(if: $endreached is true or $demo is true)[(align: "=><=")[$t[[[(Click here to skip the intro)->First Decision]]
]]]$t[The basement door looms, its plain white surface deceptively unassuming. It is adorned with only an ordinary round doorknob and a separate brass latch mounted on a circular plaque a few inches from the top.][$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>
The door glows softly in the afternoon light cast down the hallway, but it can't fool me. I know the darkened threshold that lurks behind, sealed off from the surface world. A space where reason erodes and paranoia sets in, where anything real or imagined could lurk in shadowy corners or among boxes and debris. All that maintains the boundary is an inch and a quarter of wood and that fragile latch that could only possibly offer protection as a formality. I'm pretty sure almost anyone or anything could break through it from the other side if they put their mind to it.]](door|[$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>
It's telling that my earliest memory of the basement was my dad's frustration, concern, and hurt when he realized that his presence wasn't enough to shield me from my fear of whatever I thought lurked down there.]](memory|[$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>
We were playing ping-pong, and in growing distress I kept getting distracted by what my mind saw on the other side of the stairwell dividing the room. The recollection of that night's entity is hazy but it was mostly humanoid and impossibly dark, with ghastly teeth and features ready to emerge at a moment's notice. It might have been spawned by a story I'd read, but it didn't matter. Try as he might, my father fared no better than I did at convincing myself that whatever lurked just out of sight could not and did not exist.]](lurk|[$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>
I didn't have a good response, or even any at all. What could I say? What could he ever hope to do against the threats of my imagination? I just did my best to push through it, drowning out the lurking fear in our game.]](response|[$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>
And now, years later, here I am. The only one home for the day, shaking off the tail end of a cold, daring to face that space alone.]](present|[$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>
All this to replace a single box of tissues.
I don't even know why my family bothers keeping them down there.
Do I really need it that badly?
- [[*C'mon, you're a legal adult. Just grow up and unlatch it already.*->Unlatch]]
- [[*Actually, I don't. I'm a legal adult and I reserve the right to inconvenience myself in the name of self care.*->Chicken Out]]
]](choice|
{(set: $leave to false, $tissues to false, $clearcount to 0, $moverclear to false, $moverorder to 0, $lurkerclear to false, $lurkerorder to 0, $audioclear to false, $audioorder to 0)
(click: "brass latch")[(show: ?door)]
(click: "anyone or anything")[(show: ?memory)]
(click: "lurked down there.")[(show: ?lurk)]
(click: "could not and did not exist.")[(show: ?response)]
(click: "push through")[(show: ?present)]
(click: "alone.")[(show: ?choice)(set: $introdone to true)]
(if: $introdone)[(show: ?door, ?memory, ?lurk, ?response, ?present, ?choice)]}$t[*Ok, let's do this.*
The latch...](click-replace: "latch...")[latch slides open with little reluctance. It's as useless as it looks, unfortunately.
$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>The door...](click-replace: "door...")[door creaks slightly, and the subsequent silence is deafening.
$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>The smell...](click-replace: "smell...")[smell, a trademark subtly musty aroma, is actually almost pleasant. Then again, it might be from the millions of microscopic insulation fragments snowing from the skeletal ceiling.
$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>The stairs...](click-replace: "stairs...")[stairs look as unfinished as ever, like they were thrown together as a temporary measure and somehow grandfathered into the final house.
$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>I dodge the stray nails worming their way back out from the wood and make it [[down...->Landing]]]]]]]$t[(if: $leave is true)[I hurry back up the stairs and out the door.
]*It's not really cowardly if it just minorly inconveniences me, right?*
<script>game.stopAmbience()</script>
Then again, those tissues won't replace themselves.
Am I really [[giving up->Lame Ending]] now, or do I turn back to face the [[door->Entrance]]?]$t[*Congrats, me. You're still scared of your own basement.*
I press on with my day, doing my best to ignore the lurking thoughts murmering over what this says about my future prospects as an adult.]
(align: "=><=")[|end)[$t[T H E ~ E N D.
(if: $leave is true)[(set: $endreached to true)]
*If you would like to start again from the beginning, click [[here.->Title]]*]]]
(live: 3s)[(show: ?end)(stop:)]$t[Space seems to blur around me as I hurtle towards the exit. I can almost swear I glimpse *things* dart out of sight on the way, but before I can even process anything I find myself up the stairs and outside the door, tissues in hand. I'm not sure I've ever moved faster in my life.
No matter though. I got what I came for, right?
So what if the peanut gallery in my head won't shut up about how I shouldn't be scared of my own basement anymore?]
(align: "=><=")[|end)[$t[T H E ~ E N D.
(set: $endreached to true)
*If you would like to start again from the beginning, click [[here.->Title]]*]]]
(live: 6s)[(show: ?end)(stop:)]$t[... to the landing.
With the sight of the cold cement floor, paranoia oozes out of hiding in every corner of my mind and survival instincts freeze me in my tracks. I remember exactly why I hate this place - it's like whoever had the bright idea to build it engineered the design with the sole intent of tormenting me.](click: "tormenting me.")[$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>
Sure, from the staircase landing it seems like a fairly straight shot. The stairs lead into an open space with the usual basement clutter (innumerable boxes, a punching bag, a treadmill, and a TV that I swear must be as old as me), and directly beyond that is a cubic alcove occupied by some shelves and a wine rack used for anything but its namesake. The basement seems so harmless from this angle. Nothing to be worried about, right?](click: "right?")[$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>
*Wrong.*
The problem is, the staircase isn't against a wall. It's enclosed in its own cement block, smack in the middle of the basement's main chamber. Beyond having its own hidden space underneath, unlit and crammed with who-even-knows-what, the block *conveniently* obscures the view across the room from every angle. No matter where I stand, there's always a space I cannot see.](click: "cannot see.")[$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>
So naturally, this means that from the moment I step onto that floor I'll perpetually have spaces looming behind me for my brain to fill with horrors on top of whatever might actually be lurking down there. And that's not even mentioning the makeshift cardboard room to the right of the alcove or the ping-pong table adjacent to that, breaking up line of sight even further with an impenetrable mass of boxes jammed underneath it.
Yeah, [[I hate this place.->First Decision]]]]]]$t[I strain my eyes against the dim scene before me, just as a precaution.]
(set: _lookbox to false, _looktread to false, _looktv to false)
$t[The biggest stack of boxes...](click-replace: "boxes..." )[boxes seems deserted.(set: _lookbox to true)]
$t[The treadmill...](click-replace: "treadmill..." )[treadmill hides no secrets.(set: _looktread to true)]
$t[The dusty old TV...](click-replace: "TV..." )[TV shows no signs of activity.(set: _looktv to true)](event: when _lookbox is true and _looktread is true and _looktv is true)[$t[
[[But then...->Compose myself]]]]$t[I'm not sure what I'm listening for, but some nagging feeling in the back of my mind makes me want to check anyways, just to be sure nothing is amiss.][$t[
So far, it seems to be nothing but normal basement ambience.]](ambience|[$t[
But then, I swear I catch a faint disturbance.
[[I listen harder.->Audio Encounter]]]](noise|{
(live: 8s)[(show: ?ambience)(stop:)]
(live: 16s)[(show: ?noise)(stop:)]
<script>game.playAmbience()</script>}$t[Am I really sure I want to keep moving?
- Yes
- No]{
(click: "Yes")[(set: $fromstair to true)(goto: "On The Floor")]
(click: "No")[(set: $descend to false)(goto: "First Decision")]}$t[Beneath the stairs lies a peculiar space of uncertain dimensions. Scarcely any light penetrates from the gaps in the staircase above, leaving its contents a shadow-soaked enigma.
In other words, it's the perfect lair.
I can't see anything of note from here, but that does nothing to assuage the mounting sense that something could be lurking there.
Do I dare explore it?
- [[Yes->Lurker Encounter]]
- No]
(click: "No")[(if: $fromstair is true)[(goto: "First Decision")](else:)[(goto: "On The Floor")]]$t[(if: $look is true)[A movement catches my eye. It's just a glimpse, but](else:)[*Come on, you know there's nothing down here.*
And yet,] poking around the left edge of the stairwell exit, I swear I see something
(mouseover: ?slip)[(enchant: ?slip, (align: "==>"))][[[slip out of sight.->Mover Encounter]]]<slip|]$t[(if: $fromstair)[Time feels like it slows down the moment my foot connects with the cement. This doesn't seem right.](else:)[I should feel safer now, but something still doesn't seem right.]
(if: $moverclear is false)[
Something could be hiding around the corner (link: "to my left.")[(set: $look to true)(goto: "Compose myself")]](if: $lurkerclear is false)[
Something could be lurking behind me (link: "under the stairs.")[(set: $fromstair to false)(goto: "Glance under the stairs")]](if: $audioclear is false)[
Something could be waiting, hidden, nearly [[silent.->Listen]]]
And I wouldn't know it at all.
My nose is decidedly stuffy though...
Do I risk going for the tissues yet?
- (link: "Yes, continue to the alcove")[(set: $run to false)(goto: "Alcove")]
- (link: "No, screw this place.")[(set: $last to "On The Floor")(goto: "Confirm Leave")]]$t[*What did I just see?*
- (link: "A glistening tentacle")[(set: $moverlimb to "tentacle", $moverlimbadj to "glistening")(goto: "Mover Encounter 2")]
- (link: "A cruel claw")[(set: $moverlimb to "claw", $moverlimbadj to "cruel")(goto: "Mover Encounter 2")]
- (link: "A withered finger")[(set: $moverlimb to "finger", $moverlimbadj to "withered")(goto: "Mover Encounter 2")]]$t[I can see a few boxes and nicknacks and a portion of our emergency food supplies marching out of the darkness.
Behind them, it (text-color: (rgb: 190,190,210))[all] (text-color: (rgb: 140,140,160))[fades] (text-color: (rgb: 100,100,120))[to] (text-color: (rgb: 60,60,80))[black.]
But I can still [[feel my way forwards.->Lurker Encounter 2]]
(text-color: (rgb: 100,100,120))[(To feel around in the darkness, try selecting text even where it's not visible.)]
(text-color: (rgb: 0,0,0))[Good luck.]]$t[I strain my ears, trying to catch that elusive sound again.][$t[
And then, I hear it.
- (link: "A subtle scraping")[(set: $audiosound to "scraping")(goto: "Audio Encounter 2")]
- (link: "A sticky squelching")[(set: $audiosound to "squelching")(goto: "Audio Encounter 2")]
- (link: "An insidious whisper")[(set: $audiosound to "whisper")(goto: "Audio Encounter 2")]
- (link: "A hollow moan")[(set: $audiosound to "moan")(goto: "Audio Encounter 2")]]](sound|{
(live: 8s)[(show: ?sound)(stop:)]}$t[*A $moverlimb, just great.*
I know it's not real. Shouldn't be. Can't be.
It's just a trick of the light, or a figment of my imagination.][$t[
So why is my pulse pounding?]](why|[$t[
And more importantly, what am I going to do?
[Bail]<run| [Bail]<run2| [Bail]<run| [Bail]<run2| [Bail]<run| [Bail]<run2|
(text-style: "rumble")[[[Make a break for the tissues->Hasty Grab]]]
[Bail]<run| [Bail]<run2| [Bail]<run| [Bail]<run| [Bail]<run2| [Bail]<run|
[Bail]<run2| [Bail]<run| (text-style: "rumble")[[[Follow->Mover Encounter 3]]] [Bail]<run| [Bail]<run|
[Bail]<run| [Bail]<run2| [Bail]<run2| [Bail]<run| [Bail]<run2| [Bail]<run2|{
(click: ?run)[(set: $last to "Mover Encounter 2")(goto: "Confirm Leave")]
(click: ?run2)[(set: $last to "Mover Encounter 2")(goto: "Confirm Leave")]
(enchant: ?run, (text-style: "shudder"))
(enchant: ?run2, (text-style: "rumble"))}]](react|{
(live: 2s)[(show: ?why)(stop:)]
(live: 4s)[(show: ?react)(stop:)]}$t[I sprint over to the place where we keep the tissues. Through tunnel vision I spy the box, decorated with some sort of splotchy abstract pattern.
I can't hear anything over the pounding in my head or the screams of my subconscious.
[[*Just grab the damn thing and get the hell out of there.*->Neutral Ending]]]$t[Every fiber of my being revolts at the concept, but somehow I muster up the strength...]
(click-replace: "strength...")[strength to...]
(click-replace: "to...")[to take...]
(click-replace: "take...")[take a...]
(click-replace: "a...")[a step.]
(click-replace: "step.")[step.
$t[And then [another.]<step1|]]
(click-replace: ?step1)[another.
$t[And [another.]<step2|]]
(click-replace: ?step2)[another.
<script>game.scrollDown()</script>
$t[And again.
And now I'm on the floor, just inches from where I saw it.
- (link: "*On second thought, screw this.*")[(set: $last to "Mover Encounter 3")(goto: "Confirm Leave")]
- [[Follow the $moverlimb around the corner to the left.->Mover Encounter 4]]]](set: $t to (t8n: "dissolve"))$t[I realize I'm still just standing here on the landing, procrastinating. I could have been over with this by now.
But still, making it down here is progress, right? I can already see the shelf in the alcove where my family keeps the tissues. Getting them should be a piece of cake!
At least, that's what I try to tell myself. And for my congestion's sake, I hope it's true.
What should I do next?
- (link: "*Screw the tissues, I'm not dealing with this.*")[(set: $leave to true)(goto: "Chicken Out")]
- (link: "Compose myself")[(set: $look to false)(goto: "Compose myself")]
- (link: "Watch for movement")[(set: $look to true)(goto: "Watch for movement")]
- [[Listen]]
- [[Keep moving->Move Confirm 1]]
- (link: "Glance under the stairs")[(set: $fromstair to true)(goto: "Glance under the stairs")]]$t[Ahead of me lies only an empty hallway, with my family's jade-green canoe lying along the right edge. At the end of the hall stands the water heater and a large black metal tank I've never learned the contents of.
There's no sign of the $moverlimb, but I swear I can sense I'm not alone. If there's something down here, it must have gone further ahead, to the left.
... unless it circled back behind me.
What kind of creature would be down here, anyways?
- (link: "A hulking, humanoid beast")[(set: $moverbody to "hulking, humanoid beast")(goto: "Mover Encounter 5")]
- (link: "A writhing, unknowable mass")[(set: $moverbody to "writhing, unknowable mass")(goto: "Mover Encounter 5")]
- (link: "A slinking, insectile monster")[(set: $moverbody to "slinking, insectile monster")(goto: "Mover Encounter 5")]
- (link: "A vile, porcine aberration")[(set: $moverbody to "vile, porcine aberration")(goto: "Mover Encounter 5")]]$t[I'm in the alcove, just a sitting duck with a single exit route staring at canned goods and commodities. The less time I linger here, the better.
(if: $tissues is false)[- [[Grab the tissues]]
- (link: "Sprint for the exit")[(set: $leave to true)(goto: "Chicken Out")]
- [[Go back to the open area->On The Floor]]](else:)[- [[Sprint out->Neutral Ending]]
- [[Go back to the open area->On The Floor (With Tissues)]]]]$t[My pulse is pounding. I feel like I just grabbed a forbidden idol and I'm waiting for the trap to spring. If I was ever going to get jumped by *something* down here, now would be the time.
[[*I need to get out of here.*->Neutral Ending]]]$t[Just below eye level, I spot them. The hallowed box of pulverized trees, patterned with abstract splotches.
[[I snatch them from their resting place.->Alcove]]]{
(set: $tissues to true, $run to false)}$t[A $moverbody with (print: $moverlimbadj + " " + $moverlimb + "s").
*Perfect. Just what I always wanted.*
As the image crystalizes in my mind, I become increasingly aware that there are two directions it could come at me from: behind me by the staircase, or ahead and to my left around the bend.
What should I do?
- [[Move into the corner to get better visibility.->Into Corner]]
- (link: "Sprint around the bend, trying to catch it in motion.")[(set: $sprint to true)(goto: "Around Corner")]
- (link: "Sneak around the bend, for safety.")[(set: $sprint to false)(goto: "Around Corner")]
- (link: "*Get the hell out of there.*")[(set: $last to "Mover Encounter 5")(goto: "Confirm Leave")]]$t[Well, I'm successfully in the corner. I can see down the hallway I just came from and around the inner cement wall to the opposite side of the room. My dad's workbench is in the next corner, buried under a mountain of miscellaneous scrap, tools, and other doodads. Not far from it I can make out the corner of the ping pong table. There's no sign of the creature, though.
Nothing much to do but [[wait and see what happens.->Wait]]]$t[I (if: $sprint is true)[whip](else:)[creep] around the corner, past my dad's cluttered workbench and come face-to-face with...]
(click-replace: "with...")[with nothing.
$t[Nothing besides a clear view to the alcove, the ping-pong table to the right, and the cardboard room further behind it.
I can feel the thing in my mind, but it's nowhere to be seen.
What now?
- (link: "Run for the tissues")[(set: $run to true)(goto: "Alcove")]
- [[Wait]]
- (link: "Run for the exit")[(set: $last to "Around Corner")(goto: "Confirm Leave")]]][$t[I hold my breath.]]<w1|[$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>
1...]](w2|[$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>
2...]](w3|[$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>
3...]](w4|[$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>
30...]](w5|[$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>
60...]](w6|[$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>
...]](w7|[$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>
[[This is stupid.]]]](w8|{
(click: ?w1)[(show: ?w2)]
(click: ?w2)[(show: ?w3)]
(click: ?w3)[(show: ?w4)]
(click: ?w4)[(show: ?w5)]
(click: ?w5)[(show: ?w6)]
(click: ?w6)[(show: ?w7)]
(click: ?w7)[(show: ?w8)]}$t[Nothing is happening.
I'm standing alone, in my family basement, waiting for something I imagined to appear and kill me.](click: "kill me.")[$t[
There's no precedent. There's no reason I should expect a threat.](click: "threat.")[$t[
If something really is down here, I'm going down fighting.
[["Come and get it!"]]]]]$t[My words ring out, jarring amidst the quiet.
In the real world, nothing moves.
In my mind's eye, I see the $moverbody charge.
[It's coming.]<come|](click: ?come)[$t[
From around the corner it pounces, (print: $moverlimb + "s") [[outstretched.->Mover Encounter 6]]]]$t[One quiet thought holds me back from sprinting to the exit.
*If I leave now, I'm just going to have to deal with all of this again the next time.*
Am I sure I want to leave?
- [Yes, get back to safety.]<leave|
- [No, I can tough this out.]<stay|]{
(click: ?leave)[(set: $leave to true)(goto: "Chicken Out")]
(click: ?stay)[(goto: $last)]}(set: $t to (t8n: "dissolve"))$t[Mercifully, I sense that was the last of them.
The three entities my mind has conjured on this visit to the basement are held at bay.
For the moment, anyways.][$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>
But deep down, I know this isn't the solution.
They will break free. They will come again. It will all repeat anew every single time I come back to this place.]](repeat|[$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>
Try as I might, I can't truly fight them off.]](fight|[$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>
Try as I might, I can't truly seal them away.]](seal|[$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>
So what can I do?]](what|[$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>
And that's when the idea hits me.]](idea|[$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>
A risky, vulnerable plan, only half formed.]](plan|[$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>
[[But it's my best shot.->End Stretch 2]]]](shot|{
(click: "For the moment, anyways.")[(show: ?repeat)]
(click: "repeat anew")[(show: ?fight)]
(click: "fight them off.")[(show: ?seal)]
(click: "seal them away.")[(show: ?what)]
(click: ?what)[(show: ?idea)]
(click: "the idea")[(show: ?plan)]
(click: "plan")[(show: ?shot)]}$t[Before I can second-guess myself, I sit down in the middle of the floor.][$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>
I close my eyes.]](close|[$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>
[[And in my mind, I shatter their crystal prisons.->End Stretch 3]]]](shatter|{
(click: "sit down")[(show: ?close)]
(click: ?close)[(show: ?shatter)]}$t[The entities are free once again. My instincts tell me to open my eyes, that I'm in danger.
But I keep them pressed closed.][$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>
A suffocating miasma of uncertainty and dread fills the space around me.]](miasma|[$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>
But through my mind, I reach out.]](reach|[$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>
And I find them.]](find|{
(click: "pressed closed.")[(show: ?miasma)]
(click: ?miasma)[(show: ?reach)]
(click: "I reach out.")[(show: ?find)]
(click: "them.")[
(set: $helpcount to 1)
(if: $moverorder is 1)[(goto: "Help Mover")](else-if: $lurkerorder is 1)[(goto: "Help Lurker")](else:)[(goto: "Help Audio")]]}$t[I envision an enchanted, unbreakable crystal forming around my foe. I refuse to acknowledge the lingering thoughts insisting it can just shatter it. The prison holds.
[I've trapped it, for now.]<trapped|]{
(set: $moverclear to true, $clearcount to $clearcount + 1)
(set: $moverorder to $clearcount)
(click: ?trapped)[
(if: $clearcount >= 3)[(goto: "End Stretch 1")](else:)[(set: $fromstair to false)(goto: "On The Floor")]]}$t[In my mind's eye, I see the $moverbody stalking forth from the darkness.
- [Greet them]<help|
- [Hug them]<help|
- [Let them approach]<help|]
(click: ?help)[(goto: "Help Mover 2")]$t[I catch a mental glimpse of the thing that lurks under the stairs darting past.
- [Wave to them]<help|
- [Respect their space]<help|
- [Compliment their abode]<help|]
(click: ?help)[(goto: "Help Lurker 2")]$t[Amidst the chaos of almost-heard sounds, I hear the familiar $audiosound.
- [Listen closely to them]<help|
- [Acknowledge their presence]<help|
- [Hum back to them]<help|]
(click: ?help)[(goto: "Help Audio 2")]$t[The miasma has dispersed.
There is nothing more to fear.
[[It's time to get what I came for.->Good Ending]]]$t[I calmly walk into the alcove.][$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>
I find the tissues just below eye level, in a box patterned with abstract splotches. I take them with me.]](alcove|[$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>
And for perhaps the first time in my life, I calmly walk all the way to the basement stairs.]](exit|[$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>
On the landing, I pause for a moment and glance back. But this time, it's not out of fear.]](pause|[$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>
It's to say farewell to my friends that lurk downstairs.]](farewell|
(align: "=><=")[|end)[$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>
T H E ~ E N D.
*Thank you for playing!
(set: $endreached to true)
If you would like to start again from the beginning, click [[here.->Title]]*]
(css: "font-size:18px")[(text-color: (rgb: 100,100,120))[This game uses the font PT Sans.
All writing and audio files used are my own work.]]]]{
(click: "alcove.")[(show: ?alcove)]
(click: "I take them with me.")[(show: ?exit)]
(click: "stairs.")[(show: ?pause)]
(click: "it's not out of fear.")[(show: ?farewell)]
(click: ?farewell)[(show: ?end)]}$t[In response they settle down before me, regarding me with an almost puppy-like air.
[(if: $helpcount is 1)[*It's working.*](else-if: $helpcount is 2)[*Just one more...*](else:)[*A sudden sense of calm floods through me.*]]<next|]{
(click: ?next)[
(set: $helpcount to $helpcount + 1)
(if: $helpcount >= 4)[(goto: "All Helped")](else-if: $lurkerorder is $helpcount)[(goto: "Help Lurker")](else:)[(goto: "Help Audio")]]}$t[They understand my message, and watch contentedly from afar.
[(if: $helpcount is 1)[*It's working.*](else-if: $helpcount is 2)[*Just one more...*](else:)[*A sudden sense of calm floods through me.*]]<next|]{
(click: ?next)[
(set: $helpcount to $helpcount + 1)
(if: $helpcount >= 4)[(goto: "All Helped")](else-if: $moverorder is $helpcount)[(goto: "Help Mover")](else:)[(goto: "Help Audio")]]}$t[Their sound seems to take on a gentler tone, as any sense of malice lurking within it fades away.
[(if: $helpcount is 1)[*It's working.*](else-if: $helpcount is 2)[*Just one more...*](else:)[*A sudden sense of calm floods through me.*]]<next|]{
(click: ?next)[
(set: $helpcount to $helpcount + 1)
(if: $helpcount >= 4)[(goto: "All Helped")](else-if: $moverorder is $helpcount)[(goto: "Help Mover")](else:)[(goto: "Help Lurker")]]}(align: "=><=")[|title)[$t[(css: "font-size:48px")[[[What Lurks Downstairs->Entrance]]]]]
|author)[$t[A Twine Game by Henry Stadolnik]]]
(set: $introdone to false, $t to (t8n: "dissolve"), $demo to false)(live: 1s)[(show: ?title)(stop:)](live: 1.5s)[(show: ?author)(stop:)]$t[My eyes close instinctively, bracing for impact.][$t[
And yet, I feel nothing.]](nothing|[$t[
Was it a glancing blow? Did I just imagine it? Am I even alive?]](react|[$t[
I open my eyes.]](open|[$t[
It's the same basement. My real eyes tell me there's nothing here, yet my mind's eye begs to differ.]](eyes|[$t[
But if the creature just in my imagination, maybe I should try [[fighting fire with fire.->Mover Fight]]]](fight|{
(click: "impact.")[(show: ?nothing)]
(click: "nothing.")[(show: ?react)]
(click: "alive?")[(show: ?open)]
(click: "eyes.")[(show: ?eyes)]
(click: "begs to differ.")[(show: ?fight)]}$t[I visualize the $moverbody. I can see it coming for me again.
(if: $clearcount > 1)[
[[I know exactly what to do.->Mover Clear]]](else-if: $clearcount > 0)[[[And I've got a hunch for what to do.->Mover Clear]]]
(else:)[What do I do?
- [[Trap it in a cage]]
- [[Freeze it in ice]]
- [[Snare it in a net]]]]$t[I imagine a sturdy metal cage wrapping around the entity.
It seems to hold it in place...](click-replace: "place...")[place, but then it bends the bars wide with two (print: $moverlimb + "s") and tears the cage aside.][$t[
*Now my own mind is fighting against me. Great.*]](fight|[$t[
[[But what if I try something more permanent?->Mover Clear]]]](solution|{
(click: "tears the cage aside.")[(show: ?fight)]
(click: "Great.")[(show: ?solution)]}$t[I catch something in my mind's eye just as it creeps up behind me. I can almost hear the muted clicks of its footfalls. I know immediately that I'm intruding on its territory.
It seems to notice my awareness and darts away, dissolving into shadow.
But I know it's still there. Lurking. [[Inexorably approaching on its own twisted path.->Lurker Fight]]
(text-color: (rgb: 0,0,0))[It's coming for me.]]$t[My eyes lose focus under the flood of adrenaline.
(if: $audiosound is "scraping")[<script>game.playSound("http://www.jusiv.me/games/downstairs/sfx_scrape01.wav")</script>](else-if: $audiosound is "squelching")[<script>game.playSound("http://www.jusiv.me/games/downstairs/sfx_squelch01.wav")</script>](else-if: $audiosound is "whisper")[<script>game.playSound("http://www.jusiv.me/games/downstairs/sfx_whisper01.wav")</script>](else:)[<script>game.playSound("http://www.jusiv.me/games/downstairs/sfx_moan01.wav")</script>]
*Where the hell did that come from?*
- (link: "*Let's not stay to find out.*")[(set: $last to "Audio Encounter 2")(goto: "Confirm Leave")]
- [[Listen again for the $audiosound->Audio Encounter 3]]]$t[I listen not with my ears, but with my mind.
<script>game.stopAmbience()</script>
The $audiosound rings out, and I pinpoint a direction.
It calls again, and I find its psychic location.
I wrench it out of hiding into my mind's eye, its form writhing and flailing and entirely indescribable but without a doubt, the source of the noise.
(if: $clearcount > 1)[
[[I know exactly what to do.->Audio Clear]]](else-if: $clearcount > 0)[
[[And I've got a hunch for what to do.->Audio Clear]]]
(else:)[What do I do?
- [[Hurl it as far away as possible]]
- [[Bury it in pillows]]
- [[Drown it out in music]]]]$t[I envision a silencing crystal forming around my foe. No matter how intense I imagine its cries, I refuse to let it shatter. The prison holds.
[I've silenced it, for the time being.]<trapped|]{
(set: $audioclear to true, $clearcount to $clearcount + 1)
(set: $audioorder to $clearcount)
(click: ?trapped)[
(if: $clearcount >= 3)[(goto: "End Stretch 1")](else:)[(set: $fromstair to false)(goto: "On The Floor")]]}$t[Part of me is reasonably sure that I've only imagined the creature, but my mind refuses to accept that as a reason to feel safe. It's still here, in some form.
I instinctively know there's no use turning to try and face it. The creature will never approach in view, that is contrary to its nature. I must remain here, facing away, vulnerable. In other words, bait.
And it's working. I can sense its presence looming ever closer in my mind's eye.
It could strike any moment now.
(if: $clearcount > 1)[
[[And I know exactly what to do.->Lurker Clear]]](else-if: $clearcount > 0)[[[And I've got a hunch for what to do.->Lurker Clear]]]
(else:)[How do I react?
- [[Feign obliviousness]]
- [[Mentally blast it with light]]
- [[Imagine a forcefield around myself]]]]$t[I envision a reflecting crystal forming around my foe, imprisoning it within an unbounded space with nowhere to hide. It seeks out a crack, a flaw, anywhere to escape, and finds none. The prison holds.
[I've sealed it away, temporarily.]<trapped|]{
(set: $lurkerclear to true, $clearcount to $clearcount + 1)
(set: $lurkerorder to $clearcount)
(click: ?trapped)[
(if: $clearcount >= 3)[(goto: "End Stretch 1")](else:)[(set: $fromstair to false)(goto: "On The Floor")]]}$t[I concentrate on everything cold I can think of - the Arctic, an ice cube dropped down my back, memories of waiting for the bus on what should have been a snow day, popsicles - and envision a solid block of ice freezing around the entity.
It seems to have worked...](click-replace: "worked...")[worked, but then with a tremendous crash the block shatters into infinitesimal shards and the creature continues.][$t[
*Now my own mind is fighting against me. Great.*]](fight|[$t[
[[But what if I try something more permanent?->Mover Clear]]]](solution|{
(click: "continues.")[(show: ?fight)]
(click: "Great.")[(show: ?solution)]}$t[I picture ropes growing from the walls like vines and coiling and knotting themselves into a net that wraps around the entity.
It stops moving...](click-replace: "moving...")[moving, but only for a moment before tearing through the net as if it was paper.][$t[
*Now my own mind is fighting against me. Great.*]](fight|[$t[
[[But what if I try something more permanent?->Mover Clear]]]](solution|{
(click: "as if it was paper.")[(show: ?fight)]
(click: "Great.")[(show: ?solution)]}$t[I catapult the creature as far as I can imagine, watching it disappear over an envisioned horizon.
It seems to do the trick...](click-replace: "trick...")[trick, but not a moment later I sense the $audiosound again. Somehow the wretched thing scrabbled all the way back, just as quickly as I had flung it away.][$t[
*Now my own mind is fighting against me. Great.*]](fight|[$t[
[[But perhaps I can try a different tactic?->Audio Clear]]]](solution|{
(click: "away.")[(show: ?fight)]
(click: "Great.")[(show: ?solution)]}$t[I picture an avalanche of pillows burying the wretched thing, muting all sound it could possibly make.
Silence follows...](click-replace: "Silence follows...")[Silence follows, but then, ever so faintly, the $audiosound rings out again. The pillow mountain's material changes in some way I can't describe and suddenly the noise is deafening, reverberating, and the pillows dissolve before me. Apparently my brain has decided this thing can just do that, whatever it was.][$t[
*Now my own mind is fighting against me. Great.*]](fight|[$t[
[[But perhaps I can try a different tactic?->Audio Clear]]]](solution|{
(click: "whatever it was.")[(show: ?fight)]
(click: "Great.")[(show: ?solution)]}$t[I mentally blast the thing with the first song that comes to mind. It's a fragment of a pop song I detest and never actually learned the name of, but it'll have to do.
The thing squirms in discomfort but falls silent amid the din...]
[$t[Or at least appears to, before somehow retorting with a $audiosound so deafening that I hear it over everything I try.]](react|[$t[
*Now my own mind is fighting against me. Great.*]](fight|[$t[
[[But perhaps I can try a different tactic?->Audio Clear]]]](solution|{
(click: "din...")[(show: ?react)]
(click: "hear it over everything")[(show: ?fight)]
(click: "Great.")[(show: ?solution)]}$t[There seems to be only silence...][$t[
(if: $audiosound is "scraping")[<script>game.playSound("http://www.jusiv.me/games/downstairs/sfx_scrape02.wav")</script>](else-if: $audiosound is "squelching")[<script>game.playSound("http://www.jusiv.me/games/downstairs/sfx_squelch02.wav")</script>](else-if: $audiosound is "whisper")[<script>game.playSound("http://www.jusiv.me/games/downstairs/sfx_whisper02.wav")</script>](else:)[<script>game.playSound("http://www.jusiv.me/games/downstairs/sfx_moan02.wav")</script>]
But then, I swear I hear it again.
I still can't track the source, it could be anywhere in this blasted place.
- (css: "font-size:36px")[(link: "*Get out while I still can.*")[(set: $last to "Audio Encounter 3")(goto: "Confirm Leave")]]
- [[Listen again for the $audiosound->Audio Encounter 4]]]](sound|{
(live: 8s)[(show: ?sound)(stop:)]}$t[I await the sound...][$t[
...]](trick|[$t[
(if: $audiosound is "scraping")[<script>game.playSound("http://www.jusiv.me/games/downstairs/sfx_scrape03.wav")</script>](else-if: $audiosound is "squelching")[<script>game.playSound("http://www.jusiv.me/games/downstairs/sfx_squelch03.wav")</script>](else-if: $audiosound is "whisper")[<script>game.playSound("http://www.jusiv.me/games/downstairs/sfx_whisper03.wav")</script>](else:)[<script>game.playSound("http://www.jusiv.me/games/downstairs/sfx_moan03.wav")</script>]
There it is. I think.
It came from the makeshift cardboard room.
- (css: "font-size:64px")[(link: "*RUN.*")[(set: $last to "Audio Encounter 4")(goto: "Confirm Leave")]]
- [[Investigate->Audio Encounter 5]]]](sound|{
(live: 6s)[(show: ?trick)(stop:)]
(live: 16s)[(show: ?sound)(stop:)]}$t[This thing could be anywhere.
I could spend an eternity looking for it.
I don't even have proof I'm not hearing things.
In fact, I'm pretty sure it is just in my head.
[[Maybe I should treat it that way.->Audio Fight]]]$t[Moving as silently as possible, I creep over to the edge of the opening.
I peek cautiously around the edge, and find myself facing...](click-replace: "facing...")[facing a chaotic tangle of game boxes, school supplies, and memories.](click: "memories.")[$t[<script>game.scrollDown()</script>
We first assembled this slapdash space as a living area when my uncle had to stay with us for a month a few years ago, but it had long since become a permanent feature as storage. It's not like our collection of just-in-case cardboard was doing anything but filling space, anyways. At least as a wall it served a purpose.
At any rate, tracking something down in here was going to be a [[nightmare.->Audio Encounter 6]]]]$t[I don't expect the thing to make a sound while I'm here. Not unless it's somehow dumber than a cricket. I don't want to know what I expect to find, but I swear I can sense it somewhere...]
(set: _look1 to false, _look2 to false, _look3 to false, $look4 to false)
$t[Inside the wall boxes...](click-replace: "boxes..." )[boxes there seems to be little of note besides some ancient squirt guns... (click-replace: "ancient squirt guns...")[ancient squirt guns, a plaster model volcano... (click-replace: "plaster model volcano...")[plaster model volcano, and a crusty pinkish disk formed in a failed attempt to make paper.(set: _look1 to true)]]]
$t[Behind the table buried in board games...](click-replace: "board games..." )[board games, which required some remarkably precarious steps to reach, was... (click-replace: "was...")[was nothing more than a plush cat... (click-replace: "cat...")[cat and a stray cellar spider.(set: _look2 to true)]]]
$t[Trapped in the cement corner...](click-replace: "cement corner...")[cement corner is just a narrow pole and circular stand - the remains of a 6-foot tall lamp - though I think anything hiding there would have already moved in the commotion it took to clear a path.(set: _look3 to true)]
$t[Under the crimson tool cabinet...](click-replace: "tool cabinet..." )[tool cabinet there's a forgotten racquetball... (click-replace: "racquetball...")[racquetball, a lost ping-pong ball keeping it company...]]
(event: when _look1 is true and _look2 is true and _look3 is true and $look4 is true)[$t[
[[This is pointless.]]]]{
(click: "ping-pong ball")[(replace: "company...")[company, and what I very much hope to be a Halloween prop and not an actual dead mouse.](set: $look4 to true)]}$t[*It's so dark.*
[
Even just standing in the entrance I can]<dark| [barely see my hand]<barely|[.]<dark|
- [*I don't have to do this. I don't have to do any of this. I can just leave this whole cursed place.*]<dont|
[- <span class='dark'>[[Press onwards->Lurker Encounter 3]]</span>]<dark|
(enchant: ?dark, (text-color: (rgb: 0,0,0)))
(enchant: ?barely, (text-color: (rgb: 60,60,80)))
(click: ?dont)[(set: $last to "Lurker Encounter 2")(goto: "Confirm Leave")]
|dark>[*I'm probably doomed either way.*]]$t[*Ugh.*
[The]<dark| [buckets and boxes]<barely| [of emergency supplies continue for a few feet.
The ceiling is beginning to grow constrictingly low as the stairs descend.
I step hesitantly forwards, and feel something indistinct brush past.
<span class='dark'>[[*What the hell was that?*->Lurker Encounter 4]]</span>]<dark|]
(enchant: ?dark, (text-color: (rgb: 0,0,0)))
(enchant: ?barely, (text-color: (rgb: 60,60,80)))$t[I want to say it was just a cobweb, but I can't be certain.]
$t[(align: "==>")[*It definitely wasn't.*]<dark|]\
|wait)[$t[I shudder to imagine what kind of thing would dwell down here.
[Something born of shadow.
Averse to the illumination of sight.
Lurking. Skulking. Hunting.
<span class='dark'><i>[[It's down here with me, isn't it.->Lurker Encounter 5]]</i></span>]<dark|]]{
(enchant: ?dark, (text-color: (rgb: 0,0,0)))
(enchant: ?barely, (text-color: (rgb: 60,60,80)))
(live: 1s)[(show: ?wait)(stop:)]}[$t[I reach out, hesitantly, trying to get my bearings.]]<reach|(click: ?reach)[
$t[[One hand scrapes against]<dark| [concrete]<barely|[. The back wall.
The other hits something <span class='dark'>[[unfamiliar, scratchy and distressingly spongy.->Lurker Encounter 6]]</span>]<dark|]]
(enchant: ?dark, (text-color: (rgb: 0,0,0)))
(enchant: ?barely, (text-color: (rgb: 60,60,80)))$t[I can't quite process what my hand is feeling, but I'm too deep in to move away.]
$t[(align: "==>")[|dark>[*It's going to kill me, isn't it.*]]]\
|wait)[$t[I suddenly remember I have my phone with me.]][$t[
I switch it [[on.->Lurker Encounter 7]]]](wait2|
(enchant: ?dark, (text-color: (rgb: 0,0,0)))
(live: 2s)[(show: ?wait)(stop:)]
(live: 4s)[(show: ?wait2)(stop:)](background: "#FFFFFF")[(align: "=><=")[(text-color: (rgb: 0,0,0))[The light reveals that I was touching the head of an old mop that somehow got left down here.
I can't see anything else of note under here, either.
But the sense of safety brought by the feeble glowing rectangle doesn't [[linger.->Lurker Encounter 8]]]]]$t[I imagine a harsh, blinding light flooding the room, seeping into every darkened nook and cranny.
It seems to keep it at bay...](click-replace: "bay...")[bay, but I realize I can't concentrate enough to sustain the blast forever. And I can already imagine the entity recovering its strength.][$t[
*Now my own mind is fighting against me. Great.*]](fight|[$t[
[[But what about a different strategy?->Lurker Clear]]]](solution|{
(click: "strength.")[(show: ?fight)]
(click: "Great.")[(show: ?solution)]}$t[I do my best to pretend I'm paying it no attention.
I wait...](click-replace: "I wait...")[I wait, but it's clear that the lurker is waiting too. As a being born of my imagination, it knows exactly what I'm doing.][$t[
*Now my own mind is working against me. Great.*]](fight|[$t[
[[But what about a different strategy?->Lurker Clear]]]](solution|{
(click: "what I'm doing.")[(show: ?fight)]
(click: "Great.")[(show: ?solution)]}$t[I construct a glowing forcefield in my mind's eye, expanding outwards, enveloping me in a shell of safety.
Suddenly, I sense it coming. I picture the creature zip past in a blur...](click-replace: "blur...")[blur, and in one swift strike it splinters the forcefield before darting back out of range.
$t[I try to construct another, but am met with the same result.]][$t[
*Now my own mind is working against me. Great.*]](fight|[$t[
[[But what about a different strategy?->Lurker Clear]]]](solution|{
(click: "result.")[(show: ?fight)]
(click: "Great.")[(show: ?solution)]}