You wake up in the middle of the forest at night, with no memory of how you got there.  All you have is a backpack full of Cheez-Its and other essential supplies, along your own wits to help you on your way.  As you explore this strange land, you'll find things you never knew could exist, (at least, not that you can remember).  You'll meet strange creatures, some friend, others not, and maybe, just maybe, recover your lost memories...

My (rather rushed), entry for the Lone Hero contest.  I'll be the first to admit that not all the endings will make you any sort of hero, lone or otherwise, (mainly the ones where you run away from just about every source of conflict, and/or die).  But if you're brave enough to do what you think is right, even though it may result in your untimely demise, you may just make yourself a hero yet.  In that light, I guess you could say you're a reluctant Lone Hero.  

While each route of this story can be understood to some degree on it's own, it is important to play every branch to fully understand the greater story that's being told.  I have no intention of revealing everything on the first play through, you'll have to take the time to explore everything to learn all it's secrets.

By the way, on the off chance that you find any glitches or bugs, please tell me.  I'd like to know so I can fix them.

Netflix and video games can only go so far when it comes to fighting boredom. Usually the comfort of your own home is more than enough to make you happy on the weekends, but lately something feels off. You've tried to rewatching The Office for the six or seventh time, but just couldn't get into it. After scrolling through your entire Steam library consisting of over five hundred games, you couldn't find a single one that looked worth playing. You're used to being relieved about coming home after a long day of work or school, but lately you've found yourself dreading the emptiness of your own home. There's no two ways around it, you're stuck in a rut, and it's going to take something major to break you out. Luckily, you have just the thing. Before you have a chance to change your mind, you call up your friend who lives across town and tell him to come over as soon as possible. It doesn't take much to convince him to join you on the ultimate Saturday bike ride.

But little do you know that biking can be a lot more dangerous than it looks. The trails are a hotbed for all manner of suspicious activity. You are about to stumble upon an underground subculture more complex and deadly than you could possibly have imagined. Today, you'll find out whether you're just another neckbeard with a cheap set of wheels or a true hero and adventurer.

The trails in the story are loosely based on the ones in my own town. Some of the weird and crazy things in this story are exaggerated or completely made up, but there were also some things I pulled directly from my own experience.  My town can be kinda strange sometimes.  I'll let you decide for yourself what you think is true and what isn't.

I started this story in late 2020 and worked on it on and off into 2021. Then I sorta stopped and forgot about it. But by that point, it already had enough substance to stand on its own, so I decided to come back to it recently and tie up a few loose ends so that the twenty-eight thousand words I'd already written for it wouldn't go to waste. The finished product turned out smaller than I initially planned, but I'm still reasonably happy with it. A bird in the hand is worth two, I suppose.

Reviews: 1

Featured: 1

Team: Penguin Paparazzi

Games reviewed:

• Story B, Length: 3, 6/21/25,  Featured

Points total: 1

Alright, I'll bite. I missed writing reviews. Put me in the game, coach!

CYStia is the greatest empire in the known world. It's the glory and splendor of the Roman Empire mixed with the ruthlessness and conquest of the Vikings. You must have seen all the newb heads on pikes on the way in, didn't you? There should be a thread that will explain more if you're interested.

I'd say I'm around a 6/8, because I can, in fact, boil rice, but I generally use a rice cooker for convenience. Last time I tried on a stove I burned the rice, though it wasn't too bad and still tasted alright. I'm currently cooking most of my meals from raw ingredients and manage to eat a decent variety of things day to day. I just haven't ever made soup that didn't come in a can, and I haven't baked anything in nearly a year, so that barely counts.

The hobo cult isn't anything close to what I've personally experienced, but I don't find it difficult to believe that such a thing might actually exist somewhere. I mean, in some ways, it already sorta happened with the hippie movement.

This is the most patriotic thing I've seen all day.

I really appreciate the review! The furries were also based on something that happened to me. I went to walk over a pedestrian bridge and there were two of them in suits rivaling the quality of something you might see at Disneyland. They were just standing around nearby, waving at people walking past. Still no clue what exactly they were doing there, but there you have it.

I do like dinos. Might check it out!

What's really funny is that I didn't initially plan it to be. I was trying to make a lighthearted story about biking and it just slowly spiraled downwards into what it is now.

Yeah, it's happened a couple of times that I'm aware. Only once at Taco Bell, but it wasn't just confined to there. The trails out there are the sorta place that's beautiful and fun during the day, but super sketchy at night. I talked with a homeless dude once whose eye got messed up because he tried to help another guy who was getting jumped near them. One of my friends used to walk home from work at 2am using them and got followed. But I've ridden on them for years and never had a problem, so it's really a mixed bag.