The Fallen Ones: A CYOA

Might as well check the menu while we're here. And look for those bar peanuts.

Andre remembers hearing something about the bartender giving out quests, and decides to learn more. However, he still wants to try to fit in and be seen as a cool dude by the other patrons of the bar. So, in an unfortunate yet valiant attempt at sounding suave, he asks, “Do ya’ have any QUESTSSSSSS?!”

Winifred, who had been quietly cleaning a glass, pauses with the cup and cloth in hand in order to give Andre a dubious look. He continues, “Yes, I suppose so... I would be interested in discussing that matter, as long as you spoke like a normal person...”

Before Andre can accomplish Winifred’s request, Bradley slaps Andre on the shoulder, and shouts, “Hey, bro, not so FAST, okay? You haven’t finished our TOUR and you’ve only been in town for THREE SECONDS! Don’t go around taking quests ALREADY!”

Brad suggests, “Well, maybe Andre’s just EXTREMELY EAGER to get out of here!”

Bradley slams his fist on the table, glares at Andre, and exclaims, “WHAT?! I’m APPALLED, Andre! We kindly show you our HOSPITALITY, and now you’re trying to ABANDON US?!”

“No! Of course not!” Andre shouts, raising his hand defensively. “I’m just... uhh... trying to learn as much as I can about this place!”

Bradley backs away, mumbling, “Hmm... Alright... That’s fine, I GUESS...”

Winifred places the freshly cleaned glass on a table behind the counter, only for it to get knocked off when a man gets thrown against the back wall with considerable force. As he begins to clean up the shattered pieces, Winifred asks, “Is that all you need of me, or may I return to my duties?”

Andre quickly asks, “Actually, can we see the menu?”

“Certainly,” Winifred replies, grabbing three thin leather-bound books from a table behind him and sliding them down the counter so they spread out in front of Andre’s group. Before Brad, Bradley, or Andre can respond, Winifred has already left to prepare a drink.

Andre picks up the menu and examines it. An elaborate signature is scrawled across the cover, which can be made to read “Shadi’s” if one squints. Opening the menu, Andre finds the names and prices of drinks the restaurant serves written on several pieces of paper that are torn in several places.

Andre is about to close the book because he can’t afford anything, but Bradley reaches over and drops a ten dollar bill on the menu. He exclaims, “Take THIS, in case you want to PURCHASE anything. Don’t bother paying it back, I don’t WANT it. I don’t like the LOOK of that guy on the front.”

With that, Andre takes a closer look at the menu.

Shadi’s Bar
{All items on this menu (except the peanuts) are alcoholic. Alcoholic items cannot be consumed by party members who are below the drinking age. In order to avoid getting drunk and/or dying of alcohol poisoning, the same person cannot consume an alcoholic item until five posts have passed after their last one.}
Salty Bar Peanuts: $1 Each. [These packets of peanuts are sold in a bucket on the counter. Their taste leaves much to be desired. Heals 1 HP when eaten.]
Ancient Moonshine: $5. [This bottle, and the liquid inside, originates from about a century ago. When consumed you immediately take five damage, but become impervious to damage for two turns.]
Bottle of Red/Bottle of White: $6. [Comes in a set, and must be shared with a friend. Restores 20 HP to both party members, but all healing items they use for the next five turns will have no effect. The taste sticks around for a while, after all.]
Whiskey in the Jar-Oh: $5. [This brew briefly boosts your strength and speed for five turns, but your metaphorical charisma takes a huge blow. Everyone will hate you and your shenanigans until you’re sober again. On the bright side, you can keep the bottle!]
El Serpiente Negro: $30. [This special brew will kill you less than five seconds after consumption. Drink responsibly.]

Andre Montellado (20/20) +15 DP
Bullets: 4 / Money: $14

After a minute or two, Winifred returns. Having made his choice, Andre exclaims, “Excuse me, I’ll have the moonshine and the whiskey.”

“Excellent choice, relatively,” Winifred replies, “Will that be for here or to go?”

Andre quickly replies, “To go.”

“UUAAAUGH!” Bradley shouts, throwing his hands into the air, “Now WE have to order it to go TOO, or we’ll be sitting here AWKWARDLY!”

“Oh, sorry,” Andre replies, “I can drink it here, if you prefer...”

“Nah, just IGNORE him,” Brad reassuringly replies, “He’s just being a big BABY. We’ll have the USUAL, Winifred... TO GO.”

Winifred flatly interjects, “That’ll be twenty dollars.”

Andre hands over the ten bucks for his drink, while Brad and Bradley hand over the money for whatever they ordered. Winifred pockets the money, and leaves to prepare the drinks.

While Winifred is busy, Andre turns to the tour guides to ask, “Hey, do you think it would be possible to mix the drinks here? Perhaps to combine and enhance their effects?”

“NO WAY, man,” Brad shouts, “That’s DANGEROUS! You don’t know what's IN this stuff!”

Bradley continues, “For once, Brad is RIGHT! Yeah, mixing drinks would certainly ENHANCE their effects... but that would also enhance the ALCOHOL POISONING... and the DEATH!”

“Whoa, whoa, BACK IT UP!” Brad responds, “What do you mean FOR ONCE?!”

Winifred returns just in time to supersede their imminent argument, placing several flasks on the counter. Quickly bowing to Andre and his pals, he remarks, “I hope you enjoy your meal. Farewell.” Winifred quickly walks to the other end of the bar, without waiting for a reply.

Bradley exclaims, “These flasks are VERY FRAGILE! We should probably get out of here before some INSANE HOOLIGAN knocks ‘em all over the FLOOR!”

“I AGREE, Bradley!” Brad replies, “Hurry, Andre, LET’S GO!”

Andre suddenly asks, “Wait, you two are guards right? Why don’t you try to keep the peace in this bar?”

Brad suddenly stands up, slams his hand on the table, and shouts, “No time for SMALL TALK, Andre! Forward, MARCH!”

Flask in hand, Brad makes a beeline for the door. Andre looks from him and back to Bradley, just in time to catch him dashing off too. The two weave through the bar, slipping between tables and patrons with the grace of twin serpents, and eventually slip through the entrance door.

Andre, not willing to attempt to replicate their feat, instead chooses to just walk out of the bar in a normal manner. This plan proves to be just as effective.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Brad and Bradley are already waiting outside when Andre comes out. Cutting to the chase, Brad asks, “Alright, let’s go, QUICKLY NOW! We’re BURNIN’ DAYLIGHT HERE!”

Bradley remarks, “The next two locations are pretty BORING honestly...” He raises his flask, and continues, “We’ll probably gonna need THESE to keep things INTERESTING.”

Brad glares at the other tour guide, shouting, “HEY, no bad mouthing the tour spots! We may be guards FIRST, and we may be your guides SECOND, but... uh... we’re tourism agents SEVENTH!”

Andre decides to pick the next tour location before the two start beating each other up...

Tour Destinations:
Town Hall, Bar, Restaurant, Hospital, General Store.

Andre Montellado (20/20) +15 DP
Bullets: 4 / Money: $4

Andre, quickly reaching a decision, answers, “I’d like to visit the Town Hall next!”

Brad shouts, “EXCELLENT choice! Are you ready to delve DEEP into the MAGNIFICENT HISTORY behind our town?!”

Andre hesitantly replies, “Uh... Well... I guess...”

Bradley replies, “NO GUESSWORK! Andre, you are about to delve into a NEW WORLD founded on a core of FACTS, a NEW REALM of LEARNING built upon the birth of unknown KNOWLEDGE, a NEW HISTORY the depths of which we have only scratched the SURFACE of... So, we ask again... ARE YOU READY?!”

Andre mumbles, “On second thought... Maybe I’ll pass...”

“Geez, BRADLEY, calm down! You’re INTIMIDATING the poor guy!” Brad exclaims, “What are you trying to do, SABOTAGE our tour group?!”

Bradley explains, “NO, that’s not my intention! I’m just trying to add some EXCITEMENT to a fairly DULL location, y’know?”

“That was NOT excitement!” Brad shouts, “I’m quite FAMILIAR with excitement... What you just did was COMPLETE INSANITY!”

Brad turns to Andre and continues, “Allow me to CORRECT Bradley’s description... Are you ready for a few AGONIZING minutes of PERUSING exhibits written in BARELY READABLE fonts and ADMIRING ancient images of DECEASED townsfolk?”

“Sounds exciting...” Andre responds, “I suppose I’m ready as I’ll ever be...”

Bradley responds, “NO! That’s not ready ENOUGH! You need to be PSYCHED, Andre! Are you PSYCHED?!”

Sighing, Andre replies, “I’ll be as ready as I want to be!”

Bradley gasps in shock at Andre’s rebuttal, while Brad laughs loudly while pointing at Bradley’s face.

Sick of these aimless shenanigans, Andre asks, “Can we just get it inside already? The other townspeople are giving us weird looks...”

Bradley looks around the town square, shouting, “Well, WHERE ARE THEY?! Point ‘em out to me, and I’ll give ‘em the WEIRDEST look they’ve ever SEEN!”

“Don’t HARASS the townsfolk during a tour, Bradley! That sets a BAD EXAMPLE for our guest!” Brad responds. Then, Brad turns and points to a large white building that takes up an entire wall of the town square. It was most likely quite a sight to behold at one point, but property damage had sullied its pristine exterior and left gaping holes in its large, domed roof. Brad continues, “THAT is the TOWN HALL! Let’s all take a moment to PRETEND that it doesn’t look like a complete DUMP, so we can bask in its GLORY!”

After Brad and Andre spend a few moments pretending to be impressed and Bradley vigorously scans the town square for suspicious or judgemental characters, Brad beginnings walking with purpose up the cracked marble steps and through the tall, wooden double-doors. Andre, pleased to see things finally begin moving along, quickly follows him inside.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Despite the unfortunate state of the town hall’s exterior, the inside is somewhat more clean and organized. The walls are covered in cracks and still fairly dirty around the edges, but it’s at least possible to tell that a valiant effort has been put forth in keeping the lobby respectable.

As the tour guides indicated, the lobby has been turned into make-shift museum. Several glass cases are scattered throughout the room, containing an assortment of arguably historic artifacts. However, several of them appear to be empty. The wall’s are covered with pictures, depicting various important people and leaders of Thomasville. On the far wall, in between two doors leading to spiral staircases, two large pictures are hung, the larger one above the other. The one on top is a painting of an old, bearded man. To Andre’s mild annoyance, this picture is crooked. The frame below holds a photograph of a woman who seems vaguely familiar to Andre, but the distance makes him uncertain.

Before Andre has an opportunity to look around the room, he suddenly hears a young-sounding voice shout, “Hey [NAME], look! It’s the guy who saved grandpa!”

Andre looks towards the source of the voice, but then finds himself having to look down in order to see the two children of approximately the same age, a girl and a boy, running towards him.

Seeing the children, Brad kneels down to reach their height and shouts, “Oh, HELLO! How are YOU TWO doing today?”

The children continue past Brad with only a quick glance in his direction. Upon seeing that he has been ignored, Brad sheds a single tear.

Soon, the children are standing in front of Andre, staring up at him in awe. Upon getting a closer look, Andre replies, “Oh... Uh... Hello... I feel like I’ve seen you two before somewhere...”

The boy responds, “Really...? That’s weird... I only know that you’re the guy who helped grandpa cause of how he described you!”

The girl continues, “Maybe he saw us from a distance before he swooped in and beat up the bad guy!”

Suddenly, Andre remembers where he saw the children before... Just before Simon confronted Anthony, he saw these two children getting taken inside by some woman... Anthony must be the “grandpa” he apparently saved.

Bradley, having just walked in but pretending to have been part of the conversation the whole time, exclaims, “Andre, these are Anthony’s GRANDCHILDREN. Their names are Richard and Josephine! Hopefully you can tell who’s who, because I can’t REMEMBER. Now, SAY HI, you two!”

“Hello!” Josephine jovially replies, “So, what’s your name!”

“Uh... My name’s Andre.”

Richard, looking disappointed, shouts, “Wow, that’s a really boring name! How about... The Amazing Andre, Destroyer of Evil!”

Brad replies, “And then you could just call him Andrezing for short!”

Richard shakes his hand, and responds, “No way! Amazandre sounds much better! What do you think, sis?”

Josephine answers, “I think they all sound stupid!”

Richard shouts, “Oh yeah! ...Well I think your face sounds stupid!”

Andre interjects, “Honestly, I’m fine with just Andre!”

Richard mumbles, “Hmm... Andre, Destroyer of Evil... No way! That’s boring!”

“You’re new here, right Andre?” Josephine asks, ignoring Richard’s shenanigans. “I can show you around this museum! I know a lot about the history of Thomasville!”

At this, Richard laughs, and adds, “Yeah, cause you’re a total NERD!”

Josephine replies, “Yeah? Well at least I’m not a doofus like you!”

“Hey, that’s not true!” Richard shouts, “I know stuff too! Like... uhh... I can burp the alphabet! Backwards! Beat THAT!”

Josephine asks, “Why would I want to? At least the stuff I know how to do is actually useful!”

It doesn’t seem like the two siblings will stop quarreling on their own anytime soon. What will Andre do now?

Andre Montellado (20/20) +15 DP
Bullets: 4 / Money: $4

Addressing Josephine, Andre interjects, “I actually would appreciate a tour of this museum. ...Let’s just say I don’t really know much about history...”

“That’s great!” Josephine exclaims. She points to a display case in the back-left corner of the room, shouting, “We’ll start over there... where it all starts!” Then she excitedly runs over to that corner of the room.

Richard angrily grumbles, “Oh boy, here we go again...”

Andre and Richard follow Josephine to the display case, where she has her hands pressed against the glass, looking at the various objects inside. Meanwhile, Brad and Bradley take frequent swigs from their flasks by the entrance, pretending to be responsible guardians.

Various old items fill the display case, such as an exciting collection of antique toothbrushes, but Josephine points instead to a monochromatic picture of several people dressed in outfits that have long since gone out of style. Andre only recognizes one man, who leans against the town’s sign, as the person depicted in the large painting on the back wall of the building.

Josephine explains, “This picture shows the people who got the town started a really, really long time ago! That guy in the center is Thomas Wright! He was the leader guy, so the town was named after him!”

Richard shouts, “More like Thomas WRONG, am I right?”

From the other side of the room, Brad remarks, “Y’KNOW, kid... That’s yer OWN last name yer makin’ fun of!”

Richard replies, “Oh yeah? ...Well... I’ll make fun of YOUR MOM!”

Bradley laughs, slaps Brad on the back with enough force to make him spit out a mouthful of his drink, and shouts, “OH! He’s got ‘ya there, bro!”

“Anyway!” Josephine continues, “The town grew quickly because it was founded on top of one of those gold-getting places! They also grew the stuff that’s in those funny drinks grandpa won’t let us have.”

Richard replies, “Yeah, that’s great and all, but I don’t think Andre is interested in all that!”

Andre exclaims, “Actually, I’m finding this very enlighteni-”

“See, I told you he didn’t care!” Richard interjects, “Let’s skip to the fun part!”

Josephine points at a display case in the center of the room, and shouts, “You mean the creation of the Thomasville Accord?”

“Heck no!” Richard shouts, “I mean the Great War!”

Bradley points at Richard and shouts, “HEY... Y’know... don’t say SWEARS!” He then attempts to take a swig from his flask, but misses and spills it all over Brad.

In response, Brad glares at Bradley, shoves his finger in his face, and shouts, “HEY! BRO! DUDE! PAL! ...THAT BREW FRICKIN’ SUCKS!”

Ignoring their antics, Josephine says, “The Great War?! But that didn’t happen for another two and a half centuries!”

“And what exactly happened during those two and a half... uh... whatever you said?” Richard replies, “A whole load a’ nothing, that’s what! Andre here beat up twenty people with his bare hands, and then saved grandpa by shooting fifty incoming bullets out of the air with one shot! Trust me, that topic won’t interest him!”

Andre tries to explain, “Uhh... That’s really not how it happened at all...”

Ignoring Andre’s objections, Richard grabs his hand, shouts, “Come on, this way!”, and drags him to a display case at the far end of the room, with Josephine reluctantly following them. Upon reaching the case, Andre is surprised to see several purple and gold robes and bandannas, just like the ones he’s been running into recently. The display case also contains a few clippings from newspapers and several colored photographs. A few of them depict someone who looks like a younger Anthony, but the one that surprises Andre the most is a more recent photo, depicting Anthony standing in front of a man tied to a chair. After a few seconds, Andre recognizes the second man by his purple and gold clothes, long, black hair, pale face, and sunken eyes.

Richard shouts, “Many years ago, when our grandpa was only a teenager, an event happened that would change the course of world history as we know it! A bunch of smart guys at the capital called it the Falling Times! We call it... THE APOCALYPSE!”

Josephine mumbles, “Y’know, if you cared this much about the rest of history, you probably wouldn’t be getting so many F’s.”

“Shut up!” Richard says, “Anyway, it all started when some bad men showed up, and did a bunch of bad things!”

Andre gives Richard a skeptical look, so he continues, “The teacher won’t give me more info than that. Apparently I’m ‘too young.’” Richard sighs in annoyance, then says, “So, these bad men formed a big, bad group, and singlehandedly brought the world to the brink of extinction!”

Josephine shakes her head, and says, “Okay, now you’re just exaggerating! Most of that group’s activities are centered around this area! The farther away you get, the safer it generally is!”

Richard replies, “...I honestly have no idea what half of those nerd words mean...”

“Whatever,” Josephine says, “The point is, Thomasville hasn’t had many encounters with those weird people, but travelers often share stories of their experiences when they arrive. That’s how we learned to set up security measures throughout the town. We also have lots of drills to teach us what to do when something bad happens!”

“Yeah, and all those drills seem to always happen while I’m playing video games.”

Bradley suddenly says, “Y’KNOW KID!! ...Yer SAFETY is OUR PRImary conCERN!”

Brad asks, “BRADLEY, are you OKAAAAY! Maybe YOU should SIT OUT for a bit!”

Josephine shouts, “Look, if you two don’t stop distracting our lesson, I’m gonna have to ask you to leave!”

“GOOD CALL, BRO!” Brad shouts as he grabs Bradley, who is now singing some kind of anthem off-key, and pulls him out of the town hall.

“Anyway...” Josephine continues, “What I was trying to say was that all these security measures are planned by our mayor!” She points to the image of the woman near the back of the room and shouts, “My mom!”

Andre follows Josephine’s finger to the far side of the room, where the smaller of the two pictures hangs. Inside the frame is a photo of a woman with long, dark hair. Now that he’s closer to the image, he finally recognizes the woman as the one he saw taking Richard and Josephine inside after Anthony was shot. Having already remembered her name, he is unsurprised to find “Mary Wright” written on the bottom of the frame.

Richard says, “Hey, she’s my mom too! Don’t try to take all the credit.”

Ignoring him, Josephine continues, “Mom became the mayor of this town a few years ago, after dad left. With her guidance, as well as the guidance of grandpa, Thomasville has thrived even in these trying times!”

Josephine’s speech is followed by a short, uncomfortable silence as Andre waits for her to continue. Eventually, she says, “And that’s all for the tour!”

Richard remarks, “Thank goodness...”

“That was actually very interesting,” Andre says, “Thanks for that, Josephine... and Richard too, I guess...”

“You’re welcome!” Josephine shouts, “But the tour isn’t truly over yet! Brad and Bradley taught me that after every tour... you always have to take questions!”

Richard says, “I’m not sure those two weirdos are the best personal role models, Josephine...”

Josephine shoots him an annoyed glare and cheerily continues, “If you have any questions, just ask away!”

Andre replies, “Hmm... I honestly don’t have any... The tour was already thorough enough...”

“No way! That’s impossible!” Josephine shouts, “You must have SOME kinda question, right?!”

Richard rolls his eyes and says, “You should probably just come up with something before you have to face the full force of her geeky wrath.”

Andre quickly gets the impression that Richard is probably correct. What will he do now?

Andre Montellado (20/20) +15 DP
Bullets: 4 / Money: $4

No, their dad “left” before Andre even woke up.


Andre asks, “How bad are these so-called ‘trying times’ anyway?”

Josephine answers, “Oh, I don’t really know. Grandpa won’t tell us much of anything. He says we’ll learn when we’re older.”

Richard shouts, “It’s ridiculous! Like, I learned how to tie my shoes all by myself, but they still won’t tell me a single thing! How much older do I have to get?!”

“Well, whatever it is, it must be pretty serious,” Josephine says, “Considering they have all those watchtowers and drill things... and that they won’t ever let us leave the town...”

“Yeah, what’s the deal with that?” Richard shouts, “I wanna see the world, but they won’t even let us go visit dad at... wherever the heck he is...”

Josephine said, “Whatever... We’re just kids. We shouldn’t be worrying about this stuff.”

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I’ve been saying this whole time!” Richard shouts, “So let’s go so something actually fun! Just look at Andre! He’s bored outta his mind!”

Andre replies, “I’m really no-”

Richard interjects, “Andre lives in the NOW. He’s all about crackin’ skulls and asking questions later. Let’s let him be and go do something interesting!”

Josephine says, “Richard, your idea of ‘interesting’ is getting Bradley to blow up anthills with TNT!”

Richard responds, “So? What’s the problem with that?”

Andre says, “I guess I’ll just leave you guys to this. I should probably finish exploring the town.”

Hearing Andre’s comment, Richard shouts, “AHA! See, I TOLD you he wasn’t interested!”

Andre responds, “Wait, it’s not that I’m not interested, I just have other things that I need to do!”

“Exactly,” Richard continues, “Things that are much more important than your lame history lessons.”

Josephine replies, “Well, maybe they’d be less lame if you weren’t always interrupting them!”

Richard shouts, “Well... Maybe I wouldn’t have to interrupt them if they weren’t always so lame!”

“I don’t need to change my history lessons! You need to change your attitude!”

Deciding that this is probably going to continue for a long time, Andre slowly backs out of the town hall. The two siblings’ bickering continues to follow him as he heads out the door.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Andre walks back into the town square. He looks around, trying to spot Brad and Bradley. Once he reaches the fountain, he finds them. The two tour guides are lying face-up in the fountain, the broken pieces of their flasks lying nearby. Andre quickly checks their pulses and determines that they’re only unconscious. They most likely drank just a little too much of their beverages.

Unsure what to do, Andre looks around the square. Several people are milling about, but most of them are unfamiliar to Andre. A few people seem to be carrying around a table from the restaurant, but it doesn’t seem like they know where they’re taking it. Andre also notices the weird purple-haired girl from earlier lying under a bench, but isn’t particularly interested in dealing with her again. Eventually, he recalls the final stop on the tour list that Brad and Bradley frequently mentioned: the hospital. Even though he’s already been there, Andre decides heading back there might be a good idea. So he walks up to the door covered with the red-painted cross and enters.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Upon entering the hospital, he immediately notices Florence, the old woman who operated on Anthony, sitting behind the counter. She looks up from a collection of documents she’s looking at and says, “Ah, it’s you again. If you’re here to talk to Anthony, then it’s gonna have to wait. We got another visitor in there already, and I’d recommend just avoiding him if you can.”

Before Andre can respond, the door at the top of the stairs opens.

“So much for that, then,” Florence mumbles. “Have fun, lad. Don’t say anything and he might not notice you. He probably will anyway, so be on your guard.”

Andre looks up to the top of the stairs, his mind skipping through several ideas of who’s about to walk out, each more frightening than the last. The man who actually emerges is not among Andre’s speculations. He appears to be slightly other than Anthony, his dark skin wrinkled and his hair faded and gray. He is dressed in a black suit with a gray trenchcoat, both of which appear to be surprisingly clean. Completing the outfit is a gray hat with a broad brim, casting a shadow over his face.

The man has a peculiar method of walking down the stairs. He seems to be not entirely certain where each step is, so he slides the back of his foot down the front of each step until he hits the next one. This leads him to walk slowly and methodically down the stairs, his leather shoes loudly thumping against the wood with a steady rhythm. Upon reaching the bottom, he turns to walk towards the door and says, “Arrivederci, Florence. Do think about my offer for dinner, okay?” The man simply stares ahead, not turning to the person he’s addressing.

Florence replies, “Don’t worry, I won’t. Try to watch where you’re going.”

Finally turning towards her, the man says, “That’ll be a tough one, I’m afraid.”

“No, seriously, you’re heading straight for someone.”

Despite Florence’s warning, the man walks straight into Andre, who was expecting him to avoid the collision. The man curses as he stumbles to the side, while Andre is knocked backwards as well. Andre quickly regains his bearing and shouts, “Wh- What the heck was that!”

“Oh, I apologize,” the man says, “I didn’t know you were there. You should speak up more, Mr...?” The man trails off, and, finally getting a good look at him, Andre understands the meaning behind the man’s previous actions. Just one look at his milky, vacant eyes made it clear that he was blind.

“Oh, it’s fine. I didn’t realize you were... well... Anyway, my name is Andre.”

“Ah, you’re the man who helped out my pal Anthony, aren’t you? Thomasville owes a lot to you.” The man reaches out and shakes his hand with Andre. “My name’s Shadi. I happen to own the local bar. Perhaps you’ve been there.”

“Yeah, that’s right...” Andre replies, “It certainly is quite the place...”

“It sure is...” Shadi mumbles, “It may be a total mess, but it’s my total mess, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Suddenly, Shadi starts rubbing his hands across Andre’s face, carefully tracing its contours with his fingers. Eventually he moves down to Andre’s shoulders, allowing him to ask, “Wh- What are you doing?!”

“As you seem to be aware, I’m blind,” Shadi says, feeling Andre’s arm. “Stuff like this helps me visualize other people, y’know?”

Andre hears Florence sigh from the background.

“Uhh... Well, I guess that’s alright...”

“Great,” Shadi says. Then, with unexpected speed, he reaches into one of Andre’s jacket pockets and pulls something out.

“Wh- What? Hey!” Andre shouts, reaching for whatever item Shadi’s grabbed. But he’s too slow, and soon Shadi is standing with one of Andre’s grenades in his hands, inspecting the distinctive surface with his fingers.

“Yeah, that whole ‘blind people feel people’s faces’ thing? Not true. At least not for me. Voices are enough.”

He starts juggling the grenade with one hand and continues, “You need to be more careful around here though, kid. Thomasville is a mostly safe place, but it's a dog eat dog world out there. And in this case, the blind dog’s the one doing the eating, and that’s just embarrassing. Try to keep your guard up next time, okay?”

Shadi continues tossing the grenade around, and doesn’t seem particularly interested in handing it over. What will Andre do now?

Andre Montellado (20/20) +15 DP
Bullets: 4 / Money: $4

“Wh- What are you doing with that grenade?” Andre asks.

“Oh, this is a grenade?” Shadi says, hand over his mouth in shock, “I had absolutely no idea! And I was about to see what happened when I pulled this loopy thing, too!” He starts nudging the pin with one finger.

Having had enough of Shadi’s dangerous shenanigans, Andre snatches the grenade from his hand and puts the explosive back in his pocket.

“Geez, man, I was just kiddin’ around,” Shadi says, pulling his hat low over his eyes. “I may be blind, but I ain’t incompetent.

Andre replies, “Still, you shouldn’t just be throwing dangerous explosives around like that!”

“Hey, I’ve been running this rat-race longer than you, son,” Shadi says, pointing in your general direction. “I’m probably still the least responsible person in this town, but I’m one of the elders, so you gotta respect me anyway! Okay?”

“Well... You’ve admitted yourself that you’re not particularly deserving of respect...”

“Geez, man!” Shadi holds a fist against his heart and says, “That’s cold! You’re hittin’ me right down here!”

Andre gives Shadi a skeptical glare. After a few seconds of silence, Shadi laughs and says, “I’m willing to bet you’re givin’ me the staredown now?” Turning to look all around the room, he shouts, “Isn’t that right, Florence?”

Florence, pretending to shuffle through some documents, shouts back, “I am having no part of this conversation, Shadi.”

Shadi laughs, leans closer to Andre, and whispers, “Ah, she’s just playin’ hard to get, that’s all. You shoulda seen us in high school! We got up to some crazy things on senior prom night!”

“I’d really rather not know anything about senior prom night,” Andre replies.

Shadi laughs and says, “Yeah, that’s probably not a bad idea!”

Running two fingers across the brim of his hat, Shadi adds, “Y’know Andre, you’re alright. I think you deserve a bit of a reward for dealing with me. I’ll tell Winifred to give you a free drink next time you visit the bar!”

“What?” Andre exclaims, “But I barely did anything!”

“Nonsense!” Shadi replies, “For an old man on the verge of death, you did quite a lot!” Shadi removes his hat, revealing his peppery gray hair, and quickly bows to Andre. Putting the cap back on, he adds, “Oh, and on the subject of the bar, I recommend ‘El Serpiente Negro.’ I tried that one once… Definitely worth the five year coma."

Giving one last hearty chuckle, Shadi heads for the door. Stopping at the threshold, he turns and waves, saying, “Ta-ta, Florence! I hope you catch the big one!”

Florence glares skeptically at him and asks, “What the heck are you talking about?”

“Bullets, of course!” Shadi explains, as he walks out the door and into the plaza.

Once he’s gone, Florence sighs and says, “Well, that was a fine mess... Anyway, now that we can get some peace, did you have any particular reason for coming here?”

“Well...” Andre answers, “I thought talking to Anthony again might be a good idea...”

Florence gestures vaguely in the direction of the stairs and says, “Well, have fun. I’m sure you remember the way.”

“Well, I have plenty of space up there now, so yeah...”

“That’s great,” Florence mumbles, “Now, if you don’t mind, I have fairly important things to do, so please run along.”

Heeding her suggestion, Andre quickly walks up the stairs to the top floor and enters the middle door. Once inside, he sees Anthony lying on the same hospital bed, looking a little more recovered. Looking up from the book he’s reading, he sees Andre and shouts, “Ah, hello Andre! Good to see you again! How have things been going on your end?”

Andre explains, “Well, two guys, Brad and Bradley, took me on a weird tour of the town square... Then they drank too much at the bar and fell asleep in the fountain.”

Anthony laughs for a second, but stops as he clutches his stomach in pain. Eventually, he replies, “Yeah, that’s normally how things go when new people come to town... I guess someone’s gonna need to check on them...”

“So, how have things been going for you?” Andre asks.

“They've been fine... About as fine as they can be at least.” Anthony says, “Luckily, Florence says I should be able to walk normally in time for the big feast tomorrow!”

“So, do you have anything you’d like to ask me?”

What will Andre do now?

Andre Montellado (20/20) +15 DP
Bullets: 4 / Money: $4

Finding himself once again in this familiar scenario, Andre tries to learn as much as he can from Anthony. First, he asks, “So, uh... Who was that guy that was just visiting you? I think his name was Shadi?”

“Ah, so you two’ve become acquainted, huh?” Anthony replies, smiling. “How’d that go?”

“Well, it was certainly an experience...” Andre explains, “He stole my grenade, offered me a free drink, and then disappeared.”

Clearly struggling not to laugh, Anthony says, “Yeah, that’s how things usually go with him! He claims it’s kleptomania, but I think he’s just trying to annoy people. Still, I have to admit... He’s good at what he does! He even stole my socks from under my shoes once!” Anthony looks away contemplatively and continues, “I never did find out why he needed those...”

Choosing to ignore Anthony’s strange story for the moment, Andre replies, “I guess you two must know each other pretty well, since he went to visit you here and all...”

“Yeah, me and him go way back...” Anthony explains, “We’ve known each other since childhood... Obviously, neither of us are spring chickens anymore, so that’s a mighty long time. We used to be practically inseparable in our youth... but after that blasted cult started springin’ up, we both started down separate paths. I trained in combat so I could protect my family, but he started his bar, reasonin’ the society didn’t have much time left and we might as well all enjoy ourselves.”

A grave look passes over Anthony’s face as he continues, “But don’t get me wrong, son. There ain’t no bad blood between us, and when it comes down to it, Shadi’ll fight to his last breath for this town... He just has his own way of goin’ about it...”

“Speaking of that,” Andre interjects, “I keep hearing people bring up these ‘trying times’ that are apparently going on... What’s that about?”

Anthony gives Andre a skeptical look and asks, “Didn’t I already tell you about this?”

“Uh... Maybe...”

“Ah, whatever!” Anthony replies cheerily. “I can’t do much in this bed except talk anyway! It’s not like I’d be wasting my time!

“So, the ‘trying times...’ Well, for starters, that’s not the only term for ‘em,” Anthony explains. “All the bigwig historians up at the capital call it ‘The Falling Times,’ but most people around here call it ‘The Great War’ or ‘The Apocalypse.’ And then you’ve got all those people who’ve lost faith in humanity and call it ‘The Prolonged Extinction of All Biological Life in the Known Universe’ ...but no one really worries about them.”

“And all of this is that weird cult’s fault?” Andre asks.

“Well, essentially,” Anthony replies, “It was the combination of a whole load of stuff, I think. Global warming didn’t make things any easier, at least. But essentially, it was that cult that set everything on a downward spiral. When they effectively brought down our country, they took the national economy with ‘em. And with just about everyone in a depression, no one was really willing to bring an army over here... They’d have trouble fighting back the cult, anyway... But what they don’t realize is that they’re gonna be next. I don’t know what Jolly Johnny’s goal behind all this is supposed to be, but I doubt it’s gonna end with us.

“Either way, we’ve all been left to our own devices, and it’s difficult to unite with all those cult members prowling around the wastelands. That’s why everyone in Thomasville is just tryin’ to keep on keepin’ on, hopin’ some kinda miracle’ll come our way.”

“Geez...” Andre replies, “That sounds a lot worse than how your grandkids described it.”

Anthony sighs and remarks, “Well, it’s tough to raise children these days... Mary and I don’t really know when to tell them... I mean, they don’t even know what happened to their father yet... and adding the whole hopeless mess we’ve gotten ourselves into on toppa that... When is anyone old enough to hear all that?”

A solemn silence fills the room as Andre reflects on everything he’s heard. The situation certainly does sound hopeless... Is there really no good solution?

Remembering the strange woman Andre talked to before he woke up, Andre wonders if this was what she believed he could fix. Obviously, Andre didn’t share her confidence... It doesn’t seem like there’s anything special about him anyway.

“Anyway, that’s enough talking about the past,” Anthony says, “It’s about time we got to talkin’ about your future.”

“Wh- What?” Andre replies, “My future?”

“Exactly,” Anthony says, “Now that Brad and Bradley have finished showing you around town... what are you plannin’ on doing?”

“Uh... Good question...” Andre hadn’t really thought about that. After all, he barely knew where he had come from, so he hadn’t spent much time considering where he was going.

“Well...” Anthony replies, “I don’t think you should be marchin’ off into the wastelands just yet. We haven’t even had our feast yet! You should at least stay for that.”

Andre asks, “But that feast is tomorrow, right? Where am I supposed to sleep?”

“Oh, that’s all taken care of!” Anthony explains, “I mean, as you can probably tell, I’m not gonna be needin’ the bed I usually sleep in, so I’ve already asked my family if they’d be willing to let you use it for a little while... Obviously, my grandchildren thought that the so-called ‘Great Avenger of Thomasville’ moving in with them would be a lot of fun.”

“Wait...” Andre replies, “Your grandchildren... that’s Richard and Josephine, right?”

“Yep, that’s them!” Anthony exclaims, “I take it you’ve already met ‘em, then?”

“I certainly have...” Andre mumbles, “And, honestly, I’m not sure how long I could survive dealing with those two...”

Anthony laughs, which quickly devolves into grunts of pain. Eventually, he continues, “Yeah... They can be rather... overwhelming... but my daughter-in-law will be there to keep ‘em from driving you totally insane, and it’s certainly better to take a nap in a warm bed than in a fountain or something... So, whaddaya say?”

Andre didn’t want to feel like he was intruding... but it seemed like everyone was okay with it, and it would be nice to have a place to stay until Andre could figure out where he was going...

What will Andre do now?

Andre Montellado (20/20) +15 DP
Bullets: 4 / Money: $4

{{Yeah, so far only less than a day has passed. That'll change soon though.}}


Deciding that he was probably over complicating the decision, Andre says, “Alright... Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.”

“Great!” Anthony shouts, “In that case, I got somethin’ else you’ll need.” He reaches for the nightstand next to him and grabs a wallet. He then opens it up, fishes through it for several seconds, and pulls out a folded square of brownish paper. He holds it out in front of him and says, “Here, take this.”

Andre takes the parchment from Anthony and unfolds it. It seems to be a map of Thomasville, but it’s a rather strange one. The buildings are drawn in crayon, and stick figures amble about the streets. Most of the buildings are clearly labelled, though the names are usually misspelled. For some reason, a bunch of random T-Rexes have been drawn surrounding the town, and one house near the edge has several arrows pointing towards it.

Needless to say, Andre is confused by the quality of the map until he notices the signature in the bottom right corner: “Josephine + Richard.”

“Uhh...” Andre says, “...Are you sure you can trust me with this?”

“Oh, don’t worry about it,” Anthony responds, “You don’t seem like the type to lose things, and I know this town like the back of my hand... You need it more than I do.”

“A- Alright...” Andre says. “What’s this house with all the arrows pointing at it?”

Anthony explains, “That’s the Wright residence, of course! The house where you’ll be staying.”

“Oh, right...” Andre sighs, still not entirely comfortable with the idea, and puts the map into his own wallet. “Well, I guess I should probably be going then.”

“Of course, of course...” Anthony says, “I’ll see you tomorrow at the feast, then!”

“Yeah...” Andre mumbles, “See you then.” Andre turns to leave the hospital room, tripping over a hospital bed on the way out.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Andre spends the remaining few hours left in the day wandering about Thomasville, not doing a single particularly noteworthy thing. All in all, it feels like he’s simply delaying the inevitable. Eventually, he approaches Anthony’s house on the edge of town, which is in a surprising state of disrepair considering his family’s status. Deciding not to worry about that, Andre approaches the front door and knocks on it three times.

After a few seconds, the door opens, and Andre immediately recognizes the woman standing on the other side. He had seen her picture in the town hall not too long ago. It was the mayor of Thomasville: Mary Wright.

“Ah, you must be Andre...” Mary says, speaking with a refined grace. “Anthony already told me everything. Welcome to our home. Please try to make yourself at home.”

“Really?” Andre replies, “I don’t wish to intru-”

“Nonsense!” Mary interjects, “Our family owes you a debt of gratitude for your actions today. Come inside!”

Mary turns and walks into the house, motioning Andre inside. He reluctantly follows her, shutting the door behind him.

The Wright residence itself is in disrepair - boarded up windows, peeled wallpaper, and broken walls and floorboards are scattered about the house. However, it still maintains a cozy atmosphere. The large ground floor of the house is filled with a living room, a large dining table, and a tiny kitchen. Several family photos cover the walls. A not particularly trustworthy-looking spiral staircase leads to the top floor, which is a series of balconies with a few doors in the walls, probably leading to bedrooms.

Before Andre can fully take in his surroundings, he hears a little boy shout, “Whoa! Josephine, look! It’s Andre... in OUR HOUSE!”

Andre is suddenly assaulted by the high-pitched voices of Josephine and Richard as the children rush over, eagerly asking him all manner of mundane or ridiculous questions. Andre is unable to make out anything they’re saying, not that he’d be able to answer at the breakneck pace the conversation is going at anyway.

The only voice Andre can make out is Mary’s as she walks over to the kitchen. “We were just about to eat dinner! I accidentally made Anthony a meal out of habit earlier, so I’ll just give you that!”

As exciting as the prospect of eating an injured old man’s food was, Andre found his attention occupied by the children, whose outcries had finally started to reach coherency.

“This is so exciting!” Richard shouts, as he began to pull Andre towards the dinner table. “Now I can show you all my cool weapons and toys and stuff!”

Josephine adds, “And I can show you my Thomasville history books!”

Richard groans and replies, “Josephine, quit being such a nerd!”

Mary strained voice came from the kitchen. “Richard... Don’t call your sister that!”

“FINE, Mom...” Richard mumbles, sitting down at one of the six seats surrounding the dining table.

“Don’t take that tone with me.” Mary’s voice is noticeably calm, considering the situation. “Remember, we have a guest in the house.”

Andre sits on the other side of the table from Richard, who immediately stands back up. However, Josephine takes the seat on Andre’s right, so Richard can only glower at her and return to his original seat.

“Andre’s not a guest!” Josephine explains, “I think he’s basically part of the family now!”

Andre says, “I’ve only known your family for a day.”

“Yeah, but you saved Grandpa!” Richard says. “That’s like... a ZILLION years right there!”

Mary chuckles at the two children as she leaves the kitchen, skillfully balancing two plates on each of her hands. She places her own plate at the end of the table, then gives her children plates of mac n’ cheese and chicken nuggets vaguely shaped like dinosaurs. Then she puts a plate in front of Andre and goes to her chair.

Andre looks skeptically at his meal. The mounds of mashed potatoes and brownish mush would probably be perfect for an old person cursed with dental issues, but Andre doesn’t fall into that category.

Andre looks over at the Wright family, who are already eating. Trying to put off doing the same, Andre asks, “So, uh... Mrs. Wright... You’re the mayor, right? I thought you’d be in charge of setting up that feast right now.”

“Please, you can call me Mary... And I was in charge of planning the feast, but there isn’t much left to be done on that front. Besides, someone needs to look after the kids, and with Anthony injured... I’m the only one who can.”

For a moment, a solemn look crosses Mary’s face. Andre glances in the direction of her gaze and notices a small end table on the other end of the dining room. On it are two picture frames featuring family portraits clearly drawn by the children and another frame holding a pressed flower. On the wall above the table is a portrait of a man in a suit. Despite his formal appearance, his eyes seem to hold a childish innocence, and the good humor behind his smile vaguely reminds Andre of Anthony.

Andre looks back to Mary, who has already recovered. “Anyway, Thomasville is a small community, so it’s not that hard to govern. It’s more about keepin’ people together, really.” Judging by the barely noticeable crack in her voice, this is easier said than done.

Andre says, “Well... this feast sounds like a great way of doing that.”

“Yeah!” Josephine shouts, “Everyone meeting to eat weird space whale meat for the first time... It’ll be lots of fun!”

Richard says, “Y’know, I actually SAW the space whale! I was out playing when I saw those tour guide guys shootin’ at it! So then I grabbed my slingshot and aimed a shot right down its blowhole and finished it off!”

“No you didn’t!” Josephine remarks. “All you did was knock the weathervane off Old Man Humphreys’s roof!”

“Well... I was pretty close!” Richard mumbles.

“Anyway...” Mary continues, discreetly silencing the two with warning glares. “You picked the perfect time to come to town, Andre. We’ll have this feast double as an official welcome for you!”

“Uhh... I really don’t think we should make a big deal out of it,” Andre says. “I don’t even know how long I’ll be staying here...”

“I think you should stay for a really long time!” Richard shouts. “I mean, grandpa says you have some kinda anemone in your brain that means you forgot a buncha stuff.”

“An ‘anemone’ is a sea creature, Richard!” Josephine responds. “Grandpa clearly said ‘animation!’”

“He said ‘amnesia,’ kids...” Mary says. “And don’t joke about it. It’s a serious medical condition.”

Andre sighs and casts his eyes out the window. “I- It’s fine... but honestly, they’re right. I- I don’t have anywhere to go... no idea where to even begin to look for answers about myself... For now, staying here’s my only option.”

“Y’know, I think that could be pretty cool!” Richard says, “I mean, think about it! You could have been anything! Like an astronaut or a police officer! Or a time-traveling space alien with laser eyes!”

Mary chuckles and adds, “Well, either way... you shouldn’t get so wrapped up in the past that you miss out on the future. For now, I think you should try to find your place in the world of the present.”

“Hmm... Maybe you’re right...” Andre mumbles.

“Of course I am!” Almost finished with her meal, Mary points to Andre’s plate and says, “Now, aren’t you going to eat your dinner?”

Andre glances at the plate in front of him, which looks as unappetizing as ever, and sighs.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After eating an exhaustive second dinner with the Wright family, Andre quickly excuses himself to his new sleeping quarters. It had been a long, confusing day, and a night’s rest seemed like just what Andre needed.

Anthony’s bedroom, scenically located a door down from a boarded-up, charred hole in the roof of the house, was fairly humble for a retired mayor turned soldier. The room had average, wooden furnishings and wallpaper and carpeting in pastel colors. The far wall was taken up by a large, surprisingly unbroken window. Most of the floor space was taken up by a large bed, which was clearly meant for two people. A nightstand sat on both sides of the bed. The leftmost one was topped with numerous picture frames and a few of what were most likely Anthony’s belongings. The other was covered in a layer of dust, on top of which rested a vase holding a few pink flowers and a picture frame holding a faded photograph of an elderly woman.

Too tired to contemplate his surroundings any further, Andre climbed into the bed and quickly went to sleep.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Oh, hello again... I know it hasn’t been very long, but it feels like it’s been months...”

A female voice speaks to Andre out of the inky blackness. It’s a voice he’s heard before... but before Andre can wonder where it’s coming from, he realizes that he’s also in a place he’s been to before.

An expanse of darkness surrounds Andre. Only one person stands in that expanse - a middle-aged woman with long, black hair, flickering in an out of existence like a TV with a bad connection.

This is the strange realm Andre was in before he woke up... but perhaps “in” isn’t the right word... Just like before, Andre isn’t physically present.

But Andre can still speak. His words simply emerge from nowhere and echo through the void. “You again? ...What do you want with me?!”

“Hmm...?” The woman responds. “I don’t want anything. I’m always here... You’re the one who came to me.”[/i]

“Wha-?” Andre says, “But I don't even remember how I got here. All I did was go to sleep...”

The woman chuckles to herself. “I suppose we can relate, then... I can’t remember how I got here either. My memories... just sorta fade out at one point... Now I’m here...”

Intrigued, Andre asks, “Here? But where is ‘here?’ ...And you said you have memories... So you weren’t always here?”

The woman explains, “I’m not sure... I do know... this isn’t just one place. Here is everywhere, but at the same time it’s nowhere...”

“What? Th- That doesn’t make any sense!”

Ignoring Andre’s outburst, the woman continues, “As for my memories... Well, I guess I used to live a fairly normal life, all things considered... I had a stable job... a husband...” Her expression seems to turn melancholic. “Then... It was over...”

“But it’s not all bad...” the woman continues, “I’ve got plenty of people to talk to, even if they’re all really strange... In fact, I’m talking to a few of them now.”

“What?! How?” Andre says.

“Frankly, I don’t have a clue...” the woman says, “It... It takes a lot of concentration...”

Before Andre can further question the woman regarding her cryptic answers, she says, “A- Anyway... we don’t have much time, and there’s something you need to know.”

“Huh? Wh- What would that be?” Andre asks, already dreading the answer.

“So far, things have been pretty relaxing...” the woman replies gravely. “But soon... I think... you’re gonna see first-hand the deep evil lurking in this world, and you’re gonna have to decide for yourself where you stand... So, uh... just watch out, I guess...”

“Uhh...” Andre says, “Do you think you could be a little more specific than that?”

“Sorry... but no... It’s tough to focus on specific details with so many people talking at once...” the woman replies. “Besides, your connection seems to be the most tenuous... There isn’t much time left...”

As if on cue, Andre’s vision begins to fade out, and the woman’s voice grows more distant. “Ah, that soon, huh? Farewell... Don’t let your guard down...”

Andre jolts awake.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning was fairly uninteresting. Andre had more harrowing conversations with the Wright family until lunch time, when he accompanied them to the town square, where the feast had almost begun.

By the time Andre arrives, the town square is already filled with people. The vast majority of them are people he doesn’t recognize, but scattered amongst the crowd are familiar faces like Shadi, Florence, and the Alexs. The crowd is divided among three long rows of tables. While there are still plenty of empty seats, they’re already filling up very rapidly.

Andre is about to head for the tables, when Josephine blocks his path. “Where are you going, Andre? We’re gonna sit over there!”

She points to the other side of the town square, where what looks like a long dining room table has been set up perpendicular to the three rows. The table has six seats on the far side, all facing the crowd.

“Anthony wanted you to be a ‘guest of honor’ today...” Mary explains, “So you’ll be sitting with us!”

Andre replies, “Uhh... I’d really rather not get unnecessary atten-”

“Oh, don’t be so humble!” Mary interjects “We’re here to celebrate, and celebrate we shall!”

The Wright family quickly makes their way to their table, and Andre follows them. Once he nears it, he notices that someone is already there. Three seats from the right, with his arm in a sling and a few bandages on his chest, sits Anthony.

Anthony raises his other hand and says, “Hello, Andre! Good to see you could make it!”

The rest of the Wright family moves to take the three seats next to him, but Andre stops in his tracks. “Anthony?! You’re here too? I thought you’d still be in the hospital!”

“Well ya’ don’t have to sound so upset about it!” Anthony laughs. “Nah, I’m a hardy guy. I’m not gonna let some stupid chunk a’ metal keep me from tryin’ this space whale meat!” Anthony points to the chair on his right and adds, “Now c’mon and take a seat! They’re gonna bring out the food in just a few minutes.”

The rest of the family is already sitting at the table. Mary took the seat on the far left, while Richard and Josephine took the seats between her and Anthony. Andre joins them at the table at Anthony’s prompting, quickly glancing at the far-right seat, wondering who was supposed to sit there.

Once Andre’s in his chair, he looks out at the three long tables before him, which are slowly filling up. Andre still only recognizes a few of the people there, but they all seem to have something in common: they’re all pleased to be there and excited for the feast to come.

“I always love doin’ stuff like this...” Andre turns to Anthony, who’s staring out at the crowd with a smile on his face. “Seein’ the whole town get together and have fun... That kinda thing is too rare these days.”

Soon the crowd starts to settle down, and waiters carrying large domed platters begin to emerge from Doomsday Delectables. Winifred, the bartender, leads the group. He shouts orders at a few of them and then walks to Andre’s table, accompanied by three other waiters carrying six dishes between them.

As they approach, Anthony exclaims, “Ah, at last, the dish arrives. Winifred, I must thank you and your fine staff for taking the time to deliver this meal for us!”

“I must apologize, Sir Anthony, but we do not have time for pleasantries.” Winifred sets down his platter in front of Anthony and Andre, while the other waiters set down theirs in front of the remaining four chairs. Winifred bows, utters a terse “Enjoy,” and then leaves to continue directing the waiters.

The Wright family have already begun lifting the domed coverings off of there platters, but Andre is distracted by the chair next to him, which also received a meal despite being completely empty. However, no one else seems perturbed by its vacancy, so Andre decides not to mention it.

Instead, Andre refocuses on the platter in front of him, quickly removing the dome and setting it aside. Inside are a fork, a knife (which looks way too large to have been intended for cutting meat), a pathetic-looking salad bowl (perhaps a vegetarian option), and a glass of some kind of carbonated liquid. Of course, none of these compare to the so-called “space whale”: a thick slab of reddish-brown meat even larger than the steak Andre had yesterday. Andre doubts that he has any chance of finishing the entire thing.

Andre glances to his right and sees the Wright family already working on their steaks. Well, more specifically, Richard and Josephine are waiting impatiently for their mothers to cut theirs into more manageable chunks, while Anthony has somehow already eaten almost a quarter of his. He swallows a mouthful of space whale, flashes a thumbs-up, and quips, “Ya’ better get to diggin’ in Andre! This meal is out of this world!” Anthony laughs uproariously at his joke.

Andre gives him an annoyed glare and then returns to his own meal. The meat is tough, and it takes a lot of effort to cut it apart. Eventually, he separates out a reasonably sized square of the meat and impales it on his fork. Just before raising it to his mouth, he hears a loud, masculine voice shout, “Hey, ANDRE!”

Andre looks towards the direction of the voice and sees one of the tour guides waving at him from halfway across the square. After Andre waves back, the man returns to talking loudly to the people around him. After a few more seconds, Andre is finally able to conclusively recognize him as Brad, but, surprisingly, Bradley isn’t sitting at the table near him. In fact, he doesn’t seem to be anywhere in the town square.

Finding this odd, Andre turns to Anthony and asks, “Where’s Bradley?”

Anthony points towards a guard tower on the outskirts of town and replies, “Oh, he’s keeping watch from that tower over there. He volunteered, but we didn’t want him to miss this, so he’ll be switching places with Brad in half and hour.”

“Ah, that makes sense... I guess someone has to,” Andre mumbles. Then he quickly puts the chunk of whale meat in his mouth. It turns out to be just as tough to chew as it is tough to cut. As for the taste, it’s... well, unique.

After a few more minutes of talking and feasting, Andre hears some kind of faint scraping noise from his left. Andre turns towards it and recoils in surprise. Sitting in the chair is a teenage girl with purple hair, having seemingly spontaneously materialized next to him. He recognizes her as the girl he collided with outside the restaurant the day before.

Anthony shouts, “Oh, there you are, Eden! I was afraid that you weren’t coming!”

If Eden heard him, she doesn’t seem to care. She just stares out at the crowd, looking somewhat disturbed, and mumbles, “I- I can feel it... They’re coming for me...” She clutches her head with her hands and adds, “Th- They’re gonna... t- tear me apart...”

Anthony laughs loudly, then leans in and whispers to Andre, “Don’t worry, she says stuff like this all the time.” Leaning away, he loudly addresses Eden. “So, this is Andre! I assume you two haven’t met, so-”

“Shut up,” Eden quietly interjects. “W- We met before. Fate brought us together... I’ve already seen through his mind.”

“Wh- What’s that supposed to mean?” Andre asks.

“I means what it means... Nothing more...” Eden mumbles. She slowly takes the dome off the top of her platter and stares at its contents. Andre notices that instead of his weird, carbonated beverage, she has a juicebox with cartoon bears on it. Seemingly confused by the nature of her meal, the girl says, “Explain...”

Anthony replies, “Oh, this is the meat from that space whale, remember? I’ve mentioned it to you a bunch of times!”

“Oh, right... The d- dead Belunka...”

Andre gives Anthony a questioning glance, but he just shrugs.

Eden continues, “I remember... When the Belunka fell... I heard it scream as it plummetted from the sky... It’s still screaming... even now...” Eden pokes the meat with her fork. Then she picks up the knife and forcefully stabs it into the steak, brutally ripping it apart into rough, messy chunks. Throughout it all, she still retains the same calm expression on her face. Andre and Anthony share uneasy glances as a few of the townsfolk look worriedly at the display. Eventually, Eden puts the knife down and mumbles, “Silence at last...”

This is followed by a long, uncomfortable silence, which is only broken when Anthony laughs awkwardly. However, Eden doesn’t seem to notice. She simply puts one of the chunks into her mouth, chews it for a few seconds, and mumbles, “...Tastes like chicken...”

Andre stares at his salad contemplatively.

What will Andre do now?

Andre Montellado (20/20) +15 DP
Bullets: 4 / Money: $4

Eden’s bizarre antics have provided Andre with many questions. He decides to ask a few of them, even though he’s confident that Eden’s answers will only bring on more.

“Uhh... This ‘space whale’ thing...” Andre asks, “Why do you call it a... what was it? Balanky?”

“Belunka...” Eden mumbles, seemingly paying more attention to her food than Andre. “That’s what it’s called... where it’s from...”

“Okay... And how do you know that?”

“I don’t know...” Eden replies. “I don’t know anything... for certain...”

“Well, what about these people who are supposedly coming after you?” Andre asks. “Who are they? Do you know anything about them?”

“I- I don’t remember...” Eden looks off into the distance, clearly disturbed by something.

“Uhh... That’s not a very helpful answer,” Andre says. “Where’d you learn your manners, anyway?”

“I don’t remember.” Eden gives Andre something vaguely resembling an annoyed glare and adds, “Don’t ask me questions I can’t answer...”

“Well, what kind of questions can you answer?”

Eden looks back down at the table, perhaps in serious thought, then says, “...I don’t know.”

Andre sighs and looks back to his food. Fairly satisfied that the meat is not going to scream at him, he picks his fork and knife back up. Before he can take another bite, Anthony leans toward him and says, “Yeah, good luck getting anything out of her... She showed up here like that, and she hasn’t remembered anything since.” Then, Anthony returns to his own steak, which he’s nearly finished, and Andre returns to eating his.

The feast continues like this for awhile. Andre chats with the Wright family and even tries (but fails) to carry a conversation with Eden. Eventually, Anthony rises, raises his glass, and taps it loudly with his fork. Projecting his voice throughout the square, he says, “Everyone! May I have your attention, please?”

Slowly, the general hubbub begins to die down as all of the townsfolk turn towards Anthony expectantly. Andre hears what sounds like a cry of pain from his left and turns to see Eden staring off into the distance with a tormented look in her eyes. He just dismissed it as her usual weirdness and turns back to Anthony.

“Thank you, thank you,” Anthony continues as everyone quiets down. “We gather here today to welcome a new member to our humble community...”

“Well...” Anthony chuckles, “We originally organized this feast to celebrate the vanquishment of a giant flying whale by a random traveler and two members of our city patrol...” Anthony briefly pauses as Brad loudly reminds his neighbors that he was one of the aforementioned people and exchanges high fives with everyone. “...But I don’t think anyone will care if I repurpose it.”

“Anyway...” Anthony continues, “I’d like to welcome a man who, despite having only been here for about a day, has already left an unforgettable mark on our community. After all, this man... has saved my very life.”

Andre gestures in Andre’s direction and says, “Everyone! Give a warm welcome to Andre Montellado!”

The square erupts with applause as Andre smiles and waves awkwardly.

Once the clapping has died down, Anthony raises his glass high. “Now, I’d like to propose a toast!”

The townsfolk raise their glasses, and Andre follows suit. He quickly glances at Eden, who still isn’t doing anything.

“To new experiences, to new people, and to a bright new future!”

The clinking of colliding glasses fills the square. Then everyone drinks, optimistic about the future ahead.

But before they can return to their meals, they hear someone loudly slam on their table. Everyone turns to the noise as a glass is thrown to the floor and shatters loudly. Standing on the other side of the table is Eden, her tattered hair thrown wildly around her horrified face. She stares off into the distance, her eyes filled with dread.

“Th- They’re here!”

The square is filled with an uneasy silence, but it doesn’t last long. Three more sounds come to shatter the peaceful silence that had so long enveloped Thomasville.

First came the long, dull tone of the warning bell.

Next came the quick burst of a gunshot, bringing with it the scent of death.

Last came the desperate, pained scream of a voice Andre knew all too well.

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A man stands outside a small town, looking up at a watchtower: one of many that served as the village’s only defense from intruders.

This man happens to be a member of the latter category. Fortunately for him, he is quite skilled in the art of stealth, especially due to the high-tech camouflage capabilities built into his otherwise conspicuous purple and gold exosuit. The suit allows him to become effectively invisible, which is why he’s the frontrunner of this mission. His buddies are currently hiding behind a cardboard bush a few feet behind him, “strategizing.” It’s all up to him.

However, he has a few other delightful toys to help him, such as his cool rappel/grappling hook/tightrope/zipline/cheese wire launcher, conveniently installed in the wrist of his exosuit. With that, he can launch a hook up to the top of the watchtower, crawl stealthily along the ground, and then climb up the tower wall. He proceeds to do this very easily. For bonus points, he does the entire thing without being spotted! His friends would often remind him that such an act is fairly easy when you have an invisible super-suit, but what did they know? All they have between them is a few weird arrows, an exploding six-shooter, and a stupid hat. Losers.

Anyway, where was he? Oh yeah! He’s poised at the edge of the tower with his gun (much cooler than his buddy’s gun, mind you) aimed at its watchman, some sap wearing a load of combat armor that probably won’t be much use to him in the next few seconds. Ah, this would be perfect! The chance to get a sweet stealth kill with his silenced pistol, allowing his friends to infiltrate the city! Oh, the accolades he’ll get for this!

But alas, it was not meant to be! Caught up in the excitement, the man forgets to focus on keeping his camouflage active. He’s become completely exposed, and the watchman easily spots him peeking over the railing. The watchman points his gun straight at the intruder and shouts, “HEY! Who the HECK are you, and WHAT do you think you’re DOING?!”

The intruder can already hear his comrades cursing his ineptitude. But they didn’t understand! In this situation, they certainly would have done the same thing!

As quick in his wit as in his thinking (per his own summation), the intruder responds, “Ah! Perhaps instead, you should ask what YOU are doing!”

The barrel of the watchman’s gun is unwavering, firm in its resolve. “Don’t play GAMES with me! Identify yourself or DIE!”

The intruder, using his absurd upper arm strength, lifts himself over the railing and propels himself off of it. He performs a front-flip in mid-air and slams knee-first into the watchman before he can even get off a shot. A second later, the watchman is pinned against the other side of the tower, a gun pointed at his chin.

The intruder could have finished him off right there, but he instead chooses to gloat over his defeated foe. He laughs maniacally and says, “Pitiful human... You ask who I am? I am...” He pauses for dramatic effect. “The Dark Destroyer! I bring death and despair wherever I know! Millions cower in fear at the mere mention of my name, for I... am your worst nightmare!”

The Dark Destroyer is annoyed to notice that the watchman isn’t particularly interested in his speech. Instead, he seems to be staring behind him at the large bell hanging from the roof of the tower.

The Dark Destroyer chuckles darkly. “You intend to ring that warning bell, don’t you? Well, good luck. You won’t be getting anywhere NEAR that-”

Suddenly, the watchman swings his rifle toward the Dark Destroyer’s head. He barely ducks out of the way, but before he can mock his opponent’s poor aim, he hears the loud, dull tone of the bell behind him. He turns towards it in shock and sees the rifle lying on the floor below it. He immediately understands what had happened. The watchman wasn’t swinging his gun, he was throwing it. And he had hit his target after all.

The Dark Destroyer turns back to the watchman, who’s glaring at him smugly. “Now the WHOLE TOWN knows you’re here!”

The Dark Destroyer clenches his fist in rage, but then he starts chuckling. He suddenly throws aside his gun, grabs his opponent by the neck, lifts him into the air, and holds his fist in front of the watchman’s chest. He grins maliciously behind his mask.

“Hey, at least now I can make all the noise I want!”

A small panel of his suit rises from the top of his fist, revealing the barrel of a concealed gun. With a quick burst, a bullet launches out of the chamber, punching through the watchman’s armor and into his chest.

The Dark Destroyer laughs as he hurls his opponent over the railing. The watchman falls towards the ground below, his scream and his blood trailing into the sky above him.

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For awhile, the town square was filled with silence. Everyone was busy trying to process what they had just witnessed.

Naturally, Brad is the first to react. “Br- Bradley? ...BRADLEY!”

Then the crowd erupts in panicked conversation. Andre can’t make anything out, but he’s still too shocked to take in much of anything. The image of Bradley falling from the watchtower just keeps replaying in his mind.

Suddenly, Anthony slams his hands loudly on his table, snapping Andre out of his stupor and silencing most of the crowd. His voice like that of a drill sergeant, he shouts, “Everyone, we’re being invaded! You all know your emergency assignments. Get to them NOW!”

Within an instant, the crowd gets up and rushes off to who knows where. Everyone is milling about chaotically, but they all seem to know where they’re going. Mary grabs Josephine and Richard by the hands and heads off towards their house. It seems keeping them safe is her top priority.

Of course, Andre hasn’t been assigned anything. He just sits in his chair, not knowing what to do.

Anthony calls to Brad from across the square. “Brad! Bradley might need our help! Come with me!”

Brad nods, raises his gun, and heads for the left side of the square, in the direction of Bradley’s watchtower. Anthony starts to head that way too, but Andre shouts, “W- Wait, Anthony! What am I supposed to do?!”

Anthony pauses and looks back at Andre, apparently having forgotten about him in the sudden chaos. Eventually, he says, “...You’re a good fighter. Come with me.” Then he turns around and runs towards Brad.

It takes a few seconds for Andre to get out of his chair, but soon he pulls out his pistol and runs after them as well. He finds himself among a crowd of several people, all heading towards the watchtower for their own reasons. Andre is surprised to see Eden running beside him. She’s clutching a knife in her hand, looking around fearfully.

The watchtower lies straight ahead on the left side of the road. Andre can just barely see Bradley lying in front of it. His heart pumping, he charges toward him... but he looks directly in front of him and sees something that makes him stop. Anthony and Brad are standing still, a few feet from the watchtower, with their guns trained on something a little farther down. Andre stops behind the two of them, and holds out his gun as well, his hands trembling. The rest of the crowd stops as well, and Andre soon finds himself standing on the right edge of the mass of people, staring at the figure ahead of them.

The whole thing feels like an old Western stand-off (only with about ten people on one side), especially considering their opponent. Simply put, he looks like a cowboy. He stands ten paces down from Andre and the other townsfolk, calmly smoking a cigarette, the brim of his ten-gallon hat pulled low over his face. He wears tall, brown boots with golden spurs and a worn, purple and gold poncho. A silver holster hangs from his hip with a purple handle sticking out. The color scheme makes it obvious who he is: a member of the Cult of the Fallen Ones.

Anthony snaps, “Who are you?”

The cultist doesn’t reply. He merely blows a puff of smoke into the air, unfazed.

Andre glances back at the foot of the watchtower, where Bradley lay. He was still too far away to tell if he was okay. Andre just wanted to go over there to check, but he had no idea how this weird cowboy guy would react.

Brad shouts, “IDENTIFY yourself, or we WILL fire. Remember, we’ve got PLENTY of bullets, and only ONE of you!”

The rest of the crowd shouts similar taunts at the cultist, but he still doesn’t seem worried. He lifts the brim of his hat, revealing a grizzled, middle-aged face, and then glares at the crowd until they calm down.

“Keep it down, pardners,” he mumbles, his voice deep. “I ain’t here for a shoutin’ match or a shootin’ match. I’m here lookin’ for a friend a’ mine... A man named Simon... Perhaps you’ve heard of him?”

The crowd shares a few uneasy glances. Before anyone can reply, the cultist chuckles and speaks again. “Hmm... Your faces say it all... Truth is, I already know what you lot did to ‘im... Felt it in the desert wind... Good to know I found the right place...”

The cowboy lowers the brim of his hat again and hovers his hand over his holster. “Now... Where’s the man who shot ‘im?”

Andre tries to act natural. It’s possible that the cultist will challenge him to a showdown at high noon, leaving him time to prepare, but Andre isn’t willing to take any bets. It doesn’t sound like these people are usually that predictable.

Andre looks at Anthony, who seems to be considering what to say carefully. All things considered, Andre doesn’t really know him that well, but he’s still confident the old man won’t blow his cover... right?

After a long silence, Anthony finally speaks. “...He’s not here anymore. The man who shot Simon was a visitor named Aaron Walker... He left town a while ago, headed for one of your camps. You won’t find him here.”

“Ah...” The cultist’s hand moves away from his holster. Inwardly, Andre sighs in relief. The cultist scratches his chin and continues, “So yer sayin’ this was all a big misunderstandin’ then, eh?” The cultist puts the cigarette to his lips and then turns to leave. “In that case, I suppose I’ll be off.”

Even as he walks away, the crowd doesn’t put away their weapons. They just keep watching as he slowly walks off.

After about ten paces, the cultist stops. A plume of smoke trails into the air. “I seem to’ve lost my manners... Might as well introduce myself.”

He turns back around and explains, “Name’s Bobby Tumbleweed. Some folk call me the Desert Hawk, on account o’ my sight... I’ve shot birds outta the sky... I could shoot a bottle on the other end of this town... But my sight’s good for things other than shootin’ too... For instance...”

Bobby pauses to take another drag from his cigarette before finishing.

“I can tell when folk’re lyin’ out their ass...”

With almost inhuman speed, Bobby pulls a purple and gold six-shooter out of his holster and fires it at the crowd. Andre can’t tell where the bullet lands, and really, he has no hope too. After all, a second later the street beside him erupts in flames.

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Bobby holsters his gun and watches as the explosion in front of him slowly dies down. The street is littered with bodies, either injured or dead. Bobby can’t tell, but he doesn’t care either way. There’s only one thing he needs to do in this town, and it doesn’t matter to him if there’s collateral damage along the way.

Simon was like a son to Bobby. He had raised the boy since he was a teenager, and that was several years ago. He was never quite certain why Simon had been so focused on attacking this small town, but the kid has always been going off here on his own, usually coming back with a few broken bones, having narrowly escaped with his life. The town was always too small for cult members to pay much attention to it though, but now Bobby wished he had.

Someone in this town had shot Simon dead and left him outside the town like garbage. But they wouldn’t get away with it. Bobby was gonna track them down and give them the same treatment.

Bobby tosses his cigarette on the ground, grinds it into the dusty path with his shoe, and slowly walks into the town.

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Andre closes his eyes and screams as the explosion consumes him.

It’s only after a few seconds of screaming without getting incinerated or thrown off his feet that he realizes that something strange had happened.

Andre opens his eyes and sees that he is standing a few feet out from the entrance to Thomasville, a ways off from where he had been just a few seconds ago. He quickly glances behind him and sees Bobby Tumbleweed walking towards the aftermath of the explosion, as well as Bradley lying at the foot of the watchtower. It seems that Andre had past both of them, though he doesn’t recall making any effort to do so.

Then he notices Eden standing next to him, a hand resting on his back. She’s breathing heavily, as if she had just expended a lot of energy. Her face is a mixture of confusion and fear.

“...Did you do this?” Andre asks.

Eden pulls her hand away and stares at it. She mumbles, “I... I don’t know...”

She looks back at the town and slowly backs away, looking haunted. “N- No... I c- can’t let them get me again!”

Andre says, “W- Wait, Eden! Who are you talking about? The cultists?”

If Eden heard Andre’s questions, she didn’t seem interested in responding. She just mumbles, “We’ll meet again one day... probably...”

“W- Wait, what are you-”

“Goodbye,” Eden snaps. Then she turns and charges off into the wasteland, never looking back.

Andre sighs in resignation as he looks back at the town behind him. Bobby is gone now, but he left behind several bodies, hopefully only injured. Despite the panic that had been in the town square not too long ago, the streets are mostly abandoned now. Everyone’s probably in hiding. In fact, the town seems surprisingly peaceful.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning appears from the sky and strikes a building somewhere in the town. Rubble is blasted into the air from the impact sight, and Andre can just barely hear someone scream.

Andre closes his eyes and rubs his forehead with his hand. “...What have I gotten myself into...?”

What will Andre do now?

Andre Montellado (20/20) +15 DP
Bullets: 4 / Money: $4

That was on the other side of town osh, so keeping that in mind would be a good idea for keeping the fires from getting too wild.

I would say that getting to that voice right now would be the most important thing to do at the moment, but don't try teleporting or doing any weird PSI like stuff just yet in case we can still take this dude on our terms.


Preferably, when that chance comes around we can try to take him as far out of town as we can for everyone elses sake. Maybe the beluka carcass if it's still around.

Andre: "How about the one where the volunteer disappears?" and then SMOKE BOMB.