[[Start the game ->Choose your emotional status]]Yes [[I have a girlfriend]]
No [[I am single]]
(set: $impression to 0)One early morning you hear a feeble knock at the door of your room. "That doesn't make sense," you whisper to yourself, "zombies would not make such noise."
You rush to the door and put your hand on the doorknob. You choose to
1. [[open the door]]
2. [[not open the door]]You realize that it's the knocking of a human being, a living human being! You haven't met new people after the outbreak of zombie virus, and you are longing for connection badly.
You open the door immediately, a handsome boy with a blonde hair standing right infront of you. He is someone that you would have fallen in love with if not in the doom day.
You stare him for a while until he decides to [[break the awkward silence->self-introduction]].
(set: $impression to $impression + 1)You are afraid that perhaps zombies have learned to knock the door like human. After thinking twice, you give up this adventure and turn back to return to your warm bed, until the voice stops you.
"Hey, I have been living in the apartment across the road. I think it would be safer if we can live together. Just a sincere request and decent suggestion." The masculine voice says.
You don't think it is a good idea to accept someone unfamiliar in such scenario, yet a strong man can protect you from zombies. After confirming with him that he is not infected nor followed by any zombies, you sign and open the door [[finally->self-introduction]].
(set: $impression to $impression - 1)"Thank you for accepting me. I am Tony, and how should I call you, my roommate?" He walks in gently.
"You can call me Maeve." You respond shyly.
"Thanks Maeve. Could you please bring me to a [[room tour]]?" He asked.
(set: $living to false)
(set: $bedroom to false)
(set: $restroom to false)
(set: $kitchen to false)(if: $impression < -2)[ (goto: "End2") ]
You show him around
[[living room]]
[[bedroom]]
[[restroom]]
[[kitchen]]
(if: $living is true and $bedroom is true and $restroom is true and $kitchen is true)[[utill]]"Wow, you got a really messy living room." Tony is surprised, yet he still tries to maintain his smile. "Do you want to clean up your scattered stuffs?"
[["Yes....please"]]
[["No,your advice is rejected."]]
You take him to your lovely bedroom, and the warm quilt there is the best comfort to you during such desperate time.
"I have a little secret that I need to tell you if we are going to go to the same bed." he comes closer as if zombies are trying to overhear your conversation. "I might grab your quilt when I am asleep."
"[[Hhhhhh. That's fine by me.]]"
"[[Emmmm...Then I think the sofa would be a better place for you to sleep.]]"The small restroom seems to be too crowded for you two together.
He carefully checks the tape and the bath. "You don't have warm water here?"
[["Yes for now, but we can figure a way out."]]
[["No way man, get used to it. It is doom day."]]Your kitchen has a lot of stored food, which should be enough for half a year, even for two people. Sufficient ingredients, delicious cans, even various flavorings, but just drinkable water is running out.
"Do you need me to pick up some water? I believe we are going to need it soon."
"Yes, probably. But let me guide you the way, you need to go downstairs to reach the [[water fountain]]."There's some noise outside, and it's becoming louder and louder, like a parade.
"What's going on out there?" He walks towards the window, trying to figure it out.
But you can tell it right from the beginning, the voice from the hell that has been lingering around you ever since a few months ago -- [[the zombie invasion]]!!!(set: $impression to $impression + 1)
(set: $living to true)
You feel embarrased that he catches you being disorganized. You are always tidy before the zombie outbreak, but it really doesn't make sense to be organized now since you are not sure whether you have to abandon this place today. However, his appearance pushes you to be the one you were.
"Now it does look more delightful. You helped a lot." He nods with his warm smile.
"Then shall we continue our [[room tour]]?"You feel so offended. He is the new refugee here. HOW COULD HE JUDGE YOUR LIVING HABITS? You stare at the uninvited guest with anger, not understanding why he makes such stupid offer.
"No need, sorry."
The cold words and your angry face hit him hard, "So...Sorry about this. May you please continue [[room tour]]?"
(set: $impression to $impression - 1)
(set: $living to true)"Come on, I don't think you can grab the quilt from me." You know yourself well how hard you hold on to your precious quilt. "We should have a serious competiton."
"By the way, I appreciate your honesty and early warning." You believe the humorous and honest guy will be a good doom-day partner.
"Let's go back to our [[room tour]]."
(set: $impression to $impression + 1)
(set: $bedroom to true)You cannot stand such behavior at all. Grabbing the quilt when asleep is selfish and mean to you, and you are not willing to share your precious quilt with the weirdo.
"OK then. I guess sofa is also fine by me if necessary. Can we go back to our [[room tour]]?"
(set: $impression to $impression - 1)
(set: $bedroom to true)"You see, a previous invasion by zombies broke the water heater in our apartment, but I believe we can fix it if work together. Before the winter comes, can you put up with cold water for a while?" You ask sincerely.
"You are right, I should not have so many picky requests, especially under current situation. We will work on the problem together." He put his warm smile on again."
"Now may you take me to the next station of our [[room tour]]?"
(set: $impression to $impression + 1)
(set: $restroom to true)"Such a picky request. I don't think I can provide you with warm water here." You criticize him like a mother, "you need to put up with the cold water, otherwise I suggest you returning to your place."
He remains silent for a long time. Neither is he moving.
"If you are not leaving, then go to the mext station of [[room tour]] with me."
(set: $impression to $impression - 1)
(set: $restroom to true)"You are ridiculous. Get out of my room right now!"
He is so weird in so many aspects. You cannot imagine living in the same house with him as partners,even the threat of zombies is not a strong enough reason for you to team up with him. Thus, you kick him out of your house brutally.
"Don't knock on my door ever again!!!"
[[ ENDS]]You go out together to get some water. However, when you reach the ground floor, you find a zombie is wandering around.
"Watch out the zombie Tony..." Before you finish the sentence, Tony dashes out, fills the water bottles, and sprints fast without attracting the zombie's attention.
And you said:
[["Wow, you are my superhero Tony!"]]
[["That's too dangerous! How can you act so blindly?]]"You are super fast yet super quiet! How did you make it?" You hold him happily.
"Piece of cake madam. From now on, please give me the honor to pick up water for you." He is acting like your knight.
"Of course, swordsman Tony. Now let me take you back to [[room tour]]."
(set: $impression to $impression + 1)
(set: $kitchen to true)"How you dare doing that so impulsively?" You yield at him angrily. "Don't you know that you might attract the zombie and get us both killed?"
"Don't ever do that again." You confirm with him twice before taking him back to [[room tour]].
(set: $impression to $impression - 1)
(set: $kitchen to true)Last time when zombies invaded your house, your father asked your mother and you to hide in the closet, but himself chose to fight back bravely. However, how can you expect an unfitted middle-age man to defeat the zombie army?
He soon got caught by the zombies. Unable to see your father being bitten, your mother dashed out of the closet, and tried to save her husband with her feeble strength[[...]]Yet, how's that possible?
Both your parents got killed and eaten by zombies tradegically, and you were too afraid to scream or strike back. You were leaning inside the closet, both arms and legs powerless, and you could not stop [[your tears.]]When you recover from your thought, the zombies have already attacked to your front door. The wound from your last experience still burns, and it drives you to run back to your closet.
"I am going to fight against those zombies." Tony turns back from you, holding his axe tightly, and walking towards the door firmly, like a warrior.
The moment before the zombies break the door, he shouts out: "Do you want to fight side by side with me!"
(if: $impression > 0)[ [["I believe in you Tony, let's roll!"]] ]
(else: )[ [[stay in your closet]] ]"Arrrrhhhhh!!!!" With the last zombie screaming and falling down, you and Tony stand tall. You defeat the zombies' attack together.
"I know you are the right partner for me when you give me the strength to overcome my fear." You hug Tony tightly.
"Since we fit each other so well, we are going to have a happy life together. I have faith that we can make it through the doom day, TOGETHER!" Now you find the boy standing in front of you has the [[warmest smile -> ENDS]].
You are so afraid. You don't want to witness the miserable and desperate situation again, and you don't want to be one of the characters in that scene either.
You stay in the small closet, and pass out due to nervousness. When you wake up again, it's already another day of sun. You go out and check the room, except the water heater is broken, and your living room becomes much more messy, everything is still fine.
You decide to return to your bed to get a decent sleep. "I don't understand why would I sleep in the closet." [[You murmur to yourself -> ENDS]].ENDS.
Image <a href="https://okre.org/content-hub/pandemics-in-pop-culture-what-zombies-and-deserted-landscapes-tell-us-about-life-after-lockdown/">link credit</a> by MARZENA ZUKOWSKA
(align:"=><=")+(box:"X=")[This game is produce by <a href="https://tonychengu.wordpress.com/">Tony</a> and <a href="https://chilioildumpling.wordpress.com/">Bowen</a>]
(align:"=><=")+(box:"X=")[For more details here is the <a href="https://eng221f21.davidmorgen.org/davids-posts/twine-projects/">link</a>.]
[[Restart ->Start]]It is 6:30 in the morning.
[[Next -> Nextt]]You are in an apartment in Atlanta downtown.
[[Next -> Nextt]]There are your uniform and TV asking people to stay at home.
[[Next -> Nextt]](input-box:2bind $name,"=XX=",2,"Enter your girlfriend's name.")
[[Continue -> Nextt]]You hear something from the bathroom.
[[Take the bloody axe beside the door -> scene 3]]
[[Just check it out -> scene 5]]$name: What are you doing? I’m not a zombie. Are you okay?
[[Wait what happened? -> scene 4]]
[[Yeah. I’m fine.-> scene 5]]We’ve just arrived at this house yesterday. Hey. Come here. Give me a hand. I can’t live in this ruin.
[[(Help her) Yeah. We sure need to clean up this messy place. -> s6]]
[[(Not helping her) Just leave it. It’s just a temporary shelter. -> s7]]$name: You really don’t remember? There is a zombie virus outbreak outside. We even killed a zombie yesterday together! Hopefully, there is water so I can shower.
[[Follow her. -> scene 5]]You look around. There is some blood on the floor. Clearly, there was a fight. The fragments of the vase scatter on the floor and the furniture is all over the place.
You and _ clean the blood trait. You two use a shelf to block the door and move two big sofas together.
(set: $impression to $impression +1)
[[Here is our sweet home! -> s8]]$name: You boys are always living in such a mess. That’s why I hate living with boys.
(set: $impression to $impression -1)
[[(Fightback) What? I don’t what to waste my precious energy and time on cleaning this random house. ->s9]]
[[(Leave her alone) … ->s9]]You two lie on the sofa together hugging. Due to the busy days, you two don’t have a chance to live together before.
You notice it’s nearly 12 o’clock, and your stomach begins growling.
$name: (Giggling. Looking at you, suggesting you cook some food) I really can’t move anymore.
[[Ok. I will go.-> s10]]
[[You should at least come to help me right? -1 -> s11]]You wander around the house to check every corner and field of vision from the windows.
$name: It’s 12 o’clock. Could you make something? I really can’t move anymore.
[[Ok. I will go.-> s10]]
[[You should at least come to help me right? -> s11]]
(set: $impression to $impression +1)
You go to the kitchen. There are lots of ingredients. You see flour, eggs, bacon, beards, and many other things you don’t recognize. You check the cooktop and there is still a fire.
(sigh) I really should learn more about cooking with mum.
As you are considering what to make, _ comes in. I know you cannot do anything without me. Let me do the cooking and you just help me prepare the ingredients.
[[Help her. -> s12]]
(set: $impression to $impression -1)
$name: Hey! I’ve just finished cleaning the whole house! I'm so tired that I can’t even straighten my waist. Don’t be so childish. Be a man.
[[Fine… -> s12]]
Both of you finished eating. Though it is just some easy dish, both of you have a good time having these in the time of zombie outbreak.
You think it might be a good time to have a talk.
[[Talk about the great things you’ve done (brag) -> f1s1]]
[[Talk about the movies. (She likes movies!) -> f2s1]]
(set: $impression to $impression -1)
You know what? I really think middle school was a peak in my life. Once there was a chem exam, I burned the whole lab up and we got a whole day off during the final!
$name: (Looking weird at you.) Ok?
And you know the most amazing things are that no one gets hurt. I would probably be in prison if I really put someone into hospital..
[[(1 hour later)-> f1s2]]
(set: $impression to $impression +1)
Hey. By the way, have you watched any movies recently? We could check out what this house’s owner has.
$name: Yeah. Yeah. I’m not a very professional movie-type person. I’m just like those normal people. I’m recently checking out the newly released Pat Man 23. It’s so crazy. I can believe that this series goes for 50 years.
[[True. It’s so amazing. I even heard that its prototype city passed a law to change its official name to Gothem. -> f2s2]]Also, just after I got my diploma, I peed on the principal’s car number plate. Haaaa.. That is so funny.
$name: (Yawn) yes yes. You want to continue?
[[Totally, I still… -> f1s3]]
$name: Ok. Ok. That question was just to be polite. I really don’t want to listen to these boring stories anymore. We are no kids and they are just not funny…
(Awkward) But I’m just trying to have a chit-chat after dinner. Why are you being..
[[(Both of you hear some sound outside.) -> s13]]
You two sneak to the window and peek through the gap between the furniture. This is the work you did during the cleaning time.
After you get accustomed to the dark environment, you see there is a group of zombies heading to the house. The number is about two or three. You cannot tell inexact. They are moving slowly to the house and they seem to haven’t noticed you two yet. However, as they get closer, you are not sure if they would pass through the house or just wander around.
$name: Oh that’s not good. We cannot left them there. We need to kill them.
[[(You) (considered about surviving) But it would be too risky to confront zombies. It won’t be too hard for us to break through the encirclement. -> scene 14]]
[[(You) (excited by her idea) Yeah. We need to let them know who is the king of the world. -> scene 15]]
$name: But it is a decent movie. The consistency of the story and the deep meaning behind each episode. The cinematography of these movies is also outstanding. It’s so amazing that the three generations in the Fisher family all served as cinematographers for the movies. These series are their only movies.
[[Oh. I didn't know that. I see why the angles of these movies are so unique. -> f2s3]](Both of you have a good time talking about films with each other. You two also found the film previously owned by the house owner and watched one of them.)
[[(Suddenly, there are some sounds outside) -> s13]]
$name: Hey. Why do you disagree with me on that? We cannot just leave them there.
You are not thinking carefully. You need to change your mindset. It's a zombie outbreak. One wrong step would result in death for both of us. I won’t take that risk. Besides, It’s not too hard to break through the encircle. [[I will not go out with you. -> s14f1]]
You two go out with the weapons. You walk along the edge of the road and get to the place of the zombies. As you want to attack the zombies from the back, you are overturned by a zombie. The girl rushes to you to save you from it.
[[... -> s15f1]]
$name: You just be a coward and stay here then. I’m going to fight them myself. I’m going to defend my peaceful life.
You: Fine. I will kill them. There’s still some bullets left. However, we really need a talk after this. [[Let’s get rid of what’s in front of us now. -> s14f2]]
(Both of you fight the zombie together. It’s too hard for you two as you two have many experiences on the way to this house. However, you two are not happy as well. There is a wall between both of you.)
[[... -> s14f3]]
(if: $impression >=3)[ (goto: "gend1") ]
(else:)[ (goto: "bend2") ](You think carefully about the conflict between you two. You realize that you should have understood her better as she is really scared and she would be constantly scared by it if they are handled properly.)
[[Sorry. I should’ve considered your feelings more. I don’t want this distance between us. I will respect and think carefully about your decision and your feelings. -> gend11]](You think carefully about the conflict between you two. You realize that these days, there are many disagreements between you two.)
[[I think this is the last of us. I really think we are not fit. Not only do we have disagreements on important decisions, we also have lots of disagreements on living. I will leave at sunrise. -> bend21]]$name: It’s fine. I know your decision is the best for both of us. I just cannot live their life with these things around us.
[[... -> ENDS]]Fine. Honestly, I also felt that we are not fit. Hope you have a good life then.
[[... -> ENDS]]Then you two successfully tempt zombies to a dead end and kill all of them.
[[... -> s15f2]]On the way home, you see a poster about a shelter.
[[... -> s15f3]]$name: I want to go two there to find my parents. Do you want to come with me?
[[(You think about the days you two have lived together.) -> s15f4]]
[[(You two go back to home) -> s14f33]](if: $impression >=3)[ (goto:"gend3") ]
(else:)[ (goto:"bend4") ](You really enjoy life with her.) Yeah. I will go. Nothing could set us apart.
[[... -> ENDS]]I guess I will stay. I really don’t want to live with too many people. Hope you have a good life there then.
[[(You two seperated) -> ENDS]](if: $name is 0)[ (set: $name to "Girl")]
You wake up from your dorm. You hear the phone ringing.
[[Stop the alarm]]
[[Open the curtain]]
[[Looking around]]
[[Next -> Scene 2]]