[Audience Choose Your Own Adventure] The Recluse Part V

Part I・Part II ・Part III・Part IV

The audience has split and chosen both options.

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"Wait!" I cry. She pauses, waiting as I scramble for the words to express the sudden panic in my chest. "I...have some more things that might be of use to you."

"Like what?" She glances around the room, looking bored.

"Like...how about this knife? It's a good knife." I drag a covered blade out from under a table.

"Mm. OK. Hand it over." She walks to me and snatches it out of my hand. "Anything else?"

The silence almost hurts me. She walks toward the door again. "Wait! Let me come with you."

"Seriously? You just keep stalling. What's your real game?"

I sigh. "Nothing. I just--"

"Forget it." She kicks open the door and stomps out. The door slams shut, her footsteps fade, and the silence sinks into me like a poison.

I think about chasing her, but instead I stand there listlessly before climbing into bed like I'm ninety years old and drawing the blankets over my body. I slowly warm, the world finally grows fuzzy...but I can't seem to actually fall asleep. The questions are hounding me. Where are we? How did she get here? Who was that man? Have there always been tigers here?

Disgusted with myself, I throw back the blankets and run out of the house. "Sarah!" The mist swallows my voice. I glance at the ground, but of course the little girl left no trace that an average person like myself can follow. My best bet is to head back in the direction of our starting place. As usual, I don't dig too deeply into the reasons behind my actions. I don't want to think.

The walk is almost like a meditation. I mindlessly stare just above the ground and move as quickly as a zombie. Exhaustion creeps over me as I walk. How long has it been since I slept in my bed? Two days? A week? I can't keep track. I feel like I'm chasing a little fairy or leprechaun. The questions start to creep back in as I near the area where I think she took me before. No, no, no. I try to fight them off. I suppose even the most inexplicable scenario can be accepted as long as it remains banal. My world is being undone by a bright red balloon.

Just as I begin to wonder whether I'm simply lost, I hear it again: a man's voice that is deep, smooth, and relaxed. The flicker of uncertainty I feel is overcome by my curiosity and the strange draw of the voice. I realize that I'm nearly falling asleep where I stand. I force my body to keep moving while peering ahead, and am rewarded with a glimpse of Sarah's pink shirt. I realize that she has not noticed me.

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1: Call out to her. Don't spook her by creeping up.
2: Move closer quietly. Maybe you can listen in.

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Dear Readers,

In this CYOA, I am trying something I mentioned before: readers collectively choosing what will happen. Please comment with the option you'd like to choose, and I will continue the story. You can also feel free to make suggestions of any kind. <3

So, I know I'm taking a long time with the parts (12 days this time, near twice as long as the other breaks, but come on, fuckin' Trump). And this one is particularly short, but that's cuz I wanted the choice to be right where it is and I'm not inclined to tuck in filler. Well, my inclination is to just wrap the story up if I can't be consistent. But I'm also learning as a writer here, in terms of keeping the story coming and devising scenarios and well, everything. So even if nobody's reading, I'm going to keep writing the story until it naturally feels finished. I'll try to write longer and more often, but I hope you do keep reading, and let me know your thoughts.

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