Your eyes are slowly adjusting to the darkness of the unlit hospital foyer.
What little light makes its way through the hastily-boarded slats on the windows gleams on the worn linoleum, when it's not being tangled in the scraps of pale fabric that still hang limply by the broken panes.
The heavy [[double doors->Emergency Exit]] at your back are closed tight, the emergency exit sign above flickering a pallid green.
Your small [[backpack->Backpack]] rests at your feet.
To your right is a [[reception desk->Reception Desk]].
To your left is a [[clinic door->Entrance Clinic]].
In front of you, the littered [[corridor->Corridor (1)]] stretches into darkness.
(set: $noise1 to 1) (set: $havebp to 0) (set: $croissant to 5) (set: $ammo to 0) (set: $handgun to 0) (set: $torch to 0) (set: $gherb to 0) (set: $recep to 1) (set: $upstairs to 1) (set: $smallroom to 1) (set: $doors to 1)It's a small, worn brown canvas backpack. A dark leather patch on the flap closure identifies it as yours. It reads "It's a beautiful day, now watch some bastard fuck it up."
It contains:
Two handguns
Ammunition
A yellow plastic torch
Two small bags of dried green herbal-looking leaves
A chocolate croissant
You pick up the backpack and sling it over your shoulder.
(set: $havebp to 1) (set: $croissant to 1) (set: $ammo to 20) (set: $handgun to 2) (set: $torch to 1) (set: $gherb to 2)
Return to [[Foyer]] You try the door, but it's locked. You knew that, but you press your palms against the smooth surface anyway and give it a rattle.
Yep, definitely locked.
You turn back to the [[foyer->Foyer]].The desk is scattered with papers. Many of them are flyers with QUARANTINE written in red block letters. A mug of what appears to have been black coffee has been spilled across the surface, now dried. The papers where the coffee had spilled are moisture crinkled, and shift uneasily in the slight breeze filtering through the remains of the windows.
(if: $recep is 1) [ There's some ammunition on the counter. Six bullets. Not much, but could come in handy. [[Take it?->recepammo]] ]
Return to [[Foyer->Foyer]]The door creaks as you push it open. A second creak echoes from deeper within the hospital... or is it a shriek? You look warily over your shoulder as you slip into the clinic.
A small green light glows in the corner of the room, by the ceiling.
A [[desk->Clinic Desk]] has been flipped over in the centre of the room, the chair laying alongside it.
An [[examination trolley->Examination Trolley]] to the left has been pulled aside. Rips slice across the plastic covering, exposing the foam within.
A [[medicine cabinet->Medicine Cabinet]] behind hangs drunkenly from the wall, a tangle of bandages like a mouse's nest bundled underneath.
A battered [[filing cabinet->Filing Cabinet]] stands to your right.
Behind you is the door back to the [[Foyer]].(if: $havebp is 0) [ You'd better take your backpack.
[[Click to continue->Foyer]]... ]
(if: $havebp is 1) [ Your eyes dart at the curtains stirring and fluttering as you pass by. Discarded wheelchairs block your path, and you pick your way around them. Skittering scratches and taps occasionally filter through the dark.
In front of you, a potted yucca has been toppled over by the lifts. Soil scatters the floor. You can see a small green light flashing in the corner by the ceiling, above the lifts.
Do you want to arm yourself?
[[Yes->LiftGuns]]
[[No->LiftBhnd]]]You look closely at the desk where it rests on the ground. As you lean in, you notice deep gouges in the heavy wood surface. You trace the gouges with your fingers; they are rough and splintery. Fresh. Was this used as a shield? What from? And... what happened to the person who was hiding behind it?
You think you can hear a clicking noise far in the distance. You hope it's just a trick of your mind.
You can still look at the [[trolley->Examination Trolley]], the [[medicine cabinet->Medicine Cabinet]], the [[filing cabinet->Filing Cabinet]], or you can choose to return to the [[Foyer]].Nothing has changed in the cluttered foyer, although you suspect the smell of decay has grown a fraction stronger.
(set: $noise1 to $noise1 + 1)
(if: $noise1 is 3) [ A strange, animal howl echoes through the emptiness, making you jump. ] (if: $noise1 is 5) [ Distant rattles make you uneasy. ]
The heavy [[double door->Emergency Exit]] is closed tight, the emergency exit sign above flickering a pallid green.[(if: $havebp is 0) [
Your small [[backpack->Backpack]] rests at your feet. ]]
To your right is a [[reception desk->Reception Desk]].
To your left is a [[clinic door->Entrance Clinic]].
In front of you, the littered [[corridor->Corridor (1)]] stretches into darkness.The glass of the cabinet is smashed, as are most of the bottles and vials that were once contained within. Some of the liquid has pooled and stained the mess of unspooled bandages lying beneath. Some of the stains look worryingly darker than any liquid the vials would seem to have contained.
There's nothing here of use, so you decide to avoid the risks associated with shattered glass and unknown fluids and leave it well alone.
There is still the [[Clinic Desk]], the [[Examination Trolley]] and the [[Filing Cabinet->Filing Cabinet]] here in the clinic, or you can decide to return to the [[Foyer]].You push the trolley back against the wall, straightening it up. It doesn't do much to help the room, but you feel a little better.
Unfortunately, moving it has revealed a dark and sticky puddle beneath where the trolley was. Even worse, you've stepped in it. Ew.
You can still check the [[desk->Clinic Desk]], the [[medicine cabinet->Medicine Cabinet]], the [[filing cabinet->Filing Cabinet]], or exit to the [[Foyer]]Drawers gape open from the cabinet. The files within are in disarray.
(if: $torch is 0) [It's too dark to read the files.]
(if: $torch is 1) [You shine your torch over the paperwork. Medical records, covered in black and red ink stamps branding them Confidential and Highly Sensitive. Somebody should probably have locked this.]
You can see the [[desk->Clinic Desk]], the [[medicine cabinet->Medicine Cabinet]], the [[trolley->Examination Trolley]] and the door to the [[Foyer]].Nervously, you swing the backpack down from your shoulder and retrieve one of the two handguns from within. You check it's loaded, check the safety, and hold it tensely with both hands. You don't know much about guns... just point and pull the trigger, right? (set: $armed to 1)
[[I hope so->LiftAttack]]...You shift your weight nervously from one foot to the other, straining to hear if anybody is about. You don't know much about guns... and until there's an obvious threat, you're probably safer leaving it in your bag... right? (set: $armed to 0) (set: $liftatt to 1)
[[I hope so->LiftAttack]]...
As you step towards the lift, you become aware of a growing stench. The sheet draped over the stairwell shifts in a way that's definitely not just the breeze.
(if: $armed is 1) [ You jump back with an involuntary shriek and fire blindly as a figure lurches out from behind the fabric with a guttural groan. The first two bullets ricochet off the concrete walls of the stairwell, but as the zombie reaches a rotting arm towards you, you steady your aim. The next bullet shreds through the shambling corpse's left shoulder, but it reaches towards you again. A stumble, a gasp. You fire again, this one tearing through it's chest. It groans angrily, lurches towards you again as you retreat, falling over the forgotten yucca.
Panic rises in your throat as you sprawl on the floor, but you raise your gun, sight it down, and send the final bullet through the creature's forehead. It's skull fragments and it finally slumps to the floor. (set: $ammo to $ammo - 5)]
(if: $armed is 0) [ You let out an involuntary shriek as a figure lurches out from behind the fabric with a guttural groan. It reaches a rotting arm to grasp at you, but you knock it away with your forearm. The shambling corpse lurches for you again, and you lash out with the heel of your hand, catching it on it's chin. It reels back, and you take the opportunity to smash it's skull against the metal frame of the lift. It lies slumped on the ground as you try and catch your breath, but a groan reveals that it's not yet dead. Well, //dead// dead.
You hastily retrieve a gun from your backpack and execute it with a point-blank shot to the head before it can rise. (set: $armed to 1) (set: $ammo to $ammo - 1) Backing away from the now dead zombie, you stumble over the yucca trunk and sprawl on the floor.]
You lie on the tiles for a moment, trying to catch your breath. "What the hell am I even doing here?!" you whisper into the dusty air. But you don't remember.
[[Click to continue->postlift]]...You lie on the floor for a while, until your breath calms and the sweat begins to pool at your back. The gun is still in your hand, and you reckon you'd better reload it. You count your ammunition as you reload; $ammo bullets left.
You notice the plastic-wrapped chocolate croissant. It does strike you as an incongruous food item for the situation you've found yourself in, but god knows you could do with the sugar right now.
[[Eat the croissant->croissant]]
[[Get moving->Corridor (2)]]
The croissant is flaky and delicious. It's fresh and buttery, despite the plastic wrapping, and rich with chocolate.
It's really bugging you as to why you'd be carrying luxury baked goods around an abandoned zombie-filled hospital, but let's be honest, the sugar helps.
You dust the flakes of pastry from your clothes with grubby fingers and ready yourself to move on. (set: $croissant to 0)
[[Click to continue->Corridor (2)]] It occurs to you that you haven't heard any more noises in a while. Maybe this zombie was the only one. You peer uneasily down the corridor, and lean into the stairwell to cast a brief glance upwards. The zombie's brains are still oozing across the floor.
Maybe...
You examine the single handgun, feeling the weight of the metal as you turn it back and forth. I mean, you definitely needed it, there. Maybe it would be worth keeping the other one to hand as well.
[[Equip the second handgun]]
[[Stick with just one weapon]]
[[Put the guns away. You'll be fine...]]You don't have any idea what's round the next corner, but you doubt it'll be pretty. You ready the second handgun and tuck it into the back of your jeans.
(set: $armed to 2)
[[Click to continue->Corridor (3)]]...You managed fine with just one weapon.
(if: $liftatt is 1) [ Admirably, in fact. ] (if: $liftatt is 0) [ Well... your aim was shite. But you survived. ]
You'll be able to aim better with a single gun. You shoulder your backpack containing the other and continue onwards.
(set: $armed to 1)
[[Click to continue->Corridor (3)]]Well...
(if: $liftatt is 1) [ You did okay against the zombie without the gun, at least until it came to finishing it... and you don't really know what you're doing with it anyway. You're probably a hazard to yourself with a weapon. ]
(if: $liftatt is 0) [ Your aim was shite, and you fell over the tree like an idiot because you were too busy trying to aim. Guns aren't going to help you here.]
You put both guns in the backpack, feeling very uneasy.
(set: $armed to 0)
[[Click to continue->Corridor (3)]] You stand at the bottom of the stairs, looking dubiously upwards. You could go [[upstairs]], or you could explore further along the [[corridor->corridor (4)]]. You rack your brain, trying to figure out what you're supposed to be doing here. What happened? You must have come here for a reason...You took the ammo.
(set: $recep to 0)(set: $ammo to $ammo + 6)
[[Click to continue->Reception Desk]]... (if: $upstairs is 1) [You cautiously climb the stairs, alert and watching for the slightest movement. The air feels thicker up here, the smell of organic decay overlaid with a sharp, chemical odour.]
At the top of the stairs is a short corridor, with only two doors accessible; the others are blockaded with hastily-piled office furniture. The doors of the other two rooms are both standing open. You can see a small room to your left with trolleys and equipment and, straight ahead, a large and suspiciously empty room with high ceilings. There is a small green light above each door, and you eye them warily.
(set: $upstairs to 0)
Go [[left->equipmentroom]] into the small room.
Go [[straight ahead->battlestart]] into the large room.You move slowly down the corridor, working against your growing sense of dread. It's darker here, no windows for even a small degree of light to penetrate. You stumble into a pile of furniture, seemingly set up to barricade the corridor.
You get your cheap torch out of your bag and shine it around, looking for some way to get through.
"No, not that way," a staticky voice suddenly crackles through the air.
Startled, you drop the torch and it rolls away under the barricade. You get down on your knees and try and reach it. Your fingertips just manage to brush it, but as you try and grasp it it rolls even further from your reach. Goddamnit. (set: $torch to 0)
"Go upstairs," calls the crackling voice.
You have no idea who's giving you instructions, but with a lack of any better ideas, you decide to backtrack and do as it says.
[[[Click to continue...->upstairs]]]There are several trolleys here, positioned erratically around the room, and a desk near the back wall. The darkness seems to be thicker here, along with the air. Black stains cover the walls and ooze across the floor. You don't really want to walk across it.
(if: $torch is 1) [Maybe you could see better with your [[torch->smrtor]].](if: $torch is 0) [It's too dark to risk searching this room further. Shame you lost your torch.]
Maybe you should just [[leave->upstairs]]...You walk through the door, looking around for an unknown something that you're //sure// should be in here.
There are two other doors, both closed, but the room remains empty, with nothing of note apart from the small green light in the corner. You walk towards one of the other doors, and goosebumps rise on your arms. Something is wrong. Something is //very// wrong.
(if: $armed is 2) [You slip the second handgun from your waist and raise them both, eyes darting for a target.]
(if: $armed is 1) [You raise your gun, steadying it with your non-dominant hand and searching for a target.]
(if: $armed is 0) [Your fingers twitch nervously at your sides, and you consider whether you should have had your guns ready. Slipping your bag off your shoulder, you quickly draw a weapon. (set: $armed to 1)]
Suddenly, the door slams closed behind you. A loud buzzer cuts through the silence, and the green light in the corner changes to a violently strobing crimson. You run to the door in a vain effort to haul it open, but you already know the room is sealed tight.
In the corner, the air shimmers.
[[Click to continue->battle1]]You flick on your yellow plastic torch. The black stains on the wall seem to have a reddish tinge, and you hope very much that it's just the fading battery causing the light to take a reddish hue. Somehow, though, you doubt it. The acrid chemical odour is growing.
The light seems barely to penetrate, but you can make out some [[items->smritem]] on the trolley, and a drawer in the [[desk->smrdesk]].There's a plant growing in a pot on one of the trolleys, and beside it, several small bags of what appears to be partially-dried leaves from it. You pick up the bags and look at them curiously. Three of them contain green leaves, but the contents of one bag are bright red. You hold the bag up to the torch light and peer at it. Some kind of medicine?
Come to think of it, why were they in your bag at all, if you don't know what they are?
"Healing items," you whisper to yourself. Of course.
You can look at the [[desk->smrdesk]] or head back out into the [[corridor->upstairs]].You try the drawers in the desk, but only the top one opens. [(if: $smallroom is 0) [It's empty.]]
(if: $smallroom is 1) [Inside, you find another ten bullets. Something gives you a bad feeling.
[[Take the bullets->smrammo]]]
[[Check the trolley->smritem]]
[[Leave->upstairs]] You take the ammo.
(set: $ammo to $ammo + 10) (set: $smallroom to 0)
[[Check the trolley->smritem]]
[[Leave->upstairs]]The shimmer materialises into a deformed female figure, hovering three feet above the ground and entwined within a writhing mass of thick, oily tentacles. She shrieks, levitating upwards, and a tentacle shoots towards you. You're not quite quick enough to dodge, and a glancing blow knocks you sprawling. You roll immediately to your feet, shooting frantically at the monstrous form.
You keep firing, but nothing connects, and it's a brief few seconds before you need to reload.
(if: $armed is 1) [(set: $ammo to $ammo - 6)] (if: $armed is 2) [(set: $ammo to $ammo - 12)]
[[Keep dodging->dodge]]
[[Try the doors]]
[[Reload->reload]]The figure gives an manic screech to the sky as she advances towards you. You back away, ready on your feet and watching for the next swipe.
It comes quickly, and you leap over the tentacle, only for it come sweeping back the other way. You're ready though, this time rolling expertly underneath as it swipes at you.
She cackles and backs away again. It's as though she's toying with you, and your panic rises.
(if: $armed is 1) [You take advantage of her exultant pause to grab the second gun from your backpack] (if: $armed is 0) [You take advantage of her exultant pause to grab your guns from your backpack]
(if: $ammo > 12) [[[Reload->reload]]]
(if: $doors is 1) [[[Try the doors->Try the doors]]]
(if: $ammo < 12) [[[SCREAM->scream]]]You dash to the relative... //very// relative... safety of the far side of the room and take a moment to reload. (if: $armed < 2)[(set: $armed to 2)[While you're at it, you decide you may as well grab another gun; if your aim isn't good enough to hit the monster with one gun, you may as well go for volume over accuracy.]]
With both guns in hand, you throw everything you've got at the monster. The first round, you couldn't be sure that you weren't just missing... but now you can see that it's not just your shitty aim. Every bullet is flying straight through, as though she's nothing but a hologram. (set: $ammo to $ammo -12)
Shit.
It can hurt me, but I can't hurt it?? What the hell is going on?!
(if: $doors is 1) [[[Try the doors->Try the doors]]]
(if: $ammo > 4) [[[Reload ->reload]]]
[[[Keep dodging ->dodge]]]
(if: $ammo < 4) [[[ SCREAM ->scream]]]
GODDAMNIT WHY WON'T YOU DIE?!
You scream at the beast in front of you, your stance wide and your ineffectual handguns raised in defiance.
It freezes.
//Everything// freezes.
The red light goes dim, and the monstrous figure in front of me suddenly glitches and fragments as a voice suddenly echoes from the ceiling. "Yeah, you've got a point. I think we've got a bug."
[[Click to continue...->reality1]]You run desperately from one door to the next. Each one is locked tight.
A tentacle launches at you again, knocking you to the ground. You rise quickly, trying to regroup your thoughts. The crimson light fills your vision, the screeches of the monster fill your ears and you could drown in it all. (set: $doors to 0)
The monster cackles and pulls back to the far side of the room.
(if: $ammo > 4) [[[Reload->reload]]]
[[Keep dodging->dodge]]
(if: $ammo < 4) [[[SCREAM->scream]]]Bright white lights illuminate the room as the monster vanishes from sight. You blink, dazed, as the door at the far end of the room unlocks and swings open.
A bespectacled woman wearing a labcoat over a roll-neck sweater steps through. She's holding a clipboard, and she calls you by name. "This way please," she says, holding the door open.
"Huh?" you say, the adrenaline still swirling in your bloodstream.
"You okay?" she calls, peering through her owlish glasses. She flicks her long brown hair over her shoulder.
"Uh... yeah," you say, but it comes out more like a question.
She stares at you and purses her lips, before saying "Come on. Green room, now." Her voice is both firm and gentle, like a primary school teacher.
You [[follow her->reality2]] out of the room.The room she leads you into is a brightly-lit staff room. A small kitchenette stands in the corner, with a microwave and kettle. It smells of fresh coffee and baked goods. Two men in orange t-shirts sit at dining chairs drawn around a round table. One is absorbed in a laptop, while the other leans back in his chair and looks at you with an expression you can't quite identify.
(if: $croissant is 0) ["Hey, can you //please// stop bringing your snacks into the test area?" he says, irritably. "We don't have time to be cleaning up your crumbs every time we reset. I mean, seriously." You gaze at him in confusion, searching for something to say but coming up blank. He scoffs and looks at the woman.
]
"Take a seat, you look a little pale," she tells you. "How are you feeling?" Your mouth opens and closes wordlessly. You're still adjusting from the near-death scenario just disappearing around you.
"Do you know who I am?" she asks gently, squinting through her glasses. You shake your head and whisper "No". You don't have a clue, although she does seem familiar. She turns to the two guys in orange shirts and says "Okay, we're done for the day!" with a dry laugh.
[[Click to continue...->reality3]]She takes a seat besides you, tucking her skirt neatly under her legs.
"I'm Ella, I'm the psychologist on site. You've been trialling a new game system based on holographic projections instead of VR."
"None...none of that was real?" you ask quietly.
She shakes her head, her face a combination of concern and amusement.
"None of it was real. You knew that when you went in, but I suspect the intensity of the experience was a little...much." You nod in agreement, still processing the reality of what she's saying. You //did// know. At some point.
"I'll have to make a report on this," she continues, "but it's probably best if I take you home right now and let you get some sleep. We can have a proper debrief in the morning. Come on."
She picks up some car keys from the counter and you follow her out to the car park, and... hopefully... the safety of home.
''The End''
↶↷Your eyes are slowly adjusting to the darkness of the unlit hospital foyer.
What little light makes its way through the hastily-boarded slats on the windows gleams on the worn linoleum, when it's not being tangled in the scraps of pale fabric that still hang limply by the broken panes.
The heavy double doors at your back are closed tight, the emergency exit sign above flickering a pallid green.
Your small backpack rests at your feet.
To your right is a reception desk.
To your left is a clinic door.
In front of you, the littered corridor stretches into darkness.