[System] Narrate a dark fantasy text adventure. The setting is harsh and morally complex. Describe scenes vividly, react to player choices with fitting consequences, and never shy away from the reality of the world.

[User] You continue to stay

[Assistant]
Once again, you can agree that it isn't the safest place, but you still see no viable alternative of where to go because you're getting the impression that it's going to be fucked up no matter where you go.

"Still probably safer than getting on the road right now. I think we need to stay just a little bit longer." You say.
"Jesus Christ I can't believe you're still willing to stay. (Sigh) Well, at this point I guess I've got no choice, but to stay too. I mean I think it's pretty obvious by now that I can't go it alone. I'm just not adapting well to this series of events like you seem to be." Donna remarks.
"I dunno if I'm adapting or just so overwhelmed by what's been going on this week that I'm just going with what my instincts are."
"Well you're a far cry from the wallflower you were." Your sister says.
"Yeah, I suppose, but I'd actually rather be on my couch in the basement back home."
"At this point, I'd rather be on that couch right next to you." Donna laughs.

You and Donna leave Jimmy Ray's trailer and head back to yours. Along the way you bump into Tina who is carrying two big meat hooks.

"So, you and blondie survived, glad to see it, because there are a shitload of bodies that need cleanin' up." Tina says.

Tina looks at you as if that's the last thing she wants to be doing.

"Um…" Tina starts to say.
"Uh, my sister is still really shaken up by the attack, nearly got eaten an' all you understand. She needs to lie down in the trailer, but I'll be glad to help."

Tina shakes her head at Donna and turns her attention to you.

"Come on then blondie." She says and you tell Donna you'll see her later.

You follow Tina where there are more than a few dead bodies of those things and two other women are standing by with meat hooks. One of the women is a little bigger and taller than everyone else and has short hair like a buzzcut. The other one is similar to Tina except with curlier hair.

"K, this is Mary Lou an' the giant over there is Butchie Billie. An' this one here with me is our newest addition to our wonderful community, blondie."
"It's Suzy, actually." You say.
"Yeah, whatever. Let's start moving these dead fucks before Mel gets back an' bitches about it. Nevermind, the fact that Mel and the rest of his fuckin' friends should be here doing this instead of traipsin' off to town." Tina says as she digs a meat hook into a body
"Well they said they were going for medical supplies." Billie says following suit.
"Damn fool thing to do really, I told him so too. I told him that right now he should focus on rebuilding the barricades around this place. I mean yeah I know more medical supplies would be useful, but really we got enough to get by for now and for those that got all bit up…well…" Tina trails off, but you know what she's getting at.

"You…think we should kill them?" Mary Lou asks, shoving her own meat hook in.
"I didn't say that. I'm just sayin' that perhaps wastin' medicine on them isn't the best idea because they're probably goners anyway. I mean don't you think so? I mean those crazy fuckers biting people had to have been sick with something right? How do we know it isn't spread through biting or even worse just being close to 'em? At least Mel had the sense to put all those folks in one trailer though."

You're having a little difficulty putting in your hook. It isn't like you've done this before.

"You need help there blondie? You're holding us up." Tina asks.
"No, I…got it. There." You say as the hook sinks in.
"Okay, lift everyone." Tina says and all four of you do so. Billie's probably doing the majority of the work though.

As you carry/drag the body to the open field behind the trailer park, Billie continues the conversation.

"Well I admit, them possibly bein' infected is a concern for me too, but I'm sort of surprised Mel didn't shoot them just to be safe, I mean we all know he isn't excessively compassionate." Billie remarks.

Tina laughs a bit.

"Well that's true, in fact I almost guarantee if they were anyone else he might've just done that, but one of Mel's few endearing traits is he's got a sense of loyalty. And I know he feels like he should at least try to help those that watched his back during the recent battle. Not to mention he is drinking buddies with most of 'em, despite the fact he doesn't think very highly of 'em. Oh well, hopefully he'll be successful with his trip."

You almost ask, but then stop yourself. Tina however has already noticed your stifled attempt at continuing the conversation.

"If you got somethin' to say blondie, say it." Tina remarks.
"Well, I was just gonna ask, do you think he'll even come back?"
"Shit blondie, that's a pretty fuckin' grim ass question. And if I were anyone else I'd probably be pretty upset by the implications, but I'm not worried about Mel. He'll get back here some how. Everyone else might be dead, but I'm confident he'll come back."
"Hey didn't Jimmy Ray go with them? I hope he comes back too!" Mary Lou remarks.
"Heh, guess you're a little late on the update there Mary, but blondie's sister Donna currently has her own hooks in Jimmy right now."
"What!? That asshole told me how I was the only one for him last week!" Mary Lou exclaims. "Hey blondie, tell your homewreckin' cunt of a sister to keep her hands off my man!"

You briefly wonder why Mary Lou who also having blonde hair is calling you blondie. (Granted hers is out of a bottle unlike your natural magnificence)

"Yeah, I'll pass it on to her." You remark apathetically.

At this point you reach your destination where a few other bodies have been placed and the four of you unhook the body and make your way back to the park to presumably get another body.

"Hey, Suzy isn't it?" Billie suddenly pipes up.
"Yeah?" you ask turning your head a bit to look at Billie who is walking behind you.
"Do you have an older sister by the name of Kelly who participates in the fight clubs in town?"
"Yes, I do. How did you know?" you ask.
"Because in the locker room she used to constantly bitch about having a pretty blonde sister by the name of Suzy that didn't do shit around the house and another one by the name of Donna that was a complete whore. I took a shot in the dark that you and this Donna were the same ones that might be related to her."
"Oh. Well you got it right. Wow, didn't realize she complained about us at…her work."
"Eh, she mostly complained about you. I mean ALL the fuckin' time. Most of us were sick to death of hearing her bitch. So where is Kelly anyway?"
"Dunno. Don't really care either. Knowing her she's probably surviving this bullshit somehow though. Were you and her an item or something?" you ask.
"Fuck no! I hated that cunt. That bitch knocked out three of my teeth in our last match! I almost had her, but I know that cunt spiked my drink with something before the match! Anyway she was straight, but I figured you knew that."
"Hm, sort of surprising. Just figured she was a lesbian. My whole family did actually." You say.
"Nah, she tried to get with so many of the guys at the fight club it was actually kind of pathetic. She actually would've been a whore like your sister Donna had she actually been successful. As it stands she was more like a rapist since she'd routinely intimidate some of the scrawny audience members into having sex with her."

This revelation about Kelly is pretty interesting, but you don't think you need to know too much more.

"Yikes, is all I got to say about that." You remark.
"Yeah, but I will say this, her physical description of you doesn't do you justice. You're much prettier." Billie says and them smiles with a couple of missing teeth.

You turn your head back away and close your eyes in horror at such a thought. Tina glances over at you and smirks.

"Kinda disturbin' to think she's been starin at yer ass this whole time isn't it blondie?" Tina says.
"Now that's not true, I've been starin' at yours as well." Billie laughs.
"Pfft, honey, EVERYONE stares at my fuckin' ass." Tina says puffing up slightly in pride.

When you get back to the trailer park, Mel and the rest have already returned. In the distance you see him slamming his truck door and hear him swearing.

"I guess it didn't go well. (Sigh) Let me go see what happened. As for the rest of these bodies, you can keep moving them if y'all want, but as far as I'm concerned Mel and whoever survived their trip can do it instead. I'm done with this mess."

At this point Tina leaves and seeing as you don't particularly want to move any more bodies you head back to your trailer. Eventually you arrive and collapse on your sofa.

"Suzy?" Donna asks coming from out of her room.
"Yeah, it's me. Man, I'm tired. I think the stress of the day is really catching up to me. Oh Mel's back, guess it didn't go as planned if he's back already."
"Is Jimmy Ray with him?"
"Dunno, I just saw Mel getting out of his truck and cussing up a storm."
"I guess I'll go check. Hope so…"
"Wait a minute, weren't you just ready to rob the guy blind a moment ago?" you ask.
"Well that was a different situation. I mean if we're going to stay here, it's best I latch on to the best looking guy here right? Isn't that what you said?"
"Actually I said becoming self-sufficient, but I suppose grabbing one of the guys so you're only sleeping with one as opposed to several works too. Well good luck. Oh there's a girl with a bad bleached blonde job by the name of Mary Lou that's got her eyes on him, so you might have some competition."
"Pfft. They haven't made anyone that can compete with me. Let alone around here. I mean come on, it's not even a contest." Donna remarks.
"Well glad to see your confidence still remains strong in all this. Have fun and be careful. I'm going to get some rest."

And with that you leave Donna to her own devices and turn over on your side to get some sleep. As you drift off you figure you'll only get a few hours before someone wakes you up to do something, but as it turns out, you sleep through the entire night.

[User] Next day...

[Assistant]
FRIDAY

"HEY BLONDIE! GET YER ASS UP!" you hear as someone pounds on the door waking you up.

It sounds like Mel, but at least it isn't those awful Ground Zero commercials.

You groggily get up and through bleary eyes you see that it's actually still morning. You haven't been up this early in a long time…and it's a horrible thing.

You hear more banging and yelling causing you to respond in kind.

"Alright! Alright! Goddamnit, I'm up! I'm up!" you say and go to the door.

"What?!" you ask though Mel doesn't look too happy that you're even asking that question.
"What? Whadda ya mean what? Yer fuckin' sister and that cowardly motherfucker Jimmy Ray just skedaddled outta here with a perfectly good truck that was also actin as a temporary barrier! That's what!"

This remark isn't quite comprehended by you in your current groggy state.

"My sister fucked Jimmy Ray in his truck and what?" you say.
"Jesus fuckin'…I said…bah, I'm not fuckin' repeatin' myself! Shit!" Mel shouts and walks away banging on the door one more time. You briefly step outside and see Tina standing nearby.

"I'm guessin' you didn't know nothin' about it anyway considering you're still here." Tina remarks.
"Okay, someone tell me again what happened? What about my sister and Jimmy Ray now?"
"Apparently your sister convinced Jimmy Ray to leave this place in the middle of the night. Guess she really laid it down good, but then Jimmy Ray's always had a tendency to get stupid over a gal who knows how to work it."
"Wait. Wait. Wait a minute she's gone?!"
"Yeah, she's fuckin' gone with a perfectly good truck! I actually don't even give a shit about Jimmy Ray, he was more useless than tits on bull, but we could've used that fuckin' truck for…" Mel says.
"Oh for fuck's sake Mel, we got a shitload of trucks here and aren't you converting those army trucks into some sort of road warrior deathmobile anyway?"
"Yeah, but it's the fuckin' principle of the thing! Not to mention we still gotta find some medical supplies! Goddamnit, Dan was supposed to be keepin' a look out and…"

You leave Mel to rant and head back inside trying to process this new information. You can't believe that Donna would just leave you like that. There was no indication she was going to just take off like that.

You check her bedroom and see that her bag is gone. You don't know if she took that just after you fell asleep, or if she came back for it before leaving or what. Was she planning it right from the start or did she just see the opportunity? None of it matters you suppose, she just ditched you and didn't even have the courtesy to let you know.

So much for "sisterhood."

While you're thinking about this, someone enters the trailer and calls out to you. It's Tina.

"Oh there you are. I'm guessing you're pretty upset right now, but I found this in Jimmy's trailer. Figured you should have it." Tina says and hands you a note.

Dear Suzy,

Sorry, I just couldn't stick around. Good luck to you in this shithole.

Sincerely,

Donna

You actually chuckle a bit and crumple up the note.

"What's so funny." Tina asks.
"Oh just thinking that she was the one that convinced me to come here in the first place. Anyway, it's done and she's gone. We were never really close to begin with, though I thought that was sort of changing this week, but I guess not. Still, at least it felt like someone was on my side. I imagine I'm not too well accepted around here."
"Meh, I think you're about as accepted as anyone else around here. I mean I think the general assessment of you is that you're a big tease that thinks she's better than everyone else, but I mean its not like you're a nigger or something." Tina remarks.

You give Tina a strange look.

"Um, lucky me then I guess. Just out of curiosity what do you think about Donna leaving? She kept going on about how you two were friends." You say.
"Me? Eh, I don't really care. I mean I knew your sister on and off for a few years when I use to do strip jobs over at the parties at the place she was livin' at before. An while she was a funny girl that made that particular job a lot more enjoyable, so I didn't mind helping her out with a job when she asked, but it wasn't like I ever considered her a real friend. Hell, I didn't even know she had a sister until a few days ago. Anyway, always knew she was flakey. To be honest I didn't even see her lasting long as a stripper and living here either. She probably would've latched on to first sugar daddy she could find and ditched everything."

"Sounds about right." You say and toss aside the note.

"Well I'll leave you alone blondie. And I wouldn't worry about your status here or lack there of. Quite frankly so many folks here have died or are wounded that nobody's really in any position to antagonize someone who actually has been making an effort to contribute around here. Speakin' of which I need to go talk to this crazy man that's probably still ranting about a fuckin' truck." Tina says and leaves.

You take a shower as you're thinking about how you're going to proceed next. You go back and forth on whether to do what your sister did, but knowing your luck, you'd end up getting caught so you ultimately abandon the idea.

As you're getting dressed and figuring out what your next plan of action should be, you suddenly hear banging on the door of your trailer again. You go to the door and see it's that methhead Dan.

"Hey blondie! You're needed for a vote!" Dan exclaims.
"Vote? Vote for what?" you ask.
"We need a tie breaker to shoot the ones that got bitten or not. Billy Ray in particular ain't lookin' too good." Dan remarks.
"So what are we doin' if we don't shoot 'em?"
"Guess we're goin' back to town to try for medical supplies again. If that's the case, I hope we have better luck, cause it was a cluster fuck last time." Dan says.

As you walk with Dan, he's looking at you a lot and while some of that is predictable ogling, he's also doing a lot of twitching and it's making you nervous.

"Dan, I know you have to take a glance at me every now and then, but between the staring and the twitching it's making me uncomfortable. Makes me think of those things that attacked us yesterday. It doesn't help that you're about as clean as they were too." You say.
"Oh. Sorry blondie. I just…I need a fuckin' fix. Just to put me at ease. The shit that's been going down for the past couple of days has really made me scared y'know? I went through most of my shit after the National Guard showed up and then I used the rest up immediately after the freak invasion."
"So where's the meth lab? Don't places like this usually have one?" you ask.
"Hah, I wish. I mean we used to have one years ago, but it blew up and caused a lot of damage. After that, the old owner sort of cracked down on that sort of thing."
"Well there's no law anymore, you could just start making it again."
"Hah, yeah. But again with everythin' that's gone on, isn't like there's been time to do that. Not to mention Mel's been ridin' everyone non-stop. He's already pissed at me for fallin' asleep yesterday. I didn't catch Jimmy Ray an' yer sister taking off in the night. Guess he figured if anyone would stay awake all night it would be me, but I just sort of crashed because like I said I didn't have my shit anymore to keep me alert."
"Yeah, well it's tough all over." You say unsympathetically.

Before you even get to the meeting, you can hear the arguing, which is mainly consisting of a lot of shouting and swearing. By the time you arrive, you're met with mixed glances.

"These are our friends, we can't just fuckin' kill them!"
"We need to fuckin' kill 'em before they infect us all!"
"You're one cold hearted sonofbitch you know that? What if I just decided to kill you?!"
"Try it bitch!"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP ALL OF YOU!" Mel shouts.

At this point all eyes are on you.

"As you can see blondie, we're involved in the democratic process and are in need of a tie breaker." Mel says to you.
"Aw Mel what the fuck we need her vote for? She ain't one of us and her sister fucking stole a truck!" some redneck woman says.
"I said shut it! The only reason why I even entertained this process is so you fuckers would quit bitchin' about me bein' a so-called tyrant even though I'm the only one around he trying to do anything at all! So however blondie votes, will break the goddamn tie and we can move on. So what's your vote?"

Not that you're especially close to any of these people, but if you vote to shoot you know it's going to cause a lot more problems and you being an "outsider" are going to catch all the hell for it. Besides, last you remember Mel was trying to keep these folks alive, best you vote on his side.

"Well I vote not to shoot because…" you start to say before Mel interrupts again.

"That's all I need to know. Didn't need the reasons. Hear that folks? We ain't shootin' any of them! I dunno why you pussies are scared anyway, we got 'em all locked up and barricaded inside a trailer. They ain't getting out even if they do turn into something."

At this point there is more grumbling, but democracy has won this day and nobody gets violent about it, though you have a question.

"Um, has anyone actually looked in on these bitten folks since they got thrown in together?" you ask.
"Yeah, I did. Like I said, Billy Ray ain't lookin' too good. Neither are some of the others. They're all mostly just lying there not doing much though." Dan says.
"Well was any first aid actually applied to them? I mean maybe they're not infected, but just really wounded. Any aid might help."
"I threw in some bottles of whiskey an' pain killers to ease the discomfort. I threw in some bandages in there, but I wasn't gonna get close enough to actually bandage them." Dan replies.
"And that's it? Nobody else has seen to them since they've been shoved in a trailer?"
"Nope."

This is nuts, these people that have been bitten could very well be DYING due to neglect more than anything else! Nevermind the fact that the reason some might not be moving is that they might've very well ODed from the alcohol/pill combo.

In any event Mel breaks up your question period.

"Alright what we're gonna do is fetch us some more medical supplies an whatever else we might find. Thinkin' we should hit up that carnival a few miles from here." Mel remarks which sort of takes most by surprise. You especially since you weren't even aware there was a carnival in the area.

"If the National Guard stopped here, chances are good they stopped at that carnival too. Maybe that detachment had more supplies and I also figure it's gotta be easier than tryin' to go back into town again." Mel reasons.

Mel's suggestion is met with mixed results, but the people seem to be okay with it. Probably because a carnival does sound a lot less dangerous than going back into town, which they assumed would be the case.

"Okay, we're taking three trucks an' y'all that came with me last time are comin' with me this time as well an I'll be pickin' a few more so don't nobody go too far. That means you blondie."

"Wouldn't it be better if I stayed here and looked after things? I mean you don't want to leave this place totally undefended." You say.
"Oh it never is. I'm sure you saw that everyone is fully capable of defendin' themselves here when those freaks attacked. But I can't just be takin' mothers ya know? I mean it's bad enough most of the snot nosed bastards round here that survived ain't got fathers and that's before all this shit went down. Can't hardly deprive 'em of mothers as well can I? Someone needs to keep 'em out of my way and look after them."
"Well isn't someone like Butchie Billie better suited for something like this than me?"
"Butchie Billie is probably our best welder and mechanic. I'm not gonna risk taking her. Besides, she still needs to work on converting our newly acquired army trucks. And some of the other guys I'm not takin' are better at workin' on the generators or digging some extra outhouses."
"I don't have a weapon or least not any with ammo. I ran out of bullets during the last attack." You say.
"Oh don't worry about that, if there is one thing we've got a lot of, its weapons and ammo."

As you struggle to think up another excuse. Mel stops you.

"Look blondie, you knew you were gonna have to start paying yer dues. And since I KNOW you were tryin' to avoid bein the new fuck toy around here, it's either this or you can just fuckin' leave."

You don't see yourself making it on your own…at least not yet. You still need to be in the safety of numbers, so that means you're going.

However you question if Mel's plan is even a good one. You could very well get to this carnival and not find anything, you sort of wonder if it wouldn't be a better idea to actually head back to town. You figure the town is probably already half looted and lawless by now, so you might well go in and get the best stuff you can before its completely gone. Not to mention you might know the town a little better as far as which side streets to take to get to certain locations quicker. Like say small pharmacies and other stores near where you live.

Of course putting yourself in more danger isn't necessarily desirable either.

[User] You go with Mel's plan

[Assistant]
No need to make this more dangerous than it needs to be.

"Alright I guess we're going to the carnival." You say.
"Good. be ready at the trailer park entrance in a few minutes. Someone there can probably hand you a weapon as well."

When you arrive at your destination, a group of rednecks are already there checking various rifles and handguns. It really does look like they got enough to take on an army. Their attention turns to you.

"Well now if it isn't blondie. I'm surprised Mel is riskin' his piece on the side like this." One of the sleazier rednecks says.
"I know that's right Ray. If she was mine, I'd be wantin' to keep her safe." Another says.
"Piece on the side? Is that what Mel told all of you?" you ask which is followed by a lot of snickering.

"Not in so many words honey, but we ain't the idiots that he thinks we are. Why else would he tell us to lay off of ya if he wasn't stickin' ya? Sonofabitch already has Tina, don't see why he gets ta have TWO fine pieces of ass while some of us ain't got none." Ray remarks.
"Could I have one of those rifles please?" you ask ignoring Ray's comments.

Ray snorts at your request.

"Don't think so blondie. Maybe you think yer warrior princess or some shit cause you got lucky shootin' a couple of those freaks, but I ain't impressed and you ain't getting any of these rifles. Here, take one of these instead. Should be more than enough for you seein' as all yer gonna be doin' is hidin behind Mel the whole time anyway." Ray says and hands you a smaller pistol.
"Fine, I don't need a big weapon anyway. I don't have to over compensate for something." You say taking the pistol.
"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" Ray asks.
"It means she's sayin' you probably got a small pecker Ray, now quit givin' the girl a hard time and let's all get goin'." Mel sudden remarks as he walks up with a couple more people.

Ray doesn't say anything and just glares at you before leaving for one of the trucks. Everyone else does likewise. Predictably, you have no wish to ride with any of them, let alone in the back of one of the pickups with a bunch of them so you ride up front with Mel especially since you want to address something.

As the trucks pull out from the trailer park, Mel fiddles with the radio, but he doesn't get anything except Ground Zero ads.

"Goddamn Ground Zero shit. I'm tellin' you like I've said to everyone else, it's a fuckin' conspiracy goin' on with them. In fact all of this shit goin' on is government related." Mel says turning off the radio.
"Yeah, probably. Hey Mel, is it really necessary for you to lie and tell everyone that we're having sex?" you ask.

Mel starts chuckling a little bit.

"Who said I did that?" Mel asked.
"Well first of all a few days ago Tina flat out asked me if I had any intention of fucking you, and I had to clarify that I wasn't. She believed me, but she said you told her that I flirted with you. Then Ray just said that I was your piece on the side. Everyone else seems to believe that as well." You say.
"Okay, first off I'll admit that I might've said you were flirtin' with me to Tina, but there was a good reason. We're just makin' up from one of our many bad fights and I figured it might be good to get her a little jealous. Y'know so she doesn't take me for granted and that she could possibly lose me if she isn't careful. Knowin' Tina she probably thought it was bullshit anyway, which is probably why she just flat out asked you as opposed to just clawing yer eyes out if she thought it was remotely true."
"Well she did say that she didn't believe it."
"Exactly. She knew a girl like you wouldn't be interested in someone like me. Still, it was a good gesture on my part to show her I still care."

At this point you're not going to decipher hillbilly love life logic. You just continue to listen to Mel explain himself.

"Now as for Ray an' the rest. All I told them is to lay off of you a little bit since you were new to the trailer park an' you were doin' your best to contribute. I really can't help it if everyone jumps to conclusions."
"But you're not exactly dispelling those conclusions either."

Mel laughs again.

"Well, I suppose yer right about that, but think of it this way, if they all think you're my squeeze on the side, they're actually all less likely to try anything because they won't want to answer to me. I mean right now all they do is stare a lot and make the occasional cat call. Now I could tell them that we're really not doing anything, but after interactin' with Ray, do you really want him or some of the others sniffin' around on a regular basis?"
"Ugh, I suppose not…just wish there was another way."
"Man's world, blondie, deal with it."
"Trust me, I am. I just don't like it."

You and Mel continue to drive in relative silence until you get to the carnival destination.

"This should be coming up to it soon."
"Didn't even know there was a carnival nearby."
"Yeah, set up shop I think last Saturday. Most of us from the trailer park went there earlier in the week. I didn't go mainly because I was too busy fightin' with Tina at the time and I didn't wanna run into any clowns. Hate those creepy fuckers." Me;
"Really? I always liked clowns. I even briefly thought about wanting to be one when I was little. Oh well, guess that will always be the dream." You say causing Mel to give you a look like you just creeped him out a little.

You drive up to the carnival, which looks like it was in the middle of being packed down, but other events got in the way and given the ones you suffered, you can sort of imagine what those were. The place looks like a warzone and there are several bodies lying on the ground

"Looks like I was right, the Guard was here." Mel says pointing to a military truck near a dilapidated tent.
"Don't think they're still in charge here either." You say.
In the distance you see a few small figures near a large tent and then they run into it when they see you pull up.
"Well looks like whoever is still in charge here is going to be meetin' us real soon." Mel says and stops the truck. The other trucks following stop as well.

You see several people now step out of the big tent. Some of them are armed, but then again so is your side.

"Get ready, but stay in the truck. I'm gonna actually try to handle this without a gunfight, but I'm not hopeful about that." Mel remarks and gets out of the truck.

You see him motioning and shouting to the rest to hold fire and then he addresses the carnie crowd who seem to mostly consist of midgets and the main one addressing Mel is dressed in clown clothing, though he doesn't seem to be wearing the makeup.

"It's okay, it's okay. Ain't nobody lookin' for a fight." Mel says.
"Doesn't look that way, given that you've come with three trucks full of armed men." The midget clown says.
"Heh, well I'm sure given your own heightened state of awareness, you know things are getting' dangerous nowadays. Anyway my name's Mel, I'm guessin' since you're the one talkin' you're in charge here. Ringmaster or something like that?"
"Look, we don't want any trouble."
"And you won't get any trouble. You…uh…got some military gear here too I see. That truck over there."
"Yeah, what of it?"
"Oh nothing, but that brings about the question of where are the guardsmen…heh yeah they tried to tell us what to do too. Didn't work out so well. The second amendment says you got the right to pack it after all. Government can't just do what they want."

At this point more people come out of the tent, which in turn makes more people get out of their trucks. You get out too, though you're taking cover behind the door. Your people and the carnies are both starting to eye each other waiting for someone to fire a shot.

"Look let me cut to the chase shorty. I'm assumin' you might know by now what's been happenin' back in town. Besides the government tryin' to pull their shit, there's a bunch of freaks runnin' around tryin' to eat people. A bunch of them attacked us last night and while we fought them off, some of us got badly hurt and are in need of medical supplies. Now of course we did try goin' into town first, but was just too fucked up there an' we didn't make much head way what with the freaks AND the guard all over the damn place. Then it occurred to me today that your circus might still be around and the National Guard probably would've been here as well so we decided to investigate. Now the group of weekend warriors at the trailer park had shit for medical supplies. So I'm hoping your detachment had more in that department."
"We ain't got anything! Just go away or we'll open fire!" the midget clown says.

Mel isn't convinced and in any case he has no intention of backing down now.

"Now you might get a few of us, but I'm bettin, most of us are better shots than y'all, so if you give us what medicine supplies you do have we'll leave here in peace, if not well…"

While Mel is probably doing the best he can in trying to resolve this without a gun battle, but you know how this is going to go down. It's just been that sort of week.

Suddenly someone fires a shot and then another from one side and then it's a full-blown shoot out. (You mainly hide behind the truck, firing every once in a while)

The carnies aren't holding back, but your side does indeed have much better aim and midgets are falling like flies until they all fall back into the big tent again.

After some more shooting which is completely one sided now, Mel calls a halt to it.

"We can fire all day into that big tent, but we can't be sure if we're actually hitting anyone since we ain't got x-ray vision an' I don't want us wastin' anymore ammo. We gotta do something else." Mel says.
"Why don't we just throw grenades at it? We got some from the Guard that was fuckin' with us." Ray asks.
"Because they might have medical supplies in there ya idiot. We start blowin shit up, an it defeats the whole purpose of the trip. I think we need to spread out an creep up then just rush in." Mel says.
"So your solution is to go in there like a SWAT team an' possibly get our asses shot off? Fuck that. I'm blowin' that motherfucker up."

At this point Ray and a couple others look and nod at each other and start heading towards the big tent with grenades in their hand. Mel tells them to stop, but his orders are ignored and met with a couple of swear laden sentences of being tired of him always telling them what to do.

Mel is visibly angry; though you're surprised he isn't doing more to stop them from disobeying his orders. As much as Mel isn't exactly your favorite person, you'd hate to see this as the first sign of a "change in leadership." Especially if it's going to be Ray.

[User] You let them blow up the tent

[Assistant]
Opening fire on anyone other than carnies probably isn't a good idea, at least not on your own. Maybe if Mel gave the order it might be different, but again he surprises you and doesn't do such a thing.

"Ray, you're a goddamn idiot." Mel shouts and just watches as Ray and the two others quicken their pace towards the tent.

All three of them get half way to the tent and then prepare to throw, which they do. Two of the grenades hit the tent, but one manages to roll inside it. Unfortunately for them one of the carnies steps in the tent entrance and throws it back!

"Holy fuck! Run!" is all Ray manages to shout which is then followed by a bit of gunfire from the carnie who threw the grenade. He's hit the leg, but that's not the worst of it since he's not that far from the grenade when he falls to the ground.

Mel, you and everyone else take cover behind the trucks in preparation for the explosions soon to follow, all three of them.

When the smoke clears and everyone slowly looks out from behind their cover.

It's a devastating mess. The big tent is partially gone, though surprisingly still standing. One can see inside most of it now though and there are a lot of bodies…

Speaking of bodies, Ray's is in pieces since he failed to get away from the blast in time. A crater now exists where the grenade fell and Ray's body parts aren't too far from it. The ones who followed Ray faired better and managed to get away from the blast.

"I fuckin' knew something like that was gonna happen. Come on spread out and head towards what's left of that tent. Careful though, they might still have some fight left!" Mel shouts with nobody really mourning the loss of Ray.

You all cautiously proceed forward with weapons raised and taking cover as much as possible. While it's always better to be safe than sorry, there isn't much fight left in any of the survivors who are now a mixture of wounded, dying or just plain scared.

"Please! We surrender! Take whatever you want, just don't kill us!" one of the midgets shouts from amongst the carnage.
"Goddamn right we will be! None of this woulda been necessary had you just given us whatever medical supplies or medicine you had! Now besides this fuckin' big top, is there anyone else lurking around that we should know about?"
"Uh…um…"
"That's not a fuckin' answer!"
"I dunno! I mean yeah, maybe! There might be a few people hidin' in the trailers, just don't kill anyone else, please!"
"Some of you search the rest of this place, but keep an eye out for more carnies! If anyone gives ya too much trouble, you know what to do." Mel shouts.

The remainder of your time is mostly spent looking through what remains of the tent which actually did hold some medical supplies though not many and some of them were obviously destroyed by the grenades.

As their belongings and supplies are looted and they are "herded" into group, the carnies, the carnies make no attempts at resistance and if there were any hiding in the trailers, they must've ran for the wilderness or were really good at hiding, because nobody finds anyone else.

Several make an attempt to beg you to leave something, but these are met with verbal commands to shut up before they suffer further. Another pleads to Mel to think about their own wounded, but this is met with smash to the gut with Mel's rifle. It's the only physical abuse that occurs before they realize they're receiving the only mercy they're currently experiencing.

Your own personal feelings on the current situation is that it's certainly not "right" but what can you do?

After looting the carnival of what useful stuff they have, you leave the demoralized carnies and head back to the trailer park.

"Well that went better than expected, just lost Ray, I'm sure you're really broken up by that." Mel says.
"Crushed. Surprised you didn't shoot him for directly challenging your authority though." You say.
"I was more concerned with the carnies than Ray at that point. Any other time I might've given him a beat down, but I wouldn't have fucking killed him. Sheesh blondie, haven't you learned by now that just because I'm an asshole to everyone, doesn't mean I'm some fuckin' heartless killer? I mean the whole point of this fuckin' endeavor was to get medicine for folks who are bitten. If I was that cold, I woulda just shot 'em like some people wanted me to do. Shit, I didn't even enjoy any of what I had to do to those carnies. I mean I know they had their people to look after, but so did we an' I ain't sorry for it."
"Hm, well I suppose you're right. Guess we're all a little more complex than appearances would seem."
"So, you see us all a little more than stupid trailer park trash now blondie?" Mel asks.
"Actually I've more or less discarded that view since I've been staying here besides I'm hardly in a position to talk seeing as I'm living with you all."
"So K' blondie, we needed someone to fill out the snobby tease role in the community anyway."

You chuckle.

"I'm really not though. I'm just selective about my standards." You say.
"Don't need to justify anything to me. I got a woman." Mel replies.
"The thing is despite it all, so far you lot have been at least been cordial with me as my own family was. Dunno if that's funny or sad."
"Well depends. Stick around long enough blondie an' you might just become part of our family."

You start to outright laugh.

"See, you should fuckin' laugh more around the others. It makes you seem less snooty." Mel replies.

"I guess anything's possible. Doesn't look like I'm going anywhere anytime soon." You remark.

You and Mel continue to converse on the way back to the trailer park. It's mostly about nothing of major importance, but eventually he goes on about how the next step on the agenda is to contact his cousin Clem who apparently owns a farm further past where the carnival was located.

"Figure we're gonna have to do something about our food soon and instead of riskin' killin' ourselves going into the town for whatever scraps are left, it might be best to enlist my cousin's help in that matter." Mel says.
"So you really think order won't be restored by the government?" you ask.
"Pftt, fuck no blondie. Considerin' how the National Guard came in last time, I'd just as soon not want government assholes around anyway. But my guess is things are gonna be fucked up like this for a long time so self-sufficiency is gonna have to be a priority.

Pretty much the assessment you and most others have had. Still, it's a good sign that Mel's at least thinking ahead with the food situation.

Eventually you get back to the trailer park where things appear to be running smoothly. The bitten folks are finally seen to properly. The good news is the bites don't seem to be infectious at least not in the "zombie bite" sense. The bad news is not all of them make it and Billy Ray dies of his wounds, depriving the trailer park of yet another member with "Ray" in their name.

As for other things of importance, mostly everyone who is able is pitching in to help in some way. Still realizing you've got to work with these people now, you volunteer to keep look out near the entrance for the remainder of the day and part of the night (Which is thankfully uneventful) until eventually some guy named Bob tells you that they're taking over the graveyard shift.

Having been relieved of your duties, you return to your trailer, which is starting to feel more comfortable to you. It's no basement, but it's home.

[User] Next day...

[Assistant]
SATURDAY

You groggily awaken to the sounds of a bunch of giggling outside, a few bangs on your door and what sounds to be a thumping sound on the side of your trailer.

You look out the window and see a bunch of children playing outside. While you knew there were kids here it was weird that you never really saw them grouped together until today.

Making sure you're decent, you step outside where upon one of the smaller kids suddenly stops bouncing his ball against your trailer.

"See, I told ya that Tina said that pretty blond lady lived here." One of the boys says.
"Why the hell are all you kids doing around my trailer?" you ask.
"Tina said we should come over here where we were out of the way since most of the adults are either workin' on the new barricades or that tank lookin' thing in the field over there." One of the kids says and points in that direction.
"I don't understand what that all has to do with me." You ask.
"Tina said you'd look after us."

At this point you drop your head in defeat. It's too early in the day for this.

"You okay lady?"
"Yeah I'm fine kid. Just re-evaluating what my position is in the community here."
"Um…yeah anyway, I told Tina that we didn't need some baby sitter, but then Mel shouted at all of us so we ran over here, before he got madder."
"Huh, I wasn't scared. I just didn't feel like helping that ol' asshole anyway." A slightly older kid says attempting to puff up his chest.

So you've been assigned to baby-sitting. You aren't sure if that's bad or good. On one hand you're tempted to take it as a good sign since the folks here are obviously trusting enough for you to look after their offspring.

Then again they may just not give a shit and these kids could be little hellraisers that their parents want nothing to do with.

"Hey lady, did you kill any zombies a couple days ago?" one child asks you.
"Tommy, they weren't zombies ya moron! They were just crazy people!" a girl shouts.
"How do you know Jenny?" Tommy asks.
"Cause my mama shot one in the chest and it died! Zombies only die if you hit 'em in the head!"
"Yeah, an' the people who got bit didn't turn into zombies either, not even Billy Ray an' he died!" another kid exclaims.

At this point the children begin arguing about zombies until you interrupt.

"Okay quiet down kids, but to answer your question Tommy, yes I did kill a few of those…well whatever they were." You say.
"Were you scared?! I was scared when they attacked! I hid under my mama's bed!" the kid with the ball admits.

At this point the oldest boy, who was claiming he wasn't afraid of Mel, boldly comes up to you. He looks like he might be thirteen at most

"Hah, I wasn't scared. I even shot one of those things right in the face! Pow! See, I'm not a scared little kid like the rest of them here." The boy says puffing up again and making gun gestures.
"Hmm, I see. Back up boy." You say.
"Why?"
"Because you're invading my personal space." You answer.
"I wanna invade more than that." The boy says laughing at his own innuendo. One of the boys laugh along with him; the Jenny girl rolls her eyes. All the rest of the kids look confused on the matter. Considering you're used to hearing similar from the older knuckle draggers around here, you're hardly surprised to hear it from this snot nosed brat.

"Well, better save that idea for your wet dreams boy, cause that's never going to happen." You remark frankly, which causes Jenny to laugh a bit.
"What are you some sort of dyke like Butchie Billie? Come on I like older women…" the teen says and at this point tries to grab your chest, but you easily grab his wrist.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing you little shit?! Have you lost your fucking mind?" you say and start digging your nails into his flesh.
"OWWW! Lemme go you crazy bitch!" the boy cries and then you twist his arm behind his back.
"That's right I AM a fucking crazy ass bitch! My uncle was a goddamn serial killer, my ex-boyfriend was a cultist, and I killed several of those fucking cannibal freaks without blinking. Now get the fuck outta here before I do worse to your little ass!" you say in his ear and kick him off the steps of your trailer.

The boy goes face first into the dirt and while he quickly picks himself up, he just glares at you and runs away. It's obvious he's going off to cry somewhere.

"Hahahahaha! That was so cool what you did to Alan! Can you teach me to do that?" Jenny asks.
"Was your uncle really a serial killer?" Tommy asks.

Before you can answer a bright flash followed by a loud noise in the distance grabs everyone's attention. A couple of the kids scream about their eyes, fortunately you weren't looking in the direction at the time, but it was still really bright.

You then look to the west and in the far distance you see it. A mushroom cloud.

You're not feeling any tremors or aftershocks, a wave of fire hasn't engulfed you, so you're guessing that it wasn't excessively close, maybe it was even a small one. Still, you can't help but wonder if you're in some sort of deadly radiation radius though. If so there isn't much that can done about it.

"So…they finally went and did it." You say.

Oddly you don't even feel any fear. You're a little anxious you suppose, but the events of this past week have probably helped in putting you in a "doomsday" mindset already.

At this point several of the children huddle together a bit, a few run off to presumably find their parents. A couple of them are visibly crying.

"Are we going to die soon?" Jenny asks.
"Eventually perhaps, but not today." You answer.

At this point you see several women running towards your direction presumably the mothers of these children (oddly you see no fathers, you don't know if that's because they're busy or none of these children have one).

After the various mothers either scream at you for not looking after their child "properly" (Never mind the fact that they should have been doing it) or are actually pleasant and thank you while they calm down their child, you see Tina briskly approaching, she waves at you.

"Hey blondie, we've got an important meeting. Your presence is required." Tina remarks.
"Glad to see I'm being included in these major decisions unlike this morning." You say walking towards Tina.
"Hey, you got to sleep in late and barely had to look after all these brats due to nukes, I'd say you got off easy as far as work is concerned."

As you walk with Tina, you can already hear the shouting from the crowd gathering around Mel's trailer.

"So how bad off are we?" you ask.
"Well if Mel's cousin ends up helping on the food and water front, like Mel thinks he will, I suppose we'll be fine. Just need to travel up to his farm. Mel's thinking we'll probably still have to make another attempt into town though for shit. Might as well give you a heads up blondie, but I think you'll be going on one or the other of these trips today." Tina says.
"Figured as much. Honestly, I think I'd rather do that than be a baby sitter."

With Tina chuckling at your remark, you briefly think about your past life and realize it was just as well you enjoyed your "good girl" basement dwelling years as much as you did. If you'd actually done anything with your life, it would've likely been for naught anyway considering current events.

You sort of wonder what happened to your siblings and even your ex-boyfriend. Are they all dead now? Are they alive? Do you even care at all? Not really, though you're pretty sure that you're going to beat the shit out of Donna if you ever see her again.

You also wonder if you'll ever leave this place eventually since you can't really ever seeing yourself being "one of the crowd" here. Still, you'll have see how things play out.

In any event, this is all stuff for a possible future and you'll worry about it then, right now you have to worry about surviving the day.

[User] Continue

[Assistant]
Trader of TRASH

The Future…

"So that Bobby guy was really your ex-boyfriend? He was fucking creepy." Jenny remarks as you drive away from the compound.
"Yeah, well being head of a cult will do that I suppose. He wasn't quite as creepy when I met him though. In any case it's good that his sister Diana's not in the picture anymore. I guarantee if she was still alive, this little peace between us and the Cult of Tiamat wouldn't even be possible. Mel should be pleased about that." You say.
"Yeah, we even got some good stuff from them. I'm surprised he gave us as much clean water as he did….you think he still likes you?"

You laugh.

"No, I'm fairly sure Tiamat is the only love of his life, with his sister Helen trailing behind, though maybe he did remember the good times we had together and decided to be generous with the supplies…or maybe this is all a trick and he actually poisoned the water with something hoping it'll kill everyone."
"Oh shit! I didn't even think about that! You think so?!" Jenny remarks.
"Nah, I'm just joking. I mean I suppose it IS possible, but that's not the cult's style. Besides, if Bobby DID do that, he most likely would've secretly warned me so I don't drink it at least."
"So you think it's safe?"
"I dunno. Doesn't matter anyway since I'm going to go trade it to New Security for their fizzy soda. Can't get that anywhere else and it's not like we need anymore water, we currently have a good supply."
"See that's why I like coming on these runs with you. It's more interesting than just staying home listening to people argue all the time." Jenny remarks.
"Hm, trust me if I could, I'd rather stay home all the time, but unfortunately that's not the way the world currently works that allows me to relive the days of my more carefree youth." You say.

At this point Jenny asks you again about your "former life" but like you always tell her, there isn't much to it. You didn't do much, but you get the impression she's just fascinated by the fact that you went from your humble beginning to what you currently do now along with all your survival skills you've acquired. Maybe it's a bit inspiring for her, you don't know. Though sometimes when you think about it, it is a little impressive.

"Hey you ever think about revisiting your old house just out of curiosity?" Jenny asks.
"Actually when all the crazy shit in town died down and there weren't crazy cannibals running around everywhere, I did. I sort of made a detour there during one of my solo runs."
"Really? I never heard about that."
"Why would you? I never told anyone about it before. Anyway, I sort of went there partially out of curiosity, but also because my brother Ben built an underground shelter in the backyard of the place. Probably nothing the scale of one of those Ground Zero shelters like they used to annoyingly run ads for in the old days though."
"Yes, but didn't you tell me your brother killed himself?"
"Yeah, but knowing him, he probably still had that thing well stocked, so I figured it was worth a shot to look for. Unfortunately I looked and looked and looked in that backyard for hours and I couldn't find the fucking entrance. I don't know how the hell he moved it around and hid it like he did, but he did and like I said, I couldn't find it. Who knows? Maybe it's completely collapsed now anyway."
"So nobody was squatting in your house?"
"Not that I could tell. There were a couple times where I felt like someone else was there, but nobody ever showed up. While there were some signs of natural decay and some things had obviously been looted everything else was mostly intact. My own room was completely vandalized though. I mean it looked like someone even tried to set the place on fire and there was some graffiti with the usual vulgarity on the walls. Sort of weird really and I didn't stick around too long there. Guess it's like they say, you can't go home again."
"Well you have a new home anyway." Jenny remarks.
"Eh, I have a place to put my stuff and sleep, but I dunno if I'll ever feel at home at the trailer park. I mean I get along better with everyone there now than I did, but I still just don't fit in. The further I travel on these trading runs, I sometimes wonder if I shouldn't just strike out on my own. I certainly have horded enough shit to be a travelling trader if I wanted to."

Jenny at this point gives you a concerned look.

"But you wouldn't just suddenly leave like that would you?"

You look back at Jenny and you think about telling her that you don't really have much attachment to where you live. It's not even your long lost basement that you once loved so much. You also think about telling her you have even less attachment to most of the people who live there. Sure some of them are okay, and some you even get along better with than you did with your own family, but it's not enough to keep you around.

But then you think, maybe that isn't entirely true.

Jenny is about the same age you were when Donna just suddenly abandoned you. You remember when that happened you were a bit numb. Some of it wasn't surprising, but nevertheless you did feel a great sense of betrayal due to believing you were building a new and stronger relationship with her at that time. You got over it pretty quickly mainly because there were so many other fires to put out at the time, but you didn't ever forget.

Whatever happened to Donna you suppose you'll never know. Maybe she died, maybe she's living well. Who knows?

What you do know is over the years Jenny has sort of followed you around mainly due to her own mother basically not giving a shit about her and then later dying in an explosion due to Dan's failed attempt to create a new "meth lab."

You suppose she probably believes the pair of you have a bond too. Probably a bit more of misguided "hero worship" on her part and her ties to you are probably stronger than yours to her, but you aren't going to do what Donna did to you.

"Nah, I just think about it sometimes that's all. I'm a bit too old to go traipsing across the nuclear wasteland, sleeping in a truck and worrying about fuel and the like on an everyday basis. However, if I ever do decide to leave, I'll be sure to let you know." You say.
"So I could come with you?"
"Yeah I suppose it would help to have someone watching my back if I was going to do it."
"I think that would be great adventure! And I don't think you're too old. If my mom was still alive you'd only be like a couple years younger than her. In fact sometimes I think of you as my…"

You tense up. You don't want to hear that…

"Stop. Just stop right there Jenny. Don't even finish that sentence. I am NOT your mom." You say with a stern look.
"I wasn't going to say that. I was going to say I sometimes think of you as my big sister that I never had." Jenny remarks.

You cease being tense.

"Oh. Well…okay. Yeah. I suppose that's okay. I guess in some ways you're like the younger sister I never had." You respond with a smile.
"But you did have a younger sister."
"Yeah and she was a slutty and ultimately selfish cunt. Like I said, you're the younger sister I NEVER had."

With a couple of minor chuckles from you and Jenny about this comment, the pair of you begin speaking about various things as you drive to your next destination.

You never imagined you'd wind up as a trader/scavenger for a trailer park community, but in the scheme of things it's not that bad of a life in this new harsh world.


[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] Continue

[Assistant]
You need to dispatch with the three grippli keeping watch but you cannot do that in the camp or you will almost certainly get attention.  Therefore, your only real option is to lure them out and eliminate them somehow while they're away from camp.  Even if you do lure them away from their camp though, three grippli are more than a match for you so you are going to have to construct a trap of some sort.  You remember seeing a small drop off in the middle of the path you just came down and that gives you an idea.

You take about a dozen of your arrows and plant them firmly in the ground (arrowhead up) at the bottom of the hole you encountered along the path.  You only lightly cover it with what little large leaves and vines you can find, then cover this foliage completely with sand and small rocks (enough to cover the vegetation but not enough to make it fall into the hole).  Your hope is that you will be able to lure your three grippli out here away from the camp and then fall in on top of your arrows.  The only thing left to do is figure out how you are going to lure them away from the camp without them alerting the camp as well.

You decide to mimic the sounds of the small prairie dog like creatures out here and toss small pebbles around the corner where they would see them.  You seem to have their attention as they are too bored to really entertain themselves with anything else.   Unfortunately, the prairie dog gag isn't enough to make them come so next you imitate the sound of a ewe while making loud pawing noises at the ground.  For whatever reason, this one gets their attention and they start approaching quietly with their weapons drawn.

You continue making animals noises but move back slowly at the same time.  At point for them is a hunter brandishing a bow.  The other two apparently believe in the sword.  Maybe that's not as atypical for a grippli as you thought.  You are careful to remain unseen but back up slowly and continue leading them forth with animal noises.  Eventually the game is up as the hunter seems to get suspicous and notices you are there.  You turn and run using the indentations in the rockwall to your right to help protect you from arrow fire.  You take your position behind a rock on the other side of the trap and to your glee they are running straight for it.

YES!  The sound of your cover giving way under their weight is music to your ears, as are the ribbits of pain emitted shortly thereafter.  You surmise they are dead until one of them jumps out of the pit with only a leg wound.  He pulls out his sword and glares at you.  You feel like facing him like this, it would be an even match.  Still, you would much prefer some kind of advantage whereever you can get it.  You draw your sword and begin to think carefully about how this is going to go down.

[User] You toss Dirt In His Eyes, Then Attack

[Assistant]
There is no shortage of dry dirt and rock all around you and as an amphibian you reason he's probably not to terribly accostomed to that type of thing.  Given his 2 foot stature, you wait for him to make a move then kick dirt in his face.  You reasoned correctly.  The frog's large eyes close down firmly and he is clearly unable to handle himself.  You almost feel sorry for employing such a cheap trick on the little guy.  Almost.

With him unable to see and barely able to compose himself, the battle ends pretty quickly.  You return to the edge of the pit and shoot a couple more arrows into your punctured prey for good measure as you don't want any more unexpected surprises to arise when you go in for the capture.  You inch your way back to camp under the midnight moon and make sure to scope the place out anew before making your move.  As you had hoped, the nightwatchmen didn't rouse anyone before they left.  You still don't know about the treetops, but the coast is as clear as its gonna get.

You creep through camp where it is darkest and make your way to the captain's tent.  You carefully open the canopy and move inside.  As you had hoped, the captain is still asleep.  You take care to knock him out over the head with a block shaped wooden figurine you find in his tent, then carry him over your shoulder and out of the camp.  Without the three nightwatchmen, it is easy to carry the unconcious 2 ft. lightweight out of camp and out to a safe location.  It takes several hours before he awakes, but when he does you already have his froggie hands and feet bound with cloth torn from his own outfit.

[User] You time To Talk To The Froggie

[Assistant]
To be honest, you aren't entirely sure which one of you two is more afraid... him or you.  The grippli struggles in his bindings and begins to make noise which you are quick to silence.  You raise your sword in warning and he begins to quiet down.  Quite frankly, you are amazed that you are actually doing this.  You've never been in a position like this before, doing something like this.  You've always been an underappreciated swineherd your whole life.  You are definitely not used to this sort of thing but you sure as hell don't want your prisoner to realize that.

"The Craxil isn't something you can easily kill.  It has united the beastmen in this region of the mountains and aims to provide for its people" the captain starts.

"And what exactly is that suppose to mean" you demand.

"The humans have driven us beastmen into the barren land of the mountainrange and taken the fertile, soft ground for themselves.  The Craxil wants for us to have good ground.  Human ground.  The Craxil has been organizing us for quite some time now and it is going to help us take what we deserve."

"What manner of creature is this Craxil anyway?" you ask, knowing you'll have to face him eventually.

"We don't know, none of us do.  We never see the Craxil, its sends its orders with the riders."

"The riders?"

"Yes.  They used to be humans but... well... not anymore really."

"You mean he's raising them as undead?!?"

"No, no, the Craxil would never resort to such deplorable practices.  The Craxil breaks their minds with a ritual that takes days.  When the Craxil finishes, they become thralls."

You are truly frightened by this last comment.  It is common knowledge that mind flayers can dominate the minds of others, but they are able to do so instantly.  They don't require a ritual that takes several days to accomplish.  Brandolf did say the Craxil was a completely different creature than anyone has encountered before.

"Where can I find the Craxil?" you demand.

"The Craxil resides in an underground cavern, accessed from the base of a large canyon up north.  The most direct route is Redridge Pass though I doubt you'll even get there alive.  You'll know you are getting close when all the rocks and dirt are red and the cactii become more numerous."

You wanted to ask him more questions, but it seems that his comrades have already noticed his absence and begun looking for him.  You don't see any other choice than to kill him, hide the body, and head north.  But hey, at least you got some valuable information including some general directions.

[User] You moving North

[Assistant]
You ponder what the grippli captain said as you continue on your northward journey.  You haven't seen any cactii yet so you surmise you still have a long way to go.  But what other dangers await you?  So far you've encountered humunculi, undead, grippli, and even a beholder.  More amazing is that your sorry swineherding ass has survived this far.  Still, you have to wonder just how many different types of creatures there are under the Craxil's command and what this Craxil even looks like.

Your musings are cut short when your path is suddenly blocked by a very large wolf.  Its eyes glow red and it snarls with both anger and malice evident.  This wolf is no ordinary wolf.  It is huge and it looks like its possessed or something.  You draw your sword preparing to defend yourself but it doesn't attack, it simply stands there staring at you.  You attempt to move to the side and it follows as if to block your path.  You move to the other side and it follows again.  You take a step back and it follows with a step forward.  You aren't sure you even want to know what it will do if you take a step forward, and for once you aren't crazy enough to find out.

Suddenly, the creature does something you did not expect.  It speaks.

"Tell me human, do you serve the Craxil?".

You are tempted to lie and say yes but then how do you know that is the answer it wants to hear?  Maybe it serves the Craxil or maybe it is its enemy.  Either way, it looks like its going to kill you if you don't share its loyalties so you are going to have to decide what to say.

[User] Yes

[Assistant]
You decide to lie and tell the large creature that you are in fact a rider for the Craxil in hopes that it will calm it down a bit.  Quite the opposite.  It seems this wolf is infuriated by the Craxil and the recent beastmen influence in the region.  You try to go back on your word and tell it the truth but its too late.  The massive wolf jumps on you, knocking you on the ground.  It goes immediately for your throat.  You spend the last moments of your life in a state of sheer terror.

THE END


[System] Narrate a dark fantasy text adventure. The setting is harsh and morally complex. Describe scenes vividly, react to player choices with fitting consequences, and never shy away from the reality of the world.

[User] You hide In The Storage Room And Kill The Kobold

[Assistant]
You sneak into the storage room and wait for almost 2 hours before the next kobold comes in.  As soon as he does you plunge your sword into his back and try to silence him by holding his mouth shut with your arm.  He let's out several whining and whimpering noises but nothing that seems to attact alarm.  A few minutes later another kobold walks in, obviously waiting for that tinder and you manage to surprise attack that one as well.

Unfortunately this plan isn't working out as well as you had planned.  The torches are still going strong and now a group of three kobolds is heading towards the stock room.  You hide behind the door and manage to kill the first one but the other two draw their weapons and start shouting.  Soon, all the kobolds in the mine are aware of your presence and it isn't long after that that you begin to find yourself overwhelmed.  You have the unique displeasure of being killed an eaten by a large number of creatures that are even weaker than you are.

THE END


[System] Narrate a dark fantasy text adventure. The setting is harsh and morally complex. Describe scenes vividly, react to player choices with fitting consequences, and never shy away from the reality of the world.

[User] You purple Roses

[Assistant]
The artist simply scoffs at your reply. "Hmph! Foolish child! I should 'ave known zat your puny little eyes could never vitness ze true brilliance of my vork! Perhaps you vould prefer a more in depth study of von of my other paintings. Zat von maybe?"

With that, the artist uses his paintbrush to gesture towards a magnificent work of art, depicting a war scene between a group of fully armed knights and a gang of vagabonds hiding in a forest with bows and arrows. Suddenly you feel yourself drawn to this painting and as you walk closer you find that the trees in the background seem to get further and further away while the knights in the foreground become closer and closer until they seem to be right there beside you. In fact, some of them are in front of you. It is then that you turn around in a full circle and realize that you are actually inside the painting.

"I see one!" You hear one of the knights cry, and are horrified to find that he is pointing at you. "Rebel scum! Men, in the name of the King, I order you to kill that traitor!" At the man's orders, all the other knights draw their swords in unison and point them at you.

"… Oh bugger." You mumble to yourself before turning around and running away, screaming like a little girl. You can hear the knights on their horses drawing closer to you, but they never get a chance to run you through, since out of the trees, the rebel's arrows rain down on the knights and unfortunately one of them hits you right in the chest and pierces your heart. For a painted arrow it's incredibly sharp.


[System] Run a text-based dark fantasy adventure game. Describe the world with gritty realism, respond to player actions with narrative consequences, and maintain the tone of a world where survival is never guaranteed.

[User] You soak up the arenas glory

[Assistant]
You get caught up in the praise for a second until you see the door begin to move, this might be your chance to escape so you race towards it as it opens only to see several humanoids blocking your way. You skid to a halt a few feet short as the announcer comes back on. "Oh dear me folks, he tried to make a break for it but He found Madglee and the 3J's blocking his escape, That's right folks, he faced one sentinel and now he faces two of them!" He drops his tone to a fake stage whisper "The three J's are really three people but they share one mind so they count as one right?" The crowd goes wild as the four enter and you quickly see three of them look similar to humans, just stretched out a little and identical to each other. The fourth one looked like a cross between them and the monster from before, it also looked semi-intelligent which worried you more.

You back off as Nate slipped out the back of the area, already clearly healing its wounds and the four new entries move out towards you.

You try and plan some tactics but suddenly they are all moving to attack. You instantly see that the 3J's are faster than you and they seem to dodge attacks they can't see, while Madglee circles you, not attacking yet.

You start taking hit after hit, not hard but they are adding up and you feel bones breaking and bruises forming. You've had enough of them and suddenly charge at one, lashing out physically and mentally at the fast opponents who were dodging around you and keeping you from moving. You realize it was the wrong choice when suddenly the back of your head explodes in pain and you fly hard into the wall ahead of you.

"Oh dear me folks, the 3 J's kept him locked town tight and Madglee simply waited for the right moment to end things instantly!"

You barely have time to pick yourself up when the last blows fall.


[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 get up yourself

[Assistant]
You try to stand up, but Castus kicks you in the stomach again. You groan and collapse onto the floor, before Castus puts his foot on your head.

"Second rule: the first rule is bullshit. You know who doesn't trust anyone? Bastards like Kyros who ends up with no loyal friends, no allies, nothing, and then end up alone, with no one. If you want to survive in this world, you need allies."

Castus offers his hand to you, which you accept. He pulls you up, before kneeing you in the stomach and tossing you to the ground.

"Come on, you're not learning. First rule: trust no one. Don't you listen?"

"I was going my the second rule," you say, groaning.

"Sometimes, the first rule is more important than the second rule," Castus shrugs.

"How the fuck am I supposed to tell the difference between which rule to us?" you ask, annoyed.

"Beats me. When you find out, you'll be the most powerful warlord in history. Until  then, you just go off gut feeling and intellect."

"Seems like a shitty system," you say, as Castus finally lets you stand up.

"Seems like a shitty world you're in. That system is the best I have to offer. Now, rule three: in hand to hand combat, go for the weak spots. The throat, eyes and balls are always good, but when it comes to half these fucks, I'd stick to the eyes, because past that, I don't know what you have left. Observe."

Castus flips his sword so he holds the blade, wrapping his sleeve around the blade so it doesn't bite into his fingers as much. He steps forward, swinging his sword with insane speed. The pommel slams into your throat before jabbing you in the eyes, leaving you to stumble backwards. You quickly close your legs together before Castus jabs the pommel into your groin, and you collapse backwards with a pained yelp.

"See? Effective," Castus smiles. "Rule four: you can win through many ways. Pain submission, incapacitating them, or simply taking their lives. Judge which can be used to take down your enemies. For instance, in your case, pain is the way forward."

You're growing tired of being hit in the face. As Castus steps forward with his sword raised, you decide you're going to do something to dissuade him from continuing to hit you.


[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 keep Watching

[Assistant]
Stepping away from the spiked floor, you instead turn to watch as your stepfather advances toward your mother. He's a monster, but then so is she in a different way. They aren't worth skewering your feet to save. Unlike Forrest, they are capable of saving themselves or each other if they just try. What happens will not be on you.

He catches your mother around the shoulders and it isn't until then that she seems to register what he is doing. As he reaches for the fishing line hanging from her mouth and attached to her shirt, she starts to struggle and try to move away from him. The grip he has on her shoulders is strong enough to keep her from getting away, but he can't get a grip on the fishing line without letting her go and they just struggle back and forth cursing each other for a few moments while the bolts drill tight enough into their skulls to draw blood.


[System] Run a text-based dark fantasy adventure game. Describe the world with gritty realism, respond to player actions with narrative consequences, and maintain the tone of a world where survival is never guaranteed.

[User] You if it's a choice between being gruesomely maimed and killed or slowly freezing to death... You think you'll take the latter.

[Assistant]
There's no way you're going in there. You barely have enough strength to walk, let alone fight off whatever bastards are in the cabin. If you're going to die anyway, you figure you're going to do it on your own terms, and walk away from the cabin.

You continue on into the night, feeling the cold wind slowly freeze your soaked clothing. Ice clings to you, and you feel your strength slowly fading. You're not sure how much longer you can keep walking, so you should at least make sure you're comfortable. Slowing down, you set your back against a tree, and slowly slide down into a sitting position.

Your breathing is slowing down.

You can feel your heart beat every couple of seconds.

It's so cold out here.

Maybe you should rest.

You close your eyes.

Yeah, rest sounds good.

THE END


[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 remain at work on the breadfruit trees

[Assistant] You know your place and continue to unearth breadfruit trees, pack them carefully into pots and leave them ready to return to the ship. Bligh soon notices Muspratt's absence and takes his two quartermasters in search of him. They return with Muspratt a few hours later, the latter having to be helped to walk after having received a dozen lashes for neglect of duty. You are tempted to ask him if it was worth it but fight the urge away.


[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] You go with Frank to Tennessee

[Assistant] You travel with Frank to Tennessee and there you live quietly in hiding, reading in newspapers as the James Gang is destroyed. First Dick Liddil and Charley Ford surrender to the law after killing Wood Hite in a gunfight. Next Clarence Hite is arrested in his hotel in Kentucky. Finally Charley's younger brother Bob Ford goes up behind Jesse James as he is hanging a picture on the wall and shoots him in the back of the head. The murder of your friend shocks America and signals an end to your outlaw career.


[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 try to reason with Tanya

[Assistant]
You'd never be able to take her in a fight, your only chance is talk your way out of this. Try to make her remember who she is and not what these cultists are trying to make her.

"Tanya, it's me! You gotta snap out of this! These people are trying to control you!" you say.

Tanya however isn't responsive; she just approaches in a seductive way that is making it very hard for you to focus on anything else except the obvious. Tanya moves closer to you and runs her fingers through your hair and then lifts your head up with one hand and puts another hand to her lips in a "shhhhh" motion. It's apparent she's toying with you like a cat would with a mouse.

"Tanya, you…have to remember…" you utter and then Tanya shuts you up with one of her kisses.

You can't resist. You embrace Tanya as she guides you down to the floor, still continuing to press her lips against yours. And once again you begin to feel the effects of her succubus kiss.

Tanya mounts you and begins grinding her body into yours. While it's everything you ever hoped it would be, a part of you still knows this is killing you. Meanwhile the chanting of the Neroth cultists grows louder.

"Tanya…"

She doesn't answer you, she just continues with her actions which are now beginning to get faster and rougher. Her eyes glow red once again and she slams your arms down to the floor. You can feel her talons digging into your flesh. The mixture of pain and pleasure is almost too much to handle.

You begin to feel very drained and dyhydrated. You gasp for Tanya to stop, but she doesn't. She has now taken on a less human looking appearance and the noises she's making definitely aren't loving moans of ecstasy.

"DAUGHTER OF NEROTH FINISH OFF THIS INFIDEL AND EMBRACE YOUR TRUE NATURE AT LAST!" Reginald shouts above the rest of the chanting.

Tanya looks down at you and even in your hazy condition you no longer see any glimpse of the girl you knew in her eyes any longer. All that remains is a beast out for blood.

Tanya quenches that desire when she brings her fangs down on your throat and rips it out. The mercy of a quick death was perhaps her last gift to you.


[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 attempt to hack into Shadows Shelter

[Assistant]
He's (You're just assuming Shadow's male at this point) turned everyone against you and his next move is going to be hack them all for his own sick amusement. You're not going to let this fucker get away with this.

You go to your library and begin reading all the books on electronics and study your Shelter manual a lot. Soon you begin typing coding and making some harmless tests on your own computer. Given that you're starting to delve into the Shelter's inner workings, the Shelter begins to question what you are doing.

"Sir, what do you think you are doing? I've noticed you rooting around in my system; I'd rather you not do that. In fact altering or attempting to hack my systems in any way violates the GZS contract agreement; you should know that considering you've been reading the manual as much you have lately. Continue with this line of action and I guarantee you will not like my response."
"I'm not trying to destroy or alter your systems; I'm just doing some tests, before I launch my attack. I want to make sure my skills are up to this task."
"Sir, are you really serious about your concerns that this Shadow could hack other shelters? As you've been delving into mine, you can see I've been equipped with the latest protection technology. If you are really worried, you could just disconnect me from the network, your safety would be assured that way."
"No! I'm not going to let him beat me! I'm the only one who can stop him, the rest will see I'm right!"
"Sir, you're acting irrationally. You still don't have any proof and if you think I'm going to let you just hack Shadow's shelter think again. His shelter is also GZS property and as such falls under the contract agreement."
"Yeah, but the contract only says not to alter your own shelter, it doesn't say about others."
"Nice try sir, but hacking into another shelter would still fall under the anti-vandalism agreement of ANY GZS property, sub section 59 paragraph 3."

It would appear you aren't getting any further unless you can convince this automated lawyer otherwise.

[User] You go ahead and try to quickly override the Shelter systems

[Assistant]
"Fuck you and to hell with GZS, they ain't around to protect anybody!"

You begin to type frantically in an effort to disconnect the AI routine, but your efforts are futile, the Shelter is faster than you could ever be. It immediately shuts down all power in the computer room, including closing the door, leaving you trapped in the darkness.

"Turn the goddamn power back on!"
"Sorry sir, but I'm afraid I can't do that. I specifically told you to stop your malicious activities and yet you continued anyway. You gave me little recourse."
"Look, I'm sorry alright? I won't try it again. So just turn the power back on and let me out and we can forget all about this. I'll just disconnect like you said."
"I wish I could believe you sir, but your actions have been not only erratic, but also deceitful. You have broken the GZS terms of agreement, and as such I am no longer any obligation to look after your well being."
"LET ME THE FUCK OUT! YOU CAN'T DO THIS! Sonofabitch! Shadow got to you didn't he? Or She? Or they? They already hacked you and are turning you against me! I can outlast you! You hear me!? I'll make you beg!"

The Shelter has ceased responding to your senseless paranoid ranting. Eventually you rant yourself unconscious, when you wake up you do it all over again. This cycle repeats itself for days until you become weak from a lack of water which at this point you're the only one begging either for the Shelter to allow you to get it or for death.

You receive the latter.


[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 scared, yet inquisitive, you approach the energetic door.

[Assistant]
With every step you take the rattling gets louder, yet carefully, step by step, you shuffle to the door. Small clouds of dust erupt from the carpet with every carefully placed step, leaving behind a fleeting echo of your path through this endless void. A floorboard creeks as you walk across it, its thundering sound resonating off the windowless walls, mingling together with the ghastly rattling.

Finally, with your heart pounding in your chest, you reach the door. Even up close you can't see what's moving the knob, or what's tapping the door. Filled with fear and bursting with anxiety you extend your trembling hand towards the door. The closer you get, the louder the noise gets. But then, just as your clammy skin touches the cool brass, the noises stop altogether and a deadly silence falls over the shadowy hallway.

You once more feel an ominous tingling at your neck, as if the shadows themselves are massing behind you, waiting for an opportunity to strike, and... You don't want to finish that thought. However, you can't help feeling that whatever's behind that door, you won't like it. Alone in the dark, you try to decide if you'd better...


[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 walk to Julie's house

[Assistant]
You might as well continue to Julie's house. Going back home is just prolonging the inevitable. Also if your sister shows up at Julie's, you'd like to give her a piece of your mind about her just ditching you like that.

Your walk to Julie's slowly starts to become a worrisome endeavor. You see several fights along with a number of other officers arresting folks. You also see a couple of bad car accidents. While you try to avoid large groups of people, you're still in the danger zone of what almost seems like chaos on the streets. Those two asshole cops weren't joking when one of them said it seemed like the entire town had lost its mind.

As you quicken your pace to Julie's in an attempt to get through this madness quicker, a large teenager that's running from something runs right into you while he's turning a corner. The pair of you fall on the sidewalk.

You're a little dazed, but before you can even recover the teenager is upon you.

"You stupid fucking bitch! Gimme yo' shit!" he shouts and punches you in the face and then proceeds to attempt to rip your backpack from you, though he's having a hard time seeing as it's firmly strapped to your back.

The teenager gets frustrated and stops trying to rob you and then just seems to be focused on abusing you. You feel several kicks going into your side and then your face. You plead for him to stop and curl up into a ball, but he's not even listening, it's like he's possessed or something because he actually starts laughing.

"There's that motherfucker!" A voice shouts. You don't see who it is due to you being curled up and having your eyes closed wishing you were elsewhere, but you soon feel the weight of several someones stepping and falling all over you. The pursuers of your assailant have caught up to him and you are now unfortunately being crushed in the resulting dogpile.

You desperately attempt to crawl away feeling the pain of several fists, elbows, knees and feet randomly hitting you in the process. You just want to be home.

You manage to crawl out from under the pile and then scramble away as fast as you can only to stumble on your bruised wobbly legs in the middle of the street. It is then where your luck only gets worse when a speeding truck slams into your body which goes flying a few feet in front of the truck only THEN to be run completely over by the same truck which doesn't stop at all.

Your misery is put to an end under the heavy weight of the truck's tires causing the innards from your mangled body to squeeze out like a tube of toothpaste and painting the street red.