Shadow In The Snow WORKING VERSION 27092020

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I try the ignition for the umpteenth time... Nothing... The engine doesn't make a sound. Reckon the battery's drained... The snowdrift must be seven feet deep. At least it cushioned the blow when I drove into it. I haven't seen a car the whole time I've been here. I'm going to have to try to get to the main road. It can only be a few miles. I pop open the glove compartment and take out my torch and [[go outside|Outside]].

The wind cuts through me like a buzz saw so I wrap my coat around me and fasten it. My hat and gloves are in the pocket. I take them out and put them on. They don't make much of a difference. The snow is caught on the wind and blows into my eyes and freezes my eyelashes. There's no road past my car. A snow drift stretches across the road and looks deeper than the one I drove into. I [[go back the way I came|Top Of The Road]]. I'm sure I remember seeing a few buildings on the way... Maybe a motel... I have to give it a go... It must be better than freezing to death here waiting in the car...

The snow crunches under my feet as I [[plod|Road2]] down the road. There are trees either side of the road. <<if $holdingshotgun>><<else>>A [[path|Path]] leads into the trees. It does not look very inviting but at least it's out of the wind and the driving snow...<<endif>> Maybe I should wait it out in the [[car|Back To The Car]]... The snow can't last forever... <><<set $shadowflag=true>><>

<><<set $inroad +=1>> <<if $inroad==1>>The snow is making it very difficult to see. My eyes are burning. My face has started to feel numb with the cold. Maybe the best thing is to [[go back|Back To The Car]] to the car and wait out the blizzard... Through the blizzard I can make out a sign... It reads [[Motel|Motel]]<<endif>> <<if $inroad==2>><<goto "Final Scene">><<endif>> <>

The path leads [[further into the forest|Forest1]]... It's sheltered in the forest... Snow falls from the branches of the trees as I brush against them... [[Back to the road...|Top Of The Road]]

<><>

<<set $shadowflag=false>> <<set $holdingshotgun=false>> <<set $havecartridges=false>> <<set $correctcartridges=false>> <<set $bookread=false>> <<set $redsnow=false>> <<set $BeenInRoom1=false>> <<set $BeenInRoom2=false>> <<set $inroad=0>> /*<<set $correctcartridges=true>>*/ <<cacheaudio "MainTheme" "SnowTheme.mp3">> /*"C:/Users/Andy/Documents/Twine/Stories/SnowTheme.mp3">>*/ <<audio "MainTheme" loop play>> <<goto "In The Drift">>

The branches of the pines are hung heavy with snow. At another time, it would be beautiful. The [[path|Path]] leads back towards the road. The forest gets darker but seems [[passable|Forest2]]. There is another [[way through|Forest4]] the trees which is overgrown but leads into the forest.

<<if visited()==1>>There's a shack here with smoke coming from its chimney. Please let there be somebody inside who can help me... Just for a moment, I hesitate... if I [[knock on the door|Shack]] who might be inside? Who would choose to live here in the wilds? Maybe it's safer to [[walk back towards the road...|Forest3]]<<else>>The shack still has smoke coming from the chimney. My freezing body says [[knock|Shack]] but my fear says [[go back to the forest|Forest3]]<<endif>>

<<if visited()==1>>I knock on the door but I get no answer. "Hello?" I call tentatively. "May I come in? I just want to get warm and a bit of help with my car..." There is no answer... <<endif>>The images from a hundred horror movies <<if visited()>1>>still <<endif>>fill my head... Maybe I should just go [[back|Forest3]] or,do I dare to [[open the door|Inside The Shack]]?

The snow falls onto me from the high branches as the catch a bit of the wind. It is bitingly cold, even out of the wind. A [[path|Forest1]] leads back towards the road. Through the trees, I can see a light. Is it a fire? Maybe [[somebody who can help|Forest3]]

The trees are very dense here. Something is moving through the branches above my head. It doesn't sound like a big animal but it manages to knock snow onto me. I flash my torch around to find a path. The light cuts its way through the darkness and thankfully, I can make out the path. Something bigger has passed this way recently. All the snow has been knocked off the branches and there are some large footprints...Paw prints? Leading [[deeper into the forest.|Forest3]] Or I could head back [[towards the road.|Forest1]]

<<if hasVisited("Inside The Shack")>>You cast a wary glance at the shack...<<else>>There is a shack here with smoke coming from a chimney. Maybe I should [[see if anyone is at home.|Shack In The Forest]]<<endif>> The forest path leads [[away from the shack.|Forest2]] and the trees almost cover up another [[path.|Forest4]]

The road winds a little into the woods. Suddenly, I can see a light through the trees. I quicken my pace and stomp my way through the snow. A neon sign reads <h1>[[Motel Reception|Reception]]</h1><> <>There are two <<if $BeenInRoom1 and $BeenInRoom2>>rooms.<<else>>[[rooms|Room1]] leading away from the reception. Light comes from the further room.<<endif>> The snow is discoloured <<if $redsnow>>here<<else>>[[here|ExamineBlood]]<<endif>>. It looks red in the torchlight. <<if visited()==1>>A certain movie comes to mind<<else>>The movie is playing in my head... It is not comforting<<endif>>... Maybe I should head back to the [[road|Road2]]...

<<if visited()==1>>There is a radio sitting on a shelf playing country songs and the smell of old weed. I ring the bell. No reaction. I ring it again before noticing that there is an upturned chair and a spilled mug of coffee. Somebody left here quickly. The register is open on the counter. There are only two rooms. Room one is empty and room two has a Mark Barnes listed. I could [[go back to the road|Motel]] <<if $BeenInRoom1 and $BeenInRoom2>><<else>>or check out [[the rooms|Room1]]<<endif>><<else>>The reception is the same as before. I could [[go back to the road|Motel]] <<if $BeenInRoom1 and $BeenInRoom2>><<else>>or check out [[the rooms|Room1]]<<endif>><<endif>>

<<if $BeenInRoom1>>I feel very nervous. My eyes dart in all directions and I jump at the tiniest sound. I should [[go back to reception|Reception]] and look for a phone. <<if $BeenInRoom2>><<else>>I should [[check the second room.|Room2]]<<endif>><<else>>The room is in darkness. I shine my torch in. It looks as if it has been empty for some time. I notice that one of the panes of glass has been smashed. [[Maybe I should check it out.|InRoom1]] I could go back to [[reception|Reception]] or maybe I should check out the [[second room|Room2]]<<endif>>

<><<if $havecartridges>>I decide to <<if $BeenInRoom1>>[[go back to reception|Reception]]<<else>>[[check the first room.|InRoom1]]<<endif>><<else>>The curtains are drawn so I can only peek through a small gap in the curtains. I can see a leg and an empty bottle of something lying on the bed. Whoever is in there is unconscious. I try the door. It's open. [[I go in.|InRoom2]] <<if $BeenInRoom1>><<else>>I could go back and [[try the first room|Room1]]<<endif>><<endif>><>

I open the door and squeeze back into the car. It is so cold in here. The wind batters the snow against the windscreen where it builds up like a wall. I can't see anything at all. Just white. I hug myself and try to get warm. It doesn't work... Then I feel nothing... [[START AGAIN|StoryInit]]

I peer round the door and see that the shack is empty. A grubby looking stove has a flame burning in it. I shut the door and sit in the chair next to the stove and warm my hands against the metal. The warmth infuses my body and I start thinking that, even if some seven foot tall maniac was to burst in wielding a sawn off shotgun, I could die happy... Happy and warm... Relaxing, I throw a log onto the flame. It crackles into flame. I check my wallet. I'm sure there'll be enough here to compensate the owner of the shack... Wherever and whoever they are... There is a coffee pot on the stove and a mug on the floor. I pour myself a mug and swallow the welcome mouthful. I sigh... I actually sigh, as the hot liquid flows down my throat... I unfasten my coat and take off my hat and gloves and settle back into the chair... I finish my coffee and shut my eyes... Everything looks better after a sleep... CRASH! I leap up from the chair as a man falls through the door and lies on the floor, blood gushing from a gaping wound to his neck... I should [[help|HelpMan]] but maybe I should just [[run for it|Run Away]]

I kneel down beside the man. He is a big guy, bigger than I am. He looks at me with desperation and fear in his eyes. His wound looks terrible. I can hear his last gasps through the hole in his windpipe. He starts to convulse and hisses his dying words at me. "The shadow... The shadow in the snow... It's real..." He coughs uncontrollably, spitting up lumps of bloody flesh. "Mark... At motel... Silver... Nothing else works... Never the head..." With a horrible rattle, his final breath left his body. I get to my feet and make to leave the shack. I notice a shotgun lying on his bed. It isn't loaded but I take it anyway. The previous owner has no use for it. <<set $holdingshotgun=true>> I open the door and check. Everything is quiet. I make a [[run for the road.|Top Of The Road]]

I run screaming from the shack... My heart is trying to leap from my chest... Flurries of snow tumble from the branches as I rush headlong through the forest... "Shit!" I curse as I realise that I'm not on the path any more... I lean against a tree and try to catch my breath... Slowly, I regain a bit of control and see that I have only missed the path by a bit... I can still [[get to the road|Get To Road]]... Find a phone... Call in the murder... I can still see the light coming from the shack... Should I [[go back|HelpMan]] and check on the man?

The road is still deserted and the snow is still falling... I start to run down the road, looking for a telephone... Suddenly, I hear the sound of something running after me... Chasing me... Hunting me... A huge dark shadow falls over me... I dare not look behind me... In a flurry of snow, claws, fangs and hot foul breath, something leaps on me and knocks me to the ground... I feel the claws raking my back, tearing my flesh and strong jaws locking on to my throat and I feel the nerve searing pain of skin and muscle and arteries being ripped out... Then... I feel nothing... [[START AGAIN|In The Drift]]

I carefully push open the door. The room looks like an abbatoir. The floors are dripping with blood. Lying on the bed is a dismembered leg and a bottle. The rest of the body has been torn apart and thrown around the room. Lumps of flesh have been strewn about like roadkill. I barely control the urge to vomit as the reality of the situation sinks in. The back window has been smashed out as if a large beast had leaped through it. <<set $havecartridges=true>><<set $BeenInRoom2=true>> I notice a box lying under the bed. It contains cartridges of shot. They are marked with symbols. [[Au|Gold]], [[Ag|Silver]], [[Fe|Iron]] and [[As|Arsenic]].

<>The door is open. I stand for a moment and listen for any sound. <<if $bookread>>I hear a low growling. Something is moving about outside. Whatever it is, it's big. Heavy footsteps walk back and forward outside the room. Is it looking for me? Thankfully, after an age, it moves off leaving only silence.<<else>>Nothing. <<endif>> <<if $bookread>><<else>>I shine my torch around the room. There is [[a book|ReadBook]] lying on the floor. It looks like it may have been thrown into the room through the window.<<endif>><> <<set $BeenInRoom1=true>> I decide to [[leave the room.|Room1]]

It is a simple, spiral bound notebook full of spidery writing and hastily scribbled images. I turn to the end of the book. "//It's here... Whatever the Hell it is... It's here... I've seen the shadow on the snow... I don't know what it is... I just know it's big and dangerous..." "I tried to shoot it... I used silver bullets... The beast moved so quickly it managed to knock my gun away... but not before I shot it in the heart... It didn't kill it but it caused it enough pain to let me run away... it seems to regenerate though..." "I hear it coming... stomping towards my room... I must get rid of this book and hope that someone else will find it and kill the thing..." "I don't have a weapon any more... I'm going to throw this book into the room next door and hide in my room... Please God, don't let it find me...//" <<set $bookread=true>> [[I put the book down and turn off my torch.|InRoom1]]

I take a closer look at the red snow and push it around with my boot. There are bones among the snow... Human sized bones. I kick the snow again and a hand appears. Its fingers look like they're beckoning me to help. <<set $redsnow=true>> I have to [[get out of here|Motel]].

I empty both chambers into the creature's face.<<if $correctcartridges==false>>The shot has no effect... I used the wrong cartridges... [[The Beast|DeathAfterFiring]]<<else>>I watch it fall to the ground gushing blood from its ruined head. I sit and watch the creature die. As I watch, bugs burst out from the creature's neck and start to devour it. In minutes, the creature's body had been eaten... Only its bones remained... Then... I felt something crawling up my leg... It tore a chunk of flesh out of my leg... I screeched in pain as I felt the blood pour out of my wound as one of the bugs fell on to the ground. I crushed it beneath my heel... The other bugs descended on the bug's body and finished it in a second... Then, they turned to me... I could feel chunk after chunk of flesh being ripped from me... I could hear them slurping the blood... Inch by inch, the bugs swarmed over my body... Thankfully, [[I died|StoryInit]]<<endif>>

The gun flashes and I hit the beast in the heart. <<if $correctcartridges==false>>The shot has no effect... I used the wrong cartridges... [[The Beast|DeathAfterFiring]]<<else>>For a moment the creature looks almost confused and falls to its knees. I take aim again but tentacles were reaching out from its chest They grabbed the rifle from my hands and threw it into the night. With supernatural strength, the tentacles twine around me and pull... I feel my bones dislocate, and my muscles and flesh tear... [[I DIE|StoryInit]]<<endif>>

I fire a cartridge into the creature's stomach.<<if $correctcartridges==false>>The shot has no effect... I used the wrong cartridges... [[The Beast|DeathAfterFiring]]<<else>> It howls in pain as it tumbles to the ground... I check to see if the beast is dead and it raises its head, the fire in its eyes still burning...<<if $correctcartridges==false>> The beast is unharmed. It leaps up and grabs me around the throat. [[I DIE|StoryInit]]<<else>> I scream in fear and fire the second cartridge into its eye and fall to my knees in relief as I see the hellish light go out... I sit back on my haunches and weep with joy... Even the snow had stopped... [[THE END|All Finished]]<<endif>><<endif>>

<><<if $holdingshotgun and $havecartridges>>A dark shape rises from out of the snow... It lets out a terrifying, unnatural howl... Horrible, yellow fangs drip with saliva as the thing fixes its red eyed gaze on me... The huge creature moves with surprising speed, lurching towards me... With quivering hands I aim the loaded shotgun at the creature... [[I aim for the head...|HeadShot]] or do [[I aim for the heart|HeartShot]] or do [[I aim for the stomach|StomachShot]]?<<else>>A dark shape looms out of the snow... It seems to be about eight feet tall and covered in dark fur... It opens up a huge gaping mouth and releases an unnatural howl... A foul stench assails my nostrils... With a speed which belies its bulk, it lunges at me... [[I DIE|StoryInit]]<<endif>><>

I hope you enjoyed this piece of IF... I've had fun doing it... Even though some of it was a little bit horrible!!! Also, good old TWINE... It's easily the best utility for writing IFs... In my humble opinion... Anyway, if you want to [[play the game again|StoryInit]] feel free... you may have missed some stuff... Otherwise... Thanks for getting here... And... Byeeeeeee!!! Andy Brown

I load the shotgun with the cartridges. <<set $havecartridges=true>><<set $correctcartridges=false>> [[Leave|Room2]]

I load the shotgun with the cartridges. <<set $havecartridges=true>><<set $correctcartridges=true>> [[Leave|Room2]]

I load the shotgun with the cartridges. <<set $havecartridges=true>><<set $correctcartridges=false>> [[Leave|Room2]]

The creature lurches towards me and rakes my body with long, dirty talons, tearing away chunks of flesh. I smell the beasts foetid breath as it bites into my skull... The last sound I hear is the crunching of bone... [[I DIE|StoryInit]]

I load the shotgun with the cartridges. <<set $havecartridges=true>><<set $correctcartridges=false>> [[Leave|Room2]]