by HL TRUSLOVE
Making note of where they’re heading, you leave the zoo behind you. Maybe they’ll be more helpful than this place.
END.
Add The Caravans (Chapter 24, L.24) to map.
12.13
The rifle is a reassuring weight in your hands. You’re lucky it’s loaded. You always keep a round in the chamber just in case you’re in this situation.
Well, perhaps not this exact situation – the tiger wasn’t something you expected – but a similar situation, nonetheless.
Suddenly, you realise it’s moving towards you, fast and deadly, eyes set on the promise of a fresh meal. You barely have time to aim before you need to pull the trigger, and as the gunshot echoes around the area the tiger leaps and lands heavily on you. You brace yourself, blood pumping through your veins, waiting for its jaws to clamp around your throat and tear it out. Fear leaves you frozen.
But nothing happens.
You realise how heavy the tiger is lying on top of you. Carefully, you move an arm and find it doesn’t respond. It’s dead.
You have to squirm out from under it – though the tiger is almost emaciated, it’s still surprisingly weighty. It’s left a red patch on your coat where its blood dripped onto you from the bullet wound. You sigh and know it’s going to be hard to explain to anyone who asks.
You look down at the dead animal and feel a pang of pity for it. The descendant of one of the tigers when the bombs went off, it’s probably known nothing but difficulty and hunger. It’s a sad end to a noble beast.
Skin the tiger – Turn to 12.17.
* * *
Leave the zoo – Turn to 12.12.
* * *
Take a claw – Turn to 12.19.
12.14
You and the tiger keep locked eyes for a long moment, sizing each other up. You don’t fancy your chances against it. You guess the tiger hasn’t had a good meal for a while and knows how to bring down something of your size.
Its tail whisks from side to side as it takes you in further. It decides you clearly aren’t worth the bother. Slowly, the tiger turns round and jumps back up to the ledge, disappearing further into the zoo.
Your blood thunders in your ears, but you don’t hang around for it to change its mind. You scramble out of the enclosure and back towards the zoo’s entrance, looking over your shoulder repeatedly, just in case.
Add Instability to your character sheet.
* * *
Turn to 12.12.
12.15
Branches have been shed from trees from the wooded area of the enclosure. Keeping eyes locked with the beast, you reach down and pick one up with a firm grasp. The tiger growls again, more of a roar this time, as you stamp down on the branch and splinter it into a point under your boot.
It makes a lunge for you but you stab forward with your improvised weapon and catch it in the shoulder. You imagine that, were this beast up to its full fighting potential, you’d have no chance against it, but it’s weak and starved and unsure of how to take you down. The sharp end pierces its shoulder and it yelps with pain. Blood drips onto the grass as it retreats, unable to tread on one of its paws, and it gives one last hiss before jumping out of the enclosure and hobbling away.
You drop the stick and pant heavily. Your blood thunders in your ears, but you don’t hang around for it to change its mind. You scramble out of the enclosure and back towards the zoo’s entrance, looking over your shoulder repeatedly, just in case.
Turn to 12.12.
12.16
You turn on your heel and spring into action, heading towards the forest area. Your only hope is that the tiger is so exhausted by its hunger that it can’t chase you – your endurance will outweigh its speed, and you’ll lose it in the trees.
You hear it following you not long after and think, perhaps this was a bad idea. Its breathing is heavy and laboured, but it hits just as hard when it pounces on you. You fall to the ground heavily with a grunt under its weight. It tumbles and rolls a few feet away, scrabbling to get back to a stand.
It lunges again and you do the only thing you can – pull your legs back and barrel into it with as much force as you can. Your feet connect and you shove it off with every ounce of strength you can muster. The tiger roars as it flies backwards – and then stops moving. It takes you a while to work out what’s happened, then you see it’s been impaled on a ragged tree branch – completely run through. It makes a pitiful noise before it stops moving completely.
All you can do is count your blessings to the high heavens as you get up, shaking badly.
You look down at the dead animal and feel a pang of pity for it. The descendant of one of the tigers when the bombs went off, it’s probably known nothing but difficulty and hunger. It’s a sad end to a noble beast.
Skin the tiger – Turn to 12.17, Needs Survival.
* * *
Leave the zoo – Turn to 12.12.
* * *
Take a claw – Turn to 12.19.
12.17
Your knife cuts easily through the tiger, even though it’s the first time you’ve skinned a beast of this size. It takes a while, and you’re working well past sunset. The smell isn’t pleasant, but you continue on anyway – the tiger doesn’t need its skin any more, and it seems a waste to just leave it here.
Both your blade and your coat are stained in blood by the time you’re done. You try not to look at what’s left of the tiger. It seems odd and naked without its skin – it’s pink and glistening. You turn your back on it as you roll up the skin and tuck it into the side of your pack. At the very least, you can use it to keep warm during the cold nights, and at best, maybe you can use it for trade.
Add Tiger Skin (O.20) to your inventory.
* * *
Turn to 12.12.
12.18
The pavilion smells of dust and decay, and you cough wildly as you walk through the tattered canvas doors. There are dozens of chairs scattered around, as well as desks with long-faded pamphlets on them. Due to its proximity to the entrance, you suppose this was the first stop for visitors to the zoo to come ato gather information for their visit.
You pick up one of the bits of paper, but it’s incredibly brittle in your hands, falling away into nothingness at your touch. With a sigh, you decide there’s nothing worth looking at here, nor anything worth taking – you head back to the signpost outside.
The fresh air is welcome as you look around, peering through the trees to the other areas of the zoo. There seem to be some large cages in front of you, and on the way is a dilapidated glass house. To the east it looks like there’s some sort of open field.
Visit the large cages – Turn to 12.6.
* * *
Visit the open enclosure – Turn to 12.7.
* * *
Visit the ruined glass house – Turn to 12.8.
12.19
You doubt you know enough about anatomy to skin the whole tiger, you decide. You could make an attempt, but it would be bloody and messy and would take too long.
A claw, though…
You take out your pocketknife and approach the animal, giving a moment to make sure it’s really dead. Then, you get to work.
Despite the fact it was so emaciated, its paw is still large and heavy in your hand. You dig your blade between its toes and plunge into the flesh. The claw doesn’t come away easily, but with enough wiggling, you’re able to separate it and it falls onto the floor with a splatter of blood. You clean it on the ground and put it into your pocket.
Add Tiger Claw (O.21) to your inventory.
* * *
Turn to 12.12.
Chapter 13
The City Centre
13.1
With everything behind you, you walk slowly into the city, keeping yourself on guard in case anything else should happen. It’s been enough trouble just getting here, and the last thing you want is to be ambushed when you’re simply exploring.
This was probably once a great, grand place. Judging by what’s
left of the buildings, you imagine it held many people at one time, all bustling about and doing their jobs.
But time, and the war, haven’t been kind. The architecture is in various states of decay, and even though some of it is less wrecked than others, none of it has held up enough to really be liveable.
Everything here is arranged in grids and orderly shapes – roads and pavements cutting everything into squares and rectangles to get the maximum efficiency from the space. The concrete and tarmac beneath your feet has eroded away and is now overgrown by grass and weeds.
Altogether, it’s a far cry from how it used to be.
The path you trek brings you into an open area, the angular roads you’d seen before smoothing out to make a circular plaza. The state of decay here is much the same as the roads before, but something does grab your attention – a statue sitting in the middle of the place, dusty and overgrown, and toppled.
Inspect the statue – Turn to 13.2, Needs Knowledge.
* * *
Search for the statue’s plaque – Turn to 13.3, Needs Old World Language.
* * *
Inspect the nearby buildings – Turn to 13.4.
* * *
Look for signs of people – Turn to 13.5.
13.2
You bend down to get a good look at what’s left of the statue. It seems to be of a young man, his face set seriously – almost in a grimace. It’s likely he once stood proudly, but now he lies amongst the weeds and vines that have crept up his solid legs. In his hands is grasped a rudimentary weapon which you recognise as a rifle with a bayonet attached – something which would have been old-fashioned even before the war.
He has a helmet on his head, and the side that faces the sky has been the victim of birds over the years. He’s green, the weather hasn’t taken his colouring away from him – but this side is covered in white streaks. It seems almost disrespectful to the history of the old world, but you suppose the birds don’t know any better. Maybe they did this before the war, too.
Judging by the formality of the clothes he’s dressed in, you guess it to be some sort of military uniform. The statue includes several extra pockets strapped over its jacket, which were probably for holding supplies – not unlike you and your pack.
You wonder what the story is behind him. Perhaps you’ll be able to track down someone who knows its story, but it’s more likely that his tale has been lost to time.
Make a sketch of the statue – Turn to 13.6.
* * *
Move on – Turn to 13.4.
13.3
There is a plaque on the bottom of the statue, just as you thought. Several gnarled branches have grown over it, though, and it’s a bit of a fight to free it from their clutches. You cut your finger once and swear, sucking the blood off to seal the wound, and think this had better be worth it.
Though the words are faded, it seems that being hidden in the foliage has been a boon to the plaque. The plants have acted as a barrier against the elements, so it hasn’t eroded quite as badly as the man himself. You run your knuckles over the letters to free some of the dirt that has made its home in the crevices there.
FOR THE FALLEN SOLDIER
1914–1918
You try to recall why those dates are important, but the memory fails you. You remember them being droned into you in school as you doodled in the margins of your history book, but clearly being artistic was more important to you at the time. A strange feeling of guilt overcomes you and you’re not sure why, but it seems now like the statue is frowning at your inability to remember his purpose.
Check the statue against your map – Turn to 13.7.
* * *
Move on – Turn to 13.4.
13.4
You run your eyes over the decayed heaps of buildings that time has left. Nothing moves, nothing makes a sound. It’s a little bit eerie; then again, so is all of the old world.
It seems that these buildings aren’t a fit place for humans to survive, not now anyway. If you want to find your group, you’re going to have to press further on into the city.
To the north of the plaza, you can see a tall spire reaching up into the sky. It seems to be quite a walk away but might have something promising, acting as a beacon on the skyline to a wandering traveller like you.
To the east, the buildings continue, standing in uniformed rows. Perhaps your group went along these where the rubble was cleared from the streets?
The sound of three loud gunshots snaps you out of your thoughts.
With the amount that they echo around the plaza, it’s impossible to tell where they were fired from.
You decide it’s best not to hang around.
You pull your pack tight and hurry into one of the abandoned buildings, finding a safe, hidden place to tuck yourself away for the night before continuing your search in the morning. You forgo a warm dinner in favour of rations, not wanting a fire to lead anyone towards you who might do you harm.
You settle down for the night to the sound of howling wind.
END.
Add The Church (Chapter 14, L.14) and The Streets (Chapter 28, L.28) to map.
13.5
You look around for a little while, ducking into the deserted buildings and checking out the rubble. There seems to be fresh litter scattered around. Well, fresher than the plastic litter from the old world, anyway. Despite the passage of time, that still hasn’t started to erode yet. There are some faint footprints in the dust and dirt left on the pavement stones, but it’s hard to tell how old they are. It seems that, while people travel through this place, they don’t decide to stay for long.
Deciding you want a better look around, you pull yourself up one of the taller, more stable-looking buildings. The leftover bricks sticking out of the wall make for good hand and foot holds, and you’re able to scale the thing with relative ease. You raise your head up, over the rest of the rubble and ruined buildings to scan the horizon, the wind shrieking loudly in your ears.
There’s a very tall building to the north with a pointed roof that reaches up into the sky. It’s hard to tell from this distance, but you may see movement around it – though that might just be a trick of the eye. Apart from that, to the east there’s a cleaner road, almost like debris has been removed for easier access – maybe for carts and travellers?
Far, far away you can see an open expanse with a few buildings crowded around it. You can’t quite tell what it is, but it seems to be fenced off. You make a note to add it to the map as well.
All three of these places might be worth exploring. For now, you carefully lower yourself to the ground, taking your time so the vicious breeze doesn’t fling you to the ground. You take your pack and find a place to tuck yourself away for the night amongst the ruined buildings, taking advantage of a good night’s sleep before you continue tomorrow.
END.
Add The Church (Chapter 14, L.14), The Zoo (Chapter 12, L.12), and The Streets (Chapter 28, L.28) to map.
13.6
You take a seat beside the statue, cross-legged on the ground, and bring your sketchbook to your lap. It isn’t something that you’ve had much use for so far in your travels, your drawing ability being shaky at best, but you feel like this place is worth documenting. You’re just not sure why.
Your field notes so far have mostly been scribbled observations and little doodles of local flora. Things that are helpful for you as you try to track down your group. It’s a nice change of pace to be able to note something like this. Something that’s of significance, from before the Ash War.
You sit for twenty, maybe thirty minutes, enjoying the sound of your pencil on paper. Eventually your legs grow cold, but by that time you’re happy with the outcome of your drawing, it being not dissimilar to the statue in front of you. As you stand, you find yourself reaching out and laying a hand on the statue as a sign of respect. Although you don’t know its history, you hope it was made to honour something good. The metal is cold under your palm and you shudder.
After a moment of reflection, you inspect the area around you.
To the north of the plaza, you can see a tall spire reaching up into the sky. It seems to be quite a walk away but might be something promising, acting as a beacon on the skyline to the wandering traveller like you.