I Think I'm Dying

<div style="text-align:center;"> I Think I'm Dying By Jake Carlsen </div> <img src="final2.jpg" style="width:100%;height:auto;max-width:700px;max-height:700px;"> Welcome to I Think I'm Dying. Please choose which character you would like to play by clicking the name below. These red links will be how you navigate through the entire story. <div class="choicebox"> [[John]]: A man with a dream. [[Erick]]: A man with second thoughts. [[Pam]]: A woman in a blue dress. </div>

You look left and right. All of the customers in the bank are doing as they were told and are laying on the floor. Erick is jumping behind the counter with the clerks. There is a vase of flowers sitting on the counter that people fill out deposit and withdrawal forms on. They are bright red and you find yourself overcome with the memory of the dream you had the night before. <div class="choicebox"> Do you want to tell Erick about your dream? [[Tell Erick About Your Dream]] [[Don't Tell Erick About Your Dream]] </div>

You are proud of how good you are getting at this bank robbing thing. The people all fell to the floor when you barged in the door and screamed that you were here for the money and they had all better hit the deck or you and John would be forced to open fire. It's amazing to you that you have made it this far. You, John, and some friends have been moving up and down the West Coast scoping out and then robbing banks for a few months now and things have always managed to work out. Well things have been working out for you and John. The friends have been dropping out one at a time. A few have been found dead after jobs, and couple more have been arrested. You are glad that John has been with you through the whole thing. He has always been the best at crowd control. It appears that the crowd is doing what you told them to do. You notice that John is mesmerised by the vase of red flowers at one of the counters. <div class="choicebox"> What do you do? [[Keep Moving, No Time to Waste]] [[Ask John About the Flowers]] </div>

You were waiting in line to talk to a teller about getting access to your father's deposit box. He passed away a few weeks before hand. The rush of all the family coming in to town and then the funeral are all a blur behind you now. When the two men first barged into the bank, you had assumed that they were drunks that had wandered in from the street. You had passed several drunk homeless people in Downtown on your way to the bank from your job in the California Bank Tower. When one of them showed a shotgun and yelled that everyone needed to get down on the floor, you realized what is going on and dropped to the floor in a panic like all of the people in line around you. The man with the shotgun starts moving toward the tellers while the man with the pistol stops to look at the red flowers in a vase on the table normally used by customers to fill out deposit or withdrawal slips. <div class="choicebox"> What do you do? [[Take Advantage of the Two Men Being Distracted. Make a Run For It.]] [[Stay Put. It's a Long Way to the Door and You are Wearing Heels.]] </div>

You say, "I had this dream last night." Erick stops for a moment sitting on top of the tellers' counter and looks across the lobby floor at you. "Jesus, not now. Shut up a minute." says Erick. Just below Erick, a man moves his hand like he is reaching for something in his pocket. Erick yells at him, "You! Yeah, you. No, not you...you. Shit. Come here." The man, realizing that both you and Erick are watching him gives up on reaching for his pocket and puts his hands on top of his head. You have a feeling that the flowers and the dream you had last night are really important. Do you want to persist and keep telling Erick about the dream you had? <div class="choicebox"> What do you do? [[Keep Talking About the Dream]] [[Keep it to Yourself]] </div>

You keep an eye on the people laying on the floor. Your job is the hardest one. It is your job to keep everyone from doing something stupid. Erick says that the last thing you want is to have to hurt someone. Once you hurt someone, the cops will be out for blood. The two of you, along with some other people along the way that have left the team, died, or have been arrested, have made it this far, across five states, robbed twenty five banks, without firing a single shot at anyone (at least anyone you were robbing). You look up from the crowd at the pictures on the wall. One of them is of a deep dark forest. Now you know you need to tell Erick about the dream. You say, "I had this dream..." <div class="choicebox"> [[Tell Erick About Your Dream]] </div>

You drop the bag of supplies your brought in case people need to be restrained. You're not sure why you bother bringing it every time. You have never had to tie someone up to keep them from running away during all of the other robberies. You scratch the back of your neck with your left hand. "No, man, I need to tell you this. I think I'm dying." you say. All of the eyes in the bank turn toward you. "What the fuck is the matter with you?" Erick yells, still sitting on top of the teller's counter. <div class="choicebox"> What do you do? [[Keep Talking]] [[Keep it to Yourself]] </div>

You know that Erick doesn't want to hear the dream right now. He has been acting more and more stressed as your teammates have been leaving the team, dying, or getting arrested. You remember the last member of your team to leave, Tony. He told you that you were the scariest bastard he had ever met. He told Erick he was an idiot to keep working with you, that you would do something to get him in serious trouble soon, that you would end up getting people killed. Erick dismissed him, told him that he didn't know what he was talking about. You just sat, smiled, and listened to Tony. When he stepped out of the apartment and headed for his car, you followed him. You sat outside his hotel room in your car. When you were sure he was asleep, you got out, walked to his door facing the parking lot, kicked it open, and fired three shots into his chest when he sat up in bed. When he collapsed you gave him a small, shy wave farewell then returned to your car and calmly drove away. Later, you ditched the car a couple miles outside of town, stole another one, and went back to the apartment you and Erick share in Portland. <div class="choicebox"> [[The Dream]] </div>

"I think my heart is getting tired, man. You ever feel that?" you say, patting at your chest with your left hand. "In my dream..." you look around the room. Everyone is still looking at you. Some are crying, others look bewildered. You understand the fear they are feeling. You look at Erick, making sure that you have his attention. "In my dream, you were eaten by a..." <div class="choicebox"> [[Tell Erick the Dream]] </div>

As you begin to tell the story, you lean back against the marble pillar near the front door of the bank. It feels like you are drifting back to sleep and the dream world washes over you. You and Erick are walking through a forest. You feel like there should be a few other people with you but they have failed to make it as far as you and your partner. Erick looks upset about the loss of your friends, but you never really cared for them. They always made upsetting faces when you spoke and they never seemed to trust you. As you walk through the forest, you realize that it is very gloomy. It is almost hard to see Erick a few feet away. The further you travel, the more dread creeps into your heart. Right when you think you are about to give up and turn back, Erick grabs your shoulder and points to a small spot of light in the distance. <div class="choicebox"> [[Run Toward the Light]] </div>

The light grows as you and Erick run toward it. You can see that it is the exit from the forest. As you get closer, you realize that there is a beautiful field of flowers outside in the light. Both of you run as fast and as hard as you can. All you can think of is getting to that field of flowers. To your left you hear a thump, a growl, and a shriek. There is an anteater the size of a cow standing on top of your friend. The anteater has the front half of Erick in its mouth. It is turned so that it can watch you as you run. Its eyes shine red. They quiver with hatred and lust. You hear yourself screaming at the top of your lungs. You desperately want to stop, turn back, help your friend but your legs will not obey and you find yourself sprinting out into the bright light away from the dread forest. You are still looking backward as you run out of the forest. You trip over a stone in the path and fly headlong into the field of dark red poppies. <div class="choicebox"> [[The Field of Flowers]] </div>

When you land a few feet off of the path in the middle of the field of flowers, the fantastic perfume of the bright red blooms washes over you. It smells like summer evening in the mint fields back home before a thunderstorm hits. You take deep breaths, trying to recover from your frightful run. You start to feel drowsy. Your eyes begin closing as you realize that Erick is still back there. You try and stand, but your body is no longer yours. You feel your heart slowing, too tired to go on, beating only a couple times a minute now. The last thing you hear before the world goes completely black is the muffled screams of your friend still back in the dreadful forest. <div class="choicebox"> [[The Dream Ends]] </div>

Most of the people laying on the floor of the bank are still looking at you when you open your eyes. Erick has stopped paying attention, he is yelling at a man in a dark gray suit laying on the floor near him. "You! Son of a bitch. If I see you reach for that phone one more time, I'm going to kill you. You understand me?" The man stops moving and nods his understanding up to Erick. Erick turns back toward you like he is going to say something about your dream, instead he points to your left at a woman. "John! Get her!" At first, you only catch a glimpse of the motion of her moving, her blue dress flapping in the wind as she runs as fast as she can barefoot across the hard marble floor. She is heading straight toward the door a few feet from you. <div class="choicebox"> What do you do? [[Try to Grab Her]] [[Shoot Her With Your Gun]] </div>

Your gun is in your right hand. You raise it and fire without stopping to aim. You miss wildly and she veers a little more away from you, still heading straight for the door. Now, instead of moving directly toward you, she is streaking past right to left. You realize you'll never make the shot. <div class="choicebox"> [[Try to Grab Her]] </div>

The woman in the blue dress is out of her mind with panic. She is running faster than you thought and as you turn to grab her, you realize she is just outside of your reach. The blue of her dress is the same blue of the sky over the field of flowers in your dream. In the back of your mind you fear the dress. You take a few fast steps closing the distance between you and the woman. You still can't get your arms around her, but she is in range for the hard blow you smash down on the back of her head with the butt of your gun. There is a sickening crunch mixed with the sound of the impact. Immediately the woman's legs give out from under her and she collapses like a puppet whose strings have been cut. <div class="choicebox"> [[The Woman on the Ground]] </div>

You look down at the woman on the ground. Her legs and arms are splayed out at odd angles. Her body spasms a bit and blood is oozing out of a wound in the back of her head. The red of the blood on the pale marble floor flashes in your mind, brings back the image of the red flowers above your head, the slowing of your heart, death. Behind you, you can hear Erick making a lot of noise. He is screaming at you about the woman. You know that things weren't supposed to work out like this. You pick up your bag, turn, and walk out the door saying, "Why do things always have to get so weird?" <div class="choicebox"> [[You Hear a Bang Behind You.]] </div>

You look out at all of the people laying on the floor of the bank. These people are not going to be a problem. You lean back against a marble pillar near the front door and daydream, moving back through the dream you had the night before, that you wish you could tell Erick about. You and Erick are walking through a forest. You feel like there should be a few other people with you but they have failed to make it as far as you and your partner. Erick looks upset about the loss of your friends, but you never really cared for them. They always made upsetting faces when you spoke and they never seemed to trust you. As you walk through the forest, you realize that it is very gloomy. It is almost hard to see Erick a few feet away. The further you travel, the more dread creeps into your heart. Right when you think you are about to give up too and turn back, Erick grabs your shoulder and points to a small spot of light in the distance. <div class="choicebox"> [[Move Toward the Light]] </div>

The light grows as you and Erick run toward it. You can see that it is the exit from the forest. As you get closer, you realize that there is a beautiful field of bright red flowers outside in the light. Both of you run faster and harder than you ever have. All you can think of is getting to that field of flowers. To your left you hear a thump, a growl, and a shriek. There is an anteater the size of a cow standing on top of your friend. The anteater has the front half of Erick in its mouth. It is turned so that it can watch you as you run. Its eyes shine red. They quiver with hatred and lust. You hear yourself screaming at the top of your lungs. You desperately want to stop, turn back, help your friend but your legs will not obey and you find yourself sprinting out into the bright light away from the dread forest. You are still looking backward as you run out of the forest. You trip over a stone in the path and fly headlong into the field of red poppies. <div class="choicebox"> [[In the Field of Flowers]] </div>

When you land a few feet off of the path in the middle of the field of red flowers, the fantastic perfume of the blooms washes over you. It smells like summer evening in the mint fields back home before a thunderstorm hits. You take deep breaths, trying to recover from your frightful run. You start to feel drowsy. Your eyes begin closing as you realize that Erick is still back there. You try and stand, but your body is no longer yours. You feel your heart slowing, too tired to go on, beating only a couple times a minute now. The last thing you hear before the world goes completely black is the muffled screams of your friend still back in the dreadful forest. <div class="choicebox"> [[End of the Dream]] </div>

You realize that while you were daydreaming, you closed your eyes. The people on the floor are all looking at you when you open them because of a commotion over near the tellers where Erick is trying to get the clerks to fill bags with money. Erick is yelling at a man in a dark gray suit laying on the floor near him. "You! Son of a bitch. If I see you reach for that phone one more time, I'm going to kill you. You understand me?" The man stops moving and nods his understanding up to Erick. Erick turns back toward you like he is going to say something about your daydreaming. Instead he points to a woman on your left. "John! Get her!" At first, you only catch a glimpse of the motion of her moving, her blue dress flapping in the wind as she runs as fast as she can barefoot across the hard marble floor. She is heading straight toward the door a few feet from you. <div class="choicebox"> What do you do? [[Try to Grab Her]] [[Shoot Her With Your Gun]] </div>

As you move toward the tellers' counter, you see a man squirming nearby on the floor. He is reaching a hand into his pocket, trying to pull something out. You yell at him, "You! Yeah, you. No, not you...you. Shit. Come here. Get your hand out of your pocket!" There are two men laying near the squirming man. They are looking up at you, trying to make sure you are not talking to them. The man with his hand in his pockets keeps squirming, trying to reach his hand into his pocket, acting like he cannot hear you. <div class="choicebox"> What do you do? [[Cock Your Gun, Let Him Know You Mean Business]] [[Yell at the Man One More Time]] </div>

"Hey man, what's up with the flowers? You've been pretty spacey since Tony left last night. You need to keep your head together. Make sure no one tries to make a run for it." You say to John. John looks up at you, then at the crowd, nods, and moves back toward the front of the bank where he can make sure no one will be able to get out the door and to have the best possible view of the crowd. <div class="choicebox"> What do you do? [[Get Back to Work. Go to Tellers' Counter]] [[Stay For a Moment. Make Sure John is OK]] </div>

John's fine you tell yourself. You head toward the Tellers' Counter. You step over people as you make your way. Your shotgun is heavy. You remember when John first talked you into joining him for the robberies, how you had wanted a pistol like him, but he had convinced you that you would be the one to carry the shotgun. He told you that you would be too busy carrying the bag full of money to be able to concentrate on aiming. You told him that you did not want anyone to ever get shot. He told you that he wanted the same thing but that you would need to be prepared in case things got out of control. You had grown to like the shotgun and found that it was a good tool for convincing people to do what you wanted. No one ever questioned you when you pointed the large barrel their direction. <div class="choicebox"> [[Keep Moving, No Time to Waste]] </div>

You watch John for a moment. He is moving confidently through the crowd, his eyes scanning people, making sure that they are not trying to do anything that will cause problems. He scratches the back of his head with this left hand and holds his gun with a great deal of confidence. You remember when John had first come to you with the idea of moving up and down the West Coast robbing banks. It had taken a few days for him to convince you. Eventually you saw that he had a pretty solid plan for getting in and out of the banks, leaving the area and moving on somewhere else to rob another bank. He also gathered up a group of your friends to take part in the jobs. Over the last few months, John, yourself, and the crew of friends had managed to rob nearly a dozen banks. Along the way, some people had left, others had been arrested after doing something stupid after leaving a bank, and a couple had even died. The ones that had died had not been hurt during the robberies, but had been found later. John said that they had probably done something stupid. Your friends that had left all told you that you were nuts for continuing with John, that he would get you killed or put in jail, but you had come this far and nothing had happened to the two of you. Last night, your last friend still on the crew, Tony, had quit. When he left, he told you that John was crazy, that everyone else could see it, and that you had better get out while you still could, before something serious happens. <div class="choicebox"> [[Get Back to Work. Go to Tellers' Counter]] </div>

You yell at the man again, "You know I can see your hand in your pocket! Get it out of there before I come down and deal with you." The man tries to keep playing dumb, pretend that you are talking to someone else. <div class="choicebox"> [[Cock Your Gun, Let Him Know You Mean Business]] </div>

Your shotgun makes a loud sound in the quiet bank, chuck-chuck. It does not matter who a person is, they know that sound means business. John told you that when you first got started. You had wanted to carry a pistol like him, but he had explained that there needed to be one person with a shotgun, and since you were going to be busy loading and carrying bags of money, you were not going to have time to aim and shoot if it came to that. You demanded that there would be no shooting. John smiled agreement, but said that it was better to be prepared. When the squirming man on the ground heard the sound of the shotgun cocking over the top of his head, he immediately pulled his hand out of his pocket and put it over his head. A moment later, you realized that a puddle was forming under his crotch. You scared the piss out of him. <div class="choicebox"> [[Back to the Tellers]] </div>

The tellers give you no grief and immediately start filling the bag when you hand it over the counter and point the shotgun their direction. Behind you, Erick begins telling you about a dream he had the night before. He tells you that heart is tired, that he thinks he is dying. You yell at him to shut the fuck up. "Pay attention! We need to be out of here quick!" You look back at the tellers, they are all looking at Erick with confusion. He is still talking, trying to tell you about the dream. <div class="choicebox"> [[Get the Tellers' Attention]] </div>

"Hey! This isn't story time. Keep filling up the bag! Do you need me to come over there and take over?" You jab the closest teller in the ribs with the barrel of your gun. She yelps in pain and starts stuffing bills into the bag as quickly as she can. The tellers are back to work and almost tripping over each other trying to empty their drawers. Behind you hear Erick explaining that in his dream you were eaten by a giant anteater. You start thinking that Tony and the others were right, you should have gotten out earlier. Erick is starting to crack. "Keep focused. We'll get out of here, split the money, and then we will go our own ways. I don't have to hook up with him again. I'll just head to New Mexico like I planned. I'll never see him again. Never think about going into a bank ever again." You look down at the man that had been trying to reach into his pocket. He is laying with his face down on the marble floor. He is sobbing. The puddle of urine has spread. The two other men next to him look miserable as the puddle spreads to them, soaking them. <div class="choicebox"> What do you do? [[Tell the Men They Can Move]] [[Forget About It. You'll Be Out of Here in a Moment]] </div>

"Hey guys, go ahead and move away from the piss." you say. At first, none of the men move or even act like they heard you. After a moment, one of them looks up to see if you are still willing to let him move. You nod and he slides away from the crying man and his urine puddle. The other man moves similarly and now the crying man is isolated from the rest of the people on the floor still crying. When he sees that the other men are moving, he starts to try and lift himself. He thinks it is OK for him to move as well. "Not you dumbass. I should have shot you for not listening. Stay where you're at." you growl at him. The scared man collapses back down to the floor and starts crying all over again, louder this time, great big racking sobs and cries. "Please don't kill me! Please please please pleeeeeeaaaaaase." You ignore the man and turn back to the tellers. They have finished unloading the cash into your bag. You motion for them to go lay on the floor with everyone else. They silently obey, walking around the counter to the main floor. They all lay down in an orderly line next to their customers. <div class="choicebox"> [[Pick Up the Bag. It's Time to Get Out of Here.]] </div>

You ignore the men on the floor and turn back to the tellers. They have finished unloading the cash into your bag. You motion for them to go lay on the floor with everyone else. They silently obey, walking around the counter to the main floor. They all lay down in an orderly line next to their customers. <div class="choicebox"> [[Pick Up the Bag. It's Time to Get Out of Here.]] </div>

After you pick up the bag of money and start following the clerks out from behind the counter, you see a blur of movement from the right. It's a woman that had been toward the back of the line when you and John barged in. She has kicked off her shoes, stood, and started to run. Her blue dress is the color of a sunny afternoon in the deserts of New Mexico. The dress is flapping behind her as she sprints as fast as she can toward John and the door. John has his eyes closed while he leans back against a marble pillar. He is wrapped up in the dream he is telling you about. "John! Get her!" You yell at the top of your lungs pointing at the woman to John's right. You see his eyes open, look at you, then flash to the woman running toward him and the door. <div class="choicebox"> [[John Reacts]] </div>

At first it looks like John is going to try and grab the woman, he moves toward her and reaches, but his hands do not quite reach. There is a half second where it is not clear if the woman is going to get away or not. You feel panic rising in your throat at the image of the woman making it to the street, screaming for help to anyone near by. Bystanders coming to the rescue are exactly what you do not want to have happen. Then you see John lunge. His left hand that had reached to grab her drops to his side as his right hand comes up. His gun, freshly cleaned and oiled, glints in the bright lights of the bank. His hand reaches high into the air and then comes crashing down as he comes within striking distance of the woman. There is a sickening crunching noise as the gun shatters bone. The woman collapses to the ground like the strings have been snipped from a puppet. You hear yourself screaming louder than you have ever screamed. John, his right arm wet with blood from the back of the woman's head stands over her body for a brief moment, then turns, picks up his bag and starts walking to the door. You are halfway to the woman and John. <div class="choicebox"> What do you do? [[Fire at John. Try and Stop Him.]] [[Run to the Woman. See if You Can Help Her.]] </div>

You raise the shotgun in your right hand. The left hand is still holding the bag of cash. You have never tried firing the shotgun one handed before, but you do not have time to think things out before firing. The shot rings out in the bank. John, and two other people in the line of fire, start screaming. You had not taken into account that the shotgun had been modified to shoot wider than normal and you have struck at least two people along with John. His back is covered in small spots of red that begin to spread quickly. John stumbles and then starts turning toward you. <div class="choicebox"> What do you do? [[Drop the Gun and Try and Get Back to the Tellers' Counter to Hide.]] [[Drop the Bag of Cash, Load the Next Shell and Fire.]] </div>

You let John go. He heads out the door and onto the street. Drop to the ground when you reach the woman in blue. She is starting to spasm. She is in her death throes. You scoop up her head and start screaming. "It wasn't supposed to be like this. John, why did you kill her? It wasn't supposed to end like this. No one was supposed to get hurt." There are two people beside you, they turn to look at you and the woman in the blue dress. One, an older man, reaches a hand out and takes the woman's hand. You try and make eye contact with him, try and make sure he understands that you did not want to hurt anyone. The old man does not make eye contact with you. He starts muttering a prayer for the dying woman. Behind you, you are hear the sound of a shotgun being cocked. <div class="choicebox"> What do you do? [[Ignore the Sound, Keep Holding the Woman as She Dies.]] [[Turn to See Who Has Your Gun.]] </div>

You drop the bag of cash and rack the next shell into the chamber on your shotgun. You are able to do this well before he is able to finish turning. You fire and the blast catches him square in the chest. John's body recoils back and he involuntarily squeezes the trigger of his gun. It goes off but shoots at the pillar that he had been leaning against before. There is the whining sound of the ricochet and the marble explodes where the bullets strikes. You feel a sharp pain in your neck and suddenly feel the left side of your body soak in blood. John collapses to the ground. Blood spurting from two places. His eyes are locked on you and you swear you can hear a growl forcing its way past his clenched teeth. John lands on his back and remains there. You reach your left hand up to your neck and feel a torrent of blood pouring out. Before you can process what you are feeling, your feet give out from under you and you crash to the floor. You end up laying on top of the woman in the blue dress. She has begun spasming. She is in her death throes. You whisper, "It wasn't supposed to end like this." The world goes black. The End. <div class="choicebox"> Back to [[Start]]. </div>

You drop the gun and turn to run. You forget to drop the bag of cash which slows you down. You hear a bang behind you and a sharp pain in your back. The next thing you realize is that you no longer have control of your left arm. You drop the bag of money and it makes a loud smack as it hits the marble. You keep running forward, though you are stumbling now. Your back, near your left shoulder blade, feels as though it is on fire. You begin grunting with the pain. You can feel your back becoming wet. You know you have been shot but you cannot stop moving now. <div class="choicebox"> What do you do? [[Keep Running for the Tellers' Counter]] [[Try and Change Direction, Make it Harder to Hit You.]] </div>

You ignore the bag of cash falling to the ground and you try and drive the fact that you are bleeding heavily from your mind. You keep stumbling toward the tellers' counter. You make it a few more steps when you hear John yell, "I thought you were better than the rest." You hear the sound of a shot. The world goes black. The End. <div class="choicebox"> Back to [[Start]]. </div>

You turn left, into the group of people laying on the bank floor. You hear John behind you say that he thought you were better than the rest. A shot rings out, but your ploy worked. It misses and crashes into the tellers' counter, shattering the wood front. As you stumble along, you try and block out the pain in your back and the panic that is rising in your chest. You trip over the man that was crying before. In the commotion he had squirmed toward the back of the line of people. Now, you are laying on top of him, listening to him sob. "You're just as bad as the rest of them and you deserve what they got." John says, standing over you. You can hear sadness in his voice. You hear the sound of a gunshot. The world goes black. The End. <div class="choicebox"> Back to [[Start]]. </div>

You ignore the sound. You do not care if someone has your gun. You stay by the woman crying over her and wishing that things had gone differently. You hear a voice behind you speak. "Get up and turn around you son of a bitch. I'll shoot you, I swear." You do not care if the voice with the gun shoots you. The old man beside you does and he moves a safe distance from you and the woman. The woman in the blue dress stops spasming and goes completely still. She is dead. You sob louder now. Beg her to come back. You try and explain to no one in particular that it was never supposed to be this way, that no one was supposed to get hurt. The voice yells to you again. "Get up! I swear, I am going to kill you!" You feel the barrel of the gun pressed to the back of your head. You turn, angry now that the voice will not leave you be. The barrel jerks back because of your sudden movement. Then there is a flash and the bang of the gun going off. The world goes black. The end. <div class="choicebox"> Return to the [[Start]]. </div>

You turn quickly to see where the sound of the gun cocking is coming from. The man that had been crying, that had been trying to reach into his pocket, is standing behind you holding your shotgun. There are still tears running down his cheeks and the font of his pants are soaked with urine. He has the gun trained on your chest and is shaking violently. <div class="choicebox"> What do you do? [[Lunge at Him, Try and Knock Him Down So You Can Take the Gun.]] [[Tell Him That You Are Sorry.]] </div>

You lunge at the man wildly and he flinches, drops the gun, and throws his arms in front of his face. When the gun strikes the floor, it hits butt first and fires. The shot hits you square in the chest. You feel yourself ripped apart by the small pellets as they strike your body. Your legs fail you, you collapse backward landing on the woman in the blue dress who has just gone still. The world goes black. The End <div class="choicebox"> Back to [[Start]]. </div>

When you see the man pointing the shotgun at you, you feel like the stress of the last few moments have built and built and built and now they have gotten too big, the challenge too great, the loss of life too traumatic. You begin to sob loudly. The man with the shotgun takes a step toward you. There is nothing but anger in his eyes. Your crying only seems to make him angrier. "Are you making fun of me?" he asks. "No...no no no...I am so sorry for what I have done to you. I am so sorry that this woman was hurt like that. None of this was supposed to happen. We agreed that no one would get hurt. I didn't want to scare you so badly before. I am sorry." you say. The man with the shotgun pauses for a moment and then softens. Tears begin pouring down his cheeks anew. He does not move the gun. "I don't care what you wanted to happen. You aren't going anywhere until the police get here. Someone call the police!" the man with the shotgun says. Everyone else in the bank starts moving around now that they know you are no longer a threat. The man with the shotgun does not move an inch and it is very clear that he expects that you will stay where you are as well. You sit back and wait for the police to come and collect you. You wonder where John is going. You wonder why you did not see this coming. You wonder why things had to get so weird. The end. <div class="choicebox"> Back to [[Start]]. </div>

Seeing your opportunity, you go for it. You shove yourself from a laying position to standing with more grace and speed than you expected possible and start sprinting toward the door. You plan on swinging wide around the man with the pistol. Your father was an instructor for the police and took you and your sister to the training range several times growing up. One of the lessons you learned was that it is harder to shoot a target that is moving left or right in front of you. It is much easier to hit a target that is running directly toward or away from you. With this in mind, your course through the bank lobby should present you as a fairly hard target. <div class="choicebox"> [[You Hear the Man With the Shotgun Near the Tellers' Counter Yell at His Partner.]] </div>

The woman in line in front of you is laying flat on her stomach. You notice that her raven black hair is in perfect order even though she flopped down on her stomach like the rest of you. You find yourself cursing her for looking so collected. Your face is only a few inches from the raven haired woman's feet. The bottom of her shoes are black rubber. You notice that on one of them, there is a smear of what appears to be dog shit. Now that you can see the shit, the smell washes over you. You feel yourself growing nauseous. <div class="choicebox"> What do you do? [[Try and Scoot Back to Get Away From the Woman's Shoe.]] [[Stay Where You are at. Try Not to Vomit.]] </div>

You start scooting back from the woman's foot. Inexplicably, she moves her foot back toward you as you move back. Perhaps she is uncomfortable and is trying to stretch out as room is made available. You keep scooting back hoping to get away from the smelly shoe. When you realize that as you move, she is moving as well, you whisper to her, "Hey! Quit it. You have shit on your foot. Stop sticking it in my face." "I'm coming with you!" she whispers back. Damn. She thinks you are getting ready to make a break for it and wants to come with you. You are still thinking of trying to make a run for it, but you do not like the sound of having a tag along. You do not want anyone complicating you getting out of here when you make your move. <div class="choicebox"> What do you do? [[Whisper to Her to Stop, That You Aren't Making a Run For It.]] [[Push Her Foot Away and Tell Her She Can't Come With You.]] </div>

As you lay where you are at, you see the man with the pistol lean back against a pillar. The stink from the woman's shoe is very distracting and you find yourself having to fight back the urge to gag every moment or so, but you are starting to think about your chances of making it if you make a run for it. If the man with the pistol is distracted, you just may be able to get past him before he notices and get out the door. You are pretty sure that if you make it to the door, the robbers will not follow you out and you will be safe. <div class="choicebox"> [[Wait for Your Opportunity.]] </div>

You whisper to her to stop moving back toward you, that you are not going to make a run for it. She puts her head back down and starts to cry. You feel bad for upsetting her, but you know it is for the best. While she is crying, you slowly reach forward and push her foot away from you. When she feels you pushing her, she looks back at you with rage in her eyes. She thinks you are trying to tell to stop crying. "Fuck you!" she hisses. <div class="choicebox"> [[You Draw the Attention of the Man With a Pistol.]] </div>

You slowly reach forward and push her foot away from you. When she feels you pushing her, she looks back at you with rage in her eyes. She thinks you are trying to tell to stop crying. "Fuck you!" she hisses. <div class="choicebox"> [[You Draw the Attention of the Man With a Pistol.]] </div>

"Hey! Can't you hear me? I'm trying to tell my friend here about a dream I had. I think it is really important. Stop moving around or I'll come deal with you." says the man with the pistol. He had just leaned against the pillar a little ways from the front door. You look at him for a moment, nod that you understand what he has said to you. You think to yourself that you think you can get past him if he is distracted. You keep watching him in case an opportunity presents itself. You can feel your hands trembling with the stress of the situation. The stench of the woman's shoe is driving you out of your mind. <div class="choicebox"> [[Wait for Your Opportunity.]] </div>

As you lay on the floor watching the man with the pistol, you hear the one with the shotgun yelling at a man laying on the floor near him. You are pretty sure his name is Erick and the one with the pistol is John. You wonder if they are using code names or if they do not care if the people they are robbing hear them called by name. If they do not care. Do they plan on killing all of you? This thought causes you to panic even more. After a moment, it is clear that Erick is yelling at a man that will not take his hands out of his pocket. After a bit more yelling, things quiet down, but you can hear a man's sobbing from near the tellers' booth. John, leaning against a pillar is telling his partner about a dream he had the night before. You realize that John is a very strange man. He barely seems to acknowledge that there are people in the room with him and Erick. You start to wonder if John is crazy enough to kill all of you. <div class="choicebox"> [[John Closes His Eyes.]] </div>

"Hey! Get her!" the man near the tellers yells. You have your eyes glued to the man with the pistol. He is the one that will be able to take a shot at you. The man with the shotgun is too far away and would risk hitting his partner. The man with the pistol's eyes lock on you immediately and you see his right hand lifting, bringing the pistol into position to fire at you. You realize that the only chance you have is to keep going, try and move faster. You give every ounce of strength you have to getting to the doors leading out of the bank lobby. When you make the halfway mark and you hear a click and cussing, you realize that the man with the pistol is having problems with his gun. You are going to make it! <div class="choicebox"> [[Keep Running!]] </div>

Your heart is pounding in your chest so hard you can hear it in your ears. Your breath is coming in fast little jags. You feel like you may pass out when you get outside. You push that back out of your mind and try and remain focused. You need to get to the doors first. You feel the heel on your right shoe snap. You stumble. Your left foot snags on the leg of a man laying on the ground. You are flying through the air head first. You see a large, ornate, oak desk in your path. The leg that belongs to the loan officer who normally sits at that desk is the one you tripped on. You try and turn your head so that your face will not strike the corner of the desk. There is a sickening crunch of bone breaking on the side of your head. All sensation from the rest of your body stops. Your mind screams that you are in trouble. The world goes black. "What the hell did she do that for, John?" is the last thing you hear. The end. <div class="choicebox"> Back to [[Start]]. </div>

A couple minutes later, John gets so wrapped up in telling the story of his dream, he closes his eyes. Your heart rate doubles. You feel sweat on your brow, and your breathing seems oddly loud. This is your chance. You turn your head to look at Erick, make sure he is not looking your direction. He is paying attention to the bag that has been filled with money by the tellers. You kick off your high heeled shoes and shove yourself from a laying position to standing with more grace and speed than you expected possible and start sprinting toward the door. You plan on swinging wide around the man with the pistol. Your father was an instructor for the police and took you and your sister to the training range several times growing up. One of the lessons you learned was that it is harder to shoot a target that is moving left or right in front of you. It is much easier to hit a target that is running directly toward or away from you. With this in mind, your course through the bank lobby should present you as a fairly hard target. <div class="choicebox"> [[Start Running.]] </div>

You run as fast as you can. You push yourself beyond all of the limits you thought your body had and you are flying across the marble floor. Behind you, you hear Erick yell, "John! Get her!" You think it's too late. You have made it most of the way already, you just need to make a slight turn and run past John and through the door. You hear little yips of fear escaping your lips. This is the moment you prepared for. You just need to get through that door before he can get the pistol up and shoot at you. <div class="choicebox"> [[Run, Run, Run]] </div>

As you run, you sense yourself getting too close to the man with the pistol. You do not actually look to see how close you are. There is nothing you can do about it. You need to get to the door and he is nearest to the door. You hear a click. John tried to shoot you with the pistol and something went wrong. Your heart leaps in your chest. You are going to make it! You hear John huffing as he tries to intercept you, you surge forward so he cannot grab you. That's when you feel something slam into the back of your head. The world spirals around you. You land on the floor even though you are telling your legs to keep running. Things are not supposed to be going like this. The gun did not work. Your head will not turn to let you look around and find the source of the pain. John steps into your field of view. His arm and the butt of the pistol are covered in blood and gore. The world goes black. The end. <div class="choicebox"> Return to [[Start]]. </div>

You hear the bang and then feel burning points of pain blast into your back. When you scream, you hear the voices of two other people as well. You drop to one knee from the impact of the hot points. You can feel blood running down your back. Grunts and cries escape your lips and one of the other voices you heard earlier falls into a loud scream. <div class="choicebox"> What do you do? [[Try and Run to the Door.]] [[Turn and Fire Your Gun.]] </div>

You are pretty sure you just caught a couple balls of shot from a shotgun. That means Erick is trying to kill you. You force yourself back on to your feet and start running for the door. You let the gun fall to your side as you put everything you have into getting away. You cannot believe that Erick is betraying you like this. After all of the things you have been through together. After the things you did you keep him safe, to make sure that he and you were never caught when the others were being arrested. He never was as good of a friend as you. When you get through this, you promise yourself that you will hunt Erick down and make sure that he dies a horrible slow death. You hear the sound of the shotgun being cocked again. How far away is he? Has he been moving with you? Will be close enough to do serious damage? You do not let yourself turn to find out. You hear the blast of the shotgun. You are knocked off of your feet and skid to a stop face down on the marble floor still several feet from the door. You turn your face back toward Erick. You see only rage in his eyes. You also see the woman in blue laying on the floor, dead. Your breath is not coming. You feel panic welling up in your chest. The world goes black. The end. <div class="choicebox"> Return to the [[Start]]. </div>

You raise your right arm and turn at the hip. Out of the corner of your eye, you see Erick standing behind you. The pain in your back is worse than any pain you have ever felt. You prepare yourself to pull the trigger as soon as you have Erick in your sites. He must die for betraying you like this. You see Erick's hand racking the pump action on his shotgun and then see the flash of the gun as he fires. You are too late. You feel yourself knocked flat back against the marble floor. You turn your head and see the woman in blue. You look back toward Erick and you see nothing but rage in his eyes. The world goes black. The end. <div class="choicebox"> Return to the [[Start]]. </div>

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I Think I'm Dying
By Jake Carlsen

Welcome to I Think I'm Dying. Please choose which character you would like to play by clicking the name below. These red links will be how you navigate through the entire story.

John

: A man with a dream.

Erick

: A man with second thoughts.

Pam

: A woman in a blue dress.