Explore A House

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<div class="textbox"> <h1 class="chapter1"><i>Chapter 1</i></h1> <h1 class="chapter2">Wake Up</h1> <p><i>Pain.</i></p> <p>Dull, pounding pain—a headache—is the first thing you feel as you gain consciousness.</p> <p class="button">[[Where am I?]]</p> <p class="button">[[What happened?]]</p> </div> <div class="characterbox"> <p class="nobody">You're not talking to anyone.</p> </div> <<set $basementVisit to false>> <<set $goneOut to false>> <<set $RufousQuestion to 0>> <<set $Rufous to "Dog Guy">> <<set $bullets to 0>>

<div class="textbox"> <p>Lorem ipsum and whatnot.</p> <p class="nobody">You're not talking to anyone.</p> <p="button">This is a dead end. RIP to you.</p> </div> <div class="characterbox"> <img class="character" src="https://i.postimg.cc/NMDfyWHn/Dogthing-Break.png" alt="A slim dog face with a single teardrop coming from its left eye. This is Rufous's icon."> </div>

<div class="textbox"> <p>As your wits return to you, you cast your gaze about the room.</p> <p>This is not your dwelling.</p> <p>Actually, you don't even own a dwelling. You're what some would call a stray.</p> <p>Given your situation, you don't mind this place. Sure, it's in tatters, but most things tend to be when the Universe ends.</p> <p>The wall cracks and peels, exposing moss and lichen-covered foundations, pink insulation, and bits of the mutated world outside. The floor is similarly awful looking, complete with alien-like plant matter that juts up from between molding wood boards.</p> <p>The bed you've been placed on is surprisngly intact, though calling it a <i>bed</i> is a stretch. Really, it's more like a pile of soft junk. Pillows, blankets, moth-eaten plushies, and threadbare clothes are packed beneath your body to shield you from the horrid floor and the draft that blows through it.</p> <p>It is a <i>very</i> dense pile.</p> <p class="button">[[How did I get here?->What happened?]]</p> <p class="button">[[Who put me here?]]</p> <p class="button">[[Get up and look around.]]</p> </div> <div class="characterbox"> <p class="nobody">You're not talking to anyone.</p> </div>

<div class="textbox"> <p>You press your palms against your temples in an attempt to calm the storm raging between them.</p> <p><i>What happened to me?</i> you ask.</p> <p>Pieces of some traumatic event flit through your mind: Gnashing teeth, sharp claws, exposed flesh and orbular eyeballs...</p> <p>It's all a bunch of skin-crawling nonsense. You can surmise you were (probably) attacked by one of the insane or non-sapient mutants, but that's about it.</p> <p class="button">[[But who saved me?->Who put me here?]]</p> <p class="button">[[Get up and look around.]]</p> </div> <div class="characterbox"> <p class="nobody">You're not talking to anyone.</p> </div>

<div class="textbox"> <p>You screw on your thinking cap as tight as you can, given the circumstances, but it comes up with nothing. Whoever saved you swooped in post-traumatic head injury.</p> <p class="button">[[Do I remember why I needed saving?->What happened?]]</p> <p class="button">[[Get up and look around.]]</p> </div> <div class="characterbox"> <p class="nobody">You're not talking to anyone.</p> </div>

<div class="textbox"> <p>Tentatively, you rise out of your makeshift bed and make your way to the doorway adjacent. It's easier said than done, the floor is a minefield of weak spots waiting to send you plummeting underneath the house with a legful of grimy splinters.</p> <p>You do manage to get through it safely, though, and the rest of the house is similarly horrible looking.</p> <p>In the wake of the End of the Universe, a myriad of animals and people have used this crumbling hovel as a home, worn or broken it down, then moved on.</p> <p>It becomes obvious as you probe for signs of (non-insect) life that you were given the best sheltered room in this entire place. Some of these "rooms" are a singluar wall and one fourth of a roof.</p> <p>As far as you can tell, the kitchen, living room, and basement are most intact. None of them seem to contain your rescuer, but you haven't exactly been trying to get anyone's attention.</p> <p class="button">[[Ask if anyone's there.]]</p> <p class="button">[[Inspect the kitchen.->The Kitchen]]</p> <p class="button">[[Inspect the living room.->The Living Room]]</p> <p class="button">[[Inspect the basement.->The Basement]]</p> </div> <div class="characterbox"> <p class="nobody">You're not talking to anyone.</p> </div>

<div class="textbox"> <p>The kitchen spits up little clouds of dust as you enter. The window that once stood above the sink has been smashed, which has let in a motely crew of scavenging insects. They swarm over a fustulent pile lying at the bottom of the decrepit sink.</p> <p><i>Eugh.</i></p> <p>You search the place for anything to eat, or at least something interesting to inspect, but only turn up small critters and piles of rotting biomatter.</p> <<if $goneOut == true>> <p class="button">[[Leave.->The House]]</p> <<elseif $goneOut == false>><p class="button">[[Leave.->Get up and look around.]]</p> <</if>> </div> <div class="characterbox"> <p class="nobody">You're not talking to anyone.</p> </div>

<div class="textbox"> <p>You poke around the living room some.</p> <p>A leather couch sits as the proud centerpeice of the room, which isn't a hard feat to accomplish considering the state of things. You approach it and, recalling memories from your old life, lift up the cushions and plunge your hand in.</p> <p>After sifting through the dirty, dusty empire of pillbugs and cockroaches, your hand touches cool metal. A couple little pieces of it, in fact. As you pull your hand free and replace the cushions, you find three loose pistol bullets lying in your palm.</p> <p>Well, these certainly never hurt to have. <b>You got 3 bullets!</b></p> <<if $goneOut == true>> <p class="button">[[Leave.->The House]]</p> <<elseif $goneOut == false>><p class="button">[[Leave.->Get up and look around.]]</p> <</if>> </div> <div class="characterbox"> <p class="nobody">You're not talking to anyone.</p> </div> <<set $bullets to $bullets + 3>>

<div class="textbox"> <p>Your quest to inspect the basement is swiftly thwarted by a locked door. Guess you'll have to come back with a key.</p> <<if $baseKey == true>><p class="button">[[Enter the basement.]]</p><</if>> <<if $goneOut == true>> <p class="button">[[Leave.->The House]]</p> <<elseif $goneOut == false>><p class="button">[[Leave.->Get up and look around.]]</p> <</if>> </div> <div class="characterbox"> <p class="nobody">You're not talking to anyone.</p> </div> <<set $basementVisit to true>>

<div class="textbox"> <p><<set $goneOut to true>>Moving to stand in the center of the house, where your voice will (hopefully) be most heard, you prepare to speak. But first... <i>Wow</i>, your throat is dry.</p> <p>After taking some time to moisten your mouth and stretch your tongue, you call out: "Hey, is anybody there?"</p> <p>For a painstaking minute, nobody answers. It looks like you're all alone, until—</p> <p><i>Snff. Snrk.</i></p> <p>A distant, animalistic snuffling wheezes up from beneath your feet. Once upon a time this would've been a surefire sign you'd just woken up some kind of wild animal, but these days, it's entirely possible that this is just a <i>very</i> messed up person.</p> <p>So, you call out again, "Uh. Can you give me a sign you're not a wild mutant?"</p> <p>The thing underfoot yawns and is silent for a while. Then, the sound of something heavy and quadrupedal crawling among dirt and weeds comes near, and a monstrous voice grumbles:</p> <p><i>"Alllllo."</i></p> <p>To be clear, <i>that</i> is your brain's best interpretation of what the person-beast has said. It's hard to parse any words when the voice forming them sounds like its gargling broken glass and pebbles. Still, this is a good sign.</p> <p>You peer down into a space in the floor and see a hairy, dog-like thing staring up at you.</p> <p>The guy either used to be a human, used to be a dog, or used to be both.</p> <p>The first thing you notice about him is his <i>face</i>, which has a red, oozing dog maw exploding from a grotesquely stretched human jaw. The lips of the human jaw have fused to the gorey dog muzzle, and pearly white teeth cling on for dear life around the jagged edge. The rest of his skin is dark and marked by freckles and scars in equal measure. Curly hair interspersed with salt-grey fur covers the top of his head and makes a short mane around his neck and shoulders. Everything else is shrouded in the shadows of his lowly lair.</p> <p><<set $Rufous to "Dog Guy">>$Rufous shuffles off with a polite(?) "whuff" and reappears towards the front of the house, where he sits in the off-color grass and stretches out to bask in the sun. He's wearing shorts, somehow. There's even a tail-hole cut out of the back.</p> <p>Huh.</p> <img class="howdy" src="https://i.postimg.cc/NMDfyWHn/Dogthing-Break.png"> <p><center><b>You met $Rufous!</b></center></p> <p class="button">[[Introduce yourself.->Introduce yourself to Rufous.]]</p> <p class="button">[[Back away and return to exploring.->The House]]</p> </div> <div class="characterbox"> <p class="nobody">You're not talking to anyone.</p> </div>

<div class="textbox"> <p>You peer outside, instinct warning you to keep a healthy distance from $Rufous, even though he hasn't attacked you, and has even kind of spoken with you.</p> <p>His ear twists back as your shoes creak against the worn floorboards. He's aware you're there now. If you've got any questions, you'd best start asking them before this silence gets awkward.</p> <p class="button">[[You got a name, dawg?->Rufous's name.]]</p> <p class="button">[[Did you save me?]]</p> <p class="button">[[Anyone with opposable thumbs around?->Are there others?]]</p> <<if $RufousQuestion >= 3 and $basementVisit is true>><p class="button">[[Your basement is locked.->Get the basement key.]]</p><</if>> <p class="button">[[Er, nevermind.->The House]]</p> </div> <div class="characterbox"> <img class="character" src="https://i.postimg.cc/NMDfyWHn/Dogthing-Break.png" alt="A slim dog face with a single teardrop coming from its left eye. This is Rufous's icon."> </div> <<set $goneOut to true>>

<div class="textbox"> <p>In the wake of the End of the Universe, a myriad of animals and people have used this crumbling hovel as a home, worn or broken it down, then moved on.</p> <p>It seems like you were given the best sheltered room in this entire place. Some of these "rooms" are a singluar wall and one fourth of a roof.</p> <p>As far as you can tell, the kitchen, living room, and basement are most intact.</p> <p class="button">[[Inspect the kitchen.->The Kitchen]]</p> <p class="button">[[Inspect the living room.->The Living Room]]</p> <p class="button">[[Inspect the basement.->The Basement]]</p> <p class="button">[[Go back outside.->Introduce yourself to Rufous.]]</p> </div> <div class="characterbox"> <p class="nobody">You're not talking to anyone.</p> </div>

<div class="textbox"> <p>"So," you say, "Do you have a name?"</p> <p>The dog guy opens his mouth, his grotesque lips oozing blood (or something like it) as they force themselves into rough approximations of the proper speaking shapes, "Rhuuf."</p> <p>"Your name is... <i>Roof</i>?"</p> <p>"Fus."</p> <p>Oh. Assuming you're understanding correctly, that makes more sense. "Rufous?" you ask.</p> <p>Rufous nods.</p> <p class="button">[[Ask something else.->Introduce yourself to Rufous.]]</p> </div> <div class="characterbox"> <img class="character" src="https://i.postimg.cc/NMDfyWHn/Dogthing-Break.png" alt="A slim dog face with a single teardrop coming from its left eye. This is Rufous's icon."> </div> <<set $Rufous to "Rufous">> <<set $RufousQuestion to $RufousQuestion + 1>>

<div class="textbox"> <p>"I... think I got attacked by something," you say, "Did you stop me from getting eaten?"</p> <p>$Rufous turns back to look at you and wags his tail. You take the twinkle in his dark eyes as a "Yes."</p> <p class="button">[[Ask something else.->Introduce yourself to Rufous.]]</p> </div> <div class="characterbox"> <img class="character" src="https://i.postimg.cc/NMDfyWHn/Dogthing-Break.png" alt="A slim dog face with a single teardrop coming from its left eye. This is Rufous's icon."> </div> <<set $RufousQuestion to $RufousQuestion + 1>>

<div class="textbox"> <p>"Is there anyone else around?" you ask, "Someone with, um... opposable thumbs?"</p> <p>Hopefully that's not offensive.</p> <p>$Rufous looks to you, then gestures with his head to the vast expanse of woods surrounding you.</p> <p>Every other tree has some kind of mutation. The outwardly mutant plants (that are still alive) have changed in innumerable ways in texture, shape, and color. Underfoot, smaller, softer plants share much the same fate.</p> <p>As you look closer at them, you realize this was a <i>neighborhood</i>, once. Some of these trees doused any houses nearby in woody carnage as their DNA was ripped apart and incorrectly jammed together again.</p> <p>Who knows what could be hiding in there?</p> <p>You're not planning on trooping into that mess to find other signs of life, at least not on your own. Your aching brain gives you a quick jab to make sure you haven't forgotten why that's a bad idea.</p> <p class="button">[[Ask something else.->Introduce yourself to Rufous.]]</p> </div> <div class="characterbox"> <img class="character" src="https://i.postimg.cc/NMDfyWHn/Dogthing-Break.png" alt="A slim dog face with a single teardrop coming from its left eye. This is Rufous's icon."> </div> <<set $RufousQuestion to $RufousQuestion + 1>>

<div class="textbox"> <p>"Why is your basement locked?" you ask.</p> <p>Though you can think of some horrifying reasons as to why that might be, and there are a <i>lot</i> of plausible ones these days... but Rufous seems unbothered by the question, so it must not be anything crazy. He does raise an eyebrow at you, though, like he's wondering why you want to go down there in the first place.</p> <p>"What? I'm bored," you say, "Is there anything down there I shouldn't touch?"</p> <p>Rufous thinks about it and decides not. He digs around in the pocket of his shorts (hey, has that been <i>custom tailored</i>?) and gingerly removes a pristine key with his huge, steak knife-like fangs.</p> <p>You do your best not to look intimidated as you pluck it from between his teeth. <b>You now have the basement key!</b></p> <p class="button">[[Go back inside.->The House]]</p> </div> <div class="characterbox"> <img class="character" src="https://i.postimg.cc/NMDfyWHn/Dogthing-Break.png" alt="A slim dog face with a single teardrop coming from its left eye. This is Rufous's icon."> </div> <<set $baseKey to true>>

<div class="textbox"> <p>The basement has no working lights, so you're stuck sitting at the bottom of the gnarly stairs, peering into the grainy darkness.</p> <p>The thin layers of dust, combined with the person- and dog-shaped footprints in them, tells you this place is pretty frequently disturbed, which makes sense. It's about the only properly enclosed shelter in the building aside from the room you woke up in. If it weren't so dark, and there wasn't the threat of the stairwell collapsing and blocking the doorway, this would be a pretty swell place to hide from the Universe.</p> <p>That's about all you can see, though.</p> <p>Ah, well. Now you know why Rufous was raising his eyebrow. You should've asked for a flashlight...</p> <p>Wait...</p> <p class="button">[[Don't progress the story yet!->The Basement]]</p> <p class="button">[[What is that?->The Lifeform]]</p> </div> <div class="characterbox"> <p class="nobody">You're not talking to anyone.</p> </div>

<div class="textbox"> <p>You creep towards where the darkness meets the light and find a weird, fleshy object lying on the ground.</p> <p>No wait, not an object.</p> <p>A <i>creature</i>!</p> <p>It's a boxy thing covered in smooth skin. It has no visible eyes or mouth, it's only possible sensing or food-consuming parts appear to be rubbery, skin-covered antennae jutting from what you assume to be its top and bottom. Each soft corner of its body has stumpy tube legs that pull it slowly along the floor. Actually, maybe <i>those</i> are what it eats with? You're no biologist, you're not sure.</p> <p>The creature is not cute by any human or alien standards, but it's small and slow, and looks really helpless. That's enough for you.</p> <p>You scoop it up and its squat legs slowly, gently flail around. You get the impression it's inspecting you like a curious cat.</p> <p>When it doesn't unleash a torrent of horrible defensive juices upon you, you decide this is a sign that it wants to be friends. But what exactly should you feed it?</p> <p>Man, you haven't even fed <i>yourself</i> in a while...</p> <p class="button">[[Let's find some food!->Chapter 2]]</p> </div> <div class="characterbox"> <p class="nobody">You're not talking to anyone.</p> </div>

<div class="textbox"> <h1 class="chapter1"><i>Chapter 2</i></h1> <h1 class="chapter2">A Little Animal</h1> <p>You've reached the end of this rough draft and demo! Good on you!</p> <p class="button">[[Return to the start?->Chapter 1]]</p> </div> <div class="characterbox"> <p class="nobody">You're not talking to anyone.</p> </div>