text: [Themes: Lovecraftian, church, amnesia]
  
  > look at the lightning
  The howling wind sends the clouds racing across the sky. The almost constant flashing of lightning illuminates the landscape in stark black and white contrast, while the barrage of thunder joins with the wind in a mad concaphony.
  
  > examine the mud
  The sides of the hole are made of dark, rich earth, now soaked through by the torrential downpour. As you watch, more and more mud is washed away and into the hole with you.
  
  > go upwards
  As you scramble out of the hole the mud collapses downward, filling in the hole behind you.
  
  Dozens of stone markers stand here, oblivious to the wind and the rain. Huge, twisted oaks, their limbs tossed by the wind, draw an unmentionable sustenance from the moss-covered, moldy ground. An odor of decay, which even the storm cannot dissipate, hangs over everything. An iron barred fence surrounds the graveyard, an ivy-covered barrier separating it from the world of the living. The only exit is through the gate to the east.
  
  A church rises to the east, its boarded up windows giving the impression that it is covering its eyes from the sight of the graveyard.
  
  A large branch has been broken from one of the trees and has crushed the grave marker below it.
  
  > look at the marker
  The marker for this grave has been shattered by the fall of a large branch from the overhanging tree. The grave itself has been disturbed; the soil has fallen in to form a shallow pit.
  
  > examine the branch
  This large branch has broken off from one of the trees and fallen on one of the graves, shattering it's marker.
  
  > take it
  The branch is too large to move, but a smaller limb has broken off and is lying nearby.
  
  > take the limb
  Taken.
  
  > examine it
  A stout oak limb, about as long as you are tall.
  
  The marker for this grave has been shattered by the fall of a large branch from the overhanging tree. The grave itself has been disturbed; the soil has fallen in to form a shallow pit.
  
  > examine the church
  The old church has seen better days. Formerly painted white, the boards are now faded, peeling and rotted. Most of the windows are boarded up, and those that aren't have long since been broken out. The shingles have fallen from the roof, which sags alarmingly. A broken-tipped steeple rises from one end of the building, and a faint miasma of decay seems to rise from the structure.
  
  > Go east
  This side of the church is untended and grasses and weeds have run rampant. A muddy trail leads back to the graveyard to the west and on to the southeast and a faint path continues around the church to the northeast.
  
  To the east, the wall of the church breaks some of the force of the wind.
  
  > examine the weeds
  Diseased looking grasses and weeds surround the church. In clumps it rises to your knees, while in other places it has been beaten to the ground by the force of the storm.
  
  > search the weeds
  You find nothing of interest.
  
  Lightning arcs overhead, followed instantly by a blast of thunder.
  
  > go to the southeast
  Two massive oak trees which flank the cracked sidewalk dominate the front of the church. The facade of the church itself rises beyond them, its steeple silhouetted against the sky. The storm lashes at its faded white facade, almost as if the storm is trying to wash the church clean; something you somehow realize will take more than mere water to accomplish. To the north, a sidewalk leads to the front of the church. A weed-choked driveway runs to the northeast and down a hill to the south, and a muddy path leads around the church to the northwest.
  
  The church and steeple loom to the north, the open window frames seeming to stare with judgment upon anyone standing before it.
  A formidable looking guard dog stands here.
  
  The dog growls at you threateningly.
  
  A blast of thunder rattles the ground.
  
  > go north
  N = next subject                                        P = previous RETURN = read subject                                Q = resume game
  
  > About this game
  Credits and Acknowledgments
  License and Copyright info
  Hints...
  Walkthru
  "The Awakening" is my first piece of interactive fiction. It is based (very) loosely on several stories by H.P. Lovecraft, most notably "The Outsider", "The Terrible Old Man" and "The Two Black Bottles".
  
  I mainly wrote "The Awakening" as a learning exercise. I had started several other games, but they were all too big and I found myself becoming overwhelmed by the scope of the game along with learning the language. I was inspired to try a smaller game by the Textfire games which came out in April of 1998. "The Awakening" became much larger than any Textfire, but the inspiration was there.
  
  It took longer to finish the game than I expected. My main problem involved the rope that is encountered in the game. Originally, it was far more complex than what is now implemented. Even what is there now doesn't work quite as well as I would have liked.
  
  I hope you enjoy the game. Since it is my first game, feedback is especially welcome. At this time (July 1998) my most stable e-mail address is:
  
  Dennis_Matheson@compuserve.com
  
  or, you can reach me by snail mail at:
  
  4068 Maxanne Dr.
  Kennesaw, GA  30144
  
  Enjoy!
  
  N = next subject                                        P = previous RETURN = read subject                                Q = resume game
  
  > About this game
  Credits and Acknowledgments
  License and Copyright info
  Hints...
  Walkthru
  
  > examine dog
  This large, solid black dog is chained to one of the oak trees. There is something disturbing about the shape of it's head; it seems to be too large and slightly misshapen and an unnatural intelligence can be seen behind its red eyes.
  
  The dog growls at you threateningly.
  
  > Hello
  The dog growls threateningly.
  
  The dog growls at you threateningly.
  
  > Pet dog
  The dog snarls and snaps at you as you reach for it and you draw your hand back hurriedly.
  
  The dog growls at you threateningly.
  
  > check your inventory
  You are carrying:
  a broken limb
  
  The dog growls at you threateningly.
  
  Momentarily, the wind and rain slacken then return with renewed force.
  
  > give the limb to the dog
  The dog snarls and barks at you.
  
  The dog growls at you threateningly.
  
  > throw the limb
  Dropped.
  
  The dog growls at you threateningly.
  
  With a loud CRACK, a bolt of lightning strikes the steeple of the church.
  
  > examine the trees
  These massive trees are easily hundreds of years old. They tower over the front of the church, climbing almost as high as the steeple. Unlike the forest surrounding other parts of the grounds they are almost unnaturally healthy, their branches clean and straight and their leaves a deep rich green.
  
  The dog growls at you threateningly.
  
  > throw the limb
  Dropped.
  
  The dog growls at you threateningly.
  
  > get the limb
  Taken.
  
  The dog growls at you threateningly.
  
  > examine the steeple
  Pointing heavenward like some broken, accusing finger, the steeple rises from the front of the church. The steeple ends in a ragged, blunt tip; whatever decoration may have once surmounted it is long gone.
  
  The dog growls at you threateningly.
  
  > climb the trees
  The trunk is too rain-slick to climb.
  
  The dog growls at you threateningly.
  
  > go to the north
  Bristling and growling, the dog blocks your path
  
  The dog growls at you threateningly.
  
  > Go northwest
  To the east, the wall of the church breaks some of the force of the wind.
  
  Growling faintly, the dog follows you to the West Side of the Church, dragging its chain behind it.
  
  A blast of thunder rattles the ground.
  
  > Go west
  A church rises to the east, its boarded up windows giving the impression that it is covering its eyes from the sight of the graveyard.
  
  A large branch has been broken from one of the trees and has crushed the grave marker below it.
  
  Satisfied, the dog wanders off back to the Front of the Church.
  
  > examine the boards
  Once, the windows were probably told stories of hope and redemption in brightly colored stained glass. Now, they are boarded up as if the church has closed it's eyes to the world outside.
  
  > take the boards
  The boards are nailed firmly in place.