Page 12 of The Dinner Party

Something in your gut is telling you not to untie the hitchhiker. You’re not sure why, but you don’t want to undo the ropes binding his arms and legs until you have a better idea what’s going on here.

“Hang on,” you say. “Give me a minute.”

“A minute?” he repeats. “Didn’t you hear me? That yeti monster is coming back here to kill us. You’re never going to get out of here without my help, you know.”

He might be right, but still, you aren’t sure if you should untie him. Something in your gut is urging you to wait.

“I’m sure we have time,” you say.

“We don’t.” He struggles fruitlessly against the restraints. That yeti sure knows how to tie a knot. “Come on. You’re not really going to leave me here like this, are you?”

“Um…”

“Please!” He stops struggling as his eyes lock with yours. “You’ve got to let me out. He’ll kill me! Please!”

Okay, one last chance…

To untie the hitchhiker, turn to Chapter 19 (page 45)

To keep the ties in place, turn to Chapter 21 (page 50)

21

“I’m sorry,” you say. “I’m not untying you yet.”

The hitchhiker jerks his body, trying to work himself free. “I can’t believe this! You… you bitch!”

Well, you’re definitely not untying him now.

You raise the gag again and stuff it in the hitchhiker’s mouth, so you don’t have to listen to him swearing at you. Then you get to your feet and look around the cave.

There is a small fire in the center of the clearing, which is providing the light and the heat. Other than that, there’s not much here. You do notice some sort of makeshift bed formed from old leaves. Is that where the monster sleeps?

Well, the hitchhiker is right about one thing. You’ve got to get the hell out of here. And you don’t have much time.

A slight breeze is coming from the right. That must be the direction of the cave entrance—or, at least, you hope so. If you can escape from here, hopefully you’ll be able to find your way back to the car. As soon as you find that car, you’re taking off.

You start down the tunnel to the right, but before you get more than a few feet, you hear a roar coming from within the tunnel. That’s quickly followed by the same resounding footsteps that you heard when you were by your car.

Oh no. He’s back.

You made a mistake. You should have run while you had the chance. Now it’s too late. The monster is going to eat you up and then devour the hitchhiker for dessert. (Or perhaps the hitchhiker will be the main course, and you’ll be dessert. He seems a bit more substantial.)

You search the cave for a potential weapon. There is a large rock in the corner, which looks like it could do some damage. But then again, the monster is so much bigger than you. It doesn’t seem like fighting it would be possible—not unless you have a gun.

Maybe it would be better to try to reason with him. You can’t assume that he speaks any sort of English, but perhaps you could do some sort of pantomime to show that you are friendly. Or at least that you don’t taste very good.

Whatever you decide, you only have one chance to get it right. If you try to fight the creature and lose, he will almost certainly eat you.

To fight the creature, turn to Chapter 22 (page 52)

To try to reason with it, turn to Chapter 23 (page 55)

22

You’ve never been one to take your fate lying down. If that monster wants to eat you, he’s going to have to work for it.

You pick up the rock and crouch in the clearing. It occurs to you that you could untie the hitchhiker, because two against one might be better odds, but you just don’t trust him. Besides, if the hitchhiker is available as a ready snack, then the monster won’t need to eat you.