Final Carnival Game

Made by: Thrisha Kopula Hope you enjoy! [[Start]]

"That'll be $4.25," the cashier says as you hold on to the warm churro in your hand. //What a ripoff//, you think as you hand in some crumpled bills. "Keep the change," you murmur as you leave the stall, wading through the crowd. "COME AND CHECK OUT THE PHANTOM ANTIQUE SHOP, YOU WON'T REGRET IT," a large man in stilts bellows as he maneuvers against the crowd. Kids were holding on to their parents as they walk towards the entrance of the antique shop. You were alone though, none of your friends wanted to come. "Seriously? A carnival, what are you, 5?" they said. You sigh as you walk up to the closest attraction you see. [[House of Mirrors]]

There doesn't seem to be any line outside, so you walk in, curious to see what's inside. Other than a few [[dim lights]] hanging above, it is dark inside. You can barely see your hand. You look around and notice that the lights are placed above large mirrors, in all sorts of shapes and sizes. You walk to the closest one and you faintly see your reflection. [[Examine mirror]] [(if:visits >= 2)[[Go to the next mirror]]] [(if:visits is 3)[[Walk ahead]]]

You step closer to get a better view of yourself and chuckle as you see your reflection look distorted. This mirror made you look shorter and wavy. [[Step back->House of Mirrors]]

You stand in front of the next mirror and realize that you look taller in this one. This mirror made you look lean and thin. [[Look around->House of Mirrors]]

You see a strange-looking [[mirror]] ahead. It looks like a normal mirror, but compared to the others, it looks very [[misplaced]].

You stand in front of this mirror and notice something strange. Very strange. There is no reflection. You get as close as possible, but you still cannot see yourself. You notice the background in the reflection, but it is as if you were not there. Confused, you place your hand against the mirror, trying to figure this situation [[out]].

Before your eyes can process what's happening, you see your hand shown in the reflection of the mirror. Weirded out, you remove your hand that was against the mirror. The hand in the reflection did not move. Slowly, part of the mirror fogs up, as if someone blew hot breath on it. The hand in the reflection moved, and with its pointer finger, it wrote out //[(text-style:"smear")[You can't leave.]]// [[Leave]].

//That was weird.// You start to leave and walk away from the mirror, but suddenly something grabs you. You jump and look back, and see the hand...grabbing your hand. The hand that was in the mirror curled its fingers around yours and quickly pulled you closer. You closed your eyes, ready to crash, but nothing happened. Instead, you felt drowsy and your eyes slowly closed as you drifted [[off to sleep]].

You walk inside, and there was not a person in sight. There was music playing, but you were [[alone]].

You walk around, hoping to find at least one person, but after hours of searching, you end up back in front of the House of Mirrors, tired and [[hungry]].

Immediately, you can smell something sweet. Your stomach rumbles in excitement. [[You follow the scent.]]

You follow the scent as much as possible and can faintly see some structures in the distance. Going closer, you see food stalls, all filled with fresh food. You are still alone. [[Observe the food stalls]] [(if:visits >= 2)[[Eat churro]]] [(if:visits >= 3)[[Investigate the nearest tent]]] [(if:visits >= 3)[[Walk further]]]

There are multiple stalls that contain churros, popcorn, corn dogs, and beverages. You look at the churros, feeling like you just ate one [[before->You follow the scent.]].

You eat the warm churro, recognizing the [[taste->You follow the scent.]].

//Phantom Antique Shop// You walk inside and the first thing you see is a large chandelier made up of candles. The dim, yellow light from the candles light up a small radius of the tent. Beyond that, it is [[pitch black]]. You look over to the side and see some [[tables]].

You go over to the tables and see some items on top. [[A pen]] [[An oil lamp]] [[A book]] [(if:visits is 4)[[Read book]]]

You shove the pen in your [[pocket->tables]]. //This might be useful later on.//

The oil lamp is already lit up, and you wonder how it stayed lit this whole time. You hold it in your [[hand->tables]]. //This will be useful when exploring dark places.//

You hold the book and hover the oil lamp over it to get better lighting. The book is very thick, but there are no words on the [[cover->tables]].

You slowly open the book, curious about what you'll find. The words are light and smeared, so you try your best to make out words. (text-style:"smear")[Day 1] (text-style:"wavy-strike","blurrier")[I don't know how long I've been here. I've lost track of time. I'm alone and there is ]no one to help me(text-style:"wavy-strike","blurrier")[. I've been wandering around aimlessly, trying to find my purpose. I don't even know who I am. I'm just going to go back to the forest and wait it out. If I wait it out ]will the pain go away? [[Read more]]

//Was someone here before me? Are they still here?// You flip the page and continue to read, but pause. Something is off. (text-style:"smear")[Day 1] (text-style:"wavy-strike","blurrier")[I don't know where I am, or why I'm here. I did eat a fresh churro today. I hope someone finds this and ]saves me(text-style:"wavy-strike","blurrier")[. This place is creeping me out, and reading the entry before mine, it looks like someone was here. ]I don't see anyone though. [[Keep reading]]

You are confused. Why were both the entries labeled 'Day 1'? Were there two different people who came across this book? You flip to the next page. Day 1..... Next page. Day 1.... As you kept reading you noticed how similar the handwriting was. Too similar. How can all these people have the same handwriting? [[Keep flipping]]

You keep reading the entries and all of them are talking about the same things. They are here alone, they don't know how they got here, and they lost track of time. You flip until the writing stops. You decide to write an entry as well. //Maybe keeping track of what I do will help me.// You write. Day 1 I don't know how I got here, and I am all alone. I ate a churro, and went to the Phantom Antique Shop. That is where I found this book. I plan to write in this everyday until I manage to find my way out of this. You stop writing and are about to close the book, but you notice something that haunts [[you]].

Your handwriting is an exact match to the other entries. //There's no way. How is this possible? I don't remember writing any of this.// You close the book shut as you grab everything and get up. You are now more determined to find out what's going on. You go back to the first book entry. Whoever wrote that said that they were 'going back to the forest' //You lived in a rural area, filled with forests.// //[[Maybe I had to leave this place.]] //

You walk out of the tent. //I'll come back later.// You leave the gates of the carnival and make your way to the forests, which were [[closeby]].

You don't know where you're going. All you did was walk inside the dense forest right outside the carnival. You don't know how long you've been walking. Your muscles are sore as you take deep breaths, trying to walk more. You do start to feel drowsy though. You lay down against a tree. //Maybe I'll take a short nap.// You close your eyes as you drift off to [[sleep]].

(t8n:"fade")+(t8n-delay:1s)[Drip] (t8n:"fade")+(t8n-delay:2s)[Drip] (t8n:"fade")+(t8n-delay:3s)[Drip] (t8n:"fade")+(t8n-delay:4s)[Your eyes slowly open as cold droplets of water fall onto your eyes. You look up, and see some leaves, bouncing up and down as the dew falls from it.] (t8n:"fade")+(t8n-delay:8s)[You slowly get up, still drowsy from the long slumber.] (t8n:"fade")+(t8n-delay:10s)[Where are you?] (t8n:"fade")+(t8n-delay:12s)[Who are you?] (t8n:"fade")+(t8n-delay:14s)[You don't remember anything.] (t8n:"fade")+(t8n-delay:16s)[As you brush off the dirt from your pants, you [[look around]].]

It is pitch black outside and all you can see are [[tall trees]] that seem to stretch along for miles. The moonlight shines through the thick clouds, and [[dense fog]] covers the ground which you stand on. It is quiet. Too quiet. [(if:visits is 3)[[Examine footprints]]]

You look to the side, and you see a couple of items. An oil lamp, a pen, and a book. You reach over to the book and open it. You start reading. Tears well up in your eyes as you realize. You're stuck here. [[//Forever.//]]

The trees loomed over you and seemed to stretch for [[miles->around]].

The thick fog covered the ground, making the light footprints on the ground hard to [[see->around]].

The footprints seem to go in a straight line, but it is hard to follow since most of it has been washed off in the dense soil. [[Follow footprints]]

You try your best to follow the light footprints as you walk. The fog doesn't make it any easier. You keep walking. A slight breeze sends chills to your body as you rub your hands for warmth. After a while, you can hear faint music. [[Listen closely]]

The music sends chills to your spine and you don't know why. It sounds like the type of music that plays during a merry-go-round ride. Cheerful, but eerie. [[Keep walking]]

The trees slowly start to space out and you can see some sort of light in the corner. The music also gets louder as you keep [[walking]].

The trees disappear from your view as you are met with tall metal gates. The tips are spiked as if some sort of protection and you notice wire netting between the gate poles. The loud music that led you here has stopped. [[Investigate]]

The gates seem old and rundown and are covered with rust. Behind the gates, you can vaguely see run-down structures, but it is hard to tell with the thick fog that still rests at knee level. You slowly reach out and push the gates, and they creak open. [[Go inside->dead silent]]

The lights flicker, as if they're about to go out any [[instant->House of Mirrors]].

All the other mirrors had gold rims with beveled edges, but this one had black rims, with a unique [[pattern->Walk ahead]].

You walk away from the food stalls, and you can faintly hear the music again. The same one that led you here. Slowly, you make your way to the [[sound]].

You can see some outlines of keychains, mugs, t-shirts, and candies. It almost looks like a regular [[gift shop->Investigate the nearest tent]].

You see a bright light in front of you, hidden in the fog. The music gets louder and louder. A merry-go-round. [[Different sized horses]] and [[carriages]] circle around while the music plays, but there is no one controlling [[the ride]].

The ride spins slowly, as if it's inviting you to join. You hesitate, but go close to the ride. [[Approach carriage]] [[Approach horse]]

The horses were made up of different pastel colors, gold, and white. Each horse varied in size as they bobbed up and down while going around in a [[circle->sound]].

The carriages were lower than the horses, but they were wider. They also went up and down as they circled [[around->sound]].

You step onto the carriage and sit in the middle, holding on to the handles on the [[side->the ride starts spinning]].

You grab one of the horses and hoist yourself on top of it, holding on to the handles on the [[side->the ride starts spinning]].

The ride starts to pick up in speed. It goes faster. Faster. [[Faster]].

The speed picks up to the point where everything around you is blurry. You can't see anything, and the fog makes it worse. You feel dizzy so you [[close your eyes]].

You feel the ride slowing down, but something feels different. You open your eyes, and you are somewhere else. //This isn't the carnival.// It looks like you're in some sort of room. It is dark and empty, but you see something far ahead. [[Explore]]

You walk further to the object that you see. It's a mirror. In fact, it looks just like the one in the House of Mirrors. You feel worn out. You're tired, and you don't know how long you were stuck in this place. No matter what you do, you can't escape. [[The mirror was right.]]

Why you? Out of everyone, it just had to be you. You were mad. Frustrated. Hopeless. All these emotions started to take over you and you noticed something happening to the [[mirror->ending]].

The glass in the mirror started changing. It became hazier and started to swirl. Suddenly, the swirling stopped, and you went to [[stand in front of it]].

You didn't see your reflection. Instead it was something completely different. There was a person shown on the mirror, but it wasn't you. It was a boy, maybe close to your age. The boy looked as if they were analyzing the glass. You stared, your eyes devoid of any emotion you showed previously. You slowly brought your face to the mirror and let out a warm breath. The part of the mirror become hazy, and that's when you took your finger and [[wrote]].

//[(text-style:"smear")[You can't leave.]]// You started to smile as you saw the boy's reaction. He immediately stepped back and started to leave, but you were able to reach out to him. You grabbed his hand, curling your fingers around his, and pulled him towards you. If you were going to suffer, then so was he. You saw him come through the mirror, and his eyes slowly closed, [[just like you had->//Forever.//]].

(align:"=><=")+(box:"X=")[//The end//]