An interactive apocalyptic story.
You've heard the strange reports of cannibalism that seems to be sweeping the country. It all seemed so far fetched. Now, though, you have witnessed it with your own eyes. What will you do?
Read along and make your...
You breath out a sigh of relief when Mr. Smith goes straight, apparently deciding to stick to the back roads. The highway, for the same reasons as the city, seems like a bad idea.
Mrs. Smith, not seeming to agree, speaks up, "Do you think this is the best way?" She looks worriedly out her side window.
"Yes... The highway is likely to be jammed with traffic. Getting trapped there would be bad." He assures her as the suv leaves town.
As the homes and businesses give way to trees and isolated cabins, the number of walking corpses dwindles. As you all ride further into the hills, you notice that you haven't seen a zombie for miles. The Smith's cabin is a four hour drive under the best of circumstances. You have no idea how long it will take to get there now.
Nighttime had already been fast approaching, but within the trees, it's already dark. The headlights of the suv cut through the darkness, showing the narrow, twisting road. You haven't seen another vehicle for a while.
Exhaustion finally catches up with you, and you lean against your door, barely awake. Sam and his sister both are already asleep, leaning against each other. You register when Mrs. Smith looks back at the three of you, and then begins a quiet conversation with her husband. Their familiar voices are what lulls you into sleep.
The sound of a car door shutting wakes you up. Groggily wiping at your eyes to clear your vision, you see that both of the elder Smiths are not in the car. Looking to your right, you see that Sam is just waking up, too.
"What's going on?" He asks you sleepily.
Looking outside, you see that you have stopped at a run down looking gas station on the edge of a tiny town. A real blink-and-you'll-miss-it, kind of place. Sam's parents are standing outside. Mrs. Smith is gassing up the suv. And Mr. Smith is just in front of the car, looking steadily towards the small gas station store. "We're getting gas." You finally reply to Sam.
From the quality of the blackness surrounding you, it must be well into the middle of the night. It's no surprise that the sleepy little town is silent. Within a few minutes, Sam's parents climb back into the suv and you are on your way again.
The youngest member of your group is still asleep, but the rest of you watch out the windows for trouble. Just before you exit this town, standing on the front porch of an old two story house, you see a middle aged man holding a shotgun. The man watches you drive by, expression hard to read in the darkness, posture clear that he intends to defend his home if threatened.
The only part of him that moves is his head, as he tracks your progress by on the road. It's downright creepy, and you suppress a shudder.
Sam's voice pulls your attention back to the inside of the vehicle. "How much further, Mom?"
She glances back and shoots him a tense smile, "We're almost there. About another hour."
The Smiths cabin, situated on the edge of a lake, and surrounded by miles of nothing but trees, has been a fun place to spend your summers. But now, it represents so much more. It's a safe haven in a world gone mad. You just want to get there.
Alive and in one piece, preferably.
The faintest hint of the dawn is showing, that point when the deep blackness of the night is slightly less deep, when you start to recognise landmarks. In a few more minutes, the suv crunches onto the gravel driveway leading to the cabin. And not a moment to soon. You've been sitting in this car all night and you could really use a bathroom.
Mr. Smith pulls up next to the cabin and cuts the engine. He studies the dark windows of the place for a minute, before telling you all, "Stay here. I'm going to go look around."
His wife strenuously objects, and as usual, wins. When he climbs out of the car, so does she. They shut their doors, and with meaningful looks at us in the back seat, walk toward their cabin carefully.
They've been gone for several minutes when Sam suddenly reaches for his door handle. "Where are you going?" You ask him.
"I'll be right back. I need to duck behind that tree." As he keeps climbing out of the car, you realise that he's having the same problem as you, too much time between bathroom breaks.
He shuts his door quietly, obviously trying to not wake up his little sister, and scurries toward a big tree about 30 feet away. You wait with baited breath for him to reappear, watching the darkness for any sign of danger.
A few agonizingly long seconds later, Sam reappears and jogs back to the car. You can finally start breathing properly again when he gets back in.
"Piece of cake," he tells you with a hint of a smile.
He goes back to watching for his parents, but your eye is drawn to that tree. Only 30 feet away, not actually that far. Sam made it ok. And you really need to use a bathroom. The tree is looking good, at this point.
Glancing back toward the cabin, you hope for some sign of the elder Smith's. No such luck. Looking back at the tree, you have a choice to make. Wait in the car with a ready to burst bladder, or use the tree.
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