You are driving down a country road late at night. The last gas station you passed was about 20 miles back. With little humans living all the way out here the stars are exceptionally bright and guide your path. While driving you spot a curious dark lump sitting in the middle of the dirt road.
[[INVESTIGATE]]
[[KEEP DRIVING]]You get out of your car and start to walk towards the lump. Upon further inspection and the use of your bright headlights the lump seems to be a young boy, no older than eight or nine. He's severely bruised and scraped up and his clothes are dirty and torn.
[[CHECK FOR A PULSE]]
[[GET BACK IN THE CAR]]You decide that it's probably just road kill and, honestly, you're not in the mood to deal with something like that. As you start to drive you catch a glimpse of movement in the rear view mirror.
[[IGNORE IT AND KEEP DRIVING]]
[[LOOK AGAIN]]You crouch down and place two fingers under the boy's jaw.
Ba-dum
Ba-dum
Ba-dum
The thumping of his heart is weak and slow but it's there. He is alive.
[[PUT HIM IN THE CAR]]
[[CALL SOMEONE]]You don't want your finger prints all over this kids body, that's incriminating. You decide that someone else will come along, or maybe the police, and then it can be their problem. After you turn around a voice whispers harshly into your ear.
"Selfish."
You whip your head around to find no one there, even the boy is gone. For the rest of the drive that voice is there, whispering. When you arrive home the voice gets louder and there's more of them. They all chant the same thing. Your roommate checks you into a mental hospital. There, you bang you head against the cool white tiles until you start to bleed. The voices became too much
**BAD ENDING**You take the boy over to your car and gently place him in the back seat. You remember to put his seat belt on before starting to drive again.
[[GO STRAIGHT IN HOPING YOU FIND A TOWN]]
[[TURN AROUND AND GO TO THE GAS STATION]]Alright, who are you going to call?
[[CHILDHOOD BEST FRIEND|NO CELL SERVICE]]
[[PARENTS|NO CELL SERVICE]]
[[ROOMMATE|NO CELL SERVICE]]
[[POLICE|NO CELL SERVICE]]You don't feel like turning around, and even if you did you assume that the gas station wouldn't be much help. You cross your fingers that there's a town up ahead. Out of the corner of your eye you see movement from the back seat. The boy is waking up and he looks groggy and confused.
[[ASK: "ARE YOU OKAY?"]]
[[SAY: "I'M NOT GOING TO HURT YOU"]]You have no idea when or where the next town is, so you turn around and start driving back to the gas station. Hopefully someone can help you there. You're about to turn on the radio when the boy wakes up. He looks confused and scared.
[[ASK: "ARE YOU OKAY?"]]
[[SAY: "I'M NOT GOING TO HURT YOU"]] The boy squirms a bit with the question, but he eventually answers.
"I don't know." His voice is barely above a whisper. "I was with my big brother and then I woke up here. I can't remember..."
[[SAY: "DON'T WORRY, I'LL FIND HELP. WHERE DOES IT HURT?"]]
[[ASK: "SO, ABOUT YOUR BROTHER...?"]]
[[ASK: "WHAT'S YOUR NAME?"]]The boy nods even though he still looks skeptical. You try and give him your best "I'm not a creepy murderer, I swear" smile and he smiles back.
[[ASK: "ARE YOU HURT?"|SAY: "DON'T WORRY, I'LL FIND HELP. WHERE DOES IT HURT?"]]
[[ASK: "WHAT'S YOUR NAME?"]]"It hurts.... all over. Tell me a story to distract me, please." The boy says as he winces in pain a bit to really drive the point home. "A story?" You ask. "Yes... a happy childhood memory."
[[WHEN I WAS 11...]]
[[ONE TIME IN THE WOODS...]]
[[AT SCHOOL WHEN I WAS 8...]]You figure that the brother is a prime suspect. "Well..." The boy starts, "he's big and strong and seven years older than me." You're about to ask for more important information, like what does he look like, when the boy starts to go on a tangent. He tells a story about how his brother saved his life while his family was out boating once. Without him there, the boy could've drowned.
This reminds you of your own brother as he loves to boat and fish. Last you heard he was trying to get a degree in marine biology. You set a mental reminder to call him, he is your brother after all.
**GOOD ENDING**The boy responds with your name. You go to meet his eyes in the rear view mirror but instead of the boy you found on the road, you see a young version of yourself. You try to blink away the sight and when you look again, there is no boy. You wonder if you're going insane.
**NEUTRAL ENDING**Your parents had driven you out to the city so you could go to a big expensive carnival. From a young age you have always been obsessed with carnivals. Whether it was clowns or Ferris wheels or fun houses, you loved the whole thing. The sun was just starting to set and the carnival was becoming less and less busy. You and your dad shared a blue and pink cotton candy while your mother held the over sized penguin stuffed animal that you had won at a game of ring toss. You have a very clear and specific memory of your dad turning to your mom and saying "I've never seen them so happy. I wish this day could last forever..." And in that moment you couldn't have agreed more.
You look in the rear-view mirror to gauge the boys reaction, but there isn't a boy there. Perhaps you just made the entire thing up? Nonetheless, remembering that day at the carnival made a warm, happy feeling flow through your veins.
**GOOD ENDING**You and a group of friends were exploring the woods behind the 7/11 when you stumbled upon a baby bird who had fallen out of it's nest. It's wing was broken and when you looked up you couldn't seem to find a mommy bird or it's nest. You bring it to the cashier who was working at the 7/11 at the time. You recognized her as a high school student who would come help out in your classroom. She called the humane society and when they arrived they thanked you and your friends for telling them and for rescuing the baby bird. They said that if you had arrived a few minutes later, the bird would've been killed and eaten by some sort of predator. You wanted to take the bird home and car for it yourself, but deep down you knew that you didn't have the resources or skills to do a good job.
You love birds, they're you favourite animal. You decide to call your roommate after all this to try and convince him to get a bird. When you turn around to tell the boy this, he's gone. You feel sad for a second, but then remember the bird. Maybe you didn't have the knowledge to get the boy the help that he needed, maybe it's better that someone more qualified that on that task. You at least hope that you did a good job distracting him.
**GOOD ENDING**Your class was going down to the gym for an assembly. Excite whispers plagued the hallways as you and your best friend gossiped about what it could be. Your best friend, imaginative as always, was so sure that the school was going to throw a huge party just for you and him because you were both amazing students. This wasn't true, obviously, they were actually going to watch a presentation by a police officer about whats illegal, whats not and what could happen to you if you got caught. Even though it wasn't a party your friend was just as excited. He decided then and there that when we was older he was going to become a police officer and take down criminals. You, personally, didn't care for stuff like that, but seeing your friend get so giddy and determined made you just as happy.
You go to tell the boy that you don't know if he actually became a police officer or not because after high school the two of you lost touch, but you realize that the boy is no longer there. To distract yourself from the eeriness of the situation you turn on the radio. What are the odds, it's your best friend's favourite band.
**GOOD ENDING**"Fuck." You mumble. There's no self service all the way out here. Just your luck. When you look back down at the boy, he's gone.
**BAD ENDING**You have a very bad feeling about everything. It's best that you don't get tangled up in whatever's going on. You just pray that it's nothing supernatural. Only after a few seconds you start to hear the gentle patter of shoes hitting the dirty road over the hum of the engine. It sounds like someone is trying to run after you.
[[LOOK]]
[[DRIVE FASTER]]You see a boy standing where you saw the lump. Putting two and two together you realize that the boy was the lump. He's smiling at waving at you, but something about his smile puts you off.
[[KEEP DRIVING]]
[[STOP]]You look over your shoulder to see a boy. He's chasing after your car and, for some reason, you're filled with dread.
[[FLOOR IT]]
[[FLOOR IT]]You start to speed up but that only makes the footsteps fall faster. Your curiosity takes over you and you briefly look behind you. Its a boy, a fairly young looking one, and he is currently sprinting after your car. He's catching up. Panic rises in your throat.
What does he want?
[[FLOOR IT]]
[[FLOOR IT]]Your car can barely handle the uneven terrain as it is, but the added speed seems to make everything worse. A scream starts to build up in your throat just in case things go awry. But he's just a boy. A logical side of your brain thinks. But "just a boy" wouldn't trigger my fight or flight response. The other side of your brain argues back. However, it's no time to argue. You look to your right and see the boy running along side you. You try and swerve away but the "boy" seems to auto correct his course so he's always right beside your car.
The boy breaks the passenger side window and begins to crawl inside the car. You try to fight him off but its ultimately pathetic. You feel a weird sense of calm wash over you. "You deserve to die more than the others. You are a selfish, heartless creature." He snarls. The car swerves dangerously as you head slumps against the steering wheel.
**BAD ENDING**You stop the car and unlock the doors. The boy climbs into the back seat. He's clearly exhausted.
[[ASK: "ARE YOU OKAY?"]]
[[ASK: "WHAT'S YOUR NAME?"]]