"No, not all. You've already been cleared." Alex calmly explains to Herald. \n\nHerald continues to stare suspicious. Not entirely sure to trust him. He eventually decides to answer the question anyway. ""Yes, I was with him, for most of the night. We were sitting at the camp fire with a few of the others. Sharing around that grog that we managed to found during the last scavenge. Last I saw of him, He was walking off with someone."\n\n\n[[Do you know who it was?|Question 2 - WIT QUEST 2]]
Alex slams the guard against the shed and holds him there, staring him down. "You better let me in there; you idiots are interfering with my investigating. \n\nGuard manages to stutter out a response "Yes...yes, I get it." Alex lets go of him and steps back a bit, not breaking eye contact. \n\nThe guard knocks on the door, his hands shaking. The commotion inside the shed comes to a stop and shed door open and a man pokes his head out. "What is it?"\n\nThe guard points to Alex and Harriet, his hand still unsteady. The pulls the door right open as soon as he notices Alex. \n\n"Right, he’s all your then.”He scurries off to avoid the trouble he is about to get himself in.\n\nAlex shakes his head in disapproval at the guard, barges past him into the room.\n\n\n[[Please continue|Question 1 - WIT EARLY END]]
They make their way to a shed on the other side of the camp that the camp guards were keeping Bret in for questioning. As they got closer they could hear some commotion from the inside it. \n\nThey quickened their pace over to see what is happening. One of the guards is blocking the door as Alex and Harriet walk up to him. "What are you guys doing?" Alex asks the guard.\n\n"Interrogating." The guard responds flatly.\n\nAlex stares at him flabbergasted. "You're what?"\n\n"You can have your turn when we're done." The guard says abruptly.\n\n\n<strong>What does Alex do?</strong>\n[[Lash out at the guard (Physical Confrontation)| Lash out at the guard]]\n[[Resolve the problem peacefully|Resolve the problem with words]]\n\n\n\n
"Usual bullshit, I guess." Harold Shrugs. "You know what he's like; Always accusing us stealing from the rations and giving everybody else way less than they deserve." He responded sardonically.\n\nAlex was very aware of the accusations that Bret would throw at Marshal on a nearly daily basis in regards to food rations. He even had to deal with it himself on occasion. The man was unrelenting in his belief that Marshal was with trying to rip off the residents of this camp. However, Bret has never been described as a particularly violent person. Alex pondered the idea that Bret was capable of murder, let alone killing Marshal. Marshal was someone who was always able to take care of himself in a fight. Bret was always a bit of a weasel, doesn’t come across as a fighter.\n\nHarold continues talking once he has Alex’s attention again. "Old Bret was trying real hard to be a big man that night. He even tried to shove old Marshal around a bit."\n\n"You mean that wimp actually tried to start a fight. I wouldn’t have expected that much from him." Harriet responds, somewhat surprised. \n\n"I guess we have our first suspect then. Thank you, Harold, we'll leave you to your hangover." says Alex, giving him a quick wave before heading off.\n\n"You catch this fucker, alright. He's killed a good man." Harold calls out as he climbs back into his tent to continue sleeping off the hangover.\n\n\n\n[[Please continue|End Interview]]
Still reeling from his confrontation with Harriet, Alex enters the warehouse. He heads towards where the body had laid which had now been removed and buried. He starts rummaging through the boxes again to see if anything at all was missing. He remembers now that Walter had said that Harold had confirmed nothing was taken.\n\nAs he searches, he starts to realise that he has no idea what he's looking for. Growing more frustrated, he kicks one of the box over. The pile of boxes falls with a crash, smashing the contents inside.\n\nHe hears footstep behind and spins on the spot quickly, surveying where he thought noise was coming from. He sees nothing; he cautiously moves forward, hand on his gun which was still in its holster. He eventually pulls it and out and turns off the safety. He continues to move forward. As he reaches the end of the isle of the boxes, he turns the corner. As he does, he sees the end of spade slam into his face...\n\nAlex's eyes open, a few seconds after the spade had collided with his face. He was now on the sprawled on the ground. His vision is blurry, he sees somebody standing over him, but can't make out who it is. The person standing above lifts up what looks like the spade that had hit him before and drives it down on Alex's throat.\n\n\n
Alex chooses to not engage with Julie's hostility. "We'll get onto it right away."\n\nJulie is taken aback a bit, clearly expecting an argument from Alex. "Well...good." She stutters. "You'll need to go talk to Walter to get an update on what happening. Thank you"\n\nShe turns and walks off, leaving Alex and Harriet standing there. \n\n"Unusual for her to be lost for words..." Harriet says to Alex, slightly amused.\n\n"Alright, let’s go find Walter."\n\n\n[[Please Continue|Walter and the Crime (Positive)]]\n
Alex's anger starts to boil over. He already lost one friend, and now another is accusing him of being a monster. He’s trying to keep things from falling apart, and now a loved one is turning on him.\n\n"You calling me a monster!" he snaps back at her. "What does that make you then? Standing there silently while in inflict such horror onto these people." Sarcasm is thick in his voice as he speaks. As he keeps yelling, people are starting to come out of the tents and buildings to see what the commotion is about.\n\nShe doesn't respond. A few tears begin to form in her eyes as she bears the brunt of his tirade. In the end, she just turns and walks away without saying a word, ending the conversation. He stops screaming as she walks away, a mix of rage and fear causes his hands to shake. What has he done? He walks off in the opposite direction towards the warehouse. Head down, had he gone too far? He wasn't sure. He will need cool down and talk to her later about it. Right now, he has his friend’s murder to solve.\n\n\n[[Return to the warehouse, Alone|Ending 3 - Death]]
Alex leans forward in his chair. "I have to ask one more question. If what you say was true, did you see Marshal walk off at the end of the night with somebody else?"\n\nBret looks at Alex, a faint gleam of hope in his eyes. "Yes, I did. They... They were heading towards the warehouse."There was nervousness in his voice, “it was Herald."\n\nAlex looked him, un-amused. "He has an alibi. He is also Marshal's closest friend." Alex stood up and walked back over to Bret. "What proof do you have?"\n\n"It's in the warehouse." Bret said.\n\nAlex laughed at him; the warehouse had already been searched several times now. Only the murder weapon and Marshal's dead corpse had laid there. Everything else in that warehouse had been untouched. Was there something he was missing? Was Bret just playing him for a fool?\n\n\n<strong>What Does Alex Do?</strong>\n\n\n[[Investigate the crime scene again|Harriet & Alex Confrontation]]\n[[Call an end to the investigation|Ending 1 - Wrong Accusation]]
A man in his mid thirties is lying down on a worn out mattress on the floor of in the middle of an old derelict building. Dusty desks and chairs shoved to one side of the room with gas masks littered around them. Relic’s of the old world before the bombs had fallen and wiped out entire civilisations.\n\nThe early morning light begins to bleed through the boarded up windows. The man begins to stir awake as the light touches his face. He sits up, lets out a yawn and rubs his bloodshot eyes with his rough dirty hands and gives his beard a quick scratch, his name is Alex. The door swings open and a younger looking woman strides in the room. \n"Get up old man." She says loudly without regard for how early it is this morning. He shoots a dirty look from across the room and shakes his head. \n\n"Don't you start calling me old again." He says as he attempts to stand.\n\nShe looks at him, amused. "Sorry, you're clearly a young man in his prime." She says with a cheeky smile on her face. She strolls over, and holds out her hand. "Let me help you before you dislocate a hip."\n\n\n\n<strong>Does he take her hand?</strong>\n\n[[Yes.|yes, he accepts her hand.]]\n[[No (Rudely)|Knocks her hand away.]]\n\n
A few days have passed since Alex had gone to Julie with his findings in the investigation. Having decided to not investigate any further, he knows he has condemned Bret to death. As he walks his way to where they are keeping Bret, he continues to reflect on his decision. There was no possible way that Harold could have done it. He and Marshal had been too close for far too long. The guy may have problems, but he's no murderer.\n\nAlex starts to make his way towards the shed that Bret was being held, his gun in his holster. Being the "warden" meant that it was unfortunately his responsibility to carry out the punishment. He felt this was fair in the end; considering it was his decision that has brought Bret onto death row. He walks up to the guard at the door at the shed, who silently lets him enter. He walks through the door. \n\nBret was still sitting at the desk from their last encounter, it doesn't seem like he has moved around very much since was dragged in there. Bret doesn't acknowledge Alex as he enters. It was expected.\n\n"Have they told why I'm here today?" Alex asks in a formal manner.\n\nBret looks up, tears on his bruised face. "You're here to kill me."\n\nAlex nods silently. The door opens again, as the guard outside enters to make sure nothing goes wrong with the execution. The room falls silent as they prepare. Alex pulls out his pistol and prepares the clip.\n\n"If only we lived in the old world. A fair trial would have been nice." Bret says, solemnly.\n\n"Fair trials are relic of the past, unfortunately." Alex responds, he sounds distant. He turns to the guard and nods to him, then lefts his pistol and points it at Bret. Tears start to fall from Bret's eyes and his breathing starts too quick as he begins to have a panic attack.\n\nThe trigger is pulled.\n
An hour has passed since the man has been sitting in the lookout tower. Occasionally, he surveys the area for any signs of life. Except for the occasional heavy breeze that ruffles the leaves on the area, there is nothing. A faint feeling of sadness sits in his throat and remembers how things use to be before everything had turned to shit. Cities once so full of life now lay silent and dead, nature eating away at the corpse of this once great city.\n\nAs he sits alone with his bitter memories, Harriet’s voice in the distance interrupts the silence and snatches him away from the memories he dwells on. Too far away to make out what is being said, but it sound panicked. He grabs his gun and checks how many rounds are left in the clip before climb down the ladder.\n\nHe spots her moving towards him once he reaches the ground. Tears welling up in her eyes as she sprints towards him. Following close behind her is Gerard, one of the guards to replace them at this lookout. \n\n"Alex, something has happened." She says between deep breaths. \n\n"What?" He asks as he feels his heart pounding through his chest. \n\nHarriet struggles to find the words. A look of fear and disbelief etched on her face. "It...It's Marshall." Her voice cracks. The ground starts to feel as it’s rushing under Alex's feet as anxiety and terror starting to overwhelm him.\n\n\n\n[[Please continue|Return to Encampment]]\n
Alex and Harriet head to the building that they call their home as the day starts to turn to night. A cold night time breeze starts to flow through the camp as people begin to light their fires for the night.\nHarriet was the first talk, disrupting the silence between them. "You think he's capable of murder?"\n\n"Bret? Hard to tell, definitely likes to cause grief for everybody. Don't know about murder though. We've got people looking for him now. We'll find out tomorrow I guess." Alex pondered.\n\nAs they reached the building they both stay in, they their farewells for the night and go to their separate sleeping quarters. \n\n\n\n[[Please Continue| Day 2 INT ERLY END]]
"Do you think you're innocent?" Alex asks Bret, remain calm as he speaks.\n\nBret doesn't respond straight away, pondering over what he should say.\n\n"Alright, I'll talk." He says, still sounding defeated despite his chance to prove his innocence.I was at that campfire. I got into an argument with Marshal."\n\n\n[[What were you two arguing about?|SUS 1 Questioning - Non-Threatening]]
After searching around, they find Walter outside one of the warehouses that the camp uses to store their supplies. He stands guard near the entrance of the building, pacing back and forth. Clearly he had been there for a while. Alex calls out to Walter as they walk over. He waves to them, a sullen look on his face and they approach. They exchange greetings quickly before entering the warehouse.\n\nDim industrial lights plugged into the only generator at the camp light up the warehouse. The hum of the generator cuts out the noise from the outside. Alex and Harriett follow Walter as he leads him to the scene of the murder. Not much is said as they reach the far end of the warehouse. Harriet comes to a sudden stop as they see the body, frozen for a few seconds with shock. She turns back and walks away for a few minutes to compose herself. Alex walks over to the body.\n\nThe body lays spread out on the floor near a few boxes full of food rations. A pool of blood surrounds the lifeless corpse. Alex kneels down next to the body and the pool of blood and starts to examine. He notices the bruising on the arms and hands, indicating that there may have been a struggle first before he died. He then looks at the wound on the head. The head has been have caved in. A heavy blunt weapon would have been used to create this wound.\n\nHarriet comes over and holding something in her hand. "Alex, I think I've found the murder weapon."He turns around to see her hold out a heavy metal pipe in her hands. She is holding it carefully not to tamper with the evidence. Alex can see blood splatter around the edge of the weapon. He grabs it off her. It’s got weight to it, heavy enough to cave in a skull.\n\n"Anything missing?" He asks Walter.\n\n"Nothing at all." He responds. "None of the boxes are missing or opened. We had the boxes counted a little bit after had we found him just to make sure."\n\n"Shit, what are chances it was an outsider?" Alex asks, hoping that it's not somebody from the camp.\n\n"Unlikely, none of the guards have noticed anything from outside the camp. We also haven’t had any run-ins with any outsiders for close to a year now." Not the answer that Alex was hoping for. Walter continues talking. "We have a witness as well. They only want to talk to you though."\n\n"Who is it?" Harriet asks.\n\n"It’s Harold." Walter advises. \n\nOf course, Alex thinks to himself."Well, guess we better go talk to him then."\n\n\n\n\n[[Witness Interview|Witness Interview]]\n
"Home, I don't have an alibi." he said solemnly.\n\n"Any proof that you went home?" ask Alex, knowing the answer already. It was starting to look as though this one might already be resolved. However, he can't just call it yet. He needs to make certain.\n\nBret just shakes his head, tears welling up again. All the anger that had flash now replaced with defeat.\n\n\n<strong>What Does Alex do?</strong>\n\n[[Asks another question.| SUS 1 Final Question - Non Threatening]]\n[[Calls an end to the investigation|Ending 1 - Wrong Accusation]]
Alex stands up and walks around the table towards Bret. He sits on the table next to him. He stares down at him. Bret keeps looking down, avoiding eye contact.\n\n"Look at me!" Alex demands. Bret looks up grudgingly.\n\n"You do realise what happens if we find you guilty, right?" He asks Bret. \n\nNothing, Bret just stares at him. A snapping noise pierces the air as Alex slaps Bret hard. "You want to talk now? The next time will be a fist."\n\nHe continues to stare up at him, unflinching. Next was sound was the thud of fist connecting with Bret already bruised face. Bret is nearly knocked to the floor, as second punch lands.\n\n"Alright, fine! Bret blurts as he holds up his hands in self defence."I was at that campfire! I got into an argument with Marshal; I then went home after that."\n\nMarshal lowers his fist. "If you keep this up, I won't have to hit you again." He joked at Bret, who didn't find the joke amusing. Harriet shifted uncomfortably behind them, the abuse of the suspect clearly upsetting her.\n\n\n[[Continue Investigation| Question 2 - Threatening]]\n
Alex and Harriet make their way to the Harold's tent, occasionally stopping to greet a few of the residents that manage to corner them. Some of the residents of this place choose to stay in tents, while the rest choose to stay in the rundown buildings surrounding the campsite. They manoeuvre around the tents as they get closer to Harold's home. They reach his tent and call out to him.... nothing.\n\n"Oi! Get up!" Alex shouts at the tent.\n\n"What’s the bet the lunatic has stolen some of the grog and has passed out again?" Harriet quips at Alex.\n\n"Let hope not." Alex responds. He moves to the tent, and pulls the zip down, he takes a step back. The smell is a bit too much; smells like a brewery in the tent, clearly Harold had big night last night. He picks up a small tree branch off the ground and flings it at the sleeping Harold. He wakes with a bit of a fright and nearly on his feet within a second, quick for a man in his fifties. It takes him a while to get an idea of his surroundings despite being in his tent, suffering from an intense hangover.\n\n"Jeez, Harold, you smell like a cheap brewery." Alex sneers at Harold.\n\nHarold waves off the insult and stretches his back out and steps outside.\n\n"Well, a good friend of ours died last night." says Harold in response to the quip made at him.\n\n Alex has never been quite sure why Harold and Marshal had been so close. They always seemed like polar opposites. Marshal had always been a man about self control whereas Harold a bit of a man child who would often drink himself under a table. Despite this they been relatively close the entire time he's known both of them. Alex had figured that their friendship must have lasted long before the old world had been brought to an end.\n\n"S'pose you have questions for me." \n\nAlex nods in response. \n\n"Well ask away then."\n\n\n[[Were you with Marshal the night he died?|Question 1 Postive]]\n
"You don't have to tell me fuckin' twice!" Alex responds quickly as he lightly swipes her hand away.\n\n"How about you back off and let us get to it then." Harriet snaps at Julie.\n\n"Your hostility is not appreciated in a time like this." She says to Alex, disregarding Harriet completely. "I don't want to see a single person rest until we find out who did this."\n\n"Well, quit wasting my goddamn time and let me get to work. That is, unless you have some information regarding the case of course." Alex fires back Julie.\n\n"Go talk to Walter. He can take to you where the murder..." a knot gets caught in Julie throat. She turns and walks away without finishing the sentence, clearly upset.\n\nAlex shakes and curses under his breath. This was probably not the best to time to get into another row with Julie. He turns to Harriet. She has her fists clinched and is staring down Julie as if ready to attack.\n\n"Drop it. Not the time to be causing shit." Alex says to her. She looks at him and is about to begin her rebuttal, but thinks better of it. \n\n"Let’s go." They start to make their way to Walter.\n\n\n\n[[Please Continue| Walter and the Crime Scene (Negative)]]
"You think I'm a suspect?" Harold asks suspiciously.\n\nAlex rolls his eyes. "Do you have an alibi?" he fires back at him.\n\n"Of course I do." Harold responds back quickly. He clinches his fists as he speaks. Alex shakes his head in frustration. He doesn't usually have much patience for this man.\n\n\n<strong> How does Alex respond?</strong>\n\n[[Aggressively|WIT QUEST 1 - SHORT & ANGRY]]\n[[Calmly|WIT QUEST 1 - CALM]]
"What were you two arguing about?" Alex asks as he stand walk back around the desk back to his chair.\n"I don’t know, the usual shit we argue about. How he's corrupt, steals shit from people who look to him for help." He says, lacking the enthusiasm that he usually has when he talks about this topic.\n"Right, well witnesses say that there was more than just arguing that night." Alex shoots back at Bret.\n"Well, he shoved me." Bret retorts. \n"Not what I've heard. You were the one that was shoving him around."\n"He shoved me!" Bret screams at Alex. He had hit a nerve.\n\n\n[[Where did you go after your run in with Marshal?| SUS 1 - Question 3]]\n
Alex and Harriet enter the warehouse, the drama from just before now out of their systems. They head towards the back of warehouse the body had laid. They start rummaging through the boxes again, trying to see if anything at all has gone missing. As he searches through the boxes, Alex remembers that it was Harold who checked all the boxes for anything missing.\n\nAs they continue searching, he starts to realise that he has no idea what he's looking for. Growing more frustrated, he kicks a pile of boxes over which falls with a crash, breaking all the contents inside. Harriet ignores his outburst and continues searching.\n\nHe hears footstep behind and spins on the spot quickly, surveying where the noise was coming from. He sees nothing; he cautiously moves forward, hand on his gun which was still in its holster. He eventually pulls it and out and turns off the safety. He continues to move forward. As he reaches the end of the isle of the boxes, he turns the corner. As he does, he sees the end of spade slam into his face...\n\nAlex's eyes open, a few seconds after the spade had collided with his face. He was now on the sprawled on the ground. His vision is blurry, he sees somebody standing over him, but can't make out who it is. The person standing above lifts what looks like the spade that had hit him before. \n\nJust before the man standing above him is able to drive spade through Alex, Harriet runs and slams into the man sending them both to the ground. They continue fight as Alex struggles to his feet. His vision slowly improving, eventually he is able to make out the man. \n\nIt was Harold.\n\nAlex pulls out his gun and fires a warning shot into the roof causing the other two to stop their fighting. Harold raises his hands, muttering swear words under his breath.\n\n"You wouldn't shoot me, would you?" he asks\n\n\nWhat Does Alex Do?\n[[Shoot Harold|Shoot the Murderer]]\n[[Take him into Custody| Murderer Capture]]\n
Alex takes a while to respond, he's taken aback by what she said. Once his frustration is put to the side a bit, he changes his tone, and says “I’m sorry." \n\n"Yeah, well... what? She says in shock. She wasn't expecting that. Alex isn't usually someone to apologies. "Yeah, well you should be!" She says as regains here composure.\n\nThey stand there awkwardly for a few seconds. There's usually more screaming when they get into these rows with each other. \n\n"What do we do now?" He asks her eventually.\n\n"Solve a murder I guess." She answers.\n\n\n[[Head to the Warehouse|Ending 2 - Find the Right Man]]
The Murder of Marshal
The walk back to the encampment had been a quiet one. The news of Marshal's death had hit Harriet hard. Like so many at the encampment, a lot of people had looked up to him. He was their leader; he had forged their new home out of the rubble of the old world and offered a place refuge from the harshness that now encompassed the world around them. \n\nAlex had been lost in his own thoughts throughout the walk back, Concerns surrounding the survivability of their home now that their leader has perished. He was worried, Marshal was the glue that held the group together and now that he was gone, Alex feared that the group will collapse on itself or just disperse? Who will take Marshal's place? Would it be him? Despite acting as warden, he never saw himself as a leader. The responsibility of keep thirty plus people in the camp safe was titanic task that he would never be comfortable with. These thoughts caused a ball of dread to build within his stomach. As he and Harriet entered the camp, A woman who appeared to be in her early forties marched over and stopped in front of them.\n\n"Hello, Julie." Alex said curtly. He and Julie never got along, often conflicting on issues about how to best run the camp.\n\n"We need to find out who did this." She said sharply as she prods her finger into Alex's chest. Her eyes had a piercing quality to it, a hint of rage gleaming behind them.\n\n\n\n<strong>How Does Alex Respond:</strong>\n\n[[Agreeable|Positive - First Encounter with Julie]]\n[[Hostile| Negative - First Encounter with Julie]]
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Alex leans forward in his chair. "I have to ask one more question. If what you say was true, did you see Marshal walk off at the end of the night with somebody else?"\n\nBret looks at Alex, a faint gleam of hope in his eyes. "Yes, I did. They... They were heading towards the warehouse." There is a nervous energy in his voice as he speaks. “It was Herald."\n\nAlex looks at, disappointed. "He has an alibi. He is also Marshal's closest friend." Alex stood up and walked back over to Bret. "What proof do you have?"\n\n"It's in the warehouse." Bret said.\n\nAlex laughed at him. He and Harriet had both searched the warehouse. Only the murder weapon and Marshal's dead corpse had laid there. Everything else in that warehouse had been untouched. Was there something he was missing? Was Bret just playing him for a fool?\n\n\n\n<strong>What Does Alex Do Now?</strong>\n\n[[Return to Warehouse,|Ending 2 - Find the Right Man]]\n[[Call an end to the investigation|Ending 1 - Wrong Accusation]]
Alex and Harriet leave the shed that Bret and start making their way back to the warehouse for one last look. Once the shed is out of sight, Harriet stops. "Alex?" she calls out.\n\nHe turns to face her, a puzzled look on his face. He notices the frustration etched on her face. "You can't do that too people. Slap them around, threaten them. This isn't Marshal's legacy, Old man." She shouts at him. \n\nAlex is taken back a bit by the outburst. "He probably killed him, you know? He yells back. "How else are we meant to get people to talk?"\n\n"Not through beating information out of them."She's screams back at him. "And you know what; he probably didn't even do it. He may be a prick, but he’s too much of wimp to get into a fight, let alone club someone to death!" \n\nHe doesn't respond, just continues to stare.\n\n"I love you like a father, you old fart! Don't turn into a monster."\n\nHow does Alex respond to this?\n[[Apologetically|Apologises to Harriet]]\n[[Tells her to bugger off!| Friendship Destroyed!]]
"Home, I don't have an alibi." he says solemnly.\n\n"Any proof that you went home?" asks Alex, knowing the answer already. It was starting to look as though this one might already be resolved. However, he can't just call it yet. He needs to make certain.\n\nBret just shakes his head, tears welling up again.\n\n\n<strong>What Does Alex do?</strong>\n\n[[Asks another question.| SUS 1 Final Question]]\n[[Calls an end to the investigation|Ending 1 - Wrong Accusation]]
Alex is now on his second lap around the perimeter, his legs starting to feel heavy as he manoeuvres around fallen trees and rubble of collapsed and neglected buildings littering the area. A rustling ahead rips Alex away from his thoughts and he pulls up his pistol, his finger on the trigger. He slow moves towards the noise ahead, trying to make as little sound as possible. The source of the rustling seems to be coming towards him; his grip on the gun tightens. \n\nSlowly, two figures start to emerge in the thick of the trees and rubble ahead. He freezes on the spots and adjust his aim. Once he's confident he's got them, he calls out. The two figures freeze, and then call back. He recognises Gerard’s voice and immediately the tension that was building in his hands and shoulder loosens. He takes a sigh of relief. It’s been a few months now since Alex had found himself in a fire fight. He'd prefer that he wouldn't have to partake in one again anytime soon.\n\n"You guys are early! Not meant to arrive for another few hours." He calls out to them. \n\nThey walk over to him. No warm smile on their faces as they head over, something has gone wrong. It’s rare to not see Gerard with a big stupid grin on his face, even in a world like this.\n\n"What's going on?" Alex calls out, finding it difficult to hide the nervousness in his voice.\n\nIt took a while for Gerard to find the right words to say. "Marshal's Dead." He responds, an air of disbelief still within his voice. The idea that Marshal could have died still not fully realised to him. Alex eyes dart between Gerard and his companion. Gerard was the first person to say something, "We need to head back and run an investigation."\n\nAlex nodded. During his time at the encampment he had filled the role as kind of warden. He usually keeps the peace by resolving any matters or conflicts that would often come up within the group. "So it's a murder then..." He responded curtly to Gerard. Gerard nods wordlessly. Alex curses under his breath.\n\n"Alright, let’s go collect Harriet then."\n\n\n\n[[Please continue|Return to Encampment]]\n\n\n\n
Alex takes her hand grudgingly, adding more wounds to his pride as he does so. She helps him get his onto his feet. He unsuccessfully attempts to brush away the dirt on his clothes. His clothes weathered from extended use and the rough environment they now live in. He paces around the room for a bit, walking out the stiffness in his joints.\n\n"You notice anything throughout the night, Harry." He asks the woman.\n\nShe shoots him a filthy look. "Harry is a boy’s name, dick." She fires back at him.\n\n"Sorry, I mean Harriet." he says with a sheepish grin on his face. "This ancient brain struggles to tell the difference these days."\n\n"Best we put you down look old yella then." Harriet retorts. "Enough chit-chat, not much has happened since your nana nap. That's ideal, I guess."\n\nBoth Harriet and this man have been the only two people at the outpost for nearly two weeks. It is sometimes lonely and boring endeavour for those burdened with the task. Not much really occurs out here anymore, there was time that skirmishes were a regular occurrence. The world has become an unrelentingly harsh place, since the bombs fell over two decades ago. Alex and Harriet were nearing the end of their turn at the outpost and a few hours away from returning to the camp that they now call home.\n\n"Suppose I should get to work. You walked the perimeter yet? Alex asks.\n\n"Not Yet" She answers casually. "You wanna do it, since you've had your beauty sleep?"\n\n\n<strong>What does the man decide to do?</strong>\n\n[[Walk the Permeter.| Walk the perimeter]]\n[[Climb the look and check the lookout post.| Sit at the lookout]]
\t"What were you two arguing about?" Alex asks as he stand walk back around the desk back to his chair.\n\n"I don’t know, the usual shit. How he's corrupt, steals shit from people who look to him for help." He says, lacking the enthusiasm that he usually has when he talks about this topic.\n\n"Right, well witnesses say that there was more than just arguing that night." Alex shoots back at Bret.\n\n"Well, he shoved me." Bret retorts. \n\n"Not what I've heard. You were the one that was shoving him around."\n\n"He shoved me!" Bret screams at Alex as he slams his fist on the table. He had hit a nerve.\n\n\n\n[[Where did you go after your run in with Marshal?|SUS 1 Questioning 3 - Non-Threatening]]\n
Written By Nicholas Harvey\nMade as part of the Global Game Jam\n
"I guess we have our first suspect then. Thank you, Harold; we'll leave you to your hangover." Alex says as he gives him a quick wave and turns to head off.\n\n"You catch this fucker, alright. He's killed a good man." Harold calls out as climbs back into his tent.\n\nAlex and Harriet head to the building that they call their home as the day starts to turn to night. A cold night time breeze starts to flow through the camp as people begin to light their fires for the night. Harriet was the first talk, disrupting the silence between them. "You think he's capable of murder?"\n\n"Bret? Hard to tell, definitely likes to cause grief for everybody. Don't know about murder though. We've got some of the guards looking for him now. We'll find out tomorrow I guess." Alex pondered.\n\t\nAs they reached the building they both stay, they say their farewells for the night and head to separate sleeping quarters. \n\n\n\n\n[[Please continue| Day 2 INT ERLY END]]\n\n\n
He lightly knocks her hand away and stands up and slowly, his knees struggle with his decision to not accept the help. The years have clearly not been kind on his joints.\n\n"Getting cranky in your twilight years, aren't you?" She fires at him.\n\n"Only, at you Harry." he retorts.\n\nShe gives him a wounded look. "Harry is a boy's name, dick."\n\n"Sorry, I mean Harriet." he says with a sheepish grin on his face. "This ancient brain struggles these days."\n\n"Best we put you down look old yella then." Harriet retorts. "Enough chit-chat, not much has happened since your nana nap. That's ideal, I guess."\n\nBoth Harriet and this man have been the only two people at the outpost for nearly two weeks. It is sometimes lonely and boring endeavour for those burdened with the task. Not much really occurs out here anymore, there was time that skirmishes were a regular occurrence. The world has become an unrelentingly harsh place, since the bombs fell over two decades ago. Alex and Harriet were nearing the end of their turn at the outpost and a few hours away from returning to the camp that they now call home.\n\n"Suppose I should get to work. You walked the perimeter yet? Alex asks.\n\n"Not Yet" She answers casually. "You wanna do it, since you've had your beauty sleep?"\n\n[[Walk the Permeter.| Walk the perimeter]]\n[[Climb the look and check the lookout post.| Sit at the lookout]]
It has been a few a days since Harold had been caught and charged for the murder of Marshal. The guards managed to beat the reason he did it out of him. Harold had been stealing from the camp supplies; Marshal had found out and had threatened to kick him out of the camp. Alex started to make his way towards the shed that Harold was being held, his gun in his holster. Being the "warden" meant that it was unfortunately his responsibility to carry out the punishment. For Harold, the punishment was death. He walks up to the guard at the door at the shed, who silently lets him enter. He walks through the door, the guard follows behind.\n\nA few minutes a single gunshot rings throughout the camp.\n\n\nI
Alex stares at the guard. "You seriously going to do this?" he angrily asks the guard.\n\nThe guard shifts uncomfortably, but doesn't answer. \n\n"Do want Julie to hear about this? She can tear you a new one if you like."\n\nThe guard mutters a few curses under his breath before knocking on the door behind him.\n\nThe commotion inside the shed comes to a stop and shed door opens as man pokes his head out. The guard points to Alex and Harriet. The man looks at them and his eyes go wide for a second and he steps out of the shed. \n\n"I'll leave you guys to it." He says quickly as he heads off. \n\nAlex and Harriet don't respond and just push past the guard to enter the shed.\n\n\n[[Please continue|Question 1 - WIT EARLY END]]
Alex looks down the sight of his gun, and fires a round that strikes Harold into the chest, killing him instantly. The Investigation is over. \n\nTo many questions left unanswered for Alex's liking. He may have brought justice, but reasons for the murder has now been left unanswered.
Alex and Harriet walk into the shed. They see Bret, seated at a desk in the in middle of the shed. His face is buried into his hands, as he quietly sobs into them. He looks up at Alex, tears falling past his bruised eyes and cut lips. Bret has never been a very intimating person, despite being a relatively big guy. Alex stares at him for a bit in his pathetic state. He did not expect this to be face of a murderer. Alex goes and sits down on the end of the table. Harriet chooses to stand.\n\n"So...You know why you are here?" He asks Bret. Bret nods wordless, seems somewhat defeated. It looks like the guards had been having a go at him for a few hours now.\n\n"Good, then we can get straight into it again. Where were you the night of Marshal's death?" He asks Bret...Nothing. He waits a few seconds before continuing, "where we you the night of Marshal’s death?" Alex asks again.\n\n"Why should I bother answering any questions? It appears you guys have made up your minds already." Bret replies, sounding disconnected.\n\nAlex leans forward on his chair, wondering how best to handle this situation...\n\n\n\nWhat does Alex do next?\n[[Investigates in a threatening manner| Threatening Investigation]]\n[[Investigates in a non-threatening manner|Non-Threatening Investigation]]
"No, I don't. It was quite late at night. It was quite a tall guy by the looks of it." Herald replied.\n\nHe ponders something for a few seconds before continuing; "Actually, I thought it might have been that prick Bret. They had been arguing earlier in the night. It was getting a lot more heated than usual."\n\n\n\n[[What were they arguing about?|Question 3 - WIT QUEST 3]]\n[[End Interview| End Interview Early - WIT QUEST]]
\n"For Fuck-sake you idiot, you're not a suspect." snaps Alex.\n\nHarold moves towards him, his fists ready for a fight. Harriet steps between, "You grumpy farts needs to need to chill out."\n\nHarold takes a few step back and to chill out for a bit. Alex takes a few deep breaths himself, realising he's not handling the situation as well as he should.\n\nHarold eventually answers the question he was asked. "Yes, I was with him, for most of the night. We were sitting at the camp fire with a few of the others. He eventually walked off, with somebody else. It was quite late in the evening."\n\n\n\n[[Do you know who?|Question 2 - WIT QUEST 2]]
Alex and Harriet meet downstairs outside the building before at the break of dawn. Julie waits outside for them; she seems a little less upset than what she was yesterday."Heard you two have your first suspect."\n\n"Yeah that right, Bret the wimp," Answers Harriet. \n\n"Wimp? Well, I hope you guys are taking this seriously." Julie shoots back at them.\n\nHarriet is about to shoots back a rebuttal, but Alex interrupts, "you don't need to worry about that. As much as I enjoy chatting with you, we better get going." They push past her before she could get another word and continued walking; they had received word early that Bret had been brought in for questioning. \n\n\n \n[[Please Continue|Suspect Interview One - WIT EARLY END]]\n
By the time Alex and Harriet find Walter. The foul mood that had engulfed them both from their encounter with Julie and cleared.\n\nThey find him in one of the warehouse that use to store their supplies for the the camp. He standing near the entrance into the building, pacing back forth. Clearly he had been there for a while, standing guard. \n\nAlex calls out to Walter as they walk over. He waves to them, a sullen look on his face and they approach. They exchange greetings quickly before entering the warehouse.\n\nDim industrial lights plugged into the only generator at the camp light up the warehouse. The hum of the generator cuts out the noise from the outside. Alex and Harriett follow Walter as he leads him to the scene of the murder. Not much is said as they reach the far end of the warehouse. Harriet comes to a sudden stop as they see the body, frozen for a few seconds with shock. She turns back and walks away for a few minutes to compose herself. Alex walks over to the body.\n\nThe body lays spread out on the floor near a few boxes full of food rations. A pool of blood surrounds the lifeless corpse. Alex kneels down next to the body and the pool of blood and starts to examine. He notices the bruising on the arms and hands, indicating that there may have been a struggle first before he died. He then looks at the wound on the head. The head has been have caved in. A heavy blunt weapon would have been used to create this wound.\n\nHarriet comes over and holding something in her hand. "Alex, I think I've found the murder weapon."He turns around to see her hold out a heavy metal pipe in her hands. She is holding it carefully not to tamper with the evidence. Alex can see blood splatter around the edge of the weapon. He grabs it off her. It’s got weight to it, heavy enough to cave in a skull.\n\n"Anything missing?" He asks Walter.\n\n"Nothing at all." He responds. "None of the boxes are missing or opened. We got Harold to check everything a little bit after."\n\n"Shit, what are chances it was an outsider?" Alex asks, hoping that it's not somebody from the camp.\n\n"Unlikely, none of the guards have noticed anything from outside the camp. We also haven’t had any run-ins with any outsiders for close to a year now." Not the answer that Alex was hoping for. Walter continues talking. "We have a witness as well. They only want to talk to you though."\n\n"Who is it?" Harriet asks.\n\n"It’s Harold." Walter advises. \n\nOf course, Alex thinks to himself."Well, guess we better go talk to him then."\n\n\n\n[[Witness Interview|Witness Interview]]\n