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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Would you rather be permanently shrunk to the size of a mouse, or permanently grown to the size of a five story building?

Would you rather ooze slime from your skin like a snail or constantly have to wear heavy plate armor that gets heavier the stronger you get to make any kind of movement exhausting?

Would you rather permanently lose internet access or permanently lose access to all transportation aside from walking?

I swear, sometimes it seems like I can't get more that 15 minutes into a writing session without something coming up that I have to pay attention to. Clearing time for stuff is hard as an adult.

I always buy my books used. They're a lot cheaper that way, and I like the worn quality of them for the general vibe of it. I don't even use my library card anymore, because I like watching my collection grow. Of course I've probably only read half of what I buy, but that way I always have options when I finish something.

https://youtu.be/XNWE17GqibI?si=etoV_rVyxwvKACZP

“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.””
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭28‬:‭18‬-‭20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I really like verse eighteen here. I'm gonna highlight that one, I think.

"25 Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[a]?

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

- Matthew 6:25-34

I feel called out

I like Ogre

Thanks! I've had it since I was a teenager. It's from Battleblock Theater.