I’m kind of experimenting with Facebook’s polling (which only allows two choices on profile pages, oddly) to create a “choose your own adventure” in which the only branch that is written is the one that the most of my Facebook friends vote for. (So it’s a “vote the path I write” game… maybe?):
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[Facebook Poll Your Own Adventure]
“Let’s go over there! The light will be perfect,” she says, heading out ahead of you towards a little pavilion near the river.
“Slow down, would you? I’ve got a lot of gear to move,” you say, collecting your camera, tripod, reflector, and so forth.
You watch her with sidelong glances while you pack things up. She’s striking a few practice poses. The sun, the breeze, the cattails behind her all play well with the sundress she’s wearing. It’s perfect until a shadow drifts over everything.
You think it’s probably from a rain cloud at first, but looking up, you see a giant metal object shaped far too much like a pie tin. A sickly green light shines down on her, she slumps, then starts to float towards the object.
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You run towards her, your photography equipment falling to the ground and scattering in the grass. You’re pretty sure you hear the lens on your camera break, but there’s no time to worry about it.
Just as she’s floating out of reach, you jump into the green light and grab hold of her ankles, one in each hand.
This, however, does not pull her back down to Earth.
“Emma! Emma, wake up! We’re… we’re being abducted by aliens!”
You think you see a flutter beneath her eyelids when you call her name, but she doesn’t wake up. You are now several feet in the air, hanging from her ankles.
You look down and think that you could probably still land on the ground with a few sprains and bruises, but you’d be okay. However, you might never see Emma again if you do.
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You shake your head, throwing away any thoughts of letting go and saving your own skin. Emma has been your best friend since you were both too young to even say “friend” and you’re not the kind of person to let a friend be abducted and probed by aliens.
Of course, it means that you’re also being abducted and you’re probably going to get probed too… You grip onto her ankles a little tighter after watching one of her shoes slip off and fall to the ground, so very distant now, below.
“Emma! Emma! Wake up! You’re being abducted by aliens!” you shout.
“Mmm… Yeah… Abduct me, baby…” she mumbles, not really waking up.
“This is no time for dirty dreams! Wake up!”
You continue to shout at her, climbing up her legs and holding on tighter. Soon, you slip in through a round portal in the bottom of the spaceship. It closes beneath your feet and you both fall to a metallic grey floor.
Looking around, you see smooth metal walls in all directions. Well, it’s more like one continuous smooth grey wall. It makes it hard to concentrate or orient yourself.
You look back at Emma. She’s got a stupid half-smile on her face, and some drool running down one cheek. She always could sleep anywhere.