The sun kisses your face gently as you close your eyes and enjoy the silence. Your friends have finally shut up, even though Katherine is so drunk she can barely stand. Everyone sits down to enjoy the last minutes of the warm summer sun. The pontoon boat bobs up and down slightly as the water ripples from the wind. Your hand finds its way into the cold lake water, a smile forming across your lips. This is the life. Jordan, your best friend for as long as you can remember, notices your smile and breaks the silence with his extremely loud voice, "This day could not be any more beautiful." Robbie, Katherine's boyfriend, stands up suddenly and shades his eyes with his hand, puzzled. "Isn't it time to go back, though?" he asks quietly. "It's getting dark." He has never done anything wrong. He is the best football player on the school team and has already been accepted to Yale. "Well yeah, but," Jordan replies, "it's too beautiful to go back now! One more trip around the lake, guys. Please?" Everyone just murmurs. Jordan takes his place at the steering wheel and starts up the boat one last time and heads west towards the setting sun. Robbie sits back down, his face wrinkled with worry. He tries to calm himself by putting his arm around Kat. Selina and Newt remained in the back of the pontoon making out. They probably didn’t even hear the conversation. The smile remains glued to your face. You can’t wait to go around one more time. You are miles away from home and school starts again soon. There’s no way you will be turning in early. [[Nothing could go wrong.->The Mistake]] You open your eyes and realize that you fell asleep. The clouds had been gathering for quite a while. By this time, you made it half way around the lake and the sun is just about to disappear. Your head snaps back to Jordan, who looks quite panicked. “Jordan, where are we?” you ask. Jordan looks at you and blinks slowly, taking in a deep breath, “I don’t know. This lake is huge and I guess I misjudged how long it would take us to get around it. We’ve never been this far out before, I must have made a wrong turn somewhere, and it’s awfully dark now.” Robbie stands and looks out over the black lake. He turns toward Jordan and throws his hands up, “Are you serious, Jordan?” A single rain drop lands on his finger. Then another lands on his nose. He looks up into the grey clouds and sighs heavily. “And now it’s raining.” He picks Kat up and carries her to the back of the boat underneath the tarp. This interrupts Selina from eating Newt’s face off, finally. After the initial feeling of anger, Selina quickly realizes what is happening. “Shouldn’t we have been off this lake forever ago? What is going on?” She coudn't help shouting while receiving a few kisses on the cheek from Newt. The rain picks up as your skin bumps with chills. Your bathing suit is soaked, forcing you to relocate underneath the tarp with the others. A towel is wrapped around your shoulders by Robbie, the most caring one of the group. Suddenly, the roar of the engine that had been beating against the waves of the lake seemed to choke. Gasping for fuel, the boat comes to a gentle stop and everything, once again, falls silent. Jordan, unable to speak, stares blankly at the fuel gauge, which clearly indicates that the tank is empty. Robbie leans over Jordan’s chair and stares as well, covering his mouth with his shivering hand. No one says anything, and you sigh heavily. You realize the boat is close to the rocky edge of the lake. The idea of getting off this lake immediately is very appealing to you. You see a branch you could grab and help the boat along with. [[Swim to shore->Swim to shore]] [[Stay on the boat->Docking]] Your mind shuts off as you stand and run for the edge of the boat. Arms locked in front of you, you leap into the shallow water and instantly break your wrist and hit your head off the jagged rocks. You are knocked unconscious and drown within minutes. Your friends cannot see where you are in the black waters, therefore cannot rescue you. You must have miscalculated how shallow it was. You are dead. Your finger points to the branch you noticed among the rocks. Robbie leans out over the edge of the boat to grab it since Jordan is still motionless. “Perfect. Thanks, Riley.” //Riley? Who is Riley?// It’s you. You must have been so lost in your own mind that you forgot your own name. Wake up. Robbie grasps the branch with one hand and holds himself on the boat with the other. He was never clumsy. Everyone trusts his balance, so no one helps him. In that moment, he wobbles. Your heart stops, and your breath leaves your body. Wake up Riley. You can’t hold it in. You shriek, “Robbie!” He leans too far and falls off the boat into the black water. After an unsettling second, he breaks the surface and takes in a deep breath. The mere second he was in the water felt like a lifetime to you. You rush over to the edge to help him back into the boat. Newt appears at your side to help, as you can only take one arm. Robbie slides over the railing onto the floor, his bare feet covered in mud, shoes lost forever. He brought the branch with him. After a couple of breaths, Robbie stands slowly, disoriented. Selina begins to cry as she walks up to Newt with a towel for Robbie. Newt passes the towel along, then holds Selina in his arms, kissing her forehead. Jordan joins the group in the front of the boat, seizing the branch from Robbie. Although he doesn’t do well in stressful situations, Jordan has always been a leader, and he plans to be in charge in every situation. He is the oldest, after all. He directs the boat to shore with the branch, sometimes paddling and sometimes using the floor of the lake to steer. Everyone is so impatient, including you. The pontoon hits the rocky shore, causing everyone to jerk forward suddenly. Your eyes glaze over as everyone else exits the boat with help from Jordan, but you are woken up by Jordan pulling at you and yelling in your face. What is happening to you? What are you doing, Riley? You step onto the muddy grass in your old sandals that you could just never replace. The others are all talking over each other frantically with their anger directed at Jordan, who is trying to defend himself. Your attention is captured by a far off light. “Guys,” you plead. No one hears you. “Guys.” One more time, Riley. “Guys!” All heads snap your way. Silence once again. Your finger raises and points toward the light, but just as everyone turns to look, a stick cracks behind the trees to the right of you. Attention shifts to the noise. [[Investigate the noise->Noise]] [[Avoid the noise->The Cabin]] Your hand extends out in front of the group very abruptly. They all understand that you want them to be still and quiet. You take a nervous step towards the noise. “Hello?” Silence. You take a few more steps to the edge of the forest and place your hand on a tree. “Please help us. We ran out of gas and we don’t know where we are.” Your voice echoes through the trees as if you were shouting. A very faint noise is heard above you. You look up to see two bear cubs calling for their mother. Oh no. Their mother. Suddenly, the enormous bear emerges from behind the trees, roaring with hate. She lunges at you and swipes her giant claws at your throat. You are dead. You whisper to the others, “quiet.” Jordan grabs your wrist and pulls you in the opposite direction of the noise, and the others follow closely. Everyone makes as little noise as possible, taking a longer route to the light. No matter how far from the noise you get, you never shake the feeling that whatever, or whoever, it was is still behind you--following, stalking, waiting for the perfect moment to suck the life from your body. Kat is the first one to mumble across the shaken up group. “My feet hurt,” she complains, “and I want to go home. Robbie, carry me I don wanna han waah,” she trails off, tired, alcohol taking over her system. This makes Selina scoff, tears still streaming down her cheeks. “Everyone wants to go home, stupid,” she snaps. Robbie, feet covered in dry mud, is still a little shaken. He succumbs to Kat’s drunken whining and picks her up around her back and underneath her legs, cradling her. Her blond hair twists and knots under his arms making her face cringe in disgust, but her eyes grow tired as she runs her fingers across his chest. She may have the best grades of the group, but she definitely does not know her limits with alcohol. She just recently joined the friend group after making Robbie her boyfriend. He is a football player and she is a cheerleader, how romantic. Jordan leads the group. This is a very brave thing to do, but Jordan isn’t brave, he just wants to keep everyone calm and stay in charge. You don’t trust Jordan to make any move if anything comes out of the darkness. No one else knows him like you do, they don’t question his authority. Robbie, who is right behind Jordan, is strong and kind, but he has a crippling fear of spiders. He doesn’t seem all that brave. Perhaps the man who would step forward and keep you safe will be Newt, the brave soul in the rear. You twist your head around to look at him with your somber eyes. He doesn't look scared at all. Selina walks frantically in front of him and covers up your view. Your head turns forward and your eyes shift to the ground and start to water. The forest is unusually loud with frogs tonight. The ground is black, overgrown trees blocking any light that the sky has left to give. The distant rays from the promising light—no, it seems to be a lantern—slide between the trees. Jordan shifts the group’s route from an arch to a straight line. It seems safe enough now. In a few short minutes, the lantern is close enough to light up the surrounding area. Jordan walks up to the lantern and stops, turning around to face everyone. “It’s a cabin,” he states with a beaming smile. All eyes snap to the wooden door of the tiny, old cabin that mysteriously appeared. It went so unnoticed at first. How? How could Jordan have been the only one to see it so fast? Newt emerges from the back of the group and approaches the stairs that lead to a beautiful deck. As he starts climbing those stairs, they creak and moan angrily, begging him to stop. Sure enough, the second to last step breaks and hurls Newt into terror. He unleashes a quick yet unsettling yelp, crashing down on top of the steps from which he came. Selina screams and runs to him. Newt writhes in pain as Selina tries to pull him out. Robbie kicks Jordan and demands that he helps, and Jordan obeys. Jordan helps Selina pull Newt out, and just as expected, this reveals a severely bleeding leg. Newt cannot bear to look. Once again, you are frozen. Jordan pulls Newt onto his feet and allows Newt to lean on him. Jordan motions for Selina to help get Newt to the house. They position Newt’s arms around their necks, his limp leg dragging behind. “We need to get you inside, man,” Jordan pleads as Newt shakes his head in pain. “Riley, see if there is someone inside that can help us.” You nod and head for the door, jumping over the broken stairs. You approach the door and with a deep breath, you knock confidently. Nothing. Your whole body is overcome with rage as you knock again harder, longer. A scream is let out, tearing your stomach muscles apart as you begin to claw at the door as if you were a dying animal clinging to life. “Riley,” Robbie says angrily, holding a sleeping Kat. “Riley, do something, we are all waiting.” //What?// There are no claw marks. You did not scream. Are you dreaming? Your arm extends, hand grasping the door knob. It’s unlocked. You swing open the creaky door and just stand there frozen--always frozen. It’s always like this with you, Riley. Wake up. The others pass you. They all have their own things they need to do, they have no time for you. Jordan and Selina help Newt into the cabin as Robbie follows with Kat in his arms. Newt is placed on the couch to recover and Robbie finds a comfortable bed for Kat to sleep in. You remain at the door. [[Get over yourself, it's time to go in.->The First Sighting]] You stumble through the door dazed and confused. Your knees finally give out, but thankfully Robbie is there to catch you before you hit the floor. Snap out of it, Riley. Did you take your medication? Robbie tucks you in to a twin bed in the same room as Kat. While he does this, you get a good look at the room. It almost seems like an old shed with how many building supplies and useless things are laying around, but it still feels warm and inviting. Robbie looks at you sternly and pleads, “get some sleep. You and Kat both need it, and maybe you two can look after each other.” With a nod, you close your eyes, sweat dripping off your forehead. Before you can relax, your mind races with questions. I mean, how did you even get in here and why is there no one here? Is someone in here with you? Consciousness subsides as you drift off into dream world with so many unanswered questions. You must be so tired… After what seems like a second, your body wakes. You are still so tired and your body is extremely weak. There is no movement of your body and your eyes do not open. You feel restless, like you aren’t supposed to be here—like someone is coming. The door begins to open so slowly, producing a quiet squeal. With some force, you’re able to get your eyes open and you see him; a shadowy man you don’t recognize. He snatches up some of the rope laying on the floor and moves quietly towards Kat. [[Don't move, don't make a sound->Kat Hanging]] [[Attack the attacker->Your Hanging]] The Shadow Man makes his way to Kat’s bed as you watch, hand around your mouth so you don’t make a sound. He places the noose around her neck and pulls on it, suffocating her. She wakes up and struggles, but she is far too drunk to fight back. You can feel the tears run down your cheek as your face reddens. Kat fades away and the man makes his way back out the door. Your shaking legs kick off the blankets and your feet find their way to the floor. You manage to stand and make your way towards the door, opening it just enough to peek outside. No one. You scream. For real this time. You scream so loud and for so long that your stomach begins to hurt. Robbie and Jordan run to the second floor to find you hunched over, screaming into the hallway. Robbie slides past you into the room and begins to bawl, running his fingers through his brown hair and pacing. “She’s dead, she’s dead,” he repeats to himself. Jordan also walks past you into the room to see Kat. He murmurs a few words under his breath. Silence comes for a moment. You bury your head in your hands, trying to make sense of the situation. “There was someone here, guys,” you begin. “I don’t know who, but he did that to Kat.” The boys look at you, throwing questions at you loudly. “I didn’t see what he looked like, but it wasn’t any of you. There is someone in here, I know it.” “I mean, it could be true,” Jordan reasons with himself. “We all were asleep. Newt is still on the couch, though, maybe he saw something.” Jordan pats Robbie on the shoulder as he exits the room. Robbie reluctantly follows, blowing a kiss through his tears to Kat on his way out. You are last, still trying to catch your breath. One last lingering look to Kat, then you close the door behind you and head downstairs. [[Your walk is like a dream, and you feel lost.->Newt and Selina]] You finally get control of your body again. You lunge out of bed towards the Shadow Man with a yell. The figure slams the door shut and grabs hold of your arms, pushing you backwards. As you stumble, he pushes you onto the ground and wraps the rope around your neck, tying it into a noose. The rest of the rope is thrown over a wooden beam and Shadow Man begins to pull on it, lifting you up, choking you, and depriving your lungs of air. He ties it off, suspending you, and disappears. Kat is too drunk to wake up and help. Your friends start to bang on the locked door, yelling. You fade into the darkness before anyone can make it inside. You are dead. Once you make it to the living room where Newt lies motionless on the couch and a worried Selina is by his side, Robbie tells Selina what happened. Her tears come once again. //She never stops crying.// She must have woken up to your screaming as well. Newt is barely awake. His face is sweating terribly and his leg looks infected already. He doesn’t speak, just holds Selina’s hand and stares at her blankly. Someone tied a shirt around his leg to stop the bleeding. You didn’t notice how bad it looked until now. There’s even some wood sticking out of it. Jordan walks up to you and puts his arm on your shoulder. “Hey,” he whispers. “Robbie and I are going to see if this guy is outside. You stay here with these two, all right?” You nod. Jordan walks over to the far side of the cabin, opens a skinny door to the closet, and grabs a hunting shotgun that so neatly rests between a broom and the wall. He checks if it is loaded and hands it to Robbie. Robbie looks at the weapon in his hands and grumbles. “Dude,” he whines, “this is a bit much. I don’t know how to use one of these things.” With a trembling hand, he rests the shotgun against the wall. “Is there a bat around here or something?” Jordan locates an axe hanging on the wall in the same closet and hands it to Robbie. “Much better,” Robbie sniffs. With one more search in the broom closet, Jordan miraculously finds a pistol pushed back to the wall on the highest shelf behind an old blanket. It has one bullet in it, and that is good enough for him. He didn’t even question it. His footsteps echoed through the cabin as he headed for the door, Robbie close behind him. You hear the groan of the front door once more as they exit the cabin. You can’t help but wonder what is out there, so you take your place at the front window, hiding yourself behind the curtains. Just a peek won’t hurt. Your analytical fixation on the forest is soon interrupted by a thud. Your head snaps backward, trying to locate where the noise came from. You notice Selina is also looking around, but the room is so dimly lit by one lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. Slow, heavy footsteps are heard along with an uneasy whimper from Selina. She buries her head in Newt’s chest, mumbling something about how this isn’t happening. But then, you see it. You see the shadow of a man once again. He must have come out from the basement underneath the steps. Shadow Man approaches the hunting shotgun and picks it up calmly. Your hands cover your mouth again as your eyes shift to Selina and Newt. [[Keep your mouth shut->The Escape]] [[Yell for Selina and Newt->A shooting]] As the shadow man steps towards Selina and Newt, he mumbles something. Selina lifts her head to see the man, cowering in fear. When she realizes what’s going on, she slides underneath the coffee table, holding her mouth shut as she whimpers and cries. Newt tries to sit up and begins to plead with the shadow, “why are you doing this? What have we done?” Shadow Man aims the shotgun directly at Newt’s chest and pulls the trigger. It was fast. He didn’t suffer. You begin to shuffle quietly towards the front door as your sight blurs. The real world suddenly feels like a dream, which is happening a lot tonight. Shadow Man does not notice you. He takes a few steps towards the coffee table and raises his leg, positioning his foot on the edge to kick the whole thing over. You hear the bang of the coffee table hitting the floor as you turn the doorknob to make your escape. Selina is heard screaming as the man aims the shotgun in her direction. You cannot see her, but you know it’s her turn. You slowly open the door just enough to squeeze through, looking back at the man. Just as you’re about to slip through, the door creaks and the man snaps his ghostly face at you. You almost trip out the door as you start running, heart beating out of your chest, and you end up passing a confused Jordan and Robbie who were heading back to the cabin. They had heard the gun shots, but they could tell something was wrong when they saw you running in the opposite direction with such a pale face. They run, too. After a short distance, the three of you hit the edge of the forest, opening up to a corn field. It stretches for miles on either side of you, and you feel as if you only have one choice; go inside. “Maybe we will lose him in here,” you reason with the other two. Jordan and Robbie agree with a nod. You push your way through the larger stalks, leading the way into the endless maze. You stay together, walking as slowly and as quietly as possible. Robbie sees something ahead and brings the group to a halt. He crouches and slides stealthily towards whatever it is, silent as death. His hand extends towards the figure, touching it cautiously. “Robbie,” you whisper. “What is it?” “A scarecrow,” he responds. Suddenly, rustling of the corn stalks is heard from behind the group. Jordan turns to look, unaware that you and Robbie have already broke into a run. Jordan is left behind. Your small group of three has just split up. You sense someone running after you. [[Hide->Axe Murder]] [[Run->Clumsy]] “Guys, look out!” you yell. Selina’s head pops up to see the man. She gasps, eyes wide. You reach for the door, desperately calling for Jordan and Robbie to come back. Shadow Man turns toward you and aims the barrel of the shotgun at your back and pulls the trigger. You should have stayed quiet. You are dead. You start breathing so heavily that you feel like your lungs might collapse. You cannot run any longer, so you pull on Robbie’s arm to make a sharp left, causing Robbie to drop the axe he had been carrying. You crouch and plant yourself beneath a corn stalk, forcing Robbie to do the same. As you try to catch your breath, Robbie points to the axe, staring at it. Robbie leans forward in order to crawl to the axe. Just as he gets close enough to reach for it, he hears the crunching of footsteps. Shadow Man appears and picks up the axe. Robbie freezes and looks into his eyes. “No,” he pleads, just before the man raises the axe and hacks Robbie’s head off. Jordan is heard yelling Robbie’s name, then yours. Shadow Man retreats, heading for Jordan. Your legs carry you over to Robbie’s decapitated body. The axe sticks out of the ground in between Robbie’s body and head. You stare at it, numbness overcoming your body as you fall to your knees. Blood spurts out of his arteries onto your torso, but you don’t even notice. Your eyes glaze over as you hear the screams of your friends in your head. “Riley,” Jordan says gently. He has to repeat your name a few more times before you finally snap out of it. “You need to get up, he’s coming.” Jordan pulls the axe out of the ground and examines the surrounding area for any sign of life. You sway as you stand up with a pounding headache, rubbing your head. “Here,” Jordan says as he hands you the pistol he took from the cabin. “I’ll take the axe, you have better aim than I do.” Ah yes, the days where Jordan would drive you to the shooting range. Those were some good times. “We are going to get this guy tonight, Riley.” Both of you stand still, back to back, listening for him. The wind pushes through the corn, making noise from every direction. Jordan walks forward a little, axe in hand. You also walk forward, looking left and right, holding your gun up high enough for a headshot. A whisper is heard right behind you, and as you turn, you see him; the Shadow Man. He is walking towards you. [[Run->No where]] [[Scream->No voice]] [[Shoot him->The Reveal]] Running out of breath, you start to slow down. You feel as if your lungs might collapse, but you power through it. Robbie trips over a fallen stalk of corn, dropping his axe. You turn to pull him up, but the Shadow Man is right behind you. He grabs the axe and swings it at you, chopping right into your neck. You are dead. Eyes wide with fear, you pull the trigger. The bullet goes through Shadow Man’s head, causing him to disappear completely. You see Jordan fall down in the distance. Instantly, the gun falls from your shaking hands as you run to your best friend Jordan. You kneel by his side and notice the bullet hole in the back of his head. You did that. You killed him. You look around once more, no sign of the man. You wipe your running nose, trying to stay strong. It’s time to find your way back. The stars have already started to disappear, and the sun has not yet shown itself. The trees of the forest reach high into the sky not too far from you, guiding you back. You feel a very heavy weight on your shoulders. Your memories of the night are blurred and you have a pounding headache. The sun finally shows itself and kisses your cheek as you squint your tired eyes. One step at a time, you eventually find the cabin. Taking a seat on the bottom step of the deck, you rest your head on the railing. The front door to the cabin opens. Your head turns ever so slowly to look behind you. //What? I thought she was dead.// Selina stands in front of you with the hunting shotgun in one hand pointed down. Her eyes narrow as she growls, “did you kill the others, too?” You stand, but Selina is quick to raise the shotgun. Your hands go up as you shake your head, “what are you talking about, Selina?” “Don’t lie to me, Riley, I saw you kill Newt and I was upstairs when I heard Kat suffocating,” she replies angrily. “I thought it was a man that killed Kat like you said at first, but when you shot Newt, I knew it was you.” The blurred memories become a little clearer to you. You look down at the dried blood on your shirt and you can feel the soreness in your arms from raising the axe to kill Robbie. Your hands feel the pain of pulling the rope so tight around Kat’s neck. You remember the kick from the hunting shotgun when you shot Newt. Your headache grows stronger as you reason with yourself, “no. Selina, no, it wasn’t me, I couldn’t have, I would never.” Selina’s eyes fill with tears as she cocks the gun and pulls the trigger. [[Explanation->Explanation]]How can you run when your legs don't work?How can you scream when your voice doesn't work? How many times did you die before you got to the end? You, Riley, are the killer. You have multiple personality disorder, caused by witnessing your father kill your whole family, including himself, but you escaped. Your other personality is a crazed killer, which caused you to kill people when you were younger. You were institutionalized for some time, but you came out on medication. Since the boat ran out of gas, you hadn’t taken your pill, and that caused you to start going crazy. The Shadow Man was a hallucination you made up in your head to feel better about killing your friends. The hallucinations are a coping mechanism. If you tried to interfere with these hallucinations, you would end up killing yourself, since you are the Shadow Man. I hope you enjoyed your journey!