You've spent all day scavenging the ancient ruins of the wasteland. It's late afternoon and you should already have started heading home, but you thought you saw a structure that could have been something that wasn't a pile of rocks.
Upon closer examination, it is another pile of rocks.
Suddenly you hear a noise behind you, but before you can turn you feel A PAIN!
A TERRIBLE PAIN!
IN YOUR SIDE!
[[And then... (click here)->I'm ready to get stabbed]]
[<img src="https://i0.wp.com/torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/ya-got-stabbed-mutilator.jpg?resize=768%2C520&ssl=1" />]
<audio src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/wind-stabbed.mp3" autoplay>
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[<img src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/scalyback.jpg" />]
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Well hey there, little lady, looks like ya got stabbed!
[[Don't call me little lady, old man]]
[[It was you!]]
[[...nnnngggghhh...]]
<audio src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/toren-looks-like-ya-got-stabbed.mp3" autoplay>Alright, alright. Ya may be little but I can see you ain't no lady. Is ya all by yerself out here?
[[my cyborg friends are just behind that bridge, so don't even think about taking my stuff]]
[[maybe we can skip the how-do's and you can help me?->...nnnngggghhh...]]ok, lets get a look at ya (old man starts to pull up your tattered top)
[[Hey, watch the hands, you creep!]]
[[...mmmph...->removetop]]Metalheddz? This far from The Compound? (the old man pulls some binoculars out of an old reusable shopping bag and scans the horizon). Can't take the chance, kid. Good luck.
[[wait! I do need your help]]
[[(pull your razor boomerang out from your quiver and hold it threateningly)->threaten]]
<audio src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/toren-metalheddz.mp3" autoplay>
(The old man steps back and sits down on a stump). Suit yourself. I'll just put my feet up and wait for ya to bleed out. Then I can feed ya to old Tummyrub, here, without no fuss.
[[so a wastoid like you...riding around the barrens. Got your own pack and saddlebags on your scalyback. You must have a skinstitcher.->bargain]]
[[say nothing->conversation]]
[<img src="https://i1.wp.com/torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/scalyback.jpg?w=720&ssl=1" />]
<audio src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/toren-stabbed-SUIT-YOURSELF.mp3" autoplay>Ya gots three seconds to convince me you isn't with the Metalheddz
[[okay, well if I was a Metalhedd then I'd have like, knives for arms and shit, right? But I don't]]
[[if this really was an ambush do you think I'd tell you it was an ambush?->conversation]]You sure you got the strength to throw that thing, Scrappy?
[[try me]]
[[(throw it to the side)->helpless]]Or ya could have a nuclear power source in yer chest...eh? EHHH?
And Maybe ya got like a computer jack in the back o' yer skull, or x-ray eyes and you be looking at my junk right now!
[[Okay, look...Take my backpack. Leave me the radio. It's also got 20 teeth in it, maybe I can use them to buy some batteries off you?->takebackpack]]
[[come and see for yourself]]ya think I got to be an old man by pokin' around cyborg holes? I'll let your friends take care of ya, if they're real. Otherwise the carrion birds circling will. Maybe I'll come back tomorrow... see if there's anything left.
[[Wait! Come Back! ->death]](The man sighs and leans back against his scalyback mount)
[[hoot like a wild burrowing griebly->hff hff hff]]
[[Say nothing and study him carefully->kuru]]
[<img src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/scalyback.jpg" />]In the wasteland, death is a way of life.
[<img src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/death-stabbed-mutilator.jpg" />]
[[Start Over->I'm ready to get stabbed]]
<audio src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/gurgle-blood-stabbed.mp3" autoplay>Radio, eh? Who are ya gonna call?
[[Look, do you have batteries or not?->7batteries]]
[[Anyone who has another radio->stall]]
<audio src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/toren-stabbed-radio-eh.mp3" autoplay>Sure friend, I got, uh... four, five, six... seven batteries. Not sure if they'll fit or if they gots a charge. Gimme the radio and I'll try them.
[[You give me the batteries->you got batteries]]
[[Here, take the radio. The password is "Frenemy"->frenemy]]Friend? A friend you say? And where is this friend?
[[I can call him on my radio, but I need batteries for it. Can you help? ->you got batteries]]
[[Not too far. But in the meantime, I could use a medicine kit or some duct tape or something for this gaddamn STAB WOUND!->bargain]]Why bother, your savior is here! I'll take you back to your man-folk, we'll triumphantly ride into your settlement on my scalyback, Tummyrub.
[[Can't you see I'm bleeding out here, you idiot? I don't have time for your bullshit!->medical check]]
[[Yeah you want me to tell you the location of our sanctuary, so you and your raider friends can take all our stuff? Over my dead body!->watchmedie]]
[<img src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/scalyback.jpg" />]Alright. I keep 'em in my bandolier fer when scavs get close, they think that I gots bullets. AND MAYBE I DO GOTS BULLETS TOO!
Here...(tosses batteries)
Well well, looks like ya got a fit. Well, whaddya waitin' for? Turn on the radio!
[[Damn, I guess they're dead (bluff, you don't even turn the radio on all the way)->bluff]]
[[(turn on radio)]]
[<img src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/walkie-talkie-batteries-mutilator-stabbed-72dpi.jpg" />]Well that's a damn shame. If ya don't need the batteries I'll take 'em back.
[[(turn on radio)]]
[[(say nothing->conversation]]
<audio src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/toren-stabbed-well-thats-a-damned-shame.mp3" autoplay>**squeeerrrk**
[[home base, home base, this is Midnight Runner, come back. Got stabbed...need medical help...requesting pickup.->open call home]]
[[(quietly) Code Midnight...Execute Operation Avenging Angel...Home in on ping signal NOW and launch->avenging angel]]
<audio src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/walkie-talkie-static-sound-effect-stabbed.mp3" autoplay>Home Base to Midnight Runner. Roger, we read you. Are you secure? Please advise. Over
[[(to stranger) Am I secure?->askstranger]]
[[(into radio) There's an old man in a gas mask with a Scalyback. He gave me the batteries for the radio. I expect he wants something in return.->unsure]]Hey! What was that? Gimme that walkie!
[[(give old man the radio)->(give old man the radio]]
[[(slice the old man's throat as he lunges at you)->(slice the old man's throat as he lunges at you]]The old man grabs the radio. He pulls a gun out of his bag. You're not sure if it's real or a toy. He yells into the radio "Who is this? Where are you? I got your friend here, she's bleeding out and I'm the only one who can keep 'em alive! Tell us your location! Tell us your location!"
After a minute of this, you hear a high pitched whine coming from the horizon. The old man looks confused, and tries to track it with his ears and eyes. Finally a glint in the sky. The old man throws the radio back at you, and starts running full tilt in the opposite direction.
He's not going to make it.
The missile strikes at your location and your secrets die with you and the old man.
[<img src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/mutilator-mushroom-cloud-stabbed-72dpi.jpg" />]
[[Start Over->I'm ready to get stabbed]]
<audio src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Missile-Strike-Effect-stabbed.mp3" autoplay>You pull out your razor boomerang and swipe it at the old man as he comes forward, but in your weakened state he kicks it away with his heavy boots.
The old man grabs the radio and yells into it "Who is this? Where are you? I got your friend here, she's bleeding out and I'm the only one who can keep 'em alive! Tell us your location! Tell us your location!"
After a minute of this, you hear a high pitched whine coming from the horizon. The old man looks confused, and tries to track it with his ears and eyes. Finally a glint in the sky. The old man throws the radio back at you, and starts running full tilt in the opposite direction.
He's not going to make it.
The missile strikes at your location and your secrets die with you and the old man.
[<img src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/mutilator-mushroom-cloud-stabbed-72dpi.jpg" />]
[[Start Over->I'm ready to get stabbed]]
<audio src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Missile-Strike-Effect-stabbed.mp3" autoplay>
That's a lotta blood. Gonna have to take that backpack off. Watcha got in there?
[[syringes...full of radioactive tadpo venom, so hands off->backtrap]]
[[brrgll...]]I heard about this albino, said he was a trader. Brought a wagon into a settlement. "Barrels full of fresh water" he says. Yeah, he didn't know the town had a working rad ticker. Those barrels were hot. Tick tick tick. A mutant, he was...from the Forbidden Zone. Radiation didn't bother him none. Guess he wanted revenge for something the Pure folk did.
So, you immune to radiation too? Ya from the Forbidden Zone? Come to kill some Purists with a backpack full of rads? Maybe you think I'm a Purist?
[[YARG! ME AM MUTANT! COME CLOSE AND I BREATHE MY MUTANT FIRE IN YOUR FAAAACE!->try me]]
[[Take the backpack if you want it so bad. Just leave me the radio. It's also got 20 teeth in it, maybe I can use them to buy some batteries of you?->takebackpack]]
<audio src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/geigercounter-stabbed.mp3" autoplay>
[<img src="https://i1.wp.com/torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/lummox-from-Pierre.jpg?resize=225%2C300&ssl=1" />]I'm trying to help ya. Don't be stupid and put up a fight. Roll over, let me take the bag off.
[[(Wait till he gets close enough to lift your razor boomerang to his neck) How about you gimme your bag instead?->take his bag]]
[[Eeeeaaaaarrrrrrghhhh->roll over]]
Heh heh...alright, sure. It's all yours, Scrappy.
[[slit his throat]]
[[let him go->conversation]]
Yup, that looks like a stab wound all right. Got a medkit in that backpack? Or maybe some friends ya wanna call?
[[I got a radio but my batteries are dead->takebackpack]]
[[hff hff hff]](You slash your trusty bladed boomerang at the stranger. He staggers back, clutching his bloody throat. He wrestles with a wooden whistle he keeps on his necklace and tries to blow it, but manages only a weak, quavering vibration. Still, a big pink scalyback trundles down the hill, complete with saddlebags. The man barely pulls a machete out of a scabbard as he glowers at you through his side-eye, but his strength leaves him and he slumps onto the blade.)
[[Make sure he's dead]]
[[Rummage through the stranger's bag]]
[<img src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/bladed-boomerang-mutilator.jpg" />]
(You advance slowly to the body, weapon at the ready. The smell of blood is everywhere. As you approach the man, the scalyback hisses, and his giant tail whips you against a rock. Dazed, you are overwhelmed with a heavy smell and a hot wetness. You realize the giant lizard is eating you alive, from the head first. You hear crunching sounds.)
DEATH: Eaten by giant gila monster
[[Start Over->I'm ready to get stabbed]]
[<img src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/scalyback-mouth-mutilator-stabbed-72dpi.jpg" />]
[[an ancient book called "Mystery of the Space Dinosaurs"->oldbook]]
[[sewing kit and package of tampons]]
[[a plastic sandwich bag full of jerky->jerky]]Mystery of the Space Dinosaurs
By Anne O'Malley
Copyright 2027 Choicemake Publishing
It is a dark and stormy night. Lightning breaks through the sky like a computer generated graphic that illustrates debilitating back pain in a medicine commercial. You couldn't sleep so you stand by your window watching the sky, wrapped in your blanket. Suddenly, green ball lightning shoots down from the heavens towards the your parents' orchard. You stand gobsmacked as the trees light on fire. Before you can react, a blazing figure stumbles out of the trees and falls to the ground after just a few steps. You open the window and rush out into the field in your bare feet and pajamas. Even the sheets of rain have not extinguished the mysterious figure by the time you get to it. You smother it in your blanket, putting out the last of the flames. As you remove the blanket, you realize that the poor victim is not human! It's face is reptilian, with a beakish mouth and a fin on it's head, and a short, bumpy tail. A flash of lightning reveals a mottled green skin color. As it lays prostrate before you, it looks up to you and lifts its three-fingered hand. You see a triangular device or possibly an amulet in it's palm, which it weakly offers to you. You also notice that it has what looks like a holster on its belt, in which is a handgun of some kind.
If you want to take the amulet device, [[go to page 72]]
If you want to take the weapon off his belt, [[go to page 8]]Hands shaking, you stitch your stab wound to the best of your ability, lay the tampons over the wound and tighten your shirt. It's a bit slapdash, but that's wasteland triage for you.
You rest a bit but you are still weak. The sun is beginning to set. The sunset highlights a greenish cloud coming from the Eastern horizon.
[[Check your backpack to see if there's any food left->what food]]
[[Pull the gasmask off the stranger's body->put on gasmask]]Oh, was it now? You saw me do this to ya?
[[Ya stabbed me from behind you dirty bastard!->from behind]]
[[Show me your hands->cleanhands]]
<audio src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/toren-oh-was-it-now-you-saw-me-do-this-to-ya-stabbed.mp3" autoplay>Oh yeah, and then what happened?
[[you wanna watch me die slowly, you sicko->watchmedie]]
[[I...I don't know...->conversation]]Shall we make conversation while you bleed to death?
[[Look, my base isn't far from here. We got food and water. You patch me up and take me there and you can take away all you can carry->takemehome]]
[[give him the old, classic raspberry->hff hff hff]]
<audio src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/toren-stabbed-shall-we-make-conversation.mp3" autoplay>
Well, here we are. I'm watching ya die.
[[You want my secrets..screw you! I'll kill myself first with this razor-boomerang!->death]]
[[So why don't you finish me off?->finish me]]
[<img src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/bladed-boomerang-mutilator.jpg" />]
<audio src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/toren-stabbed-WELL-here-we-are.mp3" autoplay>
I could. Or maybe I could help ya. Your choice, wastoid.
[[Why don't you come over and try?->Hot Rock]]
[[How you gonna help me?->...nnnngggghhh...]]It's hot today, ain't it? Well...hotter than usual. I think I'll sit down on this big ol' rock for a while.
[[Don't sit on that rock, I just saw it move!->dontsitontortoise]]
[[Sure...have a seat, make yourself comfortable.->sitontortoise]]
You saw the rock move, did you? Let me guess, this is an old mutant mind-control trick? One way to find out, I guess...
(The man picks up a piece of petrified wood and tosses it at the round boulder a few meters away. It makes a hollow *clonk* noise and suddenly the rock begins to vibrate. It sinks slowly into the dirt.)
Okay, changed my mind. Not gonna sit down. Probably some kind of vibrating rock monster. Well, thanks stranger.
[[Looks like I just saved your life. So now you take me to my home base.->takemehome]]
[[How about some batteries that will fit my radio, as a payment for my good deed?->takebackpack]]Ahh! This ain't no rock! It's a spike-nose rock goretoise! AIEEEE!
(the goretoise harpoons the man through the midsection, and pulls his body into it's warren. You suddenly have an idea of what stabbed you in the stomach. Only three remnants of the man lie on the ground where he once stood):
[[A medical injector with the label worn off->injector]]
[[the giant scalyback on the hillcrest->scalyback eats you]]
[[a pool of blood]]
[<img src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/goretoise-mutilator-stabbed.jpg" />]You reach out and take the device from the reptile man's hand. There is but one flat button in the center. You push it and hear a soft static. The creature begins to talk with a gutteral babble, and when it does so a stiff nondescript voice translates the noises so that you can understand them. "Earth human, I am Lord XyroxoryX, from a planet in the system you call TRAPPIST-1, and I am in need of your help." A lightning flash lights up his glassy black and yellow eyes as he rolls over onto his back. "Reach into my breast pocket and retrieve the item inside." You gingerly fold back the seam of his charred space suit and pull out what looks like a crystal circuit with a warm glow that twinkles through an otherwise dark amber polyhedron.
"This is the Star-Crux," the alien continues, "it is of utmost importance that it does not fall into the hands of the Grellegites."
"Who are the Grellegites?" you ask through the translation device.
"They are killers...pirates. They seek me now, but I knew this electrical storm would mask my presence from their sensors. But the storm will end, and I too will end in but a few moments. The fate of the Star-Crux, and of the universe, lies in you. There's no time to explain through primitive language. Come close to me."
As you edge closer, the creature uses it's last bit of strength
...and lifts it's scaly hand
...to your...temple. Suddenly...
suddenly...
[[What's happening?->bleed out]]You reach for the belt and pull the weapon out of the holster. It's V-shaped design doesn't seem to indicate which end means business, and it only has a single disk in the center. You point the entire thing away from you up into the sky, and put your thumb on the disk. The device makes a gentle trilling noise, almost inaudible over the rain and thunder. In a moment you hear an answering 'ping' sound come back from within the orchard. The reptile man...
...becomes still...
as the rain...
falls on...
[[what's happening?->bleed out]]The world around you begins to fade into darkness as your wound bleeds out.
In the Wasteland, death is a way of life.
DEATH: Exsanguination
[[Start Over->I'm ready to get stabbed]]
[<img src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/death-stabbed-mutilator.jpg" />]
<audio src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/gurgle-blood-stabbed.mp3" autoplay>
Of course. I only stopped to help a wastoid in need.
[[Good, I am requesting a pickup. They can be here in a half clock and if I'm still alive when they arrive they will give you a reward of Rad-B-Gone, cactoid water and a sack of teeth->radstorm]]
[[Okay, now that I've contacted them they have my location. Thanks for the use of your batteries. Leave me here->go away stranger]](The old man puts out his hand and makes the 'gimme' gesture)
[[(Hand over the radio) The password is 'frenemy'->frenemy]]
[[(Hand the radio to the man, but when he takes it press the button that activates the poison needle trap)->poisonneedletrap]]
[[(into radio) Code Midnight...Execute Operation Avenging Angel...Home in on ping signal NOW and launch->avenging angel]]You drag your body over to the pool of blood.
[[drink the blood]]
[[rub it all through your hair and slather it on your arms->goodblood]]As you near the scalyback, it turns it's giant muzzle over to you and takes a deep sniff with it's fleshy tongue. Quick as a flash it lunges at you and you feel innumerable pointy teeth dig in as it devours you.
DEATH: Eaten by giant gila monster
[[Start Over->I'm ready to get stabbed]]
[<img src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/scalyback-mouth-mutilator-stabbed-72dpi.jpg" />]
<audio src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/gurgle-blood-stabbed.mp3" autoplay>(Ah this will give you some of your strength back! Actually, it's mostly dirt your eating with a soupçon of blood and radiation. So gritty! And actually you're still bleeding out heavily...getting weak...)
DEATH: Exsanguination.
[<img src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/death-stabbed-mutilator.jpg" />]
[[Start Over->I'm ready to get stabbed]]
<audio src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/gurgle-blood-stabbed.mp3" autoplay>With nothing to lose, you inject yourself with whatever is inside the injector. You immediately feel a surge of energy.
[[Stride over to the scalyback->scalyback eats you]]
[[Inspect the grisly remains of the old man->goodblood]]The blood is already starting to dry on the hot rocks, but you run your hands through it and cake it into your hair, and slather it on your arms. With the scent of the old man on you, you approach the giant scalyback. It swivels its great head towards you and probes you with its great forked tongue. It starts to lick you more vigorously, and threatens to push you over with its bulk as it gets more excited
[[slap it on the nose]]
[[go for the saddlebag]]You scarf down the jerky like you haven't eaten for days - because you haven't. It's good, still a bit juicy. It's not 200 year old beef jerky, so it must be homemade. There's even some small bones, oh and hey, there's a wedding band, that's made of gold! Oh, you just ate a human hand. Well, that's life in the wasteland. Hopefully you don't get the cannibal shakes, but that's the least of your worries.
[[Get on the stranger's giant lizard->scalyback eats you]]
[[Try to stich up your wound with the sewing kit->sewing kit and package of tampons]]
You whack the beast on its snout. It retaliates by nipping your shoulder. You fall back onto your ass, dazed. The giant reptile begins to waddle away. You use your last surge of strength to get up and start following. Just as you close in, the area around the bite mark feels like it's on fire. It becomes so unbearable that you can't keep on your feet. You collapse into the dirt, now with two fatal wounds.
DEATH: Bitten by giant gila monster
[[Start Over->I'm ready to get stabbed]]
[<img src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/scalyback-mouth-mutilator-stabbed-72dpi.jpg" />]
<audio src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/gurgle-blood-stabbed.mp3" autoplay>You reach inside the left hand saddlebag and pull out a handful of giant, glowing grubs, each about the size of a dill pickle. The scalyback lunges for the grubs and, startled, you throw them to the ground. While the beast is occupied with gobbling up its meal, you manage the strength to hop into the saddle. You take a moment to breathe. The sun is beginning to set. In the right hand saddlebag is a handheld signal flare.
[[use the flare to cauterize your wound]]
[[point the flare into the sky->flaresky]]Oh shit, this isn't a road flare, this is the kind of flare that is meant to shoot into the air. So you just fired a flare into your torso. You're not sure if the bleeding stopped but you are DEFINITELY are burning to death!
DEATH: Set self on fire with a flare
[[Start Over->I'm ready to get stabbed]]
[<img src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/death-stabbed-mutilator.jpg" />]You aim the flare towards the sky, point your face away, and pull on the ring at the back of the device. A bang and then three seconds later a bright red light in the sky that gently floats down to earth.
Minutes pass. You are at rest in the saddle now but you wonder if hopping up on the beast worsened your blood loss. As everything begins to go blurry, you hear a buzzing sound growing louder and louder. You see a light on the horizon, then two more, then more still, each getting brighter as they close in. The scalyback seems spooked by the noise and lights, and begins to hiss.
Metalheddz! Cyborg marauders that drive around the wasteland looking for victims!
[[Surrender]]
[[Activate scalyback attack mode!]]
[<img src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/metalheddz-stabbed-mutilator.png" />]
(The man shows you both hands. They're grimy but they don't seem to have fresh blood on them)
[[say nothing->conversation]]
[[Okay. So, save my life then, if that's why you're here->bargain]]Maybe I got something can save yer life. Maybe I do. How many teeth ya got in that big head o' yers?
[[I got 20 teeth in my backpack, it's yours for medical supplies and if you got batteries that can fit my 2-way, I just need to borrow them for a bit->takebackpack]]
[[You want teeth or you want fresh water and radiation meds? Take me to my friends and I'll see that you get them->A friend]] I see. A base, you say? Very interesting. Or maybe it's a hole in the ground filled with people-eaters like you, and when we get there they swarm me like a nest full of big-size blackjackets? No? You're a dreg of your word? Alright, convince me.
[[By my father-mother and the zillion invisible gods of the radstorm, my word is my bond->something]]
[[Take the radio out of my backpack and call in, use the password "frenemy"->frenemy]]
[<img src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/blackjacket-stabbed-mutilator-72dpi.jpg" />]
Hello? Come in? Yeah, your friend here is gonna die without any help. Got stabbed, by the looks of it. I got a Scalyback here, I can bring your friend to ya. Tell me..
(the man turns away from you and covers the earpiece of the radio, he tries to whisper into it but you overhear what he says)
How many people in your settlement? The password? Sure, it's Frenemy. Right, I got ya. Hang on.
(The man turns to you)
Hey Scrappy, how many people in your settlement?
[[About 100 (lie)]]
[[7 (truth)]]You flick a switch and a spring-loaded needle shoots out from the walkie-talkie and embeds itself deep into the palm of the strangers hand
"Eaaaaarrrrghhhh!"
You don't have the strength to wrestle the radio from him as he reels backwards. He turns and throws the device as far away as he can, pitching it over his scalyback. You hear a crack and a clattering as it hits the hard ground. Reeling in pain, the stranger pulls off his gasmask revealing a monstrous semblance of a face. He screams "I kill you now!" and launches himself at you.
[[Defend yourself with razor boomerang->slit his throat]]
[[Roll to the side]]As you kick out your legs and fall to the side, the old wastoid's booted foot slips in your pool of blood. He falls ass over tea kettle into a patch of sand. As he writhes around in pain, the sand creates a funnel, and the man starts to sink in. Before he realizes what is happening, two great barbed mandibles burst out of the sand funnel and dig into his flesh. They pull him in with lightning speed. A geyser of fresh blood blows out of the sand. Everything is eerily still. Then, from out of nowhere, thousands of tiny white buggies excitedly swarm around the sand patch where the blood fell. The tiny critters seem to be feeding, as they turn from tiny white dots into tiny red dots. Some of the tiny white dots, however, are following the trail of blood back to you. They move rather quickly for tiny white dots.
[[Use your last ounce of strength to bolt towards the stranger's giant gila monster mount->scalyback eats you]]
[[Use your last ounce of strength to remove your backpack and check for something useful inside->bugspray]]
[<img src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/worm-trap-mutilator-stabbed.jpg" />](You can almost see the scowl through the gas mask)
Okay, here's the deal. I'm gonna patch up your friend. At dusk, you're gonna drop off a package for me at the door to the old gatehouse at the rusty bridge over the gulch. Yeah, that's the one. Working guns, ammo, provisions, teeth, toilet paper. If I'm satisfied with the package, I call you back and tell you where to pick up Scrappy, here. Don't be late, neither, because most of her blood's on the dust and she's looking a bit pale. 'kay, bye now. Yeah yeah, over and out and all that shit.
[[Gimme the radio]]
[[So you do have medical supplies? Or was that a lie?->medical check]](the man talks into the radio:)
Do you see that green cloud on the Eastern horizon? I don't need to tell you that's a burnstorm, or worse. So I'm gonna keep this short. Tell me where to bring your friendo. Mmm-hmm. That's right, a scalyback. Okay sure.
(he aims the walkie-talkie at you but just out of reach. Your hear a friendly voice:)
*Midnight Runner, are you safe?*
[[I'm okay, for now->ride to home]]
[[Code Midnight...Execute Operation Avenging Angel...Home in on signal NOW and launch->avenging angel]]
[<img src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/radstorm.jpg" />]Sure, I'll give you the radio.
(He takes out the batteries)
We'll check in later.
[[So stitch me up!->medical check]](The man goes produces an antique first aid kit and tosses it at you)
Okay then. You're probably better at this than me.
[[Make a tourniquet by wrapping a length of bandaging around your abdomen, and wind it gith using the scissors as an improvised windlass->death]]
[[pull the blade out of your wound->bleed out]]
[[pour the bottle of isopropyl alcohol into your wound]]
[[drink the bottle of isopropyl alcohol->drink alcohol]][[now wrap the dressing around your abdomen->stop bleeding]]
[[now down the bottle of aspirin->too much aspirin]]Well, at least you don't feel anything when you pass out.
[[Do you wake up?->death]]Well hey, not a bad job there, Scrappy. Now, inject yourself with the blue liquid.
[[What is it?]]
[[You come over here and try it, Doctor Assface->Hot Rock]]Dummy, everyone knows that aspirin exacerbates bleeding! Well, maybe it's less well known after the apocalypse...
[[Now what?->bleed out]] A tranquilizer. It's my guarantee you won't get up to any shenanigans while we ride out.
[[inject yourself]]
[[Inject the stranger]](You notice his exposed flesh is red and scabrous, with bits flaking off. You also notice his hand shakes a bit.)
[[A bit shaky there, old man. I've heard cannibals get some kind of fatal brain disease that gives them the shakes. How long you got to live?->Hot Rock]]
[[You need some Rad-Away? My friend's got some->A friend]]
Okay I can't tell if you're just really hurt or if you've got the head-rot. If you DON'T want me to put you out of your misery and take all your stuff, shake your head three times.
[[Weeeeeee Aaaaaaa Oooooooh!->weeaaooo]]
[[Sir, your words betray you. I know of your kind. Have you learned nothing from this world? Look around you. Set your eyes upon the scorched horizon and lifeless sand, bleached by the sins of our forebears. Was it not Guy de Maupassant who wrote: "Man kills without ceasing, to nourish himself; but since in addition he needs to kill for pleasure, he has invented the chase! The child kills the insects he finds, the little birds, all the little animals that come in his way. But this does not suffice for the irresistible need of massacre that is in us. It is not enough to kill beasts; we must kill man too. Long ago this need was satisfied by human sacrifice. Now, the necessity of living in society has made murder a crime. We condemn and punish the assassin! But as we cannot live without yielding to this natural and imperious instinct of death, we relieve ourselves from time to time, by wars. Then a whole nation slaughters another nation. It is a feast of blood, a feast that maddens armies and intoxicates the civilians, women and children, who read, by lamplight at night, the feverish story of massacre." My life, my one single life, you may take, sir, but know that this act is whence the germ comes to flower. The seed that grows the garden of war. And where has that path led, I ask?->verbose]]
Okay, killy-kill time!
[[Roll to the side]]
[[Skreee-Skreeeeeee-kakakaka! I call upon my wingrider life-mate!->screamsummons]]
[<img src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/machete-stabbed-mutilator.jpg" />]
<audio src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/toren-stabbed-OKAY-KILLY-KILLY.mp3" autoplay>Twisting your abdomen to doff your backpack sends sharp pain through your torso and a fresh surge of precious lifeblood out of you, but you can now take stock of your inventory:
A walkie-talkie with dead batteries
Chrome spray paint
A box with 2 matches
A cybernetic middle finger
A hunk of mostly-rotten trison brisket
[[distract them with meat]]
[[burn them with spray paint]]
[[give them the finger]]
[<img src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/trison.jpg" />]Well I didn't see any nods.
(He draws his machete and lunges at you)
[[Pull out your bladed boomerang and defend yourself!->slit his throat]]
[[Go for it, ass-wipe! I'm a cyborg and I got a nuclear power source in my chest that explodes if my heart stops->my cyborg friends are just behind that bridge, so don't even think about taking my stuff]](The man looks puzzled and annoyed. He moves towards you with weapon drawn. He stops suddenly when your cry is answered. *skreeeee! skreeee!*)
What the?
(a giant bird and its rider clears a hill and swoops down at the man. Your ally hurls a javelin at the stranger but it goes wide and sticks into the dirt beside you. The man reaches his giant lizard mount, with his back to you, as the bird-rider circles back around)
[[Use the javelin to help you stand up->birdrescue]]
[[Throw the javelin at the stranger]]
[<img src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/HANDLE-ANIMAL-mutilator-e1588477584288.jpg" />]
Your ally grabs you by the backpack as the bird swoops down, lifting you aboard. Your adrenaline blocks out the pain, but you feel terribly light-headed. You're sure you will pass out in a moment, but you know you are in good hands. As the wind whips through your hair you turn back to see the old man shaking his fist at you.
You survive another day in the wasteland!
[[Try again for shits and giggles?->I'm ready to get stabbed]]The man begins to pull something out of the scalyback's saddlebags just as, with your last ounce of strength, you hurl the javelin. It runs through the back of his knee, and you realize what he was retrieving as he falls backwards and the object rolls down the rocks towards you. A fragmentation grenade!! Your airborne ally is just about to reach you and is in danger of being exploded along with you.
[[Jump on the grenade to protect your bird buddies->death]]
[[Throw the grenade back at the stranger->you lack strength for that]](Don't you remember that you used your last ounce of strength to throw the javelin?)
[[(Collapse on top of the grenade)->death]]
[[Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!]]The bird swoops down and sinks its claws into you, pulling you up into the air. Now you are bleeding from your shoulders, your neck, and of course your original abdominal wound. You look down to see the stranger go collect his unexploded grenade. Was it the pin not pulled? Was it a dud? You'll never know.
Once the bird flies over a ridge, it sets you down on the blackened scrub and hops to the side. Your old fried the bird-rider runs to your side as the life drains away from you.
"Kookaw bikky-bikky?"
[[kookaw bikky-bikky.... Kookaw....bikky...bik....->death]](The man turns away from you and continues to mumble into the walkie-talkie)
The Two Hot Pumps gas station? Okay so that's west of here. Hello? Hello? Come in?
...Damn.
Well Scrappy, we done got interference from the storm, can't get through to your buddies. What's the deal with this gas-station?
[[You put me on that lizard with this stab wound and I won't make it to the gas-station->medical check]]
[[Well it's home base, obviously]]Thank you. Now I cut you up and feed you to Tummyrub here. She hasn't eaten human flesh in days. AND NEITHER HAVE I!
[[Kick the cannibalistic bastard!]]
[[Roll to the side]] At this point you barely have the strength to put your hands up. One of the Metalheddz fires off some kind of net-gun from a jeep, pulling you off the scalyback and dragging you over the dunes as he pulls away from the scene. You lose consciousness.
When you awake, your vision has become discolored, and has some kind of crosshair reticle. You look at your gut and find it and your entire lower half has been replaced with dirty, creaky machine parts.
A fat, biker dude with metal arms and a bloody smock approaches you.
"Welcome to the Metalheddz gang, recruit."
You survive the wasteland for another day...more or less.
[[Start Over->I'm ready to get stabbed]](Prompted by your kicks, the scalyback charges straight towards the pack of cyborgs. It's giant maw grabs one of the raiders off his motorbike and you hear his armor and bones cracking under the powerful jaws. Unfortunately, a volley of harpoons and crossbow bolts from the other Metalheddz run you through in body parts too numerous to go into.
It was a valiant effort
DEATH: HARPOONED BY CYBORGS
[[Start Over->I'm ready to get stabbed]]
[<img src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/death-stabbed-mutilator.jpg" />]
<audio src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/gurgle-blood-stabbed.mp3" autoplay>You toss the meat between you and the swarm of mites, but slightly to the side to draw them away. But no, these are blood mites! They crave only hot fresh blood, like the kind oozing out of your stomach wound. Before you can rectify your error, they are swarming all over you, biting your flesh and sucking your lifeblood. You feel like you are on fire. AIEEEEEEE!
DEATH: EATEN BY TINY BLOOD MITES
[[Start Over->I'm ready to get stabbed]]
[<img src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/death-stabbed-mutilator.jpg" />]
<audio src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/gurgle-blood-stabbed.mp3" autoplay>You light a match and use the aerosol spray to create an impromptu flame thrower. You burning away the entire swarm but you expend your entire can of spray paint.
The light is fading from the sky, and is that a green glowing cloud you see approaching on the horizon?
You feel terribly weak
[[Eat the trison meat]]
[[Crawl slowly to over to the scalyback]]
You throw the cybernetic finger at them and kill one, or maybe two of them. The rest swarm your body and make their way to your open abdominal wound, biting at you all the way. You are consumed with pain, but soon the pain fades, as does your life.
DEATH: EATEN BY TINY BLOOD MITES
[[Start Over->I'm ready to get stabbed]]
<audio src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/gurgle-blood-stabbed.mp3" autoplay>You chow down on the disgusting flesh. You have a feeling it's going to come up later.
[[The stranger is dead! Go get on the scalyback and ride it to freedom! ->scalyback eats you]]
As you near the beast, it hisses at you, and its tail flickers aggressively.
[[Speak sternly at the creature and tap it on the nose with a nearby stick->slap it on the nose]]
[[Offer the scalyback the last of your mostly-rotten trison meat->scalyback happy]]The monstrous lizard sniffs at your offering with it's forked tongue, and then aggressively lunges at it, snatching it from your hand and gulping it down in one motion. It excitedly pushes it's muzzle into you, probing for more food, and aggravating your stab wound.
[[slap it on the nose]]
[[go for the saddlebag]]Well that's damn neighborly of you guys but do you see that deathstorm cloud on the horizon? By the time your friends get here, it'll be too close for me to get to my shelter. So how about I take you to your home base and we all sit it out together?
[[I propose we trade: your gas mask for my radio, then you ride back to your shelter before the storm hits. I call you later to trade for the radio->deal]]
[[You put me on that lizard with this stab wound and I won't make it to the gas-station->medical check]]
[<img src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/radstorm.jpg" />]Now hold up there, Scrappy. I just saved yer life. I feel like ya owe me a life-debt. Ya know about them life-debts, right? It's the lawwwwwww of the wasteland.
[[So I'm supposed to be your slave now?]]
[[Fine, just hang out here, we can work out a deal when my friends get here in half a clock->radstorm]]That's all I need to know.
(The man draws a machete and walks menacingly towards you)
[[(pull your razor boomerang out from your quiver and hold it threateningly)->threaten]]
[[Wait! I lied! It's just a meeting place!->medical check]]
<audio src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/toren-stabbed-THATS-ALL-I-NEED-TO-KNOW.mp3" autoplay>In your weakened strength, your kick glances off the wastoid's junk armor. He swings his machete and everything goes dark.
DEATH: murdered by a machete-wielding cannibal
[[Start Over->I'm ready to get stabbed]]
[<img src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/machete-stabbed-mutilator.jpg" />]
<audio src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/gurgle-blood-stabbed.mp3" autoplay>You grab the stranger's head and start unbuckling the gas mask. The scalyback grabs her former master by the feet, and begins to scarf him down.
[[Continue quickly pulling off the gasmask->survive the storm]]
[[Try to mount the scalyback while it's distracted->mount scalyback]]You manage to wrench the mask off the stranger, and see the horrid, mutated, skinless face of the man, before it is entirely consumed by the scalyback.
You fit the gas mask tightly and begin trudging towards home. The storm overtakes you and even with the gas mask, you begin to feel woozy, and tingly all over.
[[Keep walking]]
[[Nap time->death]]
[<img src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/mutant-mutilator-stabbed.jpg" />]
The beast is too occupied devouring it's former rider to protest you climbing into the saddle. You wonder if you will suffer the same point before the next day dawns.
The green cloud rolls towards you. You check the saddlebag and find a flare.
[[point the flare into the sky->flaresky]]
[[Try to ride the beast homeward]]The scalyback is so focused on it's hearty meal that it's as if you're not there. You watch as the strangers head, complete with gas-mask, disappears into the monster's mouth. Now, finished it's meal, the creature lays down to take a nap. You give up on riding home.
[[Use the stranger's machete to slay the scalyback, and weather out the storm inside it's radiation-proof hide->death by fat tail]]
[[Start walking home->death by radstorm]]As you trudge Westward, the storm overtakes you. You become lost in a greenish fog. Strange lights dance in front of your eyes. You feel too weak to stand.
DEATH: overcome by radiation storm
[[Start Over->I'm ready to get stabbed]]
[<img src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/radstorm.jpg" />]While the great lizard rests with its eyes half open, you lift the blade and look for a weak spot in its neck. You steel yourself, praying you have enough strength in your wounded condition.
You don't.
The blade scrapes across the tough scaly hide and the beast starts. It's meaty tail swings fast and clubs you in the side, reopening your wound and quite possibly breaking a rib or two. You pass out on the rocks.
DEATH: pummelled by giant lizard tail
[[Start Over->I'm ready to get stabbed]]
<audio src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/gurgle-blood-stabbed.mp3" autoplay>
Your feet get heavier and heavier, until you can no longer move them. You fall to your knees. All around you is darkness and a burning wind. Suddenly, you see two great glowing eyes piercing through the green haze.
It's a vehicle. If it's a marauder gang, you will likely suffer a fate worse than death. You move to draw your bladed boomerang from it's quiver. If you can't kill the marauders you will kill yourself! But your boomerang is missing. Did you drop it? Did the stranger take it? You can't even remember the details of your ordeal anymore. You're so tired!
The vehicle stops just short of running you down, and you hear a familiar voice call out your name.
Congratulations! You survived another day in the wasteland!
[[Start Over->I'm ready to get stabbed]]Everything gets blurry and you fall asleep. The next thing you know you feel yourself bouncing around and hear the familiar sound of a truck driving. When your eyes come into focus you see that you're in the passenger seat. Your belongings are gone, but you see your oldest friend driving you towards the sunset. He hands you a thermos of bug soup and a newly smithed razor boomerang.
You have survived another day in the wasteland!
[[Try something else->I'm ready to get stabbed]]You plunge the injector through an opening in the stranger's junk armor. He yells a profusion of profanities and grabs your hair with hand, and pulls a knife from his belt with the other. He takes a swing at you, but the tranquilizer has already deadened his reflexes and as you pull back his knife sinks deep into the crook of his arm, spraying blood everywhere. The man staggers back, and wrestles with a wooden whistle he keeps on his necklace and tries to blow it, but manages only a weak, quavering vibration. Still, a big pink scalyback trundles down the hill, complete with saddlebags. As the giant lizard arrives, the man flops down face first into the dirt. The last words you hear from him are "Ima get you fu...")
[[Kill the unconscious man with his own knife->Make sure he's dead]]
[[Rummage through the stranger's bag]]
[<img src="https://i.redd.it/hyaxa8bmiye21.jpg" />]Slave is such an ugly word. But I tell ya what, I like keepsakes. And I'll give ya a choice: I brand my personal logo onto yer ass, or you cut off yer left nipple and I take it home.
[[Sure, I'll cut off my nipple. Enjoy.->]]
[[You're a twisted freak but fine, it if will get you off my ass, then get on my ass->branded]]
[[You'll get nothing and like it!->try me]]You're gonna half to sweeten the deal right off the bat. Ten of the teeth in your head. I got pliers.
[[Alright, but I take the teeth out, not you->teeth pull]]
[[You try it and i'll bite you to death->try me]]The stranger throws you the pliers. One by one, you yank out ten of your teeth. You hand them and the walkie-talkie to the stranger. He pulls off his gas mask revealing the most horrifying face you've ever seen, and takes his spoils. He mounts his scalyback and they trundle over the hill.
As the green cloud rolls slowly towards you, you check the gas mask filter. Still good. Eventually the hot wind reaches you and you put on the gas mask. Shortly thereafter your friends in a battle truck roll up and you climb aboard. You are heading back home.
You're sure you'll hear from the stranger again, but that's tomorrow's problem.
You survived another day in the wasteland (a few teeth poorer)!
[[Start Over->I'm ready to get stabbed]]
Well we know how this goes. The man watches lasciviously while you fulfil your agreement. You've lost worse things in the wasteland. The man gives you an old tampon to stop the bleeding, and puts your nipple in an old sandwich bag. The old man mounts his scalyback and rides over the hill, laughing.
You sit, contemplating the future, as you wait for your friends to pick you up.
Congratulations! You survived another day in the wasteland, and only *slightly* mutilated!
[[Start Over->I'm ready to get stabbed]]The man starts a fire and pulls out an iron brand that has a gas mask and a hand giving the 'peace' symbol. You steel yourself not only for the pain of branding but knowing you'll have this tacky symbol on your buttock for the rest of your days.
Congratulations! You survived another day in the wasteland!
[[Start Over->I'm ready to get stabbed]]Ah yes! A hunk of very old "Meat by the Meter" (their slogan is 'the jerky that needs no expiry date!') and a very old bar of Child Labor Brand 90% dark chocolate
[[Offer the scalyback the last of your trison meat->scalyback happy]]
[[Offer the scalyback the last of your chocolate->lizard dies]]Today you learned that chocolate is poisonous to giant lizards, and also that giant lizards really really love the taste. You stand before the prone, shivering body of this very sick beast.
You hear distant thunder and see a giant green cloud of dealy radiation heading towards you. In the opposite direction, the sun is setting.
You quickly search the saddlebags on the dead creature. You find a single flare and batteries that fit your radio
[[Make a call on the walkie-talkie->static]]
[[Kill the radiation-proof lizard and slice it open so you can hide inside to wait out the storm->inside lizard]]
[[Shoot the flare into the sky->flaresky]]
[[put on the stranger's gas mask->gas mask lizard is poisoned]]Ew, it's sticky in here. Thankfully you have a gas mask so you don't have to endure the smell. You wriggle in like a burrowing tick and wait for the storm to pass. Suddenly, you feel a jerking sensation. And again. The hole you cut is pulled open and you see dozens of fanged mouths, tearing into the corpse of the scalyback. A pack of hungry dust raptors! One of them grabs your arm and pulls you out.
DEATH: Eaten by a pack of carnivorous dog-things
[[Start Over->I'm ready to get stabbed]]You fit the gas mask tightly. The storm is closing in and with no other recourse you begin trudging towards home. The storm overtakes you and even with the gas mask, you begin to feel woozy, and tingly all over.
[[Keep walking]]
[[Nap time->death]]
[<img src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/mutant-mutilator-stabbed.jpg" />]It's just static now. Must be some kind of interference from the radiation storm.
[[Try something else->lizard dies]]A religious wastoid is ya? So who do ya pray to when ya get mortally wounded? Cuz friend, you is mortally wounded.
Or are ya one of them Sisters of Unity cultists that give their bodies to hissers to propagate the hybrid master race?
[[What's a hisser?]]
[[I pray to the Giant Fat Child from the before times, who will carry hamburgers on a silver tray through a golden arch in time itself, and feed all those who are worthy->fast food god]]
[[I worship the METAL GODZZ!]]
[[I pray to the zillion invisible gods of the radstorm, weren't you listening? And by skyborne decree they ordain that you help a fellow wastoid->bargain]]What's a hisser? What's a hisser?
A hisser, my dear naive child, is a cockroach that walks on two legs. Or sometimes four I guess. Anyway it stands upright, as tall as a man, and it loves radiation. Used to be they controlled DamTown way up north before the tribes of mountain people all banded together and...
waitaminnit this aint no history class!
Let's get back to reality. You were going telling me about your home base.
[[Take the radio out of my backpack and call in, use the password "frenemy"->frenemy]]
[[Basey basey is my home, I calls it the Underdome. If its secrets you would loot, you must wear a diving suit. Hee hee hee!->hff hff hff]]
[<img src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Red-clicker-add-grey-tones-to-this-mutilator-e1588569493842.jpg" />]Right, right. And your fat child god give you any holy hamburgers lately? Got 'em stashed in that backpack?
[[I got a hunk of rotten trison meat. I will trade it for a medical kit->give me medkit]]
[[What I got in my back pack is...THIS DEADLY RAZOR BOOMERANG which can slice your head in two with a flick of my wrist!->threaten]]Metal Godzz? Cyborgs? You with that cyborg raider gang The Metalheddz? THOSE BASTARDS KILLED MY FAMILY!
I!
Will!
Have my...
REVENNNNNNNGE!!!
[[Wait! I'm not a cyborg!->wait! I do need your help]]
[[Come at me, old man!->weeaaooo]]My scalyback loves rotten meat, but I like my meat fresh off the bone. Mmmmmm yum yum yum (the man moves towards you with one hand on the butt of a machete)
[[Unnnnnhh...(act like you've succumbed to your wounds and play dead)->play dead]]
[[Stop! Spare me and I'll owe you a life debt! I can hunt other humans for you to eat->im your slave]]Like a master thesbian you clutch your stab wound, moan, and fall in a manner that allows you to reach into your backpack. The man mumbles "still alive there?" and kicks some dirt at you, but you don't flinch. He advances cautiously towards you.
[[When he gets close enough, slash at him with your boomerang->slit his throat]]
[[Whallop him with your hunk of rotting trison meat->meat as weapon]]
Double-click this passage to edit it.With a suprising amount of strength, given your condition, you swing the hunk of festering brisket with such force that it gets lodged between his gas mask and his face. He blindly staggers away trying to pull it out and nears his scalyback mount. The giant lizards catches a whiff of the meat and gallops at the man, knocking him down, and biting his head clean off.
[[mount the scalyback->scalyback eats you]]
[[Rummage through the stranger's bag]]Well well well I like yer enthusiasm! So quick to become a slave...maybe ya been a slave before and ya got a taste for it? Very well, I accept.
But yer not really in much of a state to be very useful, are ya? Here, take this medical injector and inject yerself with it. It'll fix ya up real nice.
[[inject yourself with the cloudy fluid->tied up in basement]]
[[As you wish. (pretend to inject it into your leg)->fake inject]]
[[Actually I changed my mind->conversation]](The man watches)
[[leap at the man and inject him with the injector->he defeats you]]
[[Unnnnhhh...(pretend to collapse)]](You hear the man walk towards you)
[[You die now! (Use your bladed boomerang on him)->slit his throat]]
[[Here's a taste of your own medicine! (Use the injector on the man)->inject man]]You wake up chained to a wall in a concrete room. Your belongings are gone and your naked skin has dotted lines all over to delineate the different cuts of meat.
You hear someone sharpening a knife nearby.
DEATH: eaten by cannibal(s)
[[Start Over->I'm ready to get stabbed]]The man reaches down to grab you and you lunge, forcing the business end of the injector into the palm of his hand. He reels back, pulls the injector out of it and tosses it on top of a nearby rock.
[[Take that! (kick him towards the rock)->sitontortoise]]
[[Yeah that's right! Don't fuck with me! (let him make the next move)->man rides away]]What do you think you're some kind of action hero? YA GOT STABBED! As soon as you move to stand you become light-headed and fall at the man's feet. He grabs the injector and sticks it into your neck.
[[So sleepy all of a sudden!->tied up in basement]]"Oh yeah? Well why don't...why don't...oh god..."
The man staggers to his scalyback and tries to pull himself into the saddle, but only gets half way up before he gets his foot caught in the stirrup leathers. He makes a clicking noise with his mouth and the scalyback starts to trundle away over a hill, dragging the now unconscious man behind him.
You see green deathstorm clouds collecting on the horizon. You think to yourself that it doesn't matter. You'll bleed out before it gets here.
But you are wrong. It arrives and it carries with it sky-stranglers who float down and collect you.
DEATH: consumed by radioactive cloud jellies
[[Start Over->I'm ready to get stabbed]]
[<img src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/jelly.jpg
" />]
<audio src="https://torenatkinson.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/gurgle-blood-stabbed.mp3" autoplay>I might have something to help youDouble-click this passage to edit it.