You show up at the little shindig and plop your contribution onto the table, then settle right in.\n\n"Oops, I forgot to buy some ice for these drinks. Sorry guys, be right back!"\n\nDanny, gracious host that he is, runs out to the nearby gas station to restock.\n\n[[Suddenly!|Suddenly]]

"Aw, what if it's a hurt puppy?" One of the guests frets.\n\n"Or a really big, rabid raccoon."\n\nThe others start bantering back and forth, and you decide to take a look outside.\n\nOpening the door, you find Mark and Danny, holding what appears to be a sheep between them, its leg torn and bleeding. Upon closer inspection, the thing turned its head and began licking your face - it's a huge dog! One of those fluffy breeds, from the looks of it.\n\n"Some dude just hit this dog!" The two looked stricken as they hurried inside.\n\n"And drove off? Geez." The guests are all clamoring over the injured dog.\n\n[[What do we do?|Two weeks later]]

Unfortunately, as it turns out, your literature collection consists mostly of Chemical Engineering textbooks, Harry Potter (didn't those come out twenty years ago?), and...\n\nreally old issues of Popular Science. Like, really old. "They thought solar cars were going to be everywhere by 2010" old.\n\n[[Proceed|The Call]]

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"I'm gonna go take a look." Mark, one of the guests, grabs a rake from the side of the house.\n\n"What?! Are you crazy? What if there's some crazy axe psycho in there? Let's just call the cops!" A guy next to him is backing away slowly.\n\n"If there is some axe psycho in there, Danny is in trouble. Go ahead and call, but I'm gonna see what's going on first."\n\nMark strides toward the shed, and at about three feet away, pauses. Using the end of the rake, he gently nudges at the crack in the door.\n\n[[It creaks open...|Cake]]

As you scan the ground near the shed, you notice something on the reflective. A discarded bag of ice. Danny had come back at some point...but where did he go?\n\n"Guys, I found something over here. I think Danny's already back."\n\nAs the others gather in to look, one of the guests gasps and points next to the bag.\n\n[["Is that blood?!"|Blood]]

A loud crashing noise from outside stops the chitchat dead in its tracks. Quickly followed by a yowling sound.\n\nYAAOOH!\n\nA few moments after it subsides, you and the other guests look at each other in alarm and begin discussing.\n\n*<<choice "Find Danny" "Ok...did that sound like Danny to you guys?">>\n*<<choice "Drunk Man" "Doubt it. Sounded like some drunk dude goofing around.">>\n*<<choice "The Animal" "I dunno, sounded like a wounded animal or something.">>

At the edge of despair, you notice a call from your buddy Danny. Your savior!\n\n"Hey, I'm grabbing a few people to hang out at my place tonight, you want to come over?"\n\n"Uh, yeah!"\n\n[["Alright. Bring a dish. Or drinks or whatever."|Arrival]]

Two weeks later, after a visit to the vet and staying off its leg, the dog stood up for the first time.\n\n"Guys, guys, look!" You yell for Danny with excitement.\n\nYou and various other friends had been visiting Danny's house nearly every day for the last two weeks, watching over the dog and bringing supplies like bowls and kibble. You all agreed on the nickname Chewbacca at some point.\n\n"I gotta get the door! Take a picture for me!" Danny calls from the hallway.\n\nA few moments later, you hear Danny talking to a voice you don't recognize, and the two come inside the house.\n\n[[Proceed|Goodbye]]

One particularly uneventful afternoon, as luck would have it, the internet goes out at your house.\n\n[[Fix it! I can fix anything!|No use]]\n\n[[Forget it! I'll just...read?|Hangout]]

You try every trick in the book, power-cycle every device in the chain thrice, replace the modem with a compatible backup you'd bought months ago, and even say a tiny prayer to the One True Helix. Nothing. You sigh in resignation.\n\nAfter calling the cable company, being put on hold for what seemed like hours (it was five minutes), you finally hang up when the voice on the other end tells you,\n\n"We apologize for the delay, sir. We won't be able to send a technician to repair the wiring until tomorrow."\n\nTranslation: "Sod off and find something else to do for the next 24 hours."\n\n[[Proceed|The Call]]

"Yeah, probably just the guys next door getting rowdy. I'll go take a peek."\n\nA few moments after Mark gets up and leaves to go see about the commotion, you and the guests begin chattering amongst yourselves.\n\n"Okay, did Danny get the cake?"\n\nA few people scramble into the kitchen to find the birthday cake that Danny had hidden away. Mark's birthday was in two days, and all of you decided to give him an early surprise.\n\n"How old is he now? 22?"\n\nBefore you can light all of the candle, you hear the sound of footsteps on the porch, and hurry to turn off the lights.\n\n[[Proceed|Lights off]]

As the blow connects, you hear your ribs crunch and breathing suddenly becomes difficult. You try to scream but only manage to produce a pathetic gurgle.\n\nOthers don't have that problem.\n\nAs you collapse to the ground, pandemonium breaks out around you; party guests scream and bolt everywhere, and the creature growls as it leaps after them.\n\nToo weak to move, you lie there and watch your blood seep into the carpet, and contemplate taking a really long nap...

"I can't get ahold of Danny, he's not picking up his phone. What if that was him outside?" Someone speaks up.\n\nDanny had indeed been gone for quite some time, and this noise was something of a concern. Best to go out and take a look.\n\nYou and the other guests file out of the house, armed with various flashlights and phone-lights.\n\nFinding nothing amiss in the yard and driveway, you wander near the small utility shed next to his house.\n\n[[Proceed|The Shed]]

"Hi, I'm Jon. I live a few blocks over, and I think that's my dog."\n\nAt the sound of Jon's voice, Chewbacca immediately perked up and began limping toward the hallway. When Jon sees Chewbacca, he rushes over and gingerly hugs it. Chewbacca is equally thrilled, his tail thumping everywhere and licking the man's face all over.\n\n"Thank you so much for taking care of him, guys. He jumped the fence two weeks ago and I've been worried sick! Get me a copy of the vet bill and I'll write you a check."\n\n"We're sorry to see him go, he's a sweet dog. What's his real name?"\n\n"Chewbacca."

The door creaks open...and light pours out of the shed, illuminating a silhouette in the doorway.\n\n"SURPRISE!"\n\nIt's Danny, with a cake in his hands. Grinning like an idiot.\n\n"Did I scare the crap out of you guys? Surprise, Mark. Happy birthday, buddy."\n\nYou all breath a sigh of relief; that's right, Mark was turning 22 tomorrow!

Instead of your buddy Mark, a grotesque thing stands before you.\n\nIts body and limbs covered in sinew and fur and blood, its face a horrific caricature of canine features. Like a movie werewolf. Or, you suppose, a real werewolf.\n\nIt howls and swipes at the closest body...you.\n\n[[Ow.|Death]]

"Sssh, get in here, people!" A girl hisses at the guests still ambling in the kitchen.\n\nA few moments after the door opens, you hear Mark pause as he walks into the living room, confused by the dimmed lights.\n\n"SURPRISE!"\n\nYou and the other guests leap out from behind the couch and make whooping noises to congratulate Mark, before you realize...\n\n[[It's not him|Monster]]

It looks like blood alright. A few red spots on the bag and a small puddle a few feet away. All of you are extremely unnerved at this point. What are you supposed to do?\n\n"Where do you think he's gone?"\n\nWithout a word, you all look up at each other, and gazes drift to the nearby shed. It suddenly looks very sinister from here.\n\nThe entire group jumps when the uneasy silence is then broken by a loud creaking sound, as the door to the shed opens a few inches. \n\n[[Proceed|Open Sesame]]