You slowly open your eyes, the first thing you notice is
[[The sky]]
[[The ground]]
[[The blood]]It's a deep, magestic blue. The wind blows through your hair gently, and you can see...something, on the horizon. It looks like a
[[Plane]]
[[Hand]]
[[Mushroom Cloud]]It's a light, dusty, brown, and very hot and dry. You drag your hand through the dirt, and are surprised when your hand runs into
[[A sword]]
[[Mud]]
[[Another body]]It's still fresh, warm and sticky, and the metallic stench is everywhere. You're not sure who it belongs to. The deep cut in your abdomen is a hint that it may be yours. You take a deep breath, but cry out in pain. You look down at your chest, only to see the cut oozing out more blood. You think to yourself:
[[Fuck]]
[[I suppose any day is a good day to die]]
[[Not today]]
It appears to be flying closer, but the question remains, is it friend or foe? In a split second decision, you
[[Attempt to wave it down]]
[[Close your eyes and play dead, in hopes it won't notice you]]You watch in horror as a beast of unimaginable size emerges from the clouds, its hands, no scatch that, it's //claws//, dripping inky blood. Its eyes, scarlet and sunken in, seem to land directly on you. Terrified, you
[[Scream]]
[[Clench your eyes shut]]
[[Maintain eye contact with it]]
You remember now. The war, the nuclear holocaust. You remember watching the light leave your family member's eyes. The pain, the cries, the blood. You know damn well that you're currently within the radiation zone. You roll your head back so you're staring directly at what's left of the blue sky. The clouds are beginning to obscure it. You take a deep breath and
[[Close your eyes]]
[[Let the tears stream freely down your face]]
[[Watch as the sky turns black]]You grope around until your hand lands on the hilt. You grunt with the effort it takes to lift it up enough to see it. Your heart stops when you realize that [[it was coated in dried blood]].You drag your hand through it until it is dripping with the thick brown goo. You laugh to yourself at the feeling of it squishing between your fingers. In the back your mind you realize that it is odd to find mud in a desert such as this, you blanetly ignore this fact until
[[The mud begins to freeze]]
[[You feel the mud begin to move beneath you]]
[[It suddenly begins to rain]]Your breath hitches as you grasp at the warm skin next to you. You strain to move your head so you can look at them. Your eyes widen with terror at what you see next to you.
Their skin is still warm, but their torso is all that's [[left]]You let your head fall back to the ground, wincing as the movement stretches the wound open more. At this point, the pain has become so extreme that all you can do is breathe, and even that hurts. You close your eyes. You can feel the sun slowing baking your skin. Excepting your fate seems like the best [[plan]]. You dig around in your pants pocket for a small capsle that your commanding officer gave to everyone in the fleet. You drag your hand up to your mouth. You've already decided. If you're going to die, you'll die by your own terms. You shove the small white pill into your mouth and sallow. Your vision begins to blacken around the edges. This is it. You [[smile]].Despite the fact that you can feel your strength waning, you rip up your shirt to make a very crude bandage. You hold it against your chest, and slowly, //painfully slowly//, pull youself into an upright position. Ignoring the blood and bodies around you, you start to crawl. Not towards anything in particular, but just, [[forward]].
[[Restart]]You lift up your arms and begin to wave wildly, yelling "Down here! Down here! Please!" at the plane as it flys overhead. You drop your arms in defeat when it doesn't even slow down. As the plane disappears past the horizon, the land goes silent once again. [[Silent]]. You hear it pass over you, the dust swirling around you. Your breath hitches when you realize that the plane has landed nearby. Your chest gets tight, and your hands begin to shake when you hear footsteps growing closer. You feel boots stop right next to your arm. You decide to
[[Open your eyes]]
[[Keep your eyes clenched shut]]You cant control it, you can't help it. The scream rips out of you, and you can't stop. All of your fear, your anger, your confusion is displayed by this bloodcurdling scream. The beast quickly creeps towards you, leaving a trail of the inky black blood behind it. The closer it gets, the louder your scream becomes, until, suddenly, you can't make a sound. All you can do is gasp in horror. It puts its 'face' near yours, and opens its mouth. The smell of rotting flesh surrounds you. Its massive teeth are the last thing you [[see]]. You can't see it moving, but by hell, can you hear it. You shake with horror as you hear it slurp down countless of your fellow soilders; you friends. Their all gone. You can feel the tears running down your face, but you dare not move, in fear of alerting it to your presence. You hold your breath as you feel it move past you. You crack one eye open, choking on air when you see the sky has turned red in the monster's wake. The air smells of sulfur, and you can feel your mind getting foggy with the lack of clean oxygen. Your breaths get shallow, and your vision blurs. The tears never [[stop]]. You died.
[[Would you like to try again?]]You died.
[[Would you like to try again?]]You died.
[[Would you like to try again?]]You can't seem to tear your eyes away from its bloody red ones. It approaches, never once blinking. It leans down to your level. "You're one of the tough ones, aren't you?" You cough. "I-I guess so..." It laughs, a low-pitched, manical sound, that chills you to the bone. "Perhaps I should keep you. You might prove to be interesting." It tilts its head at you. You frown. This thing has killed countless of your people, and its not going to stop. "I'd rather just die, thanks." You say, a final act of defience. It laughs again. "As you wish, human." Its eyes flash white, and everything goes [[black]]. Not freeze in an icy way, but more like cement. It begins to harden around your hand, and all you can do is watch. Your brain is muffled by exhaustion and probable heat stroke. Only when you can no longer move your hand, do you realize. You're [[stuck]].
It's a very strange feeling, and you giggle at the tickling sensation. You look towards your legs, only to find that you can no longer see them. All you can see is the sandy mud. You hesitate. //Sandy// mud? 'Fuck', you think. [[Quicksand]].
The sky has suddenly gone dark, and the rain is hot and heavy. You open your mouth to catch some, in hopes of wetting your cracking tongue. But when the first drop hits, you cry out in pain. //It burns!// You quickly shut your mouth, but the burning doesn't stop, every drop that hits your skin sizzles, and everything aches. The mud must have been created by the acid rain as well, since the longer it stays on your skin, the more it eats you alive. Eventually, you slump to the [[ground]], eyes closed.You quickly turn your head, and lock eyes with a monster. Its maw drips with fresh blood. Its eyes are pure black. You can't breathe, you can't move. Its terror inducing roar is the last thing your brain [[registers]].You died.
[[Would you like to try again?]]You died
[[Would you like to try again?]]You lose track of time very quickly. You continue to crawl, despite the fact that you can barely breathe, barely see. You know you need food, water, //something// to keep you going. With a pained cry, you collapse to the dusty [[ground.]]You Died.
[[Would you like to try again?]]
You slowly open your eyes, only to see a barrel of a gun pointed directly at you. "Please, sir, please, I-I don't mean any harm, please, don't hurt me..", you whimper. The person lowers the gun, and squats down to your level. He smiles. He helps you sit up, and then carries you to the plane. You close your eyes, a smile of your own on your face. Safe, at [[last]].You don't even see the bullet coming. Everything was already [[dark]]. The group of survivors that found you eagerly accept you into the group. They help you recover, help you heal, help you thrive. As you all sit around the fire, eating and telling stories, you allow yourself to finally relax. You're safe here. [[Happy]], even. You died.
[[Would you like to try again?]]You died.
[[Would you like to try again?]]You died.
[[Would you like to try again?]]You died.
[[Would you like to try again?]] No matter how hard you pull or squirm, you cannot free your hand. The mud has actually turned to cement, and you are stuck. The minutes turn to hours, and the hours turn to days. All of your strength has left you, and your hand is still encased in the acursed mud. You laugh to yourself. [[Mud...]]
You remember that you need to float to have a better chance at escaping quicksand, so with all of your remaining energy, you shift completely onto your back. You feel your legs start to rise up out of the sand, but somethings not right. Your head feels like it's sinking, almost like something is pulling you [[down]]. You died.
[[Would you like to try again?]]
The sand has started to get into your mouth, and you can barely breathe. The last thing you see is the bright blue sky, and then nothing but [[darkness]]. You died.
[[Would you like to try again?]]You died.
[[Would you like to try again?]]You died.
[[Would you like to try again?]]Gulping, you stuggle into an upright position. You run your open hand gently across the blade, some of the cracking blood chipping off. You look around you, noting the array of corpses rotting away in the burning sun. You choke back a sob, the memories of the battle hitting you full force. You should be dead, not them. You look back down at the blade, determined. You think to yourself: 'It should have been [[me]].'You died.
[[Would you like to try again?]]When you're able to open your eyes again, it's night. You rise your head just enough to look across the land towards the horizon. Light. You can see light. Firelight. A campfire. //Safety//. A bloody cough rips its way out of your throat, but you manage to get back onto your hands and knees, dragging yourself towards the beckoning light. You're so close, you can almost feel the heat. You hear shouting, the sound growing louder. You can no longer open your eyes, but you can feel hands gripping your shoulders, picking you up and carrying you towards the fire. Safety. [[Finally]]. The small group manages to pull you back from the brink of death. When you finally awake, days later, you thank them as much as you can, as much as your dried out throat and sandpaper tongue will let you. They smile down at you. "Hush, child", one of them, a middle-aged motherly figure whispers, "We survivors have to stick together. We're a family. And family takes care of one another". You laugh with relief, tears pouring down your face freely as you smile back at her. "[[Thank you]]"[[Restart]]Your tale has finished. [[Would you like to choose a different story?]] Your tale has finished. [[Would you like to choose a different story?]]