milk all over herself in the shower.
  
  > continue
  I flip to the next poster in the series and take a look at it.
  
  This poster seems to be by the same artist as the other two, but rather than being drawn from a bird's eye perspective like those posters, it is a close-up of a young boy reading passages from a thick, craggily book. Locks of the boy's hair descend over his glasses and he's decked out all in black, wrapped in a weary and somber expression.
  
  > continue
  I flip to the next poster in the series and take a look at it.
  
  The fourth poster in this set shows a little girl with her eyes downcast. She is drinking from a radiant, glowing urn. The girl is wearing a silvery dress and has a key around her neck.
  
  > Continue
  I flip to the next poster in the series and take a look at it.
  
  The second-to-last image is of a person from the first poster surrounded by numerous lit candles. There are seemingly millions of candles in the scene, and it's almost like an optical illusion, as the 'negative space' for certain candles comprise many separate ones when viewed in a different way. No candle seems to have a single, identifiable color (or rather, they seem to include all possible colors) and one can only really make out a single flame glowing serenely upon them.
  
  > Continue
  I flip to the next poster in the series and take a look at it.
  
  The last scene shows vibrant fire all over the edges, and the subjects all seem burned to a crisp. There is no sign of the ghost, but the bodies of the boy, the girl, and all their compatriots are viciously chunked and charred. It's a beautiful little bit of art, regardless of how horrible the scene it depicts, and how terrible the ulcer is that begins to grow in my stomach.
  
  > Inventory
  I am carrying my glasses (being worn), the gaming glove (being worn), Barnaby's Big Gulp drink, a pleather purse, some socks, the Magic: The Gathering cards, Gibs's lacrosse stick, the phone, the aged text, the blue balloon, an urn, the menorah, and the mirrored shades.
  
  > call the phone
  [Speaking to Trott on the phone...]
  Just talking to Trott will suffice.
  
  > talk to Trott
  [Speaking to Trott on the phone...]
  I can't think of anything to say right now.
  
  > read the text
  I flip through a few pages, but nothing really catches my eye. I'm sure that some long dead monk or priest who nearly acquired whatever the 14th century version of repetitive motion syndrome in writing this thing is revolving in a European Potter's grave at my disinterest, but the words just seem to roll off my eyeballs in a splash of drama and desperate Calligraphy.
  
  > examine the menorah
  The menorah has places for nine candles -- one for each day of Hanukkah, and then one candle which is the Shamash, which is used to light the other candles once per day for each day of the holiday. This menorah is made out of brass and does not appear to have had any attention or cleaning in quite some time.
  Inside the menorah are the crimson candle, the cyan candle, the jade candle, the umber candle, the indigo candle, the canary candle, the black candle, the slate candle, and the white candle.
  
  Inside the menorah are the crimson candle, the cyan candle, the jade candle, the umber candle, the indigo candle, the canary candle, the black candle, the slate candle, and the white candle.
  
  > Keep going
  The menorah gets a little brighter.
  
  The spectre arrives from the south.
  
  > talk to the spectre
  I can't think of anything to say right now.
  
  The spectre heads off to the east.
  
  > Go west
  The Food Court is a vast, open area and I can only see about half of it from here due to the lack of light -- the entire western end of it is cloaked in darkness. There are a number of cheap square tables and static plastic chairs bolted to the floor here, although a few have somehow broken off and are loose.
  
  To the northeast is a Nutrition Store. They carry a large assortment of tabs, pills, drugs and spices. The Court has another section to the west, and there is an exit east from where we came.
  
  Audrey lets out a little surprised 'yip!' and runs over towards me.
  
  "Jarret!" she says, "I felt something brush up against my leg! Something's here, in this area with us!" Before I can pooh-pooh her objections to this area, a metal chair comes flying at us. It appears as if a poltergeist has infected the food court.
  A fluorescent light, a garbage can, a brown table, a short gray table, a plastic chair, a metal chair, a broken chair, and some chair parts are here.
  Casey is here.
  
  Audrey and Gibs follow me.
  
  I notice something moving over in the far corner of the Food Court. It's a girl. She is wearing a reserved violet dress and has the most perfect, slim little figure I have ever seen.
  
  The vampire, I guess. It has to be; she's just as stunning as Gibs said.
  
  Focusing harder, I see Casey beside her, unmoving, defeated, completely obedient. The vampire whispers softly to her -- Casey snaps back into proper consciousness, and after a moment begins to look at her with loving trust. They are both several yards away, but I can make what the vampire says to her perfectly: Follow me, my
  pet.
  
  The vampire heads off to the west.
  
  Casey heads off to the west.
  
  > Examine can
  It's a typical Mall garbage can (big, gray, plastic and cruddy).
  
  > search it
  (assuming you mean the garbage can)
  I don't find anything.
  
  > get light
  I'm carrying too much to take that.
  
  > get light
  I'm carrying too much to take that.
  
  A brown table is drawn up from the floor and thrown at me!
  
  I dodge the item, though.
  
  "I don't think Casey has a lot of time," says Gibs. "I don't remember as much D&D crap as you do, Duffy, but I'm thinking she has maybe fifteen minutes."
  
  > drop the glasses
  I can't drop my specs! They are a valuable information-gathering tool!
  
  A short gray table comes flying right at me!
  
  I dodge the item, though.
  
  > get light
  I'm carrying too much to take that.
  
  A fluorescent light wobbles a bit, and is suddenly hurled at me!
  
  A fluorescent light strikes me, and I take a little bit of damage.
  
  > examine it
  (assuming you mean the fluorescent light)
  This light fixture is from a chunk of the Mall's ceiling. It's at least a couple feet long, and mostly cylindrical in shape. It's non-functioning, of course, and quite heavy.
  
  Something roughly picks up some socks and throws it at me!
  
  Some socks strike me, and I take a little bit of damage.
  
  > check your inventory
  I am carrying the gaming glove (being worn), a pleather purse, the Magic: The Gathering cards, Gibs's lacrosse stick, the phone, the aged text, the blue balloon, an urn, the menorah, the mirrored shades, and my glasses (being worn). Inside the menorah are the crimson candle, the cyan candle, the jade candle, the umber candle, the indigo candle, the canary candle, the black candle, the slate candle, and the white candle.
  
  A metal chair wobbles a bit, and is suddenly hurled at me!
  
  A metal chair strikes me, and I take a little bit of damage.
  
  > examine urn
  This rather large urn is crafted in the shape of an upside-down mushroom. It's a base silver in color with a floral pattern painted on top.
  
  A brown table comes flying right at me!
  
  I dodge the item, though.
  
  > get it
  (assuming you mean the urn)
  Right on.
  
  > wear the shades
  I take off my glasses and put the shades on. Things get considerably darker.
  
  Something roughly picks up a metal chair and throws it at me!
  
  A metal chair strikes me, and I take a little bit of damage.
  
  > examine Poltergeist
  Poltergeists are a form of invisible undead that whines for attention by flinging shit at people. Of all the creatures and spirits that make up the hierarchy of walking dead, these mewling little bitches are the ones I despise with the most passion. They're the worst drama queens in the underworld. In reality, 'poltergeists' are just the manifestations of picked-on, spoiled little emo or Goth kids... I can't imagine what this demonically-realized little ghost brat has going on underneath the surface.
  
  > talk to Poltergeist
  Poltergeists can not communicate that way.
  
  A broken chair comes flying right at me!
  
  A broken chair strikes me, and I take a little bit of damage.
  
  > use the gaming glove
  [Be a little more specific about what you'd like to do with the
  gaming glove.]
  
  > look at Glove
  The Sierra Hobbies Gaming Glove is an inky black novelty gaming companion for the hurried Games Master. It's full of mnemonics, scribbled shortcuts and tables to allow for a smoother (and more stylish) game of D&D. No Dungeon Master that takes his craft seriously should be without!
  
  I'm currently wearing the gaming glove.
  
  The poltergeist hurls a broken chair at me!
  
  I dodge the item, though.
  
  > get the chair
  Which chair do you mean, the plastic chair, the metal chair, the broken chair, or the chair parts?
  
  > Plastic
  I'm carrying too much to take that.
  
  The poltergeist picks up some chair parts and throws it towards me!
  
  Some chair parts strike me, and I take a little bit of damage.
  
  > Status
  I have a lot of minor scratches, but will be okay, since I still have my looks.
  
  The poltergeist picks up a metal chair and throws it towards me!
  
  A metal chair strikes me, and I take a little bit of damage.
  
  > go east
  Mall, First Level, West Edge
  The area is free from the wreckage. Gibs, though is just standing up, completely motionless, facing the inky blackness that shrouds the Food Court from here. Casey is nowhere to be found.
  
  Audrey and Gibs follow me.
  
  > talk to Audrey
  Please select one:
  
  (1) "Whoa, that was you in the vision! What does a plus mean?"
  
  > 1
  "What does a plus mean?" asks Audrey. "On a home pregnancy test? It means that you're not pregnant. Thank God."
  
  "Did you have a close call or something?"
  
  "Yes, we had a close call. Don't you remember? It wasn't that
  long ago. I had got off ICQ talking to one of your ex-girlfriends the night before. She told me that you, quote, 'wig out' when spoken to in Elvish or some other made-up language along those lines."
  
  Audrey continues her story, but I start to get a flood of memories back from that night. I had actually deigned to go out clubbing with her for a night a few weeks back. (I usually don't, as I am such a lousy, self-conscious dancer.) She was wearing this tight little gray dress with slight horizontal lines across it, made out of this fuzzy fabric -- the outfit practically squealed 'do me' by itself.
  
  Audrey was grinding her way up against me every time I went onto the floor. I just seizured out. That's the only way I know how to dance. I almost never really consume much alcohol, but that night I was taking pull after pull of some Safeway Vodka that Sydney had smuggled into the club as if the contents of the bottle were nothing more innocuous than Mexican Kool-Aid. Audrey and I took a cab back to her place, and we were all over one another before we could find the light switch.
  
  She was on top of me for what seemed like the better part of an hour when she dipped down and whispered something into my ear.
  Tye-mela'ne. It's Tolkein Elvish for 'I love you.' We don't
  seem to say that to each other very much, but even drunk I instantly translated what she said and I... well, I went off like a Soviet Catapult: unexpectedly, unpredictably, and altogether quite messily.
  
  I hadn't thought about it -- about the consequences of it -- until just right now. I didn't mean for her to go through a pregnancy scare like that by herself. I just wasn't thinking about the details.
  
  (For what it's worth, the story that Audrey related as I had this flashback was pretty much exactly like mine, except that she said that we only jammed for something like fifteen minutes. She's got this crazy, post-Einsteinian view of how time really works though, so don't believe her.)
  
  > talk to Trott
  [Speaking to Trott on the phone...]
  I can't think of anything to say right now.
  
  > Go west
  The Food Court is a vast, open area, and I can only make out about half of it from here. (The entire west end is shrouded in darkness.)
  
  To the northeast is a Nutrition Store. The Court has another section to the west, and there is an exit east from where we originally came. A fluorescent light, a garbage can, a brown table, a short gray table, a plastic chair, a metal chair, a broken chair, some chair parts, and some socks are here.
  
  Audrey and Gibs follow me.
  
  Some chair parts comes flying right at me!
  
  Some chair parts strike me, and I take a little bit of damage.
  
  > go to the north-east
  The Nutrition Store is dominated by a series of five-foot high shelves that make up four distinct aisles. The walls are a sickly shade of green which some junior ad exec no doubt thinks promotes quick sales decisions, when all it truly does is make customers eager to get the hell out before they add an equally off-putting color to the surrounding by use of their own acrid vomit.
  
  In the rear of the store is a modest plastic counter and an ancient analog cash register. Further behind that is a closed metal door that really clashes with what's going on otherwise, stylistically.
  
  There is no front gate to the Nutrition Store, only a ten foot cut in the wall. The opening is not quite centered, however, and a 5'x3' pane of glass has been placed into the southern wall.
  
  Exits lead to the southwest and through the door.
  
  "There should surely be some garlic here," I say to myself...
  
  Audrey and Gibs follow me.
  
  > examine the register
  It's one more in an endless parade of registers that are probably filled with cash that would solve all my financial problems, only I don't know how to get to it. Oh, well, stealing is wrong anyway.
  
  > look at the Counter
  This smooth, treated plastic counter is towards the back of the store, in front of a steel door.
  
  "Hey, Duffy... Casey's got maybe 12 minutes left by my count," says Gibs.
  
  > open the door
  "I'm going to take a quick look below. Be right back."
  Opened.
  
  > Exits
  There are exits southwest to the Food Court and down (through the door).