You were stuck in those awkard college years - not quite a child, not quite an adult. You'd started to be lent some of the freedom, but not quite enough of the physical space that was only yours. So when your dad offered to let you and your partner spend the night alone at his house while he was gone you jumped at the chance to [[watch some tv without roommates->watch tv]] or [[cook dinner in a real kitchen->cook dinner]]. You settle down to the cableless tv and watch a rerun of Lost. Somehow, as is the way of these things, it's the worst possible episode. It's a little satisfying to watch Nikki and Paulo die, but it's left you quite sleepy. You head [[to bed->bed]]. You make:
(link: "a salad")[\
(set: $dinner to "salad")\
(go-to: "a dinner")] (Healthiness is the key to success.)
(link: "a steak")[\
(set: $dinner to "steak")\
(go-to: "a dinner")] (You've got access to some good good cast iron.)
(link: "order pizza")[\
(set: $dinner to "pizza")\
(go-to: "a dinner")] (It's not really making anything. You overestimated your desire to cook.)You eat your (print: $dinner).
(if: $dinner is "salad")[You know it's good for you, but your energy levels remain low.]
(if: $dinner is "steak")[The cast iron created a perfect crust. You are satisfied, but also very sleepy.]
(if: $dinner is "pizza")[The pizza sits in your stomach like a rock. Dominos was a poor choice. Better sleep it off.]
[[Time for bed->bed]]You both change into your pajamas and trundle away to bed. You're feeling a little alone sinking into the blankets, no roommates shuffling in the kitchen, doing homework, making noises you didn't know you'd miss.
(live: 5s)[[[Wait what's that?->noises]](stop:)]You hear a //scritch... scritch... scritch...// at the bedroom window.
You stiffen. You're sure it's nothing, just noises you're not used to. \
"Do you hear that?" asks your partner.
(link: "yes")[\
(set: $youHear to "yes")\
(go-to: "noises 2")]
(link: "no")[\
(set: $youHear to "no")\
(go-to: "noises 2")](if: $youHear is "yes")["We should go back to sleep," you say. I'm sure it's just the house settling, or a tree rubbing against the window.]
(if: $youHear is "no")["I didn't hear anything," you lie, hoping it will help your parnter fall back asleep more easily.]
[[We can check outside in the morning.->more noises]]You settle back down. The bed is so soft you imagine yourself falling into an endless abyss of space, watching the stars flow past you as you fall.
You're on the precipice of sleep, clearly about to launch into some sort of epic space dream when you hear...
(live: 5s)[
//Scriiitch... scritch..// at the window.
You jolt awake. You can't ignore it anymore.
(live: 2s)[
You turn to your partner and say:
(if: $youHear is "yes")["I'm hearing it again."]
(if: $youHear is "no")["I think I can hear it now."]
[["Maybe we should check out what's going on."->check it out]] ]
(stop:)]You turn on the lights and walk to the window. You [[open the blind.->open the blind]] There's nothing there.
No creepy branch scraping. No burgler sheepishly holding a lock picking set. Just nothing.
[[You try to go back to bed.->back to bed]]Once more, you cuddle into the covers. You close your eyes.
(live: 5s)[
//Scriiitch... scritch..//
(live: 2s)[
You jump out of bed, turn on the lights and run to the window.
Nothing. You're really starting to get creeped out at this point.
You and your partner decide to [[go to the living room->go to the living room]] to calm down. ]
(stop:)]You sit on the couch in the living room. You would watch some tv, but your dad doesn't pay for it, and all the channels come in too fuzzy. Sitting in silence watching static is not appealing right now.
[[You continue to silently sit together.->sit silently]]You're starting to feel better, and a little sheepish. You both know you're being a bit paranoid. It's just a sound, nothing bad is actually happening.
You talk it over a little, and your talking and laughter makes you feel even more normal. It's just a creaky old house and some overactive imaginations.
You decide to [[go back to bed.->go back to bed]]A loud, terrified scream comes from the alley behind the house.
You and your partner look at each other and immediately decide to [[book it.->leaving the house]]You run out of the house, barely remembering to lock the door.
Amazingly, you did not forget the keys. You take off, trying to put some distance between yourself and the shrieking from the alley.
After around fifteen minutes of driving, you start to calm down and really consider the situation. You consider your life thus far in relation to this situation. You've always thought that you were courageous, but not unreasonably so. In this moment, you realize you have to choose. Are you [[very brave ->to bravery]], or are you [[basically a coward->to cowardace]]?
Denny's is indeed the haven you were looking for. The warm lights, the bored staff - normal beyond belief. Any strange noises at Denny's are strange noises that you are entirely expecting.
You eat some eggs. You have a pancake. You are full and happy and feel like you have some control over the way the world works.
Soon, you realize that your adrenaline has gone back down and you are in fact quite sleepy. It's time to go [[back to the house and back to bed->back home]]. You do leave the lights on as you go to sleep though. [[You're not an idiot.->going to sleep]]You drift off. Because of the light, you fall in and out of sleep with your [[ears still perked]]. You don't hear anything for [[most of the night.]]Slowly, the light starts to filter in from outside as the [[sun comes up]]. [[It gets lighter]][[and lighter]][[Skrrriiiitch...]]The sound does not feel as loud with the burgeoning sunlight streaming into the room.
[[You open your eyes.]] Illuminated by the morning light, you finally [[see it->see the moth]]. A moth, [[scraping its wings]] against the slat shades on the window. Every time you turned on the light, it had flown towards the illumination. It was only when the sun light was brighter than the artificial light that the moth had returned to the window.
[[You go back to sleep]][[At least you already had breakfast.->the end]] "I've been thinking." You say to your partner.
"The sound we've been hearing. It keeps disappearing, and it feels like there's no where that anything could hide that quick. But under that window, there are storm doors to the basement. Something could easily get back into the basement in that time."
Your partner looks at you queasily. "What do you want to do with that information?"
"I think you know. We have to go down there and figure out what it is. I'm sure it's just a racoon or possum or something."
"Sure, a rabid raccoon or possum, what could go wrong?"
"I think there's some old sports equipment in the attic." You find yourself saying. "We can bring a glass of water, rabid things are scared of water. And a baseball bat. Most alive things are afraid of a baseball bat."
You trepidatiously [[drive home.->drive home]]
"What's the safest place we know that's open at three AM?" you ask your partner.
And so, you: [[head to Denny's.->to dennys]]You and your partner stand at the top of the basement stairs, listening. You've raided the attic, and have on some 'protective gear.' You have a baseball bat, and your partner is holding a pitcher of water like it's a holy relic.
"We shouldn't do this, probably. We should call animal control." Your partner whispers.
Your heart thumps, disturbing whatever sounds you think you might be hearing from the basement.
"We haven't really heard anything. We should check that there's something down there before we call professionals in the middle of the night. I just don't want to go back to sleep knowing *something* could be down there."
You [[open the basement door, and take the first step into the darkness.->to basement]]Trying to walk as quietly as possible, you notice webs along the already claustophobic walls of the stairs. They brush against your stupid hockey mask, dangling in front of your mouth. You want to brush them off, but your hands won't move from their position on the baseball bat.
You realize you should have brought a flashlight.
[[You realize you shouldn't be down here at all.->in basement]] You reach the foot of the stairs. Your dad's house is pretty old and weird, so the stairs hit the middle of the basement in a pretty inconvinient place for being sneaky. You tense up, and look around.
There is a lot more of the webbing you noticed on the stairs down here, concentrating in the corners. It must have been a while since your dad cleaned down here. It's even piled up on the weird old IBM mainframe that the previous owner left here.
"I don't see anything..." your partner says. "Let's just go back upstairs."
"Wait a minute." You whisper. "I think I see something moving in one of the corners, in all that webbing."
[[You inch towards the corner.->go closer]]Slowly moving towards the wriggling corner, you reconsider.
Do you [[poke it with your bat.->poke with bat]], or [[find something longer->something longer]]Time is of the essence. The sooner you figure out what this is, the sooner you can get back upstairs and out of this basement.
[[You gently prod the bundle of webbing with your bat.->gently prod]] You look around the basement and notice an old broken walking pole. It's one of the style that's sharp at the end for getting a grip into the snow, but the rubber stopper to let it float on the surface and support a human's weight is cracked and broken.
"Perfect." You whisper.
You break off as much of the rest of the stopper as you can, and get a good grip on the pole.
[[You gingerly poke the mass of web.->poke web]]The bundle moves, faster than you expected. Taking a step back, you get your foot caught in some of the webbing.
"HIT IT WITH THE WATER." You yell.
Your partner throws the water on the webbing, helping it to slough off the creature on the floor.
It's the biggest moth you've ever seen. It's antenna are the size of mack truck windshield wiper blades. It's taller than you, and you're on the floor.
[[You try to hit it with your bat.->hit with bat]]From your prone position, your swing is frankly not that great. You were never any good at sports.
The moth easily grabs the bat in its mouthparts, its large, hairy front legs moving as it chews the wood of the bat and approaches you.
You panic, looking around for something, anything you can use to defend yourself. As you flail, you touch something warm and wet. Pulling your hand close to your face, you realize it's covered in blood. A red, seeping pile of moth webs probably explains the screaming you heard earlier.
You look back to your partner, hoping that they can do something to help. [[They throw the now empty pitcher at the moth.->throw pitcher]]
The moth turns its attention to your now noticed partner, leaving you to wind yourself further into the webs it's woven to protect its nest.
You watch helplessly as your partner is overtaken by the moth, their throat ripped to shreds by the rough hairs on the moths forelegs. You start to scream as the probiscous laps up the blood.
The moth remembers that you are there and approaches. They secrete some webbing, and wrap you in it as you struggle. The webbing covers your eyes. You can no longer see. Even though the hockey mask keeps the webbing from your face, no air is coming in. No one is coming to save you.
As the light outside slowly rises, the [[light inside fades from your eyes.->the end]] The web wriggles slightly. You try to lift it a little to see what's inside.
"Heeey, buddy. If you're a raccoon, I promise we're okay. I'll get you all the trash you want."
But it's not a raccoon. It's the biggest moth you've ever seen. It's so big you'd expect its eyes to be a vivid glowing red, but they're not, they're wet and shiny and black and it's somehow worse because it's so much more real.
The moth starts towards you, its horrible hair forearms waving as it stumbles over its own protective webs.
[[Shamefully, you scream.->you scream]] The moth stops, stunned at the sound.
You turn to your partner and yell "LOOK FOR SOME BUG SPRAY, I DON'T THINK WATER IS GONNA CUT IT!"
[[Your partner frantically looks for the bug spray as you turn back towards the moth.->turn toward moth]] You gesture the walking stick at the moth.
"St-tay back." You say shakily. Unlike your shrieking, the moth seems to be attracted to your normal voice.
It reaches a foreleg out, trying to curl it around your walking pole. You jab at it, slipping slightly in what you can tell at a glance in the rising morning light is blood.
"I think it killed someone! I think we're going to have to deal with it right now!"
Your partner did not find bug spray, but they did find WD-40. While the moth fumbles with your walking pole, your partner swoops in and sprays it in the eyes. It lets go of your walking stick and starts stumbling around the basement.
[[Grab the bat!->grab bat]]Your partner snatches the bat up from where you left it and you both approach the wounded moth. They hit it in the head with the bat while you stab it. An unfortunate amount of moth viscera is released.
Breathing heavily, you take a step back. You look at the blood on the floor, and notice it leads to a particularly dense bundle of webbing.
Shuddering, you take the walking pole and cut the webbing open with the sharp end.
"Are... are they still breathing?" Your partner asks.
"I think so. We shouldn't move them. I'll bring the phone down here and we can call 911."
You sit on the basement steps while you wait for the ambulance to arrive, as the light of dawn fully rises. [[You made it.->the end]]The end