(text-style:"blurrier","fade-in-out")[Hey, are you okay? Hey wake up!]
(text-style:"blur")+(live: 4s)[Wake up!!]
(live: 8s)[Click anywhere to continue.]
(t8n-depart:"blur")+(t8n-arrive:"blur")(click-goto:?page,"Intro 1")Consciousness comes flooding in along with the smell of damp leaves. You open your eyes to see dozens of branches arching over you, crossing each other to form a holey makeshift ceiling. Random objects dangle from them and sway with the breeze. Photographs, colorful necklaces, BART tickets. Bright moonlight pokes through the dark towering redwoods. You can hear the hollow sounds of a bamboo windchime close by.
A petite blonde girl-first year?-with shaggy hair and a tattered UCSC hoodie is (t8n-depart:"dissolve")+(t8n-arrive:"dissolve")[[crouching over you...->Intro 2]](text-color: #38d9a9)["Yeah, just give me a second."]
You sit up and realize why this place is called the Buddha Shrine. Buddha statues are scattered throughout the temple-like structure, some large and made of stone or marble, others smaller and made of wood or plastic. Random objects litter the ground, smoking devices, candles, trash.
(t8n-depart:"dissolve")+(t8n-arrive:"dissolve")[[You slowly get up.->Go with her 2]](text-color: #38d9a9)["Oh I just want to hang out here for a bit, I must have fallen asleep earlier. I know my way back. Don't worry about me!"]
She gives you a skeptical look, but then turns away.
(text-color: #ff80c0)["Suit yourself.."]
You wait until you can't hear her footsteps any longer, then you sit up and see why this place is called the Buddha Shrine. Buddha statues are scattered throughout the temple-like structure, some large and made of stone or marble, others smaller and made of wood or plastic. Random objects litter the ground, smoking devices, candles, (t8n-depart:"dissolve")+(t8n-arrive:"dissolve")[[trash...->Separate Ways 2]]Eventually the trail meets perpendicularly with a wide gravel road, big enough for a car to drive on. There is no one in sight, yet a chill runs down your spine and you can't shake the feeling that you are being watched.
(t8n-depart:"dissolve")+(t8n-arrive:"dissolve")[[>Go to the left.<->Down the road]]
(t8n-depart:"dissolve")+(t8n-arrive:"dissolve")[[>Go to the right.<->Up the road]]You start walking down the road and arrive at a small clearing. You hear a rustling nearby and stop dead in your tracks, listening. You catch a slight movement in the corner of your eye and whip your head around to see a mountain lion cub sleeping under a large bush just off the road, partially hidden from view.
The mother is nowhere in sight, but you definitely don't want to be around if she comes back to check on her cub. You decide to find another way back to campus and head [[back up the road.->Up the road]]You walk for a while and eventually come to a fork in the road, but the left side is flooded with water. You have no choice but to [[go to the right.->More up]]You aren't walking for long before the path becomes even more narrow and hard to follow. It appears to end with another path crossing in either direction.
To the left the path is winding with thick growth on either side.
You look to the right and see a figure silently dart across the path about 15 feet away.
[[>Go to the left.<->windy part]]
[[>Go to the right.<->Dead end]]You see a clearing up ahead where there's a gathering of several people, talking and laughing loudly. You call out to them to ask for directions but they don't seem to hear you. You walk closer and call out again, louder, but they don't even acknowledge your presence.
You're about to single someone out to make it harder for them to ignore you, but then you see four large fuel barrels. You can vaguely make out the shape of 3D monarch butterflies painted on them.
You realize you've been here before, everyone calls this place Painted Barrels. Now you know that you need to go back the way you came to get back to campus.
(text-color: #38d9a9)["Thanks for nothing..."]
(t8n-depart:"dissolve")+(t8n-arrive:"dissolve")[[You head back down the trail...->Dwarf Forest]]After walking for a few minutes, you realize that what you thought was the same trail is actually a different one. This one seems like it's traversed less frequently. The trees become more dense and it's hard to make out anything more than a few feet in front of you.
[[>Turn back.<->Turn back]]
[[>Keep going, the trails will probably meet up eventually.<->Keep going]](text-colour:#ff80c0)["Are you okay? You were out cold."] she says.
(text-colour:#38d9a9)["I think so.. Where am I?"]
(text-colour:#ff80c0)["The Buddha Shrine. Upper campus. It's not safe to be out here alone at this time of night.."]
*How did I get here?*
(text-colour:#38d9a9)["Then why are you out here?"]
She wags her eyebrows with a proud smirk and takes her hand partway out of her pocket. You see moonlight reflect off of a large hunting knife.
(text-colour:#ff80c0)["I always come prepared. You never know what or who you'll run into."]
Her face hardens and her gaze appears to be far away for a moment before she turns her attention back to you.
(text-colour:#ff80c0)["So, you coming or what? We should probably get moving."]
(t8n-depart:"dissolve")+(t8n-arrive:"dissolve")[[>Go with her.<->Go with her.]]
(t8n-depart:"dissolve")+(t8n-arrive:"dissolve")[[>She seems off, politely decline.<->Go your separate ways.]]You follow her out of the structure, ducking under the low ceiling, and down a narrow pathway that could easily be missed in the dim light. She keeps walking faster and soon you have to jog to keep up with her.
(text-color: #38d9a9)["Hey, wait up!"]
You trip over a knotted branch that's protruding from the ground, and when you look up again, she's nowhere in sight. You call out, but there is no response.
(t8n-depart:"dissolve")+(t8n-arrive:"dissolve")[[You start running down the path in hopes of catching up...->Gravel Road]]You get up and exit the structure, ducking under the low ceiling. Immediately in front of the entrance is a narrow pathway that branches off to either side of you.
(t8n-depart:"dissolve")+(t8n-arrive:"dissolve")[[Go to the left.->Below Buddha Shrine]]
(t8n-depart:"dissolve")+(t8n-arrive:"dissolve")[[Go to the right.->Gravel Road]] You walk for what feels like a very long time. You start to feel disoriented as you realize you're no longer walking on a gravel road, but rather a winding forest trail. You hear a branch snap nearby and [[pick up your pace...->Painted Barrels]]You start heading back the way you came. After walking a short distance, you hear the desperate cries of a buck up ahead, followed by a chilling silence. You decide you'd rather not find out what happened to the buck and [[continue down the unknown trail...->Keep going]]You walk for a few minutes before the trail comes to an end, with another larger path crossing in either direciton.
[[>Turn left.<->Back to barrels]]
[[>Turn right.<->Back towards Buddha]]You walk for what seems like forever. You want to turn back but the feeling of being followed continues to get more intense and alarming. You break into a cold sweat as you keep walking faster. Soon you're practically at a run but it feels like whatever is stalking you is just getting closer. Just when you feel like it's closing in, [[you reach a familiar place..->back to barrels 2]]The trail is windy with dense foliage on either side. You worry you're going deeper into the forest, but it's almost impossible to tell. Soon, you come to another [[junction...->junction]]You've somehow ended up back at the Painted Barrels. The people that were there before have since left. You walk to the middle of the clearing and use the moonlight to see if you can spot any movement near the trail where you just came from. It looks like the coast is clear, and you relax just a little bit.
You take this as your second chance to find your way back through [[the right trail...->back to gravel]]You finally reach the gravel road again. You're relieved to have more of a sense of your location as you walk. The moon gives the rocks a silvery glow.
You pass the trail leading to the Buddha Shrine. [[Suddenly...->Cries]]You walk for several minutes, winding through the forest. The trees seem to whisper to each other in the breeze, and you feel the presence of other creatures. Every once in a while, subtle movements can be heard. Rustling of leaves, twigs snapping. You hope that they're only curious as you continue on. Just when you're starting to think this trail will never end, you hear voices [[nearby...->Painted Barrels]]You decide to walk on, whatever figure was there seems to be gone. After a minute you see a man in a rough leather coat standing on the path with his head hanging down. You're about to call out to him, but then you see a glimmer of [[silver and red...->the man]]He is holding a knife in his hand, and after staring in horror for a moment, you realize that he is covered in blood. You involuntarily gasp, but thankfully he seems not to have noticed your presence.
You slowly back away, and then quickly head back [[up the trail...->windy part]](text-style:"emboss","rumble")[''"HELP!! SOMEONE PLEASE!!"'']
[[...->Return to Buddha]]There is a fork in the path, and both ways look nearly identical. It's hard to tell where either of them leads.
[[>Take the left one.<->Cries]]
[[>Take the right one.<->Cries]]Adrenaline pumps through your veins as you run towards the frantic cries.
As you get closer, you see the girl who woke you up in the middle of the path. The look in her eyes is one of pure shock and horror.
When she sees you, her expression turns slightly sad as she motions for you to follow her [[toward the sound...->Return to Buddha 2]]You realize you're approaching the Buddha Shrine and there are two students in front of it, a boy and a girl. The boy is still crying for help and can't seem to take his gaze away from inside of the shrine while the girl is sitting on the ground with her head in her hands.
As you get closer, you can see through the branches that there are two people lying on the ground inside [[the structure...->what happened]](text-colour: #38d9a9)["What's going on??"]
The boy and girl ignore you.
(text-colour: #38d9a9)["Answer me!!"]
(text-colour: #ff80c0)["They can't hear you."] the blonde girl says sharply.
(text-colour: #38d9a9)["What? What do you mean?"]
(text-colour: #ff80c0)["Just.. go take a look for yourself."]
You once again [[enter the shrine]]The first thing you see is a puddle of dark red liquid on the floor. Blood.. So much blood that there's no way either person could still be alive.
You walk toward the bodies and see several stab wounds in each one.
After a moment you recognize [[both people...]](live: 1s)+(text-style: "fade-in-out")[One is the girl with the shaggy blonde hair.]
(live: 4s)+(text-style: "fade-in-out")[The other is you.]
(live: 7s)+(text-style: "fade-in-out")[~The end~
Thanks for playing]