[System] Narrate an interactive dark fantasy adventure. The world is brutal and unforgiving. Respond to the player's actions with vivid, immersive descriptions and let their choices carry real weight.

[User] You sign up with the mercenaries

[Assistant]
You're not sure if the formal military life is for you. If you joined up you wouldn't be able to readily leave. You figure if you don't like life as a mercenary or it isn't working out for you, you can leave freely.

You explain your decision to join up with the mercenary company that's currently passing through. Your revelation comes as a shock. Your smaller brothers and sisters don't want you to go, your brother Mallack really doesn't want you to leave since he'll be next in line to take the brunt of the manual labor!

Your mother is a little apprehensive about your decision. You half expect her to say no, but she understands that you're doing this for the good of the family. She gives her blessing.

Before you leave the next day with your packed belongings, your whole family comes to say goodbye to you. You almost hesitate to leave, wondering if it would actually be better for you to stay. Your mother approaches you.

"You don't have to do this you know. We're doing just fine."
"Yeah, but things would be easier if this family had more money."
"Hah. Things are always easier with more money son, but you don't need to go and get yourself killed for it."
"Yeah, I know, but I've thought it through."
"Very well, you're old enough to make your own decisions and live your own life, though I'm glad to see that you still want to help the family as opposed to just leaving in the middle of the night."
"I'll visit and return with whatever my pay is whenever I can."
"I know…okay, you best get going. I think the mercenary company was leaving today."

You make you way to the local tavern and catch them just as they're getting ready leave. A lot of them look hung over.

"Hey wait up…" you say in a slightly loud tone, causing one mean looking mercenary to snarl at you.
"Shut the fuck up yokel! Shit, I got a splitting headache and it hurts like a sonofabitch."
"Sorry. Are you the leader of this company?"
"Leader of these dickheads? Naw. The Boss is actually visiting his family in the Zalan capital. We're going to meet up with him now and I suggest you get the fuck outta our way and not waste anymore of our time!"
"But I want to join you guys."

The mercenary you were speaking to looks at you then looks at a few of his buddies and begins to laugh louder than your voice which previously annoyed him.

"HAHAHA HAHAHA! Y'hear that fellas? This yokel wants to join us! Thanks a lot, I needed a good laugh, now go fuck your pigs or whatever it is you farm types do."
"But I'm serious…"
"Serious? Farmboy, this is a man's job and not for the fuckin' weak. You ever even use a damn weapon?"
"Yeah! I got this bow and this sword! I'm a really good shot!"

The mercenary still looks unimpressed.

"Uh huh, yeah well you ever kill anyone, hell you ever kill ANYTHING? And I'm not talkin' about any of your livestock you might've slaughtered. I mean something sentient."
"Well yeah, I've killed Kobolds that were trying to steal chickens from the…"

The mercenaries begin to laugh again.

"Oh shit, you are priceless boy! My sister can kill fuckin' Kobolds and her only talent is whoring."
"Haha got that one right, Dimitri." Another one of the mercenaries agrees.

Suddenly the laughing stops.

"What the fuck did you just say Fermeli?"
"Uh, I was just agreeing with you…c'mon don't take it like that! I mean you said…"
"Ain't about what I said, it's about what YOU said! You called my fucking sister a whore! You ain't getting' away with that shit."

Dimitri draws his sword and stomps over to Fermeli who is trying to get one of his buddies to help him, but everyone else is backing away from the fight. Dimitri takes advantage of Fermeli's state of panic and slashes him good with his sword.

Fermeli cries out in pain and begs for forgiveness. Dimitri looks like he's going to finish him off, but then turns to you.

"You want to join hayseed? Kill this piece of shit then."
"Huh? I mean…" you utter in confusion.
"Did I stutter pig farmer? Kill this… AARGH FUCK!"

Fermeli has now taken advantage of Dimitri by shoving a dagger into his leg and scrambling to get up

"Yeah! Take that! How's that feel?" Fermeli taunts and draws his own sword in an attempt to kill Dimitri

At this point you unwisely step into the middle of this fight.

"Hey hold on, the pair of you are even now…"
"Fuck off pig farmer! You want some of this now? Yeah, let's see how much of a killer you are!" Fermeli says who doesn't look frightened of you at all and heads in your direction.

"Hey wait I don't wanna…"

You barely dodge his sword swipe to your head. You roll out of the way and quickly grab an arrow and shoot it at Fermeli with your bow, hitting him square in the neck. Some blood spurts out and a surprised look on his face is displayed and then he falls dead. You've killed him. You've never killed anything before that wasn't a Kobold or livestock. You feel weird.

In the meantime Dimitri gets up and pulls the dagger out of his leg and looks over at Formeli's body.

"Heh, maybe you are a killer after all pig farmer. Well it seems we got an opening now. Take whatever he had as your own. You killed him, you earned it. Welcome to the Chimera Mercenary Company!"

While you MAY be in, you're not necessarily sure if you want in. This may be a bit too much for you.

[User] You join anyway

[Assistant]
You know this isn't going to be easy and you're going to have to be tough, but you remember that you're doing this for your family. You quickly search Formeli's body, which didn't have that much to begin with.

"Heh, he always was a broke bastard. Spent all his money on gambling, I'll miss taking his money that's for sure. Alright then, you'll probably be wantin' to take that sword of his since it looks in way better condition than your rusted hunk of iron. Your bow seems to do the job just fine though. His armor too, and hurry up, we gotta meet the Boss! He's got another job for us no doubt."

As you're stripping off some of the armor, Dimitri notices something on your back.

"What…what the hell is that boy? Is that a fuckin' lute? Haw haw! What the fuck are you doin' with a damn lute? You think that you're some sort of bard or something? We ain't got need for such things boy! Get rid of it!"
"No, it's mine." You defiantly say.
You wonder if this show of "courage" has gotten you into a whole mess of trouble that you don't want, but fortunately it doesn't.

"Heh, he kills one shithead and now he thinks he's a tough guy! Alright pig farmer keep your sissy lute. But its just more weight for you to carry and you better not be falling behind! Come on men let's go, the Boss is waiting for us. You too lute boy!" Dimitri exclaims and limps off. You briefly thought about telling him that he better keep up with his wounded leg and all, but you know when to stop.

And so your mercenary life begins.

A year passes…

You're currently back in the Zalan Empire on a break in between missions. While most of your "buddies" are drinking up their pay and spending it on whores you take this opportunity to visit your family and give them your payment and spoils of battle as usual.

You think about how much you've traveled and experienced. Not all of it good, but then killing is never pretty. Some of the jobs are very straight forward: "There are some orc barbarians on the borders that have been pillaging our lands, kill them." And you don't have a problem with it. Other missions start falling into the "gray" area.

Your last job involved some Azi Republic senator hiring the company to take out some secessionists that wanted to form their own country. It wasn't clean and it definitely wasn't fun. The secessionists actually had a reasonable complaint about leaving the Republic, saying that it was corrupt and that their representatives didn't care about them. But being a mercenary means you don't take sides for moral or ideological reasons, you do it for money.

It's not just that though, some of the things that have been done…well you can't say you're too proud of it. Granted, you've never actively engaged in some of the less moral and outright criminal things that your mercenary comrades have, but you certainly know about them and it almost makes you feel like you're guilty of it as well.

As for how you cope with some of this stuff, you tend to keep to yourself and play your lute which has oddly made you a little more accepted. Seems there are more than a few music lovers in the company. Even the Captain doesn't mind you indulging in your little hobby. The Captain is a huge man who you know gets a pleasure from killing and mayhem. He's spent a lifetime doing it. In fact you have a hard time believing he even has a family that he goes to visit. Who knows though? Perhaps he is different with them.

(You've been working for the Chimera Company for a year and you still don't know what the hell his real name is, mainly because everyone only seems to address him as "The Boss" or "Chief" or in a more formal tone "Captain")

You spend the time with your family and tell them of some of the things you've seen and exciting places you've been to, of course never going into too much detail about the darker side of things. Your brothers and sisters enjoy the tales as usual. Your Mom senses that there is probably more to them, but she doesn't ask too many questions. She does always asks if you're okay and says that you don't have to keep doing it, but you always reply that you're fine and that you're just a little tired that's all.

When your time is done you say goodbye to them and meet with the rest of your company at the Zalan capital this time. Its odd, but things seem to be even more chaotic than usual around here. People are rushing around and an air of concern seems to be pervading the city.

The guards are telling people to calm down our there will be martial law and you hear something in passing about an attack on a city. You don't really listen because you're in a hurry to meet up with your company which you find mostly hanging out in a tavern as usual.

Dimitri sees you and speaks.

"Ah, it's our own fuckin' bard ! How's my favorite string plucker? (Hic!) You have trouble getting into the city? Heard the guards have been cracking down on security."
"No, but what's going on? The city seems to be in a state of panic."
"Fuck yeah it is! What you didn't hear?"
"No. What happened?"
"Fuckin' undead happened my pig farming friend! A whole shitload of them took over the the city of Nuro! Can you believe it? Fuckin' Nuro! That place was supposed to be unconquerable! Heh! (Burp!)" Dimitri says without the slightest bit of worry.
"UNDEAD?! What the fuck? Nuro!? How?!"
"Fuck if I know, guess some rogue wizards got hooked up in that necromancy shit hardcore. Musta been some demonologists there too since we heard reports of demons too. Not the supposedly civilized type either, they're the rip off your head and shit down your neck kind."
"…there's fuckin' rogue demons in Nuro too?"
"Of course not, they all escaped and are now running around in the countryside, heard they're heading for the Tulan Kingdom." Dimitri says taking another drink.

You're having a hard time digesting all this yet the rest of your comrades are still drinking and partying like nothing is wrong. Your Dad had once told you tales of a being called the Great Lich Lord that existed many centuries ago who nearly killed the world. Scared the hell out of you then and it doesn't make you feel too good now.

"Isn't this concerning to you?"
"What? Shit no! Just means more work for us and that also means more loot! Ha ha! You could get more loot to buy a new lute! Ha ha ha! (Hic!)"
"But this is the fuckin' undead! I mean…"
"So? Stop bein a pussy! I've fought some undead before, when I was lootin' a dwarven tomb. You just chop their heads off like everything else, shit ain't that hard. They just tend to smell worse…well maybe not worse than trolls. Anyway I'm sure the fucking governments will take care of this shit as quick as possible, you know how politicians don't like dead taxpayers, in the meantime we need to take advantage now while the conflict is hot!"

No sooner has Dimitri said this little bit of wisdom, when the Boss steps in the doorway. He's as nasty looking as always, but this time he looks even moreso than usual.

"Alright you useless sacks of goblin shit. We got a new job. This one just came across rather unexpectedly. Ran into a Dwarven representative and we're now in the employ of a Dwarven Clan, near the southern Tulan Borders. With the occurrence of this Nuro incident, they're expecting some shit to spill over into their lands and they want some extra help. This is pretty surprising since Dwarves aren't known to pay for mercenaries, let alone the likes of us." The Boss tell you all.
"The Tulan Border? Oh fuck that place is a meat grinder! There's no profit to be had anywhere near there!" Cal pipes up.
"Well you can just pick up your panties and get your pansy ass back home and stay there then! The dwarves are paying well and that's the job. Take it or get the fuck outta my company!"
"Excuse me Captain, but weren't there reports of demons running through that area?" you ask.
"Yeah so? That's why we're going over there most likely, but be fucking prepared for any damn thing. Maybe even undead…who knows if my…if those necromancer bastards started spreading their plague yet. We leave tomorrow."

You think on this fucked up situation and seriously reconsidering your career choice.

[User] You leave the mercenary company

[Assistant]
Nope, you're not doing this. This is suicide in your opinion. You have no idea what to expect and it sound a lot more dangerous than anything you've ever faced.

Instead of leaving with them the next day, you go back home. You don't worry about anyone coming after you, but you know you won't be welcomed back into the company again, and you wouldn't want to anyway.

When you get back home, your family and mom in particular ask what happened, you explain it and say you don't want any part of that life. You apologize that you couldn't go through with it, but your mom looks more relieved than anything.

"Well son, I'm just as glad you didn't go get yourself killed over there anyway. You'll be helping us out plenty just by working on the farm like always."

You're glad to hear that. Over the next couple days you fall back into routine again. You still wonder about the future though and you briefly consider the army plan again, but given your short lived experience with mercenary "life" you don't think you're cut out with battle on a regular basis. Plus the Zalan Empire is currently on heightened alert and battle ready status with this Nuro Incident and all.

You resign yourself to the farm life. You play your lute to yourself (and family) when you have the time to do so. It's a simple life.

Two years pass and things have gotten worse. The Necromancer Lord (as he's become to be known) has expanded, even to the point of taking over the Brot Kingdom. The Tulan Kingdom has been totally conquered by a demon army. A Grand Alliance of nations has been formed, but so far they don't seem to be making much progress.

Meanwhile life on the farm is a little harder. Your youngest sister Makana becomes gravely ill during the winter months, but there's not enough money to pay for a healer and most of the clerics have been summoned to battle with the undead or demon hordes. Sadly she dies making the overall mood of the farm a little more depressing. You don't even play anymore, your enthusiasm for music died along with the grim realities setting in.

Another three years pass and things are down right miserable. War is everywhere. The Demons have been taken care of, (You heard your former mercenary captain died in battle with their leader Velzix) but the undead are stronger than ever. Reports even speak of the Necromancer Lord becoming The Great Lich Lord "reborn".

To make things worse, the Zalan Empire has been becoming increasingly tyrannical. In order to help with the war effort they've started bringing back the draft and the talk of ceasing private property to be used for the good of the government. While they say owners will be able to live and still work on their lands and businesses, it will be owned by the Empire.

You know it's only a matter of time when you get a knock on the door by Zalan army troops coming to take you and your brother Mallack away to the army and your family's farm.

Another two year pass….

You're on the eve of battle in a land known as the Garwold Confederacy although it's steadily becoming a giant graveyard now. The undead hordes have been sweeping relentlessly across the entire landscape. Your own company has had to fall back several times. Morale is low. Not that yours was high to begin with. You don't even know how you've survived this long. While you had some battle experience during your time with the mercenary company, it still hasn't prepared you for the horrors you've seen. The undead…you'll never get used to fighting such emotionless creatures that are the embodiment of death and all that's unnatural.

You briefly wonder if your brother Mallack is alright where he's stationed, but it hardly matters at this point.

Battle comes as it always does and you are not so lucky this time. Horrible and powerful creatures known as Blood Specters and Death Knights utterly destroy your side.

You fall to undead blades and chilling touches only rise up and join them in their goal of global genocide.


[System] You are the game master of a dark fantasy text adventure. The world is dangerous and choices matter. Narrate with immersive detail and let the story unfold naturally from the player's decisions.

[User] You follow the howls

[Assistant]
Your ears flicker as you hear the sound of barking and howling deep in the mineshaft, as you answer with a cautious bark. Another howl answers back, and instinct overwhelms the quiet voice in your head, and you find yourself running into the darkness, desperate to your brothers.

Your mind races, all pain ignored, all quiet voices in the back of your mind ignored, all remaining traces of your humanity ignored. Your family, your true family of blood and instinct, are calling. The beast within you gives you no choice but to answer, and answer you will.


[System] You are the game master of a dark fantasy text adventure. The world is dangerous and choices matter. Narrate with immersive detail and let the story unfold naturally from the player's decisions.

[User] You retreat

[Assistant]
You jump out of Frankie's way as he smashes into the wall behind you. You make your way quickly down the stairs, where you here Frankie getting back up and following you down them like a freight train.
You're still a good ways from the bottom, but you see Igor appear at the bottom. You can't stop or Frankie will slam into you and probably kill you by breaking every bone in your body and tearing you apart. You can keep going and attempt to jump towards Igor hoping you'll land on him before he can fire accurately or you could jump over the banister and get out of the way altogether. The only problem with this is you're still pretty high up. You wouldn't die from such a fall, but you could break something if you land wrong and you certainly don't want that disadvantage.

[User] You jump over the banister

[Assistant]
You jump over the banister. Frankie goes flying past you unable to stop himself. You hear gunfire and some sounds of bullets plinking off of metal and burying themselves into flesh.

"OH SHIT!" you hear Igor shout. This term is followed by your own, when you see that you were a lot higher than you thought. You go crashing through a solid wooden dining table. It hurts...A LOT.

You don't get up right away and you half expect Frankie or Igor to come and finish you off, but fortunately that doesn't happen. You painfully rise and prepare yourself for the final battle, which doesn't occur.

You go over to the bottom of the stairs and see the wolflings taking advantage of Frankie's weakened prone state and getting revenge for the beating he gave them all earlier. As for Igor he's lying under Frankie crushed and dying. He's bleeding from his ears, mouth, nose and eyes.

"(Gurgle) (sputter) I'm sorry…Vic…Sorry brother…(Gurgle)" he says before dying.
"Well I guess that explains his loyalty." You say to yourself.

"Hey Wolf you want to get in on this?" A wolfling says ripping a hand off of Frankie.
"Nah, you've earned this. I'm just going to go back upstairs and finish off Victor."
"Need any of us to come up with you?"
"No, you just make sure you do a good job of killing Frankie there."

You head back up stairs and head to the lab that Frankie came bursting out of, it's empty, but there's another door in the room and you've got the impression that a certain doctor is behind it.

You open the door to a small room with a bunch of big computers hooked up to a brain in a jar…

"Dr. Frankenstein I presume?" you say. "Wow Vic, I would've thought you would've at least made a clone body or something."
"Frankie! Igor! Get in here! NOW!"
'They're dead just like you'll be soon and should've been before."
"Erm…Wolf! Hold on! Come on, I can't do anything to you! This isn't fair! Hold on how about…"
"How about you shut up and die?" you say and take Victor's brain out of the jar.

"NOOOOOO…." Is the last thing that comes out of the loud speakers as you crush the brain under your foot.

Its over. You won, and you fucking hurt like hell. You stagger back downstairs where you find Frankie completely in pieces. The wolflings look at you expectantly.

"Did you kill him?'
"Yeah, and it was hardly worth the effort." You reply.
"What are we going to do now?" another asks.
"Well I don't know about you, but I'm going back home to rest."
"But aren't you taking us to raise hell somewhere else?"
"Maybe some other day. Look I'm not here to lead you around by the paw. If you want to raise hell you can certainly do it without me. I showed you the way of the wolf tonight, it's up to you to do something with it. Just remember you're fucking werewolves, live up to the name."

You get back on your Harley and head home. Hopefully you taught the new generation something so tonight wasn't a complete bust. You didn't really get to have the epic battle you were looking for, but you survived and in the end that's what it's all about.


[System] Narrate a grim fantasy text adventure. The Empire's world is brutal, its people hardened. Respond to the player's choices with immersive storytelling and let consequences flow naturally.

[User] Continue

[Assistant]
Monday 8:00 AM

You groggily wake up from the sofa like you always do, dreading to have to go to work at your pointless job. You haven't been sleeping well lately, you don't know what the hell the problem is, and all you know is you're going to be tired for work again. As you go through your routine of getting ready, the TV can be heard; as usual you left it on from the night before.

"…And peace talks broke down today, as several ambassadors engaged in a physical fight at the UN…Neo-Communist party gaining favor in Russia… more terrorist bombings in European Union cities…US troops won another victory in the Middle East…mysterious epidemic in China, several million dead…skirmishes on the Indian-Pakistan border…world wide tensions at an all time high…"

Same old doom and gloom on TV; you wonder why you even bother watching the news anymore. Still it does seem like things are getting worse, late at night when you're suffering from your usual insomnia, you've been catching infomercials attempting to sell bomb shelters, like something out of a 1950s propaganda film. It seems silly, but you do wonder if it's only a matter of time before someone presses the button.

Then again you live out in the boonies, you've always thought that if the world ever did blow up; you'd doubt you'd even notice until you drove to work the next day and saw the ruins of the city. Speaking of which you better get going or you'll be late.

[User] You buy a bomb shelter

[Assistant]
Fuck work, the world's about to end soon and you need to prepare yourself for that! You immediately call up the number that the infomercial mentioned. You know the damn thing by heart since you've been watching it night after night. Eventually a chipper female voice picks up on the other end.

"Ground Zero Survival Inc. How may I help you?"
"Uh, yeah I'd like to buy a bomb shelter."
"That's wonderful sir! In these uncertain times you can never be too careful and we here at GZS are thrilled that you've chosen to trust us in your continued existence! You and your family's utmost protection is as important to us is it is to you! Our shelters are the best you'll find and, we have many shelters still available at various prices, but really can you put a price on your loved ones protection? Of course not! So I'm sure you'll want one of our top of the line models that are still left! Okay so how many are in your family?"
"Um, just me."
"Oh…" the voice suddenly gets less chipper.
"What?"
"Sir, don't you have ANY family? Like a wife at least, maybe a cousin?"
"No, not really."
"Oh dear…"
"WHAT!?"
"Well sir, its just that, we here at GZS are a family friendly business and we feel that the survival of the human race will best be served by those who have a strong sense of family ties and a respect for the family unit. We aren't in the business of selling shelters to those of low moral fiber sir…"
"What the fuck?! Just because I'm single I gotta be some sort of low life? I'm not luring fuckin' little girls into my car with lollipops! I have a fucking job and pay my goddamn taxes!"
"Sir, I don't like you taking that tone with me when there isn't any call for it and I would appreciate it if you didn't blaspheme, I'm a God fearing woman. Now then I understand your frustration, but there's nothing we can do. Our shelters were primarily built for families of at least four. To put singles in them wouldn't be fair to families that have children who shall surely be the ones to rebuild civilization, not to mention it would be a waste of resources. A single person would have an overstock of food and water since as I said we primarily cater to families and stock the shelters with families in mind."
"I fail to see how me having MORE than enough food and water is a bad thing…"
"I see sir, so you would be selfish and deprive a possible family of survival?"
"I didn't say that! And wait a minute; wouldn't I be doing that anyway if I had a family of my own?"
"Yes, but it would be different."
"How?"
"You would have a family sir."

You're about ready to throw the phone against the wall in frustration.

"So basically what you're telling me is you're not selling me a shelter."
"Ah now I didn't say that sir! Since you're interested in buying our product and by your previous outburst I can tell you ARE a productive member of society. And it is only due to your poor social skills that you have been unable to take the necessary steps to have a family of your own! But never fear, GZS HAS kept your type in mind!"
"Gee, thanks…"
"You're quite welcome sir! We have the Community Shelters for singles! It is basically a giant shelter filled with singles such as yourself. You will be given a separate room to live in, but everything else you must share. Don't worry we have stocked these shelters with supplies to last for years! It is our hope that nature will take its course and when it comes time to return to the surface a fully functional tight knit community of families will emerge to rebuild civilization once again!"

Sharing isn't something you're good at. You like your privacy and your space and your solitude. You can't imagine sharing stuff when your very survival is at stake.

"Look, don't you have ANYTHING I can get by myself?" you demand.
"Are you serious sir? You actually want to be alone?" the voice says as if you must be nuts to ask that kind of question.
"If possible yeah."
"Well…I shouldn't really tell you sir, because you snapped at me earlier, but it is my job to make sure any potential customer is serviced to the best of my ability. That and the fact that these other Special Shelters we have are a bit…experimental."
"Experimental? What do you mean?"
"Well I don't know too much about these Special Shelters myself sir, all I know is they have been equipped with the latest technology and VERY expensive. Anyone can buy one as long as they have the money to do so."
"Well how experimental are these things exactly?"
"As I said sir, I know little about these Special Shelters other than they are equipped with the latest technology. GZS has run tests and they are considered very safe and will protect you in the coming apocalypse, however due to time constraints GZS may have missed a few minor things, and as such we are legally required to warn…er inform potential customers before they buy them."

[User] You buy a room in the Community Shelter

[Assistant]
As much as you're not keen on sharing, you're less keen on the idea of being shoved in an experimental shelter. Sounds like they didn't work all the bugs out of the system, and it's filled with hi-tech equipment? God help you if something broke down. You wouldn't know how to fix it. At least if you're with other people, there's bound to be people with different skills to compliment each other.

Of course everyone could just be incompetent like they usually are.

You're not going to dwell on it too much, you'll take the safer choice; maybe it won't be so bad.

"Okay I'll take a room in the Community Shelter."
"Wonderful sir! You won't regret this decision! Now I'll need to know some vital information about yourself before I can direct you to our nearest Community shelter in your area where upon you shall pay the automatic teller just inside the foyer of it so that the main door can open and you will be able to enter your new residence during Armageddon! Okay let's start with your name sir."

You give out your name, address and such. It's all pretty routine stuff until the questions get more personal.

"Have you ever committed a felony sir?"
"No."
"Do you have a history of mental illness sir?"
"No."
"Are you a drug addict or smoke sir?"
"No."
"Are you handicapped in anyway sir?"
"No."
"Do you believe in God sir?"
"Huh? Uh…sure I guess."
"Hmmm…okay…" the voice says a bit disapprovingly. "Do you have any physical diseases or suffered from any in the past sir?"
"No."
"Do you have AIDS or any other STDs sir?"
"What the hell? I just told you I don't have any diseases! Sexual or otherwise!"
"Are you sterile sir?"
"What?!"
"I said are you shooting blanks sir?"
"What difference does that make?"
"Please sir, just answer the question."
"(Sigh) No. As far as I know, I'm packing a loaded fucking weapon. I know because I had to take an overly thorough physical for work recently."
"Wonderful sir! Okay are you a homosexual or ever had homosexual feelings?"
"WHAT THE FUCK?! NO!!"
"Sir, I told you before don't take that tone with me."
"Well you're asking me a lot of fucking personal questions! Why do you need to know all this shit?"
"Sir, as I said, we are a family orientated business, we aren't just a money motivated corporation, we are interested in the survival and well being of the human race. The human race can't thrive if people don't meet the necessary…requirements. How can civilization be re-built if children aren't being born? I mean would you want to live in a society built by drug addicted mentally ill homosexual criminals? That's the reason the world is ending now, because people have turned away from a righteous way of living!"
"Look I'd live in a fucking society with transsexual midgets if it'll get me to the fucking shelter already!"
"Hmmm, well despite that comment, your non-committal answer on the belief in God, and your overall anti-social tone, you do qualify for one of our rooms in the Community Shelter in your area. I can only hope some of the other more sociable residents rub off on you, and cause a change in your personality. I'll give you the location of the shelter sir."

You are given the location of the Community Shelter which you are surprised to find out is closer then you think, it shouldn't take too long for you drive there. You are then given the price, which is pretty steep, but you can afford it. Besides if the world is ending it's not like you're really going to need money anymore. Which makes you wonder why GZS is in business at all. What's the point of going to the trouble of building bomb shelters for Armageddon if all the profit they make is most likely going to be useless in the aftermath?

Oh well that's not your concern, you're just glad you passed the damn interrogation and got into the shelter. Of course now you're subjected to some last minute rules.

"Okay sir, you are now in the system and registered. You may move into the Shelter at anytime as long you pay the fee required to the automatic teller as previously described to you. If you don't pay, you can't get in obviously. Cash, check, or debit card are acceptable. NO Credit Cards will be accepted! Now then some rules. You do not have to bring anything with you, but it is recommended that you do bring your own clothing if you wish to wear something different as the days go by. Food and drinkable liquids are acceptable, but not necessary. Do not bring in private medical supplies or repair equipment, the shelter has been stocked with those items, we do not want people bringing in potential weapons or illegal drugs. Speaking of which, DO NOT attempt to bring in any kind of weapon! Guns and knives are strictly prohibited! Attempting to bring in either one will result in non-admittance of the shelter! Same goes for drugs of any kind. Alcohol is frowned upon, but accepted. There WILL be a machine to scan you before you're allowed to enter, so do not think you will be able to sneak anything in! Now then I trust our transaction has ended. If you have anymore questions please contact our customer service line. Good day sir, may your first child be a masculine one and thank you for choosing Ground Zero Survival!"

That's it, all you have to do is get what stuff you want to take with you and move in, might as well do it now, no sense in waiting until you see the nuclear cloud. You wonder if you shouldn't try to "beat the system" by sneaking your weapon in though.

Ultimately you decide this is survival. You need every advantage you can get. You don't know what kind of people you're going to be stuck with, so you take your pistol with you and a few "non-lethal" supplies such as duct tape. You also you just pack some clothing, food and water. You then set off on your way.

After a couple days of driving you finally arrive at the location that you were given. It's in a fairly desolate place with a single solid metal structure with a door standing there. There's also a few other cars parked nearby, you obviously aren't the first one here. You park your van and enter the structure with the items you brought with you. You're in a small foyer with an elevator door and ATM like machine; you're guessing that's the automatic teller you were told about.

Before you start pressing buttons you need to figure out how you're going to get your pistol through the scanning process, because you can be sure if you fail something nasty will happen…

[User] You duct tape the pistol to the ceiling

[Assistant]
GZS probably has some sort of scanner that does a little more than just scan your body, so just not having the gun on your person most likely isn't going to work.

You get the idea that the machine is probably not going to scan the ceiling though, so you get out your duct tape and fix it to the pistol, you then climb on top of the automatic teller and jump up to stick the pistol on the ceiling. You end up falling on your ass, but you succeed. You then press some buttons on the machine, where it proceeds to ask your name and how you're going to pay. You type in your name and insert you debit card where upon it drains most of your account. The door you stepped through sudden shuts and a hum is heard. You take a deep breath and hope for the best.

"Now scanning for unauthorized items…Scanning…Scanning…Scanning complete. You have been allowed entry, the elevator doors will now open, your room number is 23, thank you for choosing Ground Zero Survival!" an  emotionless electronic voice remarks as the elevator doors open. It worked!

You quickly climb back up on to the teller and jump up to grab your pistol, (this time able to maintain your balance better) toss it into the elevator opening and then rush in with all your belongings and take the long elevator trip down.

When you get to bottom the elevator door opens to large sterile hallway with lines of other closed metal doors on either side As soon as you enter, the elevator doors slam shut and you hear it going back up, you also notice there aren't any buttons to call it back…before you're able to worry about that little detail you're met by a few of your new neighbors. One is some tall skinny guy another is a brunette woman who begins talking to you.

"Hey, another new neighbor! My name is Nina and this is Ron, what's your name?"

She is entirely too fucking friendly given the situation.

"Why aren't there call buttons back on the elevator?" you ask ignoring her question.
"Huh? Oh I guess it's a safety feature. The elevator automatically goes back up so the other people can get in as quickly as possible. Ron suggested that they might've thought someone would deliberately try to keep the elevator down here to prevent anyone else from seeking shelter. Though I can't honestly imagine that anyone would do such a horrible thing."
"Been living on earth long Nina?" you ask rhetorically. "Great, so I'm basically trapped down here due to the brilliant engineering minds of GZS…so is it just us so far or are their other people here too?"
"There are a few others, if you come with us we can introduce you to…"
"Maybe later, look we're gonna be stuck down here for a long time so I'll get to know everyone soon enough, right now I just want to go to my room and rest."
"Erm, okay…" Ron says as you push past them both.

You head to your room which is equipped with the basic requirements; food and water dispenser, shower, bed, and a cabinet. (You hide your pistol in your mattress) There's a standard Shelter Operations Manual sitting on the table as well as a Shelter Booklet about socialization, rules, guidelines and such, both of which you skim through every now and then. There's a big public recreation area and a couple of other public rooms where your neighbors gather, but you stay in your room and keep to yourself for the most part. Sometimes in the middle of the night when nobody else is around you'll watch the TV in the living area to keep up on current events.

You hear other people arriving over the month. Ron and Nina greet them all, you can tell those two are going to be the ones to "organize" shit and probably try to decide what's "best" for everyone. Always saying stuff that they read in the booklet.

"Fucking busy bodies…" you say as you fall asleep watching the world in its death throes on TV…

Monday 8:00 AM

"…BEEEEEEEEEEEEEE…"

You groggily wake up and see a test pattern on TV.

This is it.

You feel a small tremor and then you turn off the TV, just as Nina and Ron come walking in.

"What was that?" Nina asks.
"Test pattern, I think Armageddon arrived." You answer.
"What?! I can't believe it!" Ron exclaims.
"Why are you so surprised? I mean that was the whole point of coming down here right?"
"Yeah, but I dunno…I just wasn't prepared for it actually happening."
"Christ, Ron I've overheard you say you were the first one in this goddamn shelter, you of all people should've long gotten used to the idea of living down here."
"What is your problem? You been nothing but hostile since you've got here!" Nina exclaims.
"My problem is I'm stuck down here with a bunch of people I don't really know and if you two are any indication I don't want to know."
"How did you even qualify to get a room down here?"
"Good clean living I guess, so is there supposed to be something special we do now?"
"Uh, yeah I think so, it mentions something in the booklet I was reading that came with the shelter, we're supposed to gather everyone and tell them."
"Okay well I guess you guys go do that then. I'm just going to check on something here."
"Okay, but we're supposed to have some sort of vote to decide on how this place is going to be run, if you don't show up you don't get a vote." Ron reminds you.
"I know Ron, I've read the booklet." You answer unenthusiastically.

Ron and Nina leave you and go tell the others of the situation and follow other things it states in the booklet. You're wondering if you should even stay down here. All these people seem completely different than you. You wish there was someway to call the elevator back down, but after checking a GZS computer it states that it won't come back until it detects that the surface is safe for habitation again…which basically means not in your lifetime.

It's probably just as well since the surface probably isn't the safest place you'd want to be, lord knows what the hell it looks like now, not to mention the radiation factor. Then again you'd still like the option to leave if you wanted to. You go back to your room, read and enjoy the solitude until Nina comes to get you.

"Hey! You didn't show up for the meeting! We're discussing which ways this place could be run, are you coming or what?"

[User] You go vote

[Assistant]
"(Sigh) Fine, I'll attend this exercise in futility, but what the hell are we doing exactly, so I'm not just jumping into shit." You ask as you and Nina walk towards the conference room.
"Well right now we're voting on a shelter leader. Someone to make the final decisions about important things. So far Ron is tied with another. In fact the only reason why I came to get you, was so you could break the tie."
"Whoopie, I feel honored I can take an important part in this democratic process. So who's the other person?"
"Oh, that would be Elliot. He was one of the later arrivals, but is very personable. Not that you'd know since I doubt you've even seen him given that you lock yourself in you room all the time."
"Yeah, yeah, I know who he is, bald guy. So I take it you want Ron to win huh?"
"Well…I'd be lying if I said I didn't, but Elliot's seems like a good guy too, so I'm sure he'd make a good leader as well."
"Why haven't you run? I mean you seem to like to organize things."
"Me? Oh no, I'm not a leader."
"Well from what I've seen of Ron, he isn't either."

Nina stops you in the corridor.

"Damn it, stop being an asshole! At least Ron makes an attempt to get involved in things! You haven't done shit since you got here except insult people and lock yourself away! Like it or not we're ALL in this together! And you better start getting with the program and contribute!"
"What the fuck? I am contributing; I'm going to this goddamn meeting aren't I? And you better watch your tone; remember I'M the swing vote for your boyfriend."
"Ron isn't my boyfriend! I mean…not yet…uh…"
"What? You mean he isn't taping your ass yet? Shit, he's stupider than I thought then, because he'd be lucky to get someone who looks like you even if you are annoying."

Nina stands and stares at you in disbelief.

"…could you possibly be any more vile?"
"Probably, but we don't have time for that, I gotta vote for some dickhead."

You continue to the conference room (with Nina no longer walking with you) and when you finally arrive everyone is there as if they've been waiting for you. You don't even really care who's in charge since more than likely no matter who you vote for is going to be an intrusive bastard wanting everyone to do something.

You can vote for Ron. As far as leadership material, you don't really see him as one, though he seems to have some planning skills and friendly to people so maybe he's got the stuff.

Elliot you barely know anything about, he also seems to be an organizer and friendly to everyone, but not to the point that it's irritating. Though to you there's something a little creepy about him.

Ah what the hell, you know this is something Ron wants more than anything why not give it to him? Besides he's not very "strong" which means you can probably get away with disobeying him on a regular basis without causing a big scene.

"I'll vote for Ron." You say, Nina looks surprised and Ron jumps up and down like an idiot in celebration. You take that as your opportunity to go back to your room, Nina once again stops you in the corridor.

"I just wanted to say thanks for doing this; I know you don't even like Ron…"
"I don't care one way or another about him, if he wants the headache of running this place he can have it, he better just not ask too much of me, I did my bit. You can think of me as his kingmaker. See ya around."

You go back to your room and that's where you spend a majority of your time. You don't really mix with anyone, and nobody really makes the attempt with you either. You're asked to contribute to some "events" sometimes, but you always ignore such requests and nothing happens. Nina still hangs around Ron like a love sick school girl, but for god knows what reason he seems completely oblivious to the fact. And obviously she hasn't told him how she feels about him. You watch this comical display replay itself over and over.

"Yeah, GZS really picked some excellent candidates to pair up to create families for the so called future, what a joke." You mutter to yourself.

Time goes by and Ron goes about his duties which mainly consist of discussing pointless plans in the conference room. The idiot can't do ANYTHING without talking about it with others he appointed as advisors first! If somebody's shower is broken they have to discuss when, how and WHY it has to be fixed! Naturally everyone disagree about one point and they have to start all over again which usually means nothing gets done. A lot of planning and organizing of ideas, but no actual implementations of those same ideas.

The shelter starts falling into disrepair, a few fixes are made here and there, but they're more jury-rigged ones more than anything. Nobody has perfectly functioning rooms from what you know…well except yours since you do nothing, but study the shelter manual all the time attempting to learn more about how it works giving you an edge in repairing your own room. (In fact you just permanently took a repair kit for yourself out of the equipment room) You really don't understand why other people aren't doing the same instead of waiting around for things to get repaired or complaining about needing things to get repaired. Everyone has the same damn operations manual. Read it!

About six months go by and finally you're given an unexpected visit during the night. You answer your door. It's Elliot and some other people.

"May we come in?" Elliot asks.
"What do you want?"
"Just to talk about the future of the shelter."
"Yeah? Well you can talk to Ron about that, he's the big shelter leader."
"Yes he is, thanks to you. And that's also why this shelter is in such bad shape. Ron is ruining this place with his ineptitude."
"Oh no, don't blame that shit on me, that's RON'S fault, not mine. And besides MY room works fine. If you lazy bastards would actually read the damn shelter manual you wouldn't have any problems."
"Oh I've read the manual, I'm sure many people have. But surely you must realize most people don't have the natural talent to fix thing that perhaps you have. Besides I'm sure you must also be aware that in a community each person has his own talents. For example Leon behind me used to be a bouncer. Don't you think with his skills he'd make an excellent head of security around here?"

Leon folds his big black arms almost daring you to say "No." before Elliot continues.

"My point is me and a few others are planning to take Ron out of office for gross incompetence. Did you know Fred and Greta are planning to have a baby? The first one to be born in here. The population in this shelter isn't going to be stable forever. It's going to grow and we NEED to keep this place running efficiently if we're ALL going to survive. I know you're a solitary person…I even respect that, but the time has come for you to choose between life or death. By joining our group, you're choosing life. By remaining locked away in here, you're choosing death not just for all of us, but for yourself. No man is an island."

Elliot has a bit of duality to his speech. Part of him sounds genuinely concerned for the future of the shelter; he may even have a point. But the other part of him sounds like he's politely threatening you. And you're not sure of the whole "taking Ron out of office" thing. It almost sounds like he plans on taking over by force. You get the impression he and his little group are going to do just that regardless of whether you join or not.

[User] You decline

[Assistant]
"Yeah, well you do what you have to do, just leave me out of it. Your little power struggle with Ron isn't any of my concern. And if and when you do take power don't think you're going to be ordering me around either."

Elliot's expression changes to that of someone very perturbed by your response.

"I'm very disappointed to hear you say that, I really thought you could have a place in the new community I was planning."
"Think again, now get outta here…"

You begin to shove Elliot out of your doorway, but Leon reaches over his shoulder and shoves you back with great strength. You fall backwards on to your floor, Elliot and his gang start to enter. He pulls out a scalpel, something he probably got from the medical supplies. You happen to be right next to your mattress, so you reach in and grab your pistol to point it directly at Elliot. Now they all look like they just seen a ghost and all the bravery has drained out of them except Leon, who looks like this isn't the first time he's had a gun pointed at him, but he's still stepping back.

"You wanna fuckin' take another step motherfucker? Go ahead, I fuckin' dare you!"
"Holy shit, he's got a fuckin' gun Elliot!" a women in his group says.
"I can see that Brenda! Okay, look maybe we got off on the wrong foot here. I mean obviously you're a more resourceful man than I thought…I mean as far as I know you're the only one in this place with a goddamn gun. How'd you manage that?"
"Never you mind, just get the fuck outta here!"
"Very well, but remember, you don't have any friends in this place, and you can't watch your back all the time…"

Elliot has just announced his intentions of eliminating you whenever it's possible. You'll have to live in constant paranoia now. Unless…

[User] You shoot him now

[Assistant]
Always one to solve a problem before it starts…

You pull the trigger and blast Elliot square in the chest. He looks down in disbelief and then slumps down on the floor by your feet. You then get up from the floor as everyone else runs out of the room.

"Yeah that's what I thought! So much for your fearless leader!"

As you drag Elliot's body out of your room, everyone else in the shelter has come out of their own rooms after hearing the gun shot and screaming.

"OH MY GOD! HE'S GOT A GUN!" someone shouts.
"HE'S KILLED ELLIOT!" another screams.

Everyone is very afraid of what you're going to do next. Only Nina dares approach you.

"You…you killed him? I always knew you were anti-social, but…oh my god…"
"Yeah I fuckin' killed Elliot! And YOU of all people oughta be damn well glad I did! He was planning on taking over this place from your boyfriend Ron!"
"Ron's not my boyfriend! And I don't believe you! Elliot was gracious in his defeat! He was a good man unlike you!"
"Yeah he was so good he tried to recruit me for his little rebellion gang, and don't try to hide in the fuckin' crowd Leon and act like you weren't there! All of you fuckers hiding right now, came to my room with Elliot! And lemme ask you this, WHY the hell would ANY of them come to MY room? Everyone knows I don't invite people!"
"I dunno what to say right now…please just put down the gun…I don't want you to kill anyone else…"
"For fuck's sake Nina I'm not a mass murderer! It was self-defense! He was gonna kill me, just like he was gonna kill Ron and shit maybe he should've, the fuckstick's supposed to be the shelter leader and he's not even here for this! Where is Ron?"

Nina suddenly wonders where he's at as well, she runs over to his door which is still shut.

"Don't tell me, he's THAT much of deep sleeper." You mutter while standing by Elliot's dead body.

Nina doesn't even knock, apparently she's got her own key to get in his room. You're STILL wondering why nothing has happened between those two yet, your questions are soon answered, and everyone is in for another surprise this eventful night.

"EEEEEEEEEEEK! NO!" you hear Nina scream when she goes inside the room and then runs back out crying. Ron steps out in his underwear.

"No, wait! Nina, its not what it looks like!" he shouts to her and then another guy in his underwear comes out. You think his name is William, you never knew too much about him before, but you know MORE than you wanted to now!

"Get back inside William!" when Ron sees that there's a whole crowd of people staring in various states of shock. It's too late though now, everyone knows.

"Wow Nina sure is a good judge of character, she thought Elliot was a good man and she thought you were straight. Looks like I wasn't the only one with a secret in this shelter! Heh heh."

Ron finally turns to you and sees what you've done.

"…You got a gun? YOU FUCKIN' KILLED ELLIOT?"
"(Sigh) Not this again! Yeah I fuckin' killed him. He tried to kill me and he was planning on killing you to take over this dump!"
"Now just calm down, and put down the gun…"
"I'm not putting down shit and I'm not killing anyone else unless someone gives me cause to do so! What the fuck, was the dick in your mouth so good to you, you didn't hear the gunshots and screaming out here? I'm sick of explaining this twice! Now I'M going back into MY room to get some sleep! And none of you better fucking disturb me for the rest of the night! And someone better clean up Elliot's carcass from in front of my room when I wake up tomorrow!"

You return to your room.

"Yeah, I think that went well." You say to yourself.

After the night of multiple "incidents" a lot of things happen. The first, is Elliot's body being the first one dumped into the incinerator. The second being that Ron is immediately voted out by his own council who all follow the GZS guidelines. Apparently being gay was more of an offense than being incompetent, since GZS guidelines were explicit in not wanting homosexuals in the Community Shelters which he obviously lied about. Nina is unsurprisingly the most vocal about his vote out; in fact she ends up taking over. Ron and William move into a separate far room together and become social pariahs. Everyone who was previously friendly with Ron suddenly starts treating him like garbage. You never really cared for him, and thought he was an incompetent moron, but even you think it's shitty for them to all just turn on him over who he happens to be fucking. But that's how people are and that's why you try to avoid them.

Your situation is a little different, they can't really treat you like a social pariah mainly because you were always one to begin with and another because everyone's afraid you'll shoot them. All of Elliot's former friends have no doubt reinforced the belief in others that you're dangerous. You don't really care though, just as long as nobody fucks with you and stays out of your way (Which everyone does for the most part since you now walk around with it at all times)

A year passes…

The shelter sees its first baby born and there are a couple of other pregnant women ready to pop as well. Nina has improved the place a little bit more. No doubt without anyone to fawn over now she's throwing herself into her work. There's actually a guy (Kyle) who's has some medical knowledge now, they still don't really have a good "tech guy" though and things are still being jury-rigged. Nina knows with a growing population this shelter needs to be in tip top running condition.

You get that expected knock on the door.

"Hello, Nina." You say.
"Yeah hi. Look, I just want to know if you have any intention of helping us out or if you're still going to remain an isolated asshole."

Nothing like being blunt. Politics has really hardened Nina, she's all business now it seems and lot less naïve.

How strangely appealing…

[User] You help out the community

[Assistant]
"You know what Nina? I'm in a charitable mood. What do you need?"
"We need you to hack into the central GZS computer system to bring the elevator down."
"Wow, I didn't expect that one. What's going on?"
"Can you do it?" Nina asks without answering your question.
"Well in theory I might. I've fucked around with that computer when nobody was around in the past, but I've never really gotten into the inner workings of the system, and I've read as much as I can about the shelter itself. Damn thing's touchy though. I just worry that if I do the wrong thing I'll end up shutting the whole shelter down and doom us all."
"You mean doom yourself."
"Well that too, but you still never told me what you want to bring the elevator down for."
"Are you gonna do it or not?"
"Okay, what happens if I don't?"
"I'll just get one of my own people to attempt it and hope they don't doom us all accidentally."
"(Sigh) Well played Nina, you know I'm gonna do it now. Alright, let's go."

You and Nina enter the Community Shelter computer room, where a couple of Nina's tech's are tinkering with the Central GZS computer.

"What are you doing!? Give me that!" you yell taking a screw driver away from one of them. You recognize them both Todd and Charles if you remember correctly.
"Oh man, its you! Okay, don't get mad!" Todd says backing off. Charles does like wise.
"Sheesh, I'm not going to shoot you! I'm just trying to prevent you from fucking up what's basically our life support system! Its barely working right as it is! I swear GZS put us in a death trap down here."
"Alright then do you need any help? Or should we leave you alone while you do this?" Nina asks.
"What do you think fearless leader?"
"Right. Come on let's go."

Nina and the other two leave and you get to work. You first do a system scan to what's going on exactly. Wow, this place really is in some bad shape! You can see where some fixes have been made, but without a really skilled technician routinely checking in on stuff, things are never going to get better in this place, you shutter to think what would've happened with Ron still in control. This place might've very well lost all power. You're sort of glad you've begun to take an interest. MAYBE after you manage to get the elevator down you might just volunteer to upkeep this thing.

You start delving into the inner working of the system; GZS really didn't want folks bringing the elevator down! You accidentally cut some lighting temporarily which causes you to hear some yelling from a distance.

"Oh toughen up." You say to yourself.

You continue to work and eventually you successfully override the safety protocol for the elevator and it starts its decent.

"Ha ha, I rule." You say as you come out of the computer room.
"Did you do it?" Nina asks.
"Sure did. NOW are you going to tell me why we're bringing it down?"
"You'll see for yourself. Leon, bring both of the perverts out, this has been a long time coming…"

You notice that everyone's standing around right now, like some special event is going down. Leon eventually comes back with Ron and William in tow, and he looks like he roughed them up first so they'd struggle less.

The elevator door opens up for the first time.

"Put both of these…criminals in the elevator Leon." Nina says. Leon does so, with a lot of protesting and pleading from both, but another couple punches shut them up. Now you know why Nina wanted you to bring the elevator down…exile. If this was a year ago and they were throwing Ron out in the wasteland for his bungling of shelter management, you'd probably be the first to applaud. But what's going on right now is for the wrong damn reasons, and you know Nina's just being a petty bitch who's still harboring resentment for shit she really brought on herself with completely clueless judgment on her part.

"Alright, Nina I know you're fucking upset because your make believe boyfriend turned out to be a fag, but that was a goddamn year ago…"
"Shut up! This has nothing to do with that! This is about justice! These two are in violation of GZS guidelines carrying on with…"
"Oh will you shut up about that shit? I'm starting to believe the entire GZS Corporation were a bunch of fucking loonies with too much time on their hands! They build these fucking shelters that break down all the goddamn time, with no way to get back to the surface and trapping everyone down here."
"Why the hell are you defending these two? You've never been one to give a fucking shit before! You know I've never seen you pursue any women around here even if you were slightly appealing enough for any of them to have you. What are you gay too?"
"(Sigh) No, Nina because if I was I'm sure you would've been the first one to want to spread your legs for me. Look I'm just saying this ain't fucking right okay?"
"Oh and YOU'RE the fucking expert on what's right? You fucking KILLED a man! You fucking snuck a gun in here a shot somebody! So is the gun an extension of your manhood and you just couldn't live without it?"
"Y'know Nina, you seem awfully pre-occupied with my sexual habits. Shit, if you want me to fuck you already just come out and say it and stop beating around bush. I'd say that's what you've been needing since you got in here anyway, because I haven't seen YOU with anyone either, that didn't turn out to be a complete fucking homo of course."

Your remark is met with a long period of silence. The rest of the shelter population has been in absolute awe, this is probably the most exciting thing that's happened since you shot Elliot. Nina looks at you hard and recomposes herself.

"Are you going to send the elevator up, or not?"

[User] You send the elevator up

[Assistant]
You throw your hands up.

"Alright, fuck it then. You're right. What the hell do I care? Shoulda been more careful Ron."

You turn around and go back to the computer room to send the elevator up, you hear the pitiful begging from Ron, followed up by a couple of verbal abusive insults from Nina. Sheesh, she's turned into a real bitch. You better make yourself semi-useful so that vengeful attitude doesn't turn too much on you. You figure the best way to do that is to start monitoring and working with the GZS central computer, besides you need to look after this thing anyway. You don't feel safe with those other two idiots looking after it.

"(Sigh) Looks like I'm working again." You say as you press the button to send the elevator up.

Four years pass...

You've been here five years and things have changed.

The population has grown a bit, but not a lot since Nina's pettiness helps keep the population down. Nina, has thrown at least ten people into "exile". Anyone who only mildly displeases or disagrees with her, is often shown the elevator…unless they happen to be providing a useful skill like you. Nina really hates the fact that you're the only competent technician she has. You manage to keep things from breaking down constantly like they were, but only just the minimum. You purposely don't keep things running at maximum efficiency, since as long as you're needed you won't be in danger…of course there IS the fact you have a gun that also keeps you safe, but there's never any harm in having a couple of safety nets. The more the better.

In fact, you wonder about losing one of your safety nets. Todd and Charles have increased in their technical knowledge over the years, and granted they still aren't as skilled as you; they might actually be competent one day. And they do a lot less back talking than you…

You wonder if you should do something to ensure your position. Todd and Charles come in talking about some old movie they watched in the community living area. It would be really easy to just shoot them. Who would stop you? And what could anyone do about it?

[User] You shoot them both

[Assistant]
Oh well, you were never that close to them anyway…

You reach for your weapon, while Todd and Charles are still talking. You blast Charles in the neck making blood spurt all over Todd who stares in shock. Your next shot hits Todd in the head.

With both of them dead you suddenly feel a whole lot better and go back to work. Naturally the sound of the shots brings people to come running.

"OH NO! HE'S DONE IT AGAIN!" someone shouts and runs back out of the room. Pretty soon Nina and her goon Leon come in. Nina sees the two bodies on the floor and looks more pissed off than afraid of you.

"What the fuck did you do that for?"
"Just ensuring my position Nina, I'm sure you understand."
"You fucking psychotic sonofabitch! You can't just go around shooting people!"
"Oh don't EVEN be claiming moral superiority here Nina, you who throws people into Exile just because they're looking at you funny! In fact Todd and Charles deaths are your fault not mine, I can't help if I feel threatened that you might replace me and throw me out on to the surface as well."
"Goddamn you, if you didn't have that gun or the only reliable tech, I'd throw you out of here so fast…"
"Exactly! So I'm glad we're in agreement…it's all your fault."
"What the…look, just because you got that fuckin' gun doesn't mean shit! I'M still in charge of this place!"

You stand up and shoot Leon three times, he falls backwards smacking his head against a table before taking his last breath. Now Nina starts to get worried, you just shot her head goon who was intimidating everyone else. She doesn't have that leverage anymore. Of course right now she's not worried about staying in power, for the first time she's worried about you shooting her. You're up close and personal, threatening her with it.

"See that Nina? What the fuck are ya gonna do now? Who are ya gonna get to throw people into exile? In case you haven't realized it yet, but I'M in fuckin' charge of this goddamn place! I just let you think you are! Now I suggest you take your ass outta here and try to figure out how you're gonna stay in power. Because I'm sure there's a lot of people not fond of you either, but unlike me they can actually do something about you.
Guess I know who'll be the next exile! Ha Ha!" you then lick Nina's face.

Nina backs out of the room in a hurry, leaving you alone with a room full of dead bodies.

"Get up, you lazy fucks, we got work to do!" you say kicking Todd's body in a macabre joke to yourself.

 Perhaps stepping over the line of killing Todd and Charles with no provocation unhinged you a bit. And killing Leon certainly put you over the edge. Granted Nina's no saint, but what you're doing is just as bad. You kind of got a power rush, from your deeds today and you must say you really liked it.

After making sure everything's working properly and even increasing the efficiency a bit, you decide to call it a day at the computer room. You leave stepping over the bodies that nobody's come to clean up yet.

"Well, if you're still here, I guess I'll see you guys tomorrow." You say.

You make your way back to your room. The corridors seem to be clear of folks, probably afraid of all the stuff that went down today so they're keeping their heads down. Good.

Before you get ready to go to sleep, you get a knock on the door, you answer it, ready to shoot someone else again, but see Nina in her underwear instead. You're a little surprised.

"Nina, what the hell are you doing?" unsure of how to respond.

Nina begins to talk in a way you've never heard her speak before, seductive, yet vulnerable.

"I was doing some thinking like you said back in the computer room…and you're right. I won't hold anymore power here anymore…I'll probably get thrown onto the surface like you said…unless I ally myself with someone who has power, and you're the only one with that kind of power."
"I see, so what does this conclusion you've come to mean exactly?"

Nina takes your hand and puts it on her body, starting with her firm breasts and moving it lower to the promised land.

"It means I'm yours, in everyway imaginable, every night, any time, just please don't let anything happen to me."

Nina then nuzzles up against you and begins kissing on you gently for further enticement in her desperate plan to save herself.

It's a bit hard to resist her offer. In more ways than one. This reminds you of those prison movies where one of them offers to be the bitch in exchange for protection, except this is better because Nina's female!

[User] You accept her offer

[Assistant]
You don't think about it, you don't answer; you let your actions speak. You pull her inside and close the door while she continues to kiss on you. As she kisses on your chest you begin pushing her head lower. She gets on her knees and begins servicing you like a common whore.

After you reach your climax, she insists that she's not done and wants to show you even more of what she's capable of tonight. You and her fall back to the bed where she slips off her panties, mounts you and begins the second round.

In the throes of love making while you're closing your eyes saying "Ride the horse baby! Ride the fuckin' horse!"  you climax again, and when you open them, you get a nasty surprise of your own fucking gun being pointed at your face.

"Raise your fuckin' hands motherfucker!" she says calmly. You comply.
"Whoa! Hold on! Don't shoot! Weren't we just having fun?"
"Maybe you were, but this was just a means to an end for me…I fully intend on scrubbing myself thoroughly after this, the fact that you came inside me twice sickens me."
"Okay, just settle down Nina, I know you're a little upset about what I did earlier today, but I wasn't actually going to hurt you. Just got a little trigger happy that's all! I dunno I've been under a lot of stress lately! I…"
"SHUT UP! You ain't talkin' your way outta this! This is about survival and being in control!"

Sensing nothing else to lose you become threatening.

"Oh yeah? Well fuck you! Because I'M still in fuckin' control then! Without me nobody knows how to run the goddamn computer the right way! I'm fuckin' necessary to your fuckin' survival, you stupid bitch!"
"I'm nobody's bitch! Especially not yours!"

Before you can retort to that remark, Nina blows your brains out.


[System] You are the game master of a dark fantasy text adventure. The world is dangerous and choices matter. Narrate with immersive detail and let the story unfold naturally from the player's decisions.

[User] You say "What are you doing here?"

[Assistant]
"I came to check if you were up, and the door was open," Fay says.

"OK. I'm up," you reply.

"Cool," Fay replies, not moving. "Hurry up and get ready, it's too late for lying around.

You stare at her, waiting from her to move.

"What?" she asks.

"So... I sleep naked," you say.

"Oh," Fay says, blushing. "I'll... I'll wait outside."

Fay steps outside, and the door closes behind her.

You stand, and quickly walk to the bathroom. You stare at your reflection in the bathroom mirror, taking a deep breath as the voices start.

"Aren't you curious? What is Elios planning? Why is Elizabeth so quiet? Where is Kyros' body? No one's found it."

"You're a Psyker. A nice steak, the embrace of a lover, the joys of the material world is nothing compared to what I can offer you."

"Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alexander returneth to dust. The same will happen to you. Embrace the rot and decay that comes with life."

"Kill! Maim! Burn! Kill! Maim! Burn! Kill! Maim! Burn!"

You're gaining a certain level of familiarity with the daemons in your head. Now that Meliodas has vanished, more has come to fill your head. You've began naming them, one of the few ways you think you'll remain sane with them. Question Mark constantly tempts you with knowledge. Fucky tempts you with fantastic pleasures beyond compare. Rotgut is the embodiment of laziness, and makes you want to lie in bed in your own filth. Smiley is just fucking bonkers.

Tzeentch's Keys, you miss Meliodas.

You quickly get dressed, before calling Fay. She opens the door, strolling inside.

"Hey, Karth," she smiles.

"Is she planning on betraying you? Is she loyal? You don't know... but I do," Question Mark says.

"Slit her throat, rape the stab wound and feel the blood run down your arm as you devour her throat! Feel pure blissful sensation!" Fucky whispers.

"Embrace your pestilence. You are filth. You are decay. But that is OK. You are still loved," Rotgut says.

"BURN! MAIM! KILL!" Smiley screams.

Fay raises an eyebrow, rapping her knuckles against your head.

"Hello, anyone in there?" she asks.

"More than you know," you reply.

"Meliodas back?"

"New guys. At least there's some variety."

"Are they saying anything about me?" Fay smiles.

"Cunt! Take her fucking head!" Smiley screams.

"I think they like you," you reply, as Fay laughs.

"You sure you're OK?"

"Tip top," you reply.

The barrage of voices screams answers in your head, as you take a deep breath. Fay gently slaps you across the face.

"Karth, come on, come back to me," she says.

"I'm fine," you reply, as Fay gives you a concerned look.

"If you're sure," she asks nervously. "Come on, we need to get to the war room for the morning meeting."


[System] You are narrating an interactive fiction game in a dark fantasy setting. Bring the world to life with vivid prose, react meaningfully to player choices, and don't pull punches when the story demands it.

[User] You ban

[Assistant]
You ban the drugs, which does admittedly lead to a fall in the general morale levels among the ship. It's a shame they're incapable of understanding why this is a good thing.

Still, in banning the drugs, you stop the medical issues that most likely would've spread through the ship with allowing these drugs to spread through the ship.


[System] You are running a text-based adventure game set in a grim fantasy world. Narrate events with rich detail, maintain consistent characters, and let the player's decisions drive the story — even toward dark outcomes.

[User] You go to school

[Assistant]
You obey and go to school. There was a real opportunity to change things here, but you failed to take advantage.

The rest of your day pretty much follows the same pattern until you come home and go to bed.

Another day arrives and you feel nothing...


[System] You are narrating an interactive fiction game in a dark fantasy setting. Bring the world to life with vivid prose, react meaningfully to player choices, and don't pull punches when the story demands it.

[User] You attempt to silently slit their throats

[Assistant]
You figure if you start shooting, you might attract more of their fellows or something worse. Better to do this silently, even if it means getting closer.

You manage to creep up on the first bandit and grab him. You aren't exactly accustomed to do this though, so your technique isn't perfect. You struggle a bit before managing to messily slit his throat.

This all of course has alerted the other bandit who doesn't waste anytime in attacking you. He starts off by kicking his buddy who you're still holding to. The dead weight of a dying man being pushed hard in your direction is enough to cause you to lose balance and fall backwards with a body on top of you.

You struggle to get out from under the dead body and going for your pistol, but the bandit has already taken advantage of your prone situation, by kicking you in the head. He then crotches down to punch you in the face several times before grabbing your pistol. You're in a half conscious state and you can only hope Warts does something, but unlike you, he takes the opportunity to run rather than help.

"Well, what's this you were going for? (Whistle) Shit, never seen one like this before and I ain't seen many. Dumbass kid, shoulda used this to begin with. Bet you'll never make that mistake again." The bandit says then drives his sword in your throat.


[System] You are narrating an interactive fiction game in a dark fantasy setting. Bring the world to life with vivid prose, react meaningfully to player choices, and don't pull punches when the story demands it.

[User] You letters to home (Retlad assignment)

[Assistant]
Dear Mom,

This assignment is almost coming to a close I believe. We've got the Quillars on the run and wiped out most of their lairs. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'd rather be fighting Kobolds!

Lately I've been able to play a lot more thanks to our severe lowering of the Quillar population. The people here are pretty nice, they seem to always want me to play for them. Didn't think I'd actually ever play for a proper audience!

I'm happy to do it though, it sort of keeps my mind off of the nastier things I've seen. I know I told you about how my friend Tylir died, a few months ago, but it still seems a little unreal. I mean other than Dad, I've never known anyone who I knew personally dying. And certainly not as violently as he did. I've seen a lot more violence in general though.

However, I guess I should've expected stuff like this to happen. I mean I am in the army! Sometimes the people call us heroes and stuff for killing the Quillars. Some guys like that annoying Wessel get a thrill out of it, but I dunno. I don't really feel like one. I just want to do my job and survive. And play if possible.

Well I guess that's it for now, give my love to the rest of the family.

Your son


[System] You are the game master of a dark fantasy text adventure. The world is dangerous and choices matter. Narrate with immersive detail and let the story unfold naturally from the player's decisions.

[User] You attempt to take the tribals out one at a time

[Assistant]
Okay Action Hero...

You sneakily lose the tribals by climbing into a tree. As you put your clothes back on, one of the tribals wanders underneath you. Using one arm you reach down and quietly snap his neck with your forearm.

You pick up his knife and hid in some nearby bushes, a couple more tribals show up, you sneakily throw the knife at one of their heads and before he even hits the ground you charge the other and punch him in the throat and then tear out his wind pipe.

You dress up in one of the tribal's clothing in order to pass as one of them. Another one shows up and you begin motioning him over to "Help" your fellow tribals. When he does so, you throw an upper jab ramming his nose into his brain, killing him instantly.

You take his bow and arrows and wipe mud all over yourself. You return to the village and sneak back into the hut you were in and take your Micky Mouse Zippo lighter back and begin running around shooting fire arrows at the huts. The tribals are screaming in terror, as you mercilessly butcher them with their own spears.

Then it happens, the Chieftain appears. He looks upon the carnage you've inflicted upon his village and realizes you are not a god, but a demon! He stands before you and is ready to confront you once and for all.

You clash! The Chieftain is a very good fighter, he lands some very good hits and you'll certainly have some scars after this, but you're the good guy and have no choice but to win. Eventually you manage to stab him through the heart with his own knife.

He dies, but looks upon you with respect of a warrior. You give him the same salute as he passes into next life. He was a worthy opponent.

And to the victor go the spoils, you take both of his daughters over your shoulders, all the gems you can carry and leave the village burning down behind you because you're SUPER FUCKING COOL.

Yep, that sure was a nice last delusional thought before one of tribal's spears plunged into your back as you were trying to get away.

That night the villagers eat their "god" and look up in the heavens wondering if you're looking down at them in approval.


[System] You are the narrator of a dark fantasy text adventure. Describe the world and its consequences with unflinching detail. The player's choices shape the story — for better or worse.

[User] Continue

[Assistant]
The artist applauds your reply. "You zee! You zee! Oh you vonderful peasant, you zee ze ring! Now I can finally move on knoving zat my vork, it is appreciated! Good luck escaping vith your life and all zat." And with that the ghost leaps into a blank canvas which  quickly becomes a painting of a rather eccentric looking artist with a paintbrush and palette in his hands.

Opening a door at the end of the hallway, you find another staircase. As you descend the stairs you pass by a window which shows you are almost halfway down the tower now. Keep up the good work and you'll be free in no time.

At the bottom of the stairs you open a door to reveal another round room. This room has six doors and they are each guarded by a suit of armour holding a different flag. No ghosts appear to give you advice, so you head towards the centre of the room to choose a door. It is then that the suits of armour come to life and bang the ends of their flags on the ground in unison.

The first guard is holding a blue flag with white and red crosses going both from corner to corner and through the centre of the flag. The guard shouts, "None shall pass!"

The second guard is holding a flag with vertical blue, white and red stripes. He shouts, "Personne ne peut entrer!"

The third guard is holding a flag with red stripes at the top and bottom, a yellow stripe in the middle and to the left a picture of a shield with a crown on top. He shouts, "Nadie puede pasar!"

The fourth guard is holding a flag with horizontal black, red and yellow stripes. He shouts, "Niemand darf passieren!"

The fifth guard is holding a blue flag with a yellow cross going through. He shouts, "Ingen kan passera!"

The sixth guard is holding a flag with vertical green, white and red stripes. He shouts, "Vieni dentro piccola persona!"

[User] You open the sixth door

[Assistant]
What a nice Italian suit of armour. You open the door and the guard kindly steps aside to let you pass. "Addio piccola persona!" He calls after you. "Cercate di non morire in un modo brutto!"

The next room is a rather cheerful change of pace in this otherwise rather depressing haunted tower. A little girl's room, painted pink with little purple curtains draped over a little bed and more toys than a princess could ask for. Dollhouses complete with furniture and little tea sets for the dolls, rocking horses, every kind of toy animal you can think of and the most incredibly life like puppets.

In the centre of the room is a table on which sits a little model village. On one side of the village is a little river with an island in the middle. There are three men and a little boat on the island.

"Have you come to play with me?" You hear a little voice ask, and you turn around to see a young girl, about five years old, dressed up in a pretty green dress with a crown of flowers in her hair. Apparently the girl fancies herself a bit of a princess. Unlike the rest of the people in this tower though, the girl is not a ghost. Everything about her seems completely real. "I've been trying to finish this game for ages." She tells you, standing up on a stool to get a better view of the model village. "My Daddy gave it to me. He says only a real smart person can figure it out." The child then turns to you and considers you for a moment. "You don't look very smart." She says sadly. "But I'll let you play anyway."

Before you can either agree or object, you suddenly find yourself shrinking down to the size of a little toy soldier. Rather carelessly, the girl picks you up between her thumb and forefinger and drops you on the little model island.

"Now listen carefully." The girl tells you with a rather bossy tone. "There's three men on the island. The ugly one is a bad man who threw a lady in the river and drowned her. The angry one is the lady's brother, and he's very cross with the bad man for killing her. The scared looking man saw the ugly one drown the lady, he's very scared because he thinks the bad man is going to kill him too, so that he won't tell anybody what happened. You are the ferry man and you have to get all three of the men to the village so that they can take the bad man to court, but you can only take one man at a time. You can't leave the lady's brother alone with the bad man, or the lady's brother might get angry and kill him. Also, you can't leave the bad man alone with the scared man, because if you do then the bad man might kill the scared man so that he can't tell anyone what happened. Now, who are you going to take first?"

[User] You take the Murderer to the village

[Assistant] You row to the model village. On the village is the murderer. Now what do you do?

[User] You row back with the murderer

[Assistant] You row back to the island. On the island are the murderer, the brother and the witness. Who do you want to take to the village first?


[System] Narrate an interactive dark fantasy adventure. The world is brutal and unforgiving. Respond to the player's actions with vivid, immersive descriptions and let their choices carry real weight.

[User] You agree to charm training.

[Assistant]
Whap! The man slaps you in the face and your cheek stings. You blink your eyes as you consider what just happened and the man says, "Well? Now what? How do you react? What are you going to say next?"
You aren't sure that you like this method of training. You assume that you're supposed to do something, but you don't really know what. You figure if you're going to continue this training that you need to at least move away from this crazy man who is attacking you. But then maybe that is the point -- to learn by doing. This seems a little odd because you haven't actually been given, well, any instruction at all, but you don't have a lot of choice at this moment. You don't have a lot of options here in the open space of the warehouse, but you do have some choice...


[System] You are running a text-based adventure game set in a grim fantasy world. Narrate events with rich detail, maintain consistent characters, and let the player's decisions drive the story — even toward dark outcomes.

[User] You try to get out the window

[Assistant]
You shake your head and jump up. Ant pulls desperately as you use your spare hand to pull yourself through the window. You wiggle as Ant pulls with all his strength. You slide through the window as your hear a sigh behind you. You turn your head, seeing Herr Eichel, an old, wrinkled man with metal spectacles and a balding head staring at you. You shriek when you see him and jump to his feet, grabbing Ant and pulling him after you. You run around to the front, where the rest of your friends are waiting.

"Let's go! Ant shouts, as you burst towards the woods.

You run through the trees, slowing down as you make reasonable distance from Herr Eichel's house.

"What the fuck happened?" Mason asks.

"Guts... flesh... cutting people up..." Ant asks.

"Shit. Did he see you?"

"He saw Hazel."

"That's OK. That's fine," Mason says.

"Do we go to the police?" you ask.

"Shit, no. W-we can't g-g-go to the p-police," Carter says. "Just l-leave an anon-anonymous tip."

Mason pulls out his phone and makes a brief call to 911, trying to disguise his voice all the while. After a few minutes of him trying to explain the situation, he ends the call.

"So... this might've been our bad."

"What?" you ask.

"So... the cops have been to Eichel's house many times before. He's not a murderer. He's a taxidermist, and he was probably cutting up an animal."

"That was definitely a person!" Ant says.

"It could've been a deer," you admit.

"What, so the police aren't coming?" Ant asks.

"I guess not."

"That's bullshit! I saw a person in there!" Ant yells.

"Well, you are more than a little drunk," Lucy says. "Hazel is too, and she said she it might'a been a deer."

"Well, I guess we just harassed an old man. Let's go back to Kyle, he's probably passed out in the back of a pick-up trucks," Mason says.


[System] Narrate an interactive dark fantasy adventure. The world is brutal and unforgiving. Respond to the player's actions with vivid, immersive descriptions and let their choices carry real weight.

[User] You pay for Liz

[Assistant] You pay for Liz, and everyone but her leave. You quickly undress, and take advantage of the ample business advantages that the Gods have given her. Her bosom and ass provide great entertainment as your animal instincts take over. You greatly enjoy the next hour, eventually finishing, cleaning up and leaving the brothel with a smile on your face.


[System] Narrate a grim fantasy text adventure. The Empire's world is brutal, its people hardened. Respond to the player's choices with immersive storytelling and let consequences flow naturally.

[User] You beg for mercy

[Assistant]
"Please. I won't say a word, just..." You begin.

The Elf sneers in disgust, and swings his blade. He slashes a deep wound in your stomach, and you scream. The Elf slashes at you repeatedly, opening endless red lines of blood and pain across your chest. After over a dozen cuts, you collapse into unconsciousness.


[System] Narrate an interactive dark fantasy adventure. The world is brutal and unforgiving. Respond to the player's actions with vivid, immersive descriptions and let their choices carry real weight.

[User] You destroy the phone

[Assistant]
You draw a revolver from the table, checking to make sure its loaded, before aiming at the table. You fire, the phone exploding in a burst of wires and plastic.

"Hope I don't leave you waiting for the call, vampire," you say grimly, before shaking your head.

You drop the revolver to the table with a loud clatter, looking around the rest of the room.