{
(set: $respect to 0)
(set: $courage to false)
(set: $t to (opacity:0.5))
(set: $h to (text-color:red))
(set: $m to (text-color:cyan))
(set: $g to (text-color:orange))
}
**HOME**
v. 1.1 [[Patch Notes]]
(if:$reset is true)[(text-colour:lime)[Since you've seen one ending, contextual information has been added to critical choices to help you find the others.]]
[]<bv|
$m[Maya] and $g[Gayle] occupy their small hideaway somewhere in the middle of a vast, lush plain dotted by the odd tree or rock. Far to the south, a large city rests on the horizon, now and likely forever |monster>[uninhabitable.]
[Maya]<c1| fiddles with |y>[her lucky bullet]. Her tail sways gently behind her in a pensive motion.
[]<cm|
[Gayle]<c2| watches her sister [quietly]<h1|. |hope)[$t[She hopes $m[Maya] finds a reason to stay home today, or at least decides to go anywhere but north.]]
[]<cg|
The girls rest uneasily in their [hideaway]<c3|.
[]<sh|
To the north is a [dark forest]<c5| which $m[Maya] intends to explore today.
[]<df|
Just before $m[Maya] leaves her hideaway, she feels $g[Gayle]'s hand wrap around hers. She turns back one last time to ...
[[... confidently assure Gayle that everything will be fine.]] (if:$reset is true)[(text-color:yellow)[$g[Gayle] will stay home.]]
[[... remind Gayle that she'll need to face her fears alone someday.]] (if:$reset is true)[(text-color:yellow)[$g[Gayle] will face her fears.]]
(click:?monster)[(replace:?monster)[uninhabitable, $t[courtesy of the horror in the fog which drove the girls from their previous home.]]]
(click: ?y)[(replace:?bv)+(opacity:0.5)[$m[Maya]'s lucky bullet is a single round of 5.56 which she believes to be a magical good luck charm, or even a sort of divine relic. She is so confident in its effects that she often foregoes a rifle so that she can dedicate one hand to holding it.
Curiously, of all the people she has interacted with, only $g[Gayle] can also see the bullet. Prior to reuiniting with her sister in the Grand City, $m[Maya] assumed that she had gone mad.]]
(click: ?h1)[(show:?hope)]
(click: ?c1)[(replace:?cm)+(opacity:0.5)[*$m[Maya Talamon]* is a Grand City exile, a young woman formerly of the Talamon clan, brown-skinned with sharp blue eyes, short and messy black hair, and a pair of Ulvan ears protruding from her head to match the tail which sways behind her, frequently betraying the emotions of a usually stoic tomboy.
She wears a sleeveless black hoodie, stretched thin by her large breasts and cut short to withstand the oppressive heat of the Grand City. This reveals her shoulders and midriff, toned and powerful from years of survival and exploration, unmarked by the dozens of scars and bullet wounds she had thought in the moment would mark her forever.
Below this she wears black cargo pants, similarly cut into shorts just below the pocket line, revealing a thigh holster and the Prehistorian polymer handgun, a Five-seveN, within it.
She carries herself with confidence, standing straight with her shoulders back. She is strong, quick, and clever, and most importantly has survived three years in the Grand City. She has no frame of reference for how good or bad that is, but given how frequently death takes hairs from the tip of her tail, she's grateful for every new sunrise.]]
(click: ?c2)[(replace:?cg)+(opacity:0.5)[*$g[Gayle Talamon]* is a young girl exiled by her family, the Talamon clan. She has brown skin, warm amber eyes, long and messy black hair, and a pair of soft Ulvan ears protruding from her head to match her large, fluffy tail.
She was reluctant to dress lightly for the heat, preferring to cover her body as much as possible, but currently wears a white sundress and a matching broad-brimmed hat. She's nervous enough leaving her shoulders and legs bare and can't imagine dressing like her sister.
Her breasts are small, her frame is thin (but growing stronger thanks to Maya's training), and her posture is submissive and nonthreatening.
Despite this, she carries a small G19 in a shoulder holster and hugs an M4 carbine, her favorite gun, to her body. Though she can disassemble, clean, and reassemble either firearm nearly as fast as $m[Maya] can, she has a fatal tendency to close her eyes and flinch as she pulls the trigger.
$g[Gayle] has the gift of prophecy, receiving alarmingly accurate visions of the past and future in her dreams, though these dreams often seem paradoxically useless within the walls of the Grand City despite the favor they granted her without.]]
(click: ?c3)[(replace:?sh)+(opacity:0.5)[*The hideaway* is a cozy, humble shelter built in the space between a valley and a large rock jutting out from above. It includes a fireplace and chimney, and one soft sheet of feathers and grass which comprises the bed that the sisters share for warmth during the cold Grand City nights.
Though cozy and secluded, the hideaway lies far from the nearest river, necessitating dangerous daily trips to collect water.]]
(click: ?c5)[(replace:?df)+(opacity:0.5)[*The dark forest to the north* is a foreboding place from which $m[Maya] and $g[Gayle] often hear otherworldly wailing that sometimes sounds animalistic, sometimes unidentifiable, and sometimes like men and women screaming for help.
Despite her fear, $m[Maya] needs bullets and both she and $g[Gayle] need better food than rabbits. Besides, $m[Maya] is curious, and not just a little fascinated by what she might find between those wicked trees.]]{
(enchant: "Maya", (text-color: cyan))
(enchant: "Gayle", (text-color: orange))
(set: $courage to False)
}
**Confidently assure Gayle that everything will be fine**
Maya rests a hand on Gayle's head between her fluffy ears and ruffles her already-ruffled hair.
$m["Don't worry. Stay safe, stay out of sight. I'll be home in three hours." |affection)[$t[If I'm not, don't come after me.]]]
She [hesitates]<c1| for just a moment,|affection)[$t[ reluctant to part with Gayle again,]] hand still on her sister's head. |affection)[$t[She knows this, like all her other excursions, may be their last moment together.
And so she cherishes it.]]
$m["Don't give me that look. You know I can handle myself most of the time."] $t[$m[Most of the time.]]
She gives Gayle's hair one more ruffle, then turns and leaves the hideaway behind.
|affection)[$t[Gayle watches her go, worried, but reassured by her words.]]
[[Maya strikes out into the forest]]
(click: ?c1)[(show: ?affection)]{
(set:$sound to false)
(set:$scent to false)
(enchant: "Maya", (text-color: cyan))
(enchant: "Gayle", (text-color: orange))
}
**Maya strikes out into the forest**
Maya makes her way toward the forest. She squeezes her lucky bullet in one hand and her handgun in the other, relying on both to protect her from the horrors which surely lie just beyond the treeline.
She hesitates just before that treeline, |db>[takes a deep breath], |reminder)[$t[reminds herself that Gayle is counting on her,]] and steps into the dark forest.
|reminder)[$t[Her fear only grows as the stalks through the trees, but the first step was the hardest one.]]
Silence hangs between the trees like a nearly tangible layer of fog. Maya's footsteps fall uncomfortably loud even after she slows down and walks softly.
Darkness also haunts the forest. Maya looks up, and though the sun shines far above, everything beneath the forest's canopy is dark as night.
Her handgun suddenly feels |g1>[insufficient], though she wouldn't dream of leaving Gayle with anything less than her best weapon.
|guns)[$t[Three months ago, a horror in the fog chased them out of a long-time hideout and forced them to leave Maya's arsenal behind. The two rifles they'd managed to carry with them had turned to one in the following months.]]
The silent forest smells |st>[sterile].
|scent)[(set:$scent to True)$t[Maya's first impression is that the forest smelled dead, but nothing smells rotten, or old, or even particularly foul. She's never smelled anything quite like it before. It's almost a clean smell, like an ironically scentless soap.
If she leans close to trees, she can smell the sap and the bark, but the odd sterile scent is so omnipresent that natural scents disappear just inches away from their sources.]]
Maya's ears twitch about frantically, almost instinctually. It feels like |h1>[she should be able to hear something.]
|sound)[(set:$sound to True)$t[The silence is so haunting that Maya can't shake the feeling it's intentional. She can't comprehend how someone or something might remove sound from such a large forest, but she can't think of any natural way a forest would be so silent.]]
[[Keep going]]
(click: ?db)[(show:?reminder)]
(click: ?g1)[(show:?guns)]
(click: ?st)[(show:?scent)]
(click: ?h1)[(show:?sound)]{
(enchant: "Maya", (text-color: cyan))
(enchant: "Gayle", (text-color: orange))
(set: $courage to True)
}
**Remind Gayle that she'll need to face her fears alone someday**
Maya looks over her shoulder before she leaves, meeting Gayle's [wide-eyed gaze.]<c1|
$m["I'm not immortal, $g[Gayle.] Remember that."]
She is well aware of Gayle's dependency on her, and is well aware that ought to change as the girl grows more capable. |darkness)[$t[But she cannot feel the stab of fear that runs through Gayle's heart at her words.]]
|darkness)[$t[Deep in her heart, Gayle knows Maya will die someday. She'll leave on an expedition like this one, and Gayle cannot bear to think of what she might do if Maya does not return.]] The Grand City is dangerous. Most of its inhabitants |darkness)[$t[including Maya]] prefer to kill anything that moves rather than risk betrayal and death. Gayle had best be prepared to face that herself.
|darkness)[$t[But surely she'll come back this time. She's always come back before.]]
[[Maya strikes out into the forest]]
(click: ?c1)[(show: ?darkness)]{
(enchant: "Maya", (text-color: cyan))
(enchant: "Gayle", (text-color: orange))
}
**Keep going**
$sound[Maya listens carefully, both to ensure she makes as little noise as possible, and to hear any potential pursuers. She is distinctly aware anybody or anything listening quietly to the forest will hear her footsteps from a great distance.]
$scent[She //can// detect //some// small scents. Is there perhaps a creature which suppresses other scents to isolate the scent of its prey? The Grand City is full of twisted creatures that seem to belong in another world; this would hardly be the first she's encountered.]
Maya stalks through the forest as quietly as she can manage, though she has a creeping feeling that she has entered the domain of something much more capable than her or her tiny handgun.
Disappointingly, there seems to be very little to forage, and no animals as far as she can see.
That is, until she stumbles across some edible berries she [recognizes]<a1| from outside the wall. (click:?a1)[(show:?a2)] |a2)[$t[By their white coloring and peachy shape, these berries are likely //lukberries//, which taste excellent and grant a short-term energy boost, at the cost of exhaustion later on and dependency with frequent ingestion. Leo had eaten these, perhaps too frequently for his own good. Gayle likes them as well, which is as good a reason as any to take some.
They also look a bit like the //milkberries// selectively bred by Talamon botanists to aid in women's lactation. Found in nature, these potent, bitter berries only reinduce lactation in women who have already begun lactating the normal way, but clever botanists were able to engineer them to induce lactation even in maidens.
Maya feels an ache deep in her chest thinking about it. She's glad to have reunited with Gayle, but there are dozens of people she loves back on the other side of the walls whom she'll never see again.]]
[Eat them] (click:"Eat them")[(replace:"Eat them")[(set:$milk to true) Maya eats a few of the berries, hoping for a slight boost.
They're bitter.
She leaves the rest of the milkberries alone and keeps an eye out for anything Gayle might like.](replace:"Leave them")[ ]]
[Leave them] (click:"Leave them")[(replace:"Leave them")[Maya leaves the lukberries alone. Though she recognizes them, she has no idea what sort of effects this strange forest might have on otherwise edible berries, though she wishes she could bring something back to make Gayle smile.](replace:"Eat them")[ ]]
At length, she comes across [a large two-story cabin]<c1| in the center of one of the few clearings she's come across. |cabin)[$t[On closer inspection, it's very well-crafted for what appears to be a hunting cabin, and much like the deeper parts of the Grand City, time seems to have forgotten about this building, as it remains completely untouched by natural decay: the logs are fresh and brown, and the flowers out in front to either side of a short path to the door are bright and colorful in full bloom.
If Maya didn't know better, she might have assumed this cabin was somebody's current home. But she's explored enough of the Grand City to have seen time frequently forget to do its grim duty.]]
[[Maya approaches the cabin]]
(click: ?c1)[(show:?cabin)]{
(enchant: "Maya", (text-color: cyan))
(enchant: "Gayle", (text-color: orange))
}
**Maya approaches the cabin**
(set: $senses to $sound and $scent)
Maya's ear twitchs.
She glances up and leftward just in time to see three ravens take flight from the edge of the cabin's second-story roof.
They are utterly silent both in takeoff and in flight.
$m[$t[It's no stranger than the rest of this place ...]]
$senses[$m[$t[... but I don't think I was close enough to scare off those ravens.]]]
Steeling herself once more, Maya gently bites on her lucky bullet and holds her handgun in both hands. She drops to a crouch and quietly circles the cabin, |p1>[peeking inside] whenever she comes to a window.
[$t[The interior looks perfectly clean, at least in what she assumes is the living room. There are books on shelves, chairs and a couch, a writing desk, and three doe heads mounted on the wall along with ornamental gear such as machetes, knives, and fishing rods.]](peek| (click: ?p1)[(show:?peek)]
A small hill lets Maya see into one of the second-story windows, which seems to be a bedroom. The bed is made with a table on one side and a bookshelf on the other. There is a masterfully painted [mermaid sculpture]<sculpt| on the wall, topless and voluptuous, with long black hair and fair skin.
|sc)[$t[The sculpture looks impressively lifelike, but it's hard to pick out details from a distance. Maya doubts anyone would keep the top half of a hunted mermaid. But then, what does she really know about the men of Prehistoria?]] (click: ?sculpt)[(show:?sc)]
Nobody seems to be home. Maya expected that, but she still hesitates at the front door with one hand on the handle, one on her handgun, with her lucky bullet still between her teeth.
But turning back isn't an option. She needs ammo. She needs food. She needs rifles, and if this really is a hunter's cabin, there was a good chance she'd find one or more. She also needs any usable [Prehistorian artifacts]<ph| she can get her hands on.
|uph)[$t[One scavenger she'd encountered had an artifact which threw oncoming bullets away from him and back toward his opponent. Maya had taken a four-round burst of her own lead to the belly and chest, and had only survived thanks to an uncharacteristic burst of strength and a painful field surgery from a terrified Gayle.
She would love to have one of those. Whatever it was.]] (click:?ph)[(show:?uph)]
She takes a deep breath.
[[Maya kicks the door down<-Maya kicks the door down.]](if:$reset is true)[(text-color:red)[--respect]]
[[Maya gently opens the door<-Maya gently opens the door.]](if:$reset is true)[(text-color:green)[+respect]]{
(enchant: "Maya", (text-color: cyan))
(enchant: "Gayle", (text-color: orange))
}
**Maya enters the cabin**
Maya quickly scans the |mr>[mud room].
[$t[Two pairs of boots on the mat and a single black coat on the rack, with a pair of gloves and a pair of mittens on a short wooden bench]](mrp| (click:?mr)[(show:?mrp)]
Nothing catches her eye, so she moves on to a short hall which leads to a |bs>[spotless] kitchen on the right and the living room she saw through the window on the left.
[$t[The kitchen is spotless, at any rate, aside from a large brown stain on the far wall and a few dozen rough cuts in the stainless steel island table in the middle of the room.]](bsp| (click: ?bs)[(show:?bsp)]
The hunting supplies in the living room had already caught her interest through the window, so she turns left and begins searching for anything useful.
The ornamental machetes and knives on the wall are perhaps her best bet unless she can find a long gun stashed somewhere. In Prehistorian houses, they tended to be locked up in impossibly thick safes, but she'd occasionally been |mm>[lucky] enough to find one under a bed or pillow.
|luck)[$t[Three times, she'd found pistols lying near a pile of clothes on an otherwise clean floor. One had its slide locked back as if it had been fired and dropped. That one was an odd caliber for which she had a hard time finding extra ammo, and she eventually traded it for a new shirt.]] (click: ?mm)[(show:?luck)]
She checks under the couch, in a set of drawers, and sure enough, finds a safe beneath one of the floorboards.
Though she says nothing, she can feel her tail wagging in unbidden excitement.
Her excitement fades as she begins to fiddle with the knob, but then reignites as she just tries pulling on it and it opens right up.
$m["No way!"]
Her tail always betrayed her feelings, but now Maya feels herself smiling as well. Inside the safe is a beautifully maintained M1 Garand, a rifle Gayle had seen many years ago in [one of her visions.]<vis| (click: ?vis)[(replace:?vis)[$t[visions of a huge battle on a bloodstained beach so violent that she had run to her mother in the middle of the night in tears, and had trouble sleeping for the next two weeks.]]]
One had also been part of Maya's arsenal until she'd been forced to flee the nearby city. It lacked the attachment points that were so convenient on other models, but a rifle is a rifle, and Maya certainly needs one.
[[She holsters her pistol and reaches for the rifle]]{
(enchant: "Maya", (text-color: cyan))
(enchant: "Gayle", (text-color: orange))
}
**Maya kicks the door down**
(set: $respect to it - 2, $doorkicked to true)
Feeling a rush of adrenaline, whether from fear or excitement, Maya steps back and plants her boot beside the door handle.
It swings violently inward and crashes against something inside. Somewhat disappointed that it didn't fall off its hinges, Maya trudges inside.
If anything out here was going to hear her, it had already heard her.
She might as well show it some confidence.
[[Maya enters the cabin]]{
(enchant: "Maya", (text-color: cyan))
(enchant: "Gayle", (text-color: orange))
(set: $respect to it + 1)
(set: $doorkicked to false)
}
**Maya gently opens the door**
She quietly pushes the door inward, feeling as though she's trespassing. But she always feels like this when she enters Prehistorian buildings.
Gayle had always described that feeling as reverence, implying that all Prehistorian buildings were somehow sacred. Given the kid's prophetic visions, Maya is inclined to trust her.
[[Maya enters the cabin]]{
(enchant: "Maya", (text-color: cyan))
(enchant: "Gayle", (text-color: orange))
}
**She holsters her pistol and reaches for the rifle**
$h["Don't move."]
Maya's blood runs cold. She can feel her ears and tail standing straight up in shock. Her lucky bullet drops to the floor and rolls into the open safe. (set: $hasbullet to false)
That voice belonged to a man. Gruff, firm, not friendly. Likely a Talamon exile. Most scavs are. Formerly of her clan, but there are few alliances within the walls.
$t[$m[Where did he come from? Was he always in here? Have I been baited?]]
She clenches her teeth and squeezes the Garand in her hands. What a fool she was to holster her pistol!
How did she stumble into a trap like this? Her mind races, but it doesn't take much thought to remember that her instincts had been screaming at her to turn back from the moment she entered the forest. Some primal part of her knew that she was being hunted all along.
Her eyes fell on the rifle in her hands. Maybe, by some stroke of luck ...
$m["It's empty, isn't it?"]
$h["Yup."]
Maya pulls the bolt back, revealing the Garand's chamber: empty as expected.
$t[$m[I am so fucking stupid.]]
$h["Drop it and put your hands behind your head."]
[[Maya gently sets the Garand back in its safe]] (if:$reset is true)[(text-color:green)[This pleases the hunter]]
[[Maya drops the Garand on the floor]] (if:$reset is true)[(text-color:red)[This does not]]{
(enchant: "Maya", (text-color: cyan))
(enchant: "Gayle", (text-color: orange))
(set: $hasbullet to true)
(set: $respect to it + 2)
}
**Maya gently sets the Garand back in its safe**
Carefully, Maya replaces the Garand in its safe. She snatches her lucky bullet back while she's there, then slowly stands back up.
$h["That's not what I told you to do."]
$m["Whatever you're planning for me, there's no need to bang up the Garand."]
The man behind her grunts in a roughly affirmative manner.
[["So which is it? Scav? Raider? Slaver? Hunter?"]]{
(enchant: "Maya", (text-color: cyan))
(enchant: "Gayle", (text-color: orange))
}
**Maya drops the Garand on the floor**
{(if: $doorkicked is true)[(set: $respect to it - 1)]
(else-if: $doorkicked is false)[(set: $respect to it)]}
In perfect compliance, Maya releases her grip on the Garand. It clatters to the wood floor. The sound hurts her ears, but that's the least of her worries now.
She searches for something to say, something to offer, or something to do, to keep herself alive.
[["So which is it? Scav? Raider? Slaver? Hunter?"]]{
(enchant: "Maya", (text-color: cyan))
(enchant: "Gayle", (text-color: orange))
}
**"So which is it? Scav? Raider? Slaver? Hunter?"**
$h["Hunter."]
Maya swallows hard. She's probably dead meat. $hasbullet[But she still has her lucky bullet, at least. She hasn't died with it yet.]
$h["Turn and strip."]
$m["Why? You see something you like?"]
$h["Undressing a limp carcass is a pain. I'm sure you understand."]
Mind still reeling, Maya pulls her hoodie over her head. Her sports bra lands in the pile behind it, then her shorts, then her boots and socks, and she hesitates for a moment with her thumbs hooked around the rim of her panties, glancing down at her lower half.
She might be able to make something happen yet.
$h["Don't touch that pistol."]
Maya still considers it, but leaves her pistol alone for now.
She steps out of her panties and drops them in the pile, then slowly interlocks her hands behind her head.
She turns slowly to face her captor, feeling her cheeks heat up. She's been naked in front of men before, but some girlish part of her mind still wishes she could cover herself up.
[Her captor]<c1| doesn't even look down. He meets her gaze with cold silver eyes and the muzzle of an XM7 rifle.
[$t[The silver-eyed man has curled brown hair, a short beard, and tanned skin revealed by black boots, baggy camouflage pants, and a sleeveless white shirt which reveals some of the most well-defined muscles Maya has ever seen.]](c1p| (click:?c1)[(show:?c1p)]
The Talamon clan had subjugated dozens of minor tribes, but Maya couldn't remember a single one which produced men like this. He had no horns, no tail, and his ears were rounded at the tips. He looked almost like what Gayle described as a man of Prehistoria.
$m["What are you?"]
The holster around Maya's thigh suddenly comes loose, and rather than clattering to the ground, her pistol zips over to the man's hand. Maya catches a glimpse of some sort of artifact strapped to the back of his hand. He taps it with a finger, and her pistol seems to settle in his palm.
$h["Human."]
Maya can feel her tail freeze in place.
Her heart pounds harder in her chest.
She can't fight a [Prehistorian]<d1|. |d2)[$t[This man is at least a thousand years old and lived to see the Grand City while it still functioned.]]
(click:?d1)[(show:?d2)]
Forcing her mind back into action, she has two rather impulsive ideas, and neither seem very likely to work.
[[Seduction<-Seduce]] (if:$reset is true)[(text-color:red)[The hunter does not lust for Ulvan girls]]
[[Respect<-Talk]] (if:$reset is true)[(text-color:green)[This endears Maya to the hunter]]{
(enchant: "Maya", (text-color: cyan))
(enchant: "Gayle", (text-color: orange))
}
**Seduction**
(set:$respect to it -1)
Maya is already naked, already completely at the Prehistorian's mercy. She knows her body should appeal to men, Human or not, but fear almost stops her tongue, and the confidence she fakes likely comes across as its opposite.
$m["Wanna have some fun before you take me out? You already got me naked, so--"]
{(if: $respect <= 0)[
$h["I don't fuck dogs."]]
(else-if: $respect>= 1)[
$h["No."]]
}
Maya's hopes wilt. She can't fight him. She can't seduce him. She can't run, though that's beginning to sound like her best option.
The Human catches her glancing toward potential exits.
$h["I intend to kill you quickly."] He lowers the barrel of her handgun to her bare midriff. $h["Unless you want to try something."]
[[Maya does, in fact, want to try something.]] (if:$reset is true)[(text-color:red)[How many bullets can she take?]]
[[kitchen<-Maya does nothing.]]{
(enchant: "Maya", (text-color: cyan))
(enchant: "Gayle", (text-color: orange))
}
**Talk**
(set:$respect to it + 1)
It's a long shot, but Maya grits her teeth through her fear and tries to think of anything to say.
She eventually lands back on pure curiosity.
$m["The forest is too quiet to be natural. That your doing?"]
$h["It is not."]
That leaves her more curious than before, but she doubts he'll answer that follow-up question.
$m["You were alive in the before-times?"]
He grunts in response.
$m["If you're going to kill me anyway, wanna tell me a bit about Prehistoria first?"]
The Human stares at her blankly. His eyes have never left hers. {(if: $respect is >= 2)[
$h["People everywhere,"] he says at length, $h["not my thing."]
]}
Maya is almost afraid to speak again, but the moment she opens her mouth, he cuts her off.
$h["That's enough. Walk."]
[[kitchen<-Following a gesture from the Human, Maya walks naked to the kitchen.]]{
(enchant: "Maya", (text-color: cyan))
(enchant: "Gayle", (text-color: orange))
}
**Following a gesture from the Human, Maya walks naked to the kitchen**
Being led naked at gunpoint into the kitchen [recontextualizes]<c1| both the large stain on the back wall and the cuts on the island table. |c1p)[$t[In a moment of morbid curiosity, Maya wonders what she tastes like.]] (click:?c1)[(show:?c1p)]
$h["Back to the wall. You know where."]
Maya lines up her own head with the bloodstain and faces the Human. Of course she's afraid. She's trembling all over, and |g1>[images of Gayle flash through her mind.] (click:?g1)[(show:?g1p)]|g1p)[$t[She digs further back to her life outside the walls ... but that life was over long ago, and now this one is coming to a close.]]
Gayle will be okay. She knows what to do if Maya fails to return, and despite her fearfulness and flinchy shooting, she's still more competent than Maya was in the early days of her |ex>[exile]. |exp)[$t[Besides, Gayle had survived alone in the two years it took Maya to find her, and claimed it was because nothing had ever attacked the places in which she found shelter. Maya trusts her sister, but she finds it hard to believe that's the whole story.]] (click:?ex)[(show:?exp)]
She measures the space between herself and the Human. He's placed himself as far away as possible. Even if she charges him in a mad dash, 30 rounds would stop her before she reaches him. Despite being an invincible Human, he's playing |sm>[smart.] |smp)[$t[Scavs had dashed their chances by getting close to her, showing her their cocks, groping her and reveling in their "victory" before they'd put a single round into her. Most of them were dead now. One had lost his left nut, but Maya had left him alive, perhaps unwisely. Hopefully that won't come back to bite Gayle.]] (click:?sm)[(show:?smp)]
$m["Well? What are you waiting for? I'm not gonna butcher myself!"]
The Human says nothing. He keeps his rifle pointed at Maya's head.
$m["Come on! //Shoot me!// //**Pull the fucking--**//"]
{
(if:$respect >= 1)[
[[Life<-The Human pulls the fucking trigger.]]](else-if:$respect <= 0)[
[[Death<-The Human pulls the fucking trigger.]]]
}
(if:$reset is true)[(text-color:yellow)[If Maya has endeared herself to the hunter, this link leads to a good ending. If not ...]]{
(enchant: "Maya", (text-color: cyan))
(enchant: "Gayle", (text-color: orange))
(set:$t to (opacity:0.5))
}
**Maya does, in fact, want to try something**
She recalls where the machete hangs on the wall.
Maya has been shot before. Dozens of times.
$m[$t[How many more rounds can this Human possibly pump into me before I cut his throat?]]
Across the room, a smile creeps across the Human's face.
$h["Your tail has a lot to say, (if:$doorkicked is true)[Bitch](else-if:$doorkicked is false)[Ulvan]."]
Maya lunges for the machete.
She grabs its handle before the Human can respond.
Four deafening gunshots fill the small room.
$h[POP POP POP POP]
Each pop sends a jolt through Maya, but she doesn't drop until she tries to turn around.
She hits the floor and quickly scrambles to rise, only to slip on the blood leaking from her mangled left hand.
Her right hand, in which she held the machete, lays [dismembered on the floor beside her.]<hand| (click:?hand)[(replace:?hand)[dismembered on the floor beside her $t[with a shot so clean Maya would have admired it had she not been on the receiving end.]]]
Despite the adrenaline coursing through her body, Maya has to clench her teeth to keep from screaming in pain. Breathing hard and writhing on the floor, she manages to roll onto her belly and rise to her knees, though even that is painful given two of the shots hit her legs.
$m["Why ..."] she gasps through clenched teeth, $m["... if you can shoot my hand off ... why no headshot?"]
The Human holds his rifle in a casual low-ready.
$h["I offered a headshot. You refused it."]
Three rounds smack into Maya's belly. She doubles over, screaming.
Three more rounds sink into her back. Just breathing suddenly becomes very painful.
She collapses onto her side, breathing raspy and eyes shut tight against the [pain.]<p1| |p2)[$t[There's a certain thrill to pain and vulnerability, but like all thrills, it's the positive side of a very risky coin to flip. Without her hand, she's already not getting out of this cabin in one piece, but at this point she doubts she'll make it out at all.]] (click:?p1)[(show:?p2)]
She feels a boot press against the side of her head, pinning her to the floor.
$m["What ..."] She coughs. Blood splatters on the ground in front of her mouth. $m["... gonna shoot me again? ... I got plenty of blood left ..."]
$h["You really don't."]
She can't see what he does behind her, but she feels the Human grab her tail, twist it, and then the flat of his machete rests against her lower back.
With one quick motion, he cuts her tail off.
Blood bubbles out of Maya's mouth as she tries to scream again. She writhes against the Human's foot, trying to wiggle out from under him. But she has very little strength left to spare, and his boot stays firmly on her head.
{
(if:$courage is true)[
[[Together<-He begins to press down.]]
](else-if:$courage is false)[
[[Head crush<-He begins to press down.]]
]
}
(if:$reset is true)[(text-color:red)[If Gayle stayed home, Maya dies alone. If Gayle is nearby, the sisters are reunited.]]{
(enchant: "Maya", (text-color: cyan))
(enchant: "Gayle", (text-color: orange))
(click:?a1)[(show:?a2)]
(click:?b1)[(show:?b2)]
(click:?d1)[(show:?d2)]
}
**The Human pulls the fucking trigger**
[Maya's ears ring.]<a1|
|a2)[$m[$t[... I can still hear?]]]
She opens her eyes and stares at the Human, whose gun is still trained |b1>[on her head. ][$t[Or on the wall just beside it.]](b2|
Maya waits several seconds. $m["You didn't miss that shot."]
$h["Correct. Stay there if you want to live."]
The Human steps out of her line of sight. She considers |c1>[bolting for the window.](click:?c1)[(replace:?c1)[bolting for the window, $t[but has a feeling she would bolt right into the Human's crosshairs and squander the chances she still has.]]]
He returns several seconds later with a black bundle in one hand and his rifle still in the other.
He throws the bundle at her.
$h["Dress. Quickly."]
Hurriedly, Maya pulls her clothes back on. Her thigh holster is there, but she can see the outline of her Five-seveN through the Human's pocket.
Pulling her hoodie back on, she waits for the Human's instructions. He drops his rifle to low-ready and motions for her to approach him.
Cautiously, she steps around the |d1>[island table]|d2)[ $t[where she suspects she was about to be butchered]] and steps in front of the Human where he indicates with a gesture.
$h["You're bait. Survive and you're free to go. Run and I'll shoot you."]
[[He leads her outside with a gun to her back.]]{
(enchant: "Maya", (text-color: cyan))
(enchant: "Gayle", (text-color: orange))
(set:$reset to true)
}
**The Human pulls the fucking trigger**
Maya doesn't hear the round that [passes through her forehead.]<a1|(click:?a1)[(replace:?a1)[passes through her forehead, $t[nor does she see her ejected brains paint a fresh splotch of blood on the stained wall behind her.]]]
She does feel her body failing her. Her legs buckle. Her arms drop to her sides. Vision blinks out of one eye. As she falls backward, she can see, but cannot feel, an arc of red (if:$milk is true)[and white] following her to the ground.
$t[She lays on the floor, body twitching. Her consciousness blinks in and out. Limbs weakly obey her commands in one moment and fail the next. (if:$milk is true)[She can vaguely see sprinkles of white spraying gently upward, courtesy of the milkberries she ate on her way through the forest.]]
$t[$h["If only they were all so easy."]]
$t[Darkness eats away at the corners of Maya's vision. She sees the Human approaching her, and feels him pick up her dying body. He dumps her unceremoniously on the island table, rummages around on the counter, and produces a bright silver cleaver.]
$t[$t[$m["Ah ..."]]]
$t[$t[Sounds escape Maya's lips, though she has no control over them. The remaining conscious part of her mind is fading by the time the Human raises his cleaver over her neck.]]
$t[$t[$t[She hears a sharp **thunk**.]]]
$t[$t[$t[$t[... and all her struggles are over.]]]]
The Human lifts the (if:$doorkicked is false)[Ulvan female's](else-if:$doorkicked is true)[bitch's] severed head by her hair. Her tongue hangs from her mouth, blue eyes unseeing, blood dripping from her neck.(if:$milk is true)[
He glances down at her body and squeezes one of her leaking breasts. Warm milk sprays out over his fingers, and he quickly lets go before he wastes it. Milk is a rare, precious resource. Maybe he would have been better off enslaving the (if:$doorkicked is false)[Ulvan](else-if:$doorkicked is true)[bitch], but as durable as her kind is, there's no bringing her back from this without expending an artifact far rarer than milk. (if:$doorkicked is true)[Besides, she had kicked in his freshly installed door. She deserved her fate.]]
He walks over to the hallway window, peels it open, and (if:$doorkicked is false)[with a flick of his wrist sends the Ulvan's head flying out into the grass.](else-if:$doorkicked is true)[punts the bitch's head out into the forest.]
He turns back to her carcass lying limp on the table.
$h["Right then, let's get to work."]
(if:$courage is true)[He takes one step back toward the kitchen, but hears a knock on his door.
[[Gayle's Death<-Strange ...]]
]
[[Home<-Restart]] (text-colour:red)[Dead End]{
(enchant: "Maya", (text-color: cyan))
(enchant: "Gayle", (text-color: orange))
}
**He begins to press down**
The window shatters.
The Human stumbles, leaving Maya several precious seconds to act, though she's far too weak to take advantage of it. She lays there, helpless, as two more shots ring out.
One more strikes the Human.
Muttering something in a Prehistorian language, he smashes his fist against one of his belt pouches and vanishes entirely.
The third bullet meant for him instead ricochets off one of the knives on the wall and buries itself in the floor beside Maya.
She twists around, painfully and slowly, trying to see what's happening around her. She can't see the Human anywhere, and if he had taken any damage from those bullets, then his blood didn't look any different from hers. And there was a //lot// of hers.
She hears the front door swing open a moment later, and in comes Gayle.
She holds her carbine at high ready, looks right, then left, sees Maya on the floor, and freezes for a moment before running to her side.
$m["No ... he's still here ..."]
Gayle checks over her shoulder, but returns her attention to Maya. Though she remains silent, tears form in her eyes as she takes in her sister's injuries. Her fingers fall on a hole in Maya's chest, just left of center.
$m["Don't cry. It'll take more than this ..."]
Gayle wraps her arms around Maya and holds her tightly.
$g["Don't leave me."]
$m["... I won't."]
Maya reaches her arms around to hug her sister. She sees the Human standing just behind Gayle, muzzle pressed against her head. Surely Gayle can feel it.
Gayle glances behind her, but she makes no move to resist the Human. She closes her eyes, and as her vision begins to fade, Maya closes hers.
[[She slips quietly into darkness.]]{
(enchant: "Maya", (text-color: cyan))
(enchant: "Gayle", (text-color: orange))
(set:$reset to true)
}
**He begins to press down**
$m["No ..."]
He kicks her onto her back and stares down at her for a moment. She tries to look defiant, but half the sounds she's making are sobs to accompany the tears pouring down her cheeks and the other half are unintelligible moans of pain. She's never been hurt this badly before, and it's long since dawned on her that she'll never be hurt this badly, or at all, ever again.
$h["Mercy?"]
$m["Please ..."]
The Human raises his foot and brings it down hard on Maya's face.
$t[Her struggles are over.]
The Ulvan (if:$doorkicked is true)[bitch](else-if:$doorkicked is false)[female] died in one stomp, but the Human gave her three to be sure.
Peering down at the mulch of gore that used to be her head, he wonders if he shouldn't have chopped her head off instead. It would have been easier to clean.
Regardless, he peels her bloody carcass off the floor and carries it to the kitchen to extract the bullets and drain what little blood she hadn't sprayed all over his living room.
He'll have to plant a new tree tomorrow.
For now, he grabs his knife and gets to work.
[[Home<-Restart]] (text-colour:red)[Dead End 3]{
(enchant: "Maya", (text-color: cyan))
(enchant: "Gayle", (text-color: orange))
}
**She slips quietly into darkness**
Maya never gets to hear the report of the gun. Her vision fades first, and then the rest of her senses follow close behind.
$t[This isn't such a bad death after all,$t[ to die in $t[Gayle's arms ...]]]
[[But Gayle's not ready to let go]]''1.1''
Fixed several formatting errors
Altered milkberry scenes to improve characterization
Kicking in the door is no longer a death sentence when the kitchen route is chosen
Adjusted the Human's abilities to maintain a grounded setting
Rewrote Good End 3 with additional context (and more Gayle action)
Good End (1) is now a Dead End
Good End 2, the True Ending, has been expanded with several new passages
Added foreshadowing to earlier scenes to set up the True Ending
''1.0''
Initial release
[[Home]]{
(enchant: "Maya", (text-color: cyan))
(enchant: "Gayle", (text-color: orange))
}
**A knock on the door**
$h[$t[Did she have friends with her? Just how many scavs wandered into my forest?]]
$h["Enter."]
The door does not open. Instead, he turns to the window to find himself staring down the barrel of an M4 Carbine.
$g["One for my sister."]
Surprised, the Human slaps a hand against one of his belt pouches, shattering the rare artifact inside.
In a blink, he finds himself outside the window, behind his |g1>[would-be assassin.]
|g2)[$t[She's a small Ulvan girl with long black hair, a fluffy tail, and a plain white sundress. For a moment before warping he'd seen warm amber eyes behind her barrel.]] (click:?g1)[(show:?g2)]
She'd only fired two shots before realizing her target was no longer there. Rather than panicking, she pivots on the spot and would have caught the Human had he not immediately begun to move with her pivot, quietly keeping in her blind spot.
The Ulvan girl turns and dashes back for the trees without a sound. With a quiet sigh of relief, the Human carefully lines up his sights and squeezes off two shots.
She falls hard, crying out in pain and clutching at her thigh and [lower stomach]<b1|. |b2)[$t[One shot to the pelvic bowl is usually enough to drop Humanoids, but the Human gave her two for safety. If he's killed her sister, he's not about to risk underestimating a grieving Ulvan no matter how small.]](click:?b1)[(show:?b2)]
He gives her no time to recover, though even as he lines up another shot, she's rolled over and placed her back against a small tree, and is raising her carbine to her shoulder with one shaky hand.
She sees him now.
But uninjured and with both hands to work with, he aims faster.
He puts one clean round through the little Ulvan's head.
Checking his shattered warp stone, he jogs over to the girl, who writhes against the tree, alive purely by Ulvan resilience.
$h["You fought well, Kid. Sorry."]
For a fleeting moment, the girl's eyes focus on him. She makes unintelligible sounds in her throat and blood drips from her nose. One of her ears twitches repeatedly, and her hands grope weakly at her carbine.
$h[$t[Let's make this quick.]]
Though he's reluctant to waste even more ammo, the Human puts five mercy shots through the Ulvan girl's head.
The small tree behind the girl creaks, bends, and topples over with a crash, catching the branches of several more beside it and nearly bringing them down as well.
Silence once again falls over the forest as the Human's dampeners kick in. The Ulvan girl is completely limp now. Her struggle is over, and though he's not thrilled at the circumstances, the Human now has a new rifle and more meat for the freezer.
He'll have to plant three new trees later.
]
[[Home<-Restart]] (text-colour:red)[Dead End 2]
{
(enchant: "Maya", (text-color: cyan))
(enchant: "Gayle", (text-color: orange))
}
**But Gayle's not ready to let go**
Gayle feels her sister go limp in her arms.
But her heart is still beating.
Gayle, who always stood behind her sister, gently rests Maya on the floor. She can feel the muzzle of the Human's rifle pressed against the back of her head. Terror rushes through her body, threatening to immobilize her.
But she has to do something.
Maya can't do it for her.
She can't turn and shoot. She'll be dead in seconds and then no one will help Maya.
Slowly, keeping her hands away from the trigger, she ejects her magazine. Then she grabs the bolt and yanks it back.
Her last live round of 5.56 clatters onto the floor.
$h["What are you planning, Ulvan?"]
$g["... can I trade you this for bandages?"]
Slowly, she turns around, slips the strap over her shoulders, and offers her empty carbine to the Human. His expression remains blank. His muzzle remains aimed at her head.
Panicking, she hurriedly goes to shrug off her shoulder holster as well, but the Human speaks, interrupting her.
$h["How much is she worth to you?"]
$g["Anything I have, I will give you."]
$h["Would you trade your life for hers?"]
Gayle nods.
The Human says nothing.
Gayle's heart pounds in her chest, expecting her life to blink away in an instant.
It doesn't.
The Human drops his rifle to a collapsed low ready, finally aiming the muzzle away from Gayle's head. He reaches out and takes her carbine, then fishes a syringe from a belt pouch.
$h["Your gun for her life."]
Gayle takes the syringe.
[[She stabs it into Maya's thigh ...]]{
(enchant: "Maya", (text-color: cyan))
(enchant: "Gayle", (text-color: orange))
(set:$reset to true)
}
**... and time passes**
Maya wakes up.
The pain wakes up with her.
Immediately, she's reminded by the pain above her butt and the pain in her wrist that she's been chopped into three pieces.
When she brings her wrist stump in front of her, she finds it bandaged.
The rest of the world comes into focus then.
It's nighttime. She's back in the hideaway in the plains, and there's a fire crackling in the fireplace.
There's a weight on her chest.
She looks down to find Gayle curled up beside her, using her chest as a pillow. Her hands are still clasped as though she fell asleep mid-prayer.
Maya smiles and lets her eyes fall shut. With Gayle in her arms, she lets herself rest, and there she falls fast asleep.
[[Home<-Restart]] (text-colour:lime)[Good End 3]{
(enchant: "Maya", (text-color: cyan))
(enchant: "Gayle", (text-color: orange))
(click:?a1)[(show:?a2)]
(click:?b1)[(show:?b2)]
}
**He leads her outside with a gun to her back**
The forest's unnatural silence falls over her once again as she leaves the cabin. Looking up, she can't see the sun through the dark canopy, and after a few minutes, completely loses her sense of direction.
Every step she takes feels more wrong.
She considers [speaking]<a1| to ask the Human what they're hunting. |a2)[$t[Something deep within her instincts warns her against it.
And so she walks at gunpoint in absolute, eerie silence.]]
The Human stops in a clearing.
$h["Good luck, Ulvan."]
The Human's voice sounds distant and faded. Maya looks over her shoulder to find him barely five feet away.
He reaches into his pocket, produces Maya's Five-seveN, and tosses it over to her. She catches it, and he also tosses her two spare mags.
Maya slides the magazines into their slots in her thigh holster. She pulls her pistol's slide back just far enough to see that the round she chambered back at the hideout is still there, then holds the gun at low ready and looks around the trees.
The Human has already vanished into the darkness.
Maya's instincts shout at her to [get out of the clearing]<b1|. |b2)[$t[In fact she wants to flee from the forest as quickly as she can because every minute she stays out here feels more like she's being hunted by something much more terrifying than a man with a gun, even if he is a thousand-year-old Human of Prehistoria.]]
She takes a deep breath to settle her nerves. It doesn't work, but she at least finds it easier to maintain her sight picture.
//Suddenly, there is no sound anymore.//
Previously, Maya could hear herself breathe, and could hear her hands sliding along the metal and polymer of her pistol, but all of those sounds are gone now. She can't even hear her own teeth clench.
Her insincts haven't given up on begging her to run, but there's another part of them, maybe |a1>[a little less sensible], that wants to see what this creature of silence really is. |a2)[$t[This less sensible part of her would also really like to kill such a creature, and wonders if she has enough ammo to do it.]]
She sweeps her sight picture around the forest, but all she sees is trees and darkness.
This unnaturally silent, scentless forest remains dark as night in the middle of the day.
She's standing in the middle of a clearing. Surely there should be //some// sunlight filtering through the canopy here.
Maya looks up.
(if:$courage is true)[
[[Gayle breaks the silence<-And there she sees the creature of silence]]
] (else-if:$courage is false)[
[[Maya devoured<-And there she sees the creature of silence]]
]
(if:$reset is true)[(text-colour:lime)[If Gayle is nearby, the creature of silence is stoppable]. (text-colour:red)[If not ...]]{
(enchant: "Maya", (text-color: cyan))
(enchant: "Gayle", (text-color: orange))
(set:$reset to true)
(click:?a1)[(show:?a2)]
(click:?b1)[(show:?b2)]
}
**And there she sees the creature of silence**
Directly over her head is a floating |a1>[creature] unlike any Maya has seen. |a2)[
$t[A wavy transparent disc floats just below the canopy. Hundreds of tendrils hang from the corners of its body, and in the center is a strange toothy maw that seems to disappear and reappear from the monster's body as Maya observes it.]]
Even as she watches, the creature's hundreds of tendrils, previously soft and flexible, seem to solidify and become both hard and sharp.
Maya whips her pistol upward.
The creature of silence drops like a stone, straight onto her head.
She squeezes her trigger. Each //pop// of the pistol breaks a small bubble in the silence, now visible to Maya's eyes like an underwater explosion.
She counts seven shots before the creature engulfs her.
Horrific pain lashes through her body as spikes skewer her lower half, and for just a moment, she feels a piercing, crushing pain all over her head and torso.
The next moment, [Maya is gone]<b1|. |b2)[
$t[The Human's finger rests on his trigger, but he does not fire. It's already too late.
The unfortunate Ulvan woman doesn't have time to scream. Seven muzzle flashes, a momentary struggle, and then the silent creature's transparent body allows the Human to watch in gruesome detail as the Ulvan's torso is crushed in the creature's maw as it begins to chew, grinding her to mulch likely faster than her mind can process the pain.
Her legs kick weakly for several seconds, but given that the Human can see the pink masses of her brain floating into the creature's body, it's likely a post-mortem response.
$h[$t[Tough luck, Ulvan. I'll plant a tree for you later.]]
The Human had intended to give her a fighting chance, but even he hadn't known how quickly it would descend upon her. Perhaps it recognized her pistol as a threat which didn't exist on the animals it usually ate, and neutralized the source as quickly as possible.
The Human backs away, keeping his eyes locked on the creature as it devours the Ulvan's remains. She wasn't particularly large for her race, so it won't take the creature long to finish.
It's going to take him a lot more effort than he thought to capture this thing.]]
[[Home<-Restart]] (text-colour:red)[Dead End]{
(enchant: "Maya", (text-color: cyan))
(enchant: "Gayle", (text-color: orange))
}
**And there she sees the creature of silence**
Directly over her head is a floating |a1>[creature] unlike any Maya has seen. |a2)[
$t[A wavy transparent disc floats just below the canopy. Hundreds of tendrils hang from the corners of its body, and in the center is a strange toothy maw that seems to disappear and reappear from the monster's body as Maya observes it.]]
She whips her pistol up to tag it.
The creature lunges down toward her.
Maya squeezes her trigger.
Seven pops pierce the unnatural silence, visibly expanding it like underwater explosions, and for seven fleeting moments, Maya can hear again before the creature engulfs her.
$m[$t[I'm about to die.]]
Explosions rip through the air.
The silence shatters, and as long as the ear-piercing reports of an automatic rifle reach her ears, Maya can hear.
Above her, the creature of silence folds over itself in a defensive posture. Each bullet impact sends a ripple through its entire body, and each bullet visibly lodges itself in the creature's body like ballistic gel.
Maya snaps out of her shock and, as the Human stops to reload, dumps her magazine as fast as she can pull the trigger.
The creature hits a tree and squishes against it like a water balloon around a stick.
Then it launches itself back at Maya.
Maya ducks and rolls aside, but the huge creature catches her legs and sends her spinning into a tree.
She screams, and thanks to the echoing reports of gunfire, she can hear herself.
There's a bone sticking out of her right leg, but the pain registers dull in her mind as she slams a fresh mag into her pistol and raises it to fire again.
The silent creature rebounds off another tree and comes at Maya once again.
This time, Maya can hear three distinctive reports: one from her pistol, and two from rifles, one slightly larger and louder than the other.
Considering her duty as bait fulfilled, Maya pushes herself back into the trees with one hand and her remaining functional leg. She has no doubt that the silent creature can get her through the trees, but some concealment is surely better than none.
Between the three shooters, the creature is almost never free to move.
Every second, its body fills up with more and more bullets.
Maya's Five-seveN clicks empty.
She reaches for a new mag to find herself dry.
The creature is still floating, tendrils still moving.
She braces herself and hurls her empty pistol at it.
The creature falls still.
At least thirty more rounds pump into its corpse before both rifles on either side of Maya go quiet.
[[True Ending<-Footsteps approach Maya from either side]]{
(enchant: "Maya", (text-color: cyan))
(enchant: "Gayle", (text-color: orange))
(set:$reset to true)
}
(click:?a1)[(show:?a2)]
(click:?b1)[(show:?b2)]
**Footsteps approach Maya from either side**
The pair on the left is quick and light, running toward her.
The pair on the right is heavy and slow.
Maya props herself against a tree and peers to her left to see who besides the Human |a1>[came to her rescue]. |a2)[$t[Though there's really only one person it could be.]]
Gayle's face appears from behind a large tree.
$g["Maya!"]
Gayle scampers over to Maya, letting her carbine fall loose in its strap. She goes to hug her sister, but looks down at Maya's leg and stops in her tracks. Her eyes go wide, and she begins ruffling through her bag
$g["Hold on ... I have bandages ... you'll be okay ..."]
$h["Bandage her after this,"] says the Human, approaching from the right. Both Maya and Gayle look up at him. He produces a syringe from one of his belt pouches and in one swift motion james it into Maya's upper thigh.
Maya flinches, but doesn't resist as the Human grabs her shoulders and slowly lowers her onto her back.
$h["Girl. Give her a stick to bite."]
Gayle offers slides a stick between Maya's teeth, then offers her hand. Maya takes it and squeezes.
The human snaps her broken leg bone back into place.
Maya yelps, then snaps her mouth shut around the stick and clenches hard against excruciating pain. She can hear an involuntary whine from Gayle's throat her as she crushes her little sister's hand in her grip. Her own involuntary noises are much less subtle.
$h["Bandages. Now."]
Wincing, Gayle hands over the bandages from her bag. The human works on her leg, and Maya |b1>[squeezes her eyes shut]. |b2)[$t[This is by far the most pain she's felt in her life. She can't imagine how it would feel without adrenaline coursing through her body.]]
$h["Breathe, Ulvan."]
Maya opens her eyes and takes a deep breath. Her leg still hurts like hell, but it's wrapped up in a snug splint.
She lays hear head back against the dirt, breathing deeply and staring up at the sky through the canopy.
$g["Are you okay? Do you need anything?"]
Without waiting for a response, Gayle slings her carbine over her shoulder and scoots her thighs under Maya's head, providing a lap pillow. From there, she watches the Human poke around at the silent creature's corpse. He counts on his fingers, keeping a tally of something. Probably bullets.
Gayle passively strokes Maya's hair. It feels good.
$g["Were you scared?"]
Maya was. But since she had won, the part of her which felt absolutely thrilled at having killed such a durable opponent was currently running a victory lap in her mind.
$m["I'm glad you came."]
$g["I had to. I was scared you wouldn't come back, and I'd never see you again."]
Maya smiles. She turns her attention back to the Human, who presently slices off a piece of the creature's flesh with a knife and places it in a bag. He glances back at Maya and Gayle and trudges back toward them.
$m["What //was// that thing?"]
$h["A juvenile Silencer. We wouldn't have survived an adult."]
He looks at Gayle, and though his expression doesn't visibly change, Maya can feel him soften somewhat. He reaches out and ruffles her hair between her ears.
$h["Good shooting, Kid. What's your name?"]
$g["I'm Gayle Talamon. This is my sister Maya."]
$h["If your sister can keep her hands off my things(if:$doorkicked is true)[ and her foot off my door], you're welcome to rest in my cabin until she's recovered."]
$m["... sorry about that. "]
$h["You're forgiven. Come."]
With Gayle's help, Maya climbs onto the Human's back. Together, the trio walks back toward the cabin.
On the way back, Maya rests. With her eyes closed, she can hear Gayle excitedly asking the Human about his rifle, and a surprisingly receptive Human responds far more kindly than he ever had to her. But that's not too surprising. Gayle didn't try to steal the man's gun, after all.
She feels herself drifting off, and resists it at first, but at length decides to let herself rest.
Thoroughly exhausted, Maya falls fast asleep on the Human's back.
[[Home<-Restart]] (text-colour:lime)[''True Ending''
(to be continued in chapter 1)]