text: [Themes: horror, war, drama, horror]
  
  The symphonies of snoring and vigorous notebook writing fill your ears as you sit in class at Bridgeport High School.
  
  Why can't this English class be over already? You think to yourself.
  
  Slowly, you pull out your phone and start checking your texts...
  
  Hey! Do you want to go see Studio 5 tonight?
  
  It's supposed to be an awesome movie!
  
  Your friend asks you.
  
  Is that the murder mystery? It sounds really good!
  
  I can't even imagine what it must feel like getting
  
  chased by a killer in real life!
  
  You respond back.
  
  The sound of your high school's bell screams into your ears as you lift your head up from your cell phone. It looks like it's time to go home! You grab your belongings, throw everything into your backpack, and rush out of your classroom.
  
  Flooded in the halls are hundreds of students and faculty. You squeeze your way past the crowds to your locker and spin the lock for your combination.
  
  14-22-10...CLICK!
  
  You swing the locker open and grab your books. Why does there have to be so much homework?! It's Friday!
  
  You close the locker and make your tedious way down the stairs of the school to the exit. Outside, you see the same long row of six or seven school buses. Luckily for you, your home is walking distance from the school, so you don't have to deal with finding a seat or bullies. Although you do wish your parents would surprise you with a car. After all, your 16th birthday is coming up soon.
  
  You follow the crowds out of the school grounds and cross the street. There are two paths you can take...
  
  The Shortcut - Begin a new story
  
  Author's Note - Note from the author
  
  > The Shortcut
  You turn to take the shortcut through the woods. Surprisingly, not many people know about this shortcut. You stumbled upon it on accident while following a group of students that lived near you. The path remains pretty isolated for the most part.
  
  The sound of cracking twigs and the wind hitting the trees becomes more apparent. The farther away you leave the school, the more silent with nature you get.
  
  The sound of an animal's cry of pain fills your ears. You look around and don't see anything. You keep walking forward until you reach a cliff. Normally, you walk around the cliff and continue upwards.
  
  It looks like the sound is coming from down below.
  
  Important Choice: Do you risk climbing down the cliff to investigate the noise? OR Do you ignore the noise and continue your way home.
  
  Your decision will have consequences.
  
  > risk climbing down the cliff to investigate the noise.
  You have made your decision.
  
  For some reason, you feel different. You feel chills swing over your body, almost as if someone is watching you and your every move. You turn around. Nothing but the forest and trees.
  
  You approach the cliff and see an old, wooden ladder. You've always been too afraid to approach the cliff, mostly due to your fear of heights. The ladder is fastened to the cliff, allowing for travel below. You grab on to it and slowly make your way down. Your hands begin to get sweaty at the climb. You must be several hundred feet in the air! Don't look down, don't look down, don't look down...you tell yourself.
  
  You hear the sound of the animal's cries in pain. Your pace hastens as you continue your trek down the ladder.
  
  You look up at the ladder. The weight of your body and backpack have caused it to unhinge! This old thing can't hold your weight much longer! Now what?!
  
  > jump off the ladder!
  "Hyah!" you scream as you jump off the ladder. You close your eyes. This must be the end. What a terrible way to go. You can see it in the newspapers now. "Kid Jumps off old Ladder and Falls to Their Death". Just as quickly, an eerie thought hits you in the face. What if everyone thinks you committed suicide? What if they don't find your body? What if you stay missing at the bottom of this cliff forever?!
  
  You open your eyes. It looks like the drop down was only a couple feet. You smile and realize that you are safe.
  
  > The Bottom of the Cliff
  The screeching sound gets louder and louder. You quickly turn around. The bottom of the cliff is pretty dark. You pull out your smart phone and slide the lock. Just as fast, you turn on the flash, revealing the darkness.
  
  The bottom of the cliff feels more like a cave than anything else. You walk slowly, hoping that a bear didn't make its home down here.
  
  You continue your way through the cliff until you come across...a fox?
  
  The fox appears to be stuck. Its hind leg is trapped between two large rocks. You shine the light on the fox, revealing it's red eyes. It growls at you, but then painfully makes a screeching sound. You look down at the two rocks and see some blood. Perhaps the rocks fell from the cavern ceiling, pinning the fox's leg beneath it. You're not exactly a hunter or a fox trainer. Is it safe to free the fox from it's prison?
  
  Important Choice: Do you move the two rocks and free the fox? OR Do you leave the fox to die and find a way out of the cavern?
  
  Your decision will have consequences.
  
  > move the two rocks and free the fox.
  You have made your decision.
  
  You grab one of the large rocks and push it aside with all your might. You can hear the fox wincing in pain, but it's no longer screeching. You grab the other rock and forcefully move it aside. The fox gets up and begins licking its paws, still crying in pain.
  
  Finally, the fox looks up at you and then turns to scurry away.
  
  You exhale in relief that the fox is okay and didn't attack you.
  
  > The Way Out
  You continue your way down the cavern. As you take each step, you fear that you may never see the sun ever again.
  
  You shine your phone's flash on the ground and see a fork in the path. You try to investigate for signs and see one:
  
  Right Path is Unstable
  
  Which way do you go?
  
  > Left Path
  You make your way down the left path of the cave. The further you walk, the less dark it gets. It looks like you're finally reaching an exit!
  
  The sun beats down on your face. You leave the cavern and realize that you have no clue where you are. You pull out your phone and enter the GPS app. Unfortunately, you don't have any reception from where you are. Better check later...
  
  You start heading forward, trying to think where the cavern could've taken you in comparison to where you climbed down. You walk around the cavern opening and realize that there's way to many trees to see anything from above.
  
  You continue forward, hoping you stumble home...
  
  > Continue
  You make your walk through the forest. Pulling out your phone, you look at the time, 4:15 PM. The bell at school rang exactly 1 hour ago. You've been traveling through this shortcut for 1 hour. If you just would have taken the long way home, you wouldn't be in this mess.
  
  "Please don't do this! Please!"
  
  You hear the sound of a girl. You start running forward and come across a large boulder. From the opposite side of the boulder, you see the girl. Her wrists are bound. You can see a figure above her. The figure appears to be wearing a clown mask.
  
  "I'll do anything you want, please don't kill me!"
  
  The clown mask figure grabs a long machete from his pocket and playfully wraps it around the girl's neck. You can hear the girl whimper in pain.
  
  Important Choice: Do you risk trying to save the girl from the clown? OR Do you wait to see what happens?
  
  Your decision will have consequences.
  
  > risk trying to save the girl from the clown.
  You have made your decision.
  
  Can this day get any worse?! First you lose your way home, and now you're about to fight a serial killer clown!
  
  You look around nervously for something to fight with. The closest thing thing to you is a large rock. With one swift breath, you get up from hiding.
  
  "Take that, you evil clown!"
  
  "What are you doing?!" the girl turns around and screams at you.
  
  You ram the rock into the clown's head. The clown falls backwards on to the grass. With all your might, you jump on top of the clown. You turn to the girl. "Run away now!"
  
  The girl doesn't run away. She grabs you and pushes you off the clown.
  
  "You psycho! That clown isn't trying to kill me!"
  
  The clown gets up and takes his mask off. It's just a normal guy.
  
  You look at the two people very confusingly. "Then what's happening?"
  
  The bound girl and masked clown guy look at each other. "We're - we're role playing."
  
  And YOU'RE the psycho. "Who role plays a serial killer clown kidnapping in the middle of the forest?!"
  
  The couple looks at you menacingly. "Just stay away from us." They run away towards the cavern.
  
  You look around and notice that the clown guy dropped his machete. Should you take it?
  
  Tip: Click on the machete to take it. It will get added to your inventory. You do not have to click on the machete to take it if you don't want to. The decision is yours.
  
  > The Off Beaten Path
  The more you walk down the forest path, the less confident you feel about which direction you're going. You pull your phone out and check for a signal...still nothing.
  
  You turn around at the sound of a crack. What was that? Is someone following you? Is it that creepy couple again?
  
  You turn back around and continue your way through the forest. Eventually, you reach a sign. The sign is wooden and very old. You doubt that anyone has seen this sign in a while.
  
  Natural Springs ---->
  
  The sign would seem pretty normal...if there wasn't a hand print of blood on it! You're unsure about what to do.
  
  > follow the Sign
  You decide to follow the sign. A couple minutes pass. You were not ready to walk in this forest today. Sporting jeans and a t-shirt, you couldn't feel more hot. The thought of ripping your jeans into shorts crosses your mind. You just really need water. Unlucky for you, you were so quick to leave school, you forgot to fill your water bottle. You suddenly begin to hear the sound of rapid water. You've made it to the springs!
  
  You see one large body of water. There's a waterfall and cliff protruding high up above. You remember seeing on survival TV shows that spring water like this is safe to drink. Then again, you also remember some people getting sick of dysentery or worse... In fear of getting your clothes wet, you make your way to a more stagnant part of the spring.
  
  Important Choice: Do you risk drinking the spring water? OR Do you hold off drinking the spring water.
  
  Your decision will have consequences.
  
  > risk drinking the spring water.
  You have made your decision.
  
  You drop down on your knees. You edge forward beside the spring and drink the water. The cold splash of water tickles down your throat. You feel invigorated to finally have something to drink. You wash your face and hands. Eventually, you get up.
  
  It's time to find a way out of here. You think to yourself.
  
  Hopefully that spring water won't come back to bite you later...
  
  > The RV
  You make your way past the springs. You can only hope that you are going the right way.
  
  Glancing at your watch, you notice the time - 4:50. It's been almost two hours since the final bell rang.
  
  As you make your way down the forest, your eyes widen in surprise: A big, white RV?
  
  The RV looks pretty old. As if it hadn't been driven in a long time. The front of the RV is completely smashed. Maybe someone drove down here and crashed it here on accident. You don't see any roads though. Rust and ivy cover most of the dilapidated vehicle.
  
  Perhaps someone lives there...maybe they can get you out of here!
  
  Important Decision: Do you knock on the RV door to see if anyone is home? OR Do you hide and wait around to see if anyone comes back?
  
  > knock on the RV Door
  You have made your decision.
  
  You decide to knock on the RV door. After all, what if it's just a friendly hippie that lives out here and happens to know the way out?
  
  You pound your fist on the RV door and wait for a response.
  
  "Hello?" you shout.
  
  No response. You look around at the windows of the RV. Each of them have their curtains covered. You try to open the RV door, but find it locked. If you have a sharp enough object, you may be able to get inside.
  
  > use the machete on the door.
  Using the machete you grabbed from the costumed clown, you manage to break the RV's lock! You swing open the door and go inside.
  
  > Inside the RV
  You find yourself in the main room of the RV. The driver and passenger seats are near the east side of the car. They seem archaic, as if no one has driven this vehicle in years. The far west side of the RV has a bathroom, a bedroom, and a full kitchen and table.
  
  > leave the RV
  This was a mistake. You shouldn't have been in this RV. You walk over to the door to leave.
  
  You hear the sound of the door rattling. Uh oh! It looks like the killer is back!
  
  You're going to have to hide!
  
  > hide in the Bedroom
  Quickly, you dash to the bedroom door and hide inside. You crawl under the bed and stare at the door. The cracks beneath the door are large enough that you can see what's going on from the other room.
  
  The RV door swings open. You see the boots of a large man, followed by the shoes of a girl.
  
  The girl's scream sounds very familiar. It then hits you...the girl is the one from earlier. Where's her boyfriend?
  
  The booted man throws the girl into a chair. He grabs duct tape and ties her to the seat.
  
  "Do you want me to cook your tongue for lunch?"
  
  The girl becomes quiet and starts crying.
  
  "Good girl."
  
  > Lunch for Two
  "You keep your breath held in, hoping that you don't get caught by the killer."
  
  "Please! You don't have to do this!" you hear the girl say.
  
  The killer looks at the girl and slaps her in the face. "Only I get to talk."
  
  He turns around and opens the fridge. "I hope you like fingers!"
  
  He grabs a pot from under a cabinet and starts boiling the bag of fingers. The girl starts crying harder.
  
  "Hm, hmm, hmmm!" the killer begins humming a song. You slowly start to shiver from under the bed.
  
  After a couple minutes, the killer grabs a chair and sits next to the girl.
  
  The killer pounds his fist on the table, making the girl jump from her seat...that is, if she could jump out of her seat.
  
  The killer starts laughing at scaring the girl. "That was just a joke. This isn't..."
  
  He slices one of the girl's fingers clean off.
  
  She shouts out in pain, but the killer covers her mouth. "That's going to be delicious!"
  
  He drops the finger in the pot.
  
  You look at the killer with eyes of complete fear and anger. You need to get out of here. A few more minutes pass, and the killer turns off the pot.
  
  "Lunch is ready!" he grabs two plates and puts one finger on each one. He walks over to the girl.
  
  "Ah, where are my manners!" He grabs several dirty forks from his sink and places them on the table.
  
  "Buon appetite!"
  
  He grabs a fork and takes a bite of the finger. He crunches it down and swallows it. He then looks at the girl. "Now it's your turn."
  
  The girl screams and cries, but it's no use. He grabs a fork, stabs the finger, and slides it in her mouth. "Eat up!"
  
  She spits out the finger and keeps screaming.
  
  "Now that's not very nice."
  
  He slaps the girl again, this time knocking her unconscious. "I need to use the bathroom. When I get back, you'll LOVE dessert!"
  
  When the killer is gone, you panic. Now what?! You have very little time to escape.
  
  Important Decision: Should you risk saving the girl? OR Escape by yourself.
  
  Your decision will have consequences.
  
  > Risk saving the girl.
  You have made your decision.
  
  You quickly grab the girl's duct tape and cut it free. "Where - " the girl looks up at you.
  
  "No time to explain, we need to get out of here!"
  
  The both of you get up and escape the RV.
  
  As you run outside, you hear the girl. "Oh my gosh, Charlie!"
  
  The two of you make your way to the clown costume guy. He appears to be unconscious.
  
  "The keys!" the girl grabs a pair of car keys from her lover's pocket. "Our car is parked over there! The killer must've used it to get us here quicker!"
  
  You see the car out in the distance. The girl gives you the keys. "Go get our car!"
  
  You nod and make your way to the car.
  
  When you get to Charlie's car, you put his keys in the ignition and drive it back to the RV. When you get there; however, everyone's gone!
  
  Where did they all go?
  
  > Now what?!
  You find yourself standing outside the Killer's RV. Charlie's car is still running behind you. Where did they all go? They couldn't have gone far.
  
  > investigate the Camp Site
  The campsite is relatively small. The Killer's RV stands in the far east corner. Charlie's car is also there as well. A picnic table and chairs are on the west corner. A metal garbage can stands in between these two corners.
  
  > examine the Trash Can
  You examine the trash can. The can itself has various junk inside it. As you step near it, you feel hollow ground.
  
  You push the can out of the way to discover...a secret passageway? Maybe the killer escaped through here!
  
  > go through the secret passageway.
  You start making your way down the passage. When you get to the bottom, you land on a metallic floor. The area around you is dark. Is this a war bunker?
  
  You shine your phone's flash on the area. The time - 5:45. Almost 3 hours until the final bell rang.
  
  You continue making your way down the passageway. The hall is made of concrete. Whoever made this place was obviously keeping the outside out.
  
  Eventually, you make your way to a large window. You glance at the window, but see nothing.
  
  > continue down the hall
  Suddenly, a light comes on from the window in the next room. You see Charlie and Elizabeth, both tied up to operating tables. They both awaken and start screaming for help.
  
  In front of you is a mechanical operation board. You then hear a speaker go off. "Hello. Since you have all decided to play with me instead of having lunch, I have decided to play with you. In front of you, your friends are tied to my operating tables. On the ceiling..."
  
  You suddenly see large rows of sharp blades from above.
  
  "You must choose who will suffer the fate of my blades. The person you choose will slowly get their limbs chopped so they can feel all the pain."
  
  You shudder at the thought of having your body slowly chopped like that.
  
  "Help!" you hear Elizabeth scream from the table.
  
  "Make your choice wisely."
  
  The knives begin to slowly go down on Elizabeth and Charlie. If you don't decide fast, they'll both be chopped!
  
  > Your stomach feels strange...
  You feel your stomach churning in pain. Suddenly, the thought of you drinking the spring water hits you in the face. You feel your vision get blurry. Before you can do anything, you fall to the floor.
  
  The last thing you hear before passing out is the screams of Charlie and Elizabeth.
  
  > wake Up from Passing Out
  "Ughhhh." you wake up on the floor of the window room. It looks like you passed out from poisoning of the spring water.
  
  You get up and look at the window. The site is so gruesome, you start puking on the ground next to the window.
  
  The knives from above have cut through Elizabeth's body cleanly. Each limb has been completely separated perfectly.
  
  Charlie, on the other hand, isn't so lucky. Due to his clown costume, the knives only partially cut his lower torso, leaving him in a half conscious state. You watch him convulse and die from blood loss.
  
  "No! Why did this have to happen?! Why did I drink the spring water?!"
  
  You cry out for the couple. If only you could go back and save them...
  
  You get up, with some difficulty, and keep moving forward to the next room.
  
  > The Next Hallway
  You walk into the next hallway of the bunker. The more you make your way down, the more you scared you get.
  
  Walking into the next room, you try to feel for a light switch.
  
  The sound of luminescent lights fill the room. It looks like some kind of office. You see a desk at one corner of the room and a book shelf on the other. You see a door near the opposite end of the office.
  
  > go through the other Door
  You decide to walk over to the door across from the entrance. You open it with ease and walk inside. The dark room turns out to be a staircase leading up to something. You climb the stairs, hoping the exit will be at the top soon enough.
  
  Once you get to the last step, you approach a hatch. You push open the hatch and climb out.
  
  > The Cavern
  You find yourself inside the cavern that you saw from the beginning of your walk. You out and see the rusty ladder.
  
  Maybe you can climb the ladder and escape! Who cares how rusty it is!
  
  Before you can do anything, a hand grabs you. You lose consciousness.
  
  > The Forest Fire
  You wake up in a mysterious cot. It looks like you're back inside the cavern. Your hands and feet are bound. You see a lantern several feet away from you.
  
  Quickly, you make your way to the lantern, only to be stopped by several chains on your legs. It looks like whoever knocked you out obviously wanted to make sure you weren't going anywhere. Just as quickly, your chains knock the lantern over, causing the cot to catch on fire!
  
  You try to scream and shout for help, but no use.
  
  Squinting your eyes, you manage to see a key on the wall. You try to kick the wall. The key wiggles. You kick the hollow, stone wall again and the key falls. Unfortunately, it's way too far away from you.
  
  > Fox For the Win!
  "Ahoooooo!"
  
  You see the fox that you saved earlier jump out at your. It's wagging its tail. Maybe it's feeling better.
  
  "Hey there, little fella! Can you grab me that key over there?"
  
  The fox looks at you and tilts its head. It looks at the key and makes itself towards it. Grabbing the key with its teeth, it picks the key up and drops it in front of you.
  
  "Good fox!" you tell the creature as you pet its head.
  
  The fox lays down next to you.
  
  You untie your bonds and chains and quickly get up from the cavern.
  
  > The Outer Cavern
  You make your way to the outer cavern. You keep walking forward until you see the RV again. You see Charlie's car.
  
  Quickly you make your way to the car. You unlock the door and put your keys in the ignition.
  
  "Where do you think you're going?"
  
  You hear the killer from the backseat. You suddenly feel your neck being choked to death. You can't do much, except barely move your hands.
  
  > press on the accelerator!
  With all the power and might you have, you slam your foot on the accelerator. The car goes rushing forward. Instead of steering, you go a full, whooping, 50 miles into a tree. Your airbag immediately goes out.
  
  You get out of the car completely fine. The killer on the other hand, is dead. You walk inside the car and see several gashing head wounds.
  
  You're secretly glad that the killer is finally no longer a threat, but you feel as though the situation could've been handled differently.
  
  You make your way to the path.
  
  > Continue
  When you get back on to the road, you sit there thinking about everything that's happened today. It was supposed to be just a simple walk home. None of this was supposed to happen.
  
  You continue your walk down the road. Eventually, you reach a spot that has cellular reception. You call the police. Several fire trucks, ambulances, and police trucks make their way to your location. You are given fire blankets for support. Major news outlets come out and start reporting on the incident. They want to hear your story on what happened, but you refuse to tell them the story.
  
  Eventually, the police come up to you. "Can you tell us where this killer is?"
  
  You nod your head. "Yes, he's over here in Charlie's car."
  
  The police follow you to Charlie's car. As you walk over there, you stumble a few times. Eventually, you make it there. You gape your mouth open.
  
  The killer...he's gone...
  
  The police schedule a massive search team for the killer that same night. After several hours, no sign.
  
  After all this, you just wish you had some closure. Maybe if you would've done things differently. You don't know anymore...You wish you could've saved Charlie and Elizabeth. It's just not fair. You feel so lucky to be safe...and that's what matters.
  
  > Choices
  Welcome to the Choices Section
  
  Here you can see hints of what choices you made.
  
  You will also find your collection of clues.
  
  Clues Found: 0 of 7
  
  Number 1 : Yes, you did that decision.
  
  Number 0 : No, you did not agree to this decision/you did not do this.
  
  1. The Mysterious Sound 1 of 1.
  
  Did you go and investigate the mysterious sound below the cavern?
  
  2. In Balance With Nature 1 of 1.
  
  Did you save the injured fox?
  
  3. The Clown 1 of 1
  
  Did you stop the masked clown?
  
  4. The Unclean Spring Water 0 of 1
  
  Did you hold off on drinking the spring water?
  
  5. You're My Hero 1 of 1
  
  Did you escape the killer's RV with the girl?
  
  6. It's a trap! 4 of 4
  
  Did you save both Charlie AND Elizabeth from their gruesome fate?
  
  7. Ensure your safety. 0 of 1
  
  To stay safe, you lied to the killer and said you weren't going to the police.
  
  8. Mystery Solved. 0 of 1.
  
  You found all the clues and discovered the killer's secret.
  
  Thanks for playing! Feel free to leave a comment and tell us which choices you made!