text: [Themes: Horror, cat, horror]
  
  You have been travelling for weeks. Your supplies are running low. You had nearly lost all hope -- and then you found the first sign of humanity you've seen in days.
  
  Type "about" for more information on this project.
  
  Your tracks lead through the snow back into the distance. Everywhere else is blank and undefined; the sky and the ground are one solid, flat plane ahead of you.
  
  Something silver is sticking out of the snow.
  
  [Author's Note: Travel down into an abandoned Antarctic Base and unveil the mysteries within. A story made in the paper-telephone style, with each person only having access to the section before, with a co-ordinated ending that ties everything beautifully together.]
  
  > examine silver
  A strange thin silver device, smaller than the palm of your hand. There is a small depression on one end.
  
  > take it
  Something inside rattles as you pick up the strange device.
  
  > shake it
  (first taking the depression)
  That seems to be a part of the strange device.
  You need to be holding the depression first.
  
  But you aren't holding that.
  
  > Shake device
  As you start to move the device around, a red light on one end starts to flash.
  
  > Shake device
  With a bit of experimentation, you find that the device blinks fastest when it's pointed towards the west.
  
  > Wave device
  The device blinks fastest when pointing west.
  
  > West
  Holding the strange device out in front of you, you trudge ahead for a few minutes, until the rate of blinking slows down.
  
  > Author
  Scene 1, "Southern Exposure", was written by Chris Conley.
  
  > Wave device
  The device blinks fastest when pointing southwest.
  
  > go west
  Holding the strange device out in front of you, you trudge ahead for a few minutes, until the rate of blinking slows down.
  
  The device begins vibrating in your hand, as you nearly trip over something buried in the snow.
  
  > Dig
  What do you want to dig?
  
  > Snow
  You don't have anything extremely well-suited to digging, but the snow is fortunately dry and lightly packed. Using a bowl from your supplies, progress is fairly quick. Within half an hour, you are...
  
  The only real landmark of any note here is the research center. At last, you have found the site you were searching for.
  
  > check your inventory
  You are carrying:
  a strange device
  an arctic gear (being worn)
  a giant backpack (being worn, and closed)
  
  > examine center
  Barely anything more than a metal shack with a solid door.
  
  > open door
  (the research center shack)
  After some effort, the door to the research center pops open. You are greeted by a blast of stale-but surprisingly not cold-air. Stairs lead downward, and you descend...
  
  Your steady search for the research center has not been in vain! The airlock is a cool dank chamber, with metal walls, floor, and ceiling. The fresh snow that blew in with you melts slowly on the stairs that lead up to the outer door that gapes open above. To the north is the inner door that presumably leads into the research center proper.
  
  > close the outer door
  With a satisfying slam, you shut the outer door and a stale warmth fills the airlock.
  
  Now the whistling of the outside wind is no longer a distraction, you take a greater stock of your surroundings and note with mounting unease a red smear on the floor leading towards the inner door.
  
  > examine the smear
  A dried red-brown smear leads in under the inner door. The sight brings back your fears about the research center's long radio silence.
  
  > Smell smear
  You lean right in and inhale deeply. The smear has a sharp iron tang to it.
  
  > Taste smear
  The smear has a sharp iron tang to it.
  
  > open the backpack
  You open the giant backpack, revealing some survival supplies and a collapsible tent.
  
  > examine supplies
  MREs, granola bars, a small propane stove and a bowl for making soup with melted snow. Nothing glamorous, and there's almost nothing left.
  
  > look at the gear
  The arctic gear lies in a damp creased pile.
  
  > drop the gear
  The arctic gear drops with a resounding squelch.
  
  > About yourself
  You are weary from the harsh trek through the snowy wastes, but you know you've certainly looked worse. You are currently decked out in a hooded jacket combo and a giant backpack.
  
  > open the inner door
  You open the inner door and are greeted by a warm waft of stale air.
  
  A slow dripping alerts you to the fact that the snow on the stairs has now melted completely.
  
  > Go north
  You step out of the airlock and into a dim, narrow corridor. As you pass the threshold, the strange device that you'd picked up from the snow beeps shrilly before going silent.
  
  Claustrophobia gropes at your mind with feral claws in this corridor. It leads northeast and west from here. The functional, bolted metal of the walls continues from the airlock. It's warm in here, far too warm. The bloody trail leads to the west.
  
  > Wave device
  As you start to move the device around, a red light on one end starts to flash.
  
  > examine the red light
  A tiny hole on the top of one of the broad sides of the device, currently blinking red.
  
  > examine the trail
  The trail becomes more of a splatter as it moves continues west.
  
  > close the inner door
  You close the inner door.
  
  > Go west
  You step into the supply room and grow pale. You know the form sprawled on the floor, that twisted thing that once was Kira Argmanov. Steadying yourself on the doorframe for a second, trying to blink the tears away. You take a deep breath, breathing in the smell of her death, and stop. Your love, dead in Antarctica.
  
  Then something rumbles in the locker, and at the same time the strange device beeps once again.
  
  This room has been thoroughly and methodically searched. Boxes stand open, racks are emptied, balls of plastic wrapping lie on the floor. There is a single locker in the corner.
  
  The corpse of the woman you love lies here, exposed.
  
  > examine the corpse
  You can't bear to look at her too long. Looks like someone or something attacked her from behind and cracked her open. You notice a birthmark on her shoulder you used to kiss a thousand miles from here, and somehow that's the worst. There's a bile taste in your mouth, and you can't look anymore.
  
  > examine the locker
  It's a functional metal locker. It doesn't have a lock.
  
  > open the locker
  You carefully open the locker, prepared for everything - then something jumps out at you! You screech and cover your face - warm, prickly fur on your face, hitting the ground as you stumble backwards. As you regain your senses, something small flees into the corridor.
  
  > open the locker
  That's already open.
  
  > Wave device
  The device blinks fastest when pointing southwest.
  
  > search the locker
  In the locker is a blanket.
  
  > examine the blanket
  It's an olive emergency blanket, made of olive PET, meant to preserve heat in wounded personnel.
  
  You sneeze.
  
  > Wear blanket
  (first taking the blanket)
  You can't wear that!
  
  > eat the corpse
  (first taking Kira Argmanov)
  You'd get her blood on you, and ... things ... might slip.
  
  > look at the racks
  Empty metal racks.
  
  > examine the plastic
  These are just bits of plastic, utterly useless.
  
  You're starting to feel extremely warm.
  
  > eat the plastic
  (first taking the balls of plastic wrapping)
  They're hardly portable.
  
  > Inventory
  You are carrying:
  a blanket
  a hooded jacket combo (being worn)
  a strange device
  a giant backpack (being worn, and open)
  some survival supplies (running low)
  a collapsible tent (closed)
  
  > remove the jacket
  You remove your hooded jacket combo.
  
  > check your inventory
  You are carrying:
  a blanket
  a hooded jacket combo
  a strange device
  a giant backpack (being worn, and open)
  some survival supplies (running low)
  a collapsible tent (closed)
  
  > Go outside
  Claustrophobia gropes at your mind with feral claws in this corridor. It leads northeast and west from here. The functional, bolted metal of the walls continues from the airlock. It's warm in here, far too warm. The bloody trail leads to the west.
  
  The cat is here. She stares at you warily with yellow eyes.
  
  > Pet cat
  Youch! The cat is hot to the touch.
  
  The cat sees you, and quickly runs off to the Supply Room.