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Tuesday, 10 pm. You are leaving work after a rather uneventful day. You wish you had not benevolently offered to cover up for Sara's shift for the fifth time this month. You check your phone...no message from your husband, Tom. Strange, you think, he usually texts you on night shifts.
[[Text Tom]]
[[Go to your car]]You receive an instant reply from Tom:
//Thanks for forgetting my birthday...I wish I were as important as your job//
Congratulations, you forgot Tom's birthday. It's time for you to go home and hope he is still awake.
You rush back into the office to grab a left-over doughnut from the kitchen hoping this would mildly dampen his disappointment. Your coat's belt gets tangled in the front door's handle, riping the entire garment in the back...You have to take it off.
On your way out to the parking facilities, fiercely heavy rain begins lashing down from the sky. You are wet. You are drenched to the bone by a raw and icy rain. You jump into your broken-down Italian car. Turn the heating on full blast. Fasten your seatbelt and
[[You turn on the local radio station]]
[[You play a relaxing ambient soundtrack from your phone]] You wave your colleagues goodbye and wish good luck to the arriving night crew. You stroll quietly towards your run-down Italian car.
The air feels heavy tonight, you think. As you get into your seat, fiercely heavy rain begins lashing down from the sky.
You are slightly worried that such relentless rain might mean the road you usually take home will be impracticable.
[[You turn on the local radio station]]
[[You play a relaxing ambient soundtrack from your phone]] //"...Heavy storm tonight as the tail of Storm Alex hits the South of Wyoming. Strong winds up to 100mph and heavy rain are expected to last until tomorrow Tuesday, 9 am. Avoid all outdoor activities and stay inside until then. Lower areas of Griggsville including road 57 between c114 and c118 and Mainsquare road are shut until further notice. Sports: Greggsville football cup..."//
Great, you think. The road you need to take is shut down.
[[You search for an alternative route on your telephone]]
[[You try to find an alternative route without using your phone]] The combination of the music and the rain put you into an almost lathargique state. You turn up the volume. A warning message lights up your screen:
Battery low 10%
You ignore this warning.
This rain is turning into a storm, you think. You feel your frebrile Fiat Punto being drifted like an insignificant empty pot of yogurt by strong gusts of wind. The rain is making it considerably harder to distinguish a road sign from a tree. Nevertheless, you are rather enjoying the experience and happily carry on.
About 3 miles down the road. You break, suddenly. You just about avoid running over the poor signal agent holding a unapolegitically large and luminous sign that reads "road closed".
You wind down your window and ask without an ounce of empathy for the man behind the drenched uniform:
"What's going on, is the road shut?", you say.
"Yes m'am. Road shut 'cause of the floodin'. Often happens in this lower part of town when it rains an' all.", the agent replies.
"I know, but I live that way! That's the only road to Tinesdale!"
"Ya gonna have to find yourself another route m'am, I'm sorry.", he replies.
"Can you please let me through?", you insist.
"A'm sorry m'am. Nothin' I can do for y'a. I'm just doin' my job. Try taking the North road, through Greenfield woods.", he suggests.
[[Follow his advice]]
[[No way, that road is terrifying]]You aren't delighted. It appears that the only alternative is up Greenfield road. A long and narrow road that stretches across the forest. But you have no choice. You have to get home to apologise to Tom, and you are beginning to shiver from the sensation of wet clothes against your skin and you feel terribly guilty.
You follow your phone's GPS.
You finally end up making your way towards the forest road. The forest is eerie. Twigs are snapping on the uneven road beneath your tires. Branches are creaking and you feel unsettled by the howling noise of the wind blowing through the summer trees. You dare not blink your eyes as an unadmitted part of you fears that something or someone might jump out at you from the dark void beyond your headlights.
Your heart rate increases drastically when you spot a car parked on the side of the road about ten yards ahead...
You see four passengers in the car, they look young. They stare at you as you drive past. You drive faster, without wanting to appear frightened. It's only a group of young boys, you think.
But an increasing amount of branches start to stack up on both sides of the road. You are forced to slow down. It's only the storm, you think.
But twigs turn into carefully aligned branches, who turn into oddly displayed logs until you are forced to stop your car. A long and sleek tree trunk is blocking the entire width of the road. It's the kind of tree that you would not have expected to fall in such a way.
This is odd, you think. So, you decide to get out of your car to inspect the area before making any further decision.
[[Text Tom before getting out of the car]]
[[Don't text Tom before getting out of the car]]This rain is turning into a storm, you think. You feel your febrile fiat punto being drifted like an insignificant empty pot of yoghurt by strong gusts of wind. The rain is making it considerably harder to distinguish a road sign from a tree. Nevertheless, you are rather enjoying the experience and happily carry on.
About 3 miles down the road. You break, suddenly. You just about avoid running over the poor signal agent holding a unapologetically large and luminous sign that reads "road closed".
You wind down your window manually and ask without an ounce of empathy for the man behind the drenched uniform:
"_ What's going on, is the road shut?
_ Yes m'am. Road shut 'cause of the floodin'. Often happens in this lower part of town when it rains an' all.
_ I know, but I live that way! That's the only road to Tinesdale!
_ Ya gonna have to find yourself another route m'am, I'm sorry.
_ Can you please let me through?
_ A'm sorry m'am. Nothin' I can do for y'a. I'm just doin' my job. Try taking the North road, through Greenfield woods."
[[Follow his advice]]
[[No way, that road is terrifying]]You start driving towards the Northern part of town. You have a vague idea of where the road is. If you remember correctly, it isn't far from Sara's house, it crosses a rather long stretch of forest.
The battery of your telephone has just died. You can thank the ambient music blasting in the background.
You carry on driving hoping to find the road by 'instinct' [[Carry on looking for the road on your own]]
You notice a familiar house in the distance, it's Sara and John's house. You decide to stop there and ask for directions. [[Go to Sara's]]You notice a familiar house in the distance, it's your colleague Sara and John's house. You decide to stop there and ask for help.
Sara invites you to stay for the night. She says the storm is getting stronger and it isn't safe for you to stay out.
You accept and hope that Tom will understand. [[Accept]]
You politely decline the offer. [[Carry on looking for the road on your own]]
You check your phone. The battery is dead.
You finally end up making your way towards the forest road. The forest is eerie. Twigs are snapping on the uneven road beneath your tires. Branches are creaking and you feel unsettled by the howling noise of the wind blowing through the summer trees. You dare not blink your eyes as an unadmitted part of you fears that something or someone might jump out at you from the dark void beyond your headlights.
Your heart rate increases drastically when you spot a car parked on the side of the road about ten yards ahead...
You see four passengers in the car, they look young. They stare at you as you drive past. You drive faster, without wanting to appear frightened. It's only a group of young boys, you think.
But an increasing amount of branches start to stack up on both sides of the road. You are forced to slow down. It's only the storm, you think.
But twigs turn into carefully aligned branches, who turn into oddly displayed logs until you are forced to stop your car. A long and sleek tree trunk is blocking the entire width of the road. It's the kind of tree that you would not have expected to fall in such a way.
You turn around and decide to ask the boys to help you [[ask boys]]
You turn around and decide to return to Sara's house. [[Go to Sara's]]
You decide to move the thin tree by yourself as fast as possible. [[do it yourself]]
Sara invites you to stay for the night. She says the storm is getting stronger and it isn't safe for you to stay out.
You accept and hope that Tom will understand. [[Accept]]
You politely decline the offer. [[Carry on looking for the road on your own]]
You have a nice evening with Sara and John and go to sleep, it's late.
The next morning you wake up feeling rested. You take a look outside and the sky is clear. Perfect, you think. Time for you to head home. You stretch out and get dressed before making your way down to thank John and Sara for kindly letting you stay at their house during the storm last night.
On the way down you hear the sound of broken glass. Like a morning cup of coffee shattering against John and Sara's newly painted wooden floor. You hear a loud cry of horror.
As you walk down the stairs, Sara and John are both standing in shock in front of the local TV morning news. The local TV host is standing at the corner of West-part road, in the forest only a mile away from the house.
"It is here that Kathlyn Boyd's body was found in the early hours of the morning today. It appears that the suspect had managed to introduce himself into the victim's vehicle while she had made an unexplained pause to exit her car approximately half a mile back. Witnesses say they attempted to warn the victim that someone had entered her vehicle but Kathlyn never responded. She was last seen at 10:30 pm...News
report..."
Congratulations, that could have been you.
You win!Why not? After all, they might be forest guards, you think.
You drive right next to them and wind down your window.
[[You get out of your car to introduce yourself]]
[[You wind down your window and call out for some help]]
This situation is overall rather unpleasant, you think. You turn on your headlights, open the door and get out. You are cold, wet and alone in the middle of this forest trying as best as you can to move this large chunk of wood across the road. After ten minutes of herculean effort, you finally manage to remove the obstacle.
Feeling proud of your achievement, you return to your car and close the driver's door before starting the engine. You wink at yourself in the rear mirror in a gesture of contempt.
Suddenly, you are blinded by the reflection of some headlights coming from behind.
Your heart stops before our body triggers panic mode. It must be that strange car you saw, you think. They are probably killers...and the branches...it was a trap, it all makes sense now!
You panic and start driving very fast. The car skids but your instincts react fast enough to keep you on the road. The car behind is acting in an increasingly worrying way. They flash their headlights at you as if to ask you to stop.
[[You stop]]
[[You drive faster]]The rain is covering your voice. You decide to get out and knock on their window. The group of young men, four twenty-somethings stare at you in shock for a few seconds. You freeze with surprise...the look on their face was as if they had encountered a ghost. The driver points towards the area where the branches lay ahead. He places his index in front of his lips and gestures to come closer. You lean forward:
"M'am, I wouldn't stay here if I were you. We came here 'cause our friend Kelly said she saw a strange man place some branches on the road earlier this evening. She said he looked like a proper odd fella. We tried callin' the sheriff but they 'll stuck downtown 'cause of the storm. It's not safe here m'am.", he says with a worried look on his face.
In shock, you don't even take the time to reply. You get back in your car and reverse full speed. You decide to drive to the safest place you can find, Sara's house.
You tell Sara and John what has just happened and they laugh, suggesting you might have been spoofed by young tricksters. Sara invites you to stay the night. You accept.
The next morning you wake up feeling rested. You take a look outside and the sky is clear. Perfect, you think. Time for you to head home. You stretch out and get dressed before making your way down to thank John and Sara for kindly letting you stay at their house during the storm last night.
On the way down you hear the sound of broken glass. Like a morning cup of coffee shattering against John and Sara's newly painted wooden floor. You hear a loud cry of horror.
As you walk down the stairs, Sara and John are both standing in shock in front of the local TV morning news. The local TV host is standing at the corner of West-part road, in the forest only a mile away from the house.
"It is here that Kathlyn Boyd's body was found in the early hours of the morning today. It appears that the suspect had managed to introduce himself into the victim's vehicle while she had made an unexplained pause to exit her car approximately half a mile back. Witnesses say they attempted to warn the victim that someone had entered her vehicle but Kathlyn never responded. She was last seen at 10:30 pm...News
report..."
Congratulations, that could have been you.
You win.This was a terrible mistake.
The four men, twenty-somethings appear to be counting something out of your sight. You naïvely reach out louder as they ignore your calls. Suddenly they freeze, like rabbits caught in your headlights. You seem to have interrupted something they were not keen to share. The youngest of them pulls out a handgun and fires twice in your direction. The flash of light is blinding and the sound is deafening.
You were shot in the chest and you will never know why.
Sorry, you lose.
Your heart is racing but you slow the car down. After all, you are a strong woman, alone in the forest. What could happen to you...? You stop your car and see their lights getting closer. Did you make a mistake?
Their car pulls up next to yours and four young men come jumping out of the 4x4 Honda with baseball bats. You almost faint. You are going to die. This is it.
They start hitting the back doors and windows of your vehicle and yelling
"Get out of there!", cries one.
"We're goin' to kill ya!", yells the second.
"We saw you! Get out, get out now! We saw you!", scream the third.
You start to cry. What an awful way to leave, you think. You think of your family. You regret having laughed when your father suggested you keep a gun in your car at all times. Meanwhile, the yelling continued:
"Get out you creep! Open the door m'am! I said, open the door!", commands the youngest.
Suddenly, your fear turns to confusion. One of the men, the tallest, bends down and knocks on your window. He points towards your backseat. He's whispering something but you can't hear. You're not falling for the good cop. He repeats louder:
"M'am you gotta' get out! There's a man in your back seat!", he says.
You turn around and there he was. A middle-aged man, dressed in black, curled up like an animal behind your seat. His forearms were pathetically attempting to cover his head. By his feet was a rope. You scream and jump out of the car. You faint.
The next day you wake up at Sara's house. John, Sara's husband works for the local police. It turns out the four boys had been alerted by their friend that a strange-looking man was placing branches on the road earlier that evening. They had tried to warn the police but these were stranded in downtown Grisggville, because of the storm. So they decided to go and check it out for themselves. When you got out of the car to remove the branch, they witnessed the man climbing into your backseat.
You were lucky.
Congratulations,
you win! Your Fiat Punto is no racing car. They soon catch up with you, sticking their heads out of the window in the rain, they look like madmen. The two backseat passengers yell and gesture to stop your car immediately.
You are terrified. You can't hear what they are saying, your mind is focused on escaping. They try to overtake you, you break. They reverse to stop you from crossing. You pretend to stop and finally accelerate at full speed in their direction, dodging their vehicle by inches. Your turn was so harsh that you feel your left wheels lift from the ground for an instant. You never knew you could be such a pilot.
It takes them a few seconds to reverse. They pause and flash their headlights at you once more. They start following you again, but this time you are far ahead enough to spot the end of the forest road. You make a swift left turn, then a right...you drive four blocks then make another left. You can no longer see their headlights behind you.
Your heart is still racing. You look around for a place to shelter.
You see an open gas station.
[[you go in]]
[[you decide to drive home]]
You park as close as possible to the casheer's desk. In an automoatic gesture your get out of your car and press your keys to lock the doors as you run towards the man standing behind the counter. He was a lanky, droopy-eyed young man who looked like he hadn't slept in days.
"Please, sir. Call the sheriff. I'm been followed!", you cry.
The young man was bent over the counter, his back was arched and his elbows were holding him above his cellphone. He barely lifted his eyes from the screen before replying in a monotonous voice:
"What can I do for you?", he said.
Startled, you reply
"Do you have a phone that works? I need to call the sheriff...I was...", he interrupts before you have time to finish your sentence.
"Naah m'am", he replied in the same monotone, nasal voice. "All the lines are down 'cause of the storm.", he lifts his head up and looks towards your car. "Does your husband not have a phone?", his eyes return to his phone screen.
"My husband?", you ask.
"Yeah, your husband, your lover, whatever. That guy in your car", he looks at you and looks at your car.
You turn and see a man trying to get out of your car in the passenger's backseat.
You freeze. The cashier returns to his phone screen.
Suddenly, you see the 4x4 Honda that had been following you pulling up from around the corner. The passengers jumped out with baseball bats. Three of them circle your car while the driver comes running towards you.
_ M'am, you alrigh'? I'm real sorry if we frighten' you. We were tryin' to warn you but you weren' listenin'. See, our friend Kelly said she saw a strange lookin' fella puttin' some branches on the road earlier this evening. We thought we'd come an' check it out. And then we saw him climbin' into ya car like a cat while ya' were out'er movin' them branches. We tried callin' the sheriff but they 'll stuck downtown 'cause of the storm. I'm sorry 'f we scared ya m'am. We hope 'your alrigh'.
Congratulations, it could have been you.
You win! You take a few more winding turns before making your way back home.
As you take the last turn on the road next to your house you stop at the traffic light. You are finally safe, you think.
Suddenly, a hand grabs you from the backseat. You freeze. Sorry, you get killed.
Game over, you lose. //So sorry about your birthday !! I'm on my way home. Road blocked, I've had to take a long way home. Strange tree blocking the other route, I'm just checking it out. Home soon.//
You try to set your phone's torch to light up as much of your surroundings as possible.
[[Attach your phone to a stick, you saw this in a movie]]
[[Keep your phone close to you]]
You try to set your phone's torch to light up as much of your surroundings as possible.
[[Attach your phone to a stick, you saw this in a movie]]
[[Keep your phone close to you]]So there you are, walking in the woods at night with your phone as a torch. You aren't too sure what you're doing here but this seemed like the right thing to do.
You hear the sound of a branch creaking behind a bush a few meters away. Fearless, you walk towards it.
Unfortunately, you have just walked straight up to the killer. A tall lanky man dressed entirely in black stands up and reaches out to you.
[[You do nothing]]
[[You start dancing]]
[[You start singing "I will always love you" by Whitney Houston]]
[[You start singing a song by Arianna Grande]]You close your eyes hoping this won't hurt.
The killer approaches with a rope in his hands.
Suddenly, your phone rings. The killer freezes. Your ringtone is 'In the air" by Phil Collins.
The killer drops his rope and starts singing like there's no tomorrow. He loves Phil Collins.
[[So do you!]]
[[The ringtone is a joke, you hate Phil Collins]] You love Phil Collins too! You are a huge fan. You start singing along with the killer. The two of you bond over Phil Collins and sit down to talk about his greatest hits for a while.
After a few jokes and a long chat, you invite the killer to come back to your house to meet your husband and children. The killer accepts.
You start driving home together. You introduce the killer to your husband. You also hand Tom his doughnut and he instantly forgives you for forgetting his birthday. You all share Instagrams and become best friends. A few months later, your second child, Collin was born and you invite the killer to become his godfather.
Congratulations.
You win. You pretend to love Phil Collins too and start singing along with the killer. The two of you bond over Phil Collins and sit down to talk about his greatest hits for a while.
You invite the killer to come back to your house to meet your husband and children.
"Tom and I have an entire shrine devoted to Phil Collins in our living room. You're going to love it!", you lie.
The killer accepts.
You start driving home, both singing like there was no tomorrow. But instead of going home, you take a turn right at the first town junction and park the car right in front of the police station.
Congratulations, you deliver the killer to the police and make it home on time for Tom's birthday.
You win. Unfortunately, you have made a series of bad decisions. The killer hates Arianna Grande and immediately kills you.
Sorry, you loose.
GAME OVER So there you are, walking in the woods at night with your phone attached to the end of a stick. You left your coat in the car. You are cold. You are searching the area looking out for...in fact, what are you looking out for? Deep down, you aren't at all convinced by this decision. But an unexplainable force pushes you to continue.
Unfortunately, your phone was not waterproof. It dies after only a few minutes. You stop to have a look at it when a man jumps out from a bush at you.
You have made a series of bad decisions that led you to walk straight to the killer. Sorry, you lose.
Game over. You sing as loud as you can, thinking of Tom. The killer is very confused by your performance and freezes for a minute.
Meanwhile, a few yards back. The boys in the car hear what they believe to be a woman's screams. They immediately run to your rescue.
They scare the killer off and take you to a safe place.
Congratulations,
You win! The killer is not impressed. Unfortunately, you have made a series of bad decisions. The killer immediately kills you.
Sorry, you lose.
GAME OVER