Sugarcane

This is sick. David’s chest is pierced through with something like an elephant tusk.\n\nYou hear [[footsteps approaching]].

You make good time through the suburbs. Mac rolls back the sunroof. David asks if he can put in a tape - he says he’s made a [[special soundtrack]] for the trip. Oh brother! You hope it’s quiet enough to [[sleep through]] the trip.

You cry out in agony, expecting this to be your last breath - then you hear a sharp zing, and Trevor falls back, a bolt through lower back. He twitches for several seconds, and then [[is still]].

.indented {\n padding-left: 3em;\n}

“They needed their unique experience in dealing with supernatural creatures.\n"But the Griffins couldn’t get rid of it, even armed with the Stone.\n"They managed to drive it to the edges. They knew it’s secret weakness, you see: it always needs to return to the water after it feeds-”\n<<silently>>\n<<set $monsterKnowledge = true>>\n<<endsilently>>\nSomething is coming out of [[the bushes]] ahead!

Sam! Your friendly, local volunteer Academy mentor. You met Mac in Sam’s orientation group,\nonce Sam stopped talking.\n\n"This is going to be SO fun, dontcha think [[Dave|David]]?" There she goes again.\n\nYou see [[Trevor]] smirk. What a creep.

You try your phone - and discover the flashlight mode has [[killed]] the battery.

He’s looking freaking weird.\nMore weird than usual.\nHe’s [[babbling]] about something.

David, Samantha and Trevor are already in the car. Mac is driving, with [[David]] up front.\nYou’re squashed in the back between [[Samantha]] and, much to your chagrin, [[Trevor]].

You turn very, very gently and something hits you hard on the forehead. It’s not enough to knock you out, but you still [[drop]] to the ground.

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It is cold. You quickly pull on the jacket and ask Trevor [[where]] the hell Mac and the rest have gone?

It’s a pocket knife - fortunately folded up. You’d put it in your back pocket, planning to add it to your pack later, but completely forgot when Mac showed up early.\nYou locate [[your jacket]] and put the knife in the pocket.\n<<silently>>\n<<set $knifeFlag = true>>\n<<endsilently>>\n

X=X/X+X*X-X

You reach the top of the hill quicker than you had expected. It’s as you feared: the clearing is deserted. You try calling out again, but the response is [[silence]].

You’re completely lost.\n\nYou [[hear a sound]].

It is pitch black.\nThe last thing you remember is Mac attaching the wires from the capsule to your temples.\nYou took one last look at Betty, lying peacefully in the capsule, and [[nodded]] to Mac.

<<silently>>\n<<set $deadSam = true>>\n<<endsilently>>\nNot Mac, thank God.\nBut Samantha. What- How- [[Who]] could have done this terrible thing?

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There’s a tiny sliver of light from one of the walls.\nIt’s a window, but something is [[blocking it]].

You watch in amazement as the body undergoes a transformation. Every cell seems to be disintegrate.\n\nThe internal organs and bones gently fall away into a shrinking pool of red goo that eventually seeps into sand [[along the lake bank]].

David tells you this is a shortcut he always takes. Something worries you about this. But Mac seems cool, and you don’t want to be a stresshead so you [[stay silent]].

The cicadas move with you through the trees until suddenly, abruptly, they depart. \n\nThe woods are left eerily quiet. And just in front of you, is a figure, turned away, with an outstretched hand. It looks… oh, could it be. Yes? It's Mac!\n\nYou pelt across the bark and leaves... reach out and touch... rock?\nA statue? You circle around, fearing the worst.\n\n<<if $deadSam eq true>>It’s not Mac. You almost wish it was.\nSamantha is standing there, frozen.\nHer features perfectly captured in the rock. You press your hand to her face and immediately recoil - it’s warm, almost alive! How can this be?!\n<<else if $deadDavid eq true>>It’s not Mac. You almost wish it was.\nDavid is standing there, frozen, his features perfectly captured in the rock. You press your hand to his face and immediately recoil - it’s warm, almost alive! How can this be?!\n<<else if $deadTrevor eq true>>It’s not Mac. You almost wish it was.\nTrevor is standing there, frozen, her feature perfectly captured in the rock. You press your hand to his face and immediately recoil - it’s warm, almost alive! How can this be?! What is doing this?\nIt’s not possible!\n<<endif>> Unless- It doesn’t matter. You’re going to [[survive this]].

You emerge from the cicadas in a clearing dominated by piles of rocks carefully arranged in a semicircle.\n\nThere, in the centre of the semicircle is a body lying with its hands outstretched and its limbs bent at fearful angles.\n\nYou peer down fearfully at the face...\n\n<<if $deadSam eq true>>Oh, no, no! Not Trevor too! His face is contorted horribly.\nFrom the best you can make out in the gloom, he was killed by sheer terror.\n<<else if $deadDavid eq true>>Oh, no, no, not Sam too! Her face is contorted horribly. From the best you can make out in the gloom, she was killed by sheer terror.\n<<else if $deadTrevor eq true>>Oh, no, no, not David too! His face is contorted horribly. From the best you can make out in the gloom, he was killed by sheer terror.<<endif>>\n\nSo that’s it. There’s only you and Mac left alive... you hope.\nPlus whatever terrifying thing is doing this. You need to find Mac. [[Now|Maze Room 11]].

<<if $deadSam eq true>>\nYou stumble through the gloom and hear an almighty splash.\nYou look down gingerly, and let out a scream- just one foot away is swamp land and in the middle of it is a gigantic crocodile.\nAs you stare, terrified, it belches up a pile of… \nit looks like a t-shirt and... Dear God. David’s baseball cap! \nNow the croc is eying you off!\n<<else if $deadDavid eq true>>\nYou stumble through the gloom and nudge something with your shoulder. You gingerly look up and let out a terrific scream.\nTrevor is hanging by a noose from one of the branches above you. Written on his t-shirt, in what looks like blood, are the words: \nTwo Down. Two To Go!\n<<else if $deadTrevor eq true>>\nYou stumble through the gloom and tread in something wet and sticky. As you peer through the dark you make out a some irregular lumps dotted around the clearing.\nYou look closer and see: a watch… a shoe… a belt… a... you feel the contents of your guts fighting to exit your mouth. A shoe, with the foot left in it. From the looks of the shoe, this is all that is left of poor Samantha!\nHow is this happening?!\n<<endif>>\n[[Get moving!|Maze Room 4]]

The figure walks past you to the corner of the room. He (she?) is reaching into a crate. The doorway is open behind. If you’re [[quick]]-

Whatever it was, travelling at that speed, it would be far away by now. You turn back to [[Trevor|Trevor ecstatic]].

The moonlight only reveals a tiny amount of the cabin. You call out, but only hear the creaking of ancient planks beneath your feet. You think you see something [[flash]] in corner of the room, but it might have just been the moon reflected on the water.

Trevor’s the last person you’d want to back you up in a fight, but at least he’s another [[pair of eyes and ears]].\nCautiously you make your way through the trees back towards the road.

It turns out to be pretty pumping.\n\nYou pull out of the edge of the city and hit the freeway. You feel the breeze in your hair and through your fingers. David makes some dumb jokes, you pay him out any everyone laughs. [[Hey, maybe this is going to be ok?]]\n\nYou’re starting to not even mind Trevor next to you, although he does smell like the guys' locker room.

You dash past the figure and out into the moonlight. You are several metres down the lakeshore when you hear an inhuman growl of frustration behind you.\n\n[[Run!]]

“Dave and Mac went to see if the road was ok for the car.\n"Sam thought she heard a noise and went off to investigate.\n"I told her we needed to stay together. That’s the rules!\n\n"I told them [[we shouldn't have taken that detour]]!”

<<silently>>\n<<set document.title = "Cicadas">>\n<<endsilently>>\nYou are in a maze of circling cicadas, all alike. They are making a <<if $nextMazeDir eq "west">>buzzing<<elseif $nextMazeDir eq "east">>whirring<<elseif $nextMazeDir eq "north">>clicking<<elseif $nextMazeDir eq "south">>screeching<<endif>> sound.\n\nYou could try going <<if $nextMazeDir eq "north">><<dynamiclink "north" $nextMazeRoom>><<else>>[[north|LostRoom][$returnToPath = "south"]]<<endif>>, <<if $nextMazeDir eq "east">><<dynamiclink "east" $nextMazeRoom>><<else>>[[east|LostRoom][$returnToPath = "west"]]<<endif>>, <<if $nextMazeDir eq "west">><<dynamiclink "west" $nextMazeRoom>><<else>>[[west|LostRoom][$returnToPath = "east"]]<<endif>> or <<if $nextMazeDir eq "south">><<dynamiclink "south" $nextMazeRoom>><<else>>[[south|LostRoom][$returnToPath = "north"]]<<endif>>.

It’s all good to say that now - but where are we? Where is everyone?!?\nYou tell Trevor [[you need to go after the others]].\n“That’s crazy! Don’t you know the rules? You always stay together!”\n[[He might be right]].

Not just survive this: You’re going to fight it.\nYou’re going to find Mac and you’re getting the hell out of here. \n\nIn response to your decision, you hear the distant buzz of the cicadas, returning, reaching around you. [[Time to go|Vine Wall]].

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He gets out of the car and then, to your surprise, Mac offers to go with him. You’re so surprised you can’t even respond.\n\nThey tramp off into the woods leaving [[you, Sam and Trevor]].

You feel the sun on your shoulders\n\nGentle breeze in your hair\n\nMac’s face hovering close by\n\n[[Blackness]]

As you walk forward, the ground disappears beneath your feet. \nThe cicadas buzz loudly, compressing against your torso.\nYour ribs compress further and, as the ground reappears, the cicadas dissipate once again.\n\nYou’re standing on the edge of a low cliff. Vines and refuse line the wall, extending down to [[a lake front]].

“Mac! Mac!” You call out again and again, but there’s no reply.\nThe path is getting steeper, but at least the trees are opening ahead, so [[you can see the moon]].

“It’s not in the documented [[history]] - but if you talk to the right people, they’ll tell you. The Aboriginals warned them. Said the Beast [[wouldn’t like it]] if they stayed here. Said it would [[end in death]].”\n\nYou think you hear something coming from within [[the bushes]].

You try to make conversation as you walk. Oddly, Trevor becomes less fearful the further you get from the car. When you ask him about [[the Burley Griffin Beast|The Beast]], he’s practically jolly.

It gets darker and you’re not sure you're even going in the right direction.\n\nMac asks David if they’re on the right road. He brushes her off, but then a few minutes later it looks like he's [[getting worried]] too.

Someone is lying face down in the corner of the room.\nAs you approach the body you see a dark, moist trail leading outwards, crisscrossed with your footprints.\nYou turn over the body in the half light and exhale sharply at the face of\n[[Samantha|dead Samantha]]\n[[David|dead David]]\n[[Trevor|dead Trevor]]\n

“Why are we still sitting here, Mac? Drop the clutch! Burn the rubber! Let’s go let’s go [[let’s go]]!”

You wake up with a start, cold and afraid. There is [[something sharp]] jabbed in your thigh. As you flick open your eyes you see Trevor leering over you. He immediately looks away. What a freak!\n\nIt’s twilight and you’re pulled over on the side of the road [[alone with Trevor]]! Where is everyone?!

“Don’t you know the stories?\nWhy no one goes this way after dark? The Burley Griffin Beast!"\nYou stifle a laugh.\n"Yeah. Whatever. Laugh at me.\nLike the rest of them.”\nYou tell him it’s a kids story\nand you need to make sure Sam and the rest are ok.\n“I was going to tell them [[not to take that turn off|we shouldn't have taken that detour]] but you all would've just laughed at me!”

David has been Mac’s sparring partner for most of this year.\nHe’s in the [[passenger seat]] next to Mac. You worry about his intentions.

Trevor yells that he’ll catch you up.\nYou push through the trees. A well-worn track leads up a steep embankment opposite a lake. In the distance you see a familiar structure.\n\n[[The Cabin?]]

You spot a large flat rock, embedded in the sand, and, just as you are pushed over the top, you hook your foot into it. You feel your ankle wrench against the rock and scream in agony, but it works; knocking the Beast off balance.\nIt topples face forward into the ocean. You pounce on top and drive it’s head under the waves.\n<<if $deadTrevor eq true>>\nIt desperately fights for air for several minutes, before, finally, the Beast [[is still]].\n<<else if $deadDavid eq true>>\nAs it desperately fights for air you notice a gap between the base of its neck and the top of its shoulders - there’s skin underneath: Human skin! You rip off the mask and spin the body around to reveal... Trevor!\nYou hold him back, scream at him, what the hell he was doing? He laughs.\n“Poor little Betty. Always at Mac’s beck and call. You think she even cares at all about you? HA!”\n\nWith more strength than you expect he knocks you down and [[pulls a gun]] from within the monster suit.\n<<endif>>

<<silently>>\n<<set document.title = "Cicadas">>\n<<endsilently>>\nYou are in a maze of circling cicadas, all alike. They are making a hollow sound.\n\nYou could try going <<if $returnToPath eq "north">><<dynamiclink "north" $currMazeRoom>><<else>>[[north|LostRoom]]<<endif>>, <<if $returnToPath eq "east">><<dynamiclink "east" $currMazeRoom>><<else>>[[east|LostRoom]]<<endif>>, <<if $returnToPath eq "west">><<dynamiclink "west" $currMazeRoom>><<else>>[[west|LostRoom]]<<endif>> or <<if $returnToPath eq "south">><<dynamiclink "south" $currMazeRoom>><<else>>[[south|LostRoom]]<<endif>>.\n

<<silently>>\n<<set $currMazeRoom = "Dead End">>\n<<set $nextMazeDir = "south">>\n<<set $nextMazeRoom = "Maze Room 1">>\n<<endsilently>>\nDamn, a dead end.\n\nSomething was here not long ago, and it left its mark, on rocks. In blood: Listen to the bugs.\n<<display MazeRoomDescription>>

Mac

Except- no. There’s something like… a splashing? Coming from the other side of the clearing? Downwards [[away from the sky]]

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Through the windows you see a figure frozen.\nThe soundtrack has gone silent.\nThe figure moves away from the window to the door.\nThe door is [[opening]] and-

“It killed a bunch of workmen first. Ate them bones and all.\n"Then a senior bureaucrat having an affair with an actress. That’s what made them take action. That’s the [[true reason]] the Griffins were asked to design Canberra.”\n\nSomething is thrashing about in [[the bushes]].

<<display "Maze Room 1">>

It’s a decrepit old building slumping into a broken jetty. A rusty faceplate reads ‘The Boat House’.\nYou try the [[door, absent]]mindedly, thinking that Mac might be waiting there, just for you, with a sleeping bag and a big warm mug of hot chocolate...

<<display "a tunnel">>

Trevor? What’s going on? Where is everyone?\n“I told them we shouldn't have come down here!\n"Everyone knows the story! Everyone knows about the Burley Griffin Beast!\nI told 'em! I told 'em [[we shouldn't have taken that detour]]…”

As you pelt onward, directionless, the dirt trail grows thinner, the shrubs smaller. You keep running. Trying to [[get as far away]] as possible.

<<if $knifeFlag eq true>>\nYou feel around in your jacket for the pocket knife.\n\nHoping to play for time you beg him to tell you how he managed it.\n“You petty fool! All your simple-minded wishy washiness.\n"It is nothing compared to the power of the Beast! Through Burley Griffin all things are possible!”\n\nYour back is up against a tree. Trevor walks slowly up to you and grabs your arm. You let him think that he’s in control and then, halfway back to the water, you let your body go limp, dragging him to the ground. He [[falls heavily|pain]] on your wrenched foot.\n<<else>>\nYou slide back, looking around for another rock, or branch to use as a weapon. Hoping to play for time you beg him to tell you how he managed it.\n\n“You petty fool! All your simple-minded wishy washiness. Nothing compares to the power of the Beast! Through Burley Griffin all things are possible!”\n\nYour back is up against a tree. He walks slowly up to you and grabs your arm, dragging you to the water. You let him think that he’s in control and then, halfway back to the water, you let your body go limp, dragging him to the ground. He [[falls heavily]] on your wrenched foot. \n<<endif>>

It’s late afternoon when you turn off the freeway. You’re half listening to Sam tell you about her new special weapons training and half falling off to sleep\nso you don’t notice David telling Mac to take [[a different route]].

You pull aside the cardboard and the full light of the moon penetrates the gloom behind you.\n\nYour body tenses.\n\nYou turn\n\nAnd see\n\n[[a figure]].

Since Sam was heading back to the road anyway, you figure it makes sense to locate Mac and David first and then search for Sam together.\n\nIt turns out Trevor’s actually not too bad company and you start to feel a bit more optimistic - it’s good to have another [[pair of eyes and ears]].

There are more footsteps behind you. You spin around instinctively in a defence pose - and then drop it at the sight of [[Mac running]] along the shore to you<<if ($knifeFlag eq false and $deadTrevor eq false)>>, crossbow in hand<<endif>>.

<<silently>>\n<<set document.title = "Cicadas">>\n<<set $currMazeRoom = "Maze Room 5">>\n<<set $nextMazeDir = "east">>\n<<set $nextMazeRoom = "Maze Room 7">>\n<<endsilently>>\nYou are in a maze of circling cicadas, all alike. They are making a whirring sound.\n\nYou could try going [[north|Maze Room 6]], [[east|Maze Room 7]], [[west|LostRoom][$returnToPath = "east"]] or [[south|LostRoom][$returnToPath = "north"]].

<<silently>>\n<<set $currMazeRoom = "Maze Room 4">>\n<<set $nextMazeDir = "east">>\n<<set $nextMazeRoom = "Maze Room 5">>\n<<endsilently>>\n<<display MazeRoomDescription>>

<<silently>>\n<<set $currMazeRoom = "Maze Room 7">>\n<<set $nextMazeDir = "south">>\n<<set $nextMazeRoom = "Maze Room 8">>\n<<endsilently>>\n<<display MazeRoomDescription>>

<<silently>>\n<<set $currMazeRoom = "Maze Room 6">>\n<<set $nextMazeDir = "south">>\n<<set $nextMazeRoom = "Maze Room 5">>\n<<endsilently>>\n<<display MazeRoomDescription>>

<<silently>>\n<<set document.title = "Cicadas">>\n<<set $currMazeRoom = "Maze Room 1">>\n<<set $nextMazeDir = "south">>\n<<set $nextMazeRoom = "Maze Room 2">>\n<<endsilently>>\nYou are in a maze of circling cicadas, all alike. They are making a screeching sound.\n\nYou could try going [[north|Dead End]], [[east|LostRoom][$returnToPath = "west"]], [[west|LostRoom][$returnToPath = "east"]] or [[south|Maze Room 2]].

<<silently>>\n<<set $currMazeRoom = "Maze Room 3">>\n<<set $nextMazeDir = "north">>\n<<set $nextMazeRoom = "Death Room 1">>\n<<endsilently>>\n<<display MazeRoomDescription>>

<<silently>>\n<<set $currMazeRoom = "Maze Room 2">>\n<<set $nextMazeDir = "east">>\n<<set $nextMazeRoom = "Maze Room 3">>\n<<endsilently>>\n<<display MazeRoomDescription>>

<<silently>>\n<<set $deadDavid = true>>\n<<endsilently>>\nNot Mac, thank God.\nBut David? [[What]] happened to him? Was Mac with him when this happened?

<<silently>>\n<<set $currMazeRoom = "Maze Room 9">>\n<<set $nextMazeDir = "east">>\n<<set $nextMazeRoom = "Maze Room 8">>\n<<endsilently>>\n<<display MazeRoomDescription>>

<<silently>>\n<<set document.title = "Cicadas">>\n<<set $currMazeRoom = "Maze Room 8">>\n<<set $nextMazeDir = "south">>\n<<set $nextMazeRoom = "Maze Room 10">>\n<<endsilently>>\nYou are in a maze of circling cicadas, all alike. They are making a screeching sound.\n\nYou could try going [[north|LostRoom][$returnToPath = "south"]], [[east|LostRoom][$returnToPath = "west"]], [[west|Maze Room 9]] or [[south|Maze Room 10]].

Mac is at the door, yelling for you to grab your stuff and get in the [[little red convertible]].\nYou’ve known Mac for a while now. You spar often, and she's good. Deadly good. Better than you.\nJust lately you’ve been wondering if she feels the same way about you as you do about her.

<<silently>>\n<<set $currMazeRoom = "Maze Room 11">>\n<<set $nextMazeDir = "east">>\n<<set $nextMazeRoom = "Maze Room 12">>\n<<endsilently>>\n<<display MazeRoomDescription>>

<<silently>>\n<<set $currMazeRoom = "Maze Room 10">>\n<<set $nextMazeDir = "west">>\n<<set $nextMazeRoom = "Death Room 2">>\n<<endsilently>>\n<<display MazeRoomDescription>>

<<silently>>\n<<set $currMazeRoom = "Maze Room 13">>\n<<set $nextMazeDir = "north">>\n<<set $nextMazeRoom = "Maze Room 14">>\n<<endsilently>>\n<<display MazeRoomDescription>>

You’re terrified with each brush,\nbut then slowly you realise the wall of bugs are hovering in a short, but steady distance from you.\nThey are making a [[whirring sound]].

<<silently>>\n<<set document.title = "Cicadas">>\n<<set $currMazeRoom = "Maze Room 15">>\n<<set $nextMazeDir = "east">>\n<<set $nextMazeRoom = "Death Room 3">>\n<<endsilently>>\nYou are in a maze of circling cicadas, all alike. They are making a whirring sound.\n\nYou could try going [[north|Maze Room 16]], [[east|Death Room 3]], [[west|LostRoom][$returnToPath = "east"]] or [[south|LostRoom][$returnToPath = "north"]].

<<silently>>\n<<set $currMazeRoom = "Maze Room 14">>\n<<set $nextMazeDir = "north">>\n<<set $nextMazeRoom = "Maze Room 15">>\n<<endsilently>>\n<<display MazeRoomDescription>>

<<silently>>\n<<set $currMazeRoom = "Maze Room 16">>\n<<set $nextMazeDir = "south">>\n<<set $nextMazeRoom = "Maze Room 15">>\n<<endsilently>>\n<<display MazeRoomDescription>>

Trevor shakes his head at you as he closes the sunroof and locks himself in the convertible.\nYou’re worried about Sam on her own, but she can handle herself in a fight.\n[[Mac's a damn good fighter too]] - but you don’t [[trust David]].

You concede he’s right.\nYou’ll both go after [[Sam|looking for Sam]] or [[Mac|looking for Mac]].

Trevor joined the Academy from somewhere in South America.\nHe’s just so weird. You wonder how he convinced Mac to let him come on this weekend.\n\nOn your other side, [[Sam|Samantha]] is grinning like a maniac. She begins to fidget with the contents of [[David]]'s seat pocket.

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Dark woods.\nThe camera slowly tracks through them towards a definite goal.\nWhite noise builds on the [[soundtrack]].\nThe camera manoeuvres around trunks of trees.

David asks Mac to pull over.\nHis phone net connection is down, but he says there’s a hill just along the path ahead, where he knows [[the signal]] is good.

<<silently>>\n<<set $deadTrevor = true>>\n<<endsilently>>\nNot Mac, thank God.\nBut Trevor was just with you... [[how]] could this have happened?

It happened so quickly, you had less than a second to perceive whatever it was. The smell is what remains - a kind of damp seaweedy aroma, quickly dispersing [[into the trees]].

You ask Trevor how he knows so much about Canberra history, having only arrived in Australia last year. He looks a little annoyed.\n“Just because I’m an international student I can’t take an interest in local history?”\n\nIt looks like there’s something moving in [[the bushes]].

After a few minutes Sam tell you she hears shouting from the woods.\nAbruptly she hops out of the car and [[starts running]] in the opposite direction from the path Mac and David walked.

You clamber down towards the water. You’re tired- no, exhausted. but you’re determined to end this.\n\nFrom behind, you hear someone approaching. You spin around to face… <<if $deadSam eq true>>David! He emerges from the trees and calmly strolls down the embankment towards you, shirtless, and without the familiar hat you spotted in the swamp. You are about to yell out to him, that you thought he was dead, when you notice the bloody knife in his hands and the crazed eyes…\n\nYou turn to run, but he pounces like an animal, [[faster than you thought]] possible and knocks you to the ground. Even if you were fully rested you’re not sure you could take him on. <<if $knifeFlag eq true>>And it’s only then you remember the pocket knife in your jacket, damn!<<endif>>\n<<else if ($deadDavid eq true) or ($deadTrevor eq true)>>\nThe Burley Griffin Beast! It shuffles down the beach on all fours, ape like, its dark brown fur matted with blood.\n\nBefore you can assume a defensive pose it is on top of you, pinning your arms behind and - with surprising dexterity - pushing you down to the water. <<if $knifeFlag eq true>>And it’s only then you remember the pocket knife in your jacket, damn!<<endif>>\nYou scan the [[ground desperately]], searching for anything you can use-\n<<endif>>

[[Something dark]] crashes out of the bushes and careens past you, knocking [[Trevor|Trevor ecstatic]] to the ground, and [[into the trees]] behind you.

You head for the woods.\nThe embankment is lower here and it looks like a [[well-used track]].

<<silently>>\n<<set $currMazeRoom = "Maze Room 12">>\n<<set $nextMazeDir = "east">>\n<<set $nextMazeRoom = "Maze Room 13">>\n<<endsilently>>\n<<display MazeRoomDescription>>

Your arms and legs are pinned down, but fortunately your tired brain kicks into overdrive to compensate.\n\nYou yell out to David you can’t die without knowing how he managed to execute such a remarkably clever plan. You pray what you learnt from movies proves true in real life.\n\nHe pauses for a moment, and then chuckles. “Oh that. I’ve been planning this for months. I’ve been watching all of you, especially you! You’ve been planning to take Mac away from me. But now she’s safe, safe from all of you!”\n<<if $knifeFlag eq true>>\nAs he’s celebrating his cleverness he unconsciously releases some of the pressure on your arms. That’s just enough for you to knock him aside and retrieve the pocket knife. He stabs back at you, [[slicing your arm|pain]].\n<<else>>\nAs he’s celebrating his cleverness he unconsciously releases some of the pressure on your arms. That’s just enough for you to knock him aside. You pull back, ready to punch, when you hear a sharp zing, and David falls back, a bolt through lower back.\n\nHe twitches for several seconds, and then [[is still]].\n<<endif>>

The body is riddled with bruises. You doubt the resident deranged has their number listed in the Yellow Pages. \n\nYou hear [[footsteps approaching]].

As you try to make sense of it all, you hear [[footsteps approaching]].

“The same way you wouldn’t like it: with teeth.”\n\nIt looks like there’s something moving in [[the bushes]].

It’s a voice, whispering to you.\nIt’s not the killer, you’re sure: it sounds soft, almost kind.\n\nAs you listen in, the whispering is replaced by a steady drone. The drone grows and grows until it feels like something inside your head trying to drill its way out.\n\nYou look around for a sign of way to go - and then it comes...\na dark blustering cloud of [[tiny fingers, gently]] surrounding you.

You grunt in pain then twist and bring your knife upwards swiftly… burying deep into the jaw.\n\nThe body falls back, twitching for several seconds, and then [[is still]].

It’s just you and Trevor.\nYou get out of the car to go after Sam, but he begs you to stay. You’re surprised at just [[how afraid he sounds]].

The noise increases as you approach the Destination:\nan ancient [[log Cabin]].

You just can’t. Even if Mac is in to him, he’s too friendly.\nToo close.\n\nToo perfect, you hear yourself saying. And how come we’re lost if he knows this shortcut so well? You crunch along dead leaves using your phone as flashlight.\n\n“Mac? Mac!?” You try not to sound too freaked out, but you can’t help it. What if… No.\n[[Mac can’t|Mac's a damn good fighter too]]

To your amazement, he’s ecstatic about having a firsthand encounter with the Beast.\nWhile he is scanning the area for tracks, you examine the spot it came from. A path of trampled ferns and bark leads steeply [[upwards towards the sky]].

You push through the trees.\nA well-worn track leads down a steep embankment to the edge of a lake. In the distance you see a familiar structure\n\n[[The Cabin?]]

“Everyone says it’s just an urban myth. Made up to scare kids at night. But I know it’s not.\n"You know Tim the Yowie Man? Even he’s afraid to take people out this way, because he know’s [[it’s here]].”\n\nYou think you hear something faint in the direction of [[the bushes]] ahead.

To [[the coast]]. You can’t wait - it’s been a long slog through the last semester. The pace has been gruelling, but finally you can kick back with a book, play some volleyball. Maybe even…\nNah. She couldn’t be interested, could she?

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