Out In The Night

[[It's time for bed.]]

As you crack the window, a hot breeze drifts in. The last one, for today - soon the cool night air will be here. The sun is going down in your backyard, behind the lawn, behind the trees, behind those other houses, way down there, and behind the miles of neighborhood beyond. All is lit in an acrid orange glaze. As you unfurl your sheets, you reflect on the day. [[It sucked.->LYING IN BED]]

Whatever. It's over now. The sun has gone - behind your window blinds, the world is a deep, pale blue. You're nestled in between a thin sheet and a comfortable pillow. The air is cool and calm - not muggy and merciless like it could have been. Small comforts. [[Time to drift off.]]

You lay your head down on the pillow and close your eyes. [[You feel the cool air wafting in through the window.]] [[You listen to the crickets chirping outside.]]

It's a reassuring westward wind, a welcome change from the rigors of the day. You're not sure what the word on the wind is - can't quite make it out. Never could. As you lay there, waiting for time to inch forward, you start to dwell on your thoughts - always a mistake. You think of paper, and pencils, and three-hole-punches. Red ink, crude marks. The taste of week-old green beans still lingers on your tongue, and you're still not sure if that really was milk that you drank. [[It's still too hot.]]

You wonder what they're singing about. You remember an old factoid ... about the air temperature? Crickets chirp faster or slower depending on how hot or cold it is outside... some math equation, to figure it out? Aaaah God, not math. Not now. As you lay there, waiting for time to inch forward, you start to dwell on your thoughts - always a mistake. You think of paper, and pencils, and three-hole-punches. Red ink, crude marks. The taste of week-old green beans still lingers on your tongue, and you're still not sure if that really was milk that you drank. [[It's still too hot.]]

That night breeze is fine, but it's not enough. You sit up to open the window wider. As you pull the blind up a little, you notice the grass - it's turned a deep ocean blue, illuminated by a bright full moon. Does it always look that way, when the sky's like this? [[You're not sure.]] [[Who cares.->You're not sure.]]

That's better - the window's wide open, and now the night air is coming in much more strongly. You sit there a moment, drinking it in, inviting each relaxing draft onto your face, the same way one invites waves onto bare feet. You could almost fall asleep here, at the windowsill. [[You toy with the window screen absentmindedly.]] [[You look for the moon in the sky.]]

Twang, twang, twang. Each strum rattling the frame a little. You're tempted to just pry the damn thing open and get more of that refreshing night air, so - [[Wait, what was that?]]

It's big - you can't quite see it from this angle, but the bottom lip of it seems enormous. Must be one of those nights, lunar perigee or whatever. If only you could get to the roof, then you'd ha- [[Wait, what was that?]]

Scritch, scratch scritch. Shuffling from somewhere. What is that? [[...]]

It's above you. The roof? There! A thump, a heavy fall. Something big. [[Keep listening.]] [[Pry open the screen and see.]]

Those are definitely feet. Two heavy feet. Someone's up there. Thoughts rush through your mind: [[A burglar!]] [[A creeper!->A burglar!]] [[A friend!->A burglar!]]

It's pressed into the windowsill tightly, but you don't think it's screwed down. You could probably force it somehow. [[Punch it.->A burglar!]] [[Kick it.->A burglar!]] [[Body-check it.->A burglar!]]

Before you can think any further, a face fills the window. It's long, and white, and covered in fur. It has big, bright, mint-green eyes, a jet black nose, and two pointed ears at the top - well, the bottom. It's upside down, and a pair of equally furry hands are bracing it from falling off the roof, as it hangs down into your window. "Hi!" it says through rows of sharp, canine teeth. [[For a second, you can only stare.]]

"Don't just stare!" the face says. "Help me get this screen off." You stir a little, and, keeping your mind from the strangeness of the situation, you apply pressure to the edges of the screen, as the two furred hands pry it from its sill. It falls to the lawn below with a quiet thud. "Great!" it says, reaching one of its hands (paws?) inside. "Come on, I'll give you a lift!" You're a little taken aback. The hand has long, dirty, animal nails and is padded, like the paws of so many dogs. Still, it has a thumb and four fingers, like most hands you've shaken. "Well?" the face asks. [["Here goes nothing..."]] [["I'm not so sure about this..."]] [["Finally..."]]

"That's the spirit!" it smiles, and suddenly your arm is locked into a furry elbow. Up, over, and out you go, dangling for an instant over the drop of your window - that drop's bigger than you remember - clambering over the rain gutter, and planting your bare feet on the tough, tarred roof. The first thing you see is the moon - an ivory circle, gigantic, and shining like another sun against a heartbreaking deep blue sky. Clouds flow past, stripes of silky indigo, as ten or twenty billion stars beam down. Your new acquaintance stands next to you, standing a whole head above yours. They're ... well, to be blunt, they're a werewolf. Eight feet of white, fluffy fur with that same toothy smile - upright this time - and those green eyes. They're wearing an unzipped magenta jacket and some kind of ripped denim pants, standing on two big, canine feet. A feathery white tail wags behind them. [[That breeze is back.]]

"Don't worry!" it barks, and suddenly your arm is locked into a furry elbow. Up, over, and out you go, dangling for an instant over the drop of your window - that drop's bigger than you remember - clambering over the rain gutter, and planting your bare feet on the tough, tarred roof. The first thing you see is the moon - an ivory circle, gigantic, and shining like another sun against a heartbreaking deep blue sky. Clouds flow past, stripes of silky indigo, as ten or twenty billion stars beam down. Your new acquaintance stands next to you, standing a whole head above yours. They're ... well, to be blunt, they're a werewolf. Eight feet of white, fluffy fur with that same toothy smile - upright this time - and those green eyes. They're wearing an unzipped magenta jacket and some kind of ripped denim pants, standing on two big, canine feet. A feathery white tail wags behind them. [[That breeze is back.]]

"I gotcha!" it grins, and suddenly your arm is locked into a furry elbow. Up, over, and out you go, dangling for an instant over the drop of your window - that drop's bigger than you remember - clambering over the rain gutter, and planting your bare feet on the tough, tarred roof. The first thing you see is the moon - an ivory circle, gigantic, and shining like another sun against a heartbreaking deep blue sky. Clouds flow past, stripes of silky indigo, as ten or twenty billion stars beam down. Your new acquaintance stands next to you, standing a whole head above yours. They're ... well, to be blunt, they're a werewolf. Eight feet of white, fluffy fur with that same toothy smile - upright this time - and those green eyes. They're wearing an unzipped magenta jacket and some kind of ripped denim pants, standing on two big, canine feet. A feathery white tail wags behind them. [[That breeze is back.]]

Another cool gust blows past, ruffling the werewolf's fur. You can still feel that fur, the sandpaper of their pawpad. You're still awake, and it's still here. Okay. So you're not seeing things. "Hiya," the werewolf says, shaking the hand that still grasps yours. "I'm Bishop." [["Hi Bishop."]]

Bishop smiles. "Nice to meetcha. Wanna hang out? There's a big party downtown, if that sounds cool with you?"" [["Sure!"]] [["Okay!"->"Sure!"]] [["Yeah!"->"Sure!"]]

Bishop's face breaks into a big sawtooth grin. "Awesome!" they bark. "Let's get moving!" And with that, Bishop leaps clear off the side of the roof. You hear the thump of feet, the crunch of grass and the revving of an engine. "Come on!" the werewolf shouts from below. "It's cool, I'll catch ya!" [[You leap off the roof without hesitation.]] [[You're not about to jump off the roof for a werewolf you just met.]]

That's the spirit. END OF SAMPLE [[Start from beginning->START PAGE]]

That's a good point. Wouldn't want to have any kind of adventure, now would we? END OF SAMPLE [[Start from beginning->START PAGE]]

Out In The Night //Twine Test v0.1 //9-4-16 [[START PAGE]]