Would you like to open your eyes? [[yes->Dew]] or [[no->Mist]]A broad, waxy leaf is just in front of your face obscuring your view. Weighing the leaf down is a large drop of water hanging just above your mouth. You smell something sweet in the air, a mixture of honey and cinnamon. If you reach up with your tongue you will be able to reach the water drop. [[drink it->Drink it]] or [[leave it be->Don't Drink]]The air is rich with the scent of petrichor. Your skin is damp and a fine wet mist clings to the thin hairs on your face and arms. Above you something is scurrying through branches, raining an ocasional drop of water on your legs and torso. A dry leaf cracks beneath you as you shift your left shoulder. The scurrying stops. [[Do you sneak a peek at what's above you ->Look up]] or [[wait->Lie still]]?Your throat begins to tingle and you feel compelled to sing. [[fight the urge->Internal Battle]] or [[belt it out->Belt it out]]The droplet falls off the leaf onto your closed lips. Your lips begin to tingle, pleasantly [[lick your lips->Drink it]] or [[purse your lips->Fidget]]You've never been one to draw attention to yourself. You suppress this rare urge to sing at the top of your lungs before you've even fully processed the desire. Even having swallowed it, there is an internal battle raging as to why you would suppress this urge. Do you fight the urge to keep suppressing the urge to sing? [[Yes->Fidget]] or [[no->Belt it out]].Much closer than you'd anticipated are two yellow eyes. The monkey leans close to your face, looking you right in the eyes. Your peeking eyelid flutters. The monkey lets out a howl, still looking directly at you, and jumps onto your chest. It sits, unperturbed, watching you. It's claws press uncomfortably into your skin. Do you [[close your eyes and wait it out->Monkey Watch]] or [[make a break for it->Monkey Chase]]?A soft rustling begins a moment later and before you can identify where it's coming from two paws are pressing on your stomach. You instinctively play dead, willing your abdomenal muscles to stay relaxed. The creature is now resting on your torso. It's making a strange clicking sound.
After a moment you feel more paws on you. At least three more creatures are pawing at you, kneading your muscles, and walking over your bare skin, brushing you with their tails. It tickles but you try not to move. Does it work? [[Yes -> Monkey Crawl]] or [[no-> Monkey Dough]].You slowly close your eyes again. The monkey grows bored and wanders off. Would you like to get up now? [[Yes->Yes]] or [[no->no]].The monkeys grow bored and wander off. Would you like to open your eyes now? [[Yes->Yes]] or [[no->no]].The monkeys freak out. They knead even harder, this time with their claws out. You feel a tear escape down your cheek as the monkey claws dig into your skin, drawing blood with every dig. One of them is bouncing on you like you're a trampoline. Do you [[wait it out-> Monkey Feast]] or [[make a break for it->Monkey Chase]]?The monkeys begin tearing at your skin, ripping off chunks with their claws and teeth. You can hear them chewing on your flesh. You have a high tolerance for pain and you are able to withstand the gougings.
After nearly a minute of flesh loss the monkeys stop abruptly, waiting, their bodies alert. You hear nothing but the monkeys leave abruptly, traveling along the ground into the brush.
Would you like to open your eyes? [[yes->Heal Me]] or [[no ->Wound Fate]].You're not cut out for this madness. You leap up and run like a motherf*cker. One of the monkeys takes a swipe at you as it swings by from branch to branch. It catches you on the jaw and spins your head to the side. As your head turns you see a large stone up ahead. You pick it up with a strong intention. [[Turn to take aim at a monkey->Turn to take aim at a monkey]], [[throw it behind you and hope for the best->throw it behind you and hope for the best]], or [[just keep holding it->just keep holding it]].You open your eyes, which one of which is already swelling up, and see a vine wrapped around a tree next to you. It looks like it goes all the way up into the canopy. [[Climb the rope->Climb the rope]] or [[Stay on the ground->Stay on the ground]]?The pain is too much for you. Even with your pain tolerance you can only withstand so much. Besides, you're pretty sure you only have one working at the moment- better not to risk it. You fall into a deep meditation on pain and impermenance. It is not an unpleasant experience. Time passes. Would you like to open your eyes now? [[Yes->Yes]] or [[no->no]].You turn to get a clean shot and are met with a howling monkey face. The monkey is midleap and lands directly on your face, gauging out your left eye with it's long teeth. The other monkeys are quickly upon you. You are too stunned to feel pain but the shock of it, paired with your globophobia, causes you to pass out. When you wake up, all is silent. Would you like to open your eyes? [[Yes->Yes]] or [[no->no]]. You lob the rock behind you and somehow, miraculously, squarely hit a monkey, who you can hear howling in pain. You immediately feel terrible, your strong empathetic instincts kick in, and you turn to see if you can make ammends. Four monkeys are starting at you from their spot by their injured commrad. One of them opens its mouth as if to scream. At first you don't hear anything but then your sensitive ears pick up a faint, high pitched whine. Do you still wish to make ammends? [[Yes->Monkey Council]] or [[no->Escape]].Energy surges through you and you run faster and fleeter than you have ever run in your life. //I can fly//, you think, a sureness sweeping through you like electricity. You are elated at this revelation and as if on cue you see open sky ahead of you. The direction you have been running in ends at cliff overlooking the sea. Do you [[Stop short->Stop short]] or [[Keep going->Keep going]]?You lift an eyelid and see that there is a thick vine wrapped around the tree next to you. It looks like it goes all the way up to the canopy. [[Climb the rope->Climb the rope]] or [[Stay on the ground->Stay on the ground]]?You roll over and try to doze off. Tiny jungle denizens begin crawling on you as if you were just another piece of earth. Time passes. Would you like to open your eyes? [[Yes->Yes]] or [[still no->still no]].You're no expert in monkey communication but you were raised to be gracious so you instinctively drop to one knee, head bowed.
The monkeys seem to be discussing the matter. The injured monkey is the loudest of the group and you fear you will not be forgiven. You wonder, against your wishes, what the punishment is for injuring one of the tribe.
A very large monkey walks over to you, sadness as clearly etched on her face as any human you've ever seen. You open your mouth to speak but she is too quick.
The pain is too much for you to bear. Compared to your last interaction, this one is an abject hell. The sad eyed monkey claws at your face and you hear, rather than feel, your left eyeball pop. You pass out from shock and pain. Time passes. Would you like to open your eye now? [[Yes->Yes]] or [[no->no]].There is a thick vine wrapped around a large tree. It looks like it goes all the way up to the canopy. [[Climb the rope->Climb the rope]] or [[Stay on the ground->Stay on the ground]]?You try to distract yourself by noticing your surroundings. Dappled light is making it's way down through the canopy and the air is rich with the scent of petrichor. Your skin is damp and a fine wet mist clings to the thin hairs on your face and arms. Above you something is scurrying through branches, unseen, raining an ocasional drop of water on your legs and torso. A dry leaf cracks beneath you as you shift your left shoulder. The scurrying stops. [[Peek at what's above you ->Look up]] or [[close your eyes and wait for it to pass->Lie still]]?The monkeys are way into your dulcet tones. The first one approaches you cautiously, reaches out a hand to touch your pants, and finding that you are real, enacts a vicegrips on your right leg and begins to hump you violently. The second monkey follows suit, then a third and fourth. They are all howling away and you are weighed down with sex crazed monkeys. Do you [[allow them to finish->Hold your ground]] or [[attempt to run away->Fanboys]]?The monkeys grow bored and wander off. You breathe a sigh of relief.
Dappled light is making it's way down through the canopy and the air is rich with the scent of petrichor. Your skin is damp and a fine wet mist clings to the thin hairs on your face and arms. Above you something is scurrying through branches, unseen, raining an ocasional drop of water on your legs and torso. A dry leaf cracks beneath you as you shift your left shoulder. The scurrying stops. [[Peek at what's above you ->Look up]] or [[close your eyes and wait for it to pass->Lie still]]?The monkeys begin tearing at your skin, ripping off chunks with their claws and teeth. You can hear them chewing on your flesh. You have a low tolerance for pain and you are not able to withstand the gougings. You pass out cold.
Time passes.
Would you like to open your eyes? [[yes->Heal Me]] or [[no ->Wound Fate]].You take a step back.
The monkeys take as step forward.
You take a step back back.
The monkeys take two steps forward.
As they do, more monkeys appear behind them. Grateful for the time you spent on the gymnastics team in high school, you turn take off running. The monkeys howl, hot on your trail. You leap and summersault out of the way of the monkey swinging through the canopy beside you and escape with nothing more than a scratch. You pick up a rock as you run. [[Turn to take aim at a monkey->Turn to take aim at a monkey]], [[throw it behind you and hope for the best->throw it behind you and hope for the best]]or [[just keep holding it->just keep holding it]]?You belt out your favorite alone in your car on an 8 hour road trip song. You have never sounded better in your life. The broad waxy leaf amplifies your voice and sends it bouncing through the jungle. You leap to your feet, grab hold of a tall flower stalk, and sing into the stalk. You have always loved playing multiple roles and rock star is one of your favorites.
You sing out the last note of the song and await rauncheous applause. Instead, there is a soft movement behind you. You turn to see a large, golden monkey watching you from behind a large fern. There is another monkey beside it. Do you [[Greet the monkeys with another song ->Greet the monkeys with another song]], [[wait for the monkeys to make the first move->wait for the monkeys to make the first move]], or [[take a step back from the monkeys->Fanboys]]?The rope is thick and easy to climb. Your skin pulls where the monkeys claws dug into you and your vision is blurred but you push through, climbinging higher and higher. Your fear of heights has always kept you from exploring high places but, despite everything, you're proud of yourself for taking this risk.
Both the vine and the branches get thinner and more numerous the higher you climb and just when you think you can't climb any higher you catch your first glimpse of your surroundings.
Straight in front of you, a mile or so away, is the ocean. The seas are calm and a lone ship bobs on the gentle waves. Along the coastline are an endless expanse of trees and behind you-
You catch a glimpse of movement and something bright catches the sunlight but then the vertigo sets in. Do you [[wait for it to pass->wait for it to pass]] or [[climb down->climb down]]You walk, quietly, respectfully through the jungle until you reach a village. It's been a number of days since you've seen other humans. They scare you, repulse you even. Shocked by your own feelings, you flee the village and return to the jungle. You close your eyes and pick up a rock off the jungle floor... [[still no->still no]] Time passes. Your body is heavy and you feel older now. The desire to open your eyes has gone. You think you'll sleep now, like a rock, as a rock, until someone comes to wake you...**Whoa**! says your brain. Your heart is racing, not because you've been running but because you just almost jumped off a cliff. You're freaking yourself out a little bit but this is not the first time you've nearly done something this stupid. In fact, you joined a cult a few years back but a little bit of logic and reason brought you back around. Still, it's good to keep tabs on yourself when it comes to misguided leaps of faith.
You feel as if the stone is talking to you, silently urging you to go on toward the sea. You wonder if perhaps this time really **is** different. Do you [[leap into the unknown->Keep going]] or [[toss the rock into the sea->toss the rock into the sea]]?It's as if you're being resting on giant, invisible waterbed. The air seems to undulate beneath you, lofting you up and down like a piece of dandelion fluff on the breeze.
//I'm flying//, you think, stunned at your incredible luck in picking up this stone. As you look at, another thought occurs to you. //I'm invincible//, you think, grinning to yourself, your worries as light as your body. You summersault through the air, riding the air currents as if you were born to it. you turn back, reclining on a breeze, your feet kicking gently beneath you to keep you lofted, and [[toss the rock from one hand to the other->toss the rock from one hand to the other]]. You hurl the rock over the cliff toward the ocean but therock hovers midair, spinning like a discus, before shooting back into the forest so fast you nearly get whiplash trying to follow it's path. //WTF just happened//, you ask yourself.
In addition to being optimistic that bad ideas are actually good ones, you also have a highly active immagination and now that you can't see the rock anymore you wonder if perhaps there is something in the air here that simply makes you believe that the things you want to believe are real...
You have outpaced the monkeys for the time being, if there even really were any monkeys to begin with, and the sun is beginning to set over the ocean.
Would you like to [[sit and watch the sunset->sit and watch the sunset]], contemplating the mysteries of life and your own mind while waiting out any weird druggie effects that may or may not be causing you to hallucinate certain events, or would you rather [[keep moving->keep moving]] in case the magical speed-inducing rock is really real and the monkeys are really real and coming for you?You fall into a deep meditation on beauty, pain, and impermenance. It is not an unpleasant experience. Night falls. Time passes. Would you like to open your eyes now? [[Yes->Yes]] or [[no->no]].You head back into the jungle and see that there is a thick vine wrapped around a large tree. It looks like it goes all the way up to the canopy. [[Climb the rope->Climb the rope]] or [[Stay on the ground->Stay on the ground]]?At least that was your intention.
The moment the rock leaves your hand you drop toward the sea. You are scared, cold, heavy, and alone. You hadn't realized how quiet it had been before but now the waves are crashing beneath you, wind is pressing at your ears, and your graceful kick has become a petrified flounder. You reach for the rock but it slips through your fingertips as you fall and you careen out of control, head first toward the sea. As you fall into the waves you twist around to see the rock hovering in mid-air for a split second and then shooting back toward land, up the cliffs and into the forest from whence you came.
You inhale a lungful of water. Then another. You cannot find the surface. The world is going dark at the edges. This is the end. You close your eyes, allowing the water to take you under. There is pain in your chest but for once the pain does not bother you. You think back on your life, on your choices, great and small. It is all slipping away. Do you regret your choices? [[Yes->Yes]] or [[no->no]]. The vine is slippery now with dew but you keep a tight grip and make your way, step by step, toward the forest floor.
Until one misstep sends you reeling. You fall through the air, grasping in vain for branches to hold onto. The ground is hard beneath you and the air feel sharp, like it's full of metal shards. The last thing you remember is a pair of giant, yellow eyes looking down at you.
You try to speak but all you can hear is the gurggling of a nearby brook. Your head is heavy. Everything is so much darker than it was a moment ago. Would you like to... yes, or [[still no]]Your finely tuned intuition says that a lullaby is in order. You sing Hush Little Baby quietly but soulfully. One of the monkey's eyelids begin to droop. Do you [[Keep singing->Keep singing]] or [[stop singing->stop singing]]?The monkeys topple over like dominos. You breathe a sigh of relief. It's not that you don't want to be friends, it's just that your finely tuned intuition said that there was something weird going on with those monkeys.
You turn around slowly and notice a stone on the ground.
[[Pick up the stone->Pick up the stone]] [[Don't pick up the stone->Don't pick up the stone]]The monkeys stir. The trace appears to be broken. You begin to sense that you may have made the wrong decision. Do you [[sing a new song->sing the monkeys a brand new song]] or [[take a step back->Fanboys]]?It's as if you're being resting on giant, invisible waterbed. The air seems to undulate beneath you, lofting you up and down like a piece of dandelion fluff on the breeze.
//I'm flying//, you think, stunned at your incredible luck in picking up this stone. As you look at, another thought occurs to you. //I'm invincible//, you think, grinning to yourself, your worries as light as your body. You summersault through the air, riding the air currents as if you were born to it. You fly through the canopy and reach a tall cliff face. You fly over the ocean without a care and when the coast line is barely a dot on the horizon you stop to watch the sunset, reclining on a breeze, your feet kicking gently beneath you to keep you lofted, and [[toss the rock from one hand to the other->toss the rock from one hand to the other]]. As you walk quietly and carefully through the jungle you fall into a deep meditation on nature, humankind, and the soft light of sunset. It is not an unpleasant experience. Time passes. You begin to feel lightheaded. Is it the events of the day? Lack of food? Without realizing it, you have curled up next to a tree trunk. Your eyelids are heavy and you try to sleep. Time passes. Would you like to open your eyes? [[yes ->Mist]] or [[no->still no]]. You fall into a deep meditation on nature, humankind, and starlight. It is not an unpleasant experience. Time passes. You begin to feel lightheaded. Is it the events of the day? Lack of food? You curl up and try to sleep. Time passes. Would you like to open your eyes? [[climb down->climb down]] or [[still no->still no]].