Handful of Loose Teeth

(set: $boneroom to false)(set: $start to false)You wake up on the floor with (if: $rachelclothes is true)[your hair tucked behind your ear and ]your face smashed into a plush rug. The rug is patterned with ivy and, also, your drool. It takes you a long time to pull yourself to your feet. Once standing, you realize that there's no one else in the room -- there's only you, a fireplace with a clock on the mantel, a small velvet loveseat, and a few empty bookshelves. It's impossible to know what time of day or night it is; there are no windows, only the fireplace casting its flickering light on everything. It makes the wallpaper of the room look vaguely alive. Gives you the willies. When you turn around you see a red wooden door with a bronze knob. It looks like that's the only way out. You're starving. [[Lie down on the loveseat and go back to sleep.->Lie down on the loveseat and go back to sleep.]] (if: $start is true)[[[Check the clock on the mantelpiece.->Clock 2]]](if: $start is false)[[[Check the clock on the mantelpiece.->Check the clock on the mantelpiece.]]] [[Step outside.->Continue]]

You're too tired to think about anything right now. You pull yourself up from the floor onto the loveseat-- --and ow, shit, there's something jutting out of the cushion. A thorn? A piece of wire? It's hard to see in the firelight. You're not sure you want to take a closer look. [[Take a closer look.->Take a closer look.]] [[Lie down on the floor for a few more minutes.->Start]] [[Step outside.->Continue]]

It's a fingernail. It's shoved into the seam of the cushion, just enough so that a ragged edge was able to dig into your finger. Fingernails definitely shouldn't be that sharp, but here you are: bleeding. Just a little bit. You check your hands, just in case. Nope. You still have all ten. You don't know how many fingernails Helena and Rachel had the last time you saw them, but you don't think either of them would want this one back. [[Check the clock on the mantelpiece.->Check the clock on the mantelpiece.]] [[Lie down on the floor and go back to sleep.->Start]] [[Step outside.->Continue]]

(if: $start is true)[(either: "It says that the time is 01:01:01:01:01:01.","It says that the time is YES.","It says that the time is 5.","It says that the time is 11:11.","There's a piece of paper taped to the clock. It has the phrase STOP CHECKING THE CLOCK. written on it. The handwriting is very familiar.","It says that the time is NOW.","It says that the time is 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000.","It says that the time is time.","It says that the time is red.","It says that time is meaningless.","It says that the time is 13:00.","It says that the time is the smell of an apple tree blooming.","It says that the time is 3:15. The numbers are made out of small white worms.","It says that the time is 22:2.")](else:)[It says that the time is 12:76.] [[Lie down on the floor and go back to sleep.->Start]] [[Step outside.->Continue]]

(set: $start to true)(set: $continue to true)You are standing in a hallway that's a little taller than you are and just about wide enough for two people to walk side-by-side. To your left is a wall. To your right is more hallway. On the other side of the hallway is a yellow door painted with flowers. [[Open the yellow door.->Open the yellow door.]] [[Keep walking down the hallway.->Continue1]] [[Go back inside.->Start2]]

The door is unlocked; you step through and find yourself in a child's playroom. The ceiling of the room is eighty feet tall, which you're very aware of -- all of the slides and stuffed animals and puzzles and toys are attached to the ceiling, somehow. Even if you jumped you couldn't reach them, and even if you could reach them you couldn't use them: they're all upside-down. [[Say her name.->Say her name.]] [[Go back outside.->Continue]]

(set: $continue1 to true)You are walking down a hallway that's a little taller than you are and just about wide enough for two people to walk side-by-side. On the other side of the hallway is a door the color of dried blood. Its handle is an ugly and jagged piece of metal. [[Open the red door.->Open it.]] (if: $visitedParlor is true)[[[Keep walking down the hallway.->Continue2]]]\ (else:)[[[Keep walking down the hallway.->Parlor hallway]]] (if: $boneroom is false)[ [[Turn back.->Continue]]]

Do you remember it? [[A->Say her name.]] [[B->Say her name.]] [[C->Say her name.]] [[D->Say her name.]] [[E->Say her name.]] [[F->Say her name.]] [[G->Say her name.]] (if: $helenadoor is true)[[[H->Say her name.]]](else:)[[[H->H]]] [[I->Say her name.]] [[J->Say her name.]] [[K->K]] [[L->Say her name.]] [[M->Say her name.]] [[N->Say her name.]] [[O->Say her name.]] [[P->Say her name.]] [[Q->Say her name.]] (if: $racheldoor is true)[[[R->Say her name.]]](else:)[[[R->R2]]] [[S->Say her name.]] [[T->Say her name.]] [[U->Say her name.]] [[V->Say her name.]] [[W->Say her name.]] [[X->Say her name.]] [[Y->Say her name.]] [[Z->Say her name.]] [[No, I don't remember anything.->I'm hungry.]]

Do you remember it? [[A->Say her name.]] [[B->Say her name.]] [[C->Say her name.]] [[D->Say her name.]] [[E->Say her name.]] [[F->Say her name.]] [[G->Say her name.]] [[H->Say her name.]] [[I->I]] [[J->Say her name.]] [[K->Say her name.]] [[L->Say her name.]] [[M->Say her name.]] [[N->Say her name.]] [[O->Say her name.]] [[P->Say her name.]] [[Q->Say her name.]] [[R->Say her name.]] [[S->Say her name.]] [[T->Say her name.]] [[U->Say her name.]] [[V->Say her name.]] [[W->Say her name.]] [[X->Say her name.]] [[Y->Say her name.]] [[Z->Say her name.]] [[No, I don't remember anything.->I'm hungry.]]

Do you remember it? [[A->Say her name.]] [[B->Say her name.]] [[C->Say her name.]] [[D->Say her name.]] [[E->Say her name.]] [[F->Say her name.]] [[G->Say her name.]] [[H->Say her name.]] [[I->Say her name.]] [[J->Say her name.]] [[K->Say her name.]] [[L->Say her name.]] [[M->Say her name.]] [[N->Say her name.]] [[O->Say her name.]] [[P->Say her name.]] [[Q->Say her name.]] [[R->R]] [[S->Say her name.]] [[T->Say her name.]] [[U->Say her name.]] [[V->Say her name.]] [[W->Say her name.]] [[X->Say her name.]] [[Y->Say her name.]] [[Z->Say her name.]] [[No, I don't remember anything.->I'm hungry.]]

Do you remember it? [[A->A]] [[B->Say her name.]] [[C->Say her name.]] [[D->Say her name.]] [[E->Say her name.]] [[F->Say her name.]] [[G->Say her name.]] [[H->Say her name.]] [[I->Say her name.]] [[J->Say her name.]] [[K->Say her name.]] [[L->Say her name.]] [[M->Say her name.]] [[N->Say her name.]] [[O->Say her name.]] [[P->Say her name.]] [[Q->Say her name.]] [[R->Say her name.]] [[S->Say her name.]] [[T->Say her name.]] [[U->Say her name.]] [[V->Say her name.]] [[W->Say her name.]] [[X->Say her name.]] [[Y->Say her name.]] [[Z->Say her name.]] [[No, I don't remember anything.->I'm hungry.]]

Her name is Kira. [[I remember.->I remember.]]

She is your daughter. [[I know.->I know.]]

She must miss you terribly. [[I'm so sorry.->I'm so sorry.]]

Are you? [[Yes.->I'm so sorry.]] [[I'm hungry.->I'm hungry.]]

That's what I thought. (if: $meadowroom is true)[[[Go back into the meadow.->Meadow1]]](else:)[[[Step back outside.->Continue]]]

Behind the red door is a room with a chair posed expectantly in front of a chessboard. There are no pieces on the chessboard, and there is no chair on the opposite side of the board -- instead there's only the window behind it, and an approximately chair-shaped hole in the glass. You remember this room. You tried to jump out this window, before. But they wouldn't let you. [[Jump out the window.->Jump out the window.]] [[Look around the rest of the room.->Chess room]] [[Go back outside.->Continue1]]

(set: $visitedParlor to true)You are walking down a hallway that's a little taller than you are and just about wide enough for two people to walk side-by-side. On the other side of the hallway is the door that leads to the parlor. [[Enter the parlor.->Enter the parlor.]] [[Keep walking down the hallway.->Continue2]] [[Turn back.->Continue1]]

Do you remember it? [[A->Say her name.]] [[B->Say her name.]] [[C->Say her name.]] [[D->Say her name.]] [[E->E]] [[F->Say her name.]] [[G->Say her name.]] [[H->Say her name.]] [[I->Say her name.]] [[J->Say her name.]] [[K->Say her name.]] [[L->Say her name.]] [[M->Say her name.]] [[N->Say her name.]] [[O->Say her name.]] [[P->Say her name.]] [[Q->Say her name.]] [[R->Say her name.]] [[S->Say her name.]] [[T->Say her name.]] [[U->Say her name.]] [[V->Say her name.]] [[W->Say her name.]] [[X->Say her name.]] [[Y->Say her name.]] [[Z->Say her name.]] [[No, I don't remember anything.->I'm hungry.]]

Do you remember it? [[A->Say her name.]] [[B->Say her name.]] [[C->Say her name.]] [[D->Say her name.]] [[E->Say her name.]] [[F->Say her name.]] [[G->Say her name.]] [[H->Say her name.]] [[I->Say her name.]] [[J->Say her name.]] [[K->Say her name.]] [[L->L]] [[M->Say her name.]] [[N->Say her name.]] [[O->Say her name.]] [[P->Say her name.]] [[Q->Say her name.]] [[R->Say her name.]] [[S->Say her name.]] [[T->Say her name.]] [[U->Say her name.]] [[V->Say her name.]] [[W->Say her name.]] [[X->Say her name.]] [[Y->Say her name.]] [[Z->Say her name.]] [[No, I don't remember anything.->I'm hungry.]]

Do you remember it? [[A->Say her name.]] [[B->Say her name.]] [[C->Say her name.]] [[D->Say her name.]] [[E->E2]] [[F->Say her name.]] [[G->Say her name.]] [[H->Say her name.]] [[I->Say her name.]] [[J->Say her name.]] [[K->Say her name.]] [[L->Say her name.]] [[M->Say her name.]] [[N->Say her name.]] [[O->Say her name.]] [[P->Say her name.]] [[Q->Say her name.]] [[R->Say her name.]] [[S->Say her name.]] [[T->Say her name.]] [[U->Say her name.]] [[V->Say her name.]] [[W->Say her name.]] [[X->Say her name.]] [[Y->Say her name.]] [[Z->Say her name.]] [[No, I don't remember anything.->I'm hungry.]]

Do you remember it? [[A->Say her name.]] [[B->Say her name.]] [[C->Say her name.]] [[D->Say her name.]] [[E->Say her name.]] [[F->Say her name.]] [[G->Say her name.]] [[H->Say her name.]] [[I->Say her name.]] [[J->Say her name.]] [[K->Say her name.]] [[L->Say her name.]] [[M->Say her name.]] [[N->N]] [[O->Say her name.]] [[P->Say her name.]] [[Q->Say her name.]] [[R->Say her name.]] [[S->Say her name.]] [[T->Say her name.]] [[U->Say her name.]] [[V->Say her name.]] [[W->Say her name.]] [[X->Say her name.]] [[Y->Say her name.]] [[Z->Say her name.]] [[No, I don't remember anything.->I'm hungry.]]

Do you remember it? [[A->A2]] [[B->Say her name.]] [[C->Say her name.]] [[D->Say her name.]] [[E->Say her name.]] [[F->Say her name.]] [[G->Say her name.]] [[H->Say her name.]] [[I->Say her name.]] [[J->Say her name.]] [[K->Say her name.]] [[L->Say her name.]] [[M->Say her name.]] [[N->Say her name.]] [[O->Say her name.]] [[P->Say her name.]] [[Q->Say her name.]] [[R->Say her name.]] [[S->Say her name.]] [[T->Say her name.]] [[U->Say her name.]] [[V->Say her name.]] [[W->Say her name.]] [[X->Say her name.]] [[Y->Say her name.]] [[Z->Say her name.]] [[No, I don't remember anything.->I'm hungry.]]

"Helena?" you call into the empty room. No one answers. You walk around the room for a little while, craning your neck to look up at everything on the ceiling. There's a mural painted for the people on the ceiling to see, and the upside-down sky drips down all the way to the floor. It's almost enough to conceal the sky-blue door on the back wall. But it doesn't hide it. [[Go through the blue door.->Blue door 2]] [[Go back outside.->Continue]]

(set: $racheldoor to true)You're in a closet. It's a fucking unbelievably huge closet, but it's a closet. There are seemingly endless rows of hanging dresses and tops and skirts, jackets, scarves, gloves and hats and the occasional glint of jewelry. Pairs of shoes march along the edges of the aisles like rows of patient teeth. It would feel like a department store, if there was any music at all. Instead it's crushingly silent; your ears ring from the sound of it, all that lack of sound. You look around and just see more clothes. Then you see the flash of an eye-- --oh, shit. Shit! Shit. It's a mirror. Just walls and walls of mirrors for some fucking reason. It's a maze in here. A couture glass maze. [[Wander deeper.->Closet]] [[Go back.->Yellow room..]]

Do you remember it? [[A->A3]] [[B->Say her name.]] [[C->Say her name.]] [[D->Say her name.]] [[E->Say her name.]] [[F->Say her name.]] [[G->Say her name.]] [[H->Say her name.]] [[I->Say her name.]] [[J->Say her name.]] [[K->Say her name.]] [[L->Say her name.]] [[M->Say her name.]] [[N->Say her name.]] [[O->Say her name.]] [[P->Say her name.]] [[Q->Say her name.]] [[R->Say her name.]] [[S->Say her name.]] [[T->Say her name.]] [[U->Say her name.]] [[V->Say her name.]] [[W->Say her name.]] [[X->Say her name.]] [[Y->Say her name.]] [[Z->Say her name.]] [[No, I don't remember anything.->I'm hungry.]]

Do you remember it? [[A->Say her name.]] [[B->Say her name.]] [[C->C]] [[D->Say her name.]] [[E->Say her name.]] [[F->Say her name.]] [[G->Say her name.]] [[H->Say her name.]] [[I->Say her name.]] [[J->Say her name.]] [[K->Say her name.]] [[L->Say her name.]] [[M->Say her name.]] [[N->Say her name.]] [[O->Say her name.]] [[P->Say her name.]] [[Q->Say her name.]] [[R->Say her name.]] [[S->Say her name.]] [[T->Say her name.]] [[U->Say her name.]] [[V->Say her name.]] [[W->Say her name.]] [[X->Say her name.]] [[Y->Say her name.]] [[Z->Say her name.]] [[No, I don't remember anything.->I'm hungry.]]

Do you remember it? [[A->Say her name.]] [[B->Say her name.]] [[C->Say her name.]] [[D->Say her name.]] [[E->Say her name.]] [[F->Say her name.]] [[G->Say her name.]] [[H->H2]] [[I->Say her name.]] [[J->Say her name.]] [[K->Say her name.]] [[L->Say her name.]] [[M->Say her name.]] [[N->Say her name.]] [[O->Say her name.]] [[P->Say her name.]] [[Q->Say her name.]] [[R->Say her name.]] [[S->Say her name.]] [[T->Say her name.]] [[U->Say her name.]] [[V->Say her name.]] [[W->Say her name.]] [[X->Say her name.]] [[Y->Say her name.]] [[Z->Say her name.]] [[No, I don't remember anything.->I'm hungry.]]

Do you remember it? [[A->Say her name.]] [[B->Say her name.]] [[C->Say her name.]] [[D->Say her name.]] [[E->E3]] [[F->Say her name.]] [[G->Say her name.]] [[H->Say her name.]] [[I->Say her name.]] [[J->Say her name.]] [[K->Say her name.]] [[L->Say her name.]] [[M->Say her name.]] [[N->Say her name.]] [[O->Say her name.]] [[P->Say her name.]] [[Q->Say her name.]] [[R->Say her name.]] [[S->Say her name.]] [[T->Say her name.]] [[U->Say her name.]] [[V->Say her name.]] [[W->Say her name.]] [[X->Say her name.]] [[Y->Say her name.]] [[Z->Say her name.]] [[No, I don't remember anything.->I'm hungry.]]

Do you remember it? [[A->Say her name.]] [[B->Say her name.]] [[C->Say her name.]] [[D->Say her name.]] [[E->Say her name.]] [[F->Say her name.]] [[G->Say her name.]] [[H->Say her name.]] [[I->Say her name.]] [[J->Say her name.]] [[K->Say her name.]] [[L->L2]] [[M->Say her name.]] [[N->Say her name.]] [[O->Say her name.]] [[P->Say her name.]] [[Q->Say her name.]] [[R->Say her name.]] [[S->Say her name.]] [[T->Say her name.]] [[U->Say her name.]] [[V->Say her name.]] [[W->Say her name.]] [[X->Say her name.]] [[Y->Say her name.]] [[Z->Say her name.]] [[No, I don't remember anything.->I'm hungry.]]

"Rachel?" you call into the empty room. No one answers. You walk around the room for a little while, craning your neck to look up at everything on the ceiling. There's a mural painted for the people on the ceiling to see, and the upside-down sky drips down all the way to the floor. It's almost enough to conceal the sky-blue door on the back wall. But it doesn't hide it. [[Go through the blue door.->Go through the blue door.]] [[Go back outside.->Continue]]

(set: $helenadoor to true)The first thing you notice is the smell. It socks you in the nose like a corpse swung at your face with full force: meaty, wet, painful. Your nose drips with the smell of all this meat and bone. You suck in a breath through your mouth, taste it on your tongue, and gag -- keep gagging -- throw up, somehow. Nothing really comes up. Just bile, dripping onto the black wet floor of this black wet room. The open door behind you is leaking bright light into this room, and that's the only way that you can see the piles and piles of bones scattered around. Can't tell what they are. Deer, maybe? A few wolves, maybe? They aren't quite picked clean entirely of meat; some of them still have a few scraps of black-blue flesh on the curves of their ribcages. You can't breathe in here, every single breath is an effort and each inhale means gagging up nothing on the ground. Your stomach growls, which is awful. You should probably leave. [[Go back into the yellow room.->Yellow room.]] [[Go deeper into the pile of bones.->Bone room]]

Are you sure? [[Yes.->Jump1]] [[No.->NoSir]]

It's quite a fall. [[I don't care.->Jump2]] [[You're right.->Open it.]]

You step around the chessboard towards the window. Outside the air is the texture and consistency of burned soup; you can't really see what's beyond it. When you lean further out the window to look down you can see, distantly, some sort of ground. It's dark. Mud, maybe. Your stomach growls, low and terrified, like a wild animal. (if: $jump is true)[[[Jump.->False jump]]](else:)[[[Jump.->Jump3]]] [[Go back into the hallway.->Continue1]]

(set: $jump to true)You shove through the broken glass; its teeth rip at your clothes and tear lines down your back and you're falling you're falling and falling. [[CRASH INTO THE GROUND.->Crash]]

The bones in your body shatter. The pain is indescribable: like standing inside a bellow of thunder, or being a fly caught between two cymbals. Only it isn't anything like that at all. It just hurts. In the distance, something is howling. This can be a dream, if you'd like. [[Yes please.->Yes please.]] [[No, I'm alright.->No, I'm alright.]]

You dream about pain. You dream about the white knife of your arm bone puncturing your skin, and you dream about the way the leaf litter on the ground soaks up all the blood. You dream about the way the fingers on your right hand twitch, scrabbling at the ground, trying to pull you forward. You don't dream movement. [[You dream about the sound of something breathing.->Dream2]]

Well. I hope it frees you from all of this. [[I hope so too.->Hope]]

You dream about the sound of something breathing. [[It isn't your breathing.->Dream3]]

It isn't your breathing. [[It gets closer.->It gets closer.]]

[[Eventually, it all stops.->Start]]

This is the parlor where Helena and Rachel eat breakfast. This is also the parlor where you have never eaten breakfast. The room sparkles with sunlight coming in through all of its many windows. The sun lights up the plates like a series of spotlights: here a pie that's oozing some sort of bloody juice, here a pomegranate yawning open like a mouthful of rubies. The table seems like it should groan under the weight of all this fucking food, but it's holding steady. Rachel is seated at one end of the table, wearing a long black dress with tight long sleeves. Helena is seated at the other end; she watches you with the same glassy expression as the dead animal skin thrown over her back. One of them says your name, but you didn't catch which one. [[Sit next to Rachel.->Parlor Rachel]] [[Sit next to Helena.->Parlor Helena]] [[Sit in the middle.->Parlor Middle]] [[Go back outside.->Continue2]](set: $visitedparlor to true)

(set: $continue2 to true)You are (if: $helenatime is true)[ standing in](else:)[ walking down] a hallway that's a little taller than you are and just about wide enough for two people to walk side-by-side. On the other side of the hallway is a door made of smooth black glass. It doesn't have a handle or doorknob.(set: $helenatime to false) [[Kick it.->Black door]] [[Keep walking down the hallway.->Continue2a]] (if: $visitedParlor)[[[Turn back.->Continue1]]]\ (else:)[[[Turn back.->Parlor hallway]]]

That's what I thought. [[Step back outside.->Continue1]]

(set: $parlorh to false)(set: $parlorr to true)Rachel seems delighted to see you, and you can tell because the muscles around her eyes have tightened very slightly. She pulls a teacup from the mess in the center of the table and pours you a cup of tea. "Did you sleep well?" she asks. [["Not really."->Not really.]] [["Great, actually."->Great actually.]]

(set: $parlorh to true)(set: $parlorr to false)Helena brightens like a live electric wire when you sit down next to her; she beams a mouthful of sharp white teeth. "Hello," she says, "I missed you. Did you have sweet sleep?" [["Yeah, I guess."->Helena Yeah]] [["Pretty terrible."->Helena Nah]]

(set: $parlorh to false)(set: $parlorr to false)You take the seat in the exact center of the table and stare blankly at the white bone plate in front of you. You can hear crunching; you can also hear the sound of the door creaking and then slamming shut. You actually hate being in this room, and you never eat anything -- no matter how hungry you get, you never eat anything. You don't really understand why you came in here and sat down. Helena's hand slithers in from the corner of your vision and lowers an apple onto your plate. It's the same color as Rachel's lipstick, but which one of them coordinated that is a mystery. It's the biggest, reddest apple you've ever seen. It looks like just brushing it with a fingertip would make it explode into juice. [["I'm not hungry."->Middle 2]]

Rachel tilts her head slightly; her hair swings by her face. The edges of her mouth purse. "Nightmares?" she asks. [[Tell Rachel about your dreams.->Dreams]] [["Thought you were going to eat me in my sleep."->Thought you]] [[Look down at your teacup in silence.->Look down at your teacup in silence.]]

Her lips pull upwards at the corners, and she gives you a smile that looks sincerely pleased. "I'm glad to hear it," she says. "You seemed exhausted, and neither of us thought it would be smart to move you off of the ground." She reaches around you and over you to pull things onto your empty plate: a slice of rare and bleeding meat, a bright fruit you don't recognize, a pile of green spinach that smells headily of earth. She taps her fingertips against your shoulder comfortingly and then withdraws, sips at her tea. Her eyes, watching you say: Well? Well? This time are you going to? Your mouth is watering. You swallow and look down at your teacup. [[Drink the tea.->Tea]] [[Don't drink the tea.->No Tea]]

You tell Rachel all of it: the dream you had where you fell and fell and then hit the ground and some animal came out of the woods and licked at your broken bones and you were awake and alive enough to feel it starting to eat you but you weren't alive enough to stop it, you just had to live through it, the pain like a thousand bolts of lightning and the teeth crunching your bones and Rachel's pupils are wide, wide open. Almost big enough to swallow her irises. (Swallow?) (Your stomach growls.) She lifts her own teacup to her mouth and takes a sip. "Sometimes," she says quietly, "dreams are a way for you to whisper to yourself. In dreams--" (and she's staring at you, eyes urgent and bottomless) "--you can have everything you want. Do you understand?" [["I don't want an animal to eat me."->Don't want]]

"Did you?" Rachel murmurs. [["No."->No Rachel Eat]]

You twitch your gaze away from Rachel's and back to your teacup; the weight of her attention on you is too much to bear. Inside, the liquid is murky and thick. You can see your own reflection, but just barely. Do you want to drink the tea? [[Yes.->Tea]] [[No.->No Tea]]

"We wouldn't ever let that happen to you, Sarah." She touches her fingertips to your knuckles. Her skin is very, very warm. "Now are you going to drink your tea?" [["You know I'm not going to."->Not going to]]

Her eyelids flutter, hooding her eyes. "I thought you might give a different answer." [["Why?"->Why?]]

"Something seems...different about you." You don't feel any different. When you twitch your gaze away from Rachel's and back to your teacup, the only person you see reflected inside is yourself. Do you want to drink the tea? [[Yes.->Tea]] [[No.->No Tea]]

The warmth of adrenaline jolts through you in a way that feels almost exactly like pain. You grab for the teacup and take a huge swig before you can change your mind. It tastes like-- --blood? Not blood, but-- --something like blood. Something that isn't blood. It tastes terrible, like metal; it tastes like honey and summer sunshine and perfect tea. It definitely isn't tea, though. It's too thick to be tea. It grows little fingers and grabs at the inside of your throat as it goes down, down, down into your stomach. You end up drinking all of it, every last drop, and then you lower the teacup. You feel very very warm and also very very nauseous. [[Something is growling.->Something is growling.]]

You look at Rachel and push the teacup away with two fingers. It skitters across the tabletop; for a second, the only sound is bones crunching between Helena's teeth. Rachel is watching you intently. "I thought," she says, "that I might as well offer you the choice. You're welcome to have it later, if you'd like." Before you answer, she draws in a breath and continues. "If you're here...I'd like to show you something." Her eyes cut to Helena, and then back to you. "//Only// you. Would you like that?" "No," Helena says. [["Yes."->Road trip]] [["No."->No road trip]]

You twitch your gaze away from Rachel's and back to your teacup. Inside, the liquid is murky and thick; you can see your own reflection, but just barely. Do you want to drink the tea? [[Yes.->Tea]] [[No.->No Tea]]

It's Helena. Helena, perched on the edge of her chair, growling and growling and growling -- she leaps -- she's on Rachel, now, letting out these high horrible wailing sounds and clawing out soft chunks of Rachel's skin. She leaves long furrows on Rachel's cheeks, but it can't hide the incandescent smile on Rachel's face. Rachel is trilling something unbearable. You can't understand it. You're going to be sick. It's not a feeling, at this point, it's just a certainty. [[Let them fight.->Let them fight.]]

You stumble out of the parlor. You're going to throw up, you're going to throw up, you're going to throw up, you fumble at the knob of the door next to you and stumble into the gleaming white expanse of a bathroom. Your hands form talons around the edge of a sink, and your shuddering breaths growl into the pristine silence. Your whole body hurts. [[Look into the mirror.->Look into]]

Oh. There you are.

You're really going to do it? [[Yes.->Tea1]] [[No.->No Tea]]

Alright. If you're sure. [[Lift it to your mouth and drink.->Tea2]]

There's the sound of Helena spitting something out, and it ricochets off of a window and then clatters to the ground. Rachel is lit up like a lantern in the dark. She stands up and offers you a hand, chivalrously; you take it. Her fingers feel very delicate. She puts a hand in the small of your back and pushes you out of the door, back into the hallway. Was the wallpaper always red? [[Yes.->Road trip 2]] [[No.->Road trip 2]]

Rachel's face goes flat, and you can hear the sound of Helena snickering. [["Whatever you've got to give me, I don't want it."->No road 1]] [["Maybe later."->No road 1]]

Before you can give yourself time to see the expression on Rachel's face, you shove your chair away from the table. It goes screeching across the floor of the parlor, and you go storming back out of the door you came through. You're in the hallway again. [[Keep walking.->Continue2]]

"Good," Helena says. "Good good. Good. Are you hungry?" She doesn't give you time to answer. She just reaches out and grabs handfuls of things and puts them on your plate: a pile of rolling gumballs the color of arteries; something that looks like it might be mashed potatoes; a crumbling cupcake with a mound of frosting the same pastel pink as the fingernail that sits on top. You watch it all hit your plate. You feel like you're on a rollercoaster, dangling over the edge. You swallow. (Your throat is very dry.) [["I'm not hungry, Helena."->Helena Y2]]

The joy on Helena's face shudders and dies. She tilts her head slightly, sucks her lips between her teeth and lets them go. "Bad dreams?" she says in a low excited hush. [[Tell Helena about your dreams.->Dreams2]] [["Thought you were going to eat me in my sleep."->Thought you2]] [[Look down at your plate in silence.]]

Your stomach growls. Helena tilts her head, stares at you with a furrow of hurt and worry tucked between her brows. "Yes you are," she says. "I can hear your hungry. I can smell it. You can eat, Sarah. It's okay." She tenderly places a handful of fetal rabbits on your plate, dipped in sugar syrup. Their eyes are closed and their mouths are open; saliva is pooling in your mouth, no matter how much you hate it. Are you going to eat? [[Yes.->Food]] [[No.->No food]]

You're really going to do it? [[Yes.->Food1]] [[No.->No food]]

You look at Helena and push the plate away with the flat of your palm. It screeches across the table, and one of the tiny rabbits goes bouncing and rolling off the plate; Helena snatches it, shoves it in her mouth. You can't watch. You look away -- but the only thing left to look at is Rachel, who's staring at you with eyes like beartraps. You look away from that too. "Sarah," says Helena through a mouthful of-- --food. The word comes out //haarrh//, and then she swallows and licks her lips. "I can show you something, even if you are still hungry. Even if your stomach growls the whole time. Do you want to see?" You hear Rachel exhale a scornful breath through her nose, and then drink her tea. //No//, says her voice in your head, snidely. [["Yes."->Road trip H]] [["No."->No road trip H]]

Alright. If you're sure. [[Dig in.->Food2]]

You eat the babies first. They crunch between your teeth and hunger swoons and swells in you like an entire symphony -- and -- and you eat the mashed potatoes (they taste like butterscotch) and you eat the gumballs (they taste like blood) and you eat the cupcake and Helena puts more food on your plate and you eat that too and she's laughing, giggling at first and then full-on laughing, the most joyous sound you've ever heard and you're laughing, the both of you are laughing, her shoulder pressed to your shoulder and all the food tastes so good like blood, only it doesn't taste like blood, only it does taste like blood. It all tastes like meat. Other things, sure, but on the roof of your mouth you just taste meat. You're so hungry. You're so very hungry. You're so very very hungry, and so very very nauseous. [[Something is shrieking.->Something is shrieking.]]

It's Rachel. Rachel, standing, her hands on the table, shaking so hard and so quick you can barely look at her. Rachel reaching out her arms and sweeping all of the plates off the table and then opening her mouth to scream at Helena, the pitch so high that one of the windows cracks and shatters. Helena screams back. Her arms sling over your shoulders and twist around you like some parasitic plant and she's screaming, eyes white around the edges and glazed with happiness. She shoves you out of the way when Rachel leaps at her. Then they're down on the floor, ripping and clawing and tearing and screaming; you can hear the sound of their angry, their hungry, their lonely. You can also feel your stomach surging, rolling over and over. You're going to be sick. It's not a feeling, at this point, it's just a certainty. [[Let them fight.->Let them fight.]]

You tell Helena all of it: the dream you had where you fell into a well as dark and deep as loneliness, and you were trapped in the bottom, and there wasn't any water but you were drowning anyways, and you were so lonely but when you opened your mouth all the lack of water came rushing in and you were drowning in it, how hungry you were to be loved and Helena's pupils are wide, wide open. "Are you lonely?" she says, her voice soft in a way that scares you. [["That's not any of your business, Helena."->Dreams3]]

"I wouldn't," Helena says, looking away from you and frowning at the table. "Not when you were sleeping. I promise." She suddenly jolts around to stare at you. "I //promise//." [["It was a joke."->Joking]]

"I know," Helena says loftily. "I knew this." She sneaks you a glance out of the corner of her eyes and her lips twitch up, just at one corner: //I didn't know, but we can keep it a secret//. Your stomach growls, and Helena's face goes flat with worry. "Are you hungry, Sarah?" [["No."->Helena not hungry]]

Helena tilts her head, stares at you with a furrow of hurt and worry tucked between her brows. "Yes you are," she says. "I can hear your hungry. I can smell it. You can eat, Sarah. It's okay." She piles food onto your plate, hopefully -- a massacre of colors, red and pink and yellow and white. When you just stare at them, unmoving, Helena tenderly nestles a handful of fetal rabbits onto your plate. They're dipped in sugar syrup; their eyes are closed and their mouths are open. Wide open. You can see all of their sharp teeth. Saliva is pooling in your mouth, no matter how much you hate it. Are you going to eat? [[Yes.->Food]] [[No.->No food]]

It's empty. Helena starts loading more food onto it, almost in a panic; she gives you gumballs and cupcakes and cake, some sort of mash and something you don't even recognize. When you look at her, she looks so concerned that she might start crying. "You have to eat, Sarah," she says softly. "You have to." She reaches out one tender hand and places something small on your plate, then another, then another: fetal rabbits. Their eyes are closed, their mouths are open; they've been glazed in some sort of sugar syrup, frozen and sweet. Your mouth waters. It would be nice if it didn't. Are you going to eat? [[Yes.->Food]] [[No.->No food]]

It hurts your foot. You curse at the door, and it continues to not have any visible means of access. [[Continue down the fucking hallway.->Continue3]]

(set: $continue3 to true)You are walking down a hallway that's starting to feel a little claustrophobic. On the other side of the hallway is a smooth green door with a white-painted doorknob. (if: $greendoor is true)[[[Open the green door.->Green door false]]](else:)[[[Open the green door.->Open the green door.]]] [[Keep walking down the hallway.->Continue4]] [[Turn back.->Continue2a]]

You are standing in a small room. It's mostly bare. There's only a fireplace with a clock on the mantel, a small velvet loveseat, and a few empty bookshelves. It's impossible to know what time of day or night it is; there are no windows, only the fireplace casting its flickering light on everything. It makes the wallpaper of the room look vaguely alive. Gives you the willies. [[Lie down on the loveseat and go to sleep.->Lie down on the loveseat and go back to sleep.]] (if: $start is true)[[[Check the clock on the mantelpiece.->Clock 2]]](else:)[[[Check the clock on the mantelpiece.->Check the clock on the mantelpiece.]]] [[Step back outside.->Continue]]

On the other side of the door is a wide meadow that unfurls into the distance. You've either found an exit or the walls are painted to match the sky exactly. You don't see any features here. Just green grass and cloudy blue sky. [[Walk into the meadow.->Meadow 1]] [[Go back outside.->Continue3]]

You are walking down a (if: $backwards is true)[hallway that's a little taller than you are and just about wide enough for two people to walk side-by-side.](else:)[hallway that's just barely taller than you are and wide enough for two people to walk single-file.] On the other side of the hallway is an arched stone door carved with a lion stretching upwards. Looks like it's trying to claw an apple down from a tree. (if: $backwards is true)[[[Open the stone door.->Open the stone door.]] [[Keep walking down the hallway.->Continue3]] [[Turn back.->Continue5]]](else:)[[[Open the stone door.->Open the stone door.]] [[Keep walking down the hallway.->Continue5]] [[Turn back.->Continue3]]]

It smells like sugar here; your mouth waters. The only sound is your breathing and your feet slowly mashing into the grass as you walk. When you turn around, you see a perfect rectangular gash in the blue sky behind you: the door, leading out to the hallway. You turn back around and keep walking forward. A little ways in front of you is a dark pit in the grass. Crouching down to look into it, you see that it's a stone well embedded in the earth. [[Jump into the well.->Well]] [[Keep walking forward.->Meadow 2]] [[Go back outside.->Continue3]]

You dangle one foot over the edge of the well, and then -- in the general spirit of //eh, fuck it// -- you jump in. It's a pretty far drop. Something either bruises or breaks in your leg, you can't really tell. It's dark down here. There aren't any visible exits, besides the hole in the top, and the walls are too smooth to climb. The bottom of the well is dirt; scattered in the dirt you find some golden hairs, some smears of dark blood, and a torn-off fingernail embedded in the wall. It's trailing a clump of skin behind it. Gross. You spin around a few times to see if you can find an exit, but there's nothing. You try to climb the walls: nothing. Basically, you're fucked. [[Call her name.->Names]] [[Wait.->Wait.]]

Whose name are you going to call? [[Hers.->Her Helena]] [[Hers.->Her Rachel]] [[Hers.->Her Kira]]

You wait a long time. [[Call her name.->Names]] [[Wait.->Wait 2]]

You call out. Nothing happens at all. You curse, and then you kick the wall for good measure, and then -- and then you //swear// you hear the click of the door. Footsteps in the sweet grass. You hold your breath-- --and there she is, looking at you over the side of the well. (if: $hno is true)["Hello, Sarah," she says. "Will you give me your (if: $blood is true)[blood](if: $hair is true)[hair](if: $memory is true)[memory]?" [["Yeah."->Her H 4]]](else:)[Her curls fall limp and bedraggled around her face, and even from down here you can see that her mouth is open in exaggerated surprise. "Sarah?" Helena says. [["Can you get me out of here, please?"->Her H 2]]]

You call out. Nothing happens at all. You curse, and then you kick the wall for good measure, and then -- and then you //swear// you hear the click of the door. Footsteps in the sweet grass. You hold your breath-- --and there she is, looking at you over the side of the well. (if: $rno is true)["Hello again," she says. "Have you agreed to my terms?" [["Yeah."->Her R3]]](else:)[All you can really see clearly from down here are the whites of her eyes and the red of her mouth. (if: $racheloffended is true)["I told you," Rachel says. "I don't want to play with you anymore." She stares at you from the top of the well. Then she turns on her heel, and walks away. [[There's nothing else to do but wait.->Wait 4]]](else:)[(if: $visitedparlor is true)["Hello again,"](else:)["Ah,"] Rachel says. "You've gotten yourself into some trouble, haven't you?" [["Can you get me out of here, please?"->Her R2]]]]

Do you remember it? [[I thought I did.->Her Kira 2]]

[[But I don't remember it at all.->Names]]

You wait a long time. [[Call her name.->Names]] [[Wait.->Wait 3]]

You wait a long time. [[Call her name.->Names]] [[Wait.->Wait 4]]

You wait for a long time. [[Eventually, you fall asleep.->Wait 7]]

Do you have a nice dream? [[Yes.->Wait a]] [[No.->Wait b]]

[[That's good.->Start]]

[[I'm sorry.->Start]]

"I don't want you to be lonely, Sarah." She grabs your hand in both of her hot hands and squeezes, so tightly that you can feel your bones grinding together. [["Helena. You're hurting me."->Dreams4]]

"I'm sorry." She drops your hand; her own hands hang in the air for a second like baffled birds before swooping into a dive to grab food off the table and pile it onto your plate: infinite amounts of sugar, gumballs and cupcakes and mashed potatoes made out of cake batter. "Aren't you hungry, Sarah?" she says. When you don't answer she lets out a long low sigh. Like you've disappointed her. Slowly she scoops up a handful of fetal rabbits off of a nearby platter, places them tenderly one by one in a line on your plate. Their eyes are closed and their mouths are hanging open; they are encased in crystalline sugar syrup, like hardened drool. You //are// hungry. Are you going to eat? [[Yes.->Food]] [[No.->No food]]

It probably doesn't matter. You shake off Rachel's hand from your back and match her pace through the hallways. You tilt your head to look at her from the corners of your eyes. She looks back at you. Flicks her gaze up and down. Looks back to the hallway. You walk past a blood-red door with a handle made of jagged metal. You walk past a sea-blue door with a chain to lift it like a drawbridge. You walk past a glass-clear door that reveals a room filled with thick white fog. Rachel stops at a door that shines like abalone. "I find myself wondering," she says, "exactly who you are." The door clicks open, and Rachel tilts her head so that only her profile reaches you. "Wait here for a moment, please," she says, and then she lets herself into the room and closes the door behind her. [[Do you know who you are?->Road trip 3]]

Of course you know exactly who you are. [[Think about it anyways.->Road trip 4]]

The door swings open. You sidle in, staring warily around; the walls are covered in canvases, and the canvases are covered by cloths. The entire room is an ocean of blank cloth. In the center of the room there's a white canvas, staring at you like a blank unblinking eye. Rachel sweeps out her arm to gesture to a stool sitting in front of the canvas. "Sit," she says. [[Sit.->Road trip 5]] [[Leave while you still have the chance.->Road trip continue]]

You stumble back out the door and let it click shut behind you -- then you bolt, stumbling over your feet a little. [[Just run away. You always do.->Continue2]]

You are walking down a (if: $backwards is true)[hallway that's a little taller than you are and just about wide enough for two people to walk side-by-side.](else:)[hallway that's as tall as you are and wide enough for two people to walk single-file.] On the other side of the hallway is a door made of picture frames.(set: $continue5 to true) [[Open the frame door.->Open the frame door.]] (if: $backwards is true)[[[Keep walking down the hallway.->Continue2a]] [[Turn back.->Continue6]]](else:)[[[Keep walking down the hallway.->Continue6]] [[Turn back.->Continue4]]]

(set: $bath to false)When you push the door open, a cloud of steam billows out and engulfs you. It smells like a dizzying mix of herbs you don't recognize. You step inside, blink the fog out of your eyes -- and see a huge bathing chamber, made out of stone and yawning back far into the distance. Most of the real estate is taken up by the bath: enormous, and an unreal sapphire blue. [[Explore the room.->Bath room]] [[Strip and get into the bath.->Bath]] [[Go back outside.->Continue4]]

(set: $meadowroom to true)The grass is starting to stick to your shoes as you walk forward. When you get close enough, you see a rectangular cut in the sky: another door. So it's a wall, then -- a cleverly-painted wall, but just a wall. Yeah, when you get close enough you can see that it's just paint. When you push lightly on the door, it swings open a little. [[Go through the door.->Yellow room]] [[Turn around.->Meadow1]]

You step through the door and find yourself in a child's playroom. There are no toys or anything on the floor; when you look up, you realize they're all on the ceiling. Upside-down. You have a second of terrible vertigo before you are able to tell yourself that yes, you are still on the ground. You aren't on the ceiling. On the other side of the room is a yellow door painted with flowers. [[Go through the yellow door.->Continue]] [[Go back through the blue door.->Meadow1]] [[Say her name.->Say her name.]]

You're having a hard time walking, the more you walk through this room; the grass is almost sucking your feet down, like a thousand thousand hands reaching out to trap you here. But you can see the door that leads back to the hallway, and you're getting closer to it, so. That's something. You see the well again. [[Jump into the well.->Well]] [[Go back outside.->Continue3]]

This whole cavernous room is built out of grey-cream stone; it seems like it stretches on for miles. (if: $bath is true)[The amount of steam makes it difficult to see anything. Your breath is sort of wheezing as you blindly feel your way through, along the featureless walls. ]You keep wandering further back. There's a small glass cabinet mounted on one of the walls, filled with bottles of what's probably soap. (if: $bath is false)[(You try to ignore that there's something that looks like a human fingernail floating in one of the bottles.) ]There's a pile of unbelievably fluffy white towels. (if: $bath is false)[There's something -- right there, bobbing in the water-- A bone. Of course it's a bone. Because nothing in this entire house can be normal. There's sweat starting to bead on the back of your neck, and all of it suddenly feels terrible -- the smell of herbs in the air, the wafting steam, the bath oils. This place gives you the creeps. [[Keep going.->Bath room 2]] [[Get in the bath.->Bath]] [[Go back outside.->Continue4]]](if: $bath is true)[ You can't really see anything in here; also, your skin is burning. You crouch down on all fours so you can feel your way along, because you do //not// want to end up back in that water. You crawl along for an endless amount of time, dizzy and sweating and starting to wobble-- You feel the edges of a door. [[Go through it.->Ice room]] [[Go back outside.->Continue4]]]

It's warm. It's been a long time since you felt warm. Not, not the feeling of warmth on your skin -- blankets, fires, whatever -- but on the inside. It's been a long time since you felt warm on the inside. The only sound is the rippling hush of the water. So you fall asleep. Do you dream? [[Yes.->Bath dream]] [[No.->Bath no dream]]

"Yes you are," Helena says. "Yes you are," Rachel says. [[But you can't eat.->Middle 3]]

"Not choosing is its own choice," Rachel says. You look away from the apple and back at her; her eyes are sharp enough to see right through you. It's too much, so you look back down at the apple again. You pick it up and heft its weight: solid. It's the size of a crystal ball. [[Throw it at the window.->Middle 4]]

The apple bursts against the window into chunks of white meat, and then tumbles to the floor. You're already shoving your chair back and running from the room -- from the idea of both of them, of each of them, the white-hot reality of them. Your stomach whines as you rattle the door open, slam it, and find yourself back in the hallway. [[All you can do is move forward.->Continue2]]

Oh, fuck, this is so stupid. You pull your shirt over your nose and mouth as you keep walking into the room; it does not help one bit. Every few steps you have to double over and gag -- and gag -- and gag -- and then stand back up again. You're starting to think that you might literally kill for some dry crackers and ginger ale and the feeling of someone pulling your hair back from your face (who would pull your hair back from) (who would) ( ) and that scares the ever-loving shit out of you. That you would do it. That you would break something's neck for some relief. In the distant leaking light from the playroom, you can make out the bones. Four legs, four legs, three and a half. The deeper into the room, the more twisted the skeletons look. Like they're trying to run away even though they're dead. [[Keep going.->Bone room 2]] [[Turn back.->Yellow room.]]

You're back in the upside-down playroom. [[Go back into the hallway.->Continue]] [[Go back into the room of bones.->Bone room]]

The light slowly leaves you, and -- oh -- and oh, you have to feel your way by touch. Every few steps you accidentally kick some bone and sent it skittering across the floor; the sound feels louder each time. Step, step, CHIK-CHIK-CHIKIKIKIKIK -- step -- step -- pause. The only sound is your breathing, echoing strangely, seeming to reverberate from all around you. Step. Step. Step. Your hands have been wet for a while now. You're not sure what's on them. When you turn around, you see the distant distant glow of the door back to the yellow room. You can't see any other way out of here. [[Keep going.->Bone room 3]] [[Turn back.->Bone room a]]

Wait. [[That's not your breathing.->Bone room 4]]

You curse loudly to yourself and then stumble backwards, faster and faster, scrambling and tripping over the bones, sending them clattering with a percussive sound that overwhelms you. Your vision blurs and wavers: you're crying, raw hiccuping sobs of animal terror. Closer and closer and closer and closer-- [[And you're through.->Yellow room.]]

Oh fuck. [[Turn back.->Bone room a]] [[Keep going.->Bone room 5]]

You're shaking; your breath is leaving your mouth in little puffs, stuttering over itself in its haste to get out of your lungs. You find yourself crouching down on all fours and crab-walking forward. Are you shaking too much to stand? You might be. It's so dark in here. There are so many bones. You don't even want to concentrate on what the endless eye sockets feel like under your fingers, because you don't want to have the realization that they're-- [[Just don't think about it. Don't think about it. Do not think about it.->Bone room 6]]

You want to go home. [[You can feel it breathing all around you.->Bone room 7]]

[[Turn back.->Bone room a]] [[Keep going.->Bone room 8]]

The breathing of the house is increasing, growing -- somehow -- frantic. It's just bones here, it's only bones, there isn't anything else, you can barely even see the exit anymore. It's the size of a fingernail, only it isn't a fingernail. It blurs and wobbles like a mote of dust in your teary vision. "Please," you say. "Please. Come on. Let me go." [[Do it.->Bone room b]] [[Keep going forward.->Bone room 9]]

You stop. You turn around. You put one foot down on the ground, and then another and another and you're going towards the exit, you're finally leaving-- [[Thank you.->Yellow room.]]

Really? [[Yes.->Bone room 10]] [[No.->Bone room b]]

(set: $boneroom to true)(if: $meadowroom is true)[[[No, I don't think I'm going to let you.->Meadow1]]](else:)[[[No, I don't think I'm going to let you.->Continue1]]]

You push deeper through the racks of clothes and into the closet. Your reflection watches you from the walls, wary and terrified. Every now and then, out of the corner of your eye, you can see the flash of white teeth -- but when you check the mirror again, it's just you. Still you. Even after all of this. The fabrics are so soft, so thin -- you feel bad that you're sort of roughly shoving your way through them. The lace feels like it will crumble to the touch; the velvet rubs up against your fingers like a needy cat. Black, black, black, grey. White. Each time you brush up against something, it sighs out the scent of wind and water. [[Keep going.->Closet2]] [[Step closer to the mirror.->Closet m]] [[Go back outside.->Yellow room..]]

You're back in the upside-down playroom. [[Go back into the hallway.->Continue]] [[Go back into the mirrored closet.->Closet]]

There are some vague rusty smears of blood on the floor. It's white stone, cracked. There's a weird sheen on it but only out of the corner of your eye. The room is pretty featureless, besides the broken window and the table with its empty waiting chessboard. You hear your own breathing. You hear the wind wailing through the glass. [[Keep investigating.->Chess room 2]] [[Go back outside.->Parlor hallway]] [[Jump.->Jump out the window.]]

The legs of Rachel's chair scream against the ground as she stands up, teacup in hand, and leaves. The parlor door clicks behind her. Helena blows a quiet raspberry at it and then looks at you, eyes crinkled, grin enormous. "I knew it," she says. "I knew that you would want to see it." She tucks two more rabbits into her mouth; they make her cheeks bulge, and she stands up and spins her way towards the door. She opens it to reveal a hallway. You don't think it's the same hallway. Helena jerks her head -- //follow me// -- and then heads out of the parlor. [[You follow her.->Road trip H 2]]

Helena makes a noise like you've just broken all of her fingers. You don't hear any noise from Rachel, but her smugness stretches out to fill up the whole room. [["Whatever you've got to give me, I don't want it."->No road H1]] [["Maybe later."->No road H1]]

"Okay," says Helena sadly, and you don't let yourself say anything or see anything or turn towards whatever kicked-carnivore expression is on her face -- you just shove your chair away from the table and stand. The chair legs go screeching across the floor of the silent parlor. You storm across the parlor, wrench the door open, and storm outside. You're in the hallway again. [[Keep walking.->Continue2]]

The unstoppable chorus of memory. When you were six at the pond and S said "Don't touch me like that you little bitch, come on, be good job that //is// the right answer would you like a gold star or can you see that other one," he said, leaning against you and pointing up, the alcohol burning in your stomach and smoldering in the grass, "Feed it another bloody teeth in your mouth and your bloody knuckles and [[Wake up.->Bath dream 2]]

You're asleep, and then -- snap -- you're awake. It takes you a second to realize where you are, and a second after that to realize why you woke up: the water is scalding. Boiling. It wasn't boiling when you got in -- when did it -- shit, it hurts, but you're so sleepy. [[Get out of the water.->Bath 2]]

You're trying. [[Get out of the water.->Bath 3]]

//You're trying.// [[Get out of the water, Sarah.->Bath 4]]

(set: $bath to true)You stumble out of the water. Your skin is blistering; the air smells even more like herbs, but you don't know what kind. Smells like the kitchen. Which kitchen? The one at home. You know the kind of kitchen you're trying to describe, but it's just -- it's just hard to remember, because you only just woke up. That's all. You need a minute or two, and then you'll definitely remember. Your skin is bright red, like a lobster's. Ouch. Putting your clothes back on takes effort, and you find yourself hissing through your teeth as you pull fabric over your arms. The amount of steam in this room now is starting to make you dizzy. [[Explore the room more deeply.->Bath room]] [[Go back outside and hope for cleaner air.->Continue4]]

the certainty that you would always fight it. Not even knowing what it is but knowing you have always fought against it and you always will. Knowing that you will not lie down and give up even when it feels so good and delicious to lie down and give up the taste of it on the roof of your mouth like copper, the blood on your tooth. The blood on your teeth. When you said something you don't remember and got up and swung and ripped out her throat with your teeth, and she was screaming, and Sarah was watching you (set: $bdream to true)[[Wake up.->Bath dream 3]]

and in the dream you turn and meet your own eyes and you do not recognize them, the woman with your eyes, the Sarah who is you with your eyes you do not recognize any of it and you are outside of yourself and you are a bath with a Sarah floating inside of it and you think: //well, I am hungry--// Her chest rises and falls and rises and falls and rises and falls, panting for breath in the hot hot water, [[And then, unfortunately, she wakes up.->Bath no dream]]

"What is it worth?" Helena says. She bites her lower lip when she smiles, and you can see so many sharp white teeth. [["You can have a chunk of my hair."-> Her H 3hair]] [["You can have my first memory."->Her H 3memory]] [["You can have my blood."->Her H 3blood]]

You hear a faint cracking sound as Helena's fingernails dig into the stone, fracturing it. "Okay," she says. She wriggles a little bit from sheer excitement. "I will be back, fast. Don't worry. Don't worry, Sarah." Then she ducks away, and leaves you there. [[You wait.->Her H 5]]

(set: $hno to true)She just stares at you, unblinking. It's weird that she looks like Rachel sometimes. It feels like it shouldn't happen, but it does. Sometimes. Sometimes her face goes flat and dead and you think //oh, yeah, they're the same animal.// It's never a good feeling. "Call for me again," she says, "if you change your mind." Then she ducks away and leaves you there. [[Shit.->Wait.]]

[[You wait a long time.->Her H 6]]

There's a bang and a clatter and a dragging sound, and then Helena's voice -- muffled -- says: "Back against the wall, please." You put your back against the wall. The ripped-off fingernail watches you with silent judgment, and you sneer at it. BAM! the sound of a ladder hitting the ground. It's a little wobbly, and looks like it might be made of small bones, but: you aren't really in a position to be choosy. So you climb it. Helena grabs your hands when you get to the top, and pulls you out of the well. You stumble against the wet and squeaking grass, and then reach down to plant your hands against it and know you're on the ground. "Smart," Helena says. She crouches down next to you, rips up some of the grass from the ground, and eats it. You stare at her. She stares back. "It's sugar," she says. "See?" and she shoves a handful of it at you. You smell it: sugar. [["You're right."->Her H 7]]

Helena is whistling the same note over and over as she walks. It sounds like a bird is stuck in her throat, or like she has a whistle instead of a spine. Creepy shit. Also: seriously annoying. You walk past a blood-red door with a handle made of jagged metal. You walk past a thick wooden door with a rusty padlock clamped on the handle. You walk past a door made of small bones, fit together exactly. Finally Helena stops at a door made of metal that's a dark and seasick color. It doesn't have any knob or handle; Helena makes no move to open it. When you turn your head to look at her she is staring at the door, face round and hollowed-out with feeling. [[Say her name.->Road trip H 3]]

Helena jolts, and heaves her foot forwards to kick open the door. It slams against the wall on the inside of the room. Makes you jump. Actually, scratch that, not a room: it's just more fucking hallway. "Hold my hand," Helena says, holding out her fingers and wiggling them. "This is a bad place." [[Hold her hand.->Road trip hand]] [[Don't hold her hand.->Road trip no hand]]

(set: $handheld to true)You slide your fingers through hers. Helena's hand clamps around yours, fever-hot and sweating. She drags you into the hallway. The door slams shut behind you -- and there's no handle or anything on this side either. The whole hallway is made of dark metal. Helena drags you along through it; your footsteps and her footsteps sound terrible clanging against the metal. You pass occasional lanterns guttering along the walls. "No windows," Helena says quietly, and then she whistles a few more of the same notes. The round sounds burst against the walls and shatter into pieces. Another door. Helena kicks that one open too, and pulls you into the next room. [[She doesn't let go of your hand.->Road trip H 4]]

(set: $handheld to false)You shove past Helena into the next hallway. The sudden ringing clatter of your footsteps is jarring; this whole hallway is made of dark metal, groaning as you stomp through it. Helena follows behind you and her footsteps are too loud too. There's another door. No handle. "Kick it," Helena says. She's right behind you when she says it and her breath smells like-- --well. It smells bad. [[Kick it.->Road trip H 4a]]

The room is made of dark metal, too -- there are ugly rivets everywhere, and bright red warning lights in all of the corners. They aren't really enough to light the room up. In the middle of the room is a cage. It's just about big enough for you or Helena, but not big enough to fit both of you. The mesh walls are dented outwards. Something has scratched up the floor real bad. "This is where I was born," Helena says quietly. Her hand squeezes your hand; you can feel the imprint of each fingernail into your skin. [["Wait. You were born here?"->Road trip H 5]]

The door crashes open, hard enough to slam against the wall and then come swinging back. It wobbles from the impact. You swallow, carefully step over the threshold. This room is made of dark metal, too -- there are ugly rivets everywhere, and bright red warning lights in all of the corners. They aren't really enough to light the room up. In the middle of the room is a cage. It's just about big enough for you or Helena, but not big enough to fit both of you. The mesh walls are dented outwards. Something has scratched up the floor real bad. "This is where I was born," Helena says quietly. She fidgets with something under her pile of musty-smelling animal skins. She might be holding her own hand. [["You were born here?"->Road trip H 5]]

Helena hums one tuneless note. "I was born outside," she says. (if: $handheld is true)[ She finally lets go of your hand; the cold surges in to fill your palm immediately.] She wanders closer to the cage. She crouches down on her haunches and tucks her fingers into the mesh grating. "But I didn't know that I was me," she says, "until I was me in this place." She walks her fingers through the mesh, poking them through each individual square. "I was so hungry," she says. You walk over and crouch next to her, watch her watch the cage. "But when she let me out," Helena says, "then I was I and not them." [["Rachel."->Road trip H 6]]

Helena shrugs a shoulder and then seemingly grows bored of poking at the cage; she grabs onto the top of it and pulls herself up, crouches on the roof on all fours and looks down at you. "I don't know," she says. "I don't remember. It was a bad time, then, before you came here." She reaches down a hand to pull you up on top of the cage. [[Take it.->Road trip H 7]] [[Don't take it.->Road trip H 7 a]]

It takes her barely any effort to pull you up. You can't even see the ceiling from here; it's just black, and the distant pulsing flashes of red from the lights in the dark. And Helena. She smells so unbelievably bad, like roadkill in the rain. You imagine ripping the animal skins away from her, scraping the insides of them with your teeth. There must be something left there. There's no other reason why she would smell so bad, if there wasn't meat. Instead you lie on your back on the top of the cage. Helena curls up on her side next to you. You can feel her eyes drilling holes in the side of your face. "I screamed for a long time," she whispers. "I knew how to scream, even when I was not born yet. I sat in the cage and I screamed for somebody to come and let me out. But no one ever came for me. I kept screaming anyways and still nobody came for me. And then I screamed because it was too quiet without the screaming. "Change hurts," she says, rolling over onto her back. "It hurts if you do it fast and on purpose. If you change you should change slow. So slow you can't even feel yourself changing. Okay?" The two of you are orbiting something big and sharp and important, but your brain can't quite catch the edges of it. You've already sort of forgotten what she said. You just remember that you should remember it. [["Okay."->Road trip H 8]]

You crouch down instead, study the cage. The gouges in the bottom of the cage are deep and jagged. "Sa//rah//," Helena says. [["I'm good down here, thanks."->Road trip HA8]]

(set: $hair to true)(set: $memory to false)Her eyes go wide and carnivorous. "Really?" [["Yes."->Her H 4]] [["No."->Her H no]]

(set: $memory to true)Her eyes go wide and carnivorous. "Really?" [["Yes."->Her H 4]] [["No."->Her H no]]

(set: $blood to true)(set: $memory to false)Her eyes go wide and carnivorous. "Really?" [["Yes."->Her H 4]] [["No."->Her H no]]

"I know," Helena says. She sucks on her mouthful of grass for a second, and then (if: $hair is true)[ she reaches out a hand and rips a chunk of hair out of your head. You yowl with pain, but it's too late -- it's gone -- she's eating it. She slurps it down with the grass. "Thank you," she says in a singsong.](if: $blood is true)[ she reaches out a hand and flicks one razor-sharp nail against the inside of your forearm. When blood wells to the surface, she trails the pad of her finger back along it and licks the blood off her finger. Her eyes meet yours; she smiles, eyes closed and content like a cat's. "See?" she says. "Easy as peas."](if: $memory is true)[ she looks at you expectantly. "So?" she says. "Memory. I want the memory." [[You pull in a breath and tell her.->Her Hmem]]] (if: $memory is false)[ You rub at your tender pain and halfheartedly sneer at her. She sneers back -- but it's just as halfhearted, and she drops it fast. Looks at the well. Looks away again, at the sky, at the grass. Rips out a handful. Lets it fall from her fingers again. "I don't like this room," she says. "Bad memories." [["Like what?"->Her H 8]]]

You tell her about when you were a kid, and you were in this big crowd of people -- you were lost, completely, you'd gone far away from home and you were lost. You were just coming to the edge of the great black pit that was the thought: //I might be alone now//. The idea of it -- being alone -- was so big that it could have swallowed you. People in the crowd kept staring at you, but none of them wanted you. You didn't want any of them either. You were looking for home but there wasn't home, and you didn't even remember who you were looking for. There wasn't anyone's name that you could call. You must have found your way out of the crowd. Some parent or guardian or something must have found you and dragged you out. There must have been a home to drag you to. But you don't remember that part. You only remember the crowd, and the fear so deep that it turned into wanting. Does it feel good? Telling Helena? [[Yes.->Hmem 2]] [[No.->Hmem 2]]

"Good," Helena says. "Like falling asleep." When she stops talking, it's so quiet. She was right when she said that thing she said about quiet. Whatever it was, she was right about it. The black above you is like a night sky with no stars. It feels like you could fall into it. [[Ask Helena if she's ever seen stars.->Road trip H 9]]

"They live in the sky," Helena says. "Little bright bodies of things that died." [["So that's a no."->Road trip H 10]]

"Go to sleep, Sarah," Helena says. You tilt your head to look at her, at the endless hungry black ceiling that's reflected in her eyes. You don't say anything. She turns to look at you too, and then the only thing reflected in her eyes is your face. "I won't leave you alone," she says. "I promise." [[Trust her.->Road trip H 11]]

If you dream about anything, you don't remember it when you wake up.

Helena lets out an irritable growling noise and stays where she is. You wander around the cage, take a look at the door -- heavy, with an enormous silver lock that's covered with ornate scrolling. The lock is gleaming, unlike everything else in this room. [["So Rachel locked you in here."->RT HA9]]

"Maybe," Helena says. "She smelled like wind and water. Lots of things smell like wind and water. Like the wind, and the water. So. Could have been anyone. Maybe it was just a lot of air." [["Why did she do it?"->RT HA10]]

Helena doesn't say anything. The room gets way too eerie when Helena isn't talking; it's so so so quiet. The only sound is the occasional vague creak of metal. "She was lonely," Helena says. Your shoulders twitch up involuntarily, just from the eerie cadence of her voice. She's not human. That's easy to not think about, so usually you try not to think about it. Right now, for instance, you are trying not to think about it. You feel her stare scratching at her skin but you don't look up to meet it. Instead you feign deep, intense interest in the floor of the cage. [[See if your fingers match the claw marks.->RT HA11]]

They don't. The claw marks on the ground are more widely spaced apart; they must have been made by something hu-- Something slams into your back and you go tumbling into the cage. You yell, but before the sound even leaves your mouth the cage door has slammed shut behind you. You whirl up to your feet -- ow, shit, you can't -- you crouch and slam your hands against the door. No give. On the other side of the cage wall Helena is watching you, wide-eyed and wondering. [["Let me out."->RT HA12]]

"I'm lonely," Helena says, in a voice as distant as the moon. [["Helena. Come on."->RT HA13]]

"I wanted to see how it feels," Helena says. "To be on the outside." She pulls her lips between her teeth and then says: "It feels nice." You shove your shoulder against the cage door, but Helena easily holds it closed. She watches you with dead-animal eyes. [["Helena? Let me out, please?"->RT HA14]]

You have to take some deep breaths afterwards, but they don't really help. You tilt your head to the side and look at Helena, the way that she's staring at you with eyes full up to the brim with sympathy and tenderness and hunger. "You called my name," she says. "You called for me. And I came." You nod and then look away again. Whatever door Helena took in here has closed, so it's just blue sky for miles and imaginary miles. There isn't any way out of here, not that you can see. "I'm glad," Helena says. "That you called my name. Sarah." You nod again. You listen to the sound of Helena ripping up handfuls of grass; when you turn around she's scattering them, clawing up chunks of the soil (crumbs of chocolate //something//) and shoving them into her mouth. "We should leave, maybe." She nibbles nervously on more grass. "This is -- mmm, I don't like this place." [["Why?"->Her H 8]]

"What is it worth?" Rachel says. There's no inflection on any of the words, just a polite airiness. Maybe if you concentrated you could hear wanting. But maybe you're making that up. [["You can brush my hair."->Her Rhair]] [["You can have my first memory."->Her Rmemory]] [["You can have my blood."->Her Rblood]]

(set: $rhair to true)Her head tilts to the side, one fraction of an inch. "Really?" [["Yeah."->Her R3]] [["No."->Her R No]]

(set: $rmemory to true)Her head tilts to the side, one fraction of an inch. "Really?" [["Yeah."->Her R3]] [["No."->Her R No]]

(set: $rblood to true)Her head tilts to the side, one fraction of an inch. "Really?" [["Yeah."->Her R3]] [["No."->Her R No]]

You've pretty much seen all there is to see. The walls are patterned silvery-grey wallpaper. There's a partially-open blood-red door that leads back into the hallway. [[Keep investigating.->Chess room 3]] [[Go through the red door.->Continue1]] [[Jump.->Jump out the window.]]

"She was lonely," Helena says, picking up the thread of her own conversation. "And I was lonely. But I didn't know that she was lonely, and I didn't know that I was lonely. So I had to sit in the cage and wait and wait and wait until I knew how to see and say it. The lonely." She arches up and hooks her fingers through the top of the door, swings from it a little bit like a monkey. "I could leave you in here for a long time," she says. "I could go away and you could see it, what it's like, when it is quiet and only you inside of the cage. You would hate it. You would be so scared." Then she sighs, hunches in on herself. She makes a long sad whining sound, like //hoooonnngh//, and swings the door open. "But I won't," she says, and then lunges away. You hear the desperate animal thudding of her feet galloping off into the house. The clang of one door, and then another. Then the room is just utterly and deeply silent. Your breathing is ragged and overly loud when you crawl, shakily, out of the cage. You lie on the floor for a minute. Then you manage to stand up and crawl towards the door. [[Go through it.->RT HA15]]

The black metal hallway is empty. One of the lights has gone out; another one is flickering. You hunch your shoulders and barrel past them, out of the second door. [[And back into the hallway.->RT H hallway]]

You are standing in a hallway that's a little taller than you are and just about wide enough for two people to walk side-by-side. To the left, where you could fit about half of a person, there is a wall. To your right, where you could fit the other half of a person, there is another wall. The hallway stretches out in front of you; on the other end of it is a door that's the glossy black of a beetle. The sort of beetle that lives on corpses. As you finish that thought, the black metal door behind you makes a sound like //hoooonnngh// and crashes shut. You jump but you don't turn around. You sort of got the feeling it would do that, anyways. [[Go through the black door.->RT H hallway 2]]

You can't, there's no handle. [[Push on the door.->RT H hallway 3]] [[Bang on the door with one hand.->RT H hallway 3]] [[Kick the door.->RT H hallway 3]]

(set: $helenatime to true)It actually flies open. That's what scares the shit out of you -- not that other door shutting, but this one opening. You jump through it before it changes its mind; once you're through to the other side it swings shut again. Click. [[And here you are.->Continue2]]

"Exactly as long as it takes, and no longer." Rachel doesn't even break rhythm to answer that. She sounds bored. You drum one foot against the ground and watch Rachel dab a sickly peach color onto the blank canvas. Bit by bit by extremely boring bit. [["Tell me a story."->RT 7]]

Rachel's eyes flick back over to you and stay there. "What sort of story?" she says, her voice dangerous and soft. [["A story about you."->RT R]] [["A story about me."->RT S]] [["A story about the time before I came here."-> RT RH]] [["Surprise me."->RT SU]]

"A story about me?" Rachel says. Her voice is almost unbearably soft. You bite the inside of your lip, hard, and nod. You can't make eye contact with her. A smear of red onto her brush, and then onto the canvas. Your stomach growls, and Rachel looks at you for a moment before politely looking at the canvas again. "Once upon a time," Rachel says. "There was a girl who lived inside the belly of an animal. She had no idea she lived inside of an animal's belly -- she thought that she lived in a house, with walls and a floor. [[She was stupid that way."->RT R 2]]

"Narcissistic," Rachel says, sounding vaguely approving. "Alright. Do you remember when you came here?" Do you remember? [["Yeah."->RT SY]] [["No."->RT SY]]

Double-click this passage to edit it.

Are you sure? Try to remember. [[There's nothing there.->RT SY2]] [[There's something—->RT S2]]

When you say the word //no// Rachel just hums a soft sound under her breath and continues painting. "You were starving," she says, almost to herself. "Nearly feral. It would have been easy to confuse you for Helena, only of course you weren't Helena -- you were a different species entirely. [[We'd never seen anything like you before."->RT SY3]]

[[—you remember a train—->RT SY2]]

"So," Rachel says. "Once upon a time." She tilts her head to consider the canvas -- apparently dissatisfied, she orbits a little to its left and continues to paint. "There was a house, and in the house lived a girl and her dog. They weren't happy there, necessarily, but neither of them had anywhere else to go -- and the house was willing to have them and keep them, which wasn't true of anyone else. So they stayed there. The dog hunted and brought them food, and the girl taught the dog to play chess -- to pass the time, you understand. They were waiting. [[It's only that they didn't know what they were waiting for."->RT SY4]]

Rachel isn't even looking at you anymore. You try shifting the stool two inches to the left: no reaction. A few more: no reaction. She just keeps reciting the story, like she's a tape recorder that's playing out. "And one day," she says, "a door appeared in the house that they had never seen before. It opened onto a room that was..." (two inches.) (two inches.) (you're orbiting around the canvas now) (Rachel isn't saying anything, just breathing) "//new.// "The house made up new things all the time, of course, but this wasn't a room that it had made. It was entirely too real. The girl tried to make a nest in the room, and the dog tried to eat all of the furniture and all of the walls, and both of these things were because they were delighted by the room. They wanted to stay in the room, because the room was new and strange and rude and wonderful. [["It was the only home they could find in the entire house."->RT SY5]]

(if: $closet is true)[ You back away from the mirror, warily. Nothing else moves except you, backwards, moving. Fuck. ]Shoulders hunched, you push deeper and deeper into the closet -- through endless rows of ten-tier dresses and suits with razorblade lapels and white shimmer and black fur and and, and and. You jump up above the racks to see if there's an end to this place, but you don't see one. Just more mirrors. More clothes. More silence, loud enough to make your ears ring. [[Face it: you're lost.->Closet3]]

(set: $closet to true)You elbow through a rack of clothes and press yourself right up against a mirror. The depths of your reflection's pupils are endless -- and all around you are more of them, more endless eyes. The reflections crowd closer like starving animals. You put up a hand to the glass and press your palm against it. ... Nothing happens. You ball your hand into a fist, tap your knuckles against the glass. //Knock knock.// Nothing happens. You don't know what you were expecting. [[Keep g->Closet2]]Wait. What was that? Did it move? [[No.->Closet2]] [[//It moved.//->Closet m2]]

You knock again at the mirror with a hand that's starting to shake, just a little bit. Huh. Your reflection's hand isn't shaking at all. And just like that -- like noticing it was enough to make it real -- your reflection snaps apart from you. It leans in closer and breathes against the mirror, //haaaaaaaa//, before lifting one finger to draw backwards letters in the glass: R U N [[Then it screams.->Closet m3]]

You recoil backwards from the glass, even though it doesn't make a sound -- the sight of your eyeballs rolling back in your head, the veins on your forehead bulging, your own mouth ripping open with silent sound is enough to make you stumble backwards. All along the wall, your reflections are screaming. One down the line makes feral eye contact with you and hurls itself at the glass. Crack. Its clawless fingers are scratching at the glass. Crack. Another one down the line: crack. The glass is starting to shatter, piece by piece. In front of you, your first reflection is screaming and screaming and screaming. Its mouth froths a little with spit. (Despite everything, you're starving.) You back away from the mirrors, but it doesn't matter: there are more mirrors, and your reflection is in all of them. So. Which way are you running? [[Left.->Closet m4]] [[Right.->Closet m4]] [[Forward.->Closet m4]] [[Back.->Closet m4]]

Helena makes a sort of //mmmnnn// sound under her breath and wriggles in place; her tearing at the grass grows more and more frantic, until she's sitting in a bare path of dirt and ripped-up sugargrass. "I," she says. "I knew how, but I thought, not in this place, I didn't--" and she makes a keening animal sound, one that makes the hairs on your arms stand up. You shove yourself a little farther away, instinctually, and Helena wheels on you -- her eyes white and wild-- "Helena," says Rachel's voice. [[Oh shit.->Her H 9]]

Helena's face also says //oh shit//. "I didn't think you would come back here," Rachel continues. Her voice is like cold water being poured over stones. When you look at her, standing in the doorway you entered from, you don't see anything. Helena lets out some combination of vowels and stands up, shedding sugar as she goes. "So eager," Rachel says. She takes a step into the room; behind her, you can just see the familiar wallpaper of the hallway you've been walking through for what feels like nine incredibly shitty years. You hate that you miss that hallway right now. "If you'd like," Rachel says, "we can do it again--" and Helena hurls herself at her, teeth and claws digging in -- an assault that seems like it should knock Rachel down, but doesn't. Instead Rachel grabs Helena with one hand by the scruff of the neck and drags her forwards and Helena is rolling over her and letting out these incomprehensible sounds that scrape off the roof of her mouth and Rachel isn't saying anything, she isn't even making a single sound-- [[Get out of the way, idiot.->Her well]]

You duck out of the way and they barrel past you, too fast to keep track of. Does Rachel fling Helena by the scruff of her neck? Does Helena drag Rachel in by her teeth on Rachel's throat? You can't tell, but they're both collapsing into the well. Something cracks -- well, actually, a whole lot of things crack. Sounds like the landing hurt. [[Look into the well.->Her well 2]] [[Leave them in there.->Her exit]]

When you look down into the well, it's-- --it's just-- (your stomach growls) --it's just a pulp of meat, really. If you look at it from a distance. Just meat and bones. [[Gross.->Her well 3]]

You can still hear faint thrashing sounds from inside of the well -- something chewing, maybe. Not you. You're not chewing anything except the inside of your mouth, and that's just a strange bad habit. You shove yourself out of the green door and into the hallway; the door clicks shut behind you, but you don't pay attention to it. You just keep moving forward. And hey, good news.(set: $greendoor to true) [[There's another door.->Continue4]]

[[Really?->Her well 4]]

[[Does it really disgust you?->Her well 5]]

[[Or is your mouth watering?->Her well 6]]

The rush of saliva flooding to your mouth. The empty growling cavern of your stomach. The spaces between your ribs. The way that now, every time you stand up, the world rushes to your head -- just for a moment, but you see sparks and hear ringing. You always feel like you're shaking, even though your hands are never shaking. It's been so long since you've eaten anything. You can imagine it, like it's real. How you would just sink your teeth into something (it's been so long) (since you sank your teeth into //something//) and it would resist and resist and then give, and the taste of it would fill up your whole entire mouth, and you would chew it and swallow it and feel it sliding down your throat and into your stomach and then your stomach would finally be full, finally have something in it, the beautiful machine of your body doing exactly what it's supposed to do your foot slips on a rung of the ladder you realize that you're already three rungs down the ladder and your stomach is growling, churning over and over, and there's so much drool in your mouth that you're swallowing nothing, compulsively, listening to the ticking in your throat like it's a clock that means something. Like clocks mean anything anymore. [[This place makes you hate yourself.->Her well 7]]

And that's mostly because you won't let yourself have the things you want. [[Climb back up the ladder and leave them down there.->Her exit]]

It's locked. You rattle the doorknob a few times, but. It won't open. [[Keep walking down the hallway.->Continue4]]

"They wanted it too much," Rachel says. "They stayed in the room too long. They grew too familiar with it. The room became less real..." She keeps talking, but: honestly? You're not paying very much attention. Rachel's mostly talking about the wallpaper again, and how they destroyed the wallpaper, and what was underneath the wallpaper, and you don't really give a shit about any of that. Instead you can see the canvas, where Rachel is painting you. Most of your face is just a rough puddle of skin and half-finished features; Rachel hasn't painted in details yet, because she's too busy obsessively articulating each detail of your eyes. You meet your own painted gaze over her shoulder. //Fuck-up//, says the painting of you. //Couldn't even listen, could you? Can't sit still for two seconds, can you? No wonder you're here, no wonder you ran away from all of your shit and no wonder the only ones who'd ever want you are--// There's a crunching sound. Your fingers are wet. Someone is grabbing your wrist. These are three details that you realize simultaneously, and right after that you realize you've tried to claw out the wet paint of your reflection's eyes. "What are you doing?" asks Rachel politely. [["She was watching me."->RT SYa]] [["That's not me."->RT SYb]] [["I don't know."->RT SYc]]

"What did she want?" Rachel says. Her hand is still clenched tightly around your wrist -- like a bird's talon, like a manacle, like a beartrap in the middle of the woods. You're still staring at the canvas. The mess of your eyes is bleeding down your unfinished face. It's just sad, honestly; this painted version of you is melting into nothing, just a blob of paint. You try to summon back the frenzy of anger and teeth that sent you snapping at this canvas in the first place -- it's gone. Whatever you saw there before, you don't see now. [["I don't know."->RT SY 1]]

"Then who is it?" Rachel says. Her hand is still clenched tightly around your wrist -- like a bird's talon, like a manacle, like a beartrap in the middle of the woods. You're still staring at the canvas. The mess of your eyes is bleeding down your unfinished face. It's just sad, honestly; this painted version of you is melting into nothing, just a blob of paint. You try to summon back the frenzy of anger and teeth that sent you snapping at this canvas in the first place -- it's gone. Whatever you saw there before, you don't see now. [["I don't know."->RT SY 1]]

"Are you sure?" Rachel says. Her hand is still clenched tightly around your wrist -- like a bird's talon, like a manacle, like a beartrap in the middle of the woods. You're still staring at the canvas. The mess of your eyes is bleeding down your unfinished face. It's just sad, honestly; this painted version of you is melting into nothing, just a blob of paint. You try to summon back the frenzy of anger and teeth that sent you snapping at this canvas in the first place -- it's gone. Whatever you saw there before, you don't see now. [["I really don't know."->RT SY 1]]

The sound of your footsteps echoes. The bath is still stretching on and on; the blue of the water makes drool spring to your mouth, for a reason you do not understand. The roots of your teeth -- there, in your gums -- ache. Your whole mouth aches. Oh good, a door. That's a nice distraction. [[Open it.->Ice room]] [[Go back outside.->Continue4]]

Rachel lets out a low, long breath. You tear your eyes off the canvas (you tear your eyes off the canvas) and latch them onto her instead, the black marble foundation of her. Her mouth is partially open; inside her mouth, you can see the glint of her teeth. "I've frightened you," she says. Her head tilts slightly to one side, and then her gaze meanders back to her hand wrapped around your wrist. Her thumb on your pulse point. Her fingers digging in. Slowly, one by one, she unwraps each finger and lets you go. [[You miss her touch when it's gone.->RT SY 2]]

You stagger back a step and rub at your wrist. Rachel blinks at you, one slow lowering of her eyelids, and turns back to study the painting again. She picks up her board and thoughtfully shades the underside of your double's chin before putting the board back down. "I wouldn't have thought of that," she says. There is something loving hiding underneath her voice, like a clutch of insect eggs on a leaf. "You've improved it." You hadn't wanted to improve it. It hadn't wanted to be improved. It's just watching you, now, broken open and smeared apart. The paint of yourself is drying under your fingernails. Rachel turns around to study you; she turns back and paints in the corded muscles of your throat, one by one. [[You take a step back towards the door.->RT SY 3]]

"You won't be able to come back," Rachel calls over her shoulder. "Once you leave." Every time she adds another detail to the painting, the whispering in your head gets a little bit louder. //fuck-up idiot worthless coward// and you're turning on your heel, and you're skidding out the door. [[You need to get this paint off your hands.->RT 8]]

The hallway. The wallpaper. The same color wallpaper? You can't find it in you to give a shit, you're passing the doors -- endless doors -- every color of the sky and then some, infinite dizzying colors, and. And there. A white door that you jostle open, a small tiled room with a sink that you elbow and water that you scrub over your hands until you feel clean. Until you feel clean. Until you feel clean. Until you feel clean. Until you feel clean. Until you feel clean. Until you feel clean. Until you feel clean. Until you feel clean. Until you feel clean. Until you feel clean. Until you feel clean. Until you feel clean. Until you feel clean. Until you feel clean. Until you feel clean. Until you feel clean. Until you feel clean. Until you feel clean. Until you feel clean. Until you feel clean. Until you feel clean. Until you feel clean. Until you feel clean. Until you feel clean. Until you feel clean. Until you feel clean. Until you feel clean. Until you feel clean. 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"But all the walls and floors and chairs and tables and--" Rachel stops. Her jaw sets. She scrubs at the canvas for a few horrible seconds. "Well, everything. Everything was made of this animal. So the longer she stayed...the longer she stayed there, the more she melted into it. She fed it. She became it." [["So leave."->RT R 3]] [["And then what happened to her?"->RT R 3a]] [[See if Rachel is paying attention to you.->RT R 3b]]

A blast of cold air punches you in the throat. You're in a small icebox of a room; there's no features, only black. Can't even tell how wide the room is. Can't see anything. Steam hisses in from the bath and withers and dies when it meets the chill. You're still clutching on the edge of the door, like if you let go it will slam shut and leave you here. [[Go a little further into the room.->Ice 2]] [[Go back into the bath.->Bath room 3]]

You start shaking uncontrollably the second you get into the room. It's so cold. You're so cold. It's so cold. You're so cold. It's -- it's just so cold. When you fumble out a shaking hand you feel the blistering edge of a wall; your fingertips stick to it a little bit when you yank your hand back. You might've just ripped off your fingerprints. Another step in. Another step in. You duck a glance over your shoulder: the door is still open. If it closed, you would be locked in here. In this dark cold room. They couldn't hear you here, they couldn't come for you. [[You would be alone.->Ice 3]]

You step back into the endless humidity. You swallow in your dry mouth, and think -- dizzily -- about just licking beads of moisture off the walls. The thought makes your mouth water a bit. You're so sick of this house. [[Get in the bath.->Bath]] [[Go back outside.->Continue4]]

(set: $rno to true)She just stares at you, unblinking. It's weird that she looks like Helena sometimes. It feels like it shouldn't happen, but it does. Sometimes. Sometimes her face goes flat and dead and you think //oh, yeah, they're the same animal.// It's never a good feeling. "Call for me again," she says, "if you change your mind." Then she ducks away and leaves you there. [[Shit.->Wait.]]

"Alright," Rachel says. "I accept." Her head vanishes from sight, and she leaves you there. [[You wait.->Her R4]]

[[You wait a long time.->Her R5]]

When Rachel says "Back against the wall, please," you jump. Can't help it. There were a few agonizing minutes where you were straining for the sound of her voice, and then you forgot to listen for it, and then you heard it -- a shattering -- and you jumped. You flatten your back to the well-wall. The ripped-off fingernail watches you with silent judgment. You sneer at it. With a slow creak, a wooden ladder extends before you and politely touches the ground. Rachel must have lowered it in here, somehow; when you look up to the top of the well she's just watching you. Standing there and watching you, like she can't imagine a world where she could ever fall in. (set: $rachelladder to true)The ladder's really nice-looking. Like something that would be in a library. Solid, polished wood, wider than you are, with each rung as big as a step. It's easy to climb; you end up scrambling the last few rungs, just so you can land on the wet and squeaking grass. You crouch down and breath in the sugar-sweet smell and understand that you are on solid ground. A hand enters your peripheral vision. Rachel's. You slap your hand into hers and let her pull you back up to standing. Rachel doesn't let go of your hand for a few agonizing seconds. She's wearing a long dress that's almost the exact same color of the well; you have no idea if it was on purpose. Probably it was on purpose. Finally, she lets go of your hand. "Well?" she says. Her eyes on you are expectant and starving. (if: $rblood is true)[[[Give Rachel your blood.->Her RB]]](if: $rhair is true)[[["I don't have a hairbrush."->Her RH]]](if: $rmemory is true)[[[Tell Rachel your first memory.->Her RM]]]

You settle down on the stool, and Rachel settles herself behind the canvas. She's short enough that you can barely see her behind the wooden frame and the white canvas. She picks up a palette that's already smeared with different colors and adds a streak of peach to it. Dips her brush in. Looks at you, looks at the canvas, adds a smear of paint, looks at you, looks at the canvas, adds a smear of paint, looks at you-- [["How long is this gonna take?"->RT 6]]

You stumble over your own feet as you run. Your breath is harsh, and it's the only sound besides the slow fracturing of all the glass around you. On the other side of the glass, your reflections send themselves like screaming missiles towards the barrier that separates them from you. One hand punches through. Another one follows it. [[Keep running, Sarah!->Closet m5]]

You bash the heel of your hand against the sharp stone edge of the well, and sure enough: blood springs to the inside of your palm. Hurts like shit. You unfold your hand and offer it in her direction. Rachel takes your hand back in hers, with the pad of her thumb pressed to the scraped-open skin of your palm. She keeps looking at you as she digs her thumb in -- deeper -- deeper -- deeper -- and the veins in your hand weeping in incoherent bursts -- and your heart drumming-- [[Tell her that's enough.->Her RB2]]

"I assumed as much," Rachel says. She gestures for you to sit down on the ground, and then just stands there with her eyebrow raised one fucking millimeter while she waits for you to do it. Everything smells like sugar here. You clench the grass in your hands and rip chunks of it free, trying not to listen to the sound of Rachel settling and sighing in the grass behind you. You flinch when she takes up a hank of your hair. "You're so quiet," Rachel says. [["Just waiting for you to rip my bloody scalp out."->Her RH2]]

You have to take some deep breaths afterwards, but they don't really help. You tilt your head to the side and look at Rachel, the way that she's staring at you with eyes full all the way up with nothing. "You called my name," she says. The way she says it: like it explains everything, or like it asks every question in the world. You nod and then look away again. Whatever door Rachel took in here has closed, so it's just blue sky for miles and imaginary miles. There isn't any way out of here, not that you can see. "I'm glad you did," Rachel says. You nod again. Then you jolt at the sudden soft violence of Rachel's hand on your chin, tilting your face towards hers. Her eyes studying your eyes: absolutely terrifying. "Are you--" she starts, slowly, before the door suddenly crashes open. [[You and Rachel both jolt, the exact same twitch of panic.->Her R 1]]

"Enough," Rachel echoes. She lifts her hand; her whole thumb is stained red. Your hand hurts like a bitch. Rachel studies her thumb for a moment, tilting it back and forth. "I don't think--" she says, and then the door opens again. [[You and Rachel both jolt, the exact same twitch of panic.->Her R 1]]

Helena is standing in the doorway. Looking at her hurts; she's a kaleidoscope of different stripes and spots and feathers and furs and she is staring with a terrible intensity at (if: $rhair is true)[the way Rachel is holding your hair in her hand](if: $rblood is true)[the smear of crimson on Rachel's hand, the smear of crimson on your own hand](if: $rmemory is true)[Rachel's hand latched around your chin]. "No," Helena says, the word a deep low sound. "No. Not Sarah. No." Rachel slowly (if: $rhair is true)[drops your hair and ]steps away from you. "I'm afraid she asked for me," she says. "By name." "Yes," Helena says, "yes, she did, yes she did, she was scared and alone at the bottom of the well and--" she clenches handfuls of hair between her fingertips and lets out a yowling sound that makes every hair on your whole body shiver and stand to attention. "You should calm down," Rachel says. "You know Sarah hates it when you're this uncontrollable. This wild." Helena looks at you for a second: the whites of her eyes. Then she hurls herself across the room at Rachel. It takes a few lunges forward -- Helena moves unbelievably fast, like she's eating the ground -- and then Helena is on Rachel, before Rachel can move out of the way. It's an assault that seems like it should knock Rachel down. It does not knock Rachel down. Instead Rachel grabs Helena with one hand by the scruff of the neck and drags her forwards and Helena is rolling over her and letting out these incomprehensible sounds that scrape off the roof of her mouth and Rachel isn't saying anything, she isn't even making a single sound-- [[Get out of the way, idiot.->Her well]]

You scrape your bloody nails along the edge of the porcelain sink, and then you turn the faucet off. Your hands are shaking. Actually they are nearly always shaking, these days; just a fine little tremor, but hey. It's some consistency. One breath in. One breath out. You rub your hands with the white towel hanging thoughtfully on a nearby rack, so Helena doesn't jump on you in the hallway and lick the blood off your hand. You're fine. [[Go back outside and keep walking down the hallway.->Continue4]]

Rachel lets out a small, polite hum. Barely a hum. Maybe a third of a note of a hum. She's working a brush through your hair, and it really does hurt like a bitch. You have your fingers dug all the way into the soil right now; it's dry, and the texture is weirdly familiar. Not dirt-familiar, you weren't one of those kids who ate dirt. Probably, probably you weren't. You're sure you'd remember. "You've never let me do this before," Rachel says, voice so soft that it's pole-vaulted over soothing and landed straight in the middle of dangerous. "What's changed?" [["Well I've never been trapped in a well before, have I."->Her RH3]] [["I'm tired, Rachel."->Her RH3]] [[Or you could tell her the truth.->Her RH3 a]]

"No," Rachel says, drawing out the word a few extra syllables, "I don't think that's it. I think--" --and then the door opens again. [[You and Rachel both jolt, the exact same twitch of panic.->Her R 1]]

You lick your lips, open your mouth, suck in a breath of air-- --and then the door opens again. [[You and Rachel both jolt, the exact same twitch of panic.->Her R 1]]

[[Walk further into the room.->Ice 4]] [[Go back into the other room.->Bath room 3]] (if: $bdream is true)[[[Lie down and give up.->Ice ice baby]]](else:)[[Lie down.->Ice ice baby]]

It only takes a few more steps before you nudge up against a wall -- you double back from that one too, before you get stuck to it. Your teeth are chattering so hard that the muscles of your jaw hurt. You're starving. Part of you says: //I could just lick the ice off the walls it would make me less hungry it wouldn't even be eating it wouldn't count really just a little bit it would make everything go so quiet just for a second--// [[Go back into the other room.->Bath room 3]] (if: $bdream is true)[[[Lie down and give up.->Ice ice baby]]](else:)[[Lie down.->Ice ice baby]]

You're so tired. You lie down on the cold ground; it feels like shit. Your bones hurt. You close your eyes. [[Eventually, you stop feeling cold.->Ice ice baby baby]]

Eventually, you stop feeling hungry.

Alright. You're going to jump. Your muscles are locked up, and the pit of your throat is filled with saliva. You can't move any closer to the window. It's just that-- You think you had a dream about this -- or something like this -- anyways, falling. You remember a dream about falling. You can't do it. You can't jump. The dream is just too vivid -- the thought of jumping makes you hungry, which is to say it makes you terrified. [[Go back outside.->Continue1]]

There's a small smear of something on the corner of the chessboard. You would love to believe that it's ketchup. Thinking about ketchup makes your mouth water. Definitely. That is definitely why your mouth is watering. The wallpaper is torn a little bit at one corner. The chairs seem pretty solid. The window is behind you -- you are really aware of that window. Hyper-aware of it. What it means. What it could mean. [[Pick at the wallpaper.->Chess room 4]] [[Go through the red door.->Continue1]] [[Jump.->Jump out the window.]]

You rip a small piece away. Underneath it, it says S A . The wallpaper sticks to the sweat on your hand. [[Rip it off.->Chess room 5]] [[Go through the red door.->Continue1]] [[Jump.->Jump out the window.]]

S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H S A R A H Your hands are bleeding and your fingernails are a mess. You've ripped away the covering of one part of one wall, Sarah. [[S A R A H->Chess room 6]] [[S A R A H->Chess room 6]] [[S A R A H->Chess room 6]]

(if: $visitedParlor is true)[[[Yeah, you run like hell.->Continue2]]](else:)[[[Yeah, you run like hell.->Parlor hallway]]]

(either: "It says that the time is 01:01:01:01:01:01.","It says that the time is YES.","It says that the time is 5.","It says that the time is 11:11.","There's a piece of paper taped to the clock. It has the phrase STOP CHECKING THE CLOCK. written on it. The handwriting is very familiar.","It says that the time is NOW.","It says that the time is 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000.","It says that the time is time.","It says that the time is red.","It says that time is meaningless.","It says that the time is 13:00.","It says that the time is the smell of an apple tree blooming.","It says that the time is 3:15. The numbers are made out of small white worms.","It says that the time is 22:2.") [[Lie down on the floor and go back to sleep.->Start]] [[Step outside.->Continue]]

Your reflections pace warily alongside you as you double back to find where you came from. It was back -- no, left -- you remember that shirt, you ducked under that rack to get over here. You curse as you trip over the edge of a trailing skirt and bark your shin. Your reflection mouths //sorry// to you as you stand back up. You wave a hand at it: //it's fine.// ...hey, wait a second. [[Step closer to the mirror.->Closet mirror again]] [[Keep trying to find the exit.->Closet4]] [[Fuck it, try something on.->Closet game]]

You elbow your way over to the mirror, raising up a hand to put your palm against the glass. ... Nothing happens. You ball your hand into a fist, tap your knuckles against the glass. //Knock knock.// Nothing happens. //Who's there//, your reflection mouths. Then it smiles. [[Then it opens its mouth and screams.->Closet m3]]

You would mutter to yourself to hear some semblance of sound, but you're starting to forget how your voice works. And what it sounds like. You wander for what might be hours and what might be days. It doesn't matter how far you walk: the light doesn't change, and you don't get any more or less hungry. You could eat a shoe, maybe. You could eat a zipper. If you swallowed a zipper it would be inside of you, like another metal mouth. Upon reflection, you are losing your mind. [[Fuck it, try something on.->Closet game]]

You stop in front of one rack, because trying to pick something specific in this infinite expanse would make you completely and entirely lose yourself. You'll narrow it down to this. There. Easy enough. Well, it's a rack. There's some shit on it. It all looks beautiful and none of it suits your taste. (Whatever your taste was.) (Is.) (Your taste still is.) (Yours.) What are you trying on? (if: $rachelclothes is true)[[[The white ballgown.->Closet g21]] [[The black ballgown.->Closet g21]] [[The jacket made of furs.->Closet g21]] [[The corset made of bones.->Closet g21]] [[The blinding garment made of stitched-together shards of glass.->Closet g21]] [[The crisp origami skirt.->Closet g21]] [[The darkly reflective dress.->Closet g21]]](else:)[[[The white ballgown.->Closet g2]] [[The black ballgown.->Closet g2]] [[The jacket made of furs.->Closet g2]] [[The corset made of bones.->Closet g2]] [[The blinding garment made of stitched-together shards of glass.->Closet g2]] [[The crisp origami skirt.->Closet g2]] [[The darkly reflective dress.->Closet g2]]]

(set: $rachelclothes to true)Shyly, you shed your own skin and borrow another. The smell hits you as you try it on, and you remember. You remember. You remember. You do. [[Last night.->Closet g3]]

You were sitting on the sofa. [[You were sitting on the sofa.->Closet g4]]

Helena's head was in your lap. [[Helena's head was in your lap.->Closet g5]]

Sarah was asleep on the floor. [[You wanted to tell her something.->Closet g6]]

After Helena fell asleep, you crouched down on the floor next to Sarah. [[You tucked her hair behind her ear.->Closet g7]]

You leaned in close to tell her a secret. [[You breathed it into the shell of her ear.->Start]]

Interesting. [[What?->Closet g22]]

What was it Rachel said earlier? Do you remember it? Probably not. [[You were asleep at the time, weren't you?->Closet g23]]

[[That probably means it's time to wake up.->Start]]

You're //going!// Around that rack, under that dress, the door the door the door where's the door-- [[It's not here.->Closet m6]]

Something crashes into your back and knocks you to the ground. Something is breathing in your ear. Something is sinking its teeth into the back of your neck. Something is ripping out chunks of your hair. Something is eating your shoe. Something is screaming. Something is filling up your mouth with wet hot blood. Something has bones underneath its skin, and when you close your teeth around them it howls like glass breaking. Like glass breaking. [[You don't look at the mirror.->Closet m7]]

[[Which is probably for the best, all things considered.->Start]]

You are standing in a library. The dizzying expanse of bookshelves stretches out in front of you and above you for an incomprehensible distance. You could spend the whole rest of your life walking through these bookshelves and you'd probably never find an end to it. (if: $rachelladder is true)[There isn't a ladder or anything. There's no way to get to the top of the shelves.](else:)[There's a beautifully-carved wooden ladder waiting patiently by one of the shelves. Each rung is as big as a step.] The thick green carpet hushes to itself as you pace a few steps inside. All of the books in here are red. [[Investigate a bookshelf.->Library2]] [[Go back outside.->Continue5]]

(set: $backwards to false)You are walking down a hallway that's a little too short and a little too cramped. On the other side of the hallway is a door painted with a rabbit that is about the same size as you. It's very realistic. You can almost see its fur rising and falling as it pants for breath. (if: $runrabbit is true)[[[Open the rabbit door.->Rabbit door 2]]](else:)[[[Open the rabbit door.->Open the rabbit door.]]] [[Keep walking down the hallway.->Continue7]] [[Turn back.->Continue5]]

The closest spine to you is labelled //INCISOR ROOMS//, gold leaf font on a red spine. So's the book next to it, actually. And the one next to it. Wait a minute. Every book in this entire fucking library is the same. [[Read one.->Library3]] [[Go back outside.->Continue5]]

It's not in any language you can read. Looking at it makes your head hurt. [[Put it back and choose another one.->Library4]] [[Rip the pages out.->Library rip]] [[Go back outside.->Continue5]]

Which one do you want to take? [[INCISOR ROOMS->Library5]] [[INCISOR ROOMS->Library5]] [[INCISOR ROOMS->Library5]] [[INCISOR ROOMS->Library5]] [[INCISOR ROOMS->Library5]] [[INCISOR ROOMS->Library5]] [[INCISOR ROOMS->Library5]] [[INCISOR ROOMS->Library5]] [[INCISOR ROOMS->Library5]] [[INCISOR ROOMS->Library5]] [[INCISOR ROOMS->Library5]] [[INCISOR ROOMS->Library5]] [[INCISOR ROOMS->Library5]] [[INCISOR ROOMS->Library5]] [[INCISOR ROOMS->Library5]] [[INCISOR ROOMS->Library5]] [[INCISOR ROOMS->Library5]] [[INCISOR ROOMS->Library5]] [[INCISOR ROOMS->Library5]] [[INCISOR ROOMS->Library5]] [[INCISOR ROOMS->Library5]] [[INCISOR ROOMS->Library5]] [[INCISOR ROOMS->Library5]] [[INCISOR ROOMS->Library5]] [[INCISOR ROOMS->Library5]] [[INCISOR ROOMS->Library5]] [[Change your mind and go back outside.->Continue5]]

You grab a handful of pages and tear them out. The noise is probably satisfying. You're probably satisfied. [[Put the carcass back and choose another one.->Library4]] [[Go back outside.->Continue5]]

(either:"You can't read this one either.","Someone's already ripped all the pages out.","You can't read this one either.","Someone has gone through with a red waxy crayon -- lipstick, maybe? -- and crossed out most of the words. All that's left is a great red smear and then SKY and then red and then SKY and red, SKY, red.","You can't read this one either.","Whatever text was on this page has been covered with something very dark and vaguely sticky. Someone has taken the time to painstakingly go through with something sharp and write SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH. SARAH.","You can't read this one either.","Once upon a time there was a house, and in the house lived a girl and her dog. They weren't happy there, necessarily, but neither of them had anywhere else to go -- and the house was willing to have them and keep them, which wasn't true of anyone else. So they stayed there. The dog hunted and brought them food, and the girl taught the dog to play chess -- to pass the time, you understand. They were waiting. It's only that they didn't know what they were waiting for. And one day, a door appeared in the house that they had never seen before. It opened onto a room that was...new. The house made up new things all the time, of course, but this wasn't a room that it had made. It was entirely too real. The girl tried to make a nest in the room, and the dog tried to eat all of the furniture and all of the walls, and both of these things were because they were delighted by the room. They wanted to stay in the room, because the room was new and strange and rude and wonderful. It was the only home they could find in the entire house.","You can't read this one either.","The book has a map. Actually, it might be a medical diagram. You're sort of shit with both.","You can't read this one either.","It's a recipe for heart stew.","You can't read this one either.","You can't read this one either.","You can't read this one either.","You can't read this one either.","You can't read this one either.","You can't read this one either.","You can't read this one either.","You can't read this one either.","You can't read this one either.","You can't read this one either.","You can't read this one either.") [[Put this book back and choose another.->Library4]] [[Go back outside.->Continue5]]

(set: $continue2a to true)You are walking down a (if: $backwards is true)[hallway that's a little taller than you are and just about wide enough for two people to walk side-by-side.](else:)[hallway that's a little taller than you are and just about wide enough for two people to walk side-by-side.] On the other side of the hallway is a matte white door. Something's been scratching at the bottom of it. (if: $backwards is true)[[[Open the white door.->White door]] [[Keep walking down the hallway.->Continue4]] [[Turn back.->Continue5]]](else:)[(either: [[Open the white door.->White door]],[[Open the white door.->White door]],[[Open the white door.->White door]],[[Open the white door.->White door H]]) [[Keep walking down the hallway.->Continue3]] [[Turn back.->Continue2]]]

You are standing in some sort of white living room. A sofa and plush white armchair are tilted politely to face a blank white wall. An empty coffee table waits for drinks that probably will never land on it. There are magazines stacked in the corner of the coffee table; their covers are as empty as mouths. Someone's smeared blood in the middle of the carpet. [[Lick it.->White 2]] [[Go back outside.->Continue2a]]

What? [[Lick it.->White 3]]

You're not going to -- no. You aren't going to lick the blood. [[It would taste good.->White 4]]

You are crouched on all fours looking at the blood. It's clumped fibers of the carpet together, and the weird tacky mess of blood is making drool fill up your whole entire mouth. You're so hungry. [[Lick it.->White 5]] [[Go back outside. Go back outside. Go back outside.->Continue2a]]

You can't. You don't do this. This isn't the sort of person that you are. [[Not that you know who that person is.->White 6]]

You aren't supposed to eat in this house. [[You don't really remember why, sometimes.->White 7]]

But it's important. A small dark blemish blooms on the white shag carpet. For a second you think you're crying, and then you realize that it's drool. You think about pressing your face against the carpet and sucking all of the blood out of it -- how it would fill your mouth, how it would taste like something. Something alive. How it would taste like how it would feel like how you would feel like alive. Fuck. [[Press your forehead into the carpet.->White 8]] [[Go back outside.->Continue2a]]

You smell it. Smelling isn't against the rules. It smells like metal. [[//Lick it.//->White 9]] [[Go back outside.->Continue2a]]

Another dark spot grows on the carpet. Another. Another. You're drooling and crying at the same time. Aw, fuck. [[Go back outside.->Continue2a]]

Rachel exhales through her nose, a short sharp burst. "Do you want to hear the story?" she says. "Or would you like to keep making snide commentary." [[Hear the story.->RT R3aa]] [[Make snide commentary.->RT R3ab]]

Double-click this passage to edit it.

You have half of a snide syllable out of your mouth when Rachel's hands splay wide open -- dropping the palette -- letting it fall to the floor with an empty clatter. Paint starts pooling at her feet. "Goodbye, then," she says. She doesn't say anything else; she just stares at you. Her eyes are titanium drill bits and your skin itches. Guess it's time to go. [[Sneak a peek at the canvas on your way out.->RT R3aba]] [[Just leave.->Continue4]]

Rachel wasn't painting you. There's just a bunch of feathers on the canvas, all of them made completely of brush strokes. You can hear the drag of Rachel's breathing. In, out, in. "I don't think I'd like to play with you anymore," she says. [[Get out of dodge before she stabs you in the eye with a paint brush.->Continue4]](set: $racheloffended to true)

(set: $runrabbit to true)The door opens on a large, spacious room. You step inside -- you can see a grand staircase on your left, and a looming door made of solid wood on your right. You're in the entrance hall. [[Head up the staircase.->Continue6 b]] [[Try to open the front door.->Front door]] [[See if you can find a knife.->Knife]] [[Go back outside.->Continue6]]

You are walking down a hallway that's a little too short and a little too cramped. On the other side of the hallway is a door made of grey fur. [[Open the fur door.->Open the fur door.]] (if: $backwards is true)[[[Keep walking down the hallway.->Continue6]] [[Turn back.->Continue8]]](else:)[[[Keep walking down the hallway.->Continue8]] [[Turn back.->Continue6]]]

You try the handle. Shockingly, the door is locked. [[Kick it.->Front door 2]] [[Try and pick the lock.->Front door 2]] [[Jimmy the handle some more.->Front door 2]] [[Slice your hand open and bleed on the door handle.->Front door 2]] [[Say "please."->Front door 2]]

Where are you looking? [[By the door.->Knife d]] [[On the carpet.->Knife c]] [[On the stairs.->Knife s]] [[In your pocket.->Knife p]]

You walk to the top of the staircase and find yourself in a hallway that's a little taller than you are and just about wide enough for two people to walk side-by-side. On the other side of the hallway is a door painted with a rabbit that is about the same size as you. It's very realistic. (either:"If you stare at it for long enough you can see its eye start to roll madly in its head.","It looks terrified.","Your mouth waters when you look too long at its throat.","You would swear on anything that you can see its legs shaking.","Its mouth is partially open, like it's trying to tell you something.","It looks so familiar.","The fur by its mouth is stained red.")(set: $backwards to true) (if: $runrabbit is true)[[[Open the rabbit door.->Rabbit door 2]]](else:)[[[Open the rabbit door.->Open the rabbit door.]]] [[Keep walking down the hallway.->Continue5]] [[Turn back.->Front hall]]

You step back down the stairs. Your footsteps are muffled on your way back down, like you've stopped existing. You're back in the entrance hall. The walls are draped with motheaten velvet; the whole place smells like blood, but you don't see any blood anywhere. [[Head up the staircase.->Continue6 b]] [[Try to open the front door.->Front door]] [[Look for the rabbit door.->Front hall 2]]

You know that the rabbit door is back up the stairs. You just passed it. Coming down here. [[Head up the staircase.->Continue6 b]] [[Try to open the front door.->Front door]]

The door does not open. [[Go back up the staircase.->Continue6 b]]

You poke around the door. The hinges are solid; the handle is unmoving. This close to the door, you can see faint carvings at the base of it: ridges, peaks, valleys. A range of sharp mountains. No knife. Fuck. [[Go back up the staircase.->Continue6 b]]

You run your hands through the carpet, combing through it and sending plumes of dust up into the air. It's weirdly soothing. You card through the thick fibers of the carpet; the house rumbles underneath your feet, sending shivers through the soles of your shoes. Some of the carpet is stuck together with something tacky. [[Really get in there.->Knife c2]] [[No thanks. Head back upstairs.->Continue6 b]]

They are very nice stairs. Sometimes you get so dizzy that you can't stand up. You miss her. There's blood on the stairs -- dried blood -- you miss her. What were you looking for? [[Go back up the staircase.->Continue6 b]]

If there was something left in your pocket, you probably would have eaten it by now. [[Go back up the staircase.->Continue6 b]]

(set: $knife to true)OW! [[//Fuck.//->Knife c3]]

You're holding a sharp little knife. You tuck it into your pocket and suck on your finger until the bleeding stops. Or maybe a little bit after the bleeding stops. Or maybe you dig your tongue a little bit into the wound to feel your own blood spurting hot and coppery-thick against your tongue and you imagine it, briefly, digging your teeth in, the meat of your finger splitting in two between your-- Ooooooh no. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. [[Back up the stairs.->Continue6 b]]

Double-click this passage to edit it.

The door opens on a large, spacious room. You step inside -- there's the grand staircase, and there's the front door. You're back in the entrance hall. [[Head up the staircase.->Continue6 b]] [[Try to open the front door.->Front door]] [[Go back outside.->Continue6]]

You are standing in some sort of white living room. All the furniture is white. The walls are white. Helena is in the middle of the floor, on all fours. There's a vague sucking sound. You stand there, frozen, in the doorway; she hears you anyways. Her neck pivots to watch you. Her eyes are reflecting the blank white light. "Hello, Sarah," says her torn-flesh mouth. "I think you should go now. Yes?" [[Yes.->Continue2a]]