STORY ARC #5: VACATION ROULETTE
The Threatening Message
You share everything together, and this is no exception.
This is a Choose Your Own Adventure Story. Go back to chapter 1 by Linden Schneider here. Return to the previous chapter here. Do you love writing Choose Your Own Adventure stories with other authors? Find out how you can contribute!
You got a threatening text message in the middle of the night, and you wake your partner up to tell them. You share everything together, and this is no exception.
They grumble and rub their eyes before glaring at you. “What?”
Despite everything, it makes you smile to see your partner’s rumpled but cute face. You take a deep breath, and show them the texts you received:
Do not go on Vacation Roulette. It’s a trap. You will not make it home.
You will find nothing but death.
Your partner’s eyes are wide. But to your amazement, they turn their nose up and say, “Are we going to let these stupid messages stop us?” They fold their arms as they casually rearrange their hair.
“Aren’t you even a bit scared?” you exclaim. “They did ask us creepy questions on their quiz. How did this unknown texter even know our numbers?”
Your partner shrugs, an air of insouciance on their face. “The vacation quiz was — unconventional, but I don’t think it’s anything to be concerned about. Maybe they want us to play something like the Survivor game show.”
Or The Hunger Games, you secretly think.
They continue, “For all it’s worth, there’s no real online privacy, so some scammer must have gotten hold of our numbers when we entered them into the survey. Maybe they want to scam us into buying a protection service or something.”
That sounds dubious to you. “What if it’s a real, legitimate warning, though?” you ask.
They purse their lips, and take a while before they respond, “It’s just a vacation. Even if this is some game show setup like the Survivor, so what? We won’t actually die. We might, at most, get a staged death to entertain the audience, but they wouldn’t dare to get anyone killed, or else family will sue.”
You let out a dry laugh. “Not that our families would care.”
Your partner bites back a wince. “I know, but I was talking about most people’s families. They wouldn’t take such a legal risk.”
Silence stretches between you. “So, you say we go with it anyway?” you whisper.
They beam brightly. “Yes. We’ll show that moron who texted you that we won’t be terrorised by their scams.” They furrow their brows. “By the way, how come they only texted you and not me?” Your partner shows you their phone.
A chill creeps up your spine to see that indeed, the unknown messenger only chose to contact you.
Maybe your partner will change their mind if you reveal your answer to the last question on the quiz…
What do you do?
- Tell your partner what you answered. You don’t want this secret to erode your relationship.
- Stay quiet about it. What they don’t know won’t hurt them.
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