It's peaceful, quiet. No one is around, and there are no sounds, save for the occasional rustle in the bushes. Just some small animal, you tell yourself. Nothing to worry about. Nothing at all. Or is there? [[continue]]Suddenly, you notice that the rustling in the brush hasn't stopped for some time now, at least the last fifteen minutes. You can't be sure when it started or what direction it's coming from. Is it growing louder? You don't know. You stop, and the rustling stops as well. "Hello?" You shout to the forest around you. [[stop]] [[start running]]All sound stops. You can hear nothing but the sound of your own breathing. There is no breeze to stir the leaves, no birds signalling between each other. It is a still, pregnant silence. It waits for you, to see what you'll do. [[try to talk to it]] [[start running]]You decide not to take your chances. Whatever's out there, you can feel it waiting, lurking, watching you. If it's going to eat you, you're going to make it work for its food. [[start running->trip and fall]]"Hello?" You shout into the forest around you. Nothing responds. There is no movement. You're not sure what you were expecting, but somehow, this silence is worse. "I'm lost," you try, voice wavering unsteadily. "I need help to get out of here." The bushes rustle in front of you. [[start running]] [[don't move]] You manage to run ten feet before your foot snags on a tree root. You go down hard, the wind knocked out of you and entire head throbbing from the impact. You're dazed, head spinning, but your blood is up, adrenalin pumping through your veins. There's no way you're letting whatever it is eat you. That's when you realize that the forest is silent again, nothing but the sound of your own heaving breaths. Even the dried leaves crunching underhand seem muted as you boost yourself up into a sitting position. The silence is a comfort. You feel yourself starting to relax. That is, until you realize that now you can't tell where your pursuer is. A sharp sound crackles behind you. [[look back]]You turn sharply, hoping to catch your pursuer in the act, but nothing's there. The forest is empty all around you, and a sense of dread starts growing in your chest. Are you losing your mind? Did you just imagine it? Was there anything chasing you in the first place, or were you just scared by your own footsteps? Another crunch, from the bushes on your left. You twist as your hand wraps around a rock, and see movement in the shadows. [[throw rock]] [[do nothing]]You lob the rock at the dark shape as fast as you can, eager not to lose it. There's a sharp cry from the bushes, and a sense of elation pours through you. It's over. You're safe. You stand and hobble over to the bushes; it seems you tweaked your ankle when you fell. Even that can't stop you though; you beat whatever what chasing you. You killed it! A wide grin splits your face as you stand in front of the bushes and pull them back. [[throw rock->continue2]]A rabbit darts out in front of you. You let out a deep sigh of relief, letting yourself laugh shakily. Just a rabbit. What a relief. At least you hadn't done anything you'd regret. You let go of the rock, glad you'd only been scared by a rabbit. Suddenly, a dark shape leaps from your right and tackles the rabbit. You stifle a scream as it immediately begins to eat the poor creature. [[stay still]] [[run]]A rabbit is lying on the ground, blood staining its white fur as the light fades from its eyes. All your elation vanishes like smoke. Congratulations, you've killed it. This was what you'd been so scared of? The hair on the back of your neck stands up as air moves across it. You freeze, eyes going wide as a growing horror fills you. [[turn around]]There's blood on his hands and face. You can't tell how old it is. It doesn't matter, you realize, as he tackles you and leans in to take the first bite. "I'm not famous anymore," he mutters. You've lost to actual cannibal, Shia Lebeouf. -BAD END-The creature is loud as it eats the poor rabbit alive. Maybe it'll be so distracted it won't notice you, you hope. You pray. It makes quick work of the rabbit, chewing on the bones before finally finishing. There is blood and viscera anew on the creature's face, and its eyes are wide as it turns to look straight at you. [[stay still->turn around]] [[try to reason]]You get up, and it's a clumsy motion. Your ankle is tweaked from your earlier fall, and it causes you to spill onto your face once again. You turn to see the creature look up from its meal, and in a flash, it's on top of you. [[turn around]]You freeze, eyes locked on the bushes. "Please," you manage to whisper, before the fear closes your throat. Slowly, a being emerges from the bush. It shifts from crawling on all fours, rearing up to stand on its legs, and it takes you a moment to realize that it's human-shaped. It takes you a moment to realize it <i>is</i> human. It takes you even longer to realize you recognize it. [[try to reason]] [[say his name]]You don't move. You'd only heard rumors of his detachment from civilization, but you'd never expected them to be real. He comes closer slowly, movements jerky, almost as though he's a puppet with broken strings. "Stop," you say quietly. You don't expect him to listen; it shocks you when he does. [[try to reason->keep talking]] [[say his name]] "Shia Lebeouf?" You whisper. He jerks unnaturally, twitching like a puppet on a string. There's something wrong with him. There's something very wrong, but you can't bring yourself to move. The fear paralyzes you, and all you can do is watch as he comes closer. [[say his name->turn around]]"I'm lost," you repeat. You can't tell if he understands you or not. "I need to find my way back to my car." He gives no indication of his understanding. It's deeply unsettling, but you're too scared of upsetting him to say anything or make any sudden movements. You remember who he is. You remember who he <i>was</i>. [[keep talking->good end]] [[say his name]] An idea strikes you. "Revenge of the Fallen was the best Transformers movie," you whisper. He freezes. You don't know if he heard you, or even if he's still alive. Slowly, slowly, the light returns to his eyes, and he shifts to stand up straight. There is blood on his face, hints of dried viscera. He wipes these off slowly, movements smoothing out to be more natural than they had been. "Thank you," he mutters hoarsely, and points you in the right direction to find you car. You've survived meeting actual cannibal, Shia Lebeouf. -GOOD END-