A piece of interactive fiction vs. role-playing game, where you get to suggest the next move and influence how the story progresses.
#40. End of the road.
Monday, January 02, 2006 You wake up in the back of a car.It is moving, and your head is fuzzy. You look down to your waist, and see you have a bandage around your trunk, blood staining part of it.
You pull yourself up and look out of the window to try and work out where you are.
"Morning."
"I'll take your word for it" you quip, but pain from your wound makes it hard to speak.
"I'm sorry you had to go through this, we tried to sort it out without you getting involved, but in the end, you were the most sensible bait."
"Bait? Who..."
The driver turns around and you instantly recognise him from the Pink Kitten, the obnoxious business man who tried to spark up a conversation with you.
"I work for Judge Haynes. Lets just say, I look after his personal interests"
"I.."
"You, don't exist Mr Mason. You haven't done for many years, and we want to keep it that way. Things started to get complicated recently, and we needed to clear that up, but we're back on track now, and you need to not exist once again".
"I.. you're going to.. to kill me?"
"No no" the driver chuckles, "you're already dead, and as long as you stay dead, we're happy to keep thinking you're dead. You get?"
"Um. I think so."
"Good. I'm taking you somewhere you'll happily be dead for as long as you need to be. Being dead isn't cheap, so there's enough cash to get to going for a while in the trunk of the car."
"I.. just wait.. I'm meant to just up and disappear?"
"Mr Mason, you already don't know who you are, and other than a recent misjudged family reunion, you still don't really know who you are. So what's the problem?"
"I know enough."
The car pulls to a halt on the side of the road, and the driver leans over his seat to face you.
"No Mr Mason, you do not. You don't remember anything that has happened over the past week. You don't want to remember, and you're not going to try. You're going to start a new life with a clean slate."
His calm way of speaking suggests he isn't a man to complain to. He turns back to face forward and pulls back on to the road.
"Do you know anything of Buddhism Mr Mason?"
"What?"
"It is a common misconception, Mr Mason, that Buddhists believe in reincarnation as in an immortal soul, and transmigration of that soul. When I die, I will not become a dog or horse. However, Mr Mason, now that you have died, you are being given the chance to choose whether you believe in transmigration of the soul in to another life. Choose wisely Mr Mason. If you choose to be a dog, you can be a dog. If you choose to be a Man, you can be a Man, but if you choose to chase your previous life, Mr Mason, that's the end of your path - and I don't want bad Karma on my hands. When I say bad Karma, I mean your blood."
You swallow, and car pulls over once more, next to another car.
"This is your car now. Goodbye Mr Mason."
and the driver gets out of the car, and into another parked next to you.
The other car drives off in a cloud of dirt, and you step out of the car.
You are standing at a crossroads, but you've had enough decisions made for you by now.
You climb back into the car, and rest.
