In the Belly of the Beast :: Choose Your Own Adventure

[Sanara]

[> Try to hide in the fallen rocks...]

The trickle of water in the middle of the room was quickly rising as you spin to look around for anything that could save you. There is only one place you know would be a great place to hide; the rubble, with plenty of crevices and openings. Splashing over, you slip every now and again, but finally find a small corner to settle into just as the cats come into the pipe, kicking up water and causing echos of splashes to ring out. You lay still and very quiet as their snarled words reach your ears.

“That Twig couldn’t have gotten far. I didn’t hear her run. Check the pipes and any where she could have hidden. We’ll find her.”

Their words strike an immediate sense of fear into you, but you knew you had to stay put as seconds turned to minutes. The flooding waters, wherever they were coming from, was soon covering your paws, and would surely bob up over your legs in no time. A smaller, much more relevant spark of fear hit you; if the water got too high, would you drown in this little space?

[> Stay in hiding. Face the consequences...]
[> Jump out and make a run for it...]

[Sanara]

[> Keep running. There is nothing for you here...]

And so you ran on, passing the pipes and fallen rocks alike. You ran as the stream of water rose even further, covering your paws and causing loud splashes to echo around you. The horrible cats know where you are, but if you run faster than them, maybe you can leave them in the dust entirely?

You try just that, and dash away blindly into the darkness until, without warning, you’re leaping out of your pipe and onto solid, flat, dry ground! You pant with relief and shock! The room is poorly lit by an open man-hole cover overtop, with several pipe openings on all sides. You don’t know where they lead, but all of them are out of reach. The very top-most pipe holes are connected by a thick pipe crossing the distance, and you can only imagine how the two-leggers move them.

To both sides of you are ground-level openings with bars across them. One is absolutely in tact with rusted, dull iron pipes. However, you notice the other is fully in tact minus one bar, broken at the bottom! You turn to run towards it- only to be cut off by a body much larger than your own.

“Well well well, Twig. Looks like we’ve finally caught you.” You begin to panic, causing tears to swell up in your eyes. You go to take a step back- only to be given a hard shove that sends you toppling backwards over the hard ground. The other two cats let out grunts of laughter and gave you a shark nudge to flop you over- and that’s when you saw it.

High above you, you see the shining face of Rat, their eyes stormy with concern. You don’t know what they can do to help, but you’re just glad they’re okay. You go to call for them, making sure they saw you, but stop short. Do the other cats know they were there?

[> Call out for Rat to help...]
[> Plead for the cats to not hurt you...]

[Sanara]

[> Jump out and make a run for it...]

The water is too much for you! It’s already coaxing your belly, and you fear the bad cats are already too close to catching you, so you take the leap and come out of hiding. With a big leap and splash, you emerge from your hole and cause one of the larger cats to howl in surprise!

On winged heels you run, causing loud splashes in your wake, but have no time to glance back for the cats you know are following close behind you. Their own foot falls are echoing through the pipe thanks to the steady stream of water that caused your need for escape.

And then without warning, you leap out onto solid, flat ground! You pant with relief and shock in the half-light streaming in from an uncovered man-hole. The strange pipe openings from other locations leading here are all illuminated, as well as a pipe in place at the very top linking two sections together.

Glancing around for an escape, you notice two ground-level openings on either side of the large room. Both had iron bars blocking access, and although one was completely intact, the other had a bar broken at the bottom! You turn to run towards it- only to be cut off by a body much larger than your own.

“Well well well, Twig. Looks like we’ve finally caught you.” You begin to panic, causing tears to swell up in your eyes. You go to take a step back- only to be given a hard shove that sends you toppling backwards over the hard ground. The other two cats let out grunts of laughter and gave you a shark nudge to flop you over- and that’s when you saw it.

High above you, you see the shining face of Rat, their eyes stormy with concern. You don’t know what they can do to help, but you’re just glad they’re okay. You go to call for them, making sure they saw you, but stop short. Do the other cats know they were there?

[> Call out for Rat to help...]
[> Plead for the cats to not hurt you...]

[Sanara]

[> Stay in hiding. Face the consequences...]

You decide to hunker down, curling your striped tail around you tightly. You keep your maw open to quiet your breathing, but you feel as though your heart beat is loud enough for anyone to hear. Already the murky grey water is lapping at your chest fur and your unsure how long you have until it’s at your chin.

Maybe... maybe the cats will have left by then? You can’t be sure as they growl back and forth at one another, exploring the pipe offshoots, and slowly making their ways closer... ever closer...

As the moments slip by, you begin to wonder about Rat. You hope they got away safely. You regret ever bringing the cats closer to them. Your stomach begins to clinch but it brings you no comfort as you lay there, and feel the water tickling your chin. You won’t be able to stay there for much longer...

But that wasn’t a problem as a shadow blocks the light filtering into your hidey-hole. A large orange eye bore through the darkness and struck you to your core. Slowly a paw reached in as the owner of it chuckled darkly. You remember wishing you could have seen rat one more time, but even that didn’t last long.

[> Game over.]

[Sanara]

[> Call out for Rat to help...]

As you lay there, you know your only help will come from above. Your only sibling and family, Rat, who can help you from high above. You reach your paw dramatically as if reaching towards the above world for help.

The cats who were circling you are confused, unsure if that last knock had scrambled your witts, and look back and forth to each other for answers. But that’s when you call out “Rat! Please help!” What were they to do?

The cats standing around you, however, finally understood what you were doing, and followed your line of sight up to Rat, planting a big smile on their faces. “You two, go get the rat. I’ll deal with Twig here.” And with devious smiles the other two cats split off and started poking at other pipes, trying to find the one that would lead up to your sibling. You’ve alerted them, yet again, to Rat’s location and sold out your sibling. But the cats weren’t done yet.

Now alone, the leader looks down at you laying amongst the concrete floor. “Well, well, we’ll, Twig. Looks like they can’t help you.” Slowly he raised his paw, the half light outlining his extended claws beautifully, but the ending was quick. You hardly feel the pain above the guilt of selling Rat out once again.

[> Game over.]

[Sanara]

[> Plead for the cats to not hurt you...]

You lay there quietly, your eyes leaving Rat’s, and you look around wildly at your tormentors. Cautiously you stand and curl in on yourself, feeling the concrete cold on your paws. You don’t know if anyone can help you, but you feel a sob grow in your chest. “P-Please,” You beg. “Please let me go....”

The cats all laugh, much to your despair. “Sorry, Twig. We just can’t do that. You see, we came down here looking for a fun time, and they’re aren’t anymore rats to play with...” again, the leader raised his paw ready to strike out at the kitten in front of him- only to freeze when a metal object clanged against the floor.

All the cats jumped hard at the sound that echoed three or four times in the small space between them, and all let out yowled in unison that joined the clamor. You see far off that the noise was an oddly shaped tool... almost like a wrench thrown from above you. But you have no time to look up and see if Rat was there smiling down at you. All the cats were distracted.

With a wild thrill of fear, you turn tail and bolt between the other two cats who were still wild eyed and deafened by the dropped wrench. You spare no time as you leap towards the sewer hole that had the broken bar at the bottom, winning yourself a small gash on the shoulder. Before the pain even registers you hear furious hisses coming from behind you, and barely miss clawed paws reaching out for your hide.

You run- run as fast as your small legs can take you. It felt like hours running through that pipe, but you knew it couldn’t be any longer than a few minutes as you painted harshly but weren’t dying for breath. By the time you slowed you saw light streaming in from before you, and heard no footsteps coming from behind you. Slowly you step out into the blinding sunlight for the first time, and are surprised at the strange moss growing out of the ground and large cats that had been walking by, now standing in surprised curiosity looking down to you.

“Hello little one,” one of the long-haired cats said with a smile. She had beautiful orange and black fur with white on her underbelly. Her green eyes showed no hint of malice, and you feel so relieved to be in her presence. Without much prompting you start meowing out your last days journey, and before too long she has to shush you. “Don’t worry, youngling. You’re in Hillsideclan territory now. We’ll protect you, but if you wouldn’t mind coming with me, our leader Falconstar would love to hear your story.”

[> Go with her to Hillsideclan...]

[Sanara]

[> Use the wrench...]

You grab this strange tool, absolutely brimming with curiosity. It’s cold and heavy, and you weigh it between your paws delicately. How would one go about even using it?? You’re unsure, but your sibling is looking at you expectantly. With one square shot, you smack the wheel with the wrench and the loudest sound you’ve ever heard rings through the tunnels.

Both you and the sandy kit nearly leap out of your skin with surprise, however the sandy kit makes a run for it while you’re left watching the wheel you have tried so hard to turn falls off of it’s rusted bearing from the contact with the wrench. You don’t know why yet, but you can feel dread welling up inside you as water begins pouring from the open hole behind you. A great gush of water begins pouring into the trench at your feet, forcing you to back up against the bars of the opening.

You turn to look for an escape route- only to be grabbed at by clawed hands. “Look What we have here,” said a sickeningly smooth voice. “Looks like we found ourselves a Rat.” You don’t know why they’re referring to you as a rat, but you do notice with painful intensity the water that’s now pouring over the sides of the trench and onto the concrete. Even the cats on the other side of the bars are getting wet paws, but you pray they won’t drop you.

A small part of you hopes they do, for dying in the water is much nicer that whatever these feral clowns plan to do with you...

[> Game over.]

[Sanara]

[> Keep turning without the wrench...]

You look down at the strange metal object, and frown slightly. What would you even do with it? Your eyes follow back up to the sandy kit and you frown; her attention is turned back from where she came. Obviously she was worried about whatever was going on behind her. No matter, you shrug as you take hold of the rusted wheel and turn it once more.

The shriek that echos through the corridors is enough to make you and the sandy kit both nearly leap out of your skins! In one swift movement she takes off down her pip, probably scared witless by your actions! But you don’t have long to think on this as you hear a third voice- one you’ve never heard before. “Get back here Twig!!” It called after her.

Could that be your sisters name? You grow ever curious and lean forwards to look through the bars to try and place the voice with a face, only to have the new cats slam against the bars, sending you wheeling backwards. You go to push yourself up and have your paw splash right into a puddle looking at your back- it seems turning that wheel has led to the pipe releasing a steady flow of water! One that’s already brimming over the edge of the trench behind you.

“Well, well, well. Looks like we found ourselves a Rat.” Was that your name? You’ve never had a name before... but the cat in front of you was obviously pointing the accusation towards you! Defiantly you set your chin and stand strong, knowing the cats couldn’t reach you...

Until the head cat stars shaking at the rusted bars. For a split second you don’t know if they really couldn’t reach you... and the water pooling at your feet only leads you to believe it’s time to bolt!

[> Get up and go...]

[Sanara]

[>Get up and go...]

You quickly pick yourself up out of the growing pool of water and skirt away further into the darkness that is the tunnels. The overflowing trench follows you, as they were not built to hold so much water, but you’re not worried, because a bit ahead you spot the outlines of some strange objects that might be of use!

Further along you spot several strange boxes and objects the two-leggers must have left the last time they were down here. On the other side of the trench there are strange horizontal bars leading up a smaller pipe. You have no idea where it leads without further investigation.

The boxes, which are on your side, look to be made out of wood, and weigh little to nothing. You happen to be able to push them around, since they are hardly twice as big as you are. You are unable to see inside of them, but can tell a few may have things in them. They even support your weight! The only other thing to explore would be the horizontal bars, but you’re unsure what lies at the end of them until you check them out. No matter what you do, you’re becoming severely agitated at the water soaking into your fur. Any longer in this area and you might not be able to turn back...

[> Use the boxes to try and barricade the water...]
[> Leap over the flooded trench to get to the horizontal bars...]
[> Push the heavier boxes into the water first, then the lighter...]
[> Keep moving. There’s no point to exploring...]

[Sanara]

[> Use the boxes to try and barricade the water...]

With your wits and quick thinking, you begin pushing the boxes in a sort of lined up barricade in front of the water! You struggle against the ever rising current, and the weight of the boxes, but in the end, you stand back and realize how much of a horrible choice this was! Not only have you wasted time trying to barricade the water into the trench, but you’re up to your elbows in fast moving water!

Do you not remember that you can’t swim? With a sick feeling you are left to abandon the boxes and move on, and as you walk down the last bit of pipe, you notice some of the lighter ones bobbing along beside you where the trench would have been. They’re quietly being swept away, as you might be if you don’t reach the next area in time!

[> Rush into the next area...]