<<audio "PrettyDungeon" loop play>>\
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You awaken with a bump.
//I've fallen out of bed,// you think. //I was having a nightmare about a man with heavy boots who carried me away in a big black sack. And I've fallen out of bed.//
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[STAND UP|stand up]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[LOOK AROUND|look around]]</th>
</tr>
</table>You scramble to your feet. The floor leaves splinters in your hands.
[[NOT HOME]]You're lying on a rough wooden floor. The boards are warped and uneven, all splinters and crooked nails.
[[NOT HOME|nothome1]]<span style="font-family:monospace">You've slept enough.</span>
[[A COLD HAND DRAGS YOU TO YOUR FEET|welcome 1]]<span style="font-family:monospace;">Look alive, kids. Say hello to your new friend.</span>
The shadows start to take shape, stirring from sleep, untangling themselves from ragged blankets on the floor. They're all around your age.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[LOOK AT THE MAN]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[LOOK AT THE CHILDREN]]</th>
</tr>
</table><<cacheaudio "33" "http://lizziesmyth.com/33.wav">>\
<<cacheaudio "PrettyDungeon" "http://lizziesmyth.com/Pretty%20Dungeon%20LOOP.wav">>\
<<cacheaudio "MusicBox" "http://lizziesmyth.com/Music%20Box%20LOOP.wav">>\
<<cacheaudio "CreepyMusicBox" "http://lizziesmyth.com/Creepy%20Music%20Box%20LOOP.wav">>\
<<cacheaudio "LonelyHouse" "http://lizziesmyth.com/Lonely%20House%20LOOP.wav">>\
<<cacheaudio "Loneliness" "http://lizziesmyth.com/Loneliness%20LOOP.wav">>\
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<span style="font-family:monospace;font-size:500%;"><span style ="color:black;" id="b">b</span> <span style ="color:black;" id="o">o</span> <span style ="color:black;" id="g">g</span> <span style ="color:black;" id="e">e</span> <span style="color:black;" id="y">y</span> <span style="color:black;" id="m">m</span> <span style="color:black" id="a">a</span> <span style="color:black" id="n">n</span></span>\
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<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;"><span style="color:black;" id="begin">BEGIN</span></th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;"><span id="info" style="color:black;">INFO</span></th>
</tr>
</table>\
<<timed 2s>><<replace "#begin" transition>><span style="color:lightgrey;">[[BEGIN]]</span><</replace>><</timed>>\
<<timed 2s>><<replace "#info" transition>><span style="color:lightgrey;">[[INFO]]</span><</replace>><</timed>>\
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<<timed 1s>><<replace "#b" transition>><span style="color:lightgrey;">b</span><</replace>><</timed>>\
<<timed 0.1s>><<replace "#o" t8n>><span style="color:lightgrey;">o</span><</replace>><</timed>>\
<<timed 0.5s>><<replace "#g" t8n>><span style="color:lightgrey;">g</span><</replace>><</timed>>\
<<timed 0.2s>><<replace "#e" t8n>><span style="color:lightgrey;">e</span><</replace>><</timed>>\
<<timed 0.3s>><<replace "#y" t8n>><span style="color:lightgrey;">y</span><</replace>><</timed>>\
<<timed 0.9s>><<replace "#m" t8n>><span style="color:lightgrey;">m</span><</replace>><</timed>>\
<<timed 0.7s>><<replace "#a" t8n>><span style="color:lightgrey;">a</span><</replace>><</timed>>\
<<timed 1.2s>><<replace "#n" t8n>><span style="color:lightgrey;">n</span><</replace>><</timed>><<linkappend "CLICK HERE TO SEE CONTENT WARNINGS ''(SPOILERS)''" t8n>>
animal death (avoidable)
cannibalism
child abuse (physical + verbal)
child death
fire
kidnapping
sedation<</linkappend>>
Some common squicks, listed in alphabetical order. Except where marked, these are not easily avoided through the player's actions.
[[BACK|title]]You turn, and are blocked by wall of black robes. From somewhere near the ceiling, a jagged mouth sneers down at you.<span style="font-family:monospace"> Don't look so scared, little fish. This is your family now.</span>
[[ONE OF THE CHILDREN TAKES YOUR HAND|tabby]]They look sickly, but not starved. Their faces are creased with a kind of tiredness you've only ever seen in grown-ups before.
[[BEHIND YOU, THE MAN SPEAKS AGAIN]]It's a girl with long ginger hair and a patched, too-small nightdress. At twelve or thirteen, she's the oldest one here.
[[SHE GIVES YOU A THIN, REASSURING SMILE AS THE MAN SPEAKS AGAIN|next]]The other children stand frozen, watching the door, until his retreating footsteps have stopped shaking the walls. Then they all exhale as one.
[[THE GIRL – TABITHA – RELEASES YOUR HAND|dawn]]<span style="font-family:monospace;">Tabitha, show the new fish around and give it something to do. Something quiet. If you loathsome little toads wake me up before dinner I'll break your necks.</span>
[[THE DOOR SLAMS BEHIND HIM|ch1]]Like the floor and walls, the door is just a few planks of wood held together with rusty nails. It doesn't have a lock or bolt. Not on the inside, anyway.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;border-bottom:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[OPEN THE DOOR|OPEN IT]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;border-bottom:3px solid lightgrey;"><<if $window>>THE WINDOW<<else>>[[THE WINDOW]]<<endif>></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;"><<if $comb>>THE BEDS<<else>>[[THE BEDS]]<<endif>></th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;"><<if $children>>[[THE CHILDREN]]<<else>>[[THE CHILDREN]]<<endif>></th>
</tr>
</table>The window is a pitifully small square of thick, warped glass. You can't see much through the frost crystals still thawing on its outer face: a foggy morning settling over a rocky incline.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;border-bottom:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;"><<if $door>>THE DOOR<<else>>[[THE DOOR]]<<endif>></th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;border-bottom:3px solid lightgrey;">[[OPEN THE WINDOW|window]]</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;"><<if $comb>>THE BEDS<<else>>[[THE BEDS]]<<endif>></th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[THE CHILDREN]]</th>
</tr>
</table>'Beds' would be a very generous term. On the floorboards are a few piles of threadbare blankets. They don't smell like they've never been cleaned, but they don't exactly smell good, either.
There's one pile for each of the four other children, and one spare. "That was where Claire slept," whispers Tabitha. "It's yours now."
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;border-bottom:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;"><<if $door>>THE DOOR<<else>>[[THE DOOR]]<<endif>></th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;border-bottom:3px solid lightgrey;"><<if $window>>THE WINDOW<<else>>[[THE WINDOW]]<<endif>></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[INVESTIGATE YOUR BED|bed]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;"><<if $children>>[[THE CHILDREN]]<<else>>[[THE CHILDREN]]<<endif>></th>
</tr>
</table>Apart from you, there are four other children in this room – two girls, two boys. They watch you with wide, uncertain eyes.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;border-bottom:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[TALK TO TABITHA]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;border-bottom:3px solid lightgrey;"><<if $humphrey>>TALK TO HUMPHREY<<else>>[[TALK TO HUMPHREY]]<<endif>></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;"><<if $grace>>TALK TO GRACE<<else>>[[TALK TO GRACE]]<<endif>></th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;"><<if $peter>>TALK TO PETER<<else>>[[TALK TO PETER]]<<endif>></th>
</tr>
</table><<set $door = true>>The door squeaks on its hinges. The other children all jump to hold you back.
"There's a knack to doing it quietly," Tabitha whispers. "Lift while you pull, like this, see?"
[[SQUEAK SQUEAK]]Tabitha shrugs. "You'll get the hang of it," she whispers.
[[SHE GLANCES NERVOUSLY AT THE DOOR|dawn]]<<set $window = true>>It's locked.
[[THE LOCK IS THE MOST SUBSTANTIAL THING IN THE ROOM|dawn]]The light from the window is brighter now, and you can see your surroundings more clearly. There isn't much to see.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;border-bottom:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;"><<if $door>>THE DOOR<<else>>[[THE DOOR]]<<endif>></th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;border-bottom:3px solid lightgrey;"><<if $window>>THE WINDOW<<else>>[[THE WINDOW]]<<endif>></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;"><<if $comb>>THE BEDS<<else>>[[THE BEDS]]<<endif>></th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;"><<if $children>>[[THE CHILDREN]]<<else>>[[THE CHILDREN]]<<endif>></th>
</tr>
</table><<set $comb = true>>Among the rags of your new bed you find a small plastic comb. It's off-white with faded pink flowers, the letters "C.S.", and reddish hair tangled in its remaining teeth.
<img src="http://lizziesmyth.com/images/comb.png" alt="C.S." style="width:100%;">
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[TAKE THE COMB]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[LEAVE THE COMB]]</th>
</tr>
</table><<set $gotcomb = true>>You slip the comb into your pocket. It's cold and grimy against your fingers.
[[IF THE OTHER CHILDREN NOTICE THEY DON'T SAY ANYTHING|dawn]]You leave the comb on the floor beside your bed. It looks out of place in this room of dark greys and browns.
[[THE OTHER CHILDREN SAY NOTHING|dawn]]<<set $humphrey = true>><<if $tabitha and $peter and $grace>><<set $children = true>><<endif>>Humphrey looks you up and down. "This one //does// look like a fish," he pronounces, as loudly as he dares. "It almost makes me wish we had Claire back."
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[IGNORE HIM|dawn]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[STICK OUT YOUR TONGUE]]</th>
</tr>
</table><<set $grace = true>><<if $tabitha and $humphrey and $peter>><<set $children = true>><<endif>>Grace is the youngest, a tiny girl with freckles and long eyelashes. She mouths a timid greeting before hiding her face in Tabitha's side.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[PAT HER HEAD]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[LEAVE HER ALONE|dawn]]</th>
</tr>
</table><<set $peter = true>><<if $tabitha and $humphrey and $grace>><<set $children = true>><<endif>>Unlike the others in their pyjamas, Peter is wearing a drab school uniform with mismatched buttons. Which reminds you that you're currently missing school.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[ASK ABOUT HIS CLOTHES]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[IGNORE IT|dawn]]</th>
</tr>
</table><<set $tabitha = true>><<if $humphrey and $peter and $grace>><<set $children = true>><<endif>>"When you're ready, I can show you around the rest of the house," she offers. Something about her voice makes you doubt it's going to be a bundle of laughs.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[NOT YET|dawn]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[I'M READY]]</th>
</tr>
</table>She leads you out onto a narrow, windowless landing. Through the gloom you see that there's only one other door. She points and whispers: "That's his room. Never go in there. Unless he tells you to."
There's a trapdoor in the ceiling, and a flight of crooked stairs going down.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[GO UP]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[GO DOWN]]</th>
</tr>
</table>He glares and sticks out his tongue right back at you.
[[THE OTHERS LOOK UNCOMFORTABLE|dawn]]You can't reach that high. Tabitha sees you looking and shakes her head. "Not today. Maybe later."
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">GO UP</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[GO DOWN]]</th>
</tr>
</table>You follow Tabitha down the stairs. She shows you where to step so they won't creak.
[[YOU DESCEND TO A LARGE KITCHEN|kitchen]]<<if $kitchendoor and $oven and $table and $cupboards>><<goto "time">><<else>>The kitchen takes up the whole of the ground floor. There are two windows, which means more light, but the corners still crawl with shadows.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;border-bottom:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;"><<if $table>>THE TABLE<<else>>[[THE TABLE]]<<endif>></th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;border-bottom:3px solid lightgrey;"><<if $kitchendoor>>THE DOOR<<else>>[[THE DOOR|THE KITCHEN DOOR]]<<endif>></th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;"><<if $oven>>THE OVEN<<else>>[[THE OVEN]]<<endif>></th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;"><<if $cupboards>>THE CUPBOARDS<<else>>[[THE CUPBOARDS]]<<endif>></th>
</tr>
</table><<endif>><<set $table = true>>The surface is scratched and worn, but clean. There's nothing resting on it except a single match, which Tabitha pockets.
There are six wooden chairs: five of them small, one of them – at the head of the table – huge. "You get Claire's old seat," says Tabitha, indicating the chair to the left of the big one.
[[IT LOOKS VERY UNCOMFORTABLE|kitchen]]<<set $kitchendoor = true>>Through the front window you can see that the door leads straight onto a rocky hillside, sloping down away from the house. The only landmark is a copse of skeletal trees, half-lost in the mist.
"It's locked," explains Tabitha, "while he's asleep. Later he'll let us out to get wood and water and other things."
[[SHE DOESN'T SPECIFY WHAT OTHER THINGS]]<<set $oven = true>>There's a stack of firewood beside it and a row of pots and pans hanging up on the wall. The wide, flat top of the oven has been used as a hob, but right now it's cold, and there's a half-empty sack of raw potatoes lying spilled across it.
Tabitha sighs. "He's always hungry when he gets home," she explains, "but can't wait for one of us to make him a proper breakfast."
[[SHE TIDIES THE POTATOES AWAY|kitchen]]<<set $cupboards = true>>Six plates – five small, one large – and the same assortment of bowls. Knives and forks and spoons of various shapes and sizes.
There's also food, some of it familiar, some not so much. Jars overflowing with oozes and wet shapes that might be vegetable or animal.
[[ALL OF IT SMELLS BAD|kitchen]]Peter comes downstairs and makes a beeline for something on the floor, tucked away in a corner. He straightens up with a look of dismay, holding the object out for you to see.
"Only one? And it's tiny," he groans. "It must be a juvenile. This won't do for dinner."
[[IT'S A HUGE MOUSETRAP WITH SOMETHING CAUGHT IN IT]]The dead animal looks sort of like a rat, but with a fleshy, elongated snout. It's bigger than any rat you've seen, but not big enough to feed six people.
"What are we going to do?" Peter seems on the brink of panic. "We can't serve him this. We can't go out and get more without waking him up. He's going to kill us."
[[TABITHA TAKES THE ANIMAL FROM HIM AND REMOVES IT FROM THE TRAP]]"We'll just have to do what we can." She slaps it down on the table. "The first year I was here, half of them died of some disease. Some days we didn't catch anything. But we made do."
[[HOW]]He goes to a cupboard, takes out a jar, and puts it down next to the offending animal. "Blue things," he tells you, helpfully.
[[THE JAR IS FULL OF SLIMY BLUE-BLACK LUMPS]]"We don't have to worry about dinner until this afternoon, anyway. In the meantime – chores."
Tabitha and Peter set to work around the kitchen. They seem familiar with their tasks, moving almost automatically around the furniture and each other.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[HELP TABITHA]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[HELP PETER]]</th>
</tr>
</table>The five of you sit around the table and carve mould off a lump of bread for your lunch. All the others have the exact same way of eating – taking small bites and chewing steadily while staring down at their plates.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[SAY SOMETHING]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[EAT QUIETLY]]</th>
</tr>
</table><<set $helptabitha = true>>She looks at you gratefully as you help her to scrub snail trails and bootprints off the floor; clean gunk out of the water pump under the window; collect still-twitching insects off flypaper and sort them into bottles.
[[YOU MAKE A GOOD TEAM]]<<set $helptabitha = false>>He looks at you gratefully as you help him to scrub snail trails and bootprints off the floor; clean gunk out of the water pump under the window; collect still-twitching insects off flypaper and sort them into bottles.
[[YOU MAKE A GOOD TEAM]]<<set $talkative = true>><table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;border-bottom:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING UPSTAIRS]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;border-bottom:3px solid lightgrey;">[[WHAT IS THAT THING WE'RE HAVING FOR DINNER]]</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[WHAT IS THIS PLACE]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[HOW DO I GET HOME]]</th>
</tr>
</table>Humphrey glances at you<<if $humphreyglance>> again<<endif>>, but addresses himself to the others. "So, how's the new fish settling in? Think it'll last long?"
They all frown at him and keep chewing. Nobody says anything.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[IGNORE HIM|IGNORE HIM 2]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[KICK HIS SHINS]]</th>
</tr>
</table><<set $humphreyglance = true>>Humphrey just rolls his eyes. Grace takes care to swallow before answering in a tiny voice: "We've been mending his cloak. It's old so it tears easily, but we don't have enough material to make him a new one."
[[AND WHO IS HE EXACTLY]]<<set $humphreyglance = true>>Humphrey shrugs. "Dunno what they're called. They swarm in at night and try to get at the food, so we turn them into food. It's only fair."
[[DO THEY TASTE ANY GOOD]]<<set $humphreyglance = true>>Humphrey looks at you like you're stupid. "This is nowhere. This is //the house,"// he says, between mouthfuls of stale bread. "Well, //his// house. We're just the servants."
[[AND WHO IS HE EXACTLY]]Everybody keeps chewing in silence, but now it seems awkward, even forced. They all glance at Tabitha, but she's staring down at her plate harder than ever.
At last it's Grace who volunteers in a tiny voice: "He says we can go home when we've learned to be good."
[[AND WHO IS HE EXACTLY]]There's another awkward silence before Peter laughs nervously. "Your parents told you what happens to naughty children, right?"
[[YOU EAT YOUR BREAD|EAT QUIETLY]]"They taste like dirt. Even he doesn't really like the taste, I think. He just loves knowing that they died trying to steal from him. And he says they're full of protein and," Humphrey fails to suppress an ironic drawl, //"we've got to learn to be grateful for what we have."//
[[AND WHO IS HE EXACTLY]]"For the benefit of the new fish," Peter frowns in your direction, "we're not supposed to speak at mealtimes. Humphrey's setting a bad example."
"Speak when spoken to!" Grace pipes up, before realising she's broken the rule by its very utterance and clamping a hand over her own mouth in remorse.
[[YOU FINISH YOUR BREAD IN SILENCE|next1]]He flinches and scowls at you, but doesn't kick back.
[[HE SEEMS MORE SURPRISED THAN ANNOYED|IGNORE HIM 2]]You both squat down, and she starts showing you how to build the fire underneath. "We've got bones to boil for the broth tonight," she explains. "Takes a long time."
[[SHE TAKES THE MATCH OUT OF HER POCKET]]She hands it to you and indicates for you to strike it on the oven.
[[YOU FOLLOW HER MOTIONS|IT STRIKES AND CATCHES FIRST TIME]]It strikes and catches first time. You hurry to light the kindling while Tabitha watches approvingly.
[[SOON THE FIRE IS BLAZING]]The afternoon passes in a blur of industry. The broth gurgles with every ingredient added, every gelatinous juice, every chalky paste, every scrap of the rat-creature's meagre numbles.
[[EVERY SO OFTEN, A BONE BOBS TO THE SURFACE|YOU CAN'T BEGIN TO IMAGINE PUTTING IT IN YOUR MOUTH]]By the time the fire is burning low and the boil has been reduced to a simmer, it's getting dark outside. Tabitha lights an oil lamp and places it in the middle of the table, from where it fills the room with quivering shadows.
[[YOU BEGIN TO WONDER IF HE WILL COME FOR HIS DINNER AFTER ALL]]Grace and Humphrey come downstairs again to help set the table. All four of them move slowly and carefully, like all this morning's anxiety is creeping back into their bodies.
[[FINALLY YOU HEAR A THUMP FROM UPSTAIRS]]Footsteps creak across the ceiling. He's making no effort to be quiet, though you get the feeling he could move more silently than any of you, if he chose to.
The other children all stand to attention behind their chairs. You follow suit just as he appears on the staircase.
[[HE BREATHES IN THE REEK OF THE FOOD AND NODS]]You all wait while he takes his seat at the head of the table and casts a critical gaze over each of you in turn. His eyes are as hard and pale as bone. They linger longer on you than anyone else; it feels like he can see everything you've seen, knows everything you know.
[[AT LONG LAST HE RELEASES YOU WITH A GESTURE]]Tabitha and Peter take their seats, while Humphrey and Grace get up to serve the broth. He ladles out the bowls, then she carries them to the table with care before setting them down.
[[SHE DELIVERS THE LARGEST BOWL FIRST]]Peter starts clearing away the plates. Grace rushes to help him wash them under the pump, while Humphrey slips back upstairs.
[[MEANWHILE TABITHA BECKONS YOU OVER TO THE OVEN]]From your position, you can see that Humphrey has served him easily the majority of the animal parts, and a surplus of blue things.
When your own bowl arrives, it is relatively (and mercifully) free of any substance at all – it looks more like compromised water than food.
[[WHEN EVERYONE HAS BEEN SERVED, GRACE AND HUMPHREY TAKE THEIR SEATS]]They bow their heads, which you take as a prompt to do the same.
<span style="font-family:monospace;">We are truly grateful for what we have.</span>
[[WE ARE TRULY GRATEFUL FOR WHAT WE HAVE|THE CHILDREN ECHO HIM IN UNISON]]And with no further ceremony, everyone starts eating. The children eat like they did at lunchtime: small, controlled sips, watching their bowls like they might try to run away.
[[HE EATS LIKE A DOG IF A DOG COULD HOLD A SPOON]]He makes more noise eating than he does talking. You take the opportunity to look at him properly, while he's distracted –
[[THE BOGEYMAN]]Without the robes, you can see he's wearing a sort of long-sleeved black tunic, unbuttoned to halfway down his chest. The skin underneath is white.
[[SOMEHOW IT LOOKS LIKE IT MIGHT START OOZING ANYTHING AT ANY MOMENT]]Perhaps a little part of you trusted in Tabitha and Peter to make it work, to assemble their foul ingredients into something palatable, even delicious.
[[EVERY SPOONFUL MAKES YOU GAG]]You're still battling your way through your serving when he sends Tabitha up to bring him seconds. By the time you finish, he's drinking the dregs straight from the bowl.
[[HE BANGS HIS EMPTY BOWL DOWN ON THE TABLE AND GROWLS]]<span style="font-family:monospace;">What the hell was that? Where was the meat?</span>
[[NOBODY SAYS A WORD]]<span style="font-family:monospace;">Well? Did anyone hear me?</span> He grabs you by the ear. His nails feel sharp enough to draw blood.
<span style="font-family:monospace;"><<if $talkative>>You've been pretty chatty today, haven't you, little fish? So chat to me.<<else>>You've been awfully quiet all day, little fish. Let's hear what you have to say.<<endif>> Where's the meat? Did you hoard it all for yourself, hmm?</span>
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[THERE WASN'T ENOUGH TO GO AROUND]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[YOU GOT MORE THAN YOUR FAIR SHARE]]</th>
</tr>
</table><<set $cheek = true>>He yanks you sideways off your chair, which clatters to the ground. Your head starts swimming as he drags you towards the door.
<span style="font-family:monospace;">You don't get to decide what's fair.</span> Flecks of broth land in your face. <span style="font-family:monospace;">I decide what's fair.</span>
[[HE TAKES AN IRON KEY OUT OF HIS POCKET]]<span style="font-family:monospace;">I don't want your excuses,</span> he spits. <span style="font-family:monospace;">I want meat.</span>
[[HE RISES TO HIS FEET]]<<if $cheek>><span style="font-family:monospace;">You won't last very long around here if you don't start showing some respect,</span> he hisses, still holding you fast with one hand while he unlocks the door. <span style="font-family:monospace;">So here's what's going to happen.</span><<else>><span style="font-family:monospace;">You won't last very long around here if you don't start taking responsibility for your mistakes,</span> he hisses, still holding you fast with one hand while he unlocks the door. <span style="font-family:monospace;">So here's what's going to happen.</span><<endif>>
[[A COLD, WILD NIGHT SWEEPS INTO THE WARM KITCHEN]]You stumble after as he drags you towards the door. The other children keep their eyes fixed on their empty bowls.
[[HE TAKES AN IRON KEY OUT OF HIS POCKET]]<span style="font-family:monospace;">You are going to go and find me something to eat.</span> He thrusts you into the darkness. Now the light of the kitchen seems blinding, framing his dark bulk in the doorway.
Behind him, you can see the other children still averting their eyes.
[[GRACE LOOKS LIKE SHE'S HOLDING BACK TEARS]]<span style="font-family:monospace;">And be quick about it. If you dare come back empty-handed, you'll be the one going hungry tomorrow.</span>
[[THE DOOR SLAMS SHUT]]And you are left alone in the moonless night, with the wind whipping at your pyjamas and rain beginning to spit at your skin.
[[LOOK AROUND]]You're on a blasted hillside, all jagged rocks and mud. From outside, the house – more like a hovel, really – is little more than a pile of sticks and slate.
The glow from the window only lets you see a few steps in any direction. As soon as you stray any further, you will be travelling almost blind.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[WALK UPWARDS]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[WALK DOWNWARDS]]</th>
</tr>
</table><<set $timewaster = true>>You stagger around to the back of the building and set off up the hill. Every footstep lands either on a sharp edge of rock, or on something slimy and unspeakable.
You navigate by the angle of the ground and the rain, and by the distant glow of the kitchen's rear window when you glance over your shoulder. You press on until the window is no more a pinprick, and then on, and on.
[[AND ON AND ON]]You stagger away from the house. Every footstep lands either on a sharp edge of rock, or on something slimy and unspeakable.
You navigate by the angle of the ground and the rain, and by the distant glow of the kitchen window when you glance over your shoulder. You press on until the window is no more a pinprick, and then on, and on.
[[AND THEN SOMETHING WHIPS AGAINST YOUR FACE]]You push it away and feel damp bark peeling under your fingers. You've reached the edge of the copse without even seeing it.
Now that you're here, you can make out the towering shapes of trees around you, skeletons in black against the black.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[GO ON]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[TURN BACK]]</th>
</tr>
</table>Your feet only stop hurting when they go numb. The rain is coming down harder now, drenching your pyjamas and your hair, catching in your eyelashes, streaming down your face.
[[STUMBLE]]The rocks, already mottled with moss, are getting slippery in the downpour. Your foot slides backwards and sends you sprawling, scraping your hands and legs and cracking your chin on the ground.<<if $gotrat or $gotbird>>
As you throw your hands out to save yourself, the <<if $gotrat>>rat-thing jumps free and scurries away into the night.<<set $gotrat = false>><<else>>chick flutters out of your hands and disappears. Whether it flew back to its nest, or was snatched away by the wind, it's hard to say.<<set $gotbird = false>><<endif>><<endif>>
[[YOUR EARS ARE RINGING]]You can't hear anything else over the roar of the weather. Nothing to suggest you're any closer to finding – anything at all, except more wasteland.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[GO UP|GO UP 2]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[GO DOWN|GO DOWN 2]]</th>
</tr>
</table>You limp onwards. The higher you go, the sharper and more treacherous the rocks become. Are your feet bleeding or just wet?
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[GO UP|GO UP 3]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[GO DOWN|GO DOWN 2]]</th>
</tr>
</table>You limp back the way you came. At least gravity is on your side now.
Once the faint light of the kitchen window comes into view, it gets easier to just keep pressing towards it.
[[EVENTUALLY YOU'RE BACK WHERE YOU STARTED]]<<set $entercopse = true>>You press into the thicket. The scent of rotting leaves rises up around you.
[[AND THE SCENT OF ANIMAL LIFE]]You turn around and stumble back the way you came. Your feet are numb with cold and your legs stiff, but the light of the window growing larger and brighter keeps you in motion.
[[EVENTUALLY YOU'RE BACK WHERE YOU STARTED]]You're more sheltered from the weather here, but prodded at by the trees on all sides. Twigs catch at your pyjamas and scratch at your scalp and snap against your ankles with every movement.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[EXAMINE THE TREES]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[EXAMINE THE GROUND]]</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="width:100%;text-align:center;border-top:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[LEAVE THE COPSE]]</th>
</tr>
</table>Her eyes grow dark. "I don't know why he bothers locking it, anyway. We're not really – //anywhere// right now. You know? It's not like you could just keep walking until you got back to the real world. It's – it's complicated."
[[SHE SIGHS|kitchen]]"We'll use all the organs, and the tail. And throw in lots of the blue things. He likes the blue things."
[[PETER BRIGHTENS UP]]<<if $gotrat>>You grope around with your free hand, but you don't find anything useful.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">EXAMINE THE TREES</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[EXAMINE THE GROUND]]</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="width:100%;text-align:center;border-top:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[LEAVE THE COPSE]]</th>
</tr>
</table>\
<<else>>You grope around until <<if $foundtree>>you find that sturdy branch again. It's slippery but it could take your weight, if you're careful.<<else>>your hand comes to rest on a sturdy branch, about waist-height. It's slippery but it could take your weight, if you're careful.<<endif>>
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[CLIMB]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[DON'T CLIMB]]</th>
</tr>
</table><<endif>><<if $gotbird>>You hunker down, groping about the undergrowth with your free hand, but you don't find anything useful.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[EXAMINE THE TREES]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">EXAMINE THE GROUND</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="width:100%;text-align:center;border-top:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[LEAVE THE COPSE]]</th>
</tr>
</table>\
<<else>>You hunker down, groping about the undergrowth and roots and soil with fingers stiffened by cold.
<<if $foundhole>>After a minute of searching, you find the hole in the earth again.<<else>>After a few minutes, your hand disappears into a hole where you expected to find earth.<<endif>>
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[REACH DEEPER]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[PULL BACK]]</th>
</tr>
</table><<endif>><<set $foundhole = true>><<if $touchedrat>>You sink your hand further into the burrow, but there's nothing there anymore.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">REACH DEEPER</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[PULL BACK]]</th>
</tr>
</table><<else>>You sink your hand further into the burrow until it closes on something warm and soft and trembling.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[GRAB]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[RECOIL]]</th>
</tr>
</table><<endif>><<set $foundhole = true>>You withdraw your hand, leaving the creature to cower in its burrow.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[EXAMINE THE TREES]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[EXAMINE THE GROUND]]</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="width:100%;text-align:center;border-top:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[LEAVE THE COPSE]]</th>
</tr>
</table>You feel your way back out into the open. You know you're out of the trees when you feel the full force of the rain on your face.<<if $gotrat or $gotbird>> Your captive animal scratches and struggles feebly.<<endif>>
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[GO UP|up from copse]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[GO DOWN|down from copse]]</th>
</tr>
</table><<set $touchedrat = true>><<set $gotrat = true>><<set $tookrat = true>>Your hand closes around the creature until you can feel its little heart pounding. You pull it out of the ground and hold it close.
It's a rat creature, like the one from the trap, but even smaller. It makes an angry hooting noise as you cup it between your hands.
[[LEAVE THE COPSE]]<<set $touchedrat = true>>You withdraw your hand, leaving the creature to cower in its burrow.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[EXAMINE THE TREES]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[EXAMINE THE GROUND]]</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="width:100%;text-align:center;border-top:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[LEAVE THE COPSE]]</th>
</tr>
</table>You stumble up the hill. It's not long before the light of the hovel becomes visible again and grows brighter with every step.
[[SOON YOU'RE BACK WHERE YOU STARTED|EVENTUALLY YOU'RE BACK WHERE YOU STARTED]]<<set $timewaster = true>>You carry on down the hill, leaving the shelter of the trees and the hovel far behind you.<<if $gotrat or $gotbird>>
It's harder to keep balance with your hands full. Every step is a struggle to stay upright.<<endif>>
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[GO UP|THE COPSE]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[GO DOWN|GO DOWN 5]]</th>
</tr>
</table>Through the window, you can see bowls all washed and hung up above the sink to drip dry.
The five small chairs are empty now. The Bogeyman sits alone at the head of the table, swigging something dark out of a bottle.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[GO UP|WALK UPWARDS]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[GO DOWN|WALK DOWNWARDS]]</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="width:100%;text-align:center;border-top:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[KNOCK]]</th>
</tr>
</table>Every breath hurts like a knife in the ribs.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[GO UP|GO UP 4]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[GO DOWN|GO DOWN 2]]</th>
</tr>
</table>You fall again, and this time there's no getting up.
Right before your eyes force themselves shut, you think you see something.
[[LIKE A LIGHT IN THE SKY UP AHEAD]]<<timed 2s t8n>><<set $passout = true>>The next thing you know, you're back in your chair in the kitchen. The fire is burning low and there's nobody else around except the Bogeyman standing over you, drinking something black out of a black bottle.
[[HE SHAKES HIS HEAD WHEN HE SEES YOU'RE COMING ROUND]]<</timed>><<set $foundtree = true>><<set $climb = true>>You bounce up on your palms and hitch one leg over the branch. Hugging the trunk for support, you manage to raise yourself on wobbly legs until you're standing straight.
[[YOU REACH UP|YOUR HAND TRAVELS UPWARDS]]You ignore the tree. You're surrounded by more on all sides, though none of the others seem scalable.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[EXAMINE THE TREES]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[EXAMINE THE GROUND]]</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="width:100%;text-align:center;border-top:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[LEAVE THE COPSE]]</th>
</tr>
</table><<if $tookbird>>You find the nest of twigs again. It's empty.
[[CLIMB DOWN]]<<else>>You touch something nestled among the higher branches. A nest of scratchy twigs, and inside – soft feathers, one sharp little beak.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[GRAB|grab bird]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[RECOIL|recoil bird]]</th>
</tr>
</table><<endif>><<set $gotbird = true>><<set $tookbird = true>>Your fist closes around the chick until you can feel its tiny heart hammering against your fingers. Only when you bring it close to your face can you hear the furious peeping noise it's making.
[[CLIMB DOWN|climb down w bird]]You pull back your hand, leaving the chick to itself. There's no sign of any adults rushing to protect it.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[CLIMB DOWN]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[REACH UP|YOUR HAND TRAVELS UPWARDS]]</th>
</tr>
</table>You lower yourself out of the tree. You're surrounded by more on all sides, though none of the others seem scalable.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[EXAMINE THE TREES]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[EXAMINE THE GROUND]]</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="width:100%;text-align:center;border-top:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[LEAVE THE COPSE]]</th>
</tr>
</table>You lower yourself out of the tree, cradling the chick to your chest.
[[LEAVE THE COPSE]]<<if $gotrat or $gotbird>>You tap on the door with one hand, hoping to be heard over the wind and rain, and keep your captive animal clutched safe in the other. Inside, you hear the bogeyman rise and stomp across the kitchen floor.
The <<if $gotrat>>rat<<else>>bird<<endif>>'s struggles have subsided to a helpless quivering.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[RELEASE IT]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[WAIT]]</th>
</tr>
</table><<else>>You tap on the door, hoping to be heard over the wind and rain.
[[YOU HEAR THE BOGEYMAN RISE AND STOMP ACROSS THE KITCHEN FLOOR|WAIT]]<<endif>>At the last moment, you open your hands and your prize <<if $gotrat>>scurries<<else>>flutters<<endif>> away into the darkness.
[[THE DOOR OPENS|release]]You stand there in the wind and rain, readying yourself.
[[THE DOOR OPENS]]The Bogeyman lifts you over the threshold by the scruff of your rain-soaked pyjamas. <span style="font-family:monospace;">Well well. Look what the storm washed up.</span>
[[HE SHUTS THE DOOR AGAINST THE NIGHT]]It's not especially warm or bright inside the hovel, but compared to the hillside it's not bad. With the muffled roar of the weather against the windows, it could almost be described as cosy.
[[HE DROPS INTO HIS CHAIR AND TAKES ANOTHER SLUG OF MYSTERY JUICE]]<<if $timewaster>><span style="font-family:monospace;">You took your sweet time out there, fish. The rest have all drunk their milk and gone to bed. I had to give little Gracie extra to stop her snivelling.</span>
<<else>><span style="font-family:monospace;">You were pretty quick, fish. I'm pleasantly surprised.</span> He does look pleased, even though there's nothing pleasant about it. <span style="font-family:monospace;">The rest have only just drunk their milk and gone to bed. I had to give little Gracie extra to stop her snivelling.</span>
<<endif>>[[HIS TONGUE LOLLS OUT, HUGE AND BLACKENED BY THE DRINK]]You hold your hands out over the table and open them just enough for your prize to peek its tiny head out.
[[HE SNATCHES IT]]You show him your hands, scratched and raw with cold, but empty.
[[HE SCOWLS]]And stuffs it into his mouth without ceremony. <span style="font-family:monospace;">Not bad,</span> he declares, <<if $gotrat>>slurping up the still-squirming tail,<<else>>spraying feathers.<<endif>> <span style="font-family:monospace;">A bit small, but at least I won't go to bed hungry.</span>
[[EACH WORD IS ACCOMPANIED BY A SERIES OF IMPOSSIBLY LOUD CRUNCHES]]<span style="font-family:monospace;">You're off to a good start, fish. Just do as I say, that's all there is to it. Keep it up and you'll soon be on your way home.</span>
[[HE SWALLOWS IT, BONES AND ALL, AND BELCHES]]<<set $nofood = false>>He grins contentedly at you. His teeth are stained red now as well as black. <span style="font-family:monospace;">Run along to bed, then. Long day tomorrow. I've got this to finish,</span> he adds, gesturing to the bottle.
[[GO TO BED]]<span style="font-family:monospace;">I told you to bring me meat, you stupid brat, not mess around on the hillside and keep me waiting here for nothing.</span>
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[I'LL DO BETTER NEXT TIME]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE]]</th>
</tr>
</table>{{{Yes you will, if you ever want to go home. There's only one rule around here, and that's to do as you're told, so get that through your skull as early as possible.}}}
[[HE DRAINS THE LAST OF THE BLACK LIQUID]]{{{Stop making excuses. If you ever want to get back home, you're going to have to learn to do as you're told, and do it without complaining.}}}
[[HE DRAINS THE LAST OF THE BLACK LIQUID]]<<set $nofood = true>>{{{No food for you tomorrow, then,}}} he sighs, abandoning the empty bottle and casting about for another. {{{Now go to bed. Go on, get out of my sight.}}}
[[GO TO BED]]It would be nice to warm and dry yourself beside the embers of the fire for a while, but the Bogeyman doesn't seem to care that you're still shivering.
[[YOU TURN AND CLIMB THE STAIRS, GRIPPING THE WALL FOR SUPPORT]]Your legs don't give out until you're inside the bedroom. You sink to your knees, feeling the rough wooden floor beneath you, like you did this morning.
In the darkness, you can hear the slow breathing of the other children, already asleep in their own corners of the room.
[[FIND YOUR OWN BED]]After a period of careful searching and a few accidental encounters with warm bodies, you locate a small pile of rags with no occupant. This must be where – what did they say her name was? – where Claire used to sleep.
[[CURL UP AND TRY TO GET WARM]]You pull the largest piece of blanket over you, and your arm goes straight through a hole. It takes a few more minutes of shuffling and rearranging, but eventually you've more or less covered yourself.
[[YOU FEEL SOMETHING SMALL JAB AGAINST YOUR HIP]]<<if $comb>><<if $gotcomb>>It's the plastic comb you took from your bed this morning, still in your pocket, now pressed awkwardly between your body and the floor. You take it out and lay it beside you.<<else>>It's the plastic comb you found in your bed this morning, still here among the rags. You retrieve it and lay it on the floor beside you.<<endif>><<else>>You dig it out from underneath yourself and examine the shape of it in the dark. It's a small plastic comb, with a few strands of hair tangled in its remaining teeth. You lay it on the floor beside you.
<img src="http://lizziesmyth.com/images/comb.png" alt="C.S." style="width:100%;"><<endif>>
[[CLAIRE'S COMB]]Maybe she was hoping for her parents to give her a new one when she got home, a better one. Or maybe she just left in a hurry. It's not like the Bogeyman gave you any time to pack your bags when he brought you here.
[[MAYBE SHE LEFT IT BEHIND AS A GIFT]]You close your eyes and clutch the rags close about you until you've almost stopped shivering. The sound of rain against the window and the steady breathing of your fellow prisoners helps to quiet your thoughts until at last,
[[YOUR EXHAUSTION PULLS YOU INTO A DEEP, DREAMLESS SLEEP]]<<goto "fadeout" t8n>><<audio "MusicBox" loop play>>\
<<timed 0.1s t8n>><img style="width:100%;" src="http://lizziesmyth.com/images/bgm/ch2b.png" alt="milk"><</timed>>
<<timed 0.5s t8n>>CHAPTER TWO<</timed>>
<<timed 1s t8n>>[[MILK|WAKE UP]]<</timed>><<if $helptabitha>>You open your eyes to find Tabitha shaking you gently. "Morning."
[[SHE SMILES TO SEE YOU AWAKE]]\
\
<<else>>You open your eyes to find Peter shaking you gently. "Morning."
[[HE SMILES TO SEE YOU AWAKE|SHE SMILES TO SEE YOU AWAKE]]<<endif>><span style="font-family:monospace;">I hope you brought me something tasty.</span>
<<if $gotrat or $gotbird>>[[SHOW HIM|givefood]]<<else>>[[SHOW HIM|nofood]]<<endif>>"I hope you're feeling better after last night! Lots to do today." The window is already brightening with the dawn, and the other children are nowhere to be seen.
<<if $helptabitha>>[[TABITHA HELPS YOU TO YOUR FEET]]<<else>>[[PETER HELPS YOU TO YOUR FEET|TABITHA HELPS YOU TO YOUR FEET]]<<endif>>The two of you make your way down to the kitchen, where Humphrey has just finished setting the table for breakfast. Grace is asleep on her feet behind her chair.
[[THE BOGEYMAN IS ALREADY SEATED AND CHEWING]]<span style="font-family:monospace;">I woke up starving after that second-rate dinner yesterday,</span> he announces around a mouthful of toast. <<if $nofood>><span style="font-family:monospace;">Which reminds me</span> – he gestures to you – <span style="font-family:monospace;">no food for this one today until it learns to behave.</span><<else>>You have to suppress a shudder when he winks at you.<<endif>>
[[YOU ALL TAKE YOUR PLACES BEHIND YOUR CHAIRS]]<span style="font-family:monospace;">We are truly grateful for what we have.</span>
[[WE ARE TRULY GRATEFUL FOR WHAT WE HAVE|WE ARE TRULY GRATEFUL FOR WHAT WE HAVE2]]You all sit down. Apart from the toast, there's some kind of<<if not $nofood>> tasteless<<endif>> grey matter – if you had to compare it to anything, you'd choose scrambled eggs.
<<if $nofood>>[[YOU WATCH THE OTHERS EAT AND CAN'T FIND IT IN YOU TO ENVY THEM MUCH|breakfast]]<<else>>[[YOU EAT AS MUCH AS YOU CAN STOMACH|breakfast]]<<endif>>When everyone's finished, the Bogeyman dismisses the other children, who all rise to clear away their plates.
Except Grace, who has fallen asleep again.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[NUDGE HER]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[TAKE HER PLATE]]</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="width:100%;text-align:center;border-top:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[LEAVE HER BE]]</th>
</tr>
</table>The Bogeyman is preparing a smack to the back of Grace's head. He frowns when you rouse her with a nudge before he can deliver it.
[[SHE JOLTS TO HER FEET AND HURRIES TO CLEAR AWAY HER PLATE|GRACE HURRIES TO CLEAR AWAY HER PLATE]]You go to take Grace's plate for her, but the Bogeyman smacks your hand away. {{{Move when I tell you to move,}}} he snaps, and rouses Grace himself with a clip across the ear. {{{That goes for both of you. Grace! Move!}}}
[[SHE JOLTS TO HER FEET AND HURRIES TO CLEAR AWAY HER PLATE|GRACE HURRIES TO CLEAR AWAY HER PLATE]]You sit quietly as the Bogeyman reaches over to rouse Grace with a smack to the back of the head.
[[SHE JOLTS TO HER FEET AND HURRIES TO CLEAR AWAY HER PLATE|GRACE HURRIES TO CLEAR AWAY HER PLATE]]{{{Maybe we gave her a little too much milk last night. Then again,}}} he points at you, {{{you didn't have any at all, and you slept in later than anyone. Don't worry, we'll soon knock the laziness out of you.}}}
[[HE YAWNS AND STRETCHES]]<<if $helptabitha>>She shows you how to do it all quietly, and how to return everything to its proper place. Untidiness is just as bad as noisiness, she warns.<<else>>He shows you how to do it all quietly, and how to return everything to its proper place. Untidiness is just as bad as noisiness, he warns.<<endif>>
[[AFTER A WHILE, HUMPHREY AND GRACE COME DOWNSTAIRS]]{{{You're all on pit duty this afternoon. But first the water tank needs refilling, and a couple of you can go see if the storm last night knocked down any decent trees for firewood.}}}
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[VOLUNTEER FOR WATER]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[VOLUNTEER FOR WOOD]]</th>
</tr>
</table><<if $nofood>><<set $waterduty = false>>{{{It's cute that you thought I might let you choose after your pathetic failure last night.}}}
[[FIREWOOD DUTY IT IS|HE STRETCHES, POPPING MORE JOINTS AT ONCE THAN YOU HAVE IN YOUR WHOLE BODY]]<<else>><<set $waterduty = true>>{{{Normally I wouldn't let you choose, but after your success last night, I'm inclined to be generous.}}}
[[WATER TANK DUTY IT IS|HE STRETCHES, POPPING MORE JOINTS AT ONCE THAN YOU HAVE IN YOUR WHOLE BODY]]<<endif>><<if $nofood>><<set $waterduty = true>>{{{It's cute that you thought I might let you choose after your pathetic failure last night.}}}
[[WATER TANK DUTY IT IS|HE STRETCHES, POPPING MORE JOINTS AT ONCE THAN YOU HAVE IN YOUR WHOLE BODY]]<<else>><<set $waterduty = false>>{{{Normally I wouldn't let you choose, but after your success last night, I'm inclined to be generous.}}}
[[FIREWOOD DUTY IT IS|HE STRETCHES, POPPING MORE JOINTS AT ONCE THAN YOU HAVE IN YOUR WHOLE BODY]]<<endif>><<if $waterduty>>{{{You'd better take Grace with you. She's in no state to be anywhere near sharp edges. And Humphrey, too – maybe he can irritate the both of you into staying awake.}}}<<else>>{{{You'd better take Grace with you, and Humphrey too. Maybe he can irritate the both of you into staying awake.}}}<<endif>>
<<if $waterduty>>[[AND YOU'RE DISMISSED|water]]<<else>>[[AND YOU'RE DISMISSED|wood]]<<endif>>She doesn't look at you, but the visible portion of her face suggests a shy smile.
[[A SMALL VICTORY|dawn]]"This is just what I was wearing when he brought me here. Normally he takes kids when they're asleep, but... you know, it's kind of a long story."
[[YOU'RE COLD IN YOUR PYJAMAS|dawn]]Outside, the day is clear and crisp after last night's rain. Tabitha and Peter set off down the hillside with baskets, a rusty hand saw and a hatchet between them.
[[YOUR BREATH MISTS IN THE AIR]]Outside, the day is clear and crisp after last night's rain.
[[YOUR BREATH MISTS IN THE AIR|wood1]]<<set $gotrat = false>><<set $gotbird = false>>The Bogeyman lifts you over the threshold by the scruff of your rain-soaked pyjamas. <span style="font-family:monospace;">Well well. Look what the storm washed up.</span>
[[HE SHUTS THE DOOR AGAINST THE NIGHT]]The Bogeyman doesn't seem bothered by the cold. Before she left he had Tabitha drag his chair into the kitchen doorway, blocking the entire frame, and now he's sitting there with his boots up on one of the smaller chairs.
[[HE TAKES A TIN OUT FROM SOMEWHERE INSIDE HIS ROBES]]{{{Only one way to warm up if you're cold,}}} he advises you, taking a pinch of something black out of the tin and putting it in his mouth. {{{Get to work!}}}
[[HE SETTLES BACK IN HIS CHAIR, CHEWING CONTENTEDLY]]In the light of day, you get your first good look at the landscape. The hovel is built on a small plateau between two vast, barren expanses of steep. Above you in the distance the land tapers to an icy peak, while below – far beyond the copse – the base of the mountain is ringed by a much larger forest.
[[THE HORIZON IS BLOCKED BY FOUR IDENTICAL MOUNTAINS]]Closer to home, you see a woodshed and an outhouse, both of them even more ramshackle than the hovel itself. The surrounding earth is relatively clear of rocks, revealing a narrow pit not far away.
[[HUMPHREY LEADS YOU TO THE WOODSHED|watershed]]He unlocks the door with a key entrusted to him by the Bogeyman, dips inside, and emerges moments later with three tin buckets.
[[HE HANDS ONE EACH TO YOU AND GRACE]]The Bogeyman doesn't seem bothered by the cold. After breakfast he had the older children drag his chair into the kitchen doorway, blocking the entire frame, and now he's sitting there with his boots up on one of the smaller chairs.
[[HE TAKES A TIN OUT FROM SOMEWHERE INSIDE HIS ROBES|wood2]]{{{Only one way to warm up if you're cold,}}} he advises you, taking a pinch of something black out of the tin and putting it in his mouth. {{{Get to work!}}}
[[HE SETTLES BACK IN HIS CHAIR, CHEWING CONTENTEDLY|wood3]]In the light of day, you get your first good look at the landscape. The hovel is built on a small plateau between two vast, barren expanses of steep. Above you in the distance the land tapers to an icy peak, while below – far beyond the copse – the base of the mountain is ringed by a much larger forest.
[[THE HORIZON IS BLOCKED BY FOUR IDENTICAL MOUNTAINS|wood4]]Closer to home, you see a woodshed and an outhouse, both of them even more ramshackle than the hovel itself. The surrounding earth is relatively clear of rocks, revealing a narrow pit not far away.
[[HUMPHREY LEADS YOU TO THE WOODSHED]]He unlocks the door with a key entrusted to him by the Bogeyman, dips inside, and emerges moments later with three wicker baskets. Inside one of them sits a single hatchet and a rusty handsaw.
[[HE HANDS THE EMPTY BASKETS TO YOU AND GRACE]]After re-locking the door, the three of you set off down the hillside. The rocks are easier to navigate by daylight, but it's still tough on your feet.
[[BE CAREFUL]]It's a quiet walk. You can't tell whether Humphrey is sulking or always like this. Grace, on the other hand, is deep in a daze – not merely shy, but almost sleepwalking.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[MAKE CONVERSATION]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[WALK QUIETLY]]</th>
</tr>
</table><<set $talkative = true>><table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;border-bottom:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[WHAT'S PIT DUTY]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;border-bottom:3px solid lightgrey;">[[WHAT WAS IN THAT TIN]]</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[THIS IS FUN]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[THIS IS STUPID]]</th>
</tr>
</table>The three of you trudge on towards the copse. As you draw closer, its crests loom above you, mapping a dark net across the blue sky.
[[HUMPHREY LEADS THE WAY INTO THE THICKET]]Still-damp vegetation slaps against your arms and neck as you clamber your way between the trees. You can hear small things alive in the undergrowth.<<if $entercopse>> By the light of day, the copse seems far smaller than it did last night.<<endif>>
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;"><<if $climb>>[[LOOK FOR THE NEST|trees]]<<else>>[[INVESTIGATE THE TREES|trees]]<<endif>></th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;"><<if $foundhole>>[[LOOK FOR THE BURROW|ground]]<<else>>[[INVESTIGATE THE GROUND|ground]]<<endif>></th>
</tr>
</table>"Digging a pit," Humphrey explains, mock-patiently. "It's pretty straightforward, if you're not an idiot."
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;"><<if $waterduty>>[[IGNORE HIM|walkwater]]<<else>>[[IGNORE HIM|WALK QUIETLY]]<<endif>></th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[SHOVE HIM]]</th>
</tr>
</table>"Dip. It's like chewing gum for grown-ups," Humphrey explains. "It just makes him spit a lot. Look forward to cleaning up a lot of sticky spit off the floor," he sneers, "and out of your hair, if you try to complain about it."
<<if $waterduty>>[[GROSS|walkwater]]<<else>>[[GROSS|WALK QUIETLY]]<<endif>>Grace gives you a blank smile; you're not sure she heard you. Humphrey makes sure you see him rolling his eyes.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;"><<if $waterduty>>[[IGNORE HIM|walkwater]]<<else>>[[IGNORE HIM|WALK QUIETLY]]<<endif>></th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[SHOVE HIM]]</th>
</tr>
</table>"//You're// stupid," Humphrey snaps. "When you've been stuck here for stupid months, then tell me it's stupid, alright? Just shut up and do your stupid chores like the rest of us."
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;"><<if $waterduty>>[[IGNORE HIM|walkwater]]<<else>>[[IGNORE HIM|WALK QUIETLY]]<<endif>></th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[SHOVE HIM]]</th>
</tr>
</table>His <<if $waterduty>>bucket<<else>>basket<<endif>> flies out of his hands as he staggers sideways. He doesn't respond, only rights himself and scoops up the <<if $waterduty>>bucket<<else>>basket<<endif>> with a scowl.
<<if $waterduty>>[[GRACE BARELY SEEMS TO NOTICE|walkwater]]<<else>>[[GRACE BARELY SEEMS TO NOTICE|WALK QUIETLY]]<<endif>><<if $foundhole>>It doesn't take long for you to locate the hole again, but it's flooded with muddy water.<<else>>You squat down. The air is warmer down here. You don't find anything but muddy puddles and waterlogged twigs, too small to be useful.<<endif>>
[[LOOK UP AND NOTICE GRACE|grace]]<<if $climb>>It doesn't take long for you to find the branch that supported your weight. Looking up, you see that the branch above it has snapped off near the trunk. There's no sign of any living thing there.
<<endif>>These are not the kind of trees you get conkers from, or plums or apples, or catkins or whirligigs, or maybe anything except fire.
[[LOOK BACK AND NOTICE GRACE|grace]]She's fallen asleep on her feet again, with her face squished against the trunk of the nearest tree.
[[HUMPHREY TOSSES A STICK AT HER]]It bounces off her arm with no reaction. He grumbles. "Stupid. I know she's annoying and stupid when she cries, but he still shouldn't give her so much milk."
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[WHAT'S WRONG WITH MILK]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[WHY WAS SHE CRYING]]</th>
</tr>
</table>"She doesn't like shouting. Doesn't matter if he's not shouting at her. Just hates being near him when he's angry."
[[HUMPHREY GOES OVER AND SHAKES GRACE AWAKE]]"Well, he //calls// it milk. But it tastes different to milk at home, and it sucks. Makes you really sleepy, so you can't stay up past bedtime even if you try."
[[HUMPHREY GOES OVER AND SHAKES GRACE AWAKE]]"Come on," he orders as she stirs, "move around more. Stab yourself in the hand with a rock or something. Whatever it takes to stay focused."
[[SHE BRIGHTENS UP]]"Can we sing a song? He won't hear us from down here." She turns to you excitedly. "You're new. You have to teach us a new song!"
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[SING]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[REFUSE]]</th>
</tr>
</table>You sing the first nursery rhyme that comes into your head. Grace catches on quickly, following your lead, while the three of you search out fallen branches.
[[IT DOES LIFT THE MOOD A BIT]]Grace pouts. She turns to Humphrey instead. "You pick a song, then," she pleads.
[[HE SIGHS]]//The first crow was crying for his ma
Crying for his ma
Crying for his ma
The first crow was crying for his ma//
[[ON A COLD AND FROSTY MORNING]]Eventually, you find a thick branch that Humphrey deems suitable. You and he take it in turns to saw while the other helps Grace to hold it steady.
[[THE SAW CREAKS ALONG TO THE SONG]]Perhaps realising that he brought this on himself, Humphrey starts singing a nursery rhyme. Beaming, Grace follows his lead, and the two of them keep going while you all search out fallen branches.
[[IT DOES LIFT THE MOOD A BIT]]//The second crow couldn't fly at all
Couldn't fly at all
Couldn't fly at all
The second crow couldn't fly at all//
[[ON A COLD AND FROSTY MORNING|saw]]The saw is short and blunt and the handle slips often in your frozen fingers. Your arms are stiff by the time you've managed to carve the branch into manageable chunks.
[[BUT YOU DON'T STOP TO REST|crow3]]After re-locking the door, the three of you set off, tracing a diagonal path upwards and away from the hovel. The rocks are easier to navigate by daylight, but it's still tough on your feet.
[[BE CAREFUL|carefulwater]]It's a quiet walk. You can't tell whether Humphrey is sulking or always like this. Grace, on the other hand, is deep in a daze – not merely shy, but almost sleepwalking.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[MAKE CONVERSATION]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[WALK QUIETLY|walkwater]]</th>
</tr>
</table>"Snowmelt," he says, and points to a brook running weakly between the rocks.
[[WATER SPARKLES IN THE SUNLIGHT BEFORE STREAMING THROUGH A CRACK BACK INTO THE MOUNTAIN]]The three of you trudge on up the mountain. As you get higher, its peak looms larger above you, carving a dark slice out of the blue sky.
[[HUMPHREY LEADS YOU TO A DEPRESSION IN THE GROUND]]The bucket hums as it slowly grows heavy with water.
[[LOOK UP AND NOTICE GRACE|watergrace]]The water is cold on your fingers, as cold as if you'd dipped them in snow. It runs over your palms and splashes back down on the rocks.
[[LOOK UP AND NOTICE GRACE|watergrace]] "It merges with more streams underground, and comes back to the surface as a much bigger river further down. But by then it won't be safe to touch, never mind drink."
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[COLLECT SOME IN YOUR BUCKET]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[COLLECT SOME IN YOUR HANDS]]</th>
</tr>
</table>She's fallen asleep with her face squished against a rock. Humphrey grumbles. "Stupid. I know she's annoying and stupid when she cries, but he still shouldn't give her so much milk."
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[WHAT'S WRONG WITH MILK|milkwater]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[WHY WAS SHE CRYING|crywater]]</th>
</tr>
</table>"Well, he //calls// it milk. But it tastes different to milk at home, and it sucks. Makes you really sleepy, so you can't stay up past bedtime even if you try."
[[HUMPHREY SPLASHES WATER IN GRACE'S FACE]]"She doesn't like shouting. Doesn't matter if he's not shouting at her. Just hates being near him when he's angry."
[[HUMPHREY SPLASHES WATER IN GRACE'S FACE]]"Come on," he orders as she stirs, "move around more. Stab yourself in the hand with a rock or something. Whatever it takes to stay focused."
[[SHE BRIGHTENS UP|watersong]]"Can we sing a song? He won't hear us from up here." She turns to you excitedly. "You're new. You have to teach us a new song!"
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[SING|watersing]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[REFUSE|waterrefuse]]</th>
</tr>
</table>You sing the first nursery rhyme that comes into your head. Grace catches on quickly, following your lead, while you take it in turns to fill your buckets.
[[IT DOES LIFT THE MOOD A BIT|bitwater]]Grace pouts. She turns to Humphrey instead. "You pick a song, then," she pleads.
[[HE SIGHS|watersigh]]//The first crow was crying for his ma
Crying for his ma
Crying for his ma
The first crow was crying for his ma//
[[ON A COLD AND FROSTY MORNING|morningwater]]Perhaps realising that he brought this on himself, Humphrey starts singing a nursery rhyme. Beaming, Grace follows his lead, and the two of them keep going while you take it in turns to fill your buckets.
[[IT DOES LIFT THE MOOD A BIT|bitwater]]There's no other sound but the gentle drumming of water on tin. For a few minutes you forget where you are, forget that you're cold and sore and hungry.
[[SOON YOU'VE GOT ALL THE WATER YOU CAN CARRY]]//The second crow couldn't fly at all
Couldn't fly at all
Couldn't fly at all
The second crow couldn't fly at all//
[[ON A COLD AND FROSTY MORNING|buckets full]]With your buckets full to the brim, the three of you set off back down the hill. For as long as you're out of earshot of the hovel, the song keeps on ringing out, saving you from the awkward silence.
[[DO YOUR BEST NOT TO SPILL ANY WATER]]//The third crow fell and broke his jaw
Fell and broke his jaw
Fell and broke his jaw
The third crow fell and broke his jaw//
[[ON A COLD AND FROSTY MORNING|timidwater]]You all slow as you draw closer to the hovel. You make out the dark shape of the Bogeyman still filling the doorway, imagine you can already hear him chewing.
[[AND THE REEK OF THE PLACE RISES]]//The fourth crow wasn't there at all...//
[[GRACE BURSTS OUT LAUGHING]]And then stops, just as abruptly.
[[YOU APPROACH THE HOVEL IN SILENCE]]The Bogeyman watches you from his chair as you empty your buckets into the tank. Your heart sinks – it's not even halfway full. You'll be carrying buckets back and forth all morning.
[[YOU CAN HEAR THE SPIT MOVING IN HIS MOUTH|spitwater]]While you stand there trying to warm your fingers in your armpits, the Bogeyman stops chewing for a moment to fire a glob of black spit at the ground by his feet.
<img src="http://lizziesmyth.com/images/puddle.png" alt="puddle" style="width:100%;">
[[THERE'S ALREADY A POOL OF IT CONGEALING IN THE DIRT]]Without another moment's pause, Humphrey sets off back towards the stream, swinging his empty bucket.
[[YOU AND GRACE FOLLOW CLOSE BEHIND]]You make another trip, and then another, until your hands and feet and face have all gone quite numb. On each return you see the level of the tank rise, inch by bitter inch, while the Bogeyman watches you and chews.
[[THE SUN IS HIGH OVERHEAD WHEN IT HAPPENS]]You're about halfway back to the hovel, and you hear behind you the unmistakable noise of metal – and water – and flesh on stone.
[[YOU AND HUMPHREY BOTH TURN]]Grace has passed out again. Her big eyes are closed, her tiny palms bleeding, as the last of the water trickles from the bucket at her side.
[[A HUGE HOLE HAS APPEARED IN THE BOTTOM OF THE BUCKET]]Between you, you manage to rouse her and keep going without much time lost. She wipes the blood on her nightdress.
[[WHEN YOU GET BACK TO THE HOVEL THIS TIME, THE BOGEYMAN'S GAZE BURNS YOU]]Once you and Humphrey have emptied your buckets, he beckons the three of you over. You stand in a line, Grace's hands folded politely behind her back, Humphrey's stuffed defiantly in his pockets.
[[THE PUDDLE OF SPIT IS HUGE NOW, AND THE SMELL STINGS YOUR EYES]]{{{What happened here?}}} The Bogeyman gestures to the broken <<if $waterduty>>bucket<<else>>basket<<endif>>. {{{Was one of you being careless?}}}
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[STAY SILENT]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[TAKE THE BLAME]]</th>
</tr>
</table><<set $takeblame = false>><<set $survivor = "Grace">>There's a long silence. The Bogeyman's fingers are curling around the arms of his chair, his mouth opening to say something else,
[[WHEN HUMPHREY SPEAKS UP]]<<set $takeblame = true>><<set $survivor = "Humphrey">>"It was my fault, sir." You have to fight to force the words out. "The sun was in my eyes. I slipped and dropped the <<if $waterduty>>bucket<<else>>basket<<endif>> and it broke."
[[THE BOGEYMAN STARES AT YOU FOR A MOMENT]]"It was my fault," Humphrey mutters. "The sun was in my eyes. I slipped and dropped the <<if $waterduty>>bucket<<else>>basket<<endif>> and it broke."
[[THE BOGEYMAN STARES AT HIM FOR A MOMENT]]And then rises to his feet, and grabs Humphrey by the hair. {{{If you ever lie to me again,}}} he says, {{{I'll cut out your tongue and eat it.}}}
[[HE BACKHANDS HUMPHREY ACROSS THE FACE]]Humphrey stumbles back, four dark stripes already bruising on his cheek.
[[THE BOGEYMAN ROUNDS ON GRACE]]{{{As for you.}}} She flinches when he reaches for her, but he only wipes the first tear from her eye to taste it. <span style="font-family:monospace;">Since you're too useless even to fetch <<if $waterduty>>water<<else>>wood<<endif>>. Why don't you start by cleaning this –</span>
[[HE POINTS TO THE SPIT POOL]]{{{And then bring me some lunch. The rest of you can eat when you've finished your chores. Understood?}}}
[[ALL THREE OF YOU NOD]]You and Humphrey get back to work, slower now that it's just the two of you, even accounting for the quicker pace you keep without Grace struggling to keep up.
[[THE TIME PASSES IN SILENCE]]And then rises to his feet, and grabs you by the hair. {{{If you ever lie to me again,}}} he says, {{{I'll cut out your tongue and eat it.}}}
[[HE BACKHANDS YOU ACROSS THE FACE]]You stumble back in equal parts shock and pain, your cheek burning. It feels like it's going to bruise.
[[THE BOGEYMAN ROUNDS ON GRACE]]Grace has passed out again. Her big eyes are closed, her tiny palms bleeding, as the logs roll out and away from the basket at her side.
[[THE HANDLE OF THE BASKET HAS SNAPPED OFF]]//The third crow fell and broke his jaw
Fell and broke his jaw
Fell and broke his jaw
The third crow fell and broke his jaw//
[[ON A COLD AND FROSTY MORNING|crow3a]]Now you take it in turns with the hatchet, splitting the slices of wood into smaller wedges. Between swings, Grace ducks in to collect the chopped wood and stack it in the baskets.
[[EVERY TIME YOU THINK FOR A SECOND THAT THE HATCHET IS GOING TO HIT HER SKULL]]//The fourth crow wasn't there at all...//
[[GRACE BURSTS OUT LAUGHING|woodlaugh]]And then stops, just as abruptly.
[[YOU APPROACH THE HOVEL IN SILENCE|woodsilence]]Inside the woodshed, there's only room for Grace and Humphrey to stack the wood. The Bogeyman watches you from his chair, still chewing, while you wait outside with the baskets.
[[YOU CAN HEAR THE SPIT MOVING IN HIS MOUTH]]But it doesn't.
[[YOU HAVE FAR MORE WOOD THAN WILL FIT IN THREE BASKETS]]So you stack up one load, as much as you can carry, and resign yourself to a long morning of hauling logs up the hillside.
[[YOU SET OFF, TRUDGING IN TIME TO THE SONG]]While you stand there trying to warm your fingers in your armpits, he stops chewing for a moment to fire a glob of black spit at the ground by his feet.
<img src="http://lizziesmyth.com/images/puddle.png" alt="puddle" style="width:100%;">
[[THERE'S ALREADY A POOL OF IT CONGEALING IN THE DIRT|dirtwood]]When the first load of logs have been stacked, Humphrey locks the woodshed and sets off back towards the copse, swinging his empty basket.
[[YOU AND GRACE FOLLOW CLOSE BEHIND|followwood]]You make another trip, and then another, until your hands and feet and face have all gone quite numb. On each return you wait outside the woodshed, picking splinters from your fingers, while the Bogeyman watches you and chews.
[[THE SUN IS HIGH OVERHEAD WHEN IT HAPPENS|sunwood]]You're about halfway back to the hovel, and you hear behind you the unmistakable noise of wood – and flesh – on stone.
[[YOU AND HUMPHREY BOTH TURN|turnwood]]Between you, you manage to rouse her and keep going without much time lost. She wipes the blood on her nightdress.
[[WHEN YOU GET BACK TO THE HOVEL THIS TIME, THE BOGEYMAN'S GAZE BURNS YOU|burnwood]]Once the remaining wood has been stacked, he beckons the three of you over. You stand in a line, Grace's hands folded politely behind her back, Humphrey's stuffed defiantly in his pockets.
[[THE PUDDLE OF SPIT IS HUGE NOW, AND THE SMELL STINGS YOUR EYES]]When at last <<if $waterduty>>the tank is full<<else>>the last of the firewood has been stacked<<endif>>, you stop for lunch.<<if $nofood>> Despite your enforced fast, you have to sit at the table and watch the other children eat, your empty stomach growling.<<endif>>
[[THERE'S NOTHING ON THE MENU BUT STALE BREAD AGAIN]]In the afternoon, all five of you report for pit duty.
[[ARMED WITH SHORT-HANDLED SPADES]]The Bogeyman resumes his position in the doorway while you help each other down into the pit. It's already about five feet deep, with enough room for three of you to dig, while the others wait at the top to collect the debris of grit and soil one bucket at a time.
[[TABITHA EXPLAINS]]"It's for the outhouse," she says. "When the pit underneath gets full, we cover it over and start a new one."
[[GROSS]]The dirt is dry and raises clouds of dust which make you cough. Almost every time you thrust your spade into the ground, it strikes a lump of rock which takes minutes to prise free and pass up to the surface.
[[YOUR FINGERNAILS ARE CLOTTED WITH GRIME]]After a few hours of digging, you start to unearth bugs. Dark red worms of six inches or more, they squirm from the newly broken earth over your feet and coil around your legs. Splitting them with your spades only does so much to slow them down.
[[YOU SPEND AS MUCH TIME KILLING WORMS AS YOU SPEND DIGGING]]Pit duty lasts into the evening, until you're digging in the dark, swinging your spade like a zombie, dead to the ache in your back and arms and legs.
<<if $nofood>>[[YOU'RE FAINT FROM HUNGER BY THE TIME THE BOGEYMAN SUMMONS YOU BACK INDOORS|dinner]]<<else>>[[YOU'RE FAINT FROM THIRST BY THE TIME THE BOGEYMAN SUMMONS YOU BACK INDOORS|dinner]]<<endif>>Everyone sits together for a simple dinner. <<if $nofood>>You envy the others their raw vegetables in vile-smelling sauce. Everybody acts like they don't hear your stomach growling.<<else>>This time, when you pronounce your gratitude, you really mean it. Raw vegetables in vile-smelling sauce are a blessing after the afternoon's work.<<endif>>
[[CHEWING ALL DAY HASN'T DENTED THE BOGEYMAN'S APPETITE|CHEWING ALL DAY HASN'T DENTED THE BOGEYMAN'S APPETITE1]]When the table is clean and the washing up done, he has you all gather around the table again.
[[HE UNCORKS A BOTTLE OF SOMETHING THAT'S NEARLY WHITE]]{{{Time for bed.}}}
[[HE POURS OUT FIVE GLASSES]]The stuff is thick and clinging, almost jelly. It's marbled with blue and green. Looking around the table, you see that your serving is the smallest.
[[TABITHA'S IS BY FAR THE LARGEST]]{{{Drink your milk, children,}}} the Bogeyman urges, and the others – with varying amounts of grimace – do as they're told.
Your glass, when you lift it, is cold to the touch.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[TAKE A SIP]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[KNOCK IT BACK]]</th>
</tr>
</table>The taste is not as bad as the feel of it inside your mouth. It sticks to your teeth and throat until you have to drink the rest just to get it down.
[[THE EMPTY GLASS SLIDES FROM YOUR FINGERS AND ROLLS ACROSS THE TABLE]]The taste is not as bad as the feel of it in your mouth. Try as you might to swallow it quickly, it insists on //oozing,// sticking to your teeth and throat until you manage to force the last of it down.
[[THE EMPTY GLASS SLIDES FROM YOUR FINGERS AND ROLLS ACROSS THE TABLE]]The kitchen starts swimming. You see the other children as blurred shapes making their way sluggishly up the stairs.
[[YOUR BODY IS LIMP IN ITS SEAT]]The Bogeyman says something to you, right in your ear. You close your eyes to stop the swimming.
[[YOU FEEL YOURSELF BEING LIFTED]]Arms as warm and soft as marble are carrying you to bed. All the pain <<if $nofood>>and hunger <<endif>> in your body is gone, everything dissolved in the dark.
[[THROUGH THE FOG YOU CAN HEAR SINGING]]<<timed 0.1s t8n>>{{{The fourth crow wasn't there at all,}}}<</timed>>
<<timed 1s t8n>>{{{Wasn't there at all...}}}<</timed>>
<<timed 4s t8n>><<click "SLEEP">><<goto "SLEEP">><</click>><</timed>>{{{I was let down today, by this one – }}}he stabs a finger at Grace, who winces{{{ – and this one, who tried to protect her by lying.}}}
<<if $takeblame>>[[HE GRIPS YOU BY THE CHIN|chin]]<<else>>[[HE GRIPS HUMPHREY BY THE CHIN|chin]]<<endif>>{{{Everyone take a moment to admire how far such behaviour will get you.}}}
<<if $takeblame>>[[HE TILTS YOUR BRUISED FACE AROUND FOR THE WHOLE TABLE TO SEE|bruise]]<<else>>[[HE TILTS HUMPHREY'S BRUISED FACE AROUND FOR THE WHOLE TABLE TO SEE|bruise]]<<endif>>When everyone has cleared their plates, he doesn't dismiss you straight away.
[[HE SITS BACK AND SIGHS]]{{{Alright, you're dismissed.}}}
[[THE FIVE OF YOU RISE]]<<audio "CreepyMusicBox" loop play>>\
<<timed 0.1s t8n>><img style="width:100%;" src="http://lizziesmyth.com/images/bgm/ch3.png" alt="bones"><</timed>>
<<timed 0.5s t8n>>CHAPTER THREE<</timed>>
<<timed 1s t8n>>[[BONES|ALL OF YESTERDAY'S ACHES ARE BACK AND TWICE AS BIG]]<</timed>>You rise with the other children and follow them through the steps of your new routine.<<if $nofood>> You have to stop yourself from gobbling your breakfast after a day of starvation.<<endif>>
[[THE BOGEYMAN HAS NO SHORTAGE OF WAYS TO KEEP YOU BUSY]]And when there's nothing that needs doing, he simply gives orders for things that don't need doing.
[[PETER NEARLY BREAKS HIS BACK CHECKING THE ROOF OF THE WOODSHED FOR NON-EXISTENT LEAKS]]<<if $nofood>>\
<<if $takeblame>>After your failure on the first night and your attempt to protect Grace, the Bogeyman has evidently decided that you need to be whipped into shape.
[[HE SAYS IT'S FOR YOUR OWN GOOD|creep]]\
\
<<else>>Despite your failure on the first night, the Bogeyman seems to have warmed to you a little. Especially since Humphrey became the new focus of his anger by trying to protect Grace.
[[HE SAYS YOU SHOW PROMISE|creep]]<<endif>>\
\
<<else>>\
<<if $takeblame>>Perhaps encouraged by your success on the first night, the Bogeyman seems to have forgiven you quickly for your attempt to protect Grace.
[[HE SAYS YOU SHOW PROMISE|creep]]\
\
<<else>>Ever since your success on the first night, the Bogeyman seems to be nursing a sort of fondness for you, in his own way.
[[HE SAYS YOU SHOW A LOT OF PROMISE|creep]]<<endif>>\
<<endif>>He expresses this by assigning you all the chores that keep you most closely under his watch: scrubbing his spit; trimming his nails; massaging his stomach when he eats too much.
[[HE REFUSES TO REMOVE HIS BOOTS WHILE YOU POLISH THEM]]So you kneel and shine the pothole-black leather, and endure his jokes about squashing your skull with one step because you know that he probably could if he wanted to.
[[THE DAYS PASS IN A BLUR OF WORK AND MILKY STUPOR AND PRAYERS OF GRATITUDE]]Until the afternoon of the seventh day.
[[A SPECIAL TREAT]]The sun is shining, but Tabitha has been given the key to the trapdoor in the ceiling, in order to hunt out some items in the loft, and you are to help her.
<<if $takeblame>>[[GRACE HOLDS A CHAIR STEADY FOR YOU TO CLIMB UP|chair]]<<else>>[[HUMPHREY HOLDS A CHAIR STEADY FOR YOU TO CLIMB UP|chair]]<<endif>><<if $takeblame>>"Don't get scared up there," she smiles up at you from the landing. "It's dark and spooky but it's not that bad!"<<else>>"Have fun," he calls up at you from the landing. "Remember, it's probably not as haunted as it seems."<<endif>>
[[TABITHA CLOSES THE TRAPDOOR, SHUTTING YOU BOTH IN THE DARK]]You hear her moving across from you. "Don't worry. Your eyes will adjust."
[[AND THEY DO, IN TIME]]The roof is barely high enough for you to crawl, never mind stand, and every inch of space is filled with junk. You understand why the Bogeyman doesn't come up here himself.
[[IT SMELLS LIKE DUST AND MILDEW]]"Remember," says Tabitha, "any cloth is something we can use. We need to patch our blankets and clothes as well as his robes, and shoes are always a plus, if you can find them."
[[YOU BOTH START SEARCHING THROUGH THE PILES AND BOXES]]The stuff you find falls into two main categories. There are things which must be useful around the hovel from time to time: a hammer and a few bundles of nails, a stash of candles, a vase, a hand-powered drill.
[[AND THEN THERE ARE CHILDREN'S THINGS]]Child-sized coats, dressing gowns, shoes and socks; ribbons, headbands, blankets and handkerchiefs with initials stitched into the corners. A few books. At least one recorder.
[[AND DOZENS OF TOYS]]Tabitha's head turns towards you in the dark. You can't make out her expression. "If there's anything you want to talk about," she says quietly, "now would be a good time."
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[STAY SILENT|silent]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[WELL...]]</th>
</tr>
</table>You get back to work in silence. On your side of the loft is a small cardboard box that has yet to be explored, as well as someone's forgotten school bag.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[LOOK IN THE BOX]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[LOOK IN THE BAG]]</th>
</tr>
</table>"Well?"
<<set $talkative = true>><table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;border-bottom:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[WHERE DOES ALL THIS STUFF COME FROM]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;border-bottom:3px solid lightgrey;">[[HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN HERE]]</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[I WANT TO GO HOME]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[NEVER MIND|silent]]</th>
</tr>
</table>"It's just whatever kids have with them when he puts them in the sack. I was like you – I didn't have anything, except the clothes I was wearing. But a lot of them do, and it builds up over time."
[[DO NEW KIDS REALLY SHOW UP THAT OFTEN]]"Honestly... I don't know. The seasons aren't much to go on here. But I've seen hundreds of others come and go."
[[AND HE STILL HASN'T LET YOU GO HOME]]"Don't worry. <<if $nofood and $takeblame>>You got off to a rocky start here but you'll be fine, as long as you're lucky.<<else>>I think he likes you. You'll be fine, as long as you stay lucky.<<endif>>"
[[WHAT IF I'M UNLUCKY]]"... Well. Either way, you won't be stuck here forever."
[[SHE QUICKLY TURNS BACK TO HER WORK|silent]]"Every week. One in, one out, so there's always five of us. ... They don't all get to go home, you know. In case you were wondering."
[[SHE QUICKLY TURNS BACK TO HER WORK|silent]]"... Most of the others didn't get to go home, either, you know. There's more than one way out of here. ... Sometimes I think I'm the lucky one."
[[SHE QUICKLY TURNS BACK TO HER WORK|silent]]You must have been hunting through the junk for at least another hour when you notice that Tabitha has stopped.
[[GLANCE OVER AND SEE HER STARING DOWN AT SOMETHING IN HER HANDS]]"Do you ever wonder why I haven't already tried to smash his head in with a shovel?"
[[OR POISON HIS FOOD|poison]]"I've stayed here so long. Staying any longer isn't an option. You'll understand more by the end of today. But staying isn't an option."
[[THEN SHE FORCES A SMILE]]"Sorry if I'm being off. It's not you – I like you. I just hate Sundays, that's all."
[[SHE TOSSES YOU A NEW PAIR OF SOCKS TO TRY WITH THE PUMPS]]You keep yourselves busy in the loft for the rest of the day, until a tap on the trapdoor brings you back to reality.
[[PETER IS STANDING ON THE LANDING WITH A BROOM, LOOKING GRIM]]Dinner's ready, he says. You drop your findings to him through the hatchway, before helping each other climb down onto the chair.
[[TABITHA SEEMS SOLEMN AS SHE LOCKS THE TRAPDOOR BEHIND HER]]You're at the top of the stairs, about to join the others in the kitchen, when Peter pulls you aside and into the bedroom. "Hey," he whispers.
[[HEY]]"Did Tabitha say anything weird while you were up there?"
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[YEAH, PRETTY WEIRD|weird]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[NOPE, NOTHING WEIRD|weird]]</th>
</tr>
</table>He frowns. "Okay," he says. "Okay. Let's go and have dinner. Just remember, if you – whatever happens. We're your friends. We know how you feel."
[[GO AND HAVE DINNER]]You descend to the kitchen, where <<if $takeblame>>Humphrey<<else>>Grace<<endif>> and Tabitha are already waiting at their chairs.
[[FOR THE FIRST TIME ALL WEEK, IT SMELLS DELICIOUS]]{{{There you are!}}} He greets you over his shoulder from where he's taking the meat out of the oven. <span style="font-family:monospace;">I didn't want you to be late for your first Sunday dinner with us. Are you hungry,<<if $nofood and $takeblame>> <<else>> my <<endif>>little fish?</span>
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[YES, SIR]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[NOT REALLY|no]]</th>
</tr>
</table>{{{That's the spirit,}}} he beams, bringing the roast over to the table and setting it down with an air of pride.
[[YOUR STOMACH LURCHES]]You can look at it any way you want, trying to convince yourself it's a bird, but you know what it is.
[[THE TABLE IS SET FOR FIVE]]The Bogeyman seems delighted with the dead silence in the room, and with the look on your face. {{{Let's take a moment to reflect,}}} he intones, <span style="font-family:monospace;">on the virtue of <<if $takeblame>>industry<<else>>honesty<<endif>>, and the consequences of <<if $takeblame>>failure<<else>>deceit<<endif>>.</span>
[[HE POURS HIMSELF A BLACK DRINK FROM A BLACK BOTTLE]]{{{And remember, when we think of 'taking sides' – }}}he raises the glass, looks straight at you{{{ – that there's only one winning side in this house. Cheers.}}}
[[SIT]]Peter and Tabitha both shoot you sympathetic glances as you take your seats. <<if $takeblame>>Humphrey is glaring down at the tablecloth.<<else>>Grace is looking down at the tablecloth, holding back tears.<<endif>>
[[THE BOGEYMAN CARVES A SLICE OFF THE ROAST AND PUTS IT ON YOUR PLATE]]{{{Be patient, now,}}} he grins, already serving the others. {{{Wait until everybody's got their helping.}}}
[[THE FLESH ON YOUR PLATE IS OOZING PINK]]<<if $takeblame>>He takes his time carving himself a decent slice. {{{God, they're so tender at this age. But she never had much meat on her bones to start with, hmm?}}}<<else>>He's saved himself the tongue. It sits coiled on his plate in a pool of its own juices. {{{I did warn him I'd have it, didn't I?}}}<<endif>>
[[HE NUDGES YOU LIKE IT'S YOUR OWN LITTLE JOKE|drool]]He licks his lips, lets a string of drool escape off his chin onto the table. <span style="font-family:monospace;">Well, dig in, children. Before <<if $takeblame>>she<<else>>he<<endif>> gets cold.</span>
[[EVERYONE STARTS EATING]]The other children pick silently at their meat. Tabitha is keeping her face carefully neutral, while <<if $takeblame>>Humphrey<<else>>Grace<<endif>> looks more queasy.
[[THE BOGEYMAN SHOVELS HIS SERVING DOWN IN THREE BITES]]Then sits back, enjoying your collective discomfort with equal relish. {{{Don't be squeamish, little fish,}}} he leers at you in particular. {{{This is the best meat you'll get. Until next week.}}}
[[THAT'S PROBABLY TRUE]]When everyone's plate is clear, he picks up the knife again. {{{Does anybody want seconds?}}}
[[NOBODY WANTS SECONDS]]{{{What a pity. More for me, I suppose.}}}
<<if $takeblame>>[[HE PUTS DOWN THE KNIFE AND PICKS UP THE REMAINS OF GRACE'S CARCASS IN BOTH HANDS|tear]]<<else>>[[HE PUTS DOWN THE KNIFE AND PICKS UP THE REMAINS OF HUMPHREY'S CARCASS IN BOTH HANDS|tear]]<<endif>>And tears into it with his teeth, spraying spit and meat juice as he chews. It's so loud in the silence – the only other sound to be heard is the grunt of pleasure he makes around every mouthful.
[[YOU'VE NEVER ENJOYED ANY MEAL AS MUCH AS THE BOGEYMAN IS ENJOYING THIS]]At last, he drops <<if $takeblame>>Grace's<<else>>Humphrey's<<endif>> bones on the table and slumps back in his chair, out of breath.
[[HE BECKONS YOU TO RUB HIS SWOLLEN STOMACH]]Tabitha, Peter and <<if $takeblame>>Humphrey<<else>>Grace<<endif>> start clearing the table while you take up position, kneeling beside his chair.
[[HE LETS OUT A BURP THAT SUGGESTS SEVERAL MORE TO COME]]{{{Oof... working with kids has its perks, you know?}}} He grins sleepily, meat-stained from ear to ear, as you work over his gut. <span style="font-family:monospace;">Can you feel <<if $takeblame>>her<<else>>him<<endif>> kicking?</span>
[[YOU ALMOST THINK YOU CAN]]<span style="font-family:monospace;">Don't worry. I'll go out tonight and fetch a new little friend for you, someone twice as <<if $takeblame>>pathetic as Grace<<else>>snotty as Humphrey<<endif>>. Who shall I snatch this time, fish? Any requests?</span>
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[A BOY]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[A GIRL]]</th>
</tr>
</table>It tastes good.
[[AND IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT]]<<set $boy = true>>\
\
<<if $takeblame>>{{{Fair enough. The girls have been causing more than their fair share of trouble lately, hmm? No promises, but I'll see what I can do.}}}<<else>>{{{Good idea. Restore the balance a bit, now that Humphrey is no longer with us. No promises, but I'll see what I can do.}}}<<endif>>
[[HE LOWERS HIS VOICE SO ONLY YOU CAN HEAR|kid]]<<if $takeblame>>{{{Good idea. Restore the balance a bit, now that Grace is no longer with us. No promises, but I'll see what I can do.}}}<<else>>{{{Fair enough. The boys have been causing more than their fair share of trouble lately, hmm? No promises, but I'll see what I can do.}}}<<endif>>
[[HE LOWERS HIS VOICE SO ONLY YOU CAN HEAR|kid]]<<if $takeblame or $nofood>>{{{I know you and I got off to a rocky start this week, fish. It's okay. I just want you to know that your time here could be painless, if you only learn to do as you're told. Understand?}}}<<else>>{{{You've been a good example to the others since you got here, fish. I want you to know that your time here could be painless, if you just keep it up.}}}<<endif>>
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[I WILL]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[...]]</th>
</tr>
</table><<set $iwill = true>>{{{I know you will.}}}
[[HE TOUSELS YOUR HAIR AND SMILES]]He sighs. {{{Alright. Anyway, I'm going to take a digestion nap before I go.}}}
[[TIME FOR YOUR MILK]]With the kitchen clean and tidy, you and the other children – the survivors – resume your places at the table and take your glasses in turn.
<img src="http://lizziesmyth.com/images/glass.png" alt="milk" style="width:100%;">
[[YOUR GLASS IS A LITTLE MORE FULL THAN IT WAS EARLIER IN THE WEEK]]{{{Alright. Anyway, I'm going to take a digestion nap before I go.}}}
[[TIME FOR YOUR MILK]]It makes sense; your body is already getting used to it. You still sleep like a log every night, but you haven't felt dizzy and limp since that first glass. The longer you stay here, the more you'll have to drink.
[[YOU WONDER WHERE HE GETS IT FROM]]Inside the box, under a nest of cobwebs and crumbling newspaper, you hit the jackpot: a pair of pumps with barely any holes in them.
[[THEY MAY SMELL QUESTIONABLE BUT THEY'RE ONLY ONE SIZE TOO BIG FOR YOU]]At the bottom of the bag, under a layer of cobwebbed gym shorts, you hit the jackpot: a pair of pumps with barely any holes in them.
[[THEY MAY SMELL QUESTIONABLE BUT THEY'RE ONLY ONE SIZE TOO BIG FOR YOU]]They should limit the number of cuts and calluses and splinters to your feet, if you can only find a pair of socks thick enough to make them wearable.
[[YOU WILL GROW INTO THEM IF YOU STAY HERE LONG ENOUGH|IT'S HARD TO KEEP TRACK OF TIME PASSING UP HERE]]{{{Well, just wait until you see what we've got for you!}}} He carries the roast over to the table and sets it down, beaming.
[[YOUR STOMACH LURCHES]]The table is set, the lamp turning everything a warm orange. There's a big dish of roasted vegetables which look like they might actually taste of something other than dirt. And another first:
[[THE BOGEYMAN IS DOING THE COOKING]]You curl up on the floor, clutching Claire's comb, the closest thing you have to a toy of your own. Across the room is the empty ragpile that used to be <<if $takeblame>>Grace<<else>>Humphrey<<endif>>'s.
<<if $takeblame>>[[YOU CAN HEAR HUMPHREY SNIFFLING EVEN AS HE SUCCUMBS TO SLEEP|awake]]<<else>>[[YOU CAN HEAR GRACE SNIFFLING EVEN AS SHE SUCCUMBS TO SLEEP|awake]]<<endif>>The last thing you're aware of is the faint outline of Tabitha, sitting up with her back to the wall,
[[MOONLIGHT POOLING IN HER WIDE-AWAKE EYES]]And how long it would take before it stopped affecting you altogether.
[[A YEAR OR MORE]]All wonderings soon leave your head for the night, submerged in merciful milk-sludge.
[[GO UP TO BED IN A DAZE]]<<goto "week2">><<audio "LonelyHouse" loop play>>\
<<timed 0.1s t8n>><img style="width:100%;" src="http://lizziesmyth.com/images/bgm/ch4b.png" alt="bread"><</timed>>
<<timed 0.5s t8n>>CHAPTER FOUR<</timed>>
<<timed 1s t8n>>[[BREAD|ch4]]<</timed>>The first rays of another desaturated dawn are spreading across the room. From downstairs, you feel more than hear the vibrations of the Bogeyman's boots.
[[A COLD DRAFT SWIRLS ABOUT YOU]]Shivering, you pull your rags closer and look around.
[[MIST IS SPILLING IN THROUGH THE OPEN WINDOW]]Peter is snoring softly, sprawled on his front. <<if $takeblame>>Humphrey<<else>>Grace<<endif>> is visible only as a lump beneath <<if $takeblame>>his<<else>>her<<endif>> rags, rising and falling with each breath.
[[TABITHA IS NOWHERE TO BE SEEN]]And Claire's comb is lying by the wall, all but one of its teeth snapped off. Now those boots are coming up the stairs.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[GO TO THE DOOR]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[GO TO THE WINDOW]]</th>
</tr>
</table>You tiptoe over to the door and open it quietly<<if $door>>, like Tabitha showed you on your first day<<endif>>.
[[YOU RUN STRAIGHT INTO A WALL OF BLACK CLOTH|YOU'RE STILL TRYING THE HANDLE WHEN YOU HEAR THE BOLT BEING SCRAPED BACK]]You tiptoe over to the window. The lock has been picked with something – when you bash it, a tiny spoke of pale plastic rattles to the floor.
[[A COMB TOOTH]]Peering out of the window, you can't see anything else out of place. No footprints, no rope of bedsheets, no sign of Tabitha.
[[BEHIND YOU, THE DOOR CREAKS]]You turn to see the Bogeyman standing in the open doorway, lumpy sack in one hand, half-eaten turnip in the other. He looks down at you in surprise, then from the open window to Tabitha's empty bed in a matter of seconds.
[[YOU SEE HIM RELAX|close window]]The Bogeyman stands in the doorway, lumpy sack in one hand, half-eaten turnip in the other. He looks down at you in surprise, then from the open window to Tabitha's empty bed in a matter of seconds.
[[YOU SEE HIM RELAX|close window]]{{{We'll talk about this later.}}}
[[THEN HE UPENDS THE SACK AND A BODY TUMBLES ONTO THE FLOOR]]\
\
<<if $boy>>\
<<set $newkid = "Christopher">><<set $he = "he">><<set $his = "his">><<set $him = "him">><<set $capitalHis = "His">><<set $capitalHe = "He">>\
<<else>>\
<<set $newkid = "Jennifer">><<set $he = "she">><<set $his = "her">><<set $him = "her">><<set $capitalHis = "Her">><<set $capitalHe = "She">>\
<<endif>><<if $newkid eq "Christopher">>It's a little boy who yelps and sits up, blinking away sleep and pushing curly hair out of his eyes.<<else>>It's a little girl who yelps and sits up, blinking away sleep and pushing curly hair out of her eyes.<<endif>>
<<if $newkid eq "Christopher">>[[HE LOOKS UP AT THE BOGEYMAN IN HORROR]]<<else>>[[SHE LOOKS UP AT THE BOGEYMAN IN HORROR|HE LOOKS UP AT THE BOGEYMAN IN HORROR]]<<endif>><<if $newkid eq "Christopher">>{{{Wake up, children. Your new friend is here. A boy, as requested.}}}<<else>>{{{Wake up, children. Your new friend is here. A girl, as requested.}}}<<endif>>
[[HE TAKES A BITE OUT OF THE TURNIP]]Peter and <<if $takeblame>>Humphrey<<else>>Grace<<endif>> are stirring now. They listlessly take in the new arrival before turning, bewildered, to Tabitha's empty bed.
[[THEY LOOK TO THE BOGEYMAN FOR AN EXPLANATION, BUT HE'S ALREADY LEAVING]]{{{It's just a Monday like any other, children. That means I'm going to bed, and I'd better not hear a peep out of any of you until dinner, or else.}}}
[[WITH THAT, THE FOUR OF YOU ARE LEFT ALONE]]<<if $newkid eq "Christopher">>The new boy looks at you, utterly lost. He seems like he has a hundred questions to ask but can't make his mouth work.<<else>>The new girl looks at you, utterly lost. She seems like she has a hundred questions to ask but can't make her mouth work.<<endif>>
<<if $newkid eq "Christopher">><table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[SMILE AT HIM|SMILE AT HER]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[LOOK AWAY]]</th>
</tr>
</table><<else>><table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[SMILE AT HER]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[LOOK AWAY]]</th>
</tr>
</table><<endif>><<print $capitalHe>> smiles back gratefully, pulled back from the brink of panic by the sight of a friendly face.
<<if $newkid eq "Christopher">>[[THOUGH HE'S STILL TREMBLING WHEN HE SPEAKS|trembling]]<<else>>[[THOUGH SHE'S STILL TREMBLING WHEN SHE SPEAKS|trembling]]<<endif>><<print $capitalHe>> starts trembling. Peter wraps an arm around <<print $his>> shoulder. "It's okay. Don't be scared. What's your name?"
<<if $newkid eq "Christopher">>[[HE ANSWERS IN A SMALL VOICE|trembling]]<<else>>[[SHE ANSWERS IN A SMALL VOICE|trembling]]<<endif>>"I'm <<print $newkid>>. I don't... what is this place? //Who was that man?"//
[[PETER DOES HIS NERVOUS LAUGH]]"Did your parents ever tell you what happens to naughty children, <<print $newkid>>?"
<<if $newkid eq "Christopher">>[[CHRISTOPHER GOES WIDE-EYED|eyed]]<<else>>[[JENNIFER GOES WIDE-EYED|eyed]]<<endif>><<print $capitalHe>> whispers, "Am I here because I didn't brush my teeth before bed?"
[[PETER SHRUGS]]"It could be that. It could be anything, really."
[[IRONICALLY WE DON'T GET TO BRUSH OUR TEETH HERE EVEN IF WE WANTED TO]]<<print $newkid>> turns to you. "Why are you here? Did you forget to brush your teeth, too?"
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[NO, NOTHING AS TERRIBLE AS THAT]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[NO, SOMETHING MUCH WORSE THAN THAT]]</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="width:100%;text-align:center;border-top:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[YES, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED]]</th>
</tr>
</table><<print $newkid>> looks ashamed. "I didn't – I – I wasn't //trying// to be bad. I just forgot."
<<if $newkid eq "Christopher">>[[FLUSTERED, HE TURNS THE SAME QUESTION TO PETER|piano]]<<else>>[[FLUSTERED, SHE TURNS THE SAME QUESTION TO PETER|piano]]<<endif>><<print $newkid>> gawks at you, half frightened, half impressed.
<<if $newkid eq "Christopher">>[[NERVOUS, HE TURNS THE SAME QUESTION TO PETER|piano]]<<else>>[[NERVOUS, SHE TURNS THE SAME QUESTION TO PETER|piano]]<<endif>><<print $newkid>> nods sagely. "It's hard to remember sometimes. Toothpaste tastes really bad."
<<if $newkid eq "Christopher">>[[HE TURNS THE SAME QUESTION TO PETER|piano]]<<else>>[[SHE TURNS THE SAME QUESTION TO PETER|piano]]<<endif>>Peter goes bashful. "It was dumb. I didn't want to do my piano recital. So I hid inside the piano."
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[THAT IS PRETTY DUMB|THAT IS DUMB]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[THAT'S REALLY SMART]]</th>
</tr>
</table>He shuffles his feet. "I know. I was in there for hours while they looked for me. By then I was too scared to come out. I guess I must have fallen asleep, because I woke up here."
<<if $takeblame>>[[ACROSS THE ROOM, HUMPHREY STANDS UP|stirs]]<<else>>[[ACROSS THE ROOM, GRACE STANDS UP|stirs]]<<endif>>"Thanks." He shuffles his feet. "I didn't feel smart at the time. I was in there for hours while they looked for me. By then I was too scared to come out. I guess I fell asleep, because I woke up here."
<<if $takeblame>>[[ACROSS THE ROOM, HUMPHREY STANDS UP|stirs]]<<else>>[[ACROSS THE ROOM, GRACE STANDS UP|stirs]]<<endif>><<if $takeblame>>He<<else>>She<<endif>> pads over to the door and onto the landing without even looking at any of you. Seconds later, you hear the faint creak of <<if $takeblame>>his<<else>>her<<endif>> footsteps on the stairs.
[[PETER SHOOTS YOU A GLANCE]]"Let's just get to work," he whispers. "One of us should show <<print $newkid>> the ropes, so maybe the other one can keep an eye on <<print $survivor>>? <<if $survivor eq "Grace">>She<<else>>He<<endif>> seems a bit... off."
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;"><<if $newkid eq "Christopher">>[[I'LL LOOK AFTER CHRISTOPHER|newkid]]<<else>>[[I'LL LOOK AFTER JENNIFER|newkid]]<<endif>></th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;"><<if $survivor eq "Grace">>[[I'LL LOOK AFTER GRACE|survivor]]<<else>>[[I'LL LOOK AFTER HUMPHREY|survivor]]<<endif>></th>
</tr>
</table>{{{Don't worry. I know it wasn't you.}}}
[[HE STOMPS OVER TO THE WINDOW AND SLAMS IT SHUT, CLICKING THE LOCK BACK INTO PLACE|YOU SEE HIM RELAX]]<<set $watchkid = true>>"Good idea. I think you know your way around well enough by now."
[[THE THREE OF YOU TIPTOE DOWN TO THE KITCHEN]]"Good idea. You've only been here a week, after all."
[[THE THREE OF YOU TIPTOE DOWN TO THE KITCHEN]]The day unfolds much like your first day here. You tidy the turnips, scrub the floor, scour the oven, build the fire.
[[AND KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR CHARGE]]<<if $watchkid>><<print $newkid>> seems to have decided to look up to you. <<print $capitalHe>> asks a lot of questions about you and the other children, and about the Bogeyman and life in the hovel. When it comes time to boil the bones, you pray <<print $he>> won't ask where they came from.\
<<else>>\
<<print $survivor>> silently resists all attempts to cheer <<if $survivor eq "Grace">>her<<else>>him<<endif>> up, staring off into space until you give <<if $survivor eq "Grace">>her<<else>>him<<endif>> something to do.<<endif>>
[[IT KEEPS YOU OCCUPIED]]<<if $watchkid>>Meanwhile, <<print $survivor>> silently resists all Peter's attempts to cheer <<if $survivor eq "Grace">>her<<else>>him<<endif>> up, staring into space until given something to do.\
<<else>>\
Meanwhile, <<print $newkid>> pesters Peter with questions about himself and the other children, and about the Bogeyman and life in the hovel. When it comes time to boil the bones, you pray <<print $he>> won't ask where they came from.<<endif>>
[[WHEN IT GETS TOO DARK TO SEE, YOU LIGHT THE LAMP]]Soon afterwards, the Bogeyman emerges from his room and takes his place at the head of the table. You take your usual place on his left. <<print $newkid>> takes the chair that used to <<if $survivor eq "Grace">>Humphrey's<<else>>Grace's<<endif>>.
[[NOBODY LOOKS AT TABITHA'S EMPTY CHAIR]]{{{We are truly grateful for what we have.}}}
[[WE ARE TRULY GRATEFUL FOR WHAT WE HAVE|grateful]]After draining his second bowl of soup, the Bogeyman lays his hands flat on the table and addresses you: {{{Children.}}}
[[EVERYBODY SITS UP A LITTLE STRAIGHTER]]{{{As you may have noticed, our friend Tabitha left us last night. She tried to follow me to my work, failed, and now she's trying to survive on the mountainside with the meagre provisions she was able to steal beforehand.}}}
[[GLANCE AT THE RAIN STREAMING DOWN THE WINDOWS]]{{{I absolutely cannot be bothered to rescue her. She can come back in her own time, or she can die of starvation and exposure. Needless to say, if she does come back, she will be punished.}}}
<<if $newkid eq "Christopher">>[[CHRISTOPHER PIPES UP|pipe]]<<else>>[[JENNIFER PIPES UP|pipe]]<<endif>><<print $survivor>> and Peter watch in horror as <<print $he>> raises <<print $his>> hand. "Sorry, sir, but I was just wondering, who's Tabitha?"
<<if $newkid eq "Christopher">>[[THE BOGEYMAN'S PALE EYES NARROW IN HIS DIRECTION|narrow]]<<else>>[[THE BOGEYMAN'S PALE EYES NARROW IN HER DIRECTION|narrow]]<<endif>>{{{Speak when you're spoken to, you ugly little wretch.}}}
<<if $newkid eq "Christopher">>[[HE CLIPS CHRISTOPHER ROUND THE EAR|clip]]<<else>>[[HE CLIPS JENNIFER ROUND THE EAR|clip]]<<endif>>{{{Anyway. I just wanted to make it clear that this is not an excuse for the rest of you to slack off, nor will we be forgoing the roast this week.}}}
<<if $newkid eq "Christopher">>[[CHRISTOPHER IS NO LONGER LISTENING, BLINKING AWAY SHOCKED TEARS|blink]]<<else>>[[JENNIFER IS NO LONGER LISTENING, BLINKING AWAY SHOCKED TEARS|blink]]<<endif>>{{{If she's not back by Sunday, I'll assume she's dead and bring back two new kids to make up the numbers. In the meantime, I expect to see you all working as hard as you can to compensate for her absence. Understood?}}}
[[YES, SIR|sir]]You rise, wash up, wipe down the table, and reconvene for bedtime milk. <<print $newkid>>'s disgust is obvious on <<print $his>> face. For a moment <<print $he>> looks like <<print $he>>'s going to say something.
[[THEN THINKS BETTER OF IT]]<<print $capitalHe>> goes limp in seconds, just like you did after your first glass.
<<if $newkid eq "Christopher">>[[YOU WRANGLE HIM UP THE STAIRS BEFORE YOUR OWN DOSE CAN KICK IN|wrangle]]<<else>>[[YOU WRANGLE HER UP THE STAIRS BEFORE YOUR OWN DOSE CAN KICK IN|wrangle]]<<endif>>Back in the bedroom at last, you deposit <<print $him>> on <<if $survivor eq "Grace">>Humphrey's<<else>>Grace's<<endif>> old bed. <<print $capitalHe>> whimpers. "'S cold. Can't. Don't."
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;"><<if $newkid eq "Christopher">>[[GIVE HIM TABITHA'S BLANKETS|give]]<<else>>[[GIVE HER TABITHA'S BLANKETS|give]]<<endif>></th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;"><<if $survivor eq "Grace">>[[GO TO BED|sleep]]<<else>>[[GO TO BED|sleep]]<<endif>></th>
</tr>
</table><<set $giveblankets = true>>With the last of your strength, you gather up the rags from Tabitha's empty bed and toss them on top of <<print $newkid>>, who rolls under the extra warmth and mumbles something grateful.
[[GO TO BED|bed2]]You leave <<print $newkid>> sinking into a fitful sleep and retreat to your own poor excuse for a bed.
[[UNCONSCIOUSNESS COMES EASILY NOW]]You leave <<print $newkid>> snoring and retreat to your own poor excuse for a bed.
[[UNCONSCIOUSNESS COMES EASILY NOW]]You dream the outline of Tabitha again, with her eyes shining in the dark.
[[AND WAKE UP]]Tuesday blurs into Wednesday. The fog wraps thicker about the hovel.
[[YOU DO YOUR CHORES]]<<if $survivor eq "Grace">>Grace keeps sulking – maybe she misses Tabitha, or Humphrey, or both of them<<else>>Humphrey keeps sulking – maybe he misses Tabitha, or Grace, or both of them<<endif>>.
[[NOBODY SAYS ANYTHING]]<<if $giveblankets>><<print $newkid>> starts to settle in better after that first night under the influence. Tabitha won't mind that you gave away her bed, you think, to somebody who needed it.<<else>><<print $newkid>> continues to sleep badly, waking up in the mornings almost too stiff to move.<<endif>>
[[THINGS AREN'T TOO HARD WITH ONLY FOUR OF YOU]]Many of the chores the Bogeyman dishes out are mere busywork anyway. He has you all polish your spades before and after pit duty, and rearrange the furniture in the kitchen only to put it back where it was.
[[AT LEAST IT'S QUIET]]Once again, you find yourself singled out from the others to wait on him hand and foot. Spending hours in close quarters with him while he chews makes your skin feel sticky and greasy.
[[YOU LEARN TO READ HIS WANTS FROM SUBTLE CHANGES IN THE WAY HE SNAPS HIS FINGERS AT YOU]]On Thursday morning, a huge bathtub of chipped ceramic appears in the kitchen.
<img src="http://lizziesmyth.com/images/bathtub.png" alt="bathtub" style="width:100%;">
[[YOUR HEART LEAPS AT THE PROSPECT OF A BATH]]No such luck. You get to fetch the water, and heat the water, and the Bogeyman gets to take the bath.
[[AT LEAST YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO BAREFOOT ANYMORE]]You're making your second trip back from the stream, loaded down with a bucket in each hand, when you spot movement behind the woodshed.
[[IT'S PETER, BENDING FURTIVELY OVER SOMETHING ON THE GROUND]]As you pass, he looks up guiltily and flattens himself against the wall.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[APPROACH HIM]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[LEAVE HIM TO IT]]</th>
</tr>
</table><<set $knowpeter = true>>You totter over, doing your best not to spill your buckets.
[[HE GLANCES AROUND NERVOUSLY]]You leave him to his secret errand and hurry back to the hovel. You've got a job to do, after all.
[[PETER'S EYES FOLLOW YOU ANXIOUSLY AS YOU PASS|YOU HURRY BACK TO THE HOVEL BEFORE THE BOGEYMAN STARTS WONDERING WHERE YOU'VE GOT TO]]Now you can see what he was doing: there's a small depression in the ground by the wall of the woodshed, normally sheltered by rocks. He's cleared a little space and packed it with a small parcel.
[[SOMETHING WRAPPED IN A SCRAP OF CLOTH]]"Bread," he admits, without meeting your eye. "Just a little. For Tabitha."
[[HE QUICKLY SHOVES THE ROCKS BACK INTO PLACE]]"You won't tell him, will you? Promise you won't."
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[I PROMISE]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[I CAN'T PROMISE THAT]]</th>
</tr>
</table>His shoulders slump in relief. "Thank you. Thank you. I knew I could trust you."
[[YOU HURRY BACK TO THE HOVEL BEFORE THE BOGEYMAN STARTS WONDERING WHERE YOU'VE GOT TO]]<<set $nopromise = true>>He goes pale, but he nods at you before sinking down against the wall of the woodshed, clutching his head in his hands.
[[YOU HURRY BACK TO THE HOVEL BEFORE THE BOGEYMAN STARTS WONDERING WHERE YOU'VE GOT TO]]Back in the kitchen, you set your buckets down on the table. More water is already warming on the hob while the bathtub stands, empty and waiting, on its clawed iron feet.
[[THE BOGEYMAN GLANCES OVER AT YOU FROM HIS CHAIR]]{{{Did you see Peter just now?}}} he asks, still chewing a lump of black stuff. {{{I sent him to get some more wood from the shed ten minutes ago, and I haven't seen a sign of the shiftless little good-for-nothing since.}}}
[[HE SOUNDS TOO CASUAL]]He raises an eyebrow at your silence. {{{Well?}}}
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[YES, I SAW HIM]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[NO, I DIDN'T SEE HIM]]</th>
</tr>
</table>{{{Yes? And what was he up to? Was he fetching wood?}}}
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[YES, HE WAS FETCHING WOOD|NO, I DIDN'T SEE HIM]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[NO, I DON'T THINK HE WAS]]</th>
</tr>
</table>{{{Really.}}} The eyebrow comes down again into a frown. {{{Alright then.}}}
[[HIS CHEWING FILLS THE KITCHEN AS YOU GET BACK TO WORK]]When the water on the stove starts to bubble, you pour it out into the tub. It makes a hollow noise as it slaps against the sides.
[[YOU REFILL THE POT AND PUT IT BACK ON THE HEAT|heat]]<<set $snitch = true>>The eyebrow comes down again into a frown. {{{I see.}}}
[[HE SPITS HIS LUMP OF BLACK STUFF OUT ONTO THE TABLE]]He stands, letting his chair scrape on the floor, and strides over to the door. {{{Wait here and keep getting my bath ready,}}} he orders, before disappearing outside.
[[YOU WAIT]]When the water on the stove starts to bubble, you pour it out into the tub. It makes a hollow noise as it slaps against the sides.
[[YOU REFILL THE POT AND PUT IT BACK ON THE HEAT]]After a few minutes, the Bogeyman returns.
[[HE HAS A LUMP OF BREAD IN ONE HAND AND PETER DANGLING LIKE A DOLL FROM THE OTHER]]{{{Leaving food out for the rats,}}} he spits. {{{For one particular rat.}}}
[[HE SWALLOWS THE BREAD IN TWO BITES]]<<if $nopromise>>Peter avoids your eyes<<else>>Peter stares at you with betrayal in his eyes<<endif>> as the Bogeyman drags him over to the kitchen cupboards.
[[HE DOESN'T STRUGGLE]]{{{Can't keep your greedy little hands out of my cupboards? Fine.}}} The Bogeyman opens one of the larger cupboards and sweeps everything out of it onto the floor.
[[HE SHOVES PETER INSIDE]]{{{You'd better pray for your precious Tabitha to come crawling back before Sunday. Because if it's not her in that oven, it's going to be you.}}}
[[HE BANGS THE CUPBOARD SHUT AND JAMS THE DOOR WITH PETER'S CHAIR]]The Bogeyman turns around to face you. He snaps his fingers for you to tidy up the kitchenware scattered about his feet.
[[YOU SCRAMBLE TO FIND NEW PLACES TO PUT IT ALL WHILE HE GOES BACK TO HIS CHAIR]]He picks up the black lump off the table, puts it back in his mouth, and starts chewing again.
[[YOU TURN BACK TO THE STOVE]]Eventually, you manage to fill the tub to a level and temperature he finds adequate. As far as you're concerned, the water is scalding, but you would almost risk it against your skin for a chance to feel clean.
[[HE DOESN'T EVEN FLINCH AT THE HEAT]]The water turns a cloudy white when it touches his skin. He shudders happily as steam rises around him.
[[FETCH A RAG FROM THE SINK]]After a few minutes, Peter struggles through the door with a double armful of firewood.
[[THE BOGEYMAN GROWLS]]{{{You took your time.}}}
[[PETER CRINGES]]"I just, you know. I wanted to make sure I got enough, sir."
[[YOU HELP HIM WITH STACKING THE WOOD BESIDE THE OVEN|THEN THE BOGEYMAN SPEAKS UP AGAIN]]{{{We seem to be running a bit low on bread.}}} That too-casual tone again. {{{Neither of you would happen to know anything about that, would you?}}}
[[PETER GLANCES FEARFULLY AT YOU]]"No," he says. "No, sir. No idea, sir."
[[THERE'S SILENCE FOR A MOMENT BEFORE THE BOGEYMAN STARTS CHEWING AGAIN]]{{{Must have been rats. Well, never mind. The fatter they are, the better eats they'll make when we catch them, hmm?}}}
[[A SHUDDER RUNS BETWEEN YOU]]When the firewood has been stacked, the Bogeyman dismisses Peter to another errand outside. Peter goes as fast as his legs will carry him.
[[LEAVING YOU ALONE WITH THE BATH AND THE BOGEYMAN|YOU TURN BACK TO THE STOVE]]Try as you might not to look at him while you scrub his back, you can't help noticing the scars covering his arms and neck. Some of them look fresh.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[ASK ABOUT THEM|ASK ABOUT THE SCARS]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[KEEP QUIET]]</th>
</tr>
</table>{{{Brats have been known to scratch. You have to admire them for trying. Stay focused, now.}}}
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[SCRUB HARDER]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[SCRUB SOFTER]]</th>
</tr>
</table>You stare at the rag in your hands as it strips the grime out of him, trying to stay focused.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[SCRUB HARDER]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[SCRUB SOFTER]]</th>
</tr>
</table>{{{Trying to flay me alive, fish? Ease up or I'll flay you.}}}
[[SCRUB SOFTER|scrub]]{{{Put your back into it, fish, for god's sake.}}}
[[SCRUB HARDER|scrub]]You can't see his face, but you hear his voice soften. <<if $snitch>>{{{Thank you for being honest with me about Peter. I know I'm not always the best at showing it, but I appreciate having someone around that I can rely on.}}}<<else>>{{{I'd like to think I could trust you, fish. Peter is one thing, but I've been hoping you'd turn out to be a good kid.}}}<<endif>>
[[YOU DON'T HEAR SO MUCH AS FEEL THE SIGH HE MAKES]]{{{Tabitha thought she was the reliable one, but she was a demon. She only got worse with time. Hoarding matches, staying up past bedtime. Harbouring dirty thoughts.}}}
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[WHY DIDN'T YOU EAT HER]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[WHY DIDN'T YOU LET HER GO HOME]]</th>
</tr>
</table>He snorts. {{{Force of habit, I suppose. She was here so long. It would have been like eating a family pet.}}}
[[HE STRETCHES AND LEANS BACK]]He snorts. {{{Force of habit, I suppose. She was here so long. It would have been like throwing out a piece of the furniture.}}}
[[HE STRETCHES AND LEANS BACK]]You move down to the other end of the tub to scrub his feet.
[[TRY NOT TO CUT YOURSELF ON HIS SLAB YELLOW TOENAILS]]{{{I wouldn't mind so much if she was just gone. It's the thought that she's still corrupting the rest of you with her stupidity. What really bothered me about her was how stupid she was.}}}
[[YOU CAN SEE HIS FACE NOW AND HE DOESN'T LOOK ANGRY]]{{{She wanted to get out so badly that she never even considered doing things the simple way. You know you can go home any time, right? It's easy.}}}
[[IS IT]]{{{Sure it is, fish. You've just got to be good, that's all. No tricks, no secrets. You can go home when you learn to be good.}}}
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[I'M ALREADY GOOD ENOUGH]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[I'LL TRY TO BE BETTER]]</th>
</tr>
</table><<if $snitch>>He grins and nudges you with a toe. {{{After today, I'd say you're certainly getting there.}}}<<else>>He looks at you, suddenly severe. {{{You're good enough when I say you're good enough, child. And I say you still have a ways to go. Good children don't keep secrets, you know.}}}<<endif>>
[[HE PULLS BACK HIS FEET AND SITS UP]]<<if $snitch>>He grins and nudges you with a toe. {{{After today, I'd say you're already doing pretty well.}}}<<else>>He looks at you, suddenly severe. {{{Yes, you will. You still have a long way to go, child. Good children don't keep secrets, you know.}}}<<endif>>
[[HE PULLS BACK HIS FEET AND SITS UP]]The water is opaque now, and crusted with foam.
[[AFTER DRAINING THE TUB, IT TAKES YOU THE REST OF THE MORNING TO SCRUB IT ANYWHERE NEAR CLEAN]]<<if $snitch>>You don't hear a sound from Peter's cupboard for the rest of the day, but you're sure he hears everything that passes in the kitchen.
[[THE BOGEYMAN LETS HIM OUT FOR DINNER|milk]]\
<<else>>\
You don't see Peter again until dinner.
[[EVEN THEN HE AVOIDS YOUR EYES|milk]]<<endif>><<print $survivor>> and <<print $newkid>> are equally subdued as they pick at their plates. <<print $newkid>> in particular looks nothing like the bubbly little <<if $boy>>boy<<else>>girl<<endif>> you met just a few days ago.
[[EVEN THE BOGEYMAN DOESN'T SEEM TO BE ENJOYING HIS FOOD MUCH]]Before pouring everyone's bedtime milk, he draws you all to attention for another little speech.
[[YOU RECOGNISE THE IRRITATION IN HIS VOICE]]{{{Just to remind you all – Tabitha ran away of her own accord. If she wants to be fed and sheltered like the rest of you, she's welcome to come back any time.}}}
[[HE GLARES AT PETER, WHO KEEPS HIS GAZE LOWERED]]{{{If she attempts to communicate with any of you, or if you think someone else might be in collusion with her, I expect you to come to me immediately.}}}
!<span style="font-family:monospace;">[[IMMEDIATELY|IMMEDIATELY]]</span>{{{Do I make myself clear?}}}
[[YES, SIR|yes]]This time, you barely notice the milk going down. You don't even feel it tugging at your brain until you're upstairs in the bedroom, and even then,
[[THE SLEEP THAT TAKES YOU IS NOT THE DEEP AND DREAMLESS ONE YOU'RE USED TO]]<<goto "chapter5">>You dream about lying in your room at home. Monsters in the closet, monsters under the bed.
[[AND WAKE WITH THE SMELL OF SOMETHING BURNING|ch5]]Too hot. You've //never// been hot in this room.
[[THROW THE BLANKETS OFF]]The bedroom looks more or less as it should, but something's wrong. Maybe it's the moonlight.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;border-bottom:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[THE DOOR|firedoor]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;border-bottom:3px solid lightgrey;">[[THE WINDOW|firewindow]]</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[THE BEDS|firebeds]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[THE CHILDREN|firechildren]]</th>
</tr>
</table><<timed 0.1s t8n>><img style="width:100%;" src="http://lizziesmyth.com/images/bgm/ch1b.png" alt="broth"><</timed>>
<<timed 0.5s t8n>>CHAPTER ONE<</timed>>
<<timed 1s t8n>>[[BROTH|THE DOOR SLAMS BEHIND HIM]]<</timed>>You're woken suddenly by a thump that shakes the floor.
[[THE FRONT DOOR SLAMMING]]<<audio "Loneliness" loop play>>\
<<timed 0.1s t8n>><img style="width:100%;" src="http://lizziesmyth.com/images/bgm/ch5b.png" alt="roast"><</timed>>
<<timed 0.5s t8n>>CHAPTER FIVE<</timed>>
<<timed 1s t8n>>[[ROAST|AND WAKE WITH THE SMELL OF SOMETHING BURNING]]<</timed>>Pressing your nose to the window, you can see orange light spilling up the mountainside and into the black ice sky.
<<if $windowunlocked>>[[WARPED BY THE THICK GLASS, IT LOOKS LIKE A RIVER OF GINGER HAIR|AND THERE'S THAT SMELL AGAIN]]<<else>><<if $firecomb>>[[WARPED BY THE THICK GLASS, IT LOOKS LIKE A RIVER OF GINGER HAIR]]<<else>>[[WARPED BY THE THICK GLASS, IT LOOKS LIKE A RIVER OF GINGER HAIR|THROW THE BLANKETS OFF]]<<endif>><<endif>>The door swings open and you step out onto the landing. It's cooler here.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[YOUR ROOM]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[HIS ROOM]]</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="width:100%;text-align:center;border-top:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[THE STAIRS]]</th>
</tr>
</table>You step back into the communal bedroom. It looks more or less as it should, but something's wrong. Maybe it's the moonlight.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;border-bottom:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[THE DOOR|firedoor]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;border-bottom:3px solid lightgrey;">[[THE WINDOW|firewindow]]</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[THE BEDS|firebeds]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[THE CHILDREN|firechildren]]</th>
</tr>
</table>You creep along the passage to the Bogeyman's bedroom and try the door. It's not locked.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[GO INSIDE]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[TURN BACK|landing]]</th>
</tr>
</table>Down the stairs and into the kitchen. Everything is in its place, except the pale shape of the bathtub still lurking in a corner.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[THE WINDOWS|fire kitchen windows]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[THE DOOR|fire kitchen door]]</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="width:100%;text-align:center;border-top:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[THE STAIRS|firestairs]]</th>
</tr>
</table><<if $firecomb>>Your rags lie in a heap where you left them.
[[THERE'S NOTHING UNDERNEATH BUT THE FLOORBOARDS|THROW THE BLANKETS OFF]]<<else>>Among your discarded rags, you find Claire's comb. It's now missing all but one of its teeth.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[TAKE IT]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[LEAVE IT|THROW THE BLANKETS OFF]]</th>
</tr>
</table><<endif>><<print $survivor>> and Peter are curled in opposite corners. <<if $giveblankets>><<print $newkid>>, round face shining with sweat, has pushed aside the extra blankets in <<print $his>> sleep.<<else>><<print $newkid>> usually shivers in <<print $his>> sleep all night, but now <<print $his>> round face is shining with sweat.<<endif>>
[[ALL OF THEM ARE DEEP UNDER THE INFLUENCE|THROW THE BLANKETS OFF]]<<set $breakout = false>>Your eyes are useless against the dark in here. You have nothing to go on but the floor against your feet (sticky), the air against your bare arms (cold), and of course the smell (unmentionable).
[[YOU FEEL YOUR WAY FORWARD]]You dither on the landing. It's cooler here.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[YOUR ROOM]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[HIS ROOM]]</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="width:100%;text-align:center;border-top:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[THE STAIRS]]</th>
</tr>
</table>Until you bump into something that might be a bed.
[[THAT'S WHEN YOU SEE TWO PALE SPOTS OF LIGHT GLEAMING AT YOU]]{{{Hello.}}}
[[THERE'S A SNAP AND A HISS]]A lamp flares, then settles into a steady glow. You see the Bogeyman sitting up in his bed – a proper bed, with sheets and pillows. You see the stacks of books against the walls, the biscuit jar and the tin of black chewing-stuff on the bedside table.
[[YOU TAKE A MOMENT TO PROCESS THE FACT THAT HE'S HAD SECRET BISCUITS THIS WHOLE TIME]]{{{What is it, fish? Is she back?}}}
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[I THINK SO|getup]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[NO, BUT SOMETHING'S WRONG|getup]]</th>
</tr>
</table>He swings his legs out of the bed and stands up. He's already wearing his boots. {{{Cloak,}}} he barks.
[[FETCH IT FROM A HOOK BEHIND THE DOOR]]He shrugs it on and becomes that familiar tower of folded darkness.
[[HE SWEEPS OUT OF THE ROOM WITH A GESTURE FOR YOU TO FOLLOW]]You hurry after him, down the stairs and into the kitchen, where orange light is pooling beneath the windows.
[[HE TAKES OUT HIS KEY AND OPENS THE FRONT DOOR]]<<set $firecomb = true>>It's warm to the touch.
[[SLIP IT IN YOUR POCKET|THROW THE BLANKETS OFF]]Claire's comb is back in your hand, catching the light in its faded flowers.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[USE IT]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[PUT IT AWAY|THROW THE BLANKETS OFF]]</th>
</tr>
</table>They're sealed shut. Outside, an orange glow tugs at the edges of the sky – warmer than moonlight, stranger than sunlight.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">THE WINDOWS</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[THE DOOR|fire kitchen door]]</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="width:100%;text-align:center;border-top:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[THE STAIRS|firestairs]]</th>
</tr>
</table>It's locked. Its fat iron hinges are warm under your fingers.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[THE WINDOWS|fire kitchen windows]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">THE DOOR</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="width:100%;text-align:center;border-top:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[THE STAIRS|firestairs]]</th>
</tr>
</table>You leave the kitchen and climb back up to the landing. It's cooler here.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[YOUR ROOM]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[HIS ROOM]]</th>
</tr>
<tr>
<th colspan="2" style="width:100%;text-align:center;border-top:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[THE STAIRS]]</th>
</tr>
</table><<set $breakout = true>>Its last tooth slots into the keyhole.
[[PUSH UNTIL YOU HEAR A CLICK]]The window swings open. The air that sweeps in is surprisingly warm.
[[AND THERE'S THAT SMELL AGAIN]]The only way you can get out is by climbing up on the frame and lowering yourself through, feet-first.
[[THE OUTER WALL OF THE HOVEL IS CRUMBLING AND TREACHEROUS]]There's no shortage of handholds, but you have to take care not to slip or splinter yourself too badly. It would be torture without the protection of your too-big shoes from the loft.
[[EVENTUALLY YOU FEEL DIRT BENEATH YOUR FEET]]Following the light, you round the side of the hovel. With every step, the smell and the warm wind press stronger on your senses.
[[AND THEN YOU SEE THE WOODSHED]]The tower of flames and smoke that used to be the woodshed. It looks strangely peaceful, somehow – so stark and brilliant against the night.
[[IT DRAWS YOU CLOSER]]The heat starts to prickle along your hairline as scraps of ash float down around you.
[[A SCRAWNY SILHOUETTE STANDS OUT AGAINST THE FLAMES]]The air outside is surprisingly warm.
[[AND THERE'S THAT SMELL AGAIN|smell]]The Bogeyman glances down to make sure you're still there. He nods approvingly, but his face is grim as he strides off around the side of the hovel.
[[SCURRY AFTER HIM]]You round the corner too fast and bump into the back of his legs. He doesn't react. Peering around from behind his robes, you see it:
[[THE WOODSHED]]The tower of flames and smoke that used to be the woodshed. It looks strangely peaceful, somehow – so stark and brilliant against the night.
[[THE TWO OF YOU PRESS CLOSER TO THE BLAZE]]The heat starts to prickle along your hairline as scraps of ash float down around you.
[[A SCRAWNY SILHOUETTE STANDS OUT AGAINST THE FLAMES|silhouette]]She has her back to you, gazing up at the fire. You draw closer until she turns.
[[HER HAIR STREAMS AROUND HER]]She has her back to you, gazing up at the fire. You draw closer until she turns.
[[HER HAIR STREAMS AROUND HER|hair]]You look up. The Bogeyman frowns back down at you. {{{I'm very disappointed in you, fish. You're lucky I have bigger issues to deal with right now.}}}
[[HE PUSHES PAST YOU TOWARDS THE BLAZE]]You follow in his wake until the heat pressing against your face and lungs becomes unbearable. You stagger to a halt, shielding your eyes from the glare.
[[HE STRIDES AHEAD, UNBOTHERED IN HIS HEAVY ROBES]]Her eyes go round. She's looking past you, not at you.
[[A COLD HAND APPEARS ON YOUR SHOULDER]]Tabitha screams something at him as he approaches. Her face is shining with tears or sweat.
[[HE GRABS HER BEFORE SHE HAS A CHANCE TO FLEE INTO THE NIGHT OR INTO THE FIRE]]{{{Stop this attention-seeking nonsense and come home, Tabitha. You're only embarrassing yourself.}}}
[[SHE SWIPES AT HIS FACE WITH HER LITTLE FISTS]]{{{What are you trying to prove, girl? I know it suits you to blame me for everything, but it's not my fault you're cold. Come home and let us take care of you.}}}
[[HER HOWL RINGS CLEAR ABOVE THE NOISE OF THE WOODSHED COLLAPSING]]"Take care of me! You never did anything for me! I took care of //you// for years, you pig! I wish I'd killed you when I had the chance!"
[[HE LIFTS HER CLEAR OFF THE GROUND UNTIL THEY'RE NOSE TO NOSE]]{{{I'm offering you a second chance,}}} he snarls, ignoring her flailing feet and fists. {{{Of all the selfish, entitled, ungrateful little –}}}
[[HE FINISHES IN A YELP]]Tabitha pulls her teeth out of his wrist, trailing – is it blood?
[[WHATEVER IT IS, IT GLITTERS IN THE FLICKERING LIGHT]]She runs blind out of the light of the fire, into the darkness – straight into your arms.
[[YOU FALL TOGETHER IN A TANGLE OF LIMBS AND HAIR]]On your back, you see another fountain of sparks erupt into the sky as the woodshed sags further in on itself.
<img src="http://lizziesmyth.com/images/embers.png" alt="embers" style="width:100%;">
[[YOU HEAR THE COMMAND AS IF HE WERE RIGHT BESIDE YOU:]]She thrashes as your arms close around her middle. Her furious eyes are red and streaming, her hair singed.
[[WHITISH FLUID, MARBLED WITH BLUE AND GREEN, DRIPS OFF HER CHIN]]You get one last look at Tabitha as she scrambles to her feet. Her furious eyes are red and streaming, her hair singed.
[[WHITISH FLUID, MARBLED WITH BLUE AND GREEN, DRIPS OFF HER CHIN|blood]]<<audio "PrettyDungeon" fadeoverto 2 0>><<timed 2.5s>><<goto "DAY 2a">><</timed>><<audio "MusicBox" fadeoverto 2 0>><<timed 2.5s>><<goto "SLEEP1">><</timed>><<audio "CreepyMusicBox" fadeoverto 2 0>><<timed 2.5s>><<goto "week2title">><</timed>><<audio "LonelyHouse" fadeoverto 2 0>><<timed 2.5s>><<goto "ch5title">><</timed>>Her eyes go round and she backs away, further into the fire. The heat presses unbearably against your face and lungs, forcing you back.
[[THE BOGEYMAN STALKS AHEAD, UNBOTHERED IN HIS HEAVY ROBES|HE STRIDES AHEAD, UNBOTHERED IN HIS HEAVY ROBES]]{{{You're going to pay for that.}}}
[[HE THRUSTS HER TOWARDS THE FIRE –]]She reaches back, wrenches a smouldering branch from the wreckage.
[[SMASHES IT INTO HIS FACE]]It's not a human scream. More like the screech of a bird. Tabitha drops to the ground.
[[THIS TIME SHE'S TOO QUICK FOR HIM]]The same instant, she's gone into the night.
[[SECONDS LATER, A SHADOW FALLS BETWEEN YOU AND THE FIRELIGHT]]You only have to hold her for a few seconds before a shadow falls over you both, blotting out the firelight.
[[HE LIFTS HER OFF YOU BY THE SCRUFF OF HER NECK]]{{{Hold her.}}}
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[HOLD HER]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[LET HER GO]]</th>
</tr>
</table>He nods down at you.<<if $breakout eq false and $snitch eq true>>{{{ Good kid. I knew I could count on you.}}}<<else>>{{{ Good kid. I knew you'd prove me right in the end.}}}<<endif>>
[[BETWEEN THE SHADOWS AND ASH, IT'S HARD TO TELL WHETHER HIS FACE IS BADLY BURNED]]Tabitha is writhing and cursing. There's nothing here for her to grab or bite.
[[THE BOGEYMAN SHAKES HER LIKE A CAT WITH A BIRD IN ITS JAWS]]{{{You,}}} he hisses, like it's the filthiest insult he knows.
[[HE HAULS YOU OFF THE GROUND BY THE SCRUFF OF YOUR NECK]]{{{Well, you can have it your way. Tabitha can freeze to death out here, and you can burn in her place. I hope that finally makes you happy.}}}
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[I'M SORRY, SIR]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[GO TO HELL]]</th>
</tr>
</table><<if $snitch eq true or $breakout eq false>>{{{I thought you were better, but you're all the same, aren't you? Horrible, ungrateful little monsters.}}}<<else>>{{{You're all the same, aren't you? Horrible, ungrateful little monsters.}}}<<endif>>
[[BETWEEN THE SHADOWS AND ASH, IT'S HARD TO TELL WHETHER HIS FACE IS BADLY BURNED|burn]]{{{Stop fussing, girl. We're going home.}}}
[[HE STARTS TOWARDS THE HOVEL, THEN GLANCES BACK AT YOU]]{{{Come along, fish. Are you hungry? I'm so hungry.}}}
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[YES, I'M HUNGRY]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[NO, I'M NOT HUNGRY]]</th>
</tr>
</table>He grins.{{{ Let's eat, then.}}}
[[AND HE SWEEPS ONWARDS WITH TABITHA UNDER ONE ARM|next2]]{{{Fair enough. }}}He grins.{{{ More for me.}}}
[[AND HE SWEEPS ONWARDS WITH TABITHA UNDER ONE ARM|next2]]<<timed 0.1s t8n>>If you follow his footsteps for a minute,<</timed>>
<<timed 2.1s t8n>>then pause and look back at the woodshed,<</timed>>
<<timed 4.1s t8n>>you'll see the last of its structure give way and subside,<</timed>>
<<timed 6.1s t8n>>[[RELEASING STREAMS OF EMBERS INTO THE BLACK AIR.|end]]<</timed>><<timed 1s t8n>><span style="font-family:monospace;font-size:200%;">B O G E Y M A N</span><</timed>>
<<timed 3s t8n>>written and produced by <a href="http://lizziesmyth.com/twine" target="_blank">elizabeth smyth</a><</timed>>
<<timed 5s t8n>>for ifcomp 2018<</timed>>
<<timed 7s t8n>>with thanks to maxamillian john<</timed>>
<<timed 9s t8n>>all music licenced by john leonard french<</timed>>
<<timed 11s t8n>>❤ thank you for playing ❤<</timed>>{{{Sorry won't cut it this time, dear. }}}He sneers, letting you see every one of the teeth between you and the hole of his throat.
[[HE SHAKES YOU LIKE A CAT WITH A BIRD IN ITS JAWS]]{{{If you like. It's getting cold out here anyway.}}} He sneers, letting you see every one of the teeth between you and the hole of his throat.
[[HE SHAKES YOU LIKE A CAT WITH A BIRD IN ITS JAWS]]Then he slings you under one arm and sweeps towards the hovel.
[[IT YAWNS AT YOU LIKE A BECKONING HOLE IN THE HILLSIDE, GROWING WIDER AND DARKER WITH EVERY STEP|hole]]<<timed 0.1s t8n>>The waiting mouth of the kitchen door,<</timed>>
<<timed 2.1s t8n>>of the oven,<</timed>>
<<timed 4.1s t8n>>of the end,<</timed>>
<<timed 6.1s t8n>>[[AND SOMEWHERE IN THE DISTANCE, A TINY DOLL-FIGURE RUNNING FOR ITS LIFE]]<</timed>><<timed 0.1s t8n>>If you twist around in his grasp,<</timed>>
<<timed 2.1s t8n>>and crane your neck to look back at the woodshed,<</timed>>
<<timed 4.1s t8n>>you'll see the last of its structure give way and subside,<</timed>>
<<timed 6.1s t8n>>[[RELEASING STREAMS OF EMBERS INTO THE BLACK AIR.|end]]<</timed>>{{{Absolutely pathetic. Making me come out to rescue you on a night like this. I bet you didn't even bring me anything tasty, did you?}}}
<<if $gotrat or $gotbird>>[[SHOW HIM|givefood]]<<else>>[[SHOW HIM|nofood]]<<endif>>You trudge until you find yourself once more at the edge of the copse, woody fingers tangling in your hair.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[GO ON]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[TURN BACK|down from copse]]</th>
</tr>
</table>The wind makes icicles of your ears, your nose, your fingers. The darkness is perfect, pressed around your face like a mask.
[[STUMBLE|stumble down]]Your foot snags on a crack between the rocks. You're too numb to feel anything, but you hear something in your toes go //crack.//<<if $gotrat or $gotbird>>
As you throw your hands out to save yourself, the <<if $gotrat>>rat-thing jumps free and scurries away into the night.<<set $gotrat = false>><<else>>chick flutters out of your hands and disappears. Whether it flew back to its nest, or was snatched away by the wind, it's hard to say.<<set $gotbird = false>><<endif>><<endif>>
[[GET UP]]You take a moment to get your bearings before struggling to your feet.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[GO UP|THE COPSE]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[GO DOWN|go down 6]]</th>
</tr>
</table>You limp onwards, half expecting at every step to bump into more trees, but nothing comes except the rain and the dark.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[GO UP|THE COPSE]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[GO DOWN|GO UP 4]]</th>
</tr>
</table>Tabitha leaves you to tend to it while she skins and prepares the animal from the trap. At the other end of the table, Peter starts taking blue things out of their jar and doing... //something// to them. Maybe peeling them?
[[YOU'VE NEVER SMELLED SO MANY FLAVOURS OF BAD AT ONCE]]It's hard to tell how old he is, but it's always hard to tell with grown-ups. When you first glimpsed him this morning, you thought his teeth were rusty needles. On closer inspection, it turns out they're just stained and a little crooked.
[[REMEMBER TO DRINK YOUR OWN BROTH]]It's dim in here, midwinter morning dim. There are figures moving around in the shadows, but that's all you can discern as you struggle to blink the sleep from your eyes.
[[A MAN'S VOICE RASPS FROM BEHIND AND ABOVE|welcome 1]]It's dim in here, midwinter morning dim. There are figures moving around in the shadows, but that's all you can discern as you struggle to blink the sleep from your eyes.
[[A MAN'S VOICE RASPS FROM BEHIND AND ABOVE|welcome]]<span style="font-family:monospace">Don't be shy, little fish. This is your family now.</span>
[[ONE OF THE CHILDREN TAKES YOUR HAND|tabby]]It's a knitted jumper for a very small child, smaller even than Grace. It looks handmade. Tabitha starts to say something.
[[SHE CUTS HERSELF OFF, PAUSES]]"You name it, I've thought about it. I daydream about it all the time –" she looks so calm "– all the ways he could suffer, if I were brave enough to try."
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[YOU SHOULD DO IT]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[YOU SHOULDN'T RISK IT]]</th>
</tr>
</table>"But I'd be trapping us all here forever. Only he knows how to get out of here, to, you know, the real world. He leaves every Sunday night to steal more children, but nobody knows how he gets there."
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[WHATEVER IT TAKES TO GET HOME|OR POISON HIS FOOD]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[STAYING HERE ISN'T ALL THAT BAD|OR POISON HIS FOOD]]</th>
</tr>
</table>"Don't worry, I won't. I'd be trapping us all here forever. Only he knows how to get out of here, to, you know, the real world. He leaves every Sunday night to steal more children, but nobody knows how he gets there."
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[WHATEVER IT TAKES TO GET HOME|OR POISON HIS FOOD]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[STAYING HERE ISN'T ALL THAT BAD|OR POISON HIS FOOD]]</th>
</tr>
</table><<set $windowunlocked = true>>It looks too small to climb through, but if Tabitha did it, so can you.
<table style="width:100%;margin:0;">
<tr>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:right;border-right:3px solid lightgrey;padding:10px;">[[CLIMB OUT]]</th>
<th style="width:50%;text-align:left;padding:10px;">[[STAY PUT|THROW THE BLANKETS OFF]]</th>
</tr>
</table>You scramble to your feet and follow close on his heels. Whereas pushing towards the fire was painful, walking away from it is like basking with the sun on your back.
[[HE GREETS YOU CHEERFULLY WHEN YOU DRAW LEVEL, IGNORING TABITHA'S STRUGGLES|HE CALLS BACK TO YOU, IGNORING TABITHA'S STRUGGLES]]{{{You really proved yourself tonight, fish! I don't think I can rightly keep you here much longer, though I'll be sorry to see you go. Children who learn to be good get to go home, that's the rule.}}}
[[AND YOU HAVE LEARNED TO BE GOOD|going home]]<<timed 0.1s t8n>>Ash is settling on the hovel like snow, like icing sugar,<</timed>>
<<timed 2.1s t8n>>like something out of a fairy tale.<</timed>>
<<timed 4.1s t8n>>It looks so soft, now that it has nothing more to teach you.<</timed>>
<<timed 6.1s t8n>>[[YOU EARNED YOUR HAPPY ENDING|AND HE SWEEPS ONWARDS WITH TABITHA UNDER ONE ARM]]<</timed>>{{{Was it so hard to just do as you're told? I don't think that was asking a lot. I would have taken you home, you know. It could have been so easy. But why am I bothering to lecture you? You're not listening to me. You're just another stupid brat.}}}
[[HIS FINGERNAILS ARE ALREADY PUSHING HUNGRILY INTO YOUR FLESH|fingernails]]{{{You or Tabitha – it makes no difference to me once you're inside that oven. And you can go to the roast knowing full well that it didn't have to be this way.}}}
[[YOU CAN HEAR HIS STOMACH GURGLING AS YOU APPROACH THE HOVEL|IT YAWNS AT YOU LIKE A BECKONING HOLE IN THE HILLSIDE, GROWING WIDER AND DARKER WITH EVERY STEP]]{{{Won't it be nice to be home again in your own bed?}}}
[[IT WILL, IT WILL, IT WILL|AND YOU HAVE LEARNED TO BE GOOD]]