Chapter Text
[When you get out of bed in the afternoon, the corners of the screen are blurred. Movement controls are slowed down.]
Ugh. My head feels so heavy... Must be hungover...
> [Interact with radio is greyed out]
I don't want to listen to that racket right now. Everything is too loud.
> [Enter the kitchen and interact with the hunter]
"Are you feeling all right, kid?"
> [Why wouldn't I be?] [Who is feeling good anymore?]
"Ah, don't get touchy. You just seem a bit peaked is all. Why don't you sit down? Have a beer with me. It'll take the edge off."
I don't feel like drinking right now, not when I already feel hungover.
Sitting down sounds tempting, though.
> [So, what’s the story?]
“Got me that beer? That’ll do, kid.”
While he talks and drinks, you take a seat and clean your gun.
The steady rhythm of the hunter’s story abruptly stops. “I notice you shoot leftie, kid. Now where did you learn to do that? Ain’t no professional who teaches it that way, even if they’s a leftie. Easier to standardize everything, they say.”
> [I wasn’t taught formally.] [I taught myself.]
[I never wanted to use a gun.] [My dad taught me.]
“I don’t mean to pry. Long as you know how to treat your weapon with respect, it won’t fail you. Don’t ever be caught unprepared, like I was.”
> [Interact with little girl]
“...”
> [How are you doing, kiddo?] [Did you sleep okay?]
“I’m... okay. The woman in the other room is teaching me a new game today! You have to count all the books on the shelf and put the ones that are the same colors next to each other! Are you... okay? I heard the grown-ups asking.”
> [Everyone's a little warm, that's all] [Don’t worry about me]
“Okay... like how I shouldn’t worry about when my Daddy and Mommy are coming back?”
> [Don’t think about that now] [Try to get some rest]
The child grows distant again.
> [Leave]
> [Interact with phone is greyed out]
Nope. Not today. I can barely tolerate talking to the people in the house.
> [Enter the hallway and interact with bar guy]
“I can feel the heat radiate off you from here, my good man. The outer world mirrors the inner world. As we burn with hatred and anger, so it burns around us.”
> [What can we do to cool down?]
“The conventions of society melt away with the asphalt. The emperor has no clothes. I’ve found shorts and sandals to be quite comfortable.”
Take off my armor? Expose even more of myself to the madness of the world? I’d rather burn.
> [Leave]
> [Interact with windows is disabled]
It’s like looking at an oven door from the inside. The hateful light pierces your entire being like the curtains weren't there at all. Your skin aches. Despite the burning behind your eyes, you shiver.
> [Enter the office and interact with the teacher]
“Oh, dear. You look terrible. May I check your temperature?”
> [I don’t need any help] [I’m not one of your kids]
[If you touch me I’ll pull out the gun]
“There’s no need for that. I can tell without even checking that you’re unwell. Your face is red and your eyes are glassy. Why don’t you sit down and I’ll get you a cool cloth?”
> [No thank you] [You don’t need to bother]
[I can get it myself]
“You can’t go on like this. We can’t survive alone.”
> [I'm fi—]
[The camera tilts and spots flicker in and out of the screen. The teacher’s sprite gets closer with a hand extended.]
She touches your forehead and you both recoil. Her hand was... cool. It felt sort of nice.
“Goodness. You’re burning up.”
> [It gets hotter every damn day] [Maybe I’ve been feeling a little under the weather]
“I won’t let one more person burn. We need to get that fever down straight away. You should take a cold bath. That will help.”
> [Fine] [You win]
“All I want to do is take care of people. If that’s a mortal sin in this new world, I’ll gladly go to hell.”
> [Leave]
> [Interact with cat and feed it]
The soft vibrations as it purrs under your hand make a little of the tension leave your shoulders. Good kitty.
I just want to go back to bed but I let someone new in last night. I need to check him.
> [Enter the bathroom and interact with the stoner]
“Dude! What’s happening? You’ve, like, totally got a weird vibe right now. If you chill in your mind, your whole body will chill."
I've never wanted to carry on a conversation less than I do right now. Straight to business.
> [Check eyes.]
The stoner’s eyes are clear. He's been pretending.
> [Shoot]
“Aww maan... I thought we were vibin'... Dude...”
The simple act of lifting the shotgun makes your body ache, like both your arm and the gun weighed a hundred pounds. The butt feels cool against your cheek, at least. You stifle a shudder long enough to aim and pull the trigger.
The recoil throws off your unsteady footing and you stumble backwards into the door. The gunshot rings in your ears long after, like the sound is a bullet caught in your skull. Your head pounds. Your vision tunnels.
The wordless scream of the departing Visitor shadow sets your heart racing faster, makes your blood run even hotter. The sense of unease you've been trying to ignore all day seizes you. Cold sweat soaks the back of your neck. The bloody remains of the Visitor swirl with the spots in your eyes.
When you convince yourself you're safe (or as safe as you can be), you lean the shotgun against the wall with the barrel pointed down and duck your head to get your bearings. It makes it worse. You lose the rest of your balance, and the only thing that keeps you from sliding to the floor is the butt of the shotgun catching under your arm.
You lurch forward and grab the edge of the sink to hold yourself up. You need a few moments to catch your breath.
Glancing in the mirror, you see the mix of flush and pallor in your cheeks. You can't deny it any longer. You're sick.
Damn it. Just what I need on top of everything else. Someone probably brought germs into the house. One of the many benefits of isolation is getting sick less often.
Or maybe it's just from stress...
The mere thought of dragging away the Visitor corpse and rolling it outside for the sun to get rid of makes your head and all your organs spin.
Maybe I should ask for... not help. For a trade. The people taking shelter in my house can clean up sometimes in exchange.
[Movement controls are even slower. You can move slightly faster if you stay near a wall. If you stay away from the wall for too long, the camera turns at an angle and gets spots. You’re able to interact with any of the humans in the house and ask either the hunter or bar guy to help clean up in the bathroom in exchange for a beer. You don’t want to upset the teacher any more than she’s already been.]
[When you reenter the hall, the camera is tilted further with everything blurred but the center. Interacting with any item or door, except the bathroom door, is disabled and gives the following dialogue.]
I need to cool down.
[You enter the bathroom and the corpse is gone. The camera lowers towards the ground. Your hands enter the frame as you catch yourself on the edge of the tub. Movement controls are disabled, and the tub is the only thing you can interact with.]
I feel like shit. The world is shit. Why am I delaying the inevitable? Maybe those cultists had a point. I should just walk into the sun...
Or maybe I'll just lay here on the floor till this fever kills me...
...
If I was gone who would look after the house and these people? I promised to take care of the little girl.
Ugh. Guess I'd better take that cold bath. It doesn’t hurt to clean up anyway.
[Fade to black.]