,,,,,,,You click open the rust-colored knob longing all the way from school that you could be away from the blustery cold, your fingers were shaking and your teeth trembling, you could hear the fierce winds rushing past your ears and could taste the metallic sting of the cold. Relieved to be inside of the cozy house, you slam the door as fast as you can and like always yelled "Hey mom, i'm home" you call out while you walk into the squashy aged brown couch where mom is knitting what looks like another one of her deformed beanies "Welcome home darling" Mom replies dazed and dreamily, "Do you want some food honey?" she asks in a most confused voice. [[Next ->Card 2]] "No thanks." you reply "why do you sound so weird?" you ask concerned, she replies, "Oh, just some ants." "Ants?" I reply, "Yes they have come in swarms here in Virginia and people are coming up with stories that they are planing to overthrow the government." She sighs putting down her deformed beanie and stalking off to the kitchen. [[Go up to your room]] [[ask more questions]]Clambering up the staircase you click the door to your room open and collapse onto your bed trying to think about the ant problem but you can't seem to think straight. You try to busy yourself with different activities, but end up falling into a deep trance. [[Next Page]] You waltz into the kitchen casually as you ask, "What exactly happened on the news?" "AAH!" mom yells, "you frightened me." "Sorry." You reply guilty. "So, I think that, based on what I heard, that they actually might end up overthrowing us, I may be crazy, but at least I can infer and make educated guesses," she replies solemnly "would you turn on the television honey," she said,"It may help us figure some things out." [[Turn on The TV]] [[Take a Bike Ride]]You turn on the news waiting excitedly for the information thinking about what could happen, you hear a static and think hope is lost but then your you hear a tiny whisper, "Turn it up hon'." your mom says, also watching excitedly, you press the volume button up, and up, and the TV returns to life. you sit up and so does your mom, the reporter says, ̈Ants are being killed in swarms." the camera swivels over to a lot of people sucking up the ants, the camera quickly swivels to an interview of someone at the scene. Suddenly the TV clicks off and you hear keys jingling, followed by a, "Let's go honey!" "What, why?" you slip on your shoes slip silently out the door and lock the door with a click, your mom is waiting for you in the car she answers your question, "To go see the ants of course!" She says "But I don't want to!" You complain, but it's too late, your mom ropes you into the car and fires up the engine driving off into the fuchsia sunset with strokes of pale orange and vibrant yellow, the car was warm, like a summer night, with breeze was leisurely floating past. You drive off into the sunset silently. [[Next page]]You tell your mom, "Sorry, I have to go, I'm gonna take a bike ride, be back at five." With that you slip out the door and hop silently on your bike. About ten minutes into ride you hear crawling and snapping, you realize that you are at the edge of the forest, and yet you keep riding, when you are deep into the forest you stop, unaware of where you are you feel crawling, kind of like a tickle but more threatening, but you're so disoriented, you feel like you have been walking for hours and hours. Something is consuming you, all life is being sucked out of you somehow, everything goes black consumed in a pile of ants you stagger up but fail. THE END [[restart->Card 1]] OR [[quit->end]]When you arrive you step out of the shining car and slope down the hill to where the obliteration was happening. All of the news vans were at the scene and they have ladders and cameras perched on top of the scene, some even flying drones, some just pulling up and everyone is on their phone live streaming, you manage to weasel your way through the crowd to find that even if you tried to stand up on your tippy-top toes that it would be no use, sadly sloping your way down you hear a hostile voice say, “Get up there kid, they want you on the scene.” “Oh, darlin'! They want you up there-well-up and at em’ sweetheart!” Your crazy mom replied. “I-But-I, ugh okay.” I thought, what's the worst thing that could happen to me if this goes wrong? [[Run up Willingly]] [[Grab your Mom and Run]] Seriously I worked very hard on this story. You thought my story was that boring that you would quit? WELL NOW YOU HAVE NO CHOICE!!!!! [[RESTART->Card 1]] You wake up in some sort of Utopia, You are walking down the steps of a giant bubble tower, with iridescent crystal bubbles stacked one upon another. All around you there are tiny buildings, and the steps you are taking are very small, you start up the steps, when you reach the doors of the bubble towers you find you cannot fit, for one is a grand gold polished door with brass handles, the other a worn wooden one, both the size of your fingertip. Since you cannot fit through the doors you turn back around and see this sort of haze floating over the city, or behind the city. [[ discover the haze]] You stumble out of the crowd lurching over the caution tape and practically falling over but then you hear wailing, but not like a wail, like a whisper wail, “Charlotte, Charlotte! Down here, the asphalt!” I kneeled silently and blindly floundered for the noise, you thought after what you guessed you snatched up and decided to re-think the whole thing, did I really want to be up there, maybe getting interviewed for things I may not want to tell? You dash through the crowd ducking under hands and feet, and you finally find your mom and you grab her arm with your free hand, and run to the car. Once you arrive at the car you practically launch yourself into the backseat and tell your mom to drive. When you are home you are so exhausted. [[Study the ant]] [[get into bed]]You suddenly clutch your moms hand, you feel unsafe, you tell her, "Let's go!" You drag her out of the crowd, It seems like you have been walking for hours, You notice a black, weird-shaped bump in the sidewalk you realize that it is a shoe, too late you and your mom trip over the shoe and everything falls in slow motion, and so do you, just as times speeds up you hit the hard cold ground and black out, you know what happens next. THE END [[restart->Card 1]] OR [[quit->end]]Home at last you heaved through the living room and scaled the stairs. Jumping on to your bed with might and getting one of your containers from your lunchbag, you put the ant in, just as you had thrust in the ant it started whisper wailing, again! “Tomorrow take me to the white house, I need to see, what is left of my colony. I will introduce myself properly tomorrow.” Puzzled, you hop into bed reluctantly and drift into an uncomfortable sleep. [[New Page]]When you arrive you are surprised to see that it is open, you waltz in, you are not scared yet but you cannot see anything. You walk in unsteadily, feeling chills, actual chills it's suddenly freezing cold but since you are in such a blackness you cannot see your breath. You curl up on the floor shortly after trying to find a way out, you hope that someone will find you. One sharp cold breath after another, you feel yourself going pale and you can't think. Your last sharp breath sends your life flashing before your eyes. That stinging breath was your last. THE END [[restart->Card 1]] [[Quit->end]]You empty the wriggling creature out of your hand ant try to study it when it starts doing that whisper wailing thing again “Tomorrow take me to the white house, I need to see, what is left of my colony. I will introduce myself properly tomorrow.” Puzzled, you hop into bed reluctantly and drift into an uncomfortable sleep. [[New Page]]Woken up by the smell of sweet, thick doughy pancakes and sizzling, buttery bacon, you strolled down the stairs and walked down to the breakfast bar. “Good morning darlin’!” Mom said “Hey mom. Sleep well?” You ask, while rubbing your eyes. “Never you mind, have some bacon honey, you look skinny.” Mom said You cram some bacon down your throat and down a glass of orange juice and say, “Okay mom, just gotta go to-er-the convenience store, it’s my friend's birthday tomorrow, just have to go pick some things up.” You lied. You run upstairs, grab the ant and speed down again and hopped on your bike. [[During the bike ride]]About ten minutes into the breathtaking, mountainous ride the whisper wail fades in, “Hello, My name is Thea Rea and you are?” “Uh-I-I-” You said, “I know it’s hard to talk to something anthropomorphic when nothing else like it exists in a real, practical world.” “-Erm-sorry, my name is Charlotte-Charlotte Lastair.” “Nice to meet you Charlotte, you will help me see my colony, here's the plan, you will drop me off outside, preferably at an opening and wait, I won't be long, I’m just going inside.” Thea said. “Gotcha, okay” You reply uneasily. [[next page]] When you arrive in the afternoon you put her down and get yourself a frozen lemonade that tasted disturbingly of smoky lemons and astringent sugar, just after throwing it away you hear Thea wailing. You coolly pace trying to look normal you run to pick her up and scooped her up when she whispers wailed in tears, or what that would sound like for an ant, “-Oh no-He Is dead,” Thea said through whimpers “Who-Who is it!” You say “The president is dead, And his guards, There is no way for them to know about the death at all!” said Thea “Okay-Erm-so what do you want me to do?” You say “As challenging as this is for me to say, you should leave me here, just for a while, I may see you again, and you have been so supportive of my predicament in these couple of days and I’m so thankful that you picked me up the asphalt in the first place. Thank you.” Thea said earnestly “Goodbye.” You say “Farewell.” She replied. When you tip the container down, your heart weighed down with sorrow. [[Go back home]] When you got home from the particularly emotional ride mom practically ambushes you with a hug, “You can tell me-anything-okay? I know it’s hard sometimes to tell parents things and I don't want to be embarrassing for you. Okay? Oh I love you so much sweetie.” Mom said through huge animated sobs. “What? Oh yeah mom, I’m sorry. I guess I just get caught up in my own world sometimes, I apologize,” you reply and hold her in that tight embrace. But then the president popped into your head. “But there is something I need to tell you.” You say “Ye-” “So the president is dead, -Erm, not sure how but he is mom, but can you help spread the news, I really need help and I don't need anyone to gossip, please?” You say “Sweetie,” she says looking pale, then hesitates, “Of course!” Mom said “Oh great, Let’s get busy!” You reply happily. [[New Passage]] After a couple weeks of interviews and conferences you finally spread the news and you and your mom were invited to the presidents funeral! The best part? We all helped, You, Mom, and especially, Thea, the most courageous, and dependable ant, and the only ant you've ever met, you trusted her with all of your life. And now that she is gone, you trust in her even more to uncover more mysteries with new people. THE END