Dumpster

A low rumble wakes you. You sit up and take a moment to rub your eyes before you come fully back to yourself. Looking down at your left arm which is resting on the cold concrete next to your thigh, you notice a pool of red forming underneath it. [[Inspect your arm.]] (set: $lamp to false) (set: $glasses to false) (set: $plush to false) (set: $bandages to false) (set: $paper to false)

You carefully try to raise our arm, but a sharp pain shoots through it. You pause your movement to take a deep breath, letting the pain subside, then reach over with your other hand to push your sleeve up. A deep cut runs along the outside of your forearm. It's still bleeding. [[Look around for a bandage.]]

You let your gaze wander across the immediate area. All around you is an expanse of concrete. Tall wide pillars shoot upwards to hold up a dark concrete slab of a bridge above you. To your right you spot an overfilled dumpster, empty boxes and bags of garbage piling up all around it. To your left a path curves through a gate in a chain-link fence and disappears into the darkness. Another rumble from above makes you think there might be some sort of road on the bridge, or train tracks maybe. You do not remember how you got here. [[Investigate the dumpster.]] {(if: $bandages is true)[[Follow the path.->No time for bandages, I'm immune to bleeding, actually. I want to follow that path.]] (if: $bandages is false)[[No time for bandages, I'm immune to bleeding, actually. I want to follow that path.]]}

The world spins for a second as you get to your feet. Once you're sure you won't immediately trip and fall, you stumble over to the dumpster with unsure steps. The ground under your feet is slippery and covered in substances you'd rather not know anything about. You come to a halt in front of the gaping mouth of the dark green dumpster. Flies buzz around the plump bags of shiny plastic. The boxes stacked on the left don't look like they contain any food waste, just papers, and more folded-up boxes. On the floor in front of the dumpster lies a slightly dirtied dark gym bag. [[Look at the trash bags.]] [[Look at the boxes.]] [[Look at the gym bag.]] [[None of this sounds useful, I just want to get out of here.->Look around for a bandage.]]

You step closer to the dumpster to peer inside. A putrid stench immediately hits your nostrils and you have to pull back for a moment to push down the urge to gag. This dumpster smells like death. When you get your gag reflex under control, you turn back to the dumpster to spot a trash bag with a long tear down its side. The contents don't look like rotten food, but they also don't look like bandages. [[Reach for the trash bag and pull it out to have a closer look.]] [[Maybe these trash bags aren't the right place to find bandages after all.->Investigate the dumpster.]]

Three cardboard boxes of varying sizes are stacked on top of each other, a smaller one is lying tipped over on the ground next to the stack, its contents spilled across the wet concrete. [[Look at the top box.]] [[Look at the middle box.]] [[Look at the bottom box.]] [[Look at the box on the ground.]]

You crouch next to the bag, wincing as your arm stings. The bag looks like any other gym bag, unremarkable apart from the bottom half, which is covered in dried mud. The zipper of the bag seems to smile at you. [[Open the bag.]] [[Nevermind, this bag is weird.->Investigate the dumpster.]]

Money! So much money! No, just kidding. It's a bunch of clothes. Not gym clothes as one might expect, but a pile of pretty dresses and slightly rumpled shirts. You reluctantly raise one of the dresses to your nose, it smells clean. (if: $bandages is false)[[Make a bandage out of a floral dress.]] (if: $bandages is false)[[Make a bandage out of a light blue shirt.]] {(if: $bandages is true)[[I already have a bandage and no other use for these clothes.->Investigate the dumpster.]] (if: $bandages is false)[[I don't need to make a bandage. I'm sure there's an actual sterile bandage somewhere in this smelly dumpster.->Investigate the dumpster.]]}

You pick a nice colorful floral dress and rip off the bottom edge. It's easy to wrap around your arm and the pressure on your wound gives you some immediate relief. [[Great! Now, where am I?->Look around for a bandage.]] (set:$bandages to true)

You pull a light blue shirtout of the pile and rip off one of the sleeves. It's easy to wrap around your arm and the pressure on your wound gives you some immediate relief. [[Great! Now, where am I?->Look around for a bandage.]] (set:$bandages to true)

You lean over the edge of the dumpster and almost lose your balance, plummeting into the sea of moldy bread and used tampons, but narrowly avoid that fate and swing back to steady ground with the bag in your grasp instead. You drop the bag onto the ground next to your feet, and tear it open more. The bag is filled with stuffed animals, all of them well-loved and just a little dirty. (if: $bandages is false)[[Tear one of those suckers to shreds to make a bandage.]] [[Poor things. Take one of them with you.]] [[Nevermind, enough with these trash bags.->Investigate the dumpster.]]

You pull out a grey stuffed cat. You think it might've been white at some point, but the love of its owner has dirtied its paws and face irreversably. [[I can't destroy this poor thing.->Reach for the trash bag and pull it out to have a closer look.]] [[At least it'll die for a good cause.]]

You blindly reach into the bag, pulling out a dark grey... what is that? It has fur and ears and a snout, but you're not sure whether it's a cat or a dog or a bunny or a goat. It looks at you with big round black button eyes, almost like it's pleading to be rescued from its certain death in a trash compactor come tomorrow morning. With a sigh you look down on your body, trying to find a pocket that would fit the strange creature. Right there, on your left hip limply hangs a bright red belly bag. You reach down to unzip it and find it empty safe for a single stick of pine-flavored chewing gum. The plush cat-dog-bunny-goat fits inside the bag with just a bit of squeezing. [[Okay, anyway, back to the dumpster.->Investigate the dumpster.]] (set:$plush to true)

You wedge your fingers into a fold on its belly, where two pieces of fabric meet. The old stitches rip open easily, and lumpy bits of stuffing tumble out of the plush and onto the wet concrete. You manage to tear out a strip of fabric that's just big enough to wrap around your arm, and the pressure on your wound offers you some immediate relief. [[Alright, now where am I?->Look around for a bandage.]] (set:$bandages to true)

You move the topmost box onto the ground, so you can open the one in the middle. Someone has thoroughly taped this one shut, so it takes you a few moments to get it open enough to look inside. Stacks of papers, files, and documents are packed so tightly into the box, you think it's a miracle someone has managed to carry it to the dumpster without the flimsy cardboard tearing open. [[Open it all the way and dig through the papers.]] [[I'm not interested in paperwork.->Look at the boxes.]]

You step closer and grab the box, angling it towards you so you can peer inside it. It appears to be empty apart from a bright blue glass paperweight, a small orange plastic fish is encased at its center. [[Look at the other boxes.->Look at the boxes.]]

You look more closely at the bottom box and realize it's actually two boxes inside of each other. In the center of the large box stands a smaller one, which looks identical to the middle box in the stack. Around it, also inside the big box, are several folded and flattened boxes. You briefly wonder if there are more boxes inside those boxes. [[Pull out the folded boxes and check for more boxes.]] [[Look inside the smaller box in the middle of the big box.]] [[If I see one more box, I'll jump into this dumpster. I'm gonna look at something else.->Investigate the dumpster.]]

The cardboard has soaked up the moisture from underneath the dumpster, turning it soggy. The documents spilling out of it are equally wet, the lines upon lines of text covering them so blurry, they're impossible to read. A thin trail of dark ink flows onto the concrete and merges with the garbage juices. [[Take a closer look.]] [[Ew, gross. No thanks!->Look at the boxes.]]

You use all of your strength to rip the tape off completely with your non-injured arm. You take a bunch of papers off the top of the closest stack and squint at it. It's nothing but an absolutely nonsensical gibberish of numbers and letters to you, so you throw the documents aside with a shake of your head. You continue to dig through the papers - inflicting multiple papercuts onto yourself in the process - until you reach the bottom of the box. All the way at the far edge lies a single roll of slightly dusty bandages. (if: $bandages is false)[[Apply the bandages.]] {(if: $bandages is false)[[Pfff, I don't need these.->Look at the boxes.]] (if: $bandages is true)[[All of my bandage needs have already been fulfilled.->Look at the boxes.]]}

You wrap the bandage around your arm and the pressure on your wound gives you some immediate relief. [[Okay, now where am I?->Look around for a bandage.]] (set: $bandages to true)

You crouch down and reach out to turn the box back upright, but the wet cardboard crumbles in on itself under your fingers. Throught the newly opened gap you can see a bright green piece of plastic inside the box. [[Reach in and take the green thing out.]] [[That could be anything. No thanks!->Look at the boxes.]]

It's a pair of cheaply made novelty glasses, that spell out the number 2002. The two zeroes are spots one is supposed to look through. [[Sick, just my style! I'll put them on right away.]] [[Cast the glasses back into the depths and look at another box.->Look at the boxes.]] (set:$glasses to true)

You place the glasses on your nose and the world turns a bit blurry from the scratched low-quality plastic lenses. [[Back to the boxes.->Look at the boxes.]] [[I've had enough of this dumpster. Where am I?->Look around for a bandage.]] (set: $glasses to true)

You pull out one of the folded up boxes and unfold it. There are no more boxes inside it. [[The dream of the infinite boxes is dead. Let me look at the center box.->Look inside the smaller box in the middle of the big box.]] [[Screw these boxes, actually.->Investigate the dumpster.]]

You push the top two boxes of the stack aside to reach the center box, then pry it open. It is filled with stacks upon stacks of paper, all of the pages are completely blank. [[Take one piece of paper for later, you never know!]] [[Useless. Back to the boxes.->Look at the boxes.]]

You pull one of the pieces of paper through a gap and out of the box, then fold it with shaky hands until it fits into the back pocket of your jeans. [[Look at the other boxes.->Look at the boxes.]] (set: $paper to true)

You turn towards the chain-link fence and walk up to the gate. The slightly rusty door squeaks as it moves back and forth in the soft breeze. You push it open with a shove of your right shoulder and peer down the path that lays in front of you. The dirty concrete cuts through a dry patch of grass, which possibly looks even more miserable in the stark white light of the overhanging streetlamp than it would during the day. Just ahead of you the path splits into two directions: left and straight. The path going left leads down towards a dark concrete edge, the shimmering lights on the water in the distance make you think it might be a marina. The path going straight ahead snakes into the darkness underneath a second concrete bridge that's almost parallel to the one you had woken up beneath. You think you see the path emerge on the other side and lead towards what you assume to be buildings, although it's hard to tell from here. Just ahead and to the right, narrow stairs lead up an overgrown hill to concrete barriers that connect to the bridges. You currently hear neither cars, nor trains, and the hill is too steep to see beyond the barriers. [[Follow the path to the left, towards the water.]] [[Follow the path straight ahead under the second bridge.]] [[Walk up the stairs.]] [[Maybe I should look for a bandage after all...->Look around for a bandage.]]

You walk down the path, but the further you get away from the streetlight, the darker it gets. Before you know it, you cannot see where you step and you feel soft grass under your shoes instead of the concrete path. Looking up, you only see the distant shimmer of lights, and complete, total darkness right in front of you. {(if: $lamp is false)[[I'm sure I can echolocate my way around. Press on.]] (if: $lamp is true)[[Time to turn on that lamp!]]} [[Nevermind, I'll try a different path.->No time for bandages, I'm immune to bleeding, actually. I want to follow that path.]]

(More coming soon!)

You approach the steep staircase. The steps are more narrow than most other staircases, and wild brambles reach across the metal handrails on each side, thorns glinting threateningly. [[Go up.]] [[Nevermind, this doesn't seem interesting.->No time for bandages, I'm immune to bleeding, actually. I want to follow that path.]]

You try to find your footing on the path again, making clicking noises as you go, but it seems like the path is mysteriously gone. Your clicks also don't seem to bounce off of anything. When you turn around to look back at where you came from, the streetlight that hangs suspended above the path looks like a beacon in the distance. [[No, I'm committed to a fault. Press on.]] [[Okay, maybe this was a bad idea. I don't want to fall into a marina and drown. I'm heading back.->No time for bandages, I'm immune to bleeding, actually. I want to follow that path.]]

You keep walking into the darkness, trying to walk in a straight line as you set one foot in front of the other, your eyes glued to the twinkling lights on the water, which somehow only seem to grow further away. You walk and walk and walk, the ground underneath your feet changing from grass, to concrete, to wood, and back to concrete. After what must've been at least five minutes, you turn around, trying to find the beacon of light behind you once again, but by now behind you lies - just like in front of you - only darkness. When you turn back to face forward the lights on the water are gone as well. You stand unmoving for a few seconds, considering what to do, then you slowly raise your foot, move it forward and down, until it meets... nothing. You're falling. You tumble into nothingness, swallowed whole by the night that engulfs you completely. You think you're spinning, but with nothing for your eyes to catch onto, you can't be sure. All you see is sheer black, and all you feel is nothing. You don't know whether your eyes are open or closed anymore and you can't feel your limbs, nor the cut on your arm. Impossibly, everything around you fades into an even deeper and darker shade of black, and you fade with it. [[You pass out.->Start]]

You grip the handrail tightly with your uninjured hand, and start up the stairs. You try to squeeze past the brambles, but they still manage to catch on your clothes and leave tiny streaks of red on your skin. When you finally reach the top of the stairs, you find yourself looking across a sparsely illuminated area. On the ground, rails criss-cross towards the bridges and far away into the distance. Not too far from you stands a freight train wagon, not much more than a rectangular shadow in the darkness. [[Pick one of the train tracks and follow it.]] [[Take a closer look at the wagon.]] [[Go back down, this seems dangerous.->No time for bandages, I'm immune to bleeding, actually. I want to follow that path.]]

You look around the mess of rail lines and very quickly realize that most of them seem to converge and either go towards the bridge you woke up under, or towards the left into the distance. The rails over the bridge seem to get swallowed by complete darkness after a few meters. (if: $lamp is true)[But you have a lamp now so it's probably fine!] {(if: $lamp is true)[[Follow the tracks across the bridge with the lamp.->Follow the tracks across the bridge... with your lamp.]] (else: )[[Follow the tracks across the bridge.]]} [[Follow the tracks into the distance.]] {(if: $lamp is true)[[Actually, I want to make sure there aren't any more lamps in the wagon.->Take a closer look at the wagon.]] (else: )[[Oh god, what if I get run over by a train? I'm almost pissing my pants at the thought alone, I'll just look at that wagon for now.->Take a closer look at the wagon.]] }

You make sure no train is coming before you step across the train tracks between you and the wagon. The wagon is far from new, and badly maintained at that. On its side, large letters spell out a word you can't make out because the paint has peeled off too much. Big chunks have crumbled off, leaving the bare wood underneath to rot. As you draw closer, you see the sliding door is slightly ajar, but it's too dark to see inside. [[Open the door.]] [[Walk around to the other side.]] [[Try to read the letters on the side again.]] [[Those train tracks looked more appealing after all.->Pick one of the train tracks and follow it.]]

(More coming soon!) [[Back to the start.->Start]]

You reach out and try to push the door open further, but it only gives a horrible groan and refuses to move in its rusty metal track. You could squeeze your arm through the gap and blindly feel around the inside of the wagon, but who knows what's in there. Rats, a raccoon, a dead body, could be anything. [[I'm fearless! Reach into the gap.]] [[Maybe there's another door on the other side.->Walk around to the other side.]]

The gravel crunches under your feet as you round the wagon. You almost trip over a rusty piece of metal that surely would've left a nasty scrape on your leg if you hadn't managed to avoid it last second. The other side of the wagon is vaguely illuminated by a light further away, beyond the tracks. On this side you still can't make out the writing on the wagon since someone has graffitied a dull pink bunny across the whole side. The ugly grin on its cartoony face makes you shudder. [[Try to open the sliding door.]]

So, it starts with... MI- no. Maybe it says NL- nope, that's not it either. WJ, maybe? WJOPZL? Does it say WJOPZL? No, that doesn't make any sense. Why would the side of a freight train say WJOPZL? You're starting to think this might be a lost cause and a waste of time. [[Back to the wagon.->Take a closer look at the wagon.]]

You reach out towards the edge of the door, pushing against it. It doesn't budge. The bunny grins down at you teasingly. [[Try again with both hands.]] [[Find a tool to pry it open with.]] [[This bunny is pissing me off. I'll just open the door on the other side.->Take a closer look at the wagon.]]

You flex your fingers, gearing up to try again. You widen your stance and dig your feet into the gravel as you grab onto the edge of the door. With all of your might you pull - ignoring the painful sting of your wound - until the door finally, mercifully gives a deafening creak and slides along its rusty track. As soon as it's open wide enough to squeeze inside, you let go with a pained groan. Looking up, you see the stupid bunny's face has been split, the gaping abyss of the opening between the two halves making it look even worse somehow. [[Look inside the wagon.]] [[Check on your wound.]] [[Flip off the bunny.]] [[Maybe the other door leads to somewhere different?->Take a closer look at the wagon.]] (set: $bleeding to true)

You look around your feet and after a moment your eyes land on the rusty piece of metal you almost tripped over just a moment ago. It has the right shape and if it isn't rusted all the way through, it might actually get the job done. A little ways away, towards the light in the distance, you also spot a loose brick between the rail lines. It seems to beckon you over. [[Grab the rusty metal piece.]] [[Follow the brick's siren song.]] [[Maybe I don't need a tool after all.->Try to open the sliding door.]]

The light from the far away lamp illuminates the inside of the wagon just enough so you can make out some shapes. Squinting into the darkness, you see a crate that looks like it's firmly nailed shut. On the floor next to it lays a mass of fabric, which you assume to be some sort of bedding. Someone has been sleeping in here, but judging by the amount of dust covering everything, it's been a long while since anyone was last in here. Your eyes dart to the other end of the wagon and there, on the floor between another crate and some old empty food packaging you see something glinting. [[Check out that glint.]]

You pull up your sleeve and sure enough it started bleeding again. {(if: $bandages is true)[Luckily the bandages are still securely in place, so you don't need to worry.] (if: $bandages is false)[It's probably fine though. Don't worry about it.]} [[Look inside the wagon.]] [[Flip off the bunny.]] [[Maybe the other door leads to somewhere different?->Take a closer look at the wagon.]]

With an annoyed snarl on your face you raise your middle finger and violently push it into the direction of the bunny graffiti. That'll put it in its place! [[Look inside the wagon.]] [[Check on your wound.]] [[Maybe the other door leads to somewhere different?->Take a closer look at the wagon.]]

You walk around the side of the wagon and pick up the rusty piece of metal. You can't really tell what it originally might've been, but it has just the right shape to be mashed into a crevice to pry something open. With a satisfied smile you return to the door and do just that. The rust scrapes against your skin uncomfortably, but eventually the door budges and you're able to slide it open all the way. [[Look inside the wagon.]] [[Cool. Now that that's done, I suddenly dislike this wagon so much, I will walk away from it for some reason.->I hate this wagon. Get me away from this horrid thing.]]

You step across a few rails and stop over the brick. One of its corners is chipped and it looks like it's been ripped out of a building or a wall. Maybe throwing it at the door will... do something? [[Pick up the brick and try to open the door with it.]] [[Pick up the brick and throw it at the bunny grafitti.]] [[Maybe this brick isn't useful after all.->Find a tool to pry it open with.]]

You walk up to the door and smash the brick against the wood. Nothing happens. You raise the brick up to the edge of the door and try to pry it open with the jagged corner. The door doesn't move. [[Screw this stupid brick! Throw it into the distance.]] [[Maybe if I smash it against the wagon one more time the door will suddenly open.]] [[Admittedly, this brick was a bad idea.->Find a tool to pry it open with.]]

You really hate that grafitti, huh? Well, the bunny takes the brick to its face like a champ and keeps grinning. The brick lands on one of the rails and bounces off it with a //clunk// that reverberates across the area. [[Worth it. Now, how do I open this door?->Find a tool to pry it open with.]]

You pull back your arm and fling the brick as far as you can across the train tracks. It lands on the ground with a surprisingly quiet //thunk//. You think you see a frightened bird take off in the distance, but the dark splotch against the even darker sky could be anything. For a moment you relish in the silence, then you turn back to the wagon. [[Find a tool to pry open the door.->Find a tool to pry it open with.]]

You hold the brick tightly between your fingers, your knuckles whitening as you raise it up and bring it back down against the side of the wagon once more. The impact leaves behind a small dent in the chipping paint, but the door does not move. [[Try again.]] [[Yeah, okay, this is stupid. Drop the brick.->Find a tool to pry it open with.]]

You hurl the brick against the wood again. The door doesn't budge. [[SMASH IT! AGAIN!]] [[This is a waste of time. Be gone, brick!->Find a tool to pry it open with.]]

In a fit of rage you smash the brick against the wagon again and suddenly it crumples into multiple big chunks in your hand. The mutilated remains of the brick fall to the ground in front of you, while the perfectly intact sliding door hangs unbothered and undisturbed from its track. [[That piece of metal sounded like a smarter idea anyway...->Grab the rusty metal piece.]] [[I hate this wagon. Get me away from this horrid thing.]]

You find yourself looking across a sparsely illuminated area. On the ground, rails criss-cross towards the bridges and far away into the distance. Not too far from you stands your mortal enemy, the stupid freight train wagon. [[Pick one of the train tracks and follow it.]] [[Take a closer look at the horrible wagon again.->Take a closer look at the wagon.]] [[Go back down, this seems dangerous.->No time for bandages, I'm immune to bleeding, actually. I want to follow that path.]]

You wedge your arm into the narrow opening - pushing it in almost up to your shoulder - and start patting around on the floor. It's made of wood and covered in a thick layer of dust. You try to reach further, but there doesn't seem to be anything except more dust in this wagon. Maybe you'll find something higher up in the air? You move your hand up and down in a zig-zag motion, but it still only meets empty air. [[I'll try the door on the other side, I guess.->Walk around to the other side.]] [[This is a waste of time. Stupid wagon.->I hate this wagon. Get me away from this horrid thing.]]

You heave yourself into the wagon and the wooden floor creaks unhappily under your feet. The chances of you breaking through the moldy and rotten boards are probably pretty high, but you elect not to think about it too hard. With slow steps you make your way over to the glint in the darkness and when you finally reach out to grab it, you find yourself letting out a surprised gasp. It's a lantern! You feel around the side and find a dial to fiddle with until bright white light bursts from the lamp and you have to close your eyes for a moment as it blinds you. [[Neat, now I can look at those train tracks without tripping.->Pick one of the train tracks and follow it.]] [[Neat, now I can go down towards the water without falling.->Follow the path to the left, towards the water.]] (set: $lamp to true)

(More coming soon!) [[Back to the start->Start]]

You fumble for the little dial and the lamp comes on with a click. Its light is bright enough to illuminate the immediate area around you, so you don't walk into complete darkness anymore. You swing the lamp around and spot the concrete path just to your left, so you step back onto it and continue to follow it down towards the water.