Stranger Things Survival

This week did not go as planned. (link-reveal: "First")[, Will went missing. (link-reveal: "Then")[, Barbara disappeared. (link-reveal: "Next")[, Eleven showed up in the woods and turns out to have superpowers. [Anyway...]<c1|]]] (click: ?c1)[Now all of your (link-reveal: "buddies")[ (Mike and Lucas)], (link-reveal: "Will's family")[ (Mother - Joyce, Brother - Jonathan)], (link-reveal: "Nancy")[ (Mike's sister) ] and the Chief of Police are all sitting in your middle school gym watching your new insanely powerful friend float in a makeshift sensory deprivation tank as she tries to find Will in another dimension. (link-reveal: "And")[ there’s a huge, blood-thirsty monster trying to kill everyone. (link-reveal: "And")[ mad scientists with guns trying to find you. (link-reveal: "Yup.")[ This week has not gone as planned. You got yourself into a real pickle this time, [[Dustin Henderson.->Continue]]]]]]

- Walkie Talkie - Flashlight - Compass - Pocket knife - Lighter - Eggos - 3 Musketeers

- Dustin Henderson - Dwarf, weilds bag of holding, able to fit in small spaces - Mike Wheeler - Leader, Paladin - Lucas Sinclair - Knight, skilled with ranged weapons - Eleven "El" - Mage, many supernatural abilities, loves waffles - ~~Will Byers - Wizard, missing in action~~

After El got out of “The Bath,” everything started to move very quickly. Joyce and Chief Hopper immediately left to try and snag Will from “The Upside Down.” Jonathan and Nancy abandoned you to try and kill the Demogorgon. Now it's just you, Mike, Lucas, and El. You are left to your own devices in your Middle School gym, twiddling your thumbs so you won’t be caught by the goons from the lab looking for El. Your stomach rumbles. [[Open backpack]] (set: $health to 70) (set: $elPower to 20) (set: $inventory to (array: "Walkie Talkie", " Flashlight", " Compass", " Pocket knife", " Lighter", " Marbles", " Eggos", " Musketeers"))

{(set: $health to $health + 15) (set: $inventory to $inventory - (array: " Eggos")) (set: $dEggo to true) }You can't take it anymore. The reach into your backpack and retrieve two Eggo waffles wrapped in clingfilm. You quickly shed its wrapping and shove the waffles into your mouth. Health status: (print: $health) Only as you place the final chunk of Eggo in your mouth do you realize that El is staring at you. You had just eaten her absolute favorite food in front of her and didn't even think to share. "Oh...sorry, El." She glares at you but quickly runs out of energy and slumps back into the bleachers. [[Close Backpack]] (unless: (history:) contains "Eat 3 Musketeers")[[Give El Musketeers]] (unless: (history:) contains "Open Notebook")[[Open Notebook]]

{(set: $health to $health + 30) (set: $inventory to $inventory - (array: " Musketeers")) (set: $dustinMusketeers to true) }You can't take it anymore. The reach into your backpack and retrieve a singular 3 Musketeers candy bar. You can practically taste the nougat already. You quickly shed its wrapping and shove it into your mouth. Health status: (print: $health) [[Close Backpack]] (unless: (history:) contains "Eat Eggos")[[Give El Eggos]] (unless: (history:) contains "Open Notebook")[[Open Notebook]]

{(set: $elPower to $elPower + 40) (set: $inventory to $inventory - (array: " Eggos")) (set: $elEggos to true) }El's face lights up when you give her two waffles wrapped in clingfilm. She rips the plastic off of her favorite food and within seconds the Eggos have disappeared. She is now slumped onto Mike's shoulder again, looking content and less drained than she did previously. El's power status: (print: $elPower) (unless: (history:) contains "Open Notebook")[[Open Notebook]] [[Close Backpack]]

{(set: $inventory to $inventory - (array: " Musketeers")) (set: $elPower to $elPower + 20) (set: $elMusketeers to true) }El is confused when you hand her a 3 Musketeers. She had never seen one before and wasn't quite sure what to do with it. After a bit of assurance from you that nougat was one of the best substances on the planet, she opened the package and bit into the candy bar. She seemed to enjoy it and it brought a little bit of color back to her cheeks. El power status: (print: $elPower) (unless: (history:) contains "Open Notebook")[[Open Notebook]] [[Close Backpack]]

You feel like you could die of boredom. After this week from hell you would think you would relish this moment of peace, but all you can think about is how you have been left out of the action. The campaign continues while you wait to be rescued. [But you are ever the optimist...]<c1| (click: ?c1)[ Maybe being alone in the Middle School wasn’t the worst thing ever. You could do whatever you wanted, explore the school, ransack classrooms, maybe even find the answers to next week’s math test. Hell, you could even go to the cafeteria and find Lunch Lady Phyllis’ chocolate pudding stash. She hordes that shit. [[Explore the school]] [[Find the pudding stash]]]

You and the gang wander into the hallway. {(if: $elEggos is true)[El has regained enough strength to walk by herself down the hall.] (else-if: $elMusketeers is true)[El struggles to keep her head up as you walk down the hall.] (else: )[El leans heavily on Mike and Lucas as you walk down the hall.] } ALPHA ENDS HERE [[Continue]] [[safe room<-Right]] [[dangerous room - cut your hand<-Left]]

You and the gang wander into the hallway and make your way to the cafeteria. {(if: $elEggos is true)[El has regained enough strength to walk by herself down the hall.] (else-if: $elMusketeers is true)[El struggles to keep her head up as you walk down the hall.] (else: )[El leans heavily on Mike and Lucas as you walk down the hall.] } Mike and El grab seats in the lunch room while you and Lucas raid the kitchen for pudding. You hear El ask Mike what pudding is as you enter the kitchen. [[Look in the cupboard]] [[Look in the fridge]]

No pudding here. Just a can of Farrah Fawcett hairspray. Damn, Lunch Lady Phyllis, focus less on your hair and more on giving kids pudding. [Grab hairspray]<c1| (click: ?c1)[ Added to inventory (set: $inventory to $inventory + (array: " Hairspray"))] [[Look in the fridge]]

The fridge opens and you see (link-reveal: "it.")[ (link-reveal: "Nectar of the Gods.")[ (link-reveal: "Chocolate Pudding.")[ You knew Phyllis was lying when she told you she was out. You scream into the cafeteria behind you "Mike, I found the chocolate pudding!!" You and Lucas load you arms with the tin cans from heaven and return to the main cafeteria with pride. El is confused by the metal tins now surrounding her. [[Place an open pudding in her hand]] [[Eat a tin of chocolate pudding]] [[You've had enough sweets->Company]]] ]]

{(set: $elPower to $elPower + 15) (set: $elPudding to true) }El looks down at the brown goop you have just placed in her hands. She glances to Lucas for assurance. He smiles and nods as he is already halfway through a tin. She scoops some pudding onto her finger and places it in her mouth. She smiles and goes back for more. El power status: (print: $elPower) [[Continue->Company]]

{(if: $dustinMusketeers is true)[You crack open a tin and hold it upside down above you, allowing the contents to slide into your mouth. You feel a sugar rush coming on] (else: )[You crack open a tin and hold it upside down above you, allowing the contents to slide into your mouth.] (set: $health to $health + 25)} Health status: (print: $health) [[Continue->Company]]

Lights appear in the window as a car pulls into the parking lot. Finally someone came back for you. "It's Nancy," Mike says. "Stay here, I'll be right back." Mike leaves the cafeteria to greet the newcomers but immediately bolts back inside. (link-replace: "...")[“They found us (link-replace:"...")[The bad men are (link-reveal:"here.")[" [[Run]]]]]

{(if: $elPower is >50)[El grabs Mike's hand as you and the rest of the party sprint into the hallway] (else:)[El does not have enough energy to run. You hoist her into your arms and take off into the hallway with the rest of party close behind] } The gym is swarming with armed men and you can hear footsteps coming from the cafeteria. It's almost like they knew where to find you. You need to hide or get out of the school. Either way, these bad men cannot find El. Where do you go? [[Hide in a classroom]] [[Head for the nearest exit]]

Papa and Hawkin's Lab people arrive unexpectedly, you are caught off gaurd and are trapped in a classroom.

Blood attract Demogorgon. Papa and Hawkin's lab people arrive unexpectedly. Trapped in classroom.

Inside your backpack you see the usual: Walkie Talkie, Lighter, Compass, Pocket knife, Flashlight and Notebook. You also stashed a couple of Eggos and a 3 Musketeers bar. [[Eat Eggos]] [[Eat 3 Musketeers]] [[Open Notebook]] [[Close Backpack]] (set: $inventory to (array: "Walkie Talkie", " Flashlight", " Compass", " Pocket knife", " Lighter", " Eggos", " Musketeers"))

You grab your Notebook and begin flipping through its pages. There are ideas for you next Dungeons and Dragons campaign and character sheets. Notes about A/V equipment and the new HAM radio. Math homework that devolved into doodles of a dragon breathing fire at Darth Vader. None of your drawings ever looked as good as Will's(link-reveal: "...")[ You push the thought from your head and continue turning pages. The events of the past week turned you into a bit of a detective so the most recent pages are full of scribbles trying to connect all of the dots. Will. Barbara. Eleven. It all lead back to Hawkins' Lab and the man Eleven called "Papa." (link-replace: "turn page")[ The next page holds information to make a sensory deprivation chamber. You glanced up with a smirk at the salt water kiddie pool you had fashioned in order for El to effeciently use her powers. (link-replace: "turn page")[ The last page in the book has just a few notes about the recently discovered parallel dimension, "The Upside Down," and the monster that resides in it. Apparently, from what Joyce and Nancy have told you, the Upside Down looks a lot like our world, but cold and slimy. The air is cluttered with spores and sound is distorted. The monster, coined "The Demogorgon," is about 9 feet tall with elongated limbs and a head that unfolds to reveal rows and rows of teeth. The demogorgon is attracted to blood and somehow effects the way lights behave. You start to feel queasy thinking too much about the creature... Or maybe your hungry... (unless: (history:) contains "Eat Eggos")[[Eat Eggos]] (unless: (history:) contains "Eat 3 Musketeers")[[Eat 3 Musketeers]] (unless: (history:) contains "Eat Eggos")[[Give El Eggos]] (unless: (history:) contains "Eat 3 Musketeers")[[Give El Musketeers]] [[Close Backpack]] ]]]

You glance around at your fellow party members and everyone looks exhausted from this past week’s events. Lucas is lying on one of the bleachers, throwing pebbles for his slingshot into the air. Mike won’t stop fidgeting, constantly bouncing his leg and checking his watch. No one looks more drained than El. She had used her powers a lot today. She made a kid pee himself and broke his arm, robbed a grocery store, levitated Mike out of a quarry, threw a van across a street, and then found your friend in another dimension. *All with her freaking mind.* A drop of blood ran from her nose as she rested her head against Mike’s constantly moving shoulder. She needed to be recharged. [[Continue->Boredom]]

ALPHA ENDS HERE [[Continue]]

{(if: $elPower is <50)[El is heavy in your arms as you round the corner. You can't stop to catch your breath. (set: $health to $health - 5)]} Your mind scans its mental map of the school for an exit route. Take a left at the next hallway intersection and you should be home free! Health status: (print: $health) [[Left]]

You turn left and see the exit. A perfect (link-reveal: "escape.")[ Just as you allow yourself to feel a bit of relief, the door swings open and three armed men charge into the building. Shit. [[Double back]]]

You swing back around, running as fast as humanly possible (if: $elPower <50)[while still carrying El]. Back at the hallway intersection. The three armed goons are not far behind. Where do you go now? [[Right]] [[Left->Left 2.0]] [[Straight]]

The party turns right and books it but a door at the end of the hall bangs open and a small horde of men flow out of it. Shit, there are so many of them. (unless: (history:) contains "Left 2.0")[[Maybe go left->Left 2.0]] (unless: (history:) contains "Straight")[[Should've gone straight->Straight]] (if: (history:) contains "Left 2.0" and "Straight")[[You're trapped]]

Before you can take a step forward, a mass of uniformed men beginning running down the corrider toward the party. Holy hell. (unless: (history:) contains "Right")[[Go right?->Right]] (unless: (history:) contains "Left 2.0")[[Try left?->Left 2.0]] (if: (history:) contains "Left 2.0" and "Right")[[You're trapped]]

You spin around, mumbling an explitive under your breath, and scramble towards the left pathway. You manage to take a few steps before a pack of gunman advance on you. Shit. Shit. Shit. (unless: (history:) contains "Straight")[[Go straight->Straight]] (unless: (history:) contains "Right")[[Let's try right->Right]] (if: (history:) contains "Right" and "Straight")[[You're trapped]]

You are surrounded on all sides. There is nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. (if: $elPower < 30)[You glance down at El, now unconscious in your arms. Your main weapon is now completely powerless. You lay her gently on the ground in the middle of your party's huddle. You didn't know how you would stop the bad men from getting their hands on her, but you were going to fight for it. El's Power Status: (print: $elPower) [[Continue->Knocked out El]]] (else:)[[Continue->Powered El]]

ALPHA ENDS HERE [[Continue]]

(if: $elPower < 50)[El goes rigid in your arms. Her face is fixed with concentration and blood drips from nose and out of her ears.] (else:)[You stop dead in your tracks next to El. Her face is fixed with concentration and blood drips from nose and out of her ears.] The lights begin to flicker. You glance around at the dozen or so armed men surrounding the party and don't attempt to hide your shock as blood streams from their eyes, noses, ears, and mouths. In one swift motion, they all fall to the ground, pools of blood forming around each of them. (set: $elPower to $elPower - 30) El's Power status: (print: $elPower) El collapses to the floor. She isn't used to using her powers this consistently. She can't take much more, but damn that was cool. She's our friend and shes crazy. Mike attempts to rouse her to her feet. Before you can kneel down next to her, you feel a pair of large hands on your upper arms. [[Shit]]

You are pulled to your feet and your arms are forced behind your back. You look to your left to see Mike and Lucas in the same position. You fight against the strong grip holding you back. Rounding the corner in front of you is a tall, white haired man. He kneels down next to El, craddling her face in his hands. Her eyes open and you hear her whisper faintly, "Papa." Holy shit. The one guy that shouldn't get anywhere near El had her in his very hands. El starts to weakly wriggle away from his touch and begins reaching for you and the rest of the party. Before anyone can react, the lights flicker. "Blood," says Mike. Realization dawns on you as you look to the floor, covered in blood from the collapsed gunmen. [[Continue->Demogorgon arrival]]

The wall directly behind Papa begins to move. It moves unnaturally, shifting in form rather than simply falling apart. You feel the pressure on your arms relax as the uniformed men secure their attention to the undulating section of the wall. An elongated, thin hand crashes through the wall with a hideous, screaming faceless face not far after it. The men surrounding you fully release their grip and begin shooting at the Demogorgon who was drawn to the scene by the blood. No one seems to care about you and the party anymore. Even Papa is distracted by the monster and has stepped away from El. (if: $health > 115)[Maybe you are just high on sugar or maybe the sheer amount of blood, guns, and monsters is making you bold, but you could grab a gun off of one of the collapsed badmen. It could be useful. [[Grab gun]]] [[Grab El and run]]

ALPHA ENDS HERE [[Continue]]

You hoist El back into your arms and begin racing away from the gunfire. Mike leads the way to a science lab. You lay El down on a table. ALPHA ENDS HERE [[Continue]]