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Welcome to Ansonia

Welcome to Ansonia, a wealthy Connecticut town circa 1928. Note the darkness of the map; the shadows have always held a bit of Ansonia – ever deepening, as impending threat of economic recession looms increasingly closer. The rise of darkness is near and the Mythos stirs…

The Charles Kaufman New Age Sanitarium

The Charles Kaufman New Age Sanitarium is a large two story stone edifice, east of Ansonia, in a secluded area atop a lonely hill. A long gravel drive opens through an iron gate, off the main road, and meanders up through dark woods, finally opening into a wide clearing, wherein sits the place.

For those unlucky enough to end up here, it is a hopeless abyss of forlorn suffering, from which there is no escape.

Points of Historic Interest

1927

• A building in Missolongi Greece is bombarded with stones from the sky for a half an hour.
• Bible Quoting Earle Nelson is hanged at Winnipeg for the international murders of at least 22 landladies.
• Black rain in Ireland.
• Capone crew estimated to reap $60,000,000 from illegal beer and liquor.
• Charles Lindbergh Flies nonstop between New York City and Paris.
• Dempse/Tunney fight broadcast in Chicago, 40 million claimed to listen. Five listeners died of heart failure during the famous 13 second Tunney recovery, another five died during other fight moments.
• Earle Muller successfully uses x-rays to induce mutations in fruit flies.
• Estimated 30,000 speakeasies in New York City.
• Estimated 50,000 deaths resulting from bad booze since prohibition.
• First remote jukebox.
• Iron Lung developed.
• Lemaitre introduces the notion of the expanding universe.
• Pop-up toaster.
• Public opinion polls reveal majority of people in favor of 18th Amendment repeal.
• Sacco and Vanzetti executed.
• The Jazz Singer first feature length film.
• Transatlantic telephone service established between New York and London.
• Unprecedented Vermont floods carry strange bodies past observers (The Whisperer in Darkness).

1928

• Amelia Earhart first woman to fly across the Atlantic.
• Byrd expedition sails to Antarctica.
• Danish training ship Kobenhoven disappears without trace after sailing from Montvideo.
• First television sets $75.
• Geiger counter.
• Herbert Hoover wins Presidential election.
• One divorce in six marriages.
• Publication of An Experiment With Time.
• Teletypes come into use.
• Vitamin C.
• Waterproof cellophane developed.

Second Floor

2nd Floor GP: The single guard post on the second floor is always manned by a pair of Security Guards, armed with nightsticks and whistles. They also carry the keys to the locks on the second floor, a single flashlight between them, and have a firehose (on the backside of the elevator) at their disposal, to use through the bars on any uncooperative residents (or just for the hell of it when really bored).

Books: A tall heavy bookcase stands bolted to the wall here (at the top, to prevent it being moved or tipped over). Its mostly bare shelves hold a meager selection of ratty old novels and the residents' checkers set and watercolor art supplies.

Cells: The residents’ cold glazed concrete cells contain only a tiny barred window in the end opposite the door and a small drain in the floor. Residents are rarely allowed anything in their cells beyond a lumpy canvas mattress and a thin wool blanket.

Elevator: A lever-control operated elevator. It takes one round for the doors to open, one round to close, and two rounds to move between each floor. Arrival at each level is announced with a loud ding.

Linen: Storage for extra blankets and a few basic cleaning supplies.

Mill Space: The resident’s mill space is an open area with a porcelain-tiled floor and the same tiling going four feet up the walls. A few card tables and light folding chairs are provided for residents to sit at to take their meals, play checkers, read a frayed novel, or paint pictures with watercolor paints. A large drain in in the center of the floor allows water to run out, in the event that the guards have to use the firehose (at their post) on any of the residents.

Nurse’s Station: The Nurse’s Station contains a desk with an intercom box and logbook, detailing any behavior or health concerns of residents, and a number of strap-down beds along the wall, for close observation or recovery. A small wheeled-cart near the desk also holds a fancy silver tea and coffee set.

First Floor

The Sanitarium’s Intercom System connects Reception, the Consultation Room, the Director's Office, the Doctor's Office, Security, and the Nurse's Station.

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1st Floor GPs: The First Floor Guard Posts are all manned by a single Security Guard, armed with a nightstick, flashlight, and whistle. None of them carry any keys (with the exception of those to the Guard Post in the Yard), as the keys are controlled by the Security Chief and kept in Security when not in use.

In addition to those manning the posts, an extra pair of guards stay with the residents whenever they are in a group together (in the yard, at breakfast, in group therapy, etc). During the night hours, these guards make rounds between all the other guard posts in the facility.

Cafeteria: The cafeteria is filled with heavy oak tables and chairs with a number of electric ceiling fans hanging from the ceiling to help cool the place in the summer. Residence only get to eat here once a day for breakfast - the Staff itself using it after that for the rest of the day.

Consulting Room: The Consulting Room doubles as the Associate Psychologist’s Office and contains a dark mahogany desk with a telephone and intercom box, some fancy leather armchairs facing the desk, and a set of wooden filing cabinets that hold all the Sanitarium’s legal, financial, and medical records (only two years’ worth). The room also contains a small library of boring medical references and an expansive collection of current medical and psychiatric journals.

Director’s Office: Lined with well-stocked bookshelves, the Director's Office prominently features a fancy black desk with dark red leather chairs on an intricately patterned oriental rug. A telephone and an intercom box sit on the desk, while a long padded leather couch, typical of any psychiatrist's office, sets off to one side. A vault in the corner contains boring financial records, the Director's BDSM gear, and a small wet bar (alcohol for medical purposes of course).

Doctor’s Office: Includes a small desk with an intercom box, two large metal operating tables with leather strap downs, medical equipment, surgical tools, and supplies, geared towards dealing with the various injuries the residents are occasionally subjected to. The room is also the last stop on the road to oblivion, for those unlucky enough to have been lobotomized here. The walls and doors of this room are sound dampened, but curiously, the door is never locked.

Elevator: A lever-control operated elevator. It takes one round for the doors to open, one round to close, and two rounds to move between each floor. Arrival at each level is announced with a loud ding.

Kitchen: A large Kitchen with gas stoves, wash basins, dinnerware, trays, and a generous expanse of counter and table tops for food preparation. A small collection of brass service carts are also kept here, for transporting evening meals to the residents and coffee and tea to the staff.

M/W: His and Hers restrooms.

Music Room: The Music Room is where the subjects of Director Kaufman's Tone Induction Therapy come each day, to practice their music. A variety of musical instruments can be found here and a small stage has been set up, where the participants will perform their chamber music for the Director's special guests in a few days.

Currently, the subjects are practicing Shubert's Octet D. 803 in 6 parts.

1. Adagio - Allegro
2. Adagio
3. Scherzo
4. Andante
5. Menuetto
6. Andante Molto - Allegro

1st Violin is Director Charles Kaufman
2nd Violin is Betty Mayfield
Viola is Harvey Polk
Cello is Helen Childs
Double Bass is Rupert Meeks
Clarinet is Mildred O'Connell
French is Horn Earl Boggs
Bassoon is Archie Rouse

Pantry: Well stocked with a variety of canned goods and fresh produce on hand. Most of it goes to feed the staff, while the residential fair is much more institutionalized (jars of pickle herring; ox tail, vegetable, and corn chowder soups; and of course the ever popular oatmeal porridge).

Reception: Contains a secretary’s desk with a telephone and an intercom box . It is furnished with padded black leather chairs and tall metal ashtrays. A fancy silver tea and coffee set can be found on a small table near a large fish tank that contains a pair of spotted blue octopi and a sunken model pirate ship.

Security: Unless escorting or dealing with residents, the Watch Captain and two Dobermans (Victor and Faust) will almost always be in this office, which includes two dog beds for the Dobermans, a combination-locked rifle safe, an intercom box, and a selection of straightjackets and other devises of restraint, hanging from pegs along the wall.

Smoking Lounge: Contains overstuffed black leather recliners, art-deco ashtrays, and a large rack of current newspapers. Residents are not allowed in here.

Supply Room: A clutter janitorial supplies used for the daily upkeep and cleaning of the facilities.

Yard: The only place for residents to get some fresh air, the Yard is walled in with a ten foot high concrete wall.

Basement

Basement GP: The single guard post in the basement is always manned by a pair of Security Guards, armed with nightsticks and whistles. They also carry a single flashlight between them and the keys to the Isolation Cells, Morgue, and The Hole.

Boiler & Storage Room: This area houses a large coal-burning furnace, water heater, and electric pump. It is also the general storage area of the Sanitarium and is a mess of old equipment, furniture, gardening supplies, and junk – covered in dusty cobwebs and crawling with spiders. There is even a giant folded-up tent pavilion kept in here, though it has never been used as far as anyone can tell.

Coal Bin: This low boxed-in area holds a large pile of coal under a dump chute from outside. The coal chute is intentionally too small for residents to try crawling through.

Electrical: The electrical junction for all the Sanitarium’s power. Lots of exposed knife switches to accidently brush up against.

Electro Chamber: A strap-down table and electric chair-looking thing occupy this section of the lab, where residents can be subjected to Shock-Therapy in all its sadistic glory. A control panel regulates the voltage, while a safety system meant to ensure human-tolerable amperage ranges appears to be in need of some repair.

Elevator: A lever-control operated elevator. It takes one round for the doors to open, one round to close, and two rounds to move between each floor. Arrival at each level is announced with a loud ding.

Ice: These small wooden icehouses are filled with large blocks of ice, buckets, hammers, and ice picks. Shelves inside are used for keeping perishables.

Isolation Cells: These tiny cramped cells are too small to fully lie down in and are used for Sleep Deprivation Therapy, which is pretty much just a fancy way of saying ‘inhumane torture’.

Laboratory: The Sanitarium’s Laboratory contains a wide array of strange equipment, apparatus, and strap-down tables that would do any mad scientist proud. This is where subjects can enjoy the Rotational Therapy Device, hang upside-down on the wall for Suspension Therapy, or receive a variety of Daily Enema cocktails (including Director Kaufman’s “House Special” that contains actual mummy dust).

Laundry: Soiled hospital gowns and linen are laundered here in large basins by hand with soap, scrub brushes, and washboards. Washed articles are then line-dried in the Yard.

Med Storage: Locked cabinets in this area hold the Sanitarium’s supplies of psychotropic drugs and surplus medical supplies not actually kept in the Doctor’s Office. Equipment for sterilizing surgical implements is also located here and a medical skeleton hanging from a stand.

Morgue: Locked at all times, the Morgue usually contains nothing more than a handful of wheeled metal gurneys.

Showers: This porcelain-tiled area is filled with showerheads in the ceiling and drains in the floor. It is where residents are run through a cold rinse each morning and also contains two large built-in basins that can be filled with ice water for use in the Hydro Therapy.

The Hole: Down the end of a spiraling corridor of soundproofed walls is a padded cell in the floor, where no sound or light enters. It is used for Sensory Deprivation Therapy – or a place to dump someone they want to forget about for a while. Recently, it has been installed with a speaker system for use with Director Kaufman’s new Tone Induction Therapy.

Wall Chains: Chains and harnesses on this wall are used for the experimental Suspension Therapy – or to punish unruly residents for extended periods of time.

Life in the Sanitarium

6 am - Residents are woken and counted; their cells are locked for the day; then they are marched out to the yard for mandatory calisthenics (rain or shine). Extra fun when the Dobermans are brought out to play too.

7 am - Residents are moved to the basement, where they disrobe and are forced to walk through cold showers; clean hospital gowns are then issued in the laundry room on the other side.

8 am - Residents are moved upstairs to the cafeteria for breakfast. It is the only meal of the day that they are allowed to eat in there; always consisting of oatmeal porridge, dry toast, and coffee.

9 am - After breakfast, the residents are split into supervised work assignments - washing dishes, cleaning tables, sweeping and mopping floors, doing laundry, scrubbing toilets, polishing brass, general busy work for the next two hours.

11 am - This is followed by morning music practice in the music room.

12 pm - Lunch is in the yard (weather permitting), consisting of pickled herring and hard boiled eggs. On Sundays, they even provide an apple. When lunch in the yard is not feasible, it is taken in the residents' mill space.

2 pm - Afternoon music practice in then held music room again.

3 pm - Group therapy is next, also in the music room. (Usually nothing more than a one hour lecture on how utterly mad everyone is).

4 pm - Then the dreaded Experimental therapies (locations vary); Those not in a session are returned to the residents' mill space to sit along the walls in 'quiet time'; Residents' cells are searched and opened back up to Residents' at his time.

6 pm - Dinner is served in the mill space - generally consisting of bread and soup (ox tail, vegetable, or corn chowder).

7 pm - After Dinner, residents are allowed free time in the mill space or their cells. Residents are not allowed in anyone's cell but their own.

9 pm - Residents are counted and locked into their cells for the night; lights out.

2 am - Bed check.

Sanitarium Staff

Staff Schedule
10am - 6pm Director/Chief of Psychiatric Treatment: Charles Kaufmann
10am - 6pm Associate Psychiatrist: Robert Hartley
4pm - 6pm Medical Doctor/Surgeon: John Slaughter (available on-call)
5am - 5pm Day Nurse: Mary Stinson
5am - 5pm Day Orderly: Evelyn Boyce
5pm - 5am Night Nurse: Doris Archer
5pm - 5am Night Orderly: Margaret Helms
5am - 5pm Day Watch Captain: George Hutchins
5pm - 5am Night Watch Captain: Frank Anderson

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Director Charles Kaufman

Chief Psychologist
Age 58; Gender Male; Height 6’1”; Weight 185

Charles Kaufman, the Sanitarium Director and Chief Psychologist, is one seriously devious bastard. His ability to read people like a book, coupled with a silver tongue and the knack for ‘duplicating’ official documents, allows him to experiment on his residents with assured impunity. He is highly regarded in both the scientific and public circles – to the point that the State's already poor oversight doesn't even bother with inspections anymore – taking the “good” Doctor's word that all is well and that each of his residents are speedily on the way to a full recovery.

For those unfortunate enough to fall into his “care” however, a nightmarish hell of bizarre and twisted experimentation awaits. Only recently, have these uniformly sadistic treatments been distracted by another field of exploration – involving therapy through music.

A new group of subjects has begun to show “remarkable progress” under the new therapy – and the Doctor even hints that its success could mean an unprecedented cure for all dementia. To demonstrate the efficacy of this new and amazing science, Doctor Kaufman has arranged for a select group of residents to perform an octet of chamber music, with himself as lead violinist, for a collection of professional colleagues.

Those that cooperate will be "rewarded", while those who refuse will be "disciplined" most harshly.

Dr. Robert Hartley

Associate Psychologist
Age 55; Gender Male; Height 5’6”; Weight 175

Dr. Robert Hartley, the Associate Psychologist on Staff, is jokingly referred to as "The Accountant with a License to Practice Medicine" - as he handles more of the Sanitarium's Administrative work than anything else.

A stand-by for Dr. Kaufman, Dr. Hartley only gets directly involved with Dr. Kaufman's work when he is filling in for him. Otherwise, Dr. Hartley is largely apathetic to what goes on in the Sanitarium.

Dr. Jonathan Slaughter

Medical Doctor/Surgeon
Age 55; Gender Male; Height 5’6”; Weight 360

A fat sadist creep that delights to inflict pain on others, Dr. Jonathan Slaughter is the Sanitarium's Medical Doctor/Surgeon (specializing in Lobotomies of course).

In-spite of the Doctor's unflattering weight problem, he is dangerously strong and spry - leading many of his past victims to wonder if he ever had any real humanity in him at all, before he gleefully stripped them of their own.

Mary Stinson/Doris Archer

Day/Night Nurse
Age 45; Gender Female; Height 5’8”; Weight 135

Don't trust these wicked harpies! While they appear all empathetic and kind on the outside, pretending they care, they work for 'The Man' and will stab you in the back before you can bat an eye. They'll stab you with needles too... (just sayin.)

Evelyn Boyce/Margaret Helms

Day/Night Orderly
Age 24; Gender Female; Height 5’3”; Weight 115

These poor kids have no idea what they've gotten themselves into, but at least they try to be nice, working with loons day in and day out.

George Hutchins

Day Watch Captain
Age 42; Gender Male; Height 6’5”; Weight 270

George Hutchins, the Day Watch Captain is a brutish giant of a man with a mean streak a mile long. He loves nothing more than to sick the Sanitarium's two Doberman Pinchers (Victor and Faust) on the residents - for any transgression, real or imagined - laughing heartily as the dogs viciously maul their victim.

For serious offenses, he plies his nightstick with devastating effect, and has access to a Springfield rifle, should anyone ever make it past the wall.

Frank Anderson

Night Watch Captain
Age 58; Gender Male; Height 5’8”; Weight 200

Frank Anderson, the Night Watch Captain, is a drunken bum. Fortunately, it means that he generally leaves things alone and sleeps off most of his watch. He does however, get along quite well with Victor and Faust, the Sanitarium's two Doberman Pinchers, who like to curl up at his feet during the night and act as his eyes and ears.

While Frank does have a nightstick and access to the Sanitarium's Springfield rifle, he's more apt to let the grunts do all the heavy lifting - turning a blind eye - whenever things inevitably escalate out of hand.

Guards

Day/Night Watch
Age 25; Gender Male; Height 5’10”; Weight 180

The faceless minions of the oppressors, blind to the atrocities committed around them (even when they are the ones carrying it out). They keep nightsticks, enjoy using them, and are hard to outrun.

The Residents

Archie Rouse

Vacuum Cleaner Salesman/'Naturalist'
Age 66; Gender Male; Height 6’1"; Weight 240

In the Sanitarium for showing up to more than one 'free demo' appointment in the buff. Archie refuses to wear any clothing whatsoever (save a small courtesy apron), having a severe phobia against being constrained.

Originally committed to the State Psychiatric Asylum in Hartford, Archie was recently transferred to Dr. Kaufman's Sanitarium for new Experimental Therapy.

Plays the Bassoon in Director Kaufman's Octet.

Earl Boggs

Mechanic/Alien Abductee
Age 21; Gender Male; Height 5’8"; Weight 210

In the Sanitarium for believing that he was abducted by aliens. Earl was out on a moonshine run late one night, when a bright light from above blinded him enough to cause him to go off the road. When he got out of the truck, the light whisked him into the air and up to some sort of weird alien ship with bizarre barrel-like creatures inside. He was poked, prodded, and probed, then beamed back down into a field.

Initially, Earl tried to relate his experience in the local bars, but was practically laughed out of town. Dr. Kaufman caught wind of Earl's story and actually had him kidnapped off the street, so that he could study Earl's derangement for himself - knowing that no one would miss the hapless mechanic.

Plays the Horn in Director Kaufman's Octet.

Rupert Meeks

Milkman/Bug Eater
Age 28; Gender Male; Height 5’10"; Weight 175

In the Sanitarium because Mrs. Kaufman, the wife of the Sanitarium Director Dr. Charles Kaufman, liked to flirt a little when Rupert delivered the milk in the morning. Nothing ever happened beyond that, but Dr. Kaufman is an insanely jealous man and believed that Rupert was having an affair with his wife because of it.

In a bold abuse of his power, Dr. Kaufman had Rupert committed to his Sanitarium under false diagnosis and is now going out of his way to punish poor Rupert for the perceived home-wrecking. Rupert was normal when first shanghaied into the Sanitarium, but has since developed Pica (a penchant for bug eating) due to all the Experimental Therapy.

Plays the Double-Bass in Director Kaufman's Octet.

Mildred O'Connell

Secretary/Hears Voices
Age 42; Gender Female; Height 5’5"; Weight 185

In the Sanitarium for listening to the voices in her head when they told her to attack her boss with one of his golf clubs. The voices have begun to make more and more sense lately...

Originally committed to the State Psychiatric Asylum in Hartford, Mildred was recently transferred to Dr. Kaufman's Sanitarium for new Experimental Therapy.

Plays the Clainet in Director Kaufman's Octet.

Betty Mayfield

Waitress/Kleptomaniac
Age 33; Gender Female; Height 6’; Weight 155

In the Sanitarium for compulsive stealing. Originally sentenced five years to the State Women's Penitentiary for repeat pickpocketing offenses, Betty was recently transferred to Dr. Kaufman's Sanitarium for an experimental 'Rehabilitation' program. If all goes well, she'll be out in no time.

Betty's habit is so bad however, that her room has to be searched every night before 'lights out'.

Plays the Violin in Director Kaufman's Octet.

Helen Childs

Nurse/Nymphomaniac
Age 23; Gender Female; Height 5’8"; Weight 125

In the Sanitarium for 'acts of sexual depravity' on the patients of the Coma Ward in the Hospital where she had been working. Her case caught the attention of the Sanitarium Director, Dr. Kaufman, who secured her committal to his facility by promising a Judge that he could cure her.

Since then, Helen has become one of Dr. Kaufman's 'special projects' - the two of them engaging in 'private therapy sessions' twice a day.

Plays the Cello in Director Kaufman's Octet.

Harvey Polk

Paranoid Snitch
Age 35; Gender Male; Height 5’1”; Weight 150

A weasely little man with fidgeting hands, darting eyes, and a crooked smile. He seems to think that "they" (whoever they are) are out to get him. And they're watching ... Always watching ...

Plays the Viola in Director Kaufman's Octet.

Francis Schaefer

Snooty Cross-Dresser
Age 45; Gender Male; Height 6’2"; Weight 190

A tall drink of water, Francis Schaefer, is an imposing, yet snooty, cross-dresser in a colorful mu-mu. Her athletic physique and natural strength really stand out, even when dressed as a women, making a rather jarring contrast to the feminine way she tries to carry herself. Francis has even managed to get her hands on some make-up and lipstick, though it does nothing to soften the hard masculine features of her stone-chiseled face.

Ruth Swain

The Screamer
Age 28; Gender Female; Height 5’6"; Weight 140

Locked in an Isolation Cell down in the Basement Laboratory, Ruth Swain just screams and screams non-stop, all day and all night. It is rumored that she got that way after a failed experiment of Dr. Kaufman - or perhaps she and her current state are the experiment ...

Dorothy Werner

The Missing
Age 42; Gender Female; Height 5’8"; Weight 195

Dorothy Werner seemed perfectly fine (aside from the occasional fit of Hysteria) before she was taken down to the Basement Lab for some Electro-Shock Therapy.

That's when a terrible zorching sound was heard from below; and all the lights browned out a moment or two.

Dorothy hasn't been seen since ...

Let the Voting Commence!

The story will go wherever the Audience (that's you) directs, based on daily voting results. I will generally update once per day (slower if votes are scarce).

I consider this project a Challenge, as I've never seen anyone actually ever finish one of these. I plan to be the first to do so - Though I can always blame it on the Audience if I fail (Mwuhahahahaha!!!).

Choose Your Perspective

The story will progress through the perspective of either Rupert Meeks or Betty Mayfield (two of the more stable Residents in the Sanitarium).

---

A. Rupert Meeks
B. Betty Mayfield

(Write In Options Can Be Suggested and Voted On, thought I reserve the right of Veto on a case-by-case basis)

Betty Mayfield. Pickpocketing seems like a useful skill.

Good luck with this! Love the setting already.

Thanks! I'm looking forward to the to see how far we can get with this. ^v^

B. Betty Mayfield

Same reasoning as above.

Oh shit, this stuff looks fucking sick. I've no idea what black rain in Ireland means, but that's besides the point.

Anyhow, I suppose Rupert Meeks is more deserving of getting out, and is the heavier of the two so probably better at physical confrontations. Then again, Betty Mayfield is tall, fairly heavy for a girl, and pick-pocketing. I suppose I have to go with Betty Mayfield.

Only reference I could find to black rain in Ireland was in 1849, in one of those books of weird happenings.

At first, I was wondering if there's clues or shit going on in those. I mean, I still assume there is, knowing Berka, but that fucker's always a few levels ahead of the game.

Oh I'm positive there's weird spooky shit going on somewhere in this setting, we already got a reference to the Mythos and also it's Berka. It might just be more subtle here than in some of the other stuff since I'm not seeing a lot of overt references in the setting details themselves.

Betty Mayfield: I want to see her story continue. I think her personality will fit better with CYS's fondess for villains and antiheroes.

Also, go Berka! This'll be great.

Betty. For the same reasons as above. Or maybe Helen ... ;)

<B. Betty Mayfield>

Betty Mayfield

Waitress/Kleptomaniac
Age 33; Gender Female; Height 6’; Weight 155

In the Sanitarium for compulsive stealing. Originally sentenced five years to the State Women's Penitentiary for repeat pickpocketing offenses, Betty was recently transferred to Dr. Kaufman's Sanitarium for an experimental 'Rehabilitation' program. If all goes well, she'll be out in no time.

Betty's habit is so bad however, that her room has to be searched every night before 'lights out'.

Plays the Violin in Director Kaufman's Octet.

---

• What Betty lacks in education, she makes up for in street-smarts.
• Her height and wiry frame make a feisty combination when the need arises.
• Betty's father (deceased) was a vaudeville stage magician; and passed his remarkable sleight of hand and escape artist skills on to his daughter.
• People just naturally seem to trust Betty, which she's not afraid to use to her advantage.
• Betty has a collection of stolen spoons hidden in a corner of the Yard.
• Like nearly all of the other Residents, Betty's attire consists of a white cotton hospital gown (open in the back).

Betty knows the following tidbits of information about some of the other Residents-

• Archie Rouse is allowed to wear an apron, rather than a hospital gown, and has a Sun Valley Nudist Resort magazine in his cell.
• Francis Schaefer is allowed to wear a mumu, rather than a hospital gown, and keeps a small makeup kit in her cell.
• Rupert Meeks has a pet rat in his cell (that lives in a wall crack).
• Helen Childs regularly gets smokes & matches from somewhere (which she hides in her mattress).
• Earl Boggs sometimes comes back to the mill room with the smell of hooch on his breath.

Ah for fuck's sake, I love rats. Now I wish we'd picked Meeks.

Sanitarium!

You have been here, in this hellhole of a sanitarium, for months now; trapped like a rat in a maze, experimented on, mistreated, and downright abused by the staff – who seem to think you are less than human - and worse, have convinced the State and everyone else that you are a danger to yourself and others.

You may have your quirks, but you’re nothing like what the sanitarium has made you out to be. Even so, you can’t leave, unless you want to be hunted down like an animal – or shot by the sadistic guards in trying.

Not that you have anything to go back to – now that your former friends and remaining family have abandoned you here. No visits, no letters, no nothing. Perhaps they believe all the lies – that you are mad; that you are a dangerous animal; that you need to be caged and the key thrown away forever.

Your life, up until recently, has been pretty wretched; with daily torture sessions carried out on you for the perverse pleasure of Dr. Kaufman and his staff – all thinly veiled in the nomenclature of “medically proven science and therapy.”

“It is necessary, to help make you a better person,” the good doctor would always say; as he did all manner of horrible things to you. Things that you knew were not helping at all – but actively working to destroy you. You refused to let yourself be destroyed however, and hung on through it with all the willpower you could muster.

The doctor was not trying to cure you.

He was trying to see how long you could last before you broke. You were not going to give him the satisfaction of breaking so easily.

Even so, the resistance has taken its toll - not just on you, but on everyone.

For the naturalist, Archie Rouse, the daily treatments were spinning in the RTD (Rotational Therapy Device) until he either puked or passed out; and frequent stints being hung upside down on the wall, as part of his Suspension Therapy. Once a week, it was Shock Therapy for good measure – the Doctor taking particular interest in noting the effects of various voltages to the male anatomy.

For Earl Boggs, who believed he had been abducted by aliens, they actually drilled a hole in his cranium, for what they called Trepanation Therapy. Then they set him down in ‘The Hole’ for days on end, as part of a Sensory Deprivation Therapy. In The Hole, Earl imagined that he could feel invisible fingers caressing his body in the darkness and had vivid hallucinations of male and female sex organs sprouting from the floor and dancing around him to unheard ‘music’.

For Rupert Meeks, who had seemed totally normal when he first arrived – claiming to have been brought in under false pretenses – it was Sleep Deprivation Therapy and daily Enemas. Kept awake for fourteen days straight, he was then allowed to sleep twenty four hours, before having to do it all over again. As this went on, Rupert began to slip into delusional states, thinking he was somewhere else (in a cave filled with mummies), and inadvertently developed Pica – eating bugs, dirt, his own hair, and basically anything that he could fit in his mouth to chew and swallow.

For Mildred O’Connell, who claimed to hear voices telling her what to do, it was the same for her as it had been for Earl Boggs – first, Trepanation Therapy, having a hole drilled into her skull, and then time in The Hole for Sensory Deprivation Therapy. During her stays in The Hole, Mildred would hear far off piping music (shrill and high, as if from an invisible piccolo) that seemed to float in through the padded walls.

For the cross-dresser Francis Schaefer, it was Masculinity Rehabilitation Training; where she was strapped to a chair in the Music Room, with eyes propped open, and forced to watch hours and hours of graphic war footage on film. It did little to actually 'man her up' - instead reducing her to tears and giving her terrible nightmares that eventually led to severe insomnia.

For you (the Kleptomaniac), the daily treatments were being dunked in ice baths for what the Doctors called Hydrotherapy – which caused you a great deal of physical pain and anxiety – as the Guards would not only grope and paw at your naked body, but would actually push and hold your head underwater for periods of time. During one such event, you actually half-drowned and passed out. When you came to, the Doctor was gone, and you were laying naked on a gurney - the guards busy cinching their belts back up, after what you could only imagine was a gang-rape.

And for Helen Childs, the Nymphomaniac, no attempts were even made to hide her rapes. Her “therapy”, as it were, was a twice daily “Aversion Therapy” in Director Kaufman’s office that was nothing less than full blown BDSM – where the Doctor would literally get his rocks off, while whipping Helen in a zippered leather face-mask and telling her what a dirty little whore she was. Between Sessions (as the Doctor recovered), Helen would receive a Daily Enema.

Interestingly, no one actually knew what sort of "Therapy" the paranoid Harvey Polk was receiving - and he adamantly refused to talk about it, citing concerns that "they" were listening. Some of the residents have begun to voice suspicion that he wasn't actually receiving any therapy, but rather special treatment for some reason or another.

---

“It is necessary to help make you a better person.”

---

Recently however, things have changed. Director Kaufman seems to have been caught up in some new approach to Psychiatric Treatment, involving the effects of music and sound on the demented.

Everyone who could play an instrument, or learn fast, was given a part to play in an octet of chamber music; while the horrible tortures (aside from Helen's continued daily "Aversion Therapy") were abruptly replaced with music practice and bizarre sessions of “Tone Induction Therapy” – where the subject is exposed to a battery of unusual sounds, tones, and volumes for various intervals.

While this is all much more preferable than the deplorable treatments before, it is just a matter of time, before the good doctor finds some way to twist these new experiments into more physical and mental torment.

3 pm - Group Therapy in the Music Room

You and the rest of the residents are in the Music Room, after music practice, with Director Kaufman, his Associate Dr. Hartley, two guards, and the Day Orderly Evelyn Boyce. Everyone is seated in a circle of chairs, while the two guards stand at the door and the Orderly takes notes at a small desk.

"So," Director Kaufman begins in a heavy Austrian accent, "Why are you all here?"

---

A. "Because I need to be a better person."
B. "Because stealing is bad, even if no one will ever miss it."
C. "Applesauce Doc! You know I'm only here for the early parole."
D. Let someone else be the first to speak up

D.

Might be a better idea to sit back and gather some information on others first and keep a lower profile.

D. for the same reason EM stated.
I'd like to see how the good doctor responds to simply statements.

C because I want to see how he reacts.

Yeah, let's go with D. Fuck this, I'm not being made example of.

D. Listen and learn. Saying something stupid might lead to punishment later.

D.

A, B are out of the question because you don't believe them and aren't that weak. C is tempting, but you want to show the 'Director' how little you care about him and what he's saying, so completely ignore him. (Maybe this all sounds arrogant but I've just finished reading Eternal and it's gone to my head)

D. I don't want to draw any attention to myself and I want to blend in with everyone else. Also, it wouldn't be wise to be the first one to tell their tale because people might use that information against you, and you do some digging on other people first. 

<D. Let someone else be the first to speak up>

"Because I need to be a better person," Rupert answered Director Kaufman in complete monotone. It was a hollow defeated version of what you had considered saying. Hearing it spoken that way by Rupert, made you glad you had chosen not to say it in the first place.

"You'll make me a better person," the man regurgitated without feeling, absently pulling a tie-strand off his hospital gown and popping it into his mouth.

"That’s right Rupert!" Director Kaufman exclaimed with a clap, as if Rupert's reply was some kind of psychological breakthrough.

"I don't really know," Archie then offered, idly scratching his balls.

"For some inexplicable reason, everywhere I go, people are really uncomfortable. Back in Hartford, the nurses kept telling me I had to 'put on clothes' - Ha! Madmen."

Helen meanwhile, stared intently at Director Kaufman's crotch.

"I'm a bad girl..." she said, "I'm a naughty little whore, who needs to be taught a lesson..."

She slid one hand under her gown, between her thighs. Her breathing quickened to soft panting gasps, as she writhed in the chair, nearly sliding out of it.

"Oh... I'm a bad girl... Ah... Ah..."

A guard stepped in and jabbed Helen’s shoulder with his nightstick – hard enough to hurt.

"Now Helen," Director Kaufman said, as if he hadn't even see the guard strike her - "what have we been working on, hmm?"

"You must learn to control your lustful impulses. Especially in a public setting."

Helen stopped touching herself and straightened up in the chair, rubbing the sore spot on her shoulder where the guard's blow landed.

"Yes Doctor," she sighed, looking up from the Director's crotch and deeply into his eyes. "I want to be a better person. I want you to help me be a better person."

Director Kaufman loosened his collar a moment and cleared his throat.

"Ah, yes, that's the spirit Helen!" he replied with a hungry glimmer in his eye, suddenly finding a need to adjust his own pants a bit.

As this went on, Mildred's eyes continuously darted back and forth, and she craned her ear, as if trying to hear unheard voices.

"The voices will stop," she mumbled, "only if I find them. What am I doing here, not looking for them?"

Her eyes suddenly focused on the Director.

"What am I doing here?" she asked him in alarm; "I'm not imagining them. They're telling me to go. Let me find them, please!"

She stood up suddenly, glossy eyed, and nervously griped her clarinet - which she had scooped up from its stand behind her.

"Mildred my dear," Director Kaufman spoke calmly, "music lessons are over."

He then motioned for the other guard to step over and take the clarinet from Mildred.

"No! Let me keep it!" Mildred begged; hugging the clarinet tightly to her chest, adamant on not letting it go.

"Stab one of them with it, now!" she hissed to herself in a slightly lower voice.

"No... I'd lose, right?" she continued, speaking to herself.

Then to Director Kaufman, she explained, "I want to, ahem, practice in my room."

"Fine, but don't let anyone take it from you." she hissed again.

"Please let me keep it, Doctor. I think it will help me find the voices. That's why I'm here, right?"

"Let go, you crazy bitch!" The guard growled, pulling at the clarinet with one hand and cocking his other arm back - ready to bean Mildred in the head with his nightstick.

He hesitated however, when Director Kaufman quietly spoke once again.

"Mildred, that's why we have music practice. Now give the nice man the clarinet, so it doesn't get damaged with you fighting over it. It's OK. It will stay safe here in the music room, until practice again tomorrow."

Mildred did not look at all convinced.

Tension mounted, as the last moments before the nightstick would come crashing down ticked by...

"Its all the damn aliens fault I tell you!" Earl interjected abruptly.

"Give up the clarinet Mildred!" Archie pleaded - encouraging Mildred to avoid the beating.

Harvey Polk meanwhile, leaned forward in anticipation - almost as if he enjoyed seeing other people hurt. He wouldn't be the only one like that around here unfortunately.

"Honestly, the other women here are so needy." Helen huffed. "Always distracting the doctor with their silly problems."

Having lost the Director's attention for now, Helen also leaned forward, raptly interested in the forthcoming conflict - and surreptitiously sliding her hand back between her legs again.

The uber-masculine cross-dresser Francis Scheafer on the other hand, turned away, not wanting to see what might come next.

With nearly everyone's eyes focused on Mildred, waiting to see if she would relent or get her skull cracked, you realize that you are close enough to the Orderly's desk to swipe her fountain pen unseen (or at least you stand a pretty good chance anyways).

---

A. OMG! I MUST have that shiny new pen!
B. No! Mildred needs me! I'm the only person she trusts. I can talk her down!
C. Pfft! This is just getting good (and I wouldn't want to miss the show for a lousy pen).

C. Seeing Mildred's actions make me seem a bit uneasy, and we don't want to draw attention to ourselves. Also, those voices could manipulate Mildred's mind in a negative or positive way. 

I saw that ninja edit haha! ^v^

Yeah. I was still uncertain about choice I would pick, and I finally made up my mind.  

But reading Helen's backstory would be interesting.. 

C.

The patients AND the staff are insane and we need to continue the strategy of not drawing attention to ourselves here from either group.

A. 

Stories are interesting when risks are taken! And isn't in our protagonist's nature to take a swipe for that pen? The pen can certainly be quite useful for later... maybe.   

B. While doing nothing is a decent option, telling Mildred to stop could potentionally save her from being hurt, which she or someone else could be thankful for. We need people on our side. Besides, if her room gets searched every evening, there's a high likelyhood that Betty wouldn't get to keep the pen, and it's not all that useful.

A pen is useless which is another reason to pass on it. Surely there are better things for potentially stabbing a guard in the eye with lying around.

Exactly. We shouldn't draw attention to ourselves. I completely agree with Mizal. 

But there's also a chance that there isn't anything better lying around at the moment. Having the almighty pen automatically gives you an edge over the other patients. A pen is multi-purpose and we have to start preparing early for later down the line when things begin to deteriorate! We can't be playing it too safe, as you guys seemed to already do with the first choice. 

It's already been established that these guards play rough so it's better to be safe than sorry by stabbing one of them in the eye if the situation arises. Then after we do that, we can write with their blood if the pen is still in usable condition. Ummm, it should be quite a good quality pen if it belongs to the Orderly. 

Just think about the power of the almighty and purposeful pen. It can be in our grasp, and I'm sure Betty should be able to steal it. Probably. 

Yeah, but what if we get caught? We might get flogged or worse. 

Only pussies warrior cats worry about that stuff. :)

I'm choosing C because I want to be safe, and I don't wish for our character to die. 

Not sure if you've noticed but these people can torture us on a whim so the only time to go all out with the face stabbing will be when we've got a solid escape plan. Anything else is counterproductive, it just gives them an excuse to put us in isolation or do the kind of 'therapy' that leaves us bugfuck crazy or crippled for life. Not getting a hole drilled in our skull would be a solid side goal.

I'd be okay with changing my vote to B if we hadn't already seen people try and fail to reason with her, stealing the pen is just dumb though.

The 'obvious' safe choice would be C. But here's the thing, Berka is quite talented at playing 5D chess. What you think is the "dumb" choice of A will probably be the one that will save our lives down the line.

Penguins are cunning like that, and something tells me he's already throwing a curve ball at us here right at the second choice already.

While he's playing chess, we have to already be moving on to checkers. This is how we reach the good end route. 

Maybe. Probably. 

We're in a fucking rehabilitation center. I'm on the same page with Mizal here. I'm fine with B, but stealing the pen is just a stupid choice to do. I say that we play it safe though. 

The first seems stupid and not worth it. The last seems to lack all forms of empathy and goodness.
I'll go with B. 
She may die otherwise. More people = less attention on our protagonist. :)
I would go with C if Mildred doesn't seem to respond to reason.

We don't care about other people if our life is on the line. WIBN, if a stranger was about to get shot, would you throw yourself in front of him or would you run and live to see another day? 

Without a doubt, I'd throw myself in the way. It'd be a fine way to go. :)

Mildred is letting the voices in her head use her for a ventriloquist act and otherwise get her put in danger here, and potentially us too. Maybe a sharp blow to the noggin will snap her out of that.

Yeah. Who knows, she may betray us. We can't really trust someone who completely relies on the voices inside of their head. 

A.

Ace, why do you think that we should steal the pen? 

A.

Besides this action being the most in character, knowing Berka the pen probably going to be one of those insignificant things that's going to come in handy some how.

It might not even be for stabbing a guard either. You might need it to write something down really quick or otherwise risk forgetting the vital information.

However, I am going to mention that this pen needs to be hidden somewhere though. The description specficially says her room is searched every night.

So I suggest stealing the pen and hiding it in the snitch's room. Then set him up to get into trouble for "stealing" items and thrown in the hole or whatever. Last thing we need is a paranoid snitch running around spying on us while we're trying to figure out how to escape.

Betty already has her collection of hidden spoons. She could hide it there, but hiding it in the snitch's room to possibly get rid of him is also a sound plan.

Yes, I think I'll trust your wisdom in these matters.

It would be equally fun if this choice was to lead to an early bad end. Though I believe adamantly that the pen will write us out of a sticky situation.

Well that's an interesting strategy assuming Betty can get into someone else's room before they search hers. (I'm guessing she must have access at times, maybe while doing laundry or something since she somehow knows about what other prisoners have stashed around...)

The nightly check was another reason I passed on the pen, they'll just find it immediately and continue to be vigilant against stuff like that. (Not being Helen I'm assuming Betty can't be shoving things up her crotch without drawing attention if that's where your mind was going lol...) So better to build trust where we can and blow it later on something bigger once they let their guard slip a little.

A.

Seeing as we are an incurable pickpocket... Furthermore, in the event that the guards did happen to find it in our cell, I don't think it would be game over since we already know that they have found plenty that we've stolen in our cell already. Why not just build ourselves the material advantage wherever feasible?

B. Falling into impulses and stealing seems like a bad idea given how easily I could get caught and how little a pen is, plus, I don't think BZ put this in as a beneficial answer, as I think if we were Rupert, the answer would just be "Eat the bug on your lapel" or something. Our character has always been stealing, that's never gotten her anywhere. Let's try something else. C's answer doesn't offer anything to benefit me. Best I try get on everyone's good side, and make a few friends here with B.

A.

Because I'm sure that pen will somehow be important later during this.

A. I think the pen could, somehow, end up helping in the end and that taking it is worth the risk.

I'm just pointing out, it seems like we would've done better as a schizophrenic character. Mainly because, having a character with dozens of voices in her head telling her different things and trying to get her to do them is kind of what's happening. I mean, we're all saying what we want to happen and explaining why, and just hoping enough she listens to us, which she easily might not. Seems like it would've been meta.

Edit: And now I feel like the one sane voice trying to advise her as a dozen other voices yell at her: "STEAL EVERYTHING! IT WILL ALL BE USEFUL EVENTUALLY! TAKE EVERYTHING!" No wonder the girl's a klepto due to this.

I actually wish I had thought of this and incorporated it into the game haha!

Ah, thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed the idea. Not too late if you want to make our protagonist kill themselves suddenly from being insane and start afresh. What a plot twist that would be. But no, probably not the most constructive way forward, let's continue as we were.

<A. OMG! I MUST have that shiny new pen!>

There was a moment of anxiety, as you struggled with your conscience, but in the end, you simply had to give into the temptation. You knew from past experience, that trying to resist only made you obsess about it later - filling you with regret at opportunities missed.

"Make the music stop!" Mildred moaned.

"It will only stop if you make someone bleed, Mildred," she hissed again.

"Then take it!" She cried, pushing her clarinet into the guard and making a sudden break for the door.

That was your chance.

No one saw you snatch the fountain pen off the desk and hide it in the folds of your hospital gown. In fact, you found that you could actually clip it to one of the tie-strands inside - so that it would hang hidden in there without the need to hold it. The guards would search your cell tonight, but they made you wait outside while doing so. As long as nothing changed, they wouldn't find your new prize.

Mildred meanwhile, actually made it to the door - before being tackled by both guards. She hit the ground hard and was held there in a daze, while the Day Watch Captain (George Hutchins) was called from Security.

A moment later, he showed up on the other side of the door.

Thank god he didn't have the Dobermans with him, but he was carrying a straitjacket - and the three men forcefully stuffed Mildred into it and drug her away.

"Such a pity," Director Kaufman sighed, "I though she had been progressing nicely. Ah well. Maybe she'll be back on-board tomorrow. Yes, we'll straighten her out all right."

Then turning to Archie, he asked "So Archie, what is it about clothing that you find so distasteful?"

---

(End of Scene)

6:15 pm - Late For Dinner

Rupert, Harvey, and Francis lucked out of Experimental Therapy sessions for the day and were returned to the mill space, where they had to sit quietly along the wall until dinner. Time stands still for those sitting along the wall - where no talking is permitted, sitting up straight is the order of the day, and a blast to the face with the fire-hose (or worse) can await someone who forgets the rules one too many times.

Mildred meanwhile, was heavily sedated and strapped to a bed in the Nurses' Station for "observation", where she would stay for the rest of the night.

As for the Test Subjects -

Archie’s "Therapy" was to be taken to one of the Ice houses in the Basement and get locked in. At regular intervals, Dr. Hartley would open the door and offer Archie a pair of long-johns to put on. As cold as it got, Archie refused the clothing each time, fidgeting around and rubbing his hands together to keep his body temperature up. By the end of the two hours, he was shivering uncontrollably with numb feet and had frost built up in his beard – but as far as he was concerned, he had 'won'.

Earl drew an odd combo-package of Tone Induction Therapy coupled with Rotational Therapy. It involved being strapped into the RTD and spun at high speeds, while a tuba (set up next to the device) blasted loudly in his face each time it came around.

Helen had her usual Aversion Therapy with Director Kaufman in his office, before he had to wrap things up for the day. He seemed unusually eager this afternoon for some reason, perhaps due to Helen’s display in Group Therapy.

For you, it was the Hole, where weird tones and noises were piped in through the speaker system. You hated the Hole, as it felt like some malevolent force was down there with you, every time you had to go in - lurking, just on the other side of the padded walls. To help keep herself calm, you flipped your new fountain pen in your fingers, fantasizing about all the nasty things you could write about the terrible Director Kaufman with it.

At length, everyone was brought back to the Mill Space for dinner. Everyone except you that is...

While it was hard to keep track of time in the Hole, you knew that it had been a long time since Dr. Hartley had come to take his notes on the effects of your experiment.

That meant the experiment was over; and you should have been returned to the others by now. A shudder washed through you, at the thought of being forgotten and actually having to spend a night down here.

A few more minutes passed, with building anxiety, and the feeling that something was slowly seeping through the walls into the darkness around you.

You felt a moment of pure relief, when the hatch abruptly lifted above you, and someone lowered the ladder down for you to climb out.

The relief was short-lived however, when you got to the top of the ladder and saw two guards and Watch Captain Hutchins standing there – which was odd – as the Captain's shift would have ended at least an hour ago.

You didn't have to wonder what they were up to however, because they were quite direct in what they wanted – blocking your exit from the soundproof winding corridor and unzipping their flies.

"The only way you’re leaving," Captain Hutchins sneered, "is on your knees – one cock at a time."

The two guards laughed sadistically at this, pulling their members out in anticipation of your 'services'.

---

A. They'll kill me if I resist, I have no choice.
B. These motherfuckers ain't taking me without a fight! Let's see how they like a pen stabbed in their eye!
C. "Hey, you don't want me boys. I got the Clap."
D. Feign compliance, then bite the shit out of one and stab the other two!

I say C. We don't want our character's mouth to be violated, and we certainly don't want to injure these guards or else we may get a punishment. If we say that we have the Clap, they might let us go without sucking anyone's dicks. 

Damn these dastardly guards... 

I don't think they'll believe choice C, but there's also a chance that we can still get overpowered anyway with the mighty pen in our possession. 

Sometimes one might just have to learn to swallow their pride (and other things) to survive scenarios like these. Well it's unfortunate there's no option to just bite one of them and then take the other by surprise with our newly acquired pen. 

Hmmmm~ I guess I'll just go with A. again! :) 

Edit: Actually, I'm sure Betty with her apparent street-smarts could convince these guards that it's unsafe for them to mess around with her. And it seems people naturally trust her or something, right? I'm curious to see if that is something that also extends with the staff and guards. So I suppose I'll be going with C. actually. I don't think getting our revenge later is guaranteed. It pains me too much to think about these lowly vermin violating the character that we're all supposed to be guiding. 

God, what was that piece of fiction where the woman was about to be raped, so she like bit her lip and make it bleed so the people thought she had herpes or something? It was fun. Nevermind.

C. I suppose. B isn't going well, while worst case scenario for C. is they rape me anyway, perhaps a bit more violently. Nevermind. Shame I don't get a chance to agree and then bite down. Now that's convince them to fuck off.

That would be a Write-In (which as noted above is an Option). I'll edit it in above.

Oh, that's what that meant? Wasn't really sure. Well, this thing just 100%, now I can just solve a questions with "Find the nearest cock and sink your teeth into it."

Note Steve's Write-In added above.

D. Feign compliance, then bite the shit out of one and stab the other two!

This is actually really entertaining. Berka, host more collaborative CYOA's in the future! 

Write in: bite my lip to make it bleed. Tell them I have herpes.

It's a Steve/C hybrid I suppose.

.

C.

I choose d. Here's my reasoning:
a) This option is the safest one. The people who chose c in the choice before this one should logicly choose this one now. They chose c, even though there was basicly no danger in choosing b (the doctor wouldn't punish you for telling a crazy person to be slightly less crazy). Here, you're much more likely to get hurt if you lie or fight. A part of me wants to choose this option, but that would mean Betty gets raped.
b) Just a weaker version of Steve's option, which is much better.
c) A decent option, I guess. However, keep in mind that Betty was raped by guards in the past. We don't know how far in the past that was, but if they didn't catch anything that time, they're unlikely to believe her now.
d) A very risky option. While biting someone in the dick would make them unable to do anything but scream for a while, this is still one on 2. 3, once the third one stops crying and naturally wants to kill the stupid bitch that took his dick. We also know what Kaufman does with Helen every day, so he's probably on the side of the guards. Damn, I don't want Betty to be raped, but can this really be better? We'll see.

Oh god, THAT's what happened to Mildred? You'd think they'd have gone for Helena

Yeah, through a different set of circumstances in your version haha! I especially enjoyed running this as an event at GenCon, where one player facetiously commented, "What this game really needs is more rape."

Well that escalated quickly.

Anyway D. I'm actually surprised that wasn't originally an option.

<C. "Hey, you don't want me boys. I got the Clap.">

"Hey, you don't want me boys. I got the Clap," you said, hanging your head in shame for effect.

"What? No way!" one of the guards balked; "You don't look dirty."

"Shit! Maybe she got it from Blake!" the other guard speculated - "I heard it cost him his marriage."

"Blake?!? Fuck! When did he have it? I went after Blake that one time. Oh, god! Damn it Blake!"

"So you're a dirty whore, are ya?" Captain Hutchins asked unfazed, arms folded with an evil smirk on his face. "Then by all means, let us help 'clean' you up."

He then waved his nightstick at the two guards - "Zip it. Let's go."

The three men then bodily escorted you out of the spiraling soundproofed corridor, through the lab, and over to the Electro Chamber.

Seeing where they were taking you, caused a momentary panic; and you struggled to get away - to make a run for it - knowing that whatever they had in mind, was not going to end well.

Given that three strong men already had a secure grip on you however, your efforts proved vain.

"HELP ME! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!!!" you found yourself screaming.

"Shut the fuck up bitch!" Captain Hutchins growled, irritated by your resistance.

You couldn't stop - your mind begged for someone - anyone - to come save you from these animals.

"HELP! Oh god. HELP!"

A sudden flash of white light in your head - and the jarring crunch of your nose breaking - shook you out of your hysteria.

Captain Hutchins had just backhanded you across the face.

You felt your legs turn to jelly and go out from under you, as your face rang with pain. The three men did not let you fall, but rather carried you over to the examination table and strapped you down to it.

"You had best learn to do as you are told. When you are told!" Captain Hutchins snarled, wrapping his calloused hands around your neck and slowly choking you into unconsciousness.

"You really think she's dirty Cap?" one of the guards asked Hutchins.

"Yeah," the other guard added; "Pickins are already slim, since the boss says we can't touch that nympho dish. And fuck that old prune!"

"Oh you'd fuck that old prune all right, haha!" the first guard laughed.

"Yeah, I'd take her. You get the queer!"

"Fuck you!"

"Oh, so now you want to fuck me do you? Who's the queer?"

"Fuck. You."

"Fire up the machine boys," Captain Hutchins interrupted.

Holding one of the electro-probes in hand, he then lifted up your hospital gown.

"Better safe than sorry, eh boys?" he laughed, shoving the probe - and a few hundred-thousand volts - right into your...

---

(End of Scene)

New Scene (and Choices) coming Tomorrow.

Holy shit. We should have sucked his cock instead... o-o 

Oh dear. I knew c was going to fail somehow, but ... not like this. Fuck, if d won Betty could at least hurt 'em. What's the point of stealing a pen and not using it? Or hell, a would be even nicer.

Revelations

It wasn’t until 7 pm, well after dinner, that the Night Nurse, Doris Archer, helped you back into the Mill Space. Your nose was bandaged - having been manually 'adjusted' back into place - and you had two black eyes starting to form.

You could feel painful burns down in your crotch as well - which made walking an unpleasant chore.

Your mind recalled the conversation you heard between the guards - those craven fiends - even though you couldn't fathom how you would have heard it, being unconscious at the time. Maybe you almost died and had an out of body experience or something.

You also remember the massive jolt of electricity coursing through your body - then nothing after that, until waking up in the Nurses' Station in a bed next to the still heavily sedated Mildred.

Those vile neanderthals had violated you - maybe even raped you - and your mind swam, trying to imagine some way to make them pay. Some way to balance the scales. Some way to make it right.

These thoughts were tiring and you just wanted to turn your mind off and go to sleep.

You just had to wait for the guards to finish searching your cell and then you could go in and end this horrible day.

'The pen!' you abruptly remembered, sliding your hand into your hospital gown to find it gone.

The guards would have made a big deal if they had found it. What happened to it?

Looking, you realized that the tie-strap the pen had been clipped to was also gone. It must have torn free during your struggles with the guards - dropping the pen somewhere down in the lab.

Well shit. But at least you weren't caught with it.

"My heavens!" Francis gasped, upon seeing you come in, placing her hands aside her cheeks with unfeigned concern. "What have they done to you? You poor girl!"

Earl hesitantly approached and quietly asked, "Did the aliens probe you too?"

"It won’t be long now, before they kill us all," Harvey Polk stated glumly.

"Don't be such a wurp, Polk." Archie chided.

"I'm telling ya," Harvey shot back, agitated, but then lowered his voice to a whisper - "I overhead them saying that they were going to 'terminate' the 'experiment' once we put on our little show for the Director's friends next week."

"They even laughed at how easy it was to 'dispose' of the last batch of loons."

"I tell ya, we're done for!"

"Oh my!" Francis replied in distress.

"Harvey, you're a pill," Helen said, "but can't say I would be surprised. Disgusting bastards."

"Then we have to escape! Before they do us in!" Rupert suggested.

"No, but but..." Francis stammered - "Director Kaufman said this new music therapy would cure us. That we could go home if it was successful. All we have to do is cooperate. Just... just play the music like he wants and he'll let us go. Yeah, I have to believe it!"

Francis then began to cry. "It's the only hope we've got. Isn't it?"

"Ah nerts to that malarkey!" Harvey scolded Francis, then smiled at Rupert with a rather devious look.

"I think you got the right idea bug-eater." he said. "I heard a resident once escaped from here, but no one knows how he did it."

"He was in the basement at the time he disappeared though."

"Everyone thought he had crawled out through the coal chute, but there's a lock on the outside of the iron door in the foundation above – and it was still secure when they discovered him missing."

"Way I figure it, there must be some kind of hidden way out from the basement that no one else has figured out yet."

Harvey was about to say something more, when a guard banged loudly on the bars with his nightstick.

"OK, BREAK IT UP YOU FAIRIES! IN YOUR ROOMS NOW!"

"MOVE IT! MOVE IT!"

This of course was nothing new. They yelled at you like this every night when it was time to get locked back in.

The Dream

For as much as you wanted its sweet release, sleep seemed to elude you this night - as your mind just wouldn't let go of the horrors you had endured, not only today, but ever since arriving.

At length, you looked up at light filtering in through the tiny cell window. Morning already? Perhaps you had actually dozed off there at the end?

Yes, wisps of something lingered in the mind's eye - a dream of some cavernous space beneath the building; piping music echoing off ancient stone; the sounds eerie and shrill; the notes leading through a narrow tunnel to freedom among dark woods at the base of the hill.

Could it be something more than just a dream? An actual way out of this nightmare?

---

It was 6 am, and everyone was being mustered outside their cells, to be taken to the yard for morning calisthenics.

"It's down in the basement, I saw it," Harvey Polk whispered, "saw it in a dream."

"What?" Archie replied in shock, drawing the attention of a guard.

"SHUT YOUR FILTHY SEWER HOLES MAGGOTS!!! the guard bellowed.

Everyone abruptly clammed up, but looked at each other in apparent disbelief. Did they all know about this dream too?

---

A. Ask someone about the dream, once you're out in the Yard doing calisthenics. You can probably get away with a whispered conversation to the person right next to you.
B. Wait until Lunch time, when talking is allowed.
C. Keep the dream to yourself for now and see if someone else mentions it first.

B.

I ain't taken no more risks till I get me courage back.

Also, poor hero. :(

B.  We just got violated, and I don't plan on taking any more risks. Also, we might get caught and we might get punished again. 

Clearly the answer is D: Break out into song, sing about the dream, and hope the guards like your singing enough that they don't beat you.

B. There's no need to tell everything right now, it's not like you can escape at the moment. Lets wait till lunch, start with some casual conversation so the guards don't find anything strange.

B. Yeah, as others have said before me, I don't think breaking the rules would be our best idea at the moment.
 

Let's go B.

<B. Wait until Lunch time, when talking is allowed.>

'Just play it safe Betty', you thought to yourself. There was no sense in singling yourself out for even more abuse - though you had to wonder if that would make any difference in the end.

'Terminated'... the word danced in your head.

'Last batch of loons'...

'Disposed of'...

What Harvey Polk had said last night, certainly wasn't very encouraging - though there was probably a good chance it was only his paranoid mind messing with him (and now you).

7 am - Cold Showers

Once morning calisthenics was over, the guards herded everyone to the showers - as per normal routine.

What was not routine however, was an unexpected delay in getting the water running for some reason. When it finally started to flow out through the shower-heads, the pipes shrieked and groaned for a few seconds.

Curiously, the noise the pipes made, seemed almost music-like to your ears - not melodious or even nice to hear - but reminiscent of the sounds you heard in your dream.

You could definitely pick out a pattern of tones that could be duplicated on a piccolo or flute.

The other residents seemed to hear it too (judging by the looks on their faces), though the staff didn't seem to notice.

"GET MOVING WORMS!" a guard at the far end yelled, striking the tile wall with his nightstick for emphasis.

The tile he hit, inadvertently popped off the wall, and broke to pieces on the floor.

There was something weird about the spot the tile had occupied, but the guard quickly moved into the way, so that it could no longer be seen behind him.

A guard at the rear of the group meanwhile, began shoving everyone under the water - forcing them to walk through to the other end, where the guard was standing near the wall.

You followed the group, last in line, and the water was turned off after your passing. Standing there, waiting for those ahead of you to file out, you noticed a strange echoing sound coming from one of the drains in the floor.

It sounded more like water raining down into a cavernous lake below, than water simply swirling away through a pipe.

The line cleared out ahead of you, and you then found yourself passing the guard standing by the wall.

---

A. Crane your head as you pass to get a look at the tile spot behind the guard.
B. Stop and ask the guard if there is something wrong with the pipes, in order to sneak a look at the tile in a more subtle way.
C. Look down. Don't make eye contact. Don't risk drawing attention to yourself.

I forgot to respond to this, sorry. Anyway, all of the options are kind of bad. A would lead to the guards punching Betty for being to curious for her own good, b would lead to the guard saying "Yes, you stupid crazy bitch! Now move!" and c is just pointless. But I'm not sure what else we could do. If this is one of the guards that raped her yesterday, I'm sure Betty could think of something nice to say, but that would undoubtedly lead to trubble.
I choose b for now. I'll change it if there are any better ideas.

B.

It's still not that good but better than the rest.

Let's go B.

I'd say B.

B. We need to know what's behind that spot. 

<B. Stop and ask the guard if there is something wrong with the pipes, in order to sneak a look at the tile in a more subtle way.>

"Gee, what's wrong with the pipes? That was some racket, eh?" you stopped to ask the guard, subtly maneuvering in such a way as to get a quick glance behind his back.

You saw a large caliber bullet hole in the concrete, behind the tiling; and had to summon your inner moxie to keep a decent poker face - pretending that you had not seen it.

What really set the alarm bells off though, was the fact that there were a dozen or so newer-looking tiles in that section of the wall - all at roughly chest height. What if there were bullet holes behind them as well?

The guard did not seem to notice you looking behind him, but was irritated by you hovering near.

"Go chase yourself!" He said, shoving you back into line.

8 am - Breakfast

After dressing in clean hospital gowns, everyone was taken up to the cafeteria for breakfast.

Normally, the guards would back off enough, that the residents could talk quietly among themselves - though here, there would be no privacy, like what you could get during lunch-time out in the Yard.

Today however, one of the guards drew near and leaned in to Harvey Polk, whispering – "Hey Harvey, I hear 'Fred' was here, looking for you last night."

"Fred?!? Fred was here?!?" Harvey jumped at the guard’s mention of a 'Fred'.

Harvey's eyes darted around the room in near panic - big as saucers.

He looked like he was about to do something rash - and the wide grin on the guard's face seemed to suggest that was the plan all along...

---

A. "HARVEY!" You yell forcefully, attempting to snap him out of it, before something bad happens.
B. Say nothing. Harvey is a sadistic creep and deserves whatever misfortune he might get.
C. Oh boy! Another distraction means another spoon for my collection!

A. We need all the friends we can get around here. Plus, we can probably take the beating that will result from this.

C

C

A.

Though I'd prefer that she says it sternly instead of shouting it.

DO NOT STEAL THAT BLOODY DANG SPOON, DAG NABBIT! :)

The point is to escape, yes? 

If you aid the insanity, nurture it, let it grow, then soon she won't be aware of what's happening physically. Her mind will twist it to make it okay, to make it just fine and she'll blind herself to all the pain. The most surefire way for her to be able to escape. If she tried to escape physically, then it's highly likely she'll be dead. Which I guess is an escape of it's own, but once you're dead the story is over. And even if she didn't die, she'd be stuck with ptsd and kleptomania without an escape from the pain of memory other than a bottle, or going back to therapy which she probably wouldn't do given her current experience with it.

While this is certainly a good old fashioned "Edgy edgelord" response, no, encouraging kleptomania isn't going to help someone because mental insanity isn't a meter. You're just going to make a kelptomaniac who'll never escape, and will constantly be up shit creek until she's shot, which is the way the story seems to be going.

C.

Screw Harvey.

A. But don't actually yell at him. Just say it normally, yelling at people isn't nice.

Apparently I'm supposed to vote for stealing a spoon or something. C.

<C. Oh boy! Another distraction means another spoon for my collection!>

Harvey's head swiveled much too quickly between the now chuckling guard and the rest of the residents. He had the most profound look of overwhelming dread on his face.

Leaping up from the table, he pulled out some of his own hair, and screamed – "YEEEAAARRRRGH!!!"

The other guard rushed in to restrain him.

"YOU GAVE ME AWAY! YOU GAVE ME AWAY!" Harvey screamed at the guard who had told him about 'Fred', as the other one tried to wrestle him to the ground.

"You fucking asshole!" The struggling guard growled at the one who had provoked Harvey. "You just had to bring up 'Fred'! Now how about giving me a hand, you dumb prick!"

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your point of view) Harvey proved to be something of a scrapper, and socked one of the two guards across the jaw.

The nightsticks come into play, shortly thereafter.

Harvey gave it a good fight though, kicking the other guard in the nuts and almost knocking the first one out with another knuckle-sandwich.

That's when the Dobermans (Victor and Faust), abruptly leapt onto Harvey and started biting the shit out of his neck and face.

"YOU STUPID MOTHER FUCKER!" Watch Captain Hutchins yelled, coming into the Cafeteria after the dogs.

At this point, Harvey was shrieking bloody murder and trying to keep the Dobermans away from his vitals. They happily savaged the arms that he put up in front of his face.

"GOD DAMN IT!" Hutchins cursed - and yanked the dogs back on their leashes.

The Captain was not pulling the dogs back to spare Harvey, but to clear the way for a pair of nightsticks to simultaneously come crashing down on Harvey's face – taking him out in a spray of teeth and blood!

When was over, Harvey looked dead. But blood still weeped from the vicious wounds he had sustained. At least for now, the wreck of a man held tenuously to some semblance of life.

Nurse Stinson and Orderly Boyce then rushed into the room and looked with concern at Harvey's mangled neck and face.

"Better call Doctor Slaughter," Nurse Stinson directed; and the Orderly rushed off to do so.

"Good boys! Good boys!" Captain Hutchins lovingly praised the Dobermans, patting the blood-mawed mongrels on the head.

Then turning his men, he casually ordered, "take the bum to the Doctor's Office and strap him down."

The guards complied, dragging Harvey out by his feet, with the Nurse following behind them.

A few minutes later, the roving guards came in to take the previous guards' places, while Watch Captain Hutchins left with the dogs, to return to his Security Office.

A grim silence followed the incident, no one daring to speak for the remainder of breakfast.

You had gotten your spoon during it all; but it was cold comfort, with things seeming to escalate so quickly (and violently) all around you of late.

You really needed to get out of here. To figure out some way to escape. Or at the very least, get into the basement and see if there really was some hidden passage to freedom down there.

Feeling the spoon in your hand, you realized that you could probably use it to work open the over-sized locks on the cell doors - though the keyholes were on the outside of them. The other locks in the place would be a problem without keys however, as the spoon handle was simply too thick to be employed on them.

If only you had that damn fountain pen. You could open it up and remove the pressure bar inside, which was used with the lever-action to refill the pen. It would be the perfect-sized, long, thin, piece of hardened spring-steel for picking locks.

It was a shame that you had lost it. You needed something like that to deal with the rest of the doors.

Night guards on the other hand, wouldn't really be a problem, as they all tended to just sleep on duty. The only real obstacle to complete freedom of movement at night (aside from locked doors), would be the roving guard patrol, the nightly bed check, and the Dobermans, if they happened to hear you sneaking around like a cat.

Now that you thought about it, the Night Nurse and Orderly would be an issue too. They were both night owls; and could be heard chatting it up in their station all hours of the evening.

Perhaps you should keep a look out for things you could pilfer during the day, that might actually come in handy for an escape attempt later.

You had morning work assignments next - washing dishes, cleaning tables, sweeping and mopping floors, doing laundry, scrubbing toilets, polishing brass, general busy work for the next two hours.

This would be followed by morning music practice in the music room and then finally lunch - where you could approach one or two of the other residents to ask about that dream. Or perhaps more importantly, see how they might feel about trying to escape!

---

A. Volunteer to work a particular assignment this morning (Choice to Follow)
B. Keep quiet and just do what is randomly assigned to you.

A.

A.

Too bad we can't get Morgan and UndeadLover to play this...

A.

A

I'm pretty sure we're all going to be unanimous on this one. 

A.

<A. Volunteer to work a particular assignment this morning (Choice to Follow)>

You consider your options and the advantages of each.

Washing dishes and cleaning tables, will get you access to the Pantry, Kitchen, and Cafeteria.

Sweeping and mopping floors, will get you access to the Cafeteria, Music Room, Smoking Lounge, and Supply Room.

Doing laundry, will allow you into the Laundry, Showers, Boiler Room, and the Yard.

Scrubbing toilets and polishing brass, will get you into the restrooms across from the Security office, the Supply Room, and the hallways on the first floor.

---

A. Wash Dishes
B. Sweep Floors
C. Do Laundry
D. Scrub Toilets

D. The Security office might hold something important which we can use in future. 

D
Security office and supply room sound like they'd have really handy things in them to steal.

D.

B. You don't actually get to the security office with d, just the bathrooms across from it. If the guards notice you going where you're not meant to be, there'd be trubble. B sounds like we could get more useful stuff.

B. It has the highest chance of success.

I think she'd not be able to make it into the security room secretly and/or be raped in the bathroom.

D.

B. Music, smoke, supply room

I never knew scrubbing toilets was so popular haha!

<D. Scrub Toilets>

'Hmm... Which approach to take...'

---

A. Direct - "I'll volunteer to scrub toilets today!"
B. Reverse Psychology - "I hope I don't have to do toilets again. That job is the pits!"

A.

B

This seems to be a place of rather sadistic people, so this path of reverse phycology is probably the best to get what you want. And anyway, even if it doesn't work, there's a pretty good chance you'll get something that is also pretty good, like sweeping the floors. 

With just flat out volunteering, it's sure to stir up suspicion. No one wants to scrub toilets. No one. And so if you just flat out volunteer, obviously there's going to be an ulterior motive and you'll draw attention to yourself. Being in a private space like a bathroom where there's no one but the guards doesn't seem like that great of a thing when you have increased attention on you.

A. 

A.

A

A. 

<A. Direct - "I'll volunteer to scrub toilets today!">

"I'll volunteer to scrub toilets today!" you announced to one of the guards.

"Whatever floats yer boat toots," the guard responded apathetically.

"Oh, then I'll help," Francis volunteered. "It will be fun!"

"Yeah, thrills galore. Wee!" the guard mocked, spinning his finger in the air.

You and Francis were then led to get supplies, while the rest of the residents were assigned their own work.

In the Supply Room, you noticed a very large metal toolbox in the corner without a lock. You made a mental note of it. Should you ever manage to get out of your cell, there might be something in there you could use to escape the building itself.

Other than that, cleaning the bathrooms did not give you the opportunity you had hoped for (to lay your hands on something more useful than the spoon you had swiped earlier).

Being across from the Security Office, you also realized that you would never be able to get in there - at least not without another Harvey Polk-level distraction.

The Watch Captain and two Dobermans stayed in there all day long - and only came out when it was necessary to put a major hurt on a resident. And that was not something anyone would voluntarily agree to subject themselves to.

Following the toilets and bathrooms, you and Francis were then given rags and a small bottle of 'Brasso' to clean all the doorknobs and kick-plates in the main hallway.

While doing so, you observed both Director Kaufman and Doctor Slaughter coming in early, to examine Harvey Polk. After patching him up as best as they could, they had him transferred to the Nurses' Station and strapped down to a bed.

You overheard the Doctor order Nurse Stinson to give Harvey an injection to keep him asleep for the day.

11 am - Morning Music Practice

After the work assignments, the group was gathered for morning music practice.

Mildred was back and looking... well-medicated. She seemed to be having a hard time keeping her head up though - constantly drooping and then jolting herself back into an upright position.

Harvey Polk was missing of course, so Director Kaufman had Francis Schaefer briefly brought in to replace Harvey on the viola. That lasted all of two minutes, as Francis couldn't play a single note, and was quickly thrown out of the music room by a very irritated Director Kaufman.

After Francis had been removed, Director Kaufman ordered everyone to practice on their own today and excused himself from the music room.

Moments later, he could be heard through the walls, angrily yelling and chewing out Captain Hutchins for fucking up Harvey Polk so badly. He even threatened to let the Captain go, if Harvey didn't recover enough to make the recital for his colleagues on time.

12 pm - Lunch

Moving on to lunch in the Yard, you collected your bowl of pickled herring and hard boiled eggs; looking among the other residents, trying to decide who to approach first.

You had to be careful and only speak to one person at a time - as gathering in a group would certainly draw the guards' attention.

---

A. Talk to the 'Naturalist' Archie Rouse
B. Talk to the Alien Abductee Earl Boggs
C. Talk to the Bug Eater Rupert Meeks
D. Talk to the Schizo Mildred O'Connell
E. Talk to the Nymphomaniac Helen Childs
F. Talk to the Cross-Dresser Francis Schaefer

A.

Archie previously had therapy sessions in the basement. Perhaps he can give us knowledge of its layout/anything interesting he's seen down there?

Schizo's likely to mutter something with her voices, she can't be trusted. Boggs is a loon, I don't trust him either. Bug Eater, Nudist and Cross-Dresser all seem reasonable, at least a bit, but Cross-Dresser's a bit more meek, so I don't know if I trust the fucker not to break under interrogation, especially if someone else is being hurt. Thus, I'll go with... C. Let's try Meeks, seeing as it seems fair to give him a bit of a role in this story, especially since he was nearly a protagonist. 

C.

C.
Going with steve reasoning here. 

C. Rupert was quite normal until Haufman started experimenting on him, so he has a good reason to escape. He's also the most normal person out of the bunch.

C. 

C. rather obviously. 

<C. Talk to the Bug Eater Rupert Meeks>

"Hiya Rupert," you called, approaching the man, who seemed to be engrossed by something in the rosebush.

Rupert turned abruptly to face you, slurping down something with long hairy legs and swallowing hard.

"Mmm? Yes?" he said, gagging a moment and then swallowing again - as if whatever he had in his throat was trying to fight its way back up.

You involuntarily shivered - just knowing that it was a spider.

Rupert then grabbed up his bowl of pickled herring and began shoveling it into his mouth, as if that had been what he was eating all along.

"Not bad for institution food, eh?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah..." you replied slowly, at a momentary loss for words.

Putting the thought of hairy spiders sliding down Rupert's gullet out of your mind, you asked him about the dream. Depending on how that went, you could always move on to thoughts about escape - or not...

"Hey, I had this bizarre dream," you began, deciding to just get right to the point; "like there was some weird piping music that led to a hidden passage under the building - "

"And opened out into the woods?" Rupert finished your sentence, a look of surprised excitement on his face.

"Yes," you confirmed. "Did you have the dream too?"

"Not only me," Rupert replied; "Archie and I talked about it, while we were mopping floors upstairs. He had the same dream!"

"If only we could get out of our cells, to go check it out sometime," he lamented.

"Plus," Rupert added with a frown, "Archie snuck a peek at the medical logbook today, while we were in the nurses' station. He says that they had marked everyone as 'Case Hopeless' and Dorothy Werner as 'Case Terminated."

"I hate to think it, but it lends some credibility to what Harvey said, before they took him out. Maybe he wasn't just being paranoid."

From what Rupert was saying, it looked like you might be able to count on him, and Archie likely, to go in on an escape attempt. You still had the problem of opening your cell from the inside however.

---

A. Mention to Rupert your ability to open locks, but current lack of the right tools to do so.
B. Never mind those details for now, just ask him if he's willing to help you break out of here when the time is right.
C. Guards are getting too close for comfort - Tell him you'll talk later and excuse yourself to go speak with another resident.

A

A. Let's get an ally.

I'd say A is the most reasonable of these choices, as you don't want to leave out valuable details, and desperately wanting to escape, you're not just gonna cut out of this conversation.

C. We'll talk to Meeks later, and the guards can overhear our conversation so it doesn't seem very safe. Meanwhile, we can go get more information from someone else! 

EDIT: 
Well, we have been playing it very safe for some time now, and if we don't take a risk we may never get out at all. My final decision is A. 

A. Lets risk it.

Oh, so Archie should be up for the escape as well. Sweet. Well, we're going to get shot soon, let's rush it with A.

A.

<A. Mention to Rupert your ability to open locks, but current lack of the right tools to do so.>

"I can open the cell doors from the outside," you volunteered to Rupert, "but I'd need a hard thin wire to work the smaller locks on the rest of the doors."

"Oh?" Rupert replied in amazement. "Well, I could keep an eye out for something like that and let you know if I find it. But if you can only open the cell doors from the outside, how will you get out to do any of that in the first place?"

"I'm still working on that part," you had to admit.

Rupert gave the problem some thought, then suggested - "Earl is a mechanic; You want me to talk to him and see if he has any ideas?"

You considered this.

While Earl might be able to help, it would likely mean he would want in on the escape attempt. Something about this gave you pause however. Call it women's intuition - but the thought of you being the only woman among three men seemed like asking for trouble.

You weren't worried about Archie so much, as he was pretty old, out of shape, and seemed harmless enough. Even Rupert you felt you could handle in a pinch (if you had to).

But Earl Boggs was young, strong, and a hillbilly redneck through-and-through. You could imagine him whupping up on both Archie and Rupert, all by himself, pretty handily.

Of course, that sort of brawn could be the difference between life and death, should you run into any of the guards outside your cell...

---

A. Agree to have Rupert go talk to Earl.
B. Agree to have Rupert go talk to Earl, but also hedge your bets, by recruiting one of the other women to balance things out a little more.
C. Tell Rupert that you'd rather keep Earl out of it for now. You'll think of something on your own.
D. Tell Rupert to keep Earl out of it for now; then go see if one of the other women have any ideas.

Ah, fuck, I was hoping for someone less insane next. Shit, Earl Boggs would be a powerful ally, but the dude's clearly fucking bonkers, and I don't want to have to deal with that shit. Uh... let me think. I'll get back to you.

Fuck it, trust May's answer, B. Plus, I feel if F wins, BZ will realize he's wasted his effort on trying to give us nice things and have us all shot.

The only other females that I think are available to try and persuade are Hellen and Mildred. 
Hellen is the Nymphomaniac, who I believe doesn't really want to escape. She probably enjoys her private sessions a little too much. 
Mildred is a wild card. She definitely wants to escape, but it's not all that guaranteed that she'll be able to stay quiet. She might start debating with the voices about it and a guard over hear or something.  
The other two females (unless I completely missed one) are eternally screaming and aren't good for escapes unless you're demolishing the place on the way out, or are missing and presumed dead. 

Write in: 
E. Agree to Rupert talking with Earl, but tell him that you'll spring Mildred out when you make the escape. Don't have plans to tell her anything before hand, but if the need arises leave it as a last-ditch option. Until then, try to befriend her. You'll probably need more chicks to balance things out after escaping. 

F. Agree to Rupert talking with Earl then go have wild passionate lesbian sex with Helen.

Really lay it down on her to make her realize that maybe she’s just needed a woman the whole time to satisfy her seemingly bottomless needs. Use this to convince her to follow you for whatever you need might need her for in the future.

Put me down for F, seems like a pretty good plan.

F - Aye! She needs to be laid more than the table at grandma's house.

...

Put me down for F.

Actually, doesn't Helen keep matches under her mattress? Those could be pretty useful if we could get our hands on them I imagine.

I like this option. I want this option.

End's plan is pretty solid, I'll settle for this one! 

Yeah, I'll vote for this one 

B. Go talk with Helen first, she's the saner one and obviously doesn't want to die. If that doesn't work out, Mildred.

Let's go B. Maybe Earl could kill a guard along the way as well. :)

D.

Earl looks insane and also seems to be procuring alcohol from somewhere. Don't trust him, he doesn't seem reliable.

<B/F. Agree to have Rupert go talk to Earl, but also hedge your bets, by recruiting one of the other women to balance things out a little more (lesbian sex with Helen comes to mind for some reason).>

"Yeah," you replied to Rupert; your mind going down unfamiliar paths, as you thought of ways you could recruit Helen Childs to your cause.

"Okeydokey," Rupert said. "I'll ask him and let you know what he says."

You thanked Rupert and walked across the Yard to where Helen was slouched lazily against a wall. Both of her hands were under her hospital gown, and she squirmed in pleasure, as she massaged herself with who the heck knew what.

This wasn't particularly surprising, given who Helen was, and the fact that the incident with Harvey and the Dobermans this morning had caused Director Kaufman to miss his 'ten o'clock session' with her.

Somewhat embarrassed, you tried to look anywhere but directly at her (at least until she finished) - and noticed that the spoon from her empty bowl of pickled herring was gone.

'No… she wouldn't!' you thought to yourself in shocked realization - 'We eat off those spoons!'

Helen tensed up a moment and then let out a long low moan, before bringing her hands back out from under her gown and straitening herself up. You couldn't bring yourself to actually look at what she had in her hands, but the clatter of a spoon being casually tossed back into the bowl said it all.

Your lunch, such as it was, nearly leapt up out of your stomach.

"You want something Mayfield?" Helen asked, "Or were you just here for the show?"

Any thoughts you may have had, about getting romantically involved with this woman (for whatever reasons), immediately fled your mind. She was nasty, and coarse, and - if ever given the chance - would probably join in with the guards to rape you.

---

A. But you still need a strong woman on your side. Tell her about your plans to bust out of here.
B. Go with your gut and move on without her.

B.

E: Is it me or should "Rupert" replace "Earl" in some of the early lines? 

Good catch, thanks~

A. And come on, those spoons get washed anyway.

A.

A.

A+ 
Do A, and then to bribe her, tell her you've stolen a spoon or two that she can keep and use and not have them taken away from her. 
(At least with her around, you won't be the one being raped. She'd draw all of that kind of attention away from you.) 

A.

A. Somewhat looking forward to that lesbian love scene though...

A

<A. But you still need a strong woman on your side. Tell her about your plans to bust out of here.>

"Me and the boys are busting out of here," you announced quietly to Helen, "and I thought you might like to get in on the action."

"Oh really?" she replied almost sarcastically. "Is this about that weird dream? You going to try to get out through the basement?"

"Well, yes," you confessed.

"Bushwa!" she scoffed, "It's just mass hysteria I say; Harvey's paranoia, rubbing off on you rubes. But still…" she licked her fingers, smirking devilishly - "A night out with the boys… What the hell? It would be a lark, right?"

"But it could also be a way out," you stressed, hopefully.

"Yeah, right," Helen laughed, "but whatever; I'm game."

An approaching guard ended the short-lived conversation there, directing everyone back inside for the afternoon music practice.

The Day in Passing

Music Practice and Group Therapy were largely subdued, due to Director Kaufman still fuming over losing his viola player for the octet. He just wasn't into it, being distracted, and mumbling angrily to himself a lot.

You, Earl, and Mildred lucked out of Experimental Therapy sessions this time around; and were returned to the Mill Space, to sit quietly along the wall until dinner.

Archie, Rupert, and Francis meanwhile, were taken down to the basement. There was an unusual silence there today - no screaming coming from Ruth Swain's isolation cell for some reason.

Archie tried to suggest another trip to the Ice House like yesterday, thinking that it might be an opportunity to score an ice pick for the upcoming escape attempt, but was instead, suspended upside-down on the wall and then wrapped head to toe in wet bed sheets like a mummy.

Supposedly, some type of Aversion Therapy, Archie found it overly suffocating and more than a little distressing. He ultimately lost his cool, suffered a massive panic attack, and was shaken quite badly by the ordeal.

As this went on, Rupert drew the Tone Induction Therapy coupled with Rotational Therapy. Like Earl had experienced the day before, Rupert was strapped into the RTD and spun at high speeds - all while, a tuba set up next to the device blasted loudly in his face each time it came around.

Being a bit motion sensitive to begin with, Rupert's ride quickly devolved from a puke-spewing mess, to violent dry-heaves, to the sweet release of unconsciousness. When it was all over (and Rupert finally came to), he was so disoriented and suffering severe vertigo that couldn't stand or walk under his own power for nearly an hour afterwards.

Francis meanwhile, was placed down in The Hole for Tone Induction Therapy and thought she could hear whispering voices between the strange piping sounds. She couldn't make out what the voices were trying to say, but found that a small relief, as she had no desire to hear them in the first place.

And, of course, Helen enjoyed her usual Aversion Therapy with Director Kaufman in his office, before he had to leave for the day. Given the brief conversation that she had with you during lunch, she kept an eye out for something she could swipe, while the Director was getting dressed. For as indifferent as she had initially seemed, the possibility of going out on the prowl for a night was really starting to excite her.

---

(End of Scene)

Next Scene and Choices to follow later tonight or Tomorrow...

I'm extremely hyped for the next scene. I do hope that it gets released today...

There ya go! ^v^

You're the best Berka! ^-^

Tying Up Loose Ends

At the end of the day, everyone (except Harvey, who was still recovering in the Nurses' Station) was gathered in the mill room after dinner for free time.

By this point, every one of the residents knew about the planned escape attempt. Rupert had told both Archie and Earl; while Helen had let it slip to Francis.

You had no idea how Mildred actually knew about it however - unless the 'voices in her head' really did tell her to be ready, as she currently claimed.

"All you need are some pages from one of these books," Earl explained, holding up one of the cheap novels that the residents were allowed in the mill space.

"Just wad the paper inside, where the latch goes in to the strike plate. That way, the lock won't fully engage. You can jimmy it open after the guards go to sleep."

"Yes... come to us behind the wall... " Mildred began murmuring, rocking herself back and forth, "below the earth... we will save you from them... make you rulers over them... bring them to kneel before you…"

"Um, yeah," Earl remarked, a distinct look of annoyance on his face. "Who invited the loon again?"

Everyone just sort of looked at each other with nothing to say.

"Now Earl," Archie chided, "no need to cast about such demeaning labels. Mildred has just as much right as any one of us to be free of this dreadful hell hole."

"But even if the guards are asleep," Rupert asked, trying to steer the subject away from Mildred, "how do we get past the nurses?"

"It's either us or them!" Earl replied with a menacing look. "We convince them that it would be better to keep quiet, or… we silence them."

The cutting motion Earl made with a finger across the throat left no ambiguity about what he meant.

"Oh my!" Francis gasped, the implications not lost on her. "I… I just can't!" She cried, turning to retreat from the group, back into her cell.

"If we get caught outside our cell at night," Earl retorted, "they'll whack us for sure!"

"He's right," Archie agreed. "I snuck a peek at the nurses' logbook today. Apparently, we're all 'hopeless cases'. What the hell are we doing here, being 'reformed', if we're hopeless? They're going to get rid of us. Kill us when they're done screwing with us, like they always have!"

"Besides," he then added to lighten the tone, "I'm not sure how many more volts these old balls can take."

"I'm sure I could sooth those sore balls of yours, Archie," Helen purred.

"Save it for distracting the guards, sweetheart," Earl checked.

"Oh, but I don't know if I can wait that long," Helen pouted.

"There was a bullet hole behind that tile that fell out of the wall this morning," you brought up, being reminded of it with all this talk of killing.

"Lots of them actually…" you realized aloud; "That wasn't trying to stop someone from escaping… My god - that was a firing squad!"

"Then we need to get out of here tonight!" Earl replied resolutely. "With Harvey honked up, Kaufman might just shit-can the whole octet thing and go straight to cleaning up all the loose ends - and we're the 'loose ends'!"

"We do this tonight, agreed?"

"Agreed," Archie confirmed.

"Yeah, let's get out of here," Rupert replied.

"I'm in," Helen said.

"Yes," you agreed, knowing that time was running out for you all.

"Yes, I think I can play it," Mildred said, apparently not in on the same conversation as everyone else. "I'll need a piccolo or fife from the music room though."

"Fucking crazy bitch, better not get us caught, is all I can say!" Earl growled.

---

A. You can't leave Francis behind to die alone. Go convince her to join you in the escape attempt tonight.
B. You can't possibly save everyone. Hell, you may not even be able to save yourself. Let Francis make her own decisions.

A.

A. Can't think of a possible reason to leave her.

A

A.

A, of course.

A.

A. 

I feel like I'm only choosing the average, eventually chosen choices. 

Looks Great! Can't wait to see it.

I have a feeling you've replied to the wrong post?

<A. You can't leave Francis behind to die alone. Go convince her to join you in the escape attempt tonight.>

As you walked over to Francis' cell, to speak to her through the door, you noticed Earl make his way to the bars by the guard post.

The man was all smiles and engaged the guards in a short conversation - both he and the guards appearing to yuck it up at something funny said.

One of the guards then left, while the other motioned for Earl to go wait on the other side of the room.

You didn't trust Earl all that much and wondered what he was up to. The thought that he might actually betray you to the guards crossed your mind, but while that was something Harvey would do, you couldn't really imagine the stubborn redneck holding any real allegiance to his captors.

There wasn't much you could do about it either way though, so you refocused yourself and called to Francis.

"Hey, are you all right?"

"Go away! I'm not fit for company right now!" Francis sobbed, sitting on her mattress and holding her head in her hands.

"Oh nonsense!" You scolded gently, then more earnestly asked, "Don't you want to get out of here with us Francis?"

Francis took a moment to wipe the tears from her face with the hem of her mu-mu. "I don't know..." she said hesitantly, still trying to regain her composure. "I'd… rather just wait and see if the Director will let us go, after the performance, like he promised."

"Besides," she continued, managing a weak smile, "you've all practiced so hard; and sound so good. It would be a shame for the world not to see what beauty people like us can bring to the world."

"Even if it's not the miracle cure that it's supposed to be."

"I honestly don't think we'll get that chance Francis," you explained - "Things are just spiraling out of control so fast. If we don't get out of here now, I don't think we ever will (alive at least)…"

Francis folded her arms.

"You can all do what you want and I won't tell," she said, clearly having already made up her mind.

"But Francis," you pleaded, "these creeps want to change you, from who you are inside, to who they want you to be on the outside. You don't want to let them do that to you, right?"

"We need to get out of here. All of us. Including you."

"I have nowhere else to go!" Francis cried; "Don't you see that? There is no escape for us. Not in here and not out there. Unless we can be cured, we can never go back!"

"No!" you said emphatically – wanting to walk into Francis' cell and shake her. "You don't get it. You have everywhere to go. These bulls don't get to own the world; and they sure can't torture us for their own sick pleasure. We deserve better. And if they don't give us what we deserve, we have to take it ourselves!"

Francis did not answer for a few moments, hanging her head in shame. "Ok," she then replied meekly, not bothering to look up. "I'll go."

"Yay!" you clapped with joy, then whispered, "tonight!" - before heading over to the bookcase, where the others were already gathered to tear some pages out of the books.

As you got your pages, and a few for Francis, a commotion near the guard post drew everyone's attention.

"You bastards!" Earl yelled, punching a fist against the bars; "You promised!"

"Har har!" one of the guards laughed. "You dumb goat-fucking hillbilly!"

"Yeah! As if we'd actually let you near the boss's whore, haha!"

"Why you! Just let me get my hands on you!" Earl threatened, reaching at the guards through the bars. He looked seriously pissed off and more than a little intimidating.

"Watch yourself there boy," the first guard warned, reaching out to put a hand on the fire-hose they used to keep troublesome residents in line with.

"Yeah," the other guard taunted, holding up a mason jar, half-full with some clear liquid. "We don't want to spill any of this fine hooch you gave us, now do we? Ha ha ha!"

Earl looked like he was struggling with the decision to back off, or continue to grasp at the air in a futile and unproductive manner.

"Fuckers!" Earl spat, finally backing away in frustration.

"That's a good boy," the guard mocked, waving Earl away.

The two guards then sat back down at their post and began sharing to contents of the mason jar between them – laughing and carrying on, like they had just outfoxed the devil himself.

Earl, and everyone else, began to head back to their cells for the night – wadding the paper up in their strike plates like Earl had shown them. It wouldn't be long before the guards came in to shut the cell doors for the night and you wanted to have that done before they came by – lest they see what you were up to.

---

A. Take a moment to go ask Earl what the hell he was doing with the guards back there.
B. Hurry up and rig your lock before time runs out.
C. Take the time to rig Francis' lock first; then do your own.

A seems like a waste, we can find out later. B and C both seem good, but BZ seems eager to leave Francis to a fate here, and I figure he wouldn't ruin this great thing by making us rot in our cell, so let's help Francis. C.

B.

C

C.

C.

C.

Please let us not be caught, BZ.

<C. Take the time to rig Francis' lock first; then do your own.>

Figuring that you could confront Earl later, if you needed to, you hurried to wad some paper up in Francis' door latch.

You were just finishing that, when a guard yelled, causing your heart to momentarily skip a beat - "All right you mooks! In yer cells! Get moving! Let's go!"

Everyone went into their cells, while you had no choice, but to stand in front of your own cell to await room inspection. You had not had enough time to fix your own lock.

As per the usual routine, one guard would enter the mill space to lock all the doors and then search yours for contraband. After that, he would lock you in last. As this went on, the other guard would man the firehose, ready to blast back anyone who tried to come out of their cell during this time.

"Don't you go drinking all that shine by yourself, while I'm in here working for a living!" the guard entering the mill space warned the other.

He then proceeded to shut the cell doors one-by-one - Pausing only when Archie's door failed to stay closed for some odd reason.

For a moment, the guard looked like he was about to inspect the lock and foil everyone's escape bid - but then simply slammed the door a few more times, until it actually latched (locking Archie in).

He then went into your cell for a quick look, leaving you hovering by the door.

Noticing that the guard on the firehose had returned to sipping the contents of the mason jar (and was not watching you anymore), you employed a little sleight of hand to quickly stuff the book pages into the strike plate of your door, while leaning your back up against the inside frame to hide what you were doing from the guard within.

When the guard turned around to see you standing just inside the doorway, he immediately drew out his nightstick and looked ready to clobber you.

"Better hurry, before your friend drinks it all," you said, thinking quickly.

"Greedy bastard," the guard mumbled, shoving his way past you, to actually catch the other guard in the act. "Hey cake-eater!" he yelled, "Save some for us straight guys!"

"Yeah yeah, hurry up anyway," the guard at the post waved dismissively.

You moved further into your cell, away from the door, as the guard turned to shut it.

Once that was done, he went back out to the guard post to join his buddy - grabbing the mason jar and slamming down a few grudge gulps.

"Hey not so fast haha!" the first guard laughed, as the other one suffered a fit of coughing from downing too much moonshine all at once.

11:30pm - The Mice Will Play...

By eleven thirty, the guards were both out cold (and could be heard snoring at their guard post behind the elevator). They had drank all the moonshine, played cards for a while, and then passed out.

The night nurse Doris Archer and Margaret Helms the orderly meanwhile, were still chatting idly in the Nurse's Station. Their muffled laughs were audible through the wall now and then, though what they were joking about was not intelligible - meaning that as long as everyone was quiet, they shouldn't be caught immediately.

Rupert was the first to open his cell door; and something small and gray came running out the moment he did.

"Cedrick!" Rupert called in a whisper – "Cedrick! Where are you going?!?""

Cedrick, apparently, was the name of Rupert's pet rat. While you had occasionally heard it chitter, or squeak, from inside Rupert's cell from time to time, this was the first that you had actually ever seen it.

Something about the rat was unnerving, besides the natural aversion that most woman had for such things. Cedrick's beady red eyes seemed to hide a knowing and malevolent intelligence within; and it stopped in the middle of the mill space to turn its head and stare at you a moment.

It then scampering south, along the bars, and to the east wall, where the residents' book shelves stood. It seemed to wait there for Rupert to see it, before slipping under the book shelves and disappearing from sight.

You jimmied your cell door open (as Earl had instructed), while Earl and Helen did the same.

"My door won't open," Archie whispered - his having been slammed hard enough to latch.

"My door won't open either," Mildred complained, "How can I play the pipes for The Master if my door won't open?"

You didn't actually see Francis at her door.

"Hey, Klepto," Earl called over, indicating the door in the bars that opened into the area outside the Nurses' Station; "You can pick that open, right?"

"Yes, get on with it!" Helen said, standing at Earl's side, almost hanging off his shoulder. She had five foot black leather whip coiled in one hand and a deranged look of supreme mischief on her face.

'Where the heck did she get that?' you wondered - 'And how did she even sneak it into her room?'

Rupert meanwhile, crept over to the bookshelves and got down on all fours to look beneath them.

"Guys, help me find Cedrick!" he whispered in alarm - "I can't leave without Cedrick!"

---

A. Open Archie's cell with your spoon.
B. Open Mildred's cell with your spoon.
C. Check to see what's up with Francis first.
D. Open the door in the bars for Earl and Helen first.
E. Help Rupert find his rat first.

A

Well... at this point I'm getting fucking shit of dealing with Francis' shit, no use wasting time when her door should be fine. I do really like rats, so let's go E.

Weird, everyone seems to be agreeing with me for E being the right choice. I'm quite confused, because E is clearly one of the worst answers, and I only really chose it because I like rats. But apparently everyone's choosing E, and I wonder why.

E.

E. 

A. (then B then D then look for the demon-rat).

A. Let's worry about those that we know can't get out first, then the one that might just be sleeping or crying.

E, please E

<E. Help Rupert find his rat first.>

Not wanting to risk Rupert getting louder, as his panic began to mount, you hurried over to the set of book shelves to help him look for his pet rat.

"Oh, for the love of Pete!" Earl spat in an irritated huff, covering his mouth, upon realizing how loud he had just been. Then whispering - "You can get a new rat when we're out Rupert. Stop wasting time!"

"Cedrick; what are you doing in there?" Rupert said, speaking under the book shelves.

Instead of trying to get low and look under the shelves, you went to the side of bookcase itself and looked behind it. There, you could see Rupert's pet rat, sitting in front of a large cast-iron vent in the wall. The vent was about sixteen inches wide and twenty eight inches high - allowing air to circulate up from the stairwell on the other side of the wall, into the second floor.

Heretofore, the vent had been hidden behind the book case, though you do recollect seeing the vent at the top of the stairwell many times (when coming up from the Supply Room); though you had never really paid it any mind.

Getting a good look at the vent, showed that it was held in place with six, half-inch diameter, flat-head screws - and likewise on the other side of the wall. You could probably turn out the screws with the handle of your spoon, as the notches in the oversized screws looked wide enough to accommodate it.

The bookcase would have to be removed from in front of the vent first however.

Rupert's rat meanwhile, squeaked once and then ducked through the vent - disappearing from sight.

"Aw, Cedrick! Come on!" Rupert hissed after it.

"Can we get a move on, or what?" Earl asked impatiently, standing by the lock he wanted you to open.

"What's the hurry, big boy?" Helen whispered in Earl's ear, rubbing herself up and down on his leg.

Archie and Helen were still waiting at their cell doors as well.

"Hey, help me move this stupid bookcase," Rupert then said, standing to get a grip on one side of the shelves.

---

A. Help Rupert move the bookcase away from the wall.
B. Tell Rupert to wait, while you go open the lock for Earl and Helen.
C. Tell Earl and Helen that you found a better way out and for them to help Rupert move the bookcase; while you open Archie's cell.
D. Tell Earl and Helen that you found a better way out and for them to help Rupert move the bookcase; while you open Mildred's cell.
E. Tell Earl and Helen that you found a better way out and for them to help Rupert move the bookcase; while you open Francis' cell.

C.

C. Let's trust the demon-rat. Also, Francis is just plain annoying now.

C

C. I kind of like Francis and don't want her to stay here. Probably she's just asleep or crying, but there's always a chanse that something went wrong and that's why she didn't open the door. But either way, she'll have to wait.

C.

C.

Yeah, C. Let's go C. So far, Archie's one of my favorite's, now that Rupert's whining all the time. I like his determination in always having his cock out no matter how cold. Fucking Francis would want to hurry up, though.

<C. Tell Earl and Helen that you found a better way out and for them to help Rupert move the bookcase; while you open Archie's cell.>

"Helen; Earl; Over here!" You motioned. "There's a way out, behind the bookshelf. Help Rupert move it away from the wall, while I go let the others out."

"Fucking hell woman!" Earl cursed, pulling himself away from Helen.

"What? You don't like it?" Helen pouted softly.

"Not you," Earl clarified; "that dumb bearcat."

You ignored Earl's comment and went over to work the lock on Archie's cell door.

As this went on, Rupert began pulling the bookcase out from the wall. He failed to notice that the top of it was bolted to the wall, in order to prevent it from tipping-over or being moved.

"It's stuck," he grunted, putting his weight into it.

"Rupert, wait!" Earl hissed, springing to action – as the bolt abruptly ripped out of the plaster with a heart-stopping 'CRACK!'

The floor then creaked loudly, as the heavy bookcase began to tip – only to be braced up by Earl, who rushed to throw himself under it, before it came crashing to the floor. A number of books slid off the shelf – landing with a patter.

The talking in the nurse's station stopped for a moment; though the snoring from the guard post continued as usual.

Everyone froze in place, like deer caught in the headlights. If that door to the Nurses' Station opened, the escape attempt would be over before it even began.

After a dreadful few seconds that seemed to drag on in the most ungodly manner, the laughing and chatting in the Nurses' Station resumed.

Everyone breathed a long sigh of relief, while Earl glared angrily at Rupert.

"You pull another knuckleheaded stunt like that and you won't have to worry about the guards anymore!" Earl threatened with a raised fist.

Rupert didn't say anything, but sheepishly helped Earl, as the two of them righted the bookshelf and carefully set it to the side of the cast-iron vent.

"Yeah… this might work…" Earl said, bending down to peer through to the other side.

Getting back to the lock, you managed to pick open Archie's cell door.

"Thank you my dear," Archie said, waltzing out of his cell - completely nude. "I dare say I feel freer already!" he smiled cheerfully, as if going for a Sunday stroll.

"Ooh, me next, me next!" Mildred called, not even attempting to keep her voice down.

"Shhh!" you shushed, hurrying over, just to keep her quiet.

After unlocking Mildred's cell, you then went over to Francis' door.

Looking in through the little barred window, you saw Francis in there, sitting on her mattress, but slumped forward. Your eyes were drawn to the pool of crimson blood on the floor and between her spread legs - and the odd lump of flesh cast to the side.

You then noticed the kitchen knife in her bloody hand and the makeup brush clamped between her teeth - and it dawned on you, that the odd lump of flesh was actually the last shackle of Francis' masculinity. She had finally freed herself of it - slicing out her own penis and testicles.

Your heart sank, knowing that Francis bled-out, alone in her cell, from her own self-mutilation. Perhaps the anxiety over the escape attempt finally pushed her over the edge. Perhaps you broke her, insisting that she come along.

Tears welled up in your eyes unbidden, but you couldn't give up now. You had to do this. Not only for yourself, but now for Francis - and everyone else this hellish place had destroyed!

---

A. Tell the others that Francis is not coming and get back to the escape.
B. Open Francis' cell to recover the kitchen knife.

B. That knife may come in handy. Also, lets ensure that the others don't know of Francis. They might feel disheartened.

B, there’s no telling what that knife could be useful for later on.

B

B.

Although there is no way I would do that IRL. Disgusting. Also I hope no one else sees & faints.

Goddammit, that useless bitch. Fuck it, get the knife.

B.

B. Damn it Francis, couldn't you at least wait till you get out and find a professional for that shit? Rip. But yeah, get the knife. Much more useful for killing things than a pen.

<B. Open Francis' cell to recover the kitchen knife.>

Choking down your emotions, you worked open the lock on Francis' door. That sharp kitchen knife was just too valuable to leave behind (especially if Earl decided to cause any trouble later on).

Heading in, you pulled the knife out of Francis' hand - causing her body to fall over.

Overcome with a moment of pure decency, you straightened her out on the mattress, removed the makeup brush from her mouth, closed her eyelids, and then covered her with a blanket.

She then sat up abruptly, eyes snapping open, and rasping out almost sarcastically - "I'm ready to go with you now Betty! Ha ha ha ha aaaah…"

You just about jumped out of your skin - clenching down with your teeth to suppress a scream!

Francis' face was ashen-white and she stared blankly ahead. That was not Francis in there! You just knew it! Either way, you were damn sure that she was not going to be able to get anywhere in her current condition.

---

A. Just leave demon possessed Francis and get the hell out of there!
B. Francis is done for (and you don't want her to suffer) - especially if she's being possessed by some maniacal demon! Time for a mercy killing!
C. Calmly lay Francis back down and tell her not to worry and to get some rest. Then go back to the others.
D. Help Francis up and see how far she can get.

B.

Also I think you mean demon possessed for A and B, not processed?

Yep! Though I sort of worked for Option B, haha!

B. At this point, trying to save her just isn’t worth it.

B.  He isn't worth it anymore. 

Beware the social justice warriors - Francis identified as a woman!

He/she had a penis. I'll call Francis a he for now because that's his actual gender. 

Last time I checked, clearly didn't have a penis. That's why she died.

Key word: had.

Actually, up until now, that was up in the air. BZ said she was a cross-dresser, but that doesn't mean you're unhappy with your gender. That could just mean you like dressing up like a chick, like Frank N. Furter from Rocky Horror. 

That's true.

A. Get the fuck out of there. Might not kill her though, in case we've lost it and she's actually fine. If so, one of the others will recognize her, so B would be silly. Sure as shit not doing C or D, though.

A

A. If she's really a demon or some shit, I sure as shit wouldn't want to fight her on my own. We might also be wrong and she isn't possessed by anything and somehow managed to survive. Either way, we should let the others know about the situation.

So far it's tie. Need a breaker...

A!

It's the only thing that makes sense!

Because someone made it a tie again, endmaster vote counts for two because he's the dark god. 

I have summoned reinforcements!

We're going to need more reinforcements, it's a tie again.

B :(

A

A.

(As hilarious as killing her would be, especially if it didn't work, seems like it would create needless complications...)

B. Francis is clearly mentally unstable for cutting off his own dick.

That... The setting is a mental hospital. You have a person in your crew who hears voices and acts upon it. Another who refuses to wear clothing. Someone who eats bugs. And someone that has apparently been abducted by aliens. The main character herself has chosen to steal spoons instead of helping someone not get torn up by dogs. 

They're all mentally unstable. I think that's the point.

No, all the rest only appears insane to those of us on the outside even though it makes perfect sense. Clearly, the person hearing voices is hearing the voice of God, the one refusing to wear clothing is seducing the guards to get superior treatment, the bug-eater is getting much-needed proteins that are lacking in the provided meals, and the spoons are more important than for long-term plans than stopping a little beating here and there. These are some of the most rational people I've ever heard about.

Cutting your own penis off, though, that's clearly evidence of some deeper problem.

Good to know the only explanation you can think of for a man not wearing clothes is seduction. That speaks a lot to your character.

B. fuck that annoying bitch. Also if she dies she won't be loud and attract attention.

There is absolutely no way someone would manage to survive cutting their own penis off.

Perhaps our character is slowly going insane inside the sanitarium, and thus mistakenly perceives demons in corpses/rats. 

If it makes any difference I'd happily change my vote to A (although if the demon is too powerful to kill when you are standing right next to it with a drawn knife, I don't think running away from it would work either.)

There is much evidence within the internet that says otherwise. People often survive cutting their own penis off. There are many videos of the act.

I'm not talking about the actual act. Presumably these people do something to stem the blood flow. The act itself certainly would not kill most people, but the sustained blood loss from such a large area would most likely.

A

I'm a reinforcement. A.

A. It'd be hilarious if she's a demon, but we just lock her in the cell and leave. Also, tell the others that Francis has totally lost her mind...
Wait. She could start screaming. Heck, who cares. I'd much rather have the plan fail than Earl (or another) kill me for "murdering" poor "Francis".
Therefore, killing her after we complete A seems like a good idea.

If we'd been able to lock the door, I'd have voted A for sure. Is it possible to "unpick" a lock that you've picked, thereby re-locking it? I've never heard of that before.

Locking the door is the least of my concerns. Those are:
A. Being accused of murder. That's bad.
B. (Actually), having lost my marbles and stabbing a corpse.
C. Being overpowered by a demon/zombie. Earl would be a better attacker. Safety is in numbers! :)

A.

<A. Just leave demon possessed Francis and get the hell out of there!>

You jumped back and hurried out of the cell, shutting it behind you - visibly shaken to the rest of the residents.

"Francis is not coming," you said weakly, moving away from door and back toward the vent behind the bookcase.

"Is… Francis… all right?" Archie asked with concern, eyeing the bloody knife in your hand and slowly backing away.

"I… no!" You hastily replied, lest they got the wrong idea. "She had this knife… and cut herself. I think she's dead!"

"Dead?" Mildred asked, hurrying over to look through the little barred window into Francis's cell.

"Are you not going with us then, Francis?" She called through.

"Oh, I understand," Mildred began babbling to herself; "Yes, I'll tell the others. See you at the Master's Altar!"

Mildred then returned to the group to explain, not bothering to whisper - "Francis says to follow their blood. Its spilling was what awoke the Master. He awaits us in his charnel chambers below."

"First, whisper! You batty loon!" Earl growled at Mildred; "Second, shut the fuck up!"

"Well! I never!" Mildred huffed, folding her arms.

"Nice blade!" Helen then said, admiring your kitchen knife.

"Yeah, and I'm sure it will come in handy," Earl agreed; "But we need to get our hands on even more weapons. And there happen to be two nightsticks and keys on those sleeping guards over there - who ain't waking up anytime soon. Get it? So if you don't mind Betty, open the fucking doors for us already, so we can go get them."

"But what about the vent?" Rupert complained. "Cedrick is getting away!"

"Fuck your gawdamn rat Rupert! It can wait!"

---

A. Open the doors in the bars for Helen and Earl.
B. Get started on the screws in the iron vent first.
C. Take a moment to ask Mildred what the heck she's going on about.

A

A. With any luck, Cedrick could show up later on from his own free will.

There seems to be some merit with the rat, therefore I'm going to place my vote on B.

A.

A.

Don't want to risk annoying Earl any more.

A. Even though I want to save the rat, we need to get out of this place. 

B

The last thing we need is to wake up the guards.

A. Let's kill some guards. I've been hoping the story could head this way for some time.

A

<A. Open the doors in the bars for Helen and Earl.>

You could sense Earl beginning to get edgy with you and your street-smarts warned against keeping him waiting any longer. You were right in your reservations about including him in the escape, but there was nothing you could do to change things now. Earl was a loose-cannon - one that could explode in your face at any moment. It was best to try to keep on his good side… for now.

"Just give me a minute Rupert," you told him, as you made your way to the door in the bars - "I'm sure Cedrick won't go very far."

You then worked at the lock a moment before the latch clicked open.

Entering the security hall outside the Nurses' Station, you moved across to the other door at the far end. Along the way, you glanced at the locks on the doors to the Nurses' Station. Unlike the large over-sized locks in the bars and on the cell doors, these locks were your more standard-sized deadbolts.

You wouldn't be able to pick any of them without much better tools.

Opening the second door, you stood aside, so Earl and Helen could hurry through. They seemed to be going faster than a simple stealth mission to recover the guards' nightsticks and such would require…

---

A. Follow Earl and Helen around the Elevator to the Guard Post.
B. Go back to the bookcase and get started on the screws in the iron vent.

A. I still am hoping the rat will just show up on his own later.

B.

(if I remember correctly, that lead to the other side with the staircase. It's an alternate escape route in case they butcher the guard stealth thing. If I'm incorrect, then A.) 

A. To reference Lord of the Flies... Slit their throats! Spill their blood! :)

B.

I have a feeling Earl and Helen can either take care of themselves or get themselves fucked over somehow, so having a potential second plan seems like a legit response.

B. Earl and Helen might be planning something, but for now let's just get another escape root open and make Rupert happy.

B.

I don't see much advantage to following them. Let's satisfy Rupert.

B

A. Let's kill some guards.

<B.Go back to the bookcase and get started on the screws in the iron vent.>

You headed back to the bookcase to get a start on the six screws, which would each require being turned out with the handle of your spoon.

You knew nabbing the spoon was the right call.

Kneeling in front of the vent, you had just started on the first one, when a quiet commotion (and the gurgling sound of someone being choked) broke the silence.

On the other side of the Elevator, Helen and Earl were throttling the sleeping guards.

Helen used her leather whip from behind, as a garrote; while Earl simple strangled his victim from the front with his two powerful hands. The two drunks never stood a chance.

A few moments later, the murderous duo returned to the group, to show off their handiwork.

"I told those fucks what would happen, if they let me get my hands on them, har har," Earl chuckled, handing Archie a nightstick, while keeping one for himself.

"You know how to use that, right?" he asked the naked man.

"I'm sure I can figure it out," Archie replied dryly, giving the stout club a few practice swings.

Earl also had the guards' flashlight and keys.

Holding the keys up, he decreed - "That vent is a waste of time, now that we got the keys to the Nurse's Station. I say we storm in and take 'em out - so we don't have to worry about them later!"

"Yes," Helen agreed; "We outnumber them. It will be easy!"

You could see the murder-lust dancing gleefully in both Helen and Earl's eyes.

"No, we can't!" Rupert replied, "They've never done anything wrong to us. They don't deserve that! I mean, the guards are one thing, but the nurses… you… you can't!"

"There must be sacrifices," Mildred said, still not getting the whole 'whispering' concept.

"It would be risky," Archie pointed out. "Don't forget that the nurses have an intercom, directly to the Watch Captain's Office. One push of that button and we would be done for."

"You don't think I know that?" Earl sneered. "Trust me; they'll never see what's coming!"

"Yeah… I'm against it," Archie decided, motioning to the vent with his nightstick; "Especially since we have a convenient escape route right there that doesn't involve needless killing or foolhardy risk."

"Says you, old man," Earl mocked - "But the vote is three to two against you. Unless the klepto has something more to add."

"Bah!" Archie rebutted; "Mildred is in no condition to make important decisions - let alone tactical ones. She doesn't get a vote in the matter. That means it's two to two and Betty breaks the tie."

Everyone turned to you to see what you had to say.

---

A. Agree with Earl, to use the keys to storm the Nurses Station through the doors, knowing that it means killing the innocent.
B. Side with Archie, to avoid a potentially risky confrontation and simply go through the vent.
C. Suggest that Earl wait until the vent is opened, so that half the group can flank the nurses from the stairs, while the rest storm into the Nurses Station through the door.

Innocent? These nurses aren't innocent. They're bystanders to my torture. Fuck them, I'll happily kill them. The only question is the risk, though. I need to think.

You are not wrong about the Nurses haha! The Orderlies on the other hand, you could make an argument for innocent-ish.

Eh, I'm happy to kill them all. Everyone's aware of what's going on, so I'm willing to kill them all. Anyway, C. Seems like a happy cross between the first two choices, and I'm not entirely sure, because I'm terrified of getting caught and raped with the electro-dildo again, because now that's a fear I have to have. Cheers for that one, BZ.

B.

B. and explain that the point is to escape right now. If they come out and pose a bigger threat by not killing them, then go ahead and kill them. Until they become a threat however, they should be left alone. 

My bloodthirst is fighting with my desire to side with Archie.

B

C.

I'm not actually too keen to go through the vent. Demonic rats and Mildred's 'master' both seem to be in that direction.

C. Slaughter them all. 

B.  Better to avoid making to much noise. One idiot missteps and the whole thing goes bust.

B.

B. It's just too risky. Sure, we have some weapons, but I still think it wouldn't end well.

B

<B. Side with Archie, to avoid a potentially risky confrontation and simply go through the vent.>

"I'm with Archie on this one," you replied, continuing to turn out the screws. Earl would be angry with you for vetoing his plan, but you couldn't let that stop you. Besides, both you and Archie were armed as well as (if not better than) Helen and Earl, so as long as you stayed on Archie's good side, the two deviants should hesitate to make a serious move against you.

"And, I'd rather not get the electric chair, if we're caught on the outside - thank you very much!" you added for emphasis, "So nix the casual homicide already!"

"The hell they'll me alive!" Earl shot back.

Helen's brazen attitude immediately crumbled, as she realized that she had just dug her own grave.

"Oh fuck Earl!" she said, sounding on the verge of hysteria; "They're never going to leave us alone! I don't know if I can survive on the lamb for the rest of my life!"

"Get a grip woman!" Earl hissed, grabbing Helen's arm and giving her a forceful shake to quiet her down. "You killed a civil servant. There's no going back now. So stick with me and we'll be just fine. This ain't my first rodeo. I've been on the wrong side of the law my whole life. Trust me, there isn't anything the law can do to you that's worse than the shit they put us through in here."

Helen smiled weakly, sidling up alongside her strong confidant man. Clearly the psychopath was manipulating her for his own ends. You didn't want to think of where a relationship like that was going to end up on the outside.

"All done," you announced, removing the last screw.

Pulling the cast-iron vent cover off the wall, you saw that you could now carefully slide the entire vent itself (and corresponding vent cover on the other end) out of the wall into the stairwell on the other side.

"We'll need your muscles for this Earl," you pointed out, moving out of the way, so the strong redneck could maneuver the heavy assembly with minimal noise.

Once the passageway was cleared, Earl crawled through to wait in the hall at the top of the landing. Just around the corner from where he stood, was the short hallway leading into the Nurses' Station. Earl seemed to be chewing on the idea of unilaterally going ahead with his own plan to storm the Nurses' Station.

'No.' you mouthed silently to Earl, as you crawled through next.

He rolled his eyes at you in annoyance, but more importantly, stayed where he was.

On this side of the wall, you could hear the nurses chatting much more clearly (something about their preference for laundry soap apparently). That meant that they would also be able to hear you, equally as well.

You put your finger to your lips to indicate the rest of the group keep quiet.

Rupert came through after you and looked around. His face brightened, when he caught a glimpse of his rat 'Cedrick', at the bottom of the stairs in the Supply Room. Not waiting for anyone else, he hurried down - to which, the rat scurried out of sight again.

"Cedrick!" Rupert whispered quietly in frustration.

"Out of my way, let me through!" Helen demanded, pushing Mildred and Archie aside, so she could get through next.

You didn't wait for her however, but went down after Rupert - remembering the large metal toolbox you had seen in the corner of the Supply room early that morning. You definitely wanted to get the first look inside it, while the others were distracted.

Once Helen had made it through, she joined Earl, and the two of them came down the stairs; followed shortly after by Mildred and Archie.

By that time, you had already opened the large metal toolbox - your mouth practically watering at all the marvelous things inside!

Two hammers, a saw, metal rasps, a large monkey wrench, screw drivers, chisels, pliars, a crowbar, a hand drill (with bits), a tool-belt, and a hatchet.

And best of all, you got first dibs!

So… what to equip yourself with (in addition to your kitchen knife)?

---

A. Tool-belt, hammer, metal rasps, screw drivers, & pliars
B. A hammer & chisels
C. The saw, hand drill, & bits
D. The large monkey wrench
E. The crowbar
F. The hatchet

Huh... well, we're not heavy hitters, so leave DEF out. C seems impractical, and... fuck it, A. We've got a weapon, we could use some shit to help out our natural abilities.

Yea, I'm almost on Steve with this one... but I really want that hatchet. So F.

A. We have a small weapon, and I think that we should get some tools to help break out of this shithole. 

A, and have Archie grab the hatchet. I don't want earl with his hands on that thing. If archie won't take it himself, then F. Just as long as earl doesn't get his hands on it. Or helen.

E.

I fail to see how A would really help us bust out.

Tools are always useful, plus, you've a hammer, which serves as a pretty useful weapon as well.

See I don't get why people think hammers make a good weapon. All you've done is very slightly increase your range and impact potential. Knives are much more deadly - and we already have one of those. I think the average person is going to find a crowbar much more useful for getting out when their stuck, than a whole host of screwdrivers and hammers.

Claw end of a hammer can absolutely punch through a skull, and a crazy person with a screwdriver isn't anything to fuck around with either.

The tools are far and away the most useful and versatile things there for other situations too, I'm glad you all made the right decision on this one since I missed the vote.

A. I bet our protagonist can do a bunch with these tools.

A. The crowbar might be useful too, but hopefully someone else will take it.

G, take all them bitches

A.

Hang on... write-ins are on option, and I'm sure once UFO Joe and the Nymph get the hatchet and crowbar they'll be happy. Why did no one just take everything?

E

The crowbar will give us a medium to long range weapon that’s also far more wieldy than a hatchet. I really don’t get why everyone wants to take the tools for ourselves. Someone will have to take the tools, and it really doesn’t matter who takes them, since we all benefit equally from their presence. A weapon, on the other hand, is useful exclusively to our own character, which is the point of getting first dibs in the first place.

A.

Write in option: Hide the hammer and chisels on your person as well, get Archie the crowbar.

<A. Tool-belt, hammer, metal rasps, screw drivers, & pliars>

You took out the tool-belt, with associated tools, securing it around your waist. The others, seeing what you had found, crowded in to outfit themselves as well.

Helen immediately grabbed up the hatchet, while Earl seemed satisfied to heft the over-sized monkey wrench.

"This will bash some skulls a'right!" he chuckled quietly - the need to continue whispering having passed for the time being.

"Chop chop chop! Haha!" Helen said, making murderous motions with the hand axe.

"I thought you were upset about killing the guards," Rupert pointed out, looking through the room for his rat, and making sure not to get too close to the axe-murderer in the making.

"What?!?" Helen scoffed, irritated, "Hell no! I'm just pissed that they will never leave us alone! Fuck those guys, they deserve to die. All of them!"

"That's my girl!" Earl said, pulling Helen in for a tight hug.

Archie eyed the disturbing pair, but moved in to pick up the hammer and chisels.

"Good find Betty!" he praised; "These tools could come in quite handy!"

"The pipes are calling," Mildred mumbled, trying to open the locked door to the hallway outside the Music Room.

"The master must hear his song."

"Hey rat man!" Earl instructed Rupert, handing him the crowbar, "You carry this. We might need it later."

Rupert hesitantly took the heavy steel bar, not really wanting to carry it, but intimidated enough by Earl not to outright defy him.

"You, crazy lady," Earl continued, pulling Mildred away from the door by the back of her hospital gown; "We're not going out there, unless you want shot."

"But I must," Mildred replied, moving to the north wall (between the Supply and Music Rooms) and feeling the cool surface with her hands. "It's right here. On the shelf. On the other side of the wall. Just like they are. Hidden, behind the walls."

"What's on the shelf, Mildred?" you asked, hoping to keep the woman calm. Any crazed outburst right now, might just cost the whole escape.

"The piccolo," Mildred replied, "I need it!"

The way Mildred was acting, reminded you of the clarinet incident that had occurred in the Music Room yesterday morning.

"The master needs it!" Mildred hissed, her voice changing once again.

Just then, Rupert's pet rat Cedrick, ran out from under some boxes and down the steps that lead into the basement. You could hear it squeaking as it went.

"Cedrick!" Rupert called, hurrying after it, which was a surprise to no one.

"Careful Rupert!" Earl said - he and Helen quickly following - "There's a guard post down there!"

Archie and Mildred meanwhile, waited for you to decide what to do.

"I suppose we could quietly drill through the plaster and see what's on the other side of the wall," Archie suggested, looking into the toolbox.

---

A. Insist that Mildred come with you and Archie down the stairs after the others.
B. Leave Mildred here, while you and Archie join the rest downstairs.
C. Try to appease Mildred by drilling a hole in the wall.
D. Tell Archie to drill a hole in the wall for Mildred, while you continue to search through the supply room.

D

A/B.

Seeing as so much fuss was made about whispering (Earl is still chuckling quietly) it hardly seems sensible drill through the wall as the resulting vibrations would probably alert most of the guards.

It's a hand drill, neither the sound nor the vibrations will be strong enough to alert anyone who isn't literally in the next room.

D

I feel like music must be the key to trigger some sort of escape given the earlier dream sequence. I’m in favor of letting Mildred get her piccolo. At the same time, I don’t really want to waste time staying here to drill a hole.

Edit: Okay, Imperator convinced me. I’ll change my answer to B. I’m sure Mildred will find a way to get her piccolo somehow.

A.

I am not so sure we should appease Mildred's master but something tells me she might start making a racket if we don't and we don't need that. On the other hand she is probably going to use the thing to play music so both options seem kinda terrible.

I think there are more tools in that room then we think so I am going to say D.

D

D it is then. Update coming soon...

(I was secretly hoping for B though, because had you left Mildred behind, she would have knocked on the door to get a guard to let her out, so that she could go to the music room to fetch her piccolo haha!) ^v^

Just catching up on the last couple updates and every one of these people is a liability tbh, I'm going to vote for getting as far away as possible from absolutely all of them the second we're clear of the place.

How is Archie a liability? He seems like the only guy I trust so far.

Well I was talking more about the others, true, but I'm sort of assuming as the other token stable person he won't survive this story anyway.

<D. Tell Archie to drill a hole in the wall for Mildred, while you continue to search through the supply room.>

"Uh, sure," you replied to Archie, continuing to look through the room for anything useful; "go ahead."

Archie retrieved the hand drill and a large bit from the toolbox and got to work, drilling through the plaster where Mildred was indicating.

In the meantime, your search turned up another flashlight and a coil of rope among the miscellaneous contents of the room.

"Well, what do you know!" Archie declared, looking through a one-inch hole in the wall. "She was spot on! I can see the side of a piccolo on the shelf, but we need something to reach in and turn it, so it can be pulled out."

Then giving it some thought, Archie decided, "Wait, no; I have an idea…"

As Mildred anxiously hovered over Archie, he drilled a few more holes around the area, and then gently pushed out the connecting plaster with a chisel - careful not to make a lot of noise.

After creating an opening in the wall, large enough to stick his hand through, he did just that - removing the piccolo and handing it to Mildred.

Mildred was overjoyed and immediately tried to bring the small instrument up to her lips, but Archie had anticipated that possibility.

Stopping her with a cupped hand, he gently lowered her arms and said, "No Mildred, you must only play it in the presence of the 'master'. The guards are unworthy to hear it. For now you must wait."

"I understand," Mildred replied humbly, clutching the piccolo to her breasts.

'Thank goodness he stopped her,' you thought to yourself in relief; 'She's almost as dangerous as Helen and Earl (in her own way)!'

"OK then, we should go," you said sternly, indicating everyone head down the stairs now.

Mildred and Archie crept down ahead of you, while you followed.

It seemed like a good idea, not to leave anyone up here by themselves - especially when there was no telling what Mildred would do next.

Arriving at the bottom of the stairs, you were met by total mayhem!

In the Shower Room, Rupert had removed a drain cover, and was lying on the floor with an arm down the pipe - as if trying to fish something out.

"Cedrick! Come out!" he wailed - leaving you to guess that the rat had somehow gone down the drain.

Mildred ran over to kneel next to Rupert and began stroking his hair. "There, there," she soothed, "the Master will meet us soon; and I shall play music for his Court."

In the hall to the north meanwhile, blood pooled under a dead guard near the Laundry room with a gaping hatchet wound to the head - while Earl and Helen wrestled on the floor with a second guard.

Earl (on the bottom) had a bloody face - clearly having been beaned by a nightstick and looking like the radial around his eye had been fractured. His monkey wrench hung oddly from the ceiling - apparently caught up in some spool-and-wire electrical work.

The guard meanwhile, was trying to escape Earl's bear-hug around the face - repeatedly slamming a fist into Earl's ribs, while Helen had the man's legs wrapped up, barely able to hold them down.

The guard yelled and cursed, but the sound was currently muffled, due to his face being pinned to Earl's chest.

"Get this guy!" Earl snarled, seeing you and Archie at the bottom of the stairs.

Archie rushed forward to help Helen hold the man down, grabbing the guard's free arm.

Getting closer yourself, you recognized the two guards. These were the ones that had tried to rape you with Captain Hutchins. Your anger boiled.

Death was almost too good for these monsters!

---

A. Plunge your kitchen knife into the guard's back.
B. Crack the guard in the head with your hammer.
C. Get on his back and choke him out, like they did to you. A hostage might actually come in handy and you can always kill him later (in a significantly more personal way…)

We don't have the time or luxury for a hostage besides it will be nice to feel his life slowly drain from a stab wound any where

Vote change D

Much better suggestion wibbons

D

Write in D.
Plunge the knife in the guard's back, then do this to him. :)

D.

Shit, Wibbons won me over, D.

e: OK I have been convinced, changing vote to D. Suppose it'll be a good demonstration for Earl as well in case he ever gets ideas.

D.

I just don't see the point unless he's alive when she does it.

Stabbing him in the back shouldn't kill him immediately, so he should still be alive for it.

If Betty does it quickly enough, we should be able to do both with time to spare. :)
The back stab probably won't be immediately fatal unless we're really unlucky.

D. but make sure to plunge the knife in a spot where he'll die instantly. We don't want him screaming. 

A/D.

Wow, D sounds like it'll be very entertaining at least. Let's go with that. 

<D. Plunge your kitchen knife into the guard's back - then cut off his manhood for spite!>

Seeing red, you sprang over, and plunged your kitchen knife down between the man's shoulder blades. The guard cried out as the knife slipped in (way easier than you had expected).

Something in you then snapped.

Overcome with rage, everything you had been bottling up burst out, and you continued to stab the man - completely deaf to his anguished sobs, rasping cries, and final breath!

Startled by the ferocity of your attack, Helen let go of the man's legs, while Earl scrambled out from under him to avoid being impaled underneath the guy.

After three dozen knife wounds (not that you were counting), you climbed off the messy corpse - covered in blood spatter. Breathing heavily, you happened to catch Earl's eyes, as he watched you with warily.

'Fuck you too!' you thought to Earl, rolling the guard's body over and reaching down his pants to get a hold of his penis. With your knife in the other hand, you detached the man's member, and then stuffed it down his own throat.

"Suck on that you bastard!" you said coldly.

"Fuck Betty, that's sick!" Helen remarked.

"Really Helen?!?" you asked rhetorically. Of all people, telling you that something was 'sick'.

Helen then retrieved her hatchet, which had been gotten stuck under the guard, when Earl had wrestled him to the floor.

Earl picked up a nightstick and used it to carefully free his crowbar from the overhead wires. He had already received a jolt from them, when his initial overhand swing got caught up - which gave the guard a chance to ring Ear's bell during the duo's ambush.

Had Earl not been able to duck under a follow-up swing and get the guard to the ground, he very well might have used his police whistle to alert the rest of the building of the escape.

"Are you all right Betty?" Archie asked, putting a hand on your shoulder. It wasn't until then, that you noticed you were shaking.

"I will be," you replied, taking a deep breath and trying to release some of the tension that still lingered.

"So we made it to the basement," Earl said, removing the clothes off the guard with the split skull - "Now what?"

Checking the time on his 'new watch', he then added, "We have just over two hours before bed check."

"Ooh, I want a watch too!" Helen said, looking for one on the guard you had knifed to death.

"Darn! Only a flashlight and keys."

As Earl put on the dead guards clothing, he looked at you and Archie. "If we run into any more guards, don't rat me out!"

"Mum's the word!" Archie replied, flashing the 'OK' sign.

You had to admit it, but dressed like that, Earl could pass for one of the faceless mooks - especially in the dim light.

"Wish I had thought of this upstairs," Earl huffed, gently feeling the wound on the side of his eye. "Might have saved me the wood shampoo."

"I'm just going to go warn Rupert and Mildred of your new disguise," Archie announced, heading back toward the Showers. Wouldn't want them to do something rash, not knowing it was you."

---

A. Go with Archie to see what Rupert and Mildred are doing and to search the Shower room.
B. Search the Boiler Room and Storage area.
C. Search the Guard Post and Laundry room.
D. Use the guards' keys to search the Morgue and Isolation Cells.
E. Search the Laboratory and Electro Chamber.
F. Search the Med Storage and Electrical junction.

F, and then if there's enough time, D 

B.

A

Something must be wrong if Rupert and Mildred haven’t come to check out what the commotion was about.

A.

C. She needs to try to find a change of clothes in the laundry room and get cleaned up if she can, she's drenched in blood right now. Might give Mildred and Rupert a scare like that in fact.

Maybe killing the guard with the hammer would have been better in hindsight. Second uniform and a lot less messy.

A.

A.

Reminder that A is where we noticed the bullet holes and the newly constructed wall.

Though A is probably the "safest" answer (since I do not trust Mildred), I'm going with D. I really want to see Ruth Swain. I have a feeling that she might clue us into necessary info. To be honest, I'm seeing Mildred's rambling as something much more than the byproduct of insanity.

<A. Go with Archie to see what Rupert and Mildred are doing and to search the Shower room.>

You decided to go see what was happening in the Shower room with Rupert and Mildred; stopping briefly in the Laundry room to throw off you blood-soaked hospital gown, wipe clean, and don a fresh one.

'Damn, I can't wait to start wearing normal clothing once again,' you thought to yourself, as you hurried along.

'Preferably something where my ass doesn't hang out for all to see!'

As this went on, Earl and Helen went across the hall to search the area around the Boiler Room, particularly the coal bin, to see if there was some way out hidden there.

When you arrived in the Shower room, you saw that Rupert and Mildred had moved over to the west side of the area and had their heads down near the base of the wall, listening to squeaking and scratching sounds coming from the other side.

"It's Cedrick," Rupert explained; "Somehow he got through the pipe and ended up on the other side of the wall!"

Archie meanwhile, was standing to the north, where he had pulled a tile off the wall. It was the same one that had fallen out that morning, only having been replaced with a new tile and fresh cement.

"I had to see it for myself Betty" Archie explained, pointing out the bullet hole that you had told them about.

"What about the rest?" you asked, motioning to the other dozen or so off-colored chest-height tiles in that section of the wall.

"Hmm, let's see," Archie said, taking his hammer and a chisel and carefully taping out another couple of tiles. Sure enough, each one of the newer tiles hid a large caliber bullet hole behind.

"I do believe you are correct about the firing squad," Archie remarked with a frown.

"Then it's do or die," you replied; "If they catch us, they will kill us. There is no going back."

"Agreed," Archie decided - more for himself than anyone else.

Heading over to where Rupert and Mildred were, you put an ear to the wall and listened, as you thumped the wall in a few places with your fist.

Everything seemed solid enough, but you noticed a suspicious looking crack (or seam) in the tiling near an old set of unused faucets in the southern half of the west wall. The crack was perfectly vertical, running from floor to ceiling, up the grouting between the tiles.

Three feet further down the wall, you found a second seam, identical to the first.

"Look at this," you said, getting Archie's attention; "I looks like there could be some kind of hidden door in the tiles over here."

"Really?" he replied, "Any idea how to open it?"

---

A. Try to figure out how to open the secret door by yourself.
B. Call Earl over to give it a look, knowing he has a mechanical aptitude for these sort of things.
C. Who needs to figure out how to open it, when you have brute-force (hammer, chisels, crowbar)?

A and then B. if she can't figure it out quickly. Probably has something related to the faucets themselves as a trigger.

Don't go nuts with the tools, that'll make too much noise and if there's some kind of mechanism you might damage it.

B.

B.

Agree with mizal  - A, and if you can't figure it out quickly, B. 

A, then C

B.

Let's go with B.

A We don't trust Earl enough to not just do something stupid or try and bite our head off for distracting him. I rather do the safe thing where we figure it out ourself.

The choice of A and then B is something that sounds rather good. So I think I'd go with that as my decision if our protagonist is unable to open the door by herself at first. 

A then B

Earl will probably hit the wall until it collapses; however, I trust our hero enough to not destroy anything.

A then b.

A and then C

I don't trust Earl for shit

<A. Try to figure out how to open the secret door by yourself. >
<B. Call Earl over to give it a look, knowing he has a mechanical aptitude for these sort of things.>

"A door?" Rupert asked, standing to come over to where you and Archie were investigating the wall.

"Of course there's a door," Mildred said after him, not bothering to get up, "how else would we get in to see the master?"

Mildred then continued to speak to the chittering and chewing noises coming from behind the wall. "Don't worry Rattie, we're coming! Yes, you can hear my music too. I'm sure the master won't mind."

"It's not 'Rattie'," Rupert corrected the woman, "It's 'Cedrick'."

You meanwhile, attempted to figure out how to open the door, but were stumped. It clearly had something to do with the three unused faucets in the wall - as they lined up vertically right on the 'door' edge of the seam (much like a set of doorknobs).

Turning the faucets revealed that they were not attached to any normal spigot - as they would continue to spin in any direction that you spun them, without traveling in or out, and never stopping. They were also quite tight, threatening to give your hands a blister, if you fiddled with them too long.

Frustrated, you eventually gave up and called across the hall to Earl and Helen.

"Hey Earl, we found something! Get over here and see what you make of it."

"Just as well," Earl replied, walking over with Helen, "nothing here but junk and spiders."

"Spiders?" Rupert echoed - licking his lips with a hungry glint in his eye.

"No spiders Rupert!" you decreed quickly, suppressing a gag at the memory of him swallowing down a large hairy one at lunch.

Rupert looked like he was going to argue or complain, but the sudden ding of the elevator bell up the hall quickly silenced him.

"Holy shit!" Earl said, "Someone's taking the elevator!"

Sure enough, you could hear the cable motor wind up, to begin slowly moving the car. It had last been on the second floor, which meant someone on the ground floor must have called it - most likely the roving guard patrol.

If they took it up to the second floor, they would find the dead guards and see that you had all escaped your cells.

If they took it down here to the basement, they would find more dead guards, and you lot.

Either way it was bad.

"What if it's the Night Captain with the rifle?" Helen fretted.

"Or the dogs!" Rupert worried.

"Don't be silly," Mildred scolded, finally getting up, "He would have both the dogs and the rifle of course."

---

A. Suggest staging an ambush by the elevator to simply jump whoever might be coming down.
B. Suggest quickly stashing the dead bodies, dimming the hall lights, and having Earl wait at the guard post, while everyone else hides - ready to ambush, but only if necessary.
C. Have Earl try to figure out the secret door now, before the elevator arrives, with the idea of everyone hiding behind it once it's opened.
D. Brute force the damn thing open, knowing the noise will surely alert someone, and a broken wall would be hard to miss.

We're well armed, and we have the element of surprise. I feel an ambush could work well. A.

B. If we go with C there is a more likely chance of being caught, plus there is a chance it will not necessary to ambush and possibly alert other people of our presence. As well, we want to stay off the radar as much as possible.

B.

A.

A.

I am a proponent of Violence

A

Edit: E and then A if that fails.

E - Write in

Have Earl run to the electrical (which is coincidentally placed in the basement here, even if it's on the other side of the basement from the showers.)  and figure out which switch pertains to the elevator and cut power to it. If we accidently lose power to the basement as well, well, we have a flashlight. As long as we don't cut power to any other floors and alert them that something is wrong with the electrical specifically, we should be fine. They'll be stuck in the elevator, and it'll buy a little time while they have to radio it in and figure out how to fix it. It's something that happens sometimes - nothing to associate with dead bodies and everything, so it's likely they'll just treat it as an annoyance to be dealt with rather than a threat. It's a lot quicker than hauling away dead bodies and such too. As soon as power is cut to the elevator, earl can then start working on opening the secret door, and he'll probably have it open by the time people figure out what's really going on and come to investigate. 

A. At least one group member is probably going to die soon.

A

A.

<A. Suggest staging an ambush by the elevator to simply jump whoever might be coming down.>

"Quickly, we need to get to the elevator," you directed; "If it goes up, we're screwed; but if it comes down, we can ambush whoever is on it!"

"Good idea," Earl agreed, taking charge. "Everyone fan out to either side of the elevator door. When it opens, we wait for them to step out, and then let them have it!"

"Let them have what?" Mildred asked, confused.

"Oh hell no!" Earl said, glaring at Mildred. "Rupert, you keep the old bat here in the showers, so she doesn't do anything stupid to give us away."

"Oh… OK," Rupert replied, seeming genuinely relieved to be out of the ambush.

"What? I was just wondering what we were going to give them is all," Mildred continued to murmur, as you and the rest of the group hurried to the elevator.

Earl and Helen waited on one side, with monkey wrench and hatchet at the ready - while you and Archie took your positions on the other side, armed with your kitchen knife and Archie's nightstick.

You could hear the elevator coming down from the second floor, where it then stopped on the first floor - announced by another loud ding.

Someone got in the car and the elevator began coming down again.

'Thank Heavens, they didn't go up,' you thought to yourself, coiling to spring when the moment was right. 'It means we still have the element of surprise.'

The elevator then arrived in the basement and the bell once again dinged loudly.

Slowly, the doors slid open.

Off the elevator walked the last two people you would have expected, this late at night - Director Charles Kaufman and the Medical Doctor John Slaughter.

They appeared equally surprised to see you and the others, especially as your group charged the two men - bringing weapons to bear with a brutal ferocity.

There was a loud crunching/clanking sound, as Earl crushed Director Kaufman's skull in with the heavy monkey wrench - dropping the man to the ground like a sack of old potatoes.

Helen was then on him with her hatchet, shrieking "DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!" as she savagely chopped at his various extremities.

It fell on you and Archie to deal with the overweight Doctor Slaughter.

As you thrust in with your knife, the Doctor turned the blade aside with his medical bag and sumo-slammed you backwards. At more than twice your weight, the huge man sent you flying into Archie - disrupting his own attack with the nightstick and nearly knocking the two of you down.

Upstairs, the two Dobermans, Victor and Faust, began barking at the commotion, which was audible up the elevator shaft.

Doctor Slaughter meanwhile, retreated back into the elevator and threw the lever controls up, causing the bell to ding and setting the doors to begin closing.

As the doors were abysmally slow to close, you had plenty of time to get into the elevator with him, but that fact that he had just produced a very large scalpel from his bag and held it out with a twisted smile gave you pause.

"Well? Come on in!" he goaded with the look of thrilled excitement in his eyes.

---

A. Everyone piles into the elevator for an up-close and personal encounter with Doctor Slaughter!
B. The jig is up! Everyone runs back to the Shower room and attempts to get through the secret door, before the guards start pouring in down here!
C. You are doomed! Start a fire in the storage room to take some of the bastards down with you!

B.

'You could hear the elevator coming down from the second floor, where it then stopped on the first floor - announced by another loud ding.'

Thank ya~

A. 
But you know. Have someone stand in the door way so the elevator doesn't actually close. They automatically open their doors again when there's someone there. 

That's probably not true for this particular elevator.

We are talking 1920's elevator "safety features" after all haha!

C

This would cause the most chaos, and I'm sure Berka wouldn't let us die.

I figured that in the event of untimely death (much like with any other CYOA), the readers could choose to go back a number of steps to try a different route.

So yes, I may indeed get the pleasure of writing up a suitably gruesome death scene for the protagonist! ^v^

If there's a tie between A and B I'll go with B.

Fuck, I don't like any of these. B seems like it'll lead to a massacre, C is instant death, A seems too stupid. A. for now, until my muddled brain thinks of a way to salvage this.

B.

Nonetheless, we're gonna die!

B.

<B. The jig is up! Everyone runs back to the Shower room and attempts to get through the secret door, before the guards start pouring in down here!>

Earl looked like he was going to jump into the elevator with Doctor Slaughter.

"Wait! The elevator is going up!" you yelled; "It's a trap!"

Neither Helen nor Archie looked like they were eager to follow Earl into the car to go toe-to-toe with the enormous doctor, so Earl backed off.

"Fuck Fuck FUCK!!!" he cursed, pacing back and forth, as the elevator doors closed the rest of the way. "We're done for now!"

"Then we'll kill them!" Helen replied, bracing her foot against Director Kaufman's hip, to pull her hatchet from his groin.

She then looked upon the dead man at her feet and began laughing. Her laughing sounded maniacal. It did not stop.

"Shut up woman!" Earl shouted at Helen, taking a step forward and raising a hand to slap some sense into her.

Helen immediately stopped laughing, cocked her arm back - ready to put the hatchet into Earl's head. "Touch me and die."

Earl stopped in his tracks, surprised by Helen's reaction.

"Hey now," he said, relaxing his bearing, "calm down. It's me, remember? I ain't like that prick on the floor. He's the enemy, not me. He ain't one of us. We stick together right?"

Helen didn't say anything, but slowly lowered the hatchet.

"I suggest we linger no longer," Archie spoke up; "The Watch Captain will bring the rifle and dogs down here, once Doctor Slaughter gets out of the elevator and tells them what happened."

"Right," you agreed; "Earl, come see if you can get this door opened! It has to be the way out!"

"And if not," Archie added soberly, "at least it's a strategic choke-point for making a final stand."

Hurrying back to the Shower room, you pointed out the three unused faucets in the wall and the seams that suggested the outline of a door.

Earl spent a few moments turning the faucets, like you had done, and then leaned into the wall (hard). "Everyone, get over here and push the wall!" he directed.

The elevator meanwhile, dinged once again - indicating that it had arrived on the first floor. Time was quickly running out!

As everyone pushed against the wall, Earl tried to turn the Faucets but they proved to be stuck fast. Undaunted, Earl took the monkey wrench and used it to forcefully turn the top faucet a few times, finally aligning it a particular way, before moving onto the next faucet, and doing the same.

"OK," he then said, removing his wrench, "back off."

He then gently spun the last faucet with his hand and gave the wall a push. It slowly opened into the unused foundation space under Director Kaufman's Office and the Reception area above.

The space was bathed in darkness and a stunk of death - the stench practically smacking one in the face the moment the section of wall was opened.

With little choice, you moved in with your flashlight, spotting Rupert's pet rat scurry across the floor to disappear down a crack in the bedrock.

The crack transected the room from west to east and was only an inch across at its widest point. The rat continued to squeak and chitter from within in the crack - which drew Rupert over, to get on all fours once again, peering down into the fissure.

"Cedrick? Hey… There's something down here," Rupert said, "Someone bring a flashlight."

Along the south wall of the space meanwhile, thirteen bodies had been stacked - tightly wrapped in sheets, like mummies.

Some of them had deteriorated enough to slick the ground beneath them in a horrifying liquid corruption - making the air almost unbearable to breathe down here.

"Gah! That stench! What the hell?" Helen commented, gagging as she came in.

"I'm guessing that would be 'the last batch of loons'," Archie surmised, covering his mouth and nose with a hand and heading over to the bodies to get a closer look.

Mildred meanwhile, seemed oblivious to the smell, hurrying over to Rupert's side.

"Oh my! We stand within our master's reach!" she exalted, "He has sent the power of his avatar to make our way! Someone call for him! Call for him now! Oh my glorious master!"

"Fuck your stupid master, you dumb bitch!" Earl spat, causing Mildred's countenance to immediately fall.

"Blasphemer!" She hissed at him, "You are not worthy! You are not worthy!"

"Yeah, whatever," Earl replied, turning to shut the secret door behind him.

The door itself, was constructed of thick concrete on a solid steel pivot, with a track-wheel supporting the opening side and running along a ninety degree bend of rail in the floor that allowed the heavy thing to roll open.

The locking mechanism consisted of three five-inch diameter steel disks with a one-inch notch cut into each of them. The disks were turned from the outside, using the faucets, and had to be lined up like a combination lock in order for the notches to bypass a matching steel bar in the wall-side of the door.

While you really didn't relish the thought of getting trapped down here with a bunch of rotting corpses, the door would prove difficult to break in through, should you spike it shut from this side.

---

A. Suggest spiking the door shut, using Archie's hammer and chisels, and then give the space a proper search.
B. Forget that! Better to leave the door as-is and ready an ambush for the moment anyone tries to get in.
C. Suggest trying to hide under the rotting corpses.

A

A. We'll find another way out of here.

A

I am not down to attempt another failed ambush when the others side has guns and knows we are back her. Breaking the door will buy us time that we can use.

A.

A and then have Mildred play the piccolo.

<A. Suggest spiking the door shut, using Archie's hammer and chisels, and then give the space a proper search.>

“Hey Archie,” you said, pointing to the door, “this thing might hold for a while, if we can keep them from turning the disks on the other side.”

“Hmm, yes,” Archie agreed, taking out his hammer and a chisel. “If I pound this into the door to prevent the notch from lining up, it should give us quite a bit of time, to decide what we want to do.”

With a few solid hits from the hammer, Archie drove the chisel into the seam of the door, wedging one of the locking disks into place.

“Shit, there ain’t no way out,” Earl complained, checking the rest of the walls.

“Down here,” Rupert said, “come look.”

Helen and Earl went over and shined a flashlight down the narrow fissure in the natural stone floor.

“Huh,” Earl remarked; “Looks like some kind of cave down there; but a fat load of good it does us up here! We can’t break through this bedrock with only a crowbar and a few chisels!”

“What about the bodies?” Helen asked; “Anything useful on one of them?”

“I doubt it,” Archie replied, going over to where the others were, to take a look down the crack.

“They must be the former residents, before we all arrived;” he continued, as he tried to get a sense of the space below. “That most recent body, on the end there, is Dorothy Werner. At least we now know where she disappeared to.”

“So, they were hiding the bodies down here,” you reasoned aloud; “I bet Director Kaufman and Doctor Slaughter were coming to the basement for Ruth Swain to wrap her up and stuff her in here too. We haven’t heard her screaming all day… so it’s probably safe to assume that she’s dead too.”

“Yeah, and thanks to you,” Earl snapped, “we’re gona end up dead as well!”

Anger boiled up in the unstable man, and his face began turning red. “If it wasn’t for you and your insane escape plan, we wouldn’t have ended up in this grave! We should have just tried storming the watch captain for his rifle! We’re all dead now and it’s your fault!”

As if to underscore what Earl was saying, the muffled sound of barking dogs was suddenly heard on the other side of the spiked door – then someone began turning the faucets from the outside!

When the spiked disk wouldn’t budge, a pounding on the door commenced, followed by the Night Watch Captain (Frank Anderson)’s voice calling through – “We know you are in there! Open the door and come out! You won’t be harmed if you willingly go back to your cells.”

“Oh you rotten bitch!” Earl growled, taking a step toward you with his nightstick raised.

---

A. Defend yourself! Stab Earl with the kitchen knife!
B. Tell Mildred to play her piccolo and plead with whatever dark powers brought you this far to save you!
C. Suggest opening the door to make a final stand against the guards.
D. Suggest giving yourselves up and pleading for leniency.

B. There's no way our heroine could stand up to Earl, and C and D are suicides. I really want to find out if there is anything supernatural going on.

B - it shouldn't take much to convince her. Be prepared to stab earl if necessary, and make it clear you're willing to do so. Just like with the guards. (probably should've kept those bloodstained clothes. Would've definitely added to the threat of stabbing and therefor possibly avoid violence.)

I'm not so sure that a plea with the Dark Gods is our best recourse here. I'm going with A

A.

B.

I feel very stabby.

A.

Actually, we can go back if we die and try again so you know what? B. The piccolo and music seems to be a major element of this whole story, so go for it. If nothing rise there's a slim chance the high pitched notes might have some effect on the dogs. And for future reference it would be useful for us to know if any of this supernatural stuff is real.

Urgh, none of these options look very good. Ehhhh... write in option: move the corpses up against the door to slow the guards / dogs down when they do get it open. This will also let you see if there's anything underneath them or anything useful they might have been wrapped up with after all. Of course this is as good as nullifying my vote because it looks like we're going with A or B regardless. Of course, be prepared to defend yourself against Earl if he doesn't back off.

B.

All courses of action seem equally futile, so let's pick the most bizarre one!

A Most of the others are on our side and if Earl attacks us I bet we will be able to do a group beat down on him.

B. It can't get much worse from here, except if we call some evil demons.

A, then B. We’ll be hit dead before we can say anything if we don’t defend ourselves.

B.

<B. Tell Mildred to play her piccolo and plead with whatever dark powers brought you this far to save you!>

“Now Mildred! Play for the Master!” you directed, raising the point of your knife at Earl and carefully backing away.

“You brought us this far Master!” You called into the air, desperately looking for anything to get you out of the current mess.

As Mildred began making the series of shrill notes with her piccolo, you continued on - “We received your dream! We followed your rat guide! Here we are, but we can go no further! We need help! We need you! What more do you require?”

“What the fuck is this?!?” Earl balked in disbelief; “You too? You’re both fucking bonkers! I’m going to enjoy beating some sense into you, before the guards bust in and set the dogs on us!”

“Blood,” Archie replied, in a voice remarkably similar to the one Mildred had been using in her own ‘episodes’.

“What are you one about old man?” Earl asked, turning to look at Archie.

“It requires blood,” Archie said again – a darkness hiding his eyes in the blackest of shadow.

That was when a rush of wind and dust blew up through the crack in the floor – entering Archie’s nose and mouth and flowing into him.

Something unseen and monstrous – like a demonic entity – then seized upon Archie.

Unable to breath, the naked man could feel it callously choking the life out of him, as it rended the fabric of his soul with wicked ephemeral talons. It then stretched Archie’s psyche around itself, wearing Archie like a skin – while Archie’s mind could do nothing but yield to the overpowering will.

What was once Archie, lost itself in the euphoria of numbness across the horizon of oblivion.

Mildred continued to play her piccolo, unfazed, as the rest of you stood in stunned silence – having no idea what you had just summoned up from the pits of Hell.

Whatever had Archie, abruptly wracked him back violently and then twisted him a full 180 degrees at the waist – muscle tearing audibly; his spine snapping with a single loud pop.

Archie could not scream.

Rupert blatantly passed out from the shock of such a horror show, while Helen began crying hysterically. Earl’s jaw gaped open at the sight, while you looked on in complete astonishment, as the transformation continued.

Archie’s body then swelled up, convulsed, and elongated in undulating madness – arms morphing into spur-studded tentacles; one hand fashioning itself in the cruel mockery of a blade; while his legs bent backwards at the knees to become lycanthropic in appearance.

Archie’s head also changed drastically – the flesh melting together like soft dough and losing all definition. His face and hair completely disappeared – leaving only a tight round bulge between his shoulders.

You watched aghast, as a wide slit then appeared across that shoulder bulge – while simultaneously, the thing began to split from groin to the sternum.

Then the slit in its ‘head’ opened, revealing a single large eyeball – with another set of eyes where the nipples would be. The most terrifying aspect however, had to be the gap up the torso, that parted to show long vertical rows of large flat teeth!

What was once Archie, now stood ten feet tall, ducking its ‘head’ under the ceiling beams above.

Opening its torso-mouth with a heart-stopping roar, it then surveyed the supplicants, looking for the sacrifice. Seeing none obvious, it elected Earl, who happened to be standing closest to the elongated monstrosity and was now frozen in catatonic shock.

The unfortunate redneck was pulled off his feet, and into the gnashing teeth, being roped in with a whip-like tentacle.

Earl’s entire head and upper body were messily eviscerated after only a few grizzly wet chomps!

Once finished sating its millennial-starved hunger, the demon, monster, hallucination, or whatever it be, dropped Earl’s remains, and then slammed its blade-hand down onto the edge of the fissure in the bedrock with a thunderously blow.

The foundation of the sanitarium shook mightily – and a portion of the floor broke away, revealing some sort of chamber below.

The elongated monstrosity then jumped down into the opening, disappearing from sight.

Mildred immediately stopped playing her music – as if suddenly snapping out of a trance.

Seeing all the blood left over from what was once Earl, she rushed over uncontrollably, and began lapping up the gore like a dog. It appeared to cause her some kind of rapture-like rush – guessing from the way she was moaning in abject pleasure from the experience.

Helen, just sat on the ground, hugging her knees and rocking back and forth.

“What was that?!? What the hell was that?!?” she said over and over again.

“Why, that was the avatar of our Master, Y’Golonac the Defiler,” Mildred replied, wiping her blood-stained mouth with the sleeve of her gown. “Now hurry up dear, the Master awaits us below. We must entertain him with music and sensual dance, before the first of his births into our own world. Don’t dawdle; bring the rope, so we can climb down.”

On the other side of the concrete door meanwhile, the dogs were going nuts, while someone was yelling at them to calm down.

Night Watch Captain Anderson’s voice then called through again – “What are you doing in there? You got nowhere to go, just give it up already, and come out! If we have to come in there to get you, it’s going to get ugly!”

Rupert came to at this point, and looked around in confusion and grimacing as his eyes fell on Earl’s mutilated corpse.

“Woah! Is that Earl?!? What happened to Earl?!? Where’s Archie? And has anyone seen Cedrick?”

Ignoring the questions, you considered the gravity of your situation.

You stood on the verge of two worlds – one in which you would scarcely have believed was even possible only a few hours ago. The darkness was real. There was an unseen realm behind the curtain of madness and you had just taken your first glimpse of it.

You intuitively knew that escape from the sanitarium lie down that dark hole – but at what price? To be free from one set of shackles only to be chained by another was not true freedom at all. You had no idea what you were getting yourself into by following that thing Archie had turned into.

Your thoughts were abruptly interrupted by Helen scrambling for the spiked-door.

“I’m getting out of here!” She cried, grabbing the chisel Archie had hammered into it, and trying to pull it free.

“Let me out of here! I want out! I want out!”

---

A. Stab Helen, while her back is turned, to keep her from letting the guards in!
B. Get Rupert to help you tackle Helen, so you can tie her up!
C. Just leave Helen, while the rest of you get down that hole!
D. Let Helen open the door and give yourselves up. Better the devil you know than the devil you don't.

I knew it. Ha ha ha! :)

Poor Archie though. :( However, I'm pretty sure we all knew that he was about to die. I didn't expect Rupert to be the last man alive though. 

B. We need Helen if that sensual dance is ever needed. She'll surely die if we don't stop her.

Also, Mildred is as sane  (and corrupted) as I thought she would be. If I ever have the time, I'll re-read all of her lines from earlier posts for anything interesting. I remember that she said we needed more blood. Now, the Archie-Demon said the same thing. 

Well then.


Uh...B.
We are rapidly running out of party members, gotta preserve what we've got. On the way to our happy ending, where everything is fine.


Tbf D might actually be the saner option, but pretty much guaranteed to lead to everyone just being shot.

Well it seems as if things are starting to look up for the group since we now have a literal monster that's taken over Earl's body. Umm, Helen's being a bit of a nuisance and can start to become something of a liability for us at this point. I'm unsure if we should just stab her now and get it over it, or tie her up and drag her around with us. It'll probably be a good idea to keep her nearby as possible dinner for the monster, though she still probably has her uses if kept alive and close by to the group. 

We can't exactly do nothing with her and let her keep messing with the door by herself and possibly letting in those guards now, especially when it seems like we're just a few more choices to escaping this place.

I'll go with B. Hopefully that choice also has the characters taping her mouth shut or something. Lol. 

Yeah the fact that this thing might get hungry again was another factor wanting to keep Helen around.

C.

E- Kill Helen and Mildred, bring the new corpses (including Helen and Mildred’s) to the stack of bodies, and hide under the stack of bodies.

The plan is to let the guards break in and discover the gore and terrifying gap in the floor. They’ll hopefully run away in terror or the monster might come back out and eat them. Either way, we can use the chaos to make our escape. Helen needs to die because she’ll sell us out. Mildred would be angry when we refuse to go down and meet his master.

D

LET CHAOS REIGN! 

Let helen open the door, perhaps even help her, and then jump down the hole after the monster. 
The monster would probably make short work of the guards and prolly sate it's appetite for a while.
I mean. we're prolly going to get shot. But whateves. 

B. We already lost a bunch of people, can't lose another one. Helen's still useful.

Christ above. Uh... fuck it, I don't know. C.

B. 

<B. Get Rupert to help you tackle Helen, so you can tie her up!>

You couldn’t let Helen open the door for the guards and you didn’t want to end up a human sacrifice like Earl, so you decided that Helen needed to be restrained.

“You hold her down, while I tie her up!” you yelled to Rupert, while grabbing Hellen around the waist and pulling her to the floor.

“Hey! What are you doing! Let me out!” Helen shrieked, rolling onto her back and trying to claw at your eyes.

“RUPERT!” you had to yell again, fighting to keep Helen’s arms down.

Hesitantly, Rupert dropped down on the woman and pinned her, so you could wind the rope around her a few times – finally trying it off.

“All right, help me lower her down,” you then directed.

“Wait! No! Don’t!” Helen continued to scream, as you and Earl dragged her to the hole in the floor and shoved her over the side.

Between the two of you, you were able to lower Helen down, eighteen feet, into what appeared to be a natural cave of some kind.

You then secured the top end of the rope and climbed down, followed by Rupert and Mildred.

To the east, a short passage originated under the shower room, where the drain pipes came down through the bedrock.

A rusted break in one pipe had allowed water to run down from the showers into a pool of dirty swill below, where a rivulet then flowed out of the pool and down the corridor to the northwest.

As you took this in, a rat ran past your feet, and scampered into the broken pipe.

“Cedrick! Come back!” Rupert called, heading over to the pipe after the rat.

“Wait Rupert,” you replied, “You have to let him go! He brought us this far, but we have to go the rest of the way on our own.”

“Yeah…” Rupert said sadly, “I guess you’re right.”

“Untie me Rupert,” Helen pleaded meanwhile, “and I’ll do things to you that will make your toes curl!”

“Get up you!” you said sternly, hiking Helen to her feet.

“I better not,” Rupert replied to her offer meekly, lowering his head.

Mildred meanwhile was already gone – having headed down the sloping corridor in the direction that the water flowed.

Making your way down, you entered a sizable underground chamber, somewhere deep beneath the Yard.

At the center of the camber was a huge stone phallus of some kind, with a slab of slate stretched across its base. To either side of the slab, grooves had been carved into it, to channel what could only be sacrificial blood into opened mouths carved into the floor.

Currently, the rivulet from the shower room pipes drained down one of these open mouths. You had to wonder if all the blood from the murdered residents had been going down that drain all this time. Was that what had awakened the sleeping demon? What had suddenly focused Director Kaufman’s efforts on all the strange music therapies?

You noted dotted symbols, reminiscent of musical notes, carved into the phallic alter along the edge of the sacrificial slab. This seemed to confirm your theory, as they proved to depict the piping music that everyone had heard in their dream and that Mildred had already memorized and played in the chamber above.

Opposite the giant stone phallus, carved into the northwest wall, was a massive thirty foot tall gaping orifice, disturbingly reminiscent of the female anatomy in the throes of labor – the head of some unknown terror seen crowning behind the dilated vulva.

Mildred and Archie meanwhile, stood in front of the phallic alter – Archie looking like himself again, only with the most unabashed erection you had ever seen. Being that he was already completely naked, the throbbing staff was exceedingly hard to ignore, but Mildred didn’t seem to notice.

“Oh my!” Helen gasped at the sight, beginning to squirm and pant in her bindings.

Archie meanwhile, had that same supernatural shadow across his eyes that you saw before his transformation. He smiled strangely, something inhuman about the look, and bid that Helen be brought before the altar.

Helen, completely mesmerized by Archie’s aroused manhood, gave no resistance, as Rupert led her over.

“What the heck Archie?” Rupert asked, as Archie then bent Helen over the stone slab and thrust himself deep into her rear.

“Aw gross!” Rupert cringed, turning to look away.

Not sure how to react to all of this, you busied yourself with a look around the cavern, while Helen moaned loudly in delight at Archie’s vigorous buggering; and Mildred once again began playing that shrill pipe music.

You found faded pictographs of ancient origin on the eastern walls of the chamber across from the phallic alter and called Rupert over to have a look. He was more than happy to oblige.

The pictographs seemed to depict a race of pygmy-like Indians, playing pipes and flutes to an elongated monstrosity in their midst’s – the Y’Golonac avatar that Archie had turned into – under a giant all-seeing eye-god of some kind that they appeared to worship.

Another row of pictographs beneath the main mural extended along the base of the cavern wall a short bit, before fading out completely – lost to time and erosion long ago.

The sections that could be made out however, seemed to depict the worshipers of the eye-god summoning him through human sacrifice and music; the eye-god and elongated monstrosity subsequently conquering the worshipers’ enemies for them; and then the worshipers in the act of mass raping their conquered enemies in celebration – and their enemy’s wives… children… and livestock… it would appear…

“What does it all mean?” Rupert asked, confused.

Knowing that he had not witnessed the ‘elongated monstrosity’ for himself, all you could say was, “It means we are fucked.”

Your attention was then caught by Helen’s loud climax and Archie commanding – “Now Betty! The knife!”

You had no doubt that Archie wanted you to slit Helen’s throat, while she was in the throes of lust upon the altar.

Apparently, Rupert knew that too.

“No, don’t do it Betty!” he whispered with a pleading look in his eyes.

---

A. Slit Helen’s throat! Make the world pay for what it has done to you!
B. Put the knife through Archie’s chest and stop this madness! It isn’t really him anyway!
C. Simply refuse to be an active part of this thing.

B. Nothing good comes from worshipping Lovecraftian monsters, unless you like being raped by degenerate fish people. 

B.

A- Y’Golonac is probably immortal, and stabbing him would only anger it.

C

I sorta like helen now, and archie. Don't wanna stab either of them. (though if I had to choose between A and B, I'd choose A.)

Did you plan for Rupert and Betty being the two in this scene?

I'd want to kill the monster, but I'm afraid that Archie's blood may complete the ritual anyway.

D. Knock Archie off the alter. Then kill him.

We may die in the process, but let's summon a terror from beyond to burn it all down with us.

A.

Edit: I can't agree with Victim, so I'm going with Wibbons.

D.

Need a definitive tie-breaker. Will Update Tomorrow night if we can come up with one, haha!

(Or is D basically the same as B?)

At any rate, Update Tomorrow. :)

I think that D is basically the same as B assuming that we do not allow any of the blood that is shed to hit the altar.

Yea, B = D if and only if B(blood spillage) = D (blood spillage). :)

D.

<B/D. Put the knife through Archie’s chest and stop this madness! It isn’t really him anyway! (Knock him away from the altar first.)>

In spite of coming down here, after witnessing what Archie had turned into, you were beginning to have second thoughts about embracing the darkness – even if it meant your freedom (and your life).

You had watched the elongated monstrosity take over Archie so easily. Possessing him and changing him – both physically and mentally. Archie, the man you had once thought the sanest one of the bunch.

And Earl…

It had killed Earl with as much effort as one would exert to stick a piece of food in one’s mouth. And for what? For sustenance? Hardly. You couldn’t imagine a horror like that actually needing to eat. But to kill… yes, it needed to kill.

You didn’t want to be responsible for unleashing something like that upon the world – nor the eye god it served for that matter, as depicted on the cavern walls.

You knew you had to stop this thing, before there was no going back.

The fact that the elongated monstrosity had turned back into Archie, led you to suspect that it had limited power reserves. After all, it had waited until you were all very close (and completely blocked), before physically manifesting to help you.

Sure there were the dreams, and leading a rat along, but that had to pale in comparison to hijacking Archie, physically transforming his body, and then breaking open the floor.

At least you hoped so.

‘Sorry Archie. Please forgive me!’ you thought, as you got up alongside him and abruptly shouldered him away from the altar.

As Archie stumbled backward in surprise, you followed through with your kitchen knife, burying it in his chest.

You half expected Archie to transform into the elongated monstrosity again, to rend you limb from limb, but the shadow fled from over Archie’s eyes and he simply slumped to his knees, managed a weak smile, and fell over – his blood pooling beneath him on the floor.

Helen meanwhile, picked herself off the altar, pulled her hospital gown tight around herself and stared at the ground.

“Oh, poor Archie!” She lamented sadly. “But thanks for saving me Betty,” she then offered contritely; “I don’t know if I would have had the same strength, were things the other way around.”

“I’m sorry it even went that far,” was all you could think of to say in return.

Poor Archie was right.

“Hey!” Rupert then interrupted in alarm – “The rope! HEY! We’re still down here, wait!!!”

Turning to look back into the passage way, you saw the end of the rope, just in time to watch it being pulled up through the hole in the ceiling eighteen feet above.

“Hey! Don’t leave us down here!!!” Rupert called up to room above, waving his arms.

His pleas were met with an ear-shattering crack – as a guard above, blew Rupert’s brains out with a shot from the Springfield rifle. Rupert’s body dropped straight down, his limbs buckling like a marionette whose strings had all been cut.

You and Helen backed away; your bare shins and feet covered in Rupert’s blood and grey matter from the back of his head exploding while he was looking up.

There was nothing you could for Rupert.

Mildred meanwhile, continued to play her tune, seemingly oblivious to everything else going on around her.

A moment later, the sheet-wrapped dead bodies from above, began dropping into the passage one-by-one. When all thirteen had piled up, there was a couple of minutes delay, while the men above could be heard discussing what to do next.

As you couldn’t get close enough to hear what they were saying clearly, without risking a bullet to the head, you and Helen took the opportunity to search the walls of the cavern for any sign of a hidden passage.

There were none.

The smell of oil and kerosene then drew your attention – as the guards above began pouring a fifty gallon drum of fuel oil down the hole in the ceiling! Once the drum was emptied and the dead bodies saturated, a lit Zippo lighter was tossed down, starting a massive conflagration!

All you and Helen could do, was back away from the flames and watch, as the smoke and fumes began to build.

Not stopping there, the guards then emptied another drum of fuel oil in the basement and set that alight too. Soon, the Sanitarium on the hill was a blazing inferno, too far from town for the fire trucks to save in time.

The following day, the newspaper headlined a story about the burning of The Charles Kaufman New Age Sanitarium.

Apparently, the residents had accidentally starting a kitchen fire that had quickly gotten out of hand. The staff was unable to stop the spread of fire however, due to the lunacy and other mental derangements of the patients, who in an inexplicable panic barricaded themselves in the basement during the unfortunate event.

All ten mental patients lost their lives, along with Director Charles Kaufman, and four guards (who were trying to coax the patients out of the basement), when a burning beam fell, trapping them all.

There was no mention of what time of day the fire occurred, nor of any pending investigation into the cause, or even whether any of the bodies had yet been recovered.

---

END

Go Back.

A. Kill Helen and complete the ritual.

Thank you BZ, this was lots of fun. This might be one of the biggest threads on the site that wasn't shitposting or arguing. I hope you finish the story soon, can't wait to see what happens in other paths.

I miss a couple of votes and look what you idiots go and do. Should've voted A, damn it. If you didn't back out when this thing took over Archie and ate Earl, then what's a little throat slitting?

Anyway, this was a great thread Berka, thanks.

....I guess it's just as well Helen didn't get left behind or it would've been our character on the altar instead of awkwardly standing around getting ideas about ominous drawings.

Yes indeed!

Well, you saved the world at least, so there's that haha! Overall, this would probably be considered the "good" ending.

Rather than a redo though, I'm going to wrap this up. I've liked it so much that I'm going to transfer it over as a genuine game, with this complete path and all the rest.

Not 100% sure if I'll do both the Betty and Rupert versions, lots of redundant work in that, but I'd like to.

You'll all just have to wait however, if you ever want to find out what happens with the other choices.

Thanks for playing! It was not only a blast, but an excellent writing exercise for me!

Lol. Thanks Berka. Very entertaining!!

 

Ah, cheers Berkzerker. Loads of fun. 

Did Rupert ever do anything? I'd almost prefer it if Rupert wasn't a playable character. I've grown to really dislike him. He seems like a pansy. Will you keep our successful write-ins?

Also, great job! This was very fun to participate in. :) I love your writing as always.

bumpity

I think there's a couple new people reading this so up we go for convenience.

Thanks~ I actually started writing up the game version, but it's been stalled for a good while now haha!

Thanks for the bump!

I had a lot of fun reading this, though I was sad that the lesbian sex bit was left out.

And of course the correct answer was –

<A. Slit Helen’s throat! Make the world pay for what it has done to you!>

---

“I’m Sorry Rupert,” you said, before lunging at Helen and drawing your blade deeply across her throat.

Helen continued to orgasm, staring up at you and gurgling out her last breath with a twisted ecstatic grin.

As Mildred continued to pipe the strange tones on her piccolo, Helen’s blood ran down the channels carved into the altar and drained out through the mouths in the floor.

Immediately thereafter, Archie was set upon by the monstrous demonic entity from before, slipping out of Helen and stumbling backward – to once again transform into the twelve foot tall hulking monstrosity shown in the cavern’s ancient pictographs!

Rupert lost it, shrieking in terror and collapsing into a huddled ball, while the huge stone phallus in the chamber began to quake with bizarre undulating power. The giant vulva on the wall parted like a curtain, and through it, something not meant for this world slipped out with a disgusting wet sqlurch!

A massive gelatinous orb, orangish-green, thirty feet in diameter, rose from its sticky, ichor-drenched birth, to hover in a cloying nimbus of tenebrous darkness – the jagged vertical slit of an iris within – looked on – seeing the depravity of its new devotees with a glint of wicked approval.

BEHOLD THE VOYEURISTIC EYE OF Y’GOLONAC!

The hulking monstrosity that was Archie, bowed to its lord and spread wide its whip and scythe-like arms before the altar, presenting Helen’s spoiled, bloody, body.

Accepting the sacrifice, the giant eye somehow caused Helen’s body to unravel, like the threads of an old sweater being pulled out – her very existence disappearing from reality – evaporating into nothingness, as the threads were drawn into the terrible thing's surrounding darkness!

Turning to the wall of the chamber, the eye god then began unraveling the rock – drawing out a narrow tunnel through the hillside that exited out into the woods, a few hundred feet below the god-forsaken sanitarium.

You knew what you had to do. It was seared clearly into your newly freed mind.

As you, Mildred, and the hulking monstrosity exited the chamber (leaving a broken and sobbing Rupert behind), the orb god vanished from sight. While too big to go through the tunnel it had just created, you could sense that it was still near – watching. Ever Watching...

Coming out into the dark of night, you could see the lights of police cars, speeding up the gravel road towards the dark building at the top of the hill. They were much too late of course, the prisoners had already escaped (some of them at least).

And as for your new god?

From you, it demands a cult of the most vile, carnally depraved, cruel, and sadistic lunatics! No living thing will be safe from your molestation and soul corrupting debauchery! It must needs watch, and feed, with pleasure, upon the ruin of human souls.

Observe ye mortals and embrace the passions. Behold the Herald, Avatar, and High Priestess of Y’Golonic!

END

So, that is actually how it was supposed to end haha!

I have to admit, I was a little miffed that everyone played the game right up to the last choice and then suddenly had a change of heart about going all the way.

I figured I’d finally go ahead and post the final piece of the puzzle now, because who knows how long it will be before I actually finish the CYOA version.

Ah well.