As you're about to leave the hospital for the night, (link-reveal: "a woman")[(show: ?woman)] with light brown lipstick approaches.
|woman)[$fade[She's tall, pale, and looks uneasy on her feet as she clutches her stomach, [$fade[hands half-hidden beneath a brown vintage coat. Her eyes are dark. At this distance, you can’t tell if she’s tired or crying. Maybe it's both.
"I need help," she says,
[[>> "Are you lost? I can take you to the ER."->Helpful]]
[[>> "Wrong part of the building. ER's that way."->Rude]]
]
]
]
]The woman winces, bites her lip(if: $state is "misanthropy")[, but you hardly notice].
"I don't think I can walk that far...Can't *you* treat me?" She nods toward a set of (link-reveal: "big metal doors")[(show: ?doors)] behind you. "In there?"
|doors)[$fade[You look, but it's only the entrance to the blood bank. It might come in handy if she's bleeding under that coat, but there's nothing *you* can do.(if: $state is "philanthropy")[You're not a doctor.] (if: $state is "misanthropy")[And do you really care? You've got more important things to worry about than another patient in a building of hundreds.]
(if: $state is "philanthropy")[She appears to be in a lot of pain…she really *should* get to the ER.]
[>> "Wait right here. I'll go call someone for you."]<stretcher|
[>> "Sorry. You'll have to go to the ER like everyone else."]<sorry|
(click: ?stretcher)[(if: $state is "misanthropy")[(set: $state to "ambiPhil")](goto: "Get help")]
(click: ?sorry)[(if: $state is "philanthropy")[(set: $state to "ambiMisa")](goto: "Cold reply")]
]
]
"Yeah. I can read," she says. "But I need help. Now. Couldn't you treat me (link-reveal: "in there?</q>''")[$fade[
The woman nods to a set of big metal doors behind you—but it's only the entrance to the blood bank. It might come in handy if she's bleeding under that coat, but there's nothing *you* can do. (if: $state is not "misanthropy")[You're not a doctor.] (if: $state is "misanthropy")[And furthermore, you don’t care.]
The woman's still clutching her side, but she doesn't look so sick anymore. She looks angry. (if: $state is "philanthropy")[But you don't know her story; perhaps you were being rude.]
[>> "Stay right there," you say. "I'll call someone for you."]<Help|
[>> "Sorry. Can't help you. You need to go to the ER."]<Cold|
(click: ?Cold)[(if: $state is "philanthropy")[(set: $state to "ambiMisa")](goto: "Cold reply")]
(click: ?Help)[(if: $state is "misanthropy")[(set: $state to "ambiPhil")](goto: "Get help")]
]
]The woman's nose twitches, and for a moment it looks like she's snarling—you see a flash of teeth too straight and bright and sharp to be human.
But it must be a trick of the light.
The woman stares at you a long time before she (link-reveal: "whispers:")[$fade[
"Of course. The emergency room. You're right."
She takes a step toward you; her footfall echoes in the cold and empty hall.
"Which way did you say it was again?"
You turn to show her, but she makes no move to follow. Annoyed, you shoot her a nasty (link-reveal: "look")[$fade[—then freeze when you see the woman has a small, silver revolver aimed at your stomach.
(link-reveal: "<q>What are you doing—</q>")[
$fade[The woman presses a finger to her almond-colored lips, and draws closer until the tip of her gun is touching your gut. You look around for help, but there's no one.
The woman is close enough that you can see her eyes are (text-color: red)[(link-reveal: "red.")[(show: ?red)]]]|red)[[$fade[ Not bloodshot. Not tearful. The color of her eyes is a deep red, contrasting grotesquely with her cold, pale face.
"Will you listen now?” she asks. (link-reveal: "You nod.")[
$fade[ "Good. Take me inside. I need to make a withdrawal."
[[Next->Cold Reply 2]]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
](if: $state contains "ambi")[You move to go get help, a little reluctantly,](if: $state is "philanthropy")[You turn to get help] and feel something moving quick behind you.
You (link-reveal: "turn back")[(show: ?turn)] to look. |turn)[$fade[The pale woman is gone, and the metal doors to the blood bank have swung open. How could she have moved so quickly? You don't stop to ponder it.
"Hey!"
You look around for help, but the hall is empty. Even though your shift is over, you (link-reveal: "chase")[(show: ?chase)] after the woman. She could be a danger to the hospital—or to herself.
|chase)[$fade[You rush past the closing doors and find the woman struggling to open another set of locked doors inside.
—“Hey!” you call again, and (link-reveal: "grab")[(show: ?grab)] the woman’s forearm.]
|grab)[$fade[She turns around.
She’s close enough that you can see her eyes are (text-color: red)[(link-reveal: "red.")[(show: ?red)]]]
|red)[[$fade[ Not bloodshot. Not tearful. The color of her eyes is a deep red, contrasting grotesquely with her cold, pale face.
You find yourself unable to look away, a deer bound by headlights on a dark country road.]
[[Next->Breakaway]]]
]
]
]
]
]You feel sick. The last time you saw a gun, it didn't end well.
You (link-reveal: "watch")[(show: ?watch)] the woman closely.
|watch)[$fade[Her eyes dart from you to the gun, you, the gun—but she makes no move to get it. She looks scared more than anything.
"I'm sorry," is all she can say. "I wasn't going to use it. I swear."
"I'm gonna need you to give me the gun now, OK?"
The woman nods, slowly. She shifts to one side,(if: $rushed is true)[ touches the gun,] and slides it across the floor to you.
(link: "You pick it up...")[(show: ?pickup-gun)]
|pickup-gun)[$fade[It's heavier than you thought, but you don't plan on getting used to its feel. You put it in your (link-reveal: "coat pocket,")[(show: ?putaway)]
|putaway)[$fade[Nice and safe.
Now…what to do about the woman? She's obviously not in a good place. If you called security right away, she might freak out.
"Some morning, huh?" you say.
The woman gives you a weak smile. You decide to take pity on her.
"I can take you inside," you tell her. "But only for a minute. And no touching."
The woman nods.
“Thank you. Thank you.”
[[Next->Wash hands]]
]
]
]
]
]
](set: $cabinet to true)
With shaky hands, you fish the keys out of your pocket and open the cabinet. A rush of cold air hits your faces, but the pale woman doesn't react. She only stares, wide-eyed, at a sample just above your head.
Silence. Nerves. You can't tell what the woman is thinking, can't pry an emotion from her blank face. And then—
"I tried to be strong you know. Told myself I wouldn't come back..."
More silence. Then, the woman turns to face you.
"Is it...is it OK if I hold him?"
[[>> Tell her it's fine. For a moment.->Tell her it's OK]]
[[>> Tell her she needs to move on->Move on]]"Open it," the woman says.
You (link-reveal: "refuse.")[(show: ?refuse)]
|refuse)[$fade[
She blinks.
"O-open the fucking cabinet," she says, trying to sound tough. She bares her teeth at you. They’re impossibly white, and straight, and sharp, but you see past them and look at her eyes. Red, yes—but not angry. She’s hurt.
"Whoever you're trying to see," you tell her,[["This won’t bring them back.”->Won't bring em back]]
]
]"I've never met a creature with colder blood than other humans. 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, sure. But cold nonetheless. Everyone. Except…”
She looks back to the cabinet. After a long pause, the woman finally manages to tear her eyes away.
“Except for (link-reveal: "Marc.")[(show: ?Marc)] This is the coldest I’ve ever seen him.
|Marc)[$fade[“Maybe he was just stupid, or naïve, or...I don't know. He was just so kind to everyone he met.
I was jealous. he had (link-reveal: "so much love in his heart")[(show: ?love)] and most of it wasn’t even for me.
Donated blood four times a year, even at his age.]
|love)[$fade[“He didn't even mind when I converted. I was missing for a month and a half—he didn’t care what I was, he was just glad to see me (link-reveal: "alive.")[(show: ?alive)]
|alive)[$fade[“He put up with me for…quite a few years. I never asked him if he wanted (link-reveal: "more time.")[(show: ?time)] I wish I had. God, I wish I had. Lord knows he deserved it. He was a good man. A *good* fucking man.”]
]
You don't know what to say. This doesn't make sense. None of this makes any sense. The whole night has been absolute lunacy.
But still...the woman's pain is real.
|time)[$fade[“His time's not up yet,” you tell her. “]
[[Next->Not done yet]]
]
]
]
]
Almost too eagerly, the woman takes her cherished bag of blood, and cradles it to her chest.
After a few moments, you feel it's gone on too long. You touch her shoulder, and (link-reveal: "ask")[(show: ?ask)] her to put the sample back.
|ask)[$fade[The woman shakes her head.
"I'm sorry," she says, and kisses you on your cheek. You stifle a gag as bitter almond of her skin crawls its way down your nose. But you can't pull away. You stand, paralyzed, until she's out fully out of [[sig—->Too good for your own good]]
]
]You tell the woman that whoever she wanted to see—they're gone, and not coming back. She needs to move on.
"Why should I?"
[[Next->Woman backstory]](set: $sterilize to false)
(if: $state is "misanthropy")[Suddenly, your find yourself thinking about how this’ll look on the security cameras. You could lose your job if something happens to jeopardize the safety of the samples.](if: $state is "ambiMisa")[Suddenly, you find yourself thinking of the samples inside. You don’t know what the woman has planned, but you don’t want to risk contamination. After all, those samples saved your life.
You explain that to the woman, voice shaking. At first she seems annoyed...but eventually, she agrees to wash her hands—with you standing far off on the other side of the room.]
"If you listened earlier, your job wouldn't be in danger at all," the woman tells you. "Let's go."
You(if: $sterilize is false)[ hesitate, but] type in the door code. With a beep and a click, the door opens and you both walk inside.
[[Next->Your Job 2]]She glares, but you (link-reveal: "continue:")[
$fade["There are cameras all over the damn place," you say. "If you're planning to steal, they'll catch you. If you contaminate a sample, they'll catch you."
Your whole body tenses up, angry at the sheer *stupidity* of all this. But...
The woman just (link-reveal: "chuckles.")[
$fade["It's been years since I looked at a camera and it looked back," she says, "Years since any man's been able to (link-reveal:"hurt")[(show: ?hurt)] me."
|hurt)[$fade[The woman pushes the gun to your chest.
"Now open the door."
You breathe in deep—try to keep your heart calm, and key in the door's code. It beeps, unlocks, and swings open to reveal the blood bank proper.
[[Next->Stupid 2]]
]
]
]
]
]
]You pause. Then, reluctantly, you open the cabinet.
The woman's eyes frantically scan up and down the rows of samples, until she (link-reveal: "settles")[(show: ?settle)] on a spot just above her head.
|settle)[$show["Marc," she whispers. Breathless.
You don't know what her plan is here. What's she going to do with the blood? What could she possibly want to risk inprisonment for?
You feel her come out of her reverie. Whatever you're going to do, you need to do it fast.
[[>> Reason with her.->Reason with her]]
[[>> Attack her.->Attack her]]
]
]"Did you hear me?"
The woman bares her sharp teeth, and aims the gun at your head. You (link-reveal: "wince")[(show: ?wince)] to brace yourself for the familiar blast of gunshot...
|wince)[$fade[But the woman pulls the gun back.
Instead of shooting you,
she points the gun at the cabinet,
and fires.
(text-color: red)[Bad End]
(link-reveal: ">> Start over.")[(reload:)]
]
]
"Stop!"
The woman stares.
"What?"
You...
[[ask about Marc->Woman backstory]]Thinking fast, you (link-reveal: "tackle")[(show: ?tackle)] the woman, knocking the gun out of her hand.
|tackle)[$fade[Glass gives almost too easily as you both (link-reveal: "tumble")[(show: ?tumble)] into a cabinet, knocking bags of blood and plasma onto the floor.
|tumble)[$fade[You try to hold onto the woman, but she pushes herself free with ease, leaving you on the floor in pain. Her (text-color: red)[blood-red] eyes, hawkish and cold, scan the floor with laser precision until she (link-reveal: "spots")[(show: ?spots)] what she's looking for.
|spots)[$fade[She picks up one of the samples, puts it to her nose and breathes in deep. Savors the smell a moment before she clutches it to her chest and starts for the door.
[[Next->Out of the wreckage]]
]
]
]
]
]
]
The world goes black.
You feel yourself floating
[Bad End]
(set: $rushed to true)
"Hey. I'm just trying to keep you from hurting someone. We have patients here—people. Kids. I don't know what you want, but can we talk about this? Without guns?"
You [[Ask for the gun]]The woman sees the look in your eyes and pounces on the gun before you can even move.
She points it at you.
"I—" her voice wavers.
"I didn't want to have to do this," she says. "Take me inside. Now."
[[>> Try to calm her down->Think of the patients]]
["Try to guilt her into letting you go."]<guilt|
(click: ?guilt)[(set: $state to "ambiMisa")(goto: "Your job")]$fade[You used to hate [working]<work| the late shift at the hospital.]
(click: ?work)[(goto: "Shift")]
(live: 1.0s)[$fade[The sleep deprivation,](stop:)]
(live: 2.0s)[$fade[the shit paycheck,](stop:)]
(live: 3.0s)[$fade[and most of all, the patients.](stop:)]
(live: 4.0s)[$fade[But after becoming a patient yourself last month, you...
(link: ">> don't mind it so much.")[(set: $state to "philanthropy")(goto: "Phil Intro")]
(link: ">> loathe it.")[(set: $state to "misanthropy")(goto: "Misa Intro")]
(stop:)]]You're a (link-reveal: "phlebotomist.")[(show: ?phleb)]|phleb)[
$fade[
...
It's more fun to say than do.
[[Back->Late Shift]]
]
]
(css: "font-family: 'Cinzel Decorative', cursive;font-size: 300%;" )[Night Shift]
<hr>
[Play in 'Regular mode']<regular|
No guidance, no rules!
[Open Commentary]<commentary|
This opens a link to a simple flowchart where I briefly comment on some of my design choices.
(click: ?regular)[(goto: "Late Shift")]
(click: ?commentary)[(open-url: "http://example.org")]The woman pushes you past the metal doors and into a small room where the staff sterilizes before handling samples for testing. There's two sets of doors before you now—one says "Labs". The other, storage. Both locked with keypads.
"Open the door," says the woman.
[[>> "We can't just go in like this."->Your job]]
[[>> "What the fuck is even your plan here?"->She's stupid]]You and the woman stand before a dozen rows of tall, refrigerated cabinets, all humming with life. You turn to the pale woman, who scans the room with an air of anticipation—and desperation.
(if: $state is "ambiMisa")["How will you know what you're looking for?" you ask. "We don't keep donor information here."](if: $state is "misanthropy")[“D’you even know what you’re looking for?” you ask. “We don’t keep donor information down here.”]
"Fine fucking time to start worrying about me," the woman muses.
(if: $state is "misanthropy")[“Look,” you tell her. “I don’t care what you’re trying to pull here. Take whatever you want from the hospital. They don’t give a fuck about me; I don’t give a fuck about them. Just leave me out of this.”
“I knew from the start you were one of those types that don't give a fuck about anything. Disgusting.”
With the gun in hand, she motions for you to keep walking. You feel the woman stick the gun to your back, as if to preclude unwanted conversation.
[[Next->Cold room]]]
(if: $state is "ambiMisa")["Look,” you tell her. “I may have been rude before, but…
[[>> "I'm sorry."->Apologize]]
[[>> "You're just fucked up."->Fucked up]]
]“Look,” you tell her. “I was rude before, I know. I'm sorry. It's a rough night in a tough week in a miserable couple of months for me."
“Maybe so,” says the woman. “But who are you, if not how you treat people on your worst day? Marc used to...”
You wait for the woman to finish her sentence, but it seems she can’t. With the gun in hand, she motions for you to keep walking. You feel the woman stick the gun to your back, as if to preclude any more discussion.
[[Next->Cold room]]”Look,” you tell her. “I may have been rude before, but you…you’re just fucked up, aren’t you?”
“Save the spite for your deathbed.” is all the woman says.
With the gun, she motions for you to keep walking. You feel the woman stick the gun to your back, as if to preclude any more conversation.
[[Next->Cold room]]The blood bank is cold. It has to be, of course. But it feels particularly apt tonight.
As you walk, you can hear the woman making (if: $state is "misanthropy")[strange](if: $state is "ambiMisa")[soft] noises behind you. It sounds like she's (if: $state is "misanthropy")[hyperventilating](if: $state is "ambiMisa")[sobbing], but then you realize she's sniffing the air like (if: $state is "misanthropy")[a fucking dog.](if: $state is "ambiMisa")[a lost dog looking for its best friend.]
As you pass one of the cabinets, you feel the gun pull away from the small of your back. You look behind you—the woman has stopped at one of the cabinets, and is staring at it in awe.
"It's this one," she says, and smiles at you. You weren’t imagining things before—her teeth really are that sharp.
"It’s this one. It’s him. Open it."
(if: $state is "ambiMisa")[(link-replace: ">> Open the cabinet for her.")[(goto: "Open out of fear")]]
[[>> Attack her->Attack her]]
[[>> Defiantly refuse->Defiantly refuse]]You manage to pull yourself out of the wreckage and give chase, but
(live: 1.5s)[$fade[the bitter smell of almonds in her hair](stop:)]
(live: 3s)[$fade[makes it hard to think clearly.](stop:)]
(live: 4.5s)[$fade[Your mind is a cloud,](stop:)]
(live: 6s)[$fade[and the world fades to formless blur.](stop:)]
(live: 7.5s)[$fade[With every step, you lose more of yourself](stop:)]
(live: 9s)[$fade[until the lights come on again](stop:)]
(live: 10.5s)[$fade[and you find yourself in the hospital lobby](stop:)]
(live: 12s)[$fade[with cuts and bruises on your face,](stop:)]
(live: 13.5s)[$fade[struggling to remember how you got there](stop:)]
(live: 15s)[$fade[and what you were doing.](stop:)]
(live: 16.5s)[$fade[[[Next->BadEpilogue]]](stop:)]Later on, the head of the department (link-reveal: "asks you")[(show: ?asks)] what you’ve been doing all night.
|asks)[$fade[Security footage shows you wandering into the blood bank in a strange stupor. $fade[You watch as your body flings itself into a cabinet, knocking samples everywhere. $fade[You see yourself climb out of the cabinet and struggle to make your way out of the room.
The department head expects an (link-reveal: "answer.")[(show: ?answer)]
|answer)[$fade[But there’s no way for you to explain the broken cabinets. $fade[No way for you to explain the dozens of ruined samples, or the gun. $fade[No way to explain why, even now, the smell of (link-reveal: "bitter almonds")[(show: ?bitter)] sticks in your throat.
|bitter)[$fade[You decide it doesn't matter. They never cared about you anyway.
(text-color: red)[Bad End]
(link-reveal: ">> Go to last turning point.")[
(if: $state is "misanthropy")[(goto: "Your Job 2")]
(else:)[(goto: "Your Job 2")]
]
(link-reveal: ">> Start over.")[(reload:)]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
You wash your hands in the sterilization area and put on gloves.
You step aside so the woman can get to the sink, but you both go the same direction and bump into each other. She gets a reeeeal good whiff of your underarm.
“Sorry,” you mutter.
The woman stares at you, horrified. She scans you up and down, as if she’s seen you before but is only now realizing it.
“What deodorant are you wearing?” she asks.
It’s so far out of left field you (link-reveal: "answer")[(show: ?spice)] without thinking.
|spice)[$fade[“Uhh, Old Spice? The one with the octopus?”
The woman looks a little disappointed, but still concerned.
“Oh. Hm. Never mind.”
The night has been weird enough as is, so you don’t press her further. Once she washes her hands, you type in the door code and lead her inside the blood bank proper. (set: $sterilize to true)
[[Next->Chill]]
]
]Coming to the blood bank used to give you goosebumps.
A big room on the basement floor of the hospital; rows and rows of tall, refrigerated cabinets. In the dim light, they almost look like glass crypts, memorials to the blood of hundreds. Unsettling if you think about it—and oh *boy* have you thought about it.
After last month though, you feel almost at peace here. Like you're standing in a room of bottled human generosity.
(link-reveal: "...")[$fade[
Literally though, you and the woman are just standing in front of a bunch of glass refrigerators full of gross blood and plasma. You turn to the pale woman, who scans the room, attentive and anxious.
"How will you know where to look?” you ask her. “We don't keep donor information here."
The woman doesn't answer you. She scloses her dark-red eyes and inhales.
"We're close."
[[Next->Follow]]
]
]You follow the pale woman down each row of refrigerated samples. She goes from cabinet to cabinet, sniffing, pausing, and adjusting course until at last she (link-reveal: "stops.")[(show: ?stops)]
|stops)[$fade["It's this one," she says. Her breathing quickens as her eyes move up and down the cabinet's body. "He's here."
You can see your faded reflection in the cabinet’s glass—but not the woman beside you. You glance at her to make sure she's real, but she doesn't notice.
"Open it," she says. "Please."
[[Next->Pretty please?]]
]
]You shake your head and tell her you can’t. Your mind turns back to what the doctors told you—about the universal blood donor shortage. How if it weren't for the grace of some anonymous donor, you'd have bled out on an operating table on the third floor.
Inside these cabinets lie gifts too precious to just give away. You (link-reveal: "tell")[(show: ?teller)] the woman so.
|teller)[$fade[“Well then,” the woman says. Exhales. “I’m sorry.”
Before you can ask what for, she reaches into her coat and pulls out a gun.
Your (link-reveal: "reach")[(show: ?reach)] into your coat-pocket—|reach)[$fade[it's bare. You don't know when or how she nabbed the gun, but the reality is clear.
The pale woman aims the gun at your heart. All of the generosity in the world won’t be able to save you if she pulls the trigger.
"Open it."
[[>> Open the cabinet out of fear.->Open the storage out of fear]]
[[>> Refuse on principle.->Refuse to open the storage on principle]]
]
]
]
]Weeks ago, you woke up howling in the ICU, a burning pain in your left arm.
No memory of what happened to you.
No answers from the police.
It was hard to process (link-reveal: "what the doctors said:")[(show: ?tell)]
|tell)[$fade[That thirty-five percent of your blood spilled onto the street. $fade[That you’d be dead if it weren’t for a transfusion$fade[—and that there was so little time, they had to dip into their emergency stock of universal donor cells.
“We’re just coming out of a shortage," the doctor told you. "So I mean it when I say you are *extraordinarily* lucky to be alive.”
[[Next->Phil Intro 2]]
]
]
]
]The bed next to yours offered a chilling (link-reveal: "reminder")[(show: ?reminder)] of what your fate could have been:
|reminder)[
(live: 0.5s)[$fade[It was empty,](stop:)]
(live: 1.5s)[$fade[save for two white flowers,](stop:)]
(live: 2.5s)[$fade[an unfinished almond pastry,](stop:)]
(live: 3.5s)[$fade[and an unopened envelope addressed (text-color: red + white)["To My Darling Marc."]
](stop:)](live: 4.5s)[$fade[
An hour later, all of it was in the trash.
To this day, the remnants of that man's life haunt you. But curiously, this haunting only makes you grateful for the time you have left. More importantly, it means you can use your shitty position at an understaffed hospital to make people's lives just a little better better.
And it's that thought that gets you through your first night back on the job.
[[Next->Leaving]]
]
(stop:)]
]
Weeks ago, you woke up howling in the ICU, a burning pain in your left arm.
No memory of what happened to you.
No answers from the police.
It was hard to process (link-reveal: "what the doctors said:")[(show: ?tell)]
|tell)[$fade[That they left thirty-five percent of your blood on the street.
$fade[That they didn't know if they should try to help you at all.
$fade[And that you'd be dead if it weren't for an emergency transfusion of universal blood.
...that was it. No words of reassurance. No one asked how you were feeling unless they wanted to adjust the morphine.
[[Next->Misa Intro 2]]
]
]
]
]Things could have been worse though. You could have wound up like the (link-reveal: "old man")[(show: ?man)] in the bed next to yours.
|man)[$fade[
On the third day of your internment, his bed was empty save for
two wilted flowers,
an unfinished almond pastry,
and an unopened envelope addressed to (text-color: red + white)["My Darling Marc."]
An hour later, an orderly threw these items unceremoniously into the trash. It seemed to be the standard amount of esteem the hospital grants for both the living and the dead, as you'd find you when you got the [[bill.->Misa Intro 3]]
]
]Your arm is still weak from your injuries—the woman easily breaks out of your grip, and staggers backwards until she's leaning against the wall.
"Shit.” She says. “I'm so sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. I..."
She stops. Thinks. Starts over again.
"I just need to see someone. One last time."
You frown.
"We don't keep bodies here,” you tell her.
The woman averts her eyes, as if ashamed by what she's about to say.
"I don't need to see a body.
Just the blood will do.”
[[Next->Just blood]]The pale woman's hand starts to shake. She drops the gun. (if: $gun is true)[This time neither of you are keen to pick it up.]
The woman leans on the cabinet and buries her face in shame.
"What the fuck am I doing?" she wonders aloud. The two of you stand in silence a while before you [[ask her why she came here.->Woman backstory]]Hey, you.
(if: time > 2s)[Look at this]
(if: time > 3s)[$fade[Look at this shit, dude.]](set: $state to "")
(set: $fade to (transition: "dissolve") + (transition-time: 2s))"Someone, someday, is going to need this blood dearly. He'll save someone's life. He's probably saved some already, hasn't he?"
You(if: $cabinet is true)[ close the cabinet softly, and] touch the woman gently on the shoulder. At first she doesn’t move. Then, after a minute, you feel her shudder. She lets out an awful cry and leans into you.
You feel a strange, hot sensation in your body, emanating from the scar on your arm. As if she can feel it too, the woman jerks her head back and pulls herself away from you. She searches your body up and down, puzzled, just like before.
You ask what's wrong, but she just shakes her head.
Steps back and smiles, flashing her perfectly straight, perfectly white, perfectly sharp teeth.
"Your blood is warm, stranger.
Guard it well."
[[Next->OTP Epilogue]]The pale woman leans in to kiss you on the cheek.
You smell fresh-baked pastry and sweet almonds in the air for a moment before you open your eyes and wonder what you’ve been doing in the blood bank all this time.
You look around and try to remember, but...nothing.
You shrug,
check all the doors,
turn out the lights behind you,
and leave.
End.
(link-reveal: ">> Start over.")[(reload:)]The temperature indicator on the cabinet is (link-reveal: "blaring—")[(show: ?blare)]
|blare)[$fade[Just (link-reveal: "how long")[(show: ?how)] have you been standing in front of this cabinet?
|how)[$fade["Shit."
There's (link-reveal: "no way")[(show: ?noway)] they'll be able to use anything in this refrigerator.
|noway)[$fade[(link-reveal: "//What the fuck happened?//")[(show: ?wtf)]
|wtf)[$fade[You just hope you haven't ruined someone's life.
`[Too-Nice-for-your-Own-Good End]`
[>> Start over.]<restart|
(click: ?restart)[(reload:)]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
]
You've been working for the hospital ten years.
Ten years, and because of circumstances beyond your control, they've demoted you from employee to indentured servant.
On your first night back on the job, the only thing you can think of is how you'll be paying this off for maybe the rest of your natural life.
[[Next->Leaving]]You don't say anything, so the woman goes on.
"He donated recently, before he…um..."
She struggles for words before giving up with a long sigh. She leans her head back against the wall and slides down to take a seat. As she does so, (link-reveal: "a metal object")[(show: ?gun)] falls out of her coat and hits the floor with a clatter.
|gun)[
$fade[It's a gun.
[[>> Ask for the gun->Ask for the gun]]
[[>> Rush to grab the gun->Rush for it]]
]
]You and the woman stand before before many rows of tall, refrigerated glass cabinets. Temperature indicators blink green in the dim light.
You turn to the pale woman, who scans the room with an air of anticipation—and desperation.
"How will you know what you're looking for?" you ask. "We don't keep donor information here."
"Fine fucking time to start worrying about me," the woman muses. With the gun, she motions for you to keep walking. You do, but not without a moment's hesitation.
[[Next->Cold room]]