Roofed
by Jim Munroe (2010)
Genres: Science Fiction

You and your brother's job  scouring the city's highest spots for a rare building material in the year 2040  is already hard enough. Now Anton's gone and gotten you trapped on a rooftop. Your acrobat bloodline will help you with the deadly heights, and your brain will figure out the genmodded plants  but will you be able to cope with having the most annoying big brother alive?

action: %
response: Click.

You hear it clear across the rooftop. Or more, you feel the cold metal sound in your chest, and it quickly drops down to settle in your belly.

Type CREDITS for the full credits, HELP if you need it, and QUIT to exit the game.

Rooftop, halfway up the chimney
You're clinging to the side of the chimney. From here you can go down to the rooftop or attempt to climb further up the top of the chimney.

And below you, looking up -- instead of standing by the access door to make sure it doesn't close, like you told him to about six times -- is your older brother Anton.

Anton notices your frozen posture halfway up the chimney. "What's the holdup?" he says. "Silk's not gonna collect itself, you know."
action: About yourself
response: You're wearing a striped sleeveless top, identical to your brother's except for the bush of chest hair he has coming out the top of his. Your chin has also refused to sprout anything that isn't embarrassing.

You are carrying nothing.

Anton yells some climbing tips from below, which you ignore.
action: You examine the chimney
response: The brick chimney looks to be the oldest part of the building. On the upper part of the chimney there's a faded graffiti tag -- a circle with a cross within it.

Down below you, Anton shades his eyes and watches you.
action: You look at Anton
response: Your brother Anton is a broad shouldered, bearded fellow with long tangled brown hair and eyes with a tendency to wander. His features are relaxed and calm. Like you, he's wearing the typical clothes of a silk collector, including the identical striped sleeveless top. He has the Claw and the containment unit.

Down below you, Anton shades his eyes and watches you.
action: Up
response: You try to climb further up, but you can't find any more suitable finger and toe holds.

Anton looks up, arms folded and nodding approvingly like he's your supervisor or something.
action: You climb the the chimney
response: You're not really close enough to Anton to do that. Might want to call him over first, or follow him.

Anton yells some climbing tips from below, which you ignore.
action: You call Anton
response: Anton sees where you are and points to the ground, indicating that he'll be staying right where he is, thanks.

Anton slaps a drumbeat on the chimney that you find distracting.
action: You examine tag
response: You stare at it and realize it's the symbol the Bad Seeds use in their revolutionary communiques.

Apparently this rooftop is their territory. One more reason to get the hell out of here.

Down below you, Anton shades his eyes and watches you.
action: You examine the access door
response: The access door is across the rooftop. You can't tell for sure that it's closed from here, but that click sound does not make you hopeful.

Anton looks up, arms folded and nodding approvingly like he's your supervisor or something.
action: You examine Anton
response: Your brother Anton is a broad shouldered, bearded fellow with long tangled brown hair and eyes with a tendency to wander. His features are relaxed and calm. Like you, he's wearing the typical clothes of a silk collector, including the identical striped sleeveless top. He has the Claw and the containment unit.

Anton slaps a drumbeat on the chimney that you find distracting.
action: You look at what you're carrying with you
response: You're wearing a striped sleeveless top, identical to your brother's except for the bush of chest hair he has coming out the top of his. Your chin has also refused to sprout anything that isn't embarrassing.

You are carrying nothing.

Anton yells some climbing tips from below, which you ignore.
action: You give you Claw
response: You're not really close enough to Anton to do that. Might want to call him over first, or follow him.

Down below you, Anton shades his eyes and watches you.
action: Go downwards
response: You climb down, dropping the last couple of feet to...

Rooftop, at the base of the chimney
A brick chimney looms above you. You're at the southeast corner of the square rooftop -- the door you came out of is to the west, an overgrown garden patch is to the northwest. You can also go north, though there's nothing that interesting there.

Your brother Anton is here, plucking at his red-and-white striped sleeveless top.
action: You give you the Claw
response: Anton gives the Claw to you.

Anton mumbles something about exploring and sets off towards the garden.
action: You examine Claw
response: An ingeniously crafted brass pole with pincers on one end, for those hard-to-get caches of spider silk, or as Anton insists on calling it, spizz. Adds another three feet to your reach.

Over a bit, Anton pretends to shovel some dirt in his attempt at anti-farmer satire.
action: You examine the containment unit
response: A reinforced silk containment unit made by Harry's pal Rudi. It matches the Claw, which is a nice touch. It also has straps so you can wear it on your .

Across the rooftop, Anton is kicking the foliage, making a mess.
action: You wear the containment unit
response: Not from here, you can't.

Anton comes over, looking bored. "Remember, if you need any big brother advice on anything you can always ask Anton about silk or whatever."
action: You ask Anton about the silk
response: Anton nods. "Oh yeah, we should totally get some silk before we get out of here, otherwise we're gonna be awful hungry tonight." He points at the chimney. "And I bet you there's some in there. I can smell the sweet sweet spizz a mile off."
action: You ask Anton about the access door
response: Anton rolls his eyes. "Don't worry, Toph, I used the bag to prop the door open." He doesn't look over at the obviously closed door.
action: You give you the the containment unit
response: Anton gives the containment unit to you.

Anton is leaning against the chimney, trying to look cool.
action: You wear it
response: You put on the containment unit.

Anton is making a sad attempt to climb the chimney, but stops when he sees you watching.
action: You look down
response: (downward)
There's nothing remarkable about the black surface of the rooftop. You just hope you don't end up having to sleep on it tonight.

Anton is hiding behind the smokestack. Why, or from whom, you couldn't say.
action: Look around
response: Rooftop, at the base of the chimney
A brick chimney looms above you. You're at the southeast corner of the square rooftop -- the door you came out of is to the west, an overgrown garden patch is to the northwest. You can also go north, though there's nothing that interesting there.

Big brother Anton is here, his beefy arms crossed as he gazes at the city.

Anton mumbles something about exploring and sets off towards the northeast corner.
action: Go upwards
response: Near the base, the cracked brick provides enough finger and toe holds to climb to...

Rooftop, halfway up the chimney
Anton looks up, arms folded and nodding approvingly like he's your supervisor or something.
action: You look up
response: (upward)
A darkish sky, a few clouds here and there.

Anton looks up, arms folded and nodding approvingly like he's your supervisor or something.
action: You examine the chimney
response: The brick chimney looks to be the oldest part of the building. On the upper part of the chimney there's a faded graffiti tag -- a circle with a cross within it.

Anton yells some climbing tips from below, which you ignore.
action: Up
response: You try to climb further up, but you can't find any more suitable finger and toe holds.

Down below you, Anton shades his eyes and watches you.
action: You use Claw
response: You will have to be more specific about what you want to use the Claw with.

Anton yells some climbing tips from below, which you ignore.
action: You use Claw on the chimney
response: Your attempt to take the chimney with the Claw makes you look as silly as Anton.

Down below you, Anton shades his eyes and watches you.
action: Go down
response: You climb down, dropping the last couple of feet to...

Rooftop, at the base of the chimney
You can see Anton here, hitching up his pants.

Anton is hiding behind the smokestack. Why, or from whom, you couldn't say.
action: You go northeast
response: The visible exits are north, northwest, west and up (to rooftop, halfway up the chimney).

Anton is leaning against the chimney, trying to look cool.
action: You go northwest
response: Rooftop, garden patch
Like a lot of buildings renovated in the 1990s, it's got a small garden patch. Fifty years later, it's still doing its best to hide the grey concrete and metal beneath. But it comes off as a bit of a green toupee in comparison to the entirely organic, silk-lined wooden skyscrapers they're building today in Mumbai and Shanghai.

Judging by the rows of unruly plants, it's been a while since this garden was actively farmed. The access door is to the south, the chimney is to the southeast and there's an empty corner to the east.

Off in the distance, Anton is making a sad attempt to climb the chimney, but stops when he sees you watching.
action: You examine garden
response: You move some the dense foliage out of the way, revealing two rows of short, bulbous vegetables separated by a plank.

Over a bit, Anton is leaning against the chimney, trying to look cool.
action: You examine the vegetables
response: There's a lot of the squat shiny cucumbers.

Across the rooftop, Anton is hiding behind the smokestack. Why, or from whom, you couldn't say.
action: You take the cucumbers
response: Half-submerged in the ground, the plank is about a dozen feet long.

Off in the distance, Anton is making a sad attempt to climb the chimney, but stops when he sees you watching.

You take one of the vegetables. It's heavier than you would have expected, and sits comfortably in the palm of your hand like it was designed to do so.

Over a bit, Anton is leaning against the chimney, trying to look cool.
action: You take the plank
response: You try, but the plank is stuck too solidly in the ground for your skinny arms to move.

Across the rooftop, Anton is making a sad attempt to climb the chimney, but stops when he sees you watching.
action: You call Anton
response: Anton hears you and trots over. "What? Did you find some silk?"
action: You take the plank
response: Anton leans over and pulls at the edge of the plank. It moves a bit, but then he gives up with a shrug. It's irritating, because you know he's strong enough. When he's angry he's liable to break everything in sight -- you saw him uproot a tree once.

Anton looks at you like you're joking, but when you're not smiling he gets flustered.
action: You examine the cucumber
response: (the vegetable)
It looks like a hand-sized football-shaped cucumber. The skin is a bit shiny, and as you tilt it in the light you see it's got a hologo of some sort -- a circle with a cross design --  you recognize it as being the same one from the chimney.

Anton's mouth is moving and his eyes are glassy. Suddenly he throws his arms into the air and runs in a victory circle.
action: Go east
response: Rooftop, northeast corner
There's a great view of the city from here -- from this distance, if you squint, you can't really tell most of the buildings have been stripped and abandoned. You know that's why Anton's always trying to get you guys to collect up on the rooftops, even though they've mostly been picked clean years ago -- so he can stare at his precious Tower.

At the northernmost edge of the building you can see the street below, which you recognize as the place where you entered the building. The garden patch is to the west, the chimney is to the south and the exit door is southwest.

Off in the distance, Anton thinks he sees a bug in the dirt, but it's just a pebble.
action: You eat the cucumber
response: You're about to, but at the last minute something stops you from biting into the taut green skin. There's something... weird about it.

Across the rooftop, Anton pretends to shovel some dirt in his attempt at anti-farmer satire.
action: You look at Tower
response: The city looks prettier at twilight, when you can't see the busted windows and the fireblackened walls. The Tower, aside from the structural damage, is pretty well off, since the windows at the top are intact -- high enough to ward off the most determined looters. So far.

For some reason, the arachnoids tended to nest in high areas, and there's nowhere higher than the Tower. Even twenty years after the giant mutant spiders died out silk collectors like your brother are still hell-bent on getting the legendary deposits they left on top of the pod.
action: You go to the southwest
response: Rooftop, by the exit
To the west you can see a nearby building, about the same height as the one you're on.

The garden patch is north, the chimney is east and the empty corner is northeast.

The concrete stairwell exit is a rectangle protruding at least fifteen feet from the rooftop, its only feature a closed metal door.

For (probably ill-advised) reasons of his own, Anton heads to the garden.
action: You look at the door
response: It's a rectangular cube sticking up out of the tarmac like a big white robot tooth. It's featureless except for the outline of a door, and the door is handleless.

Anton comes by, patting his belly. He notices you looking at the door.

"Don't worry, Toph," he says. "I put the bag --"

His face falls when he looks at the door.

"I..." He stares at the handleless door. "Toph, you gotta believe me, I wedged the bag in there real good. I don't..."
action: You open the door
response: There's no handle on this side.

Anton pounds the locked door and yells for help, even though the two of you had walked up the six flights of stairs without seeing another soul.
action: You look at the building
response: It's similar to the one you're on, except that the exit door is hanging off its hinges. Instead of a garden there's a faded billboard for a long forgotten movie. Given its alphanumeric website address it's a few decades old at least.

There's probably a ten foot gap between the buildings.

"I bet I could jump that," Anton says, doing some leg stretches.

"You bet your life?" you say, pointing to the ground below.

Anton stops doing leg stretches.

Anton's slumped down on the ground. "OK. We need a plan." He looks at you hopefully.
action: You take the plank
response: Anton nods, but clearly he wasn't listening.

Anton's still nervous, his eyes wide and his nostrils occasionally flaring.
action: You follow
response: (the access door)
Anton seems less freaked out.
action: You follow you
response: Anton punches the door and then immediately regrets it.
action: Go north
response: Rooftop, garden patch
There's a plank between the rows of plants.

You can also see a row of vegetables here.

For (probably ill-advised) reasons of his own, Anton heads to the exit door.
action: You take the plank
response: You're not really close enough to Anton to do that. Might want to call him over first, or follow him.

Over a bit, Anton is sitting on the ground. He's discovered that the tarmac is slightly soft and is pressing his hand into it to make a print.
action: You call Anton
response: Anton hears you and trots over. "What? Did you think of a plan?"
action: You get the the plank
response: Anton leans over and pulls at the edge of the plank. It moves a bit, but then he gives up with a shrug. It's irritating, because you know he's strong enough. When he's angry he's liable to break everything in sight -- you saw him uproot a tree once.

Anton looks at you like you're joking, but when you're not smiling he gets flustered.
action: You tell Anton about the plank
response: "You thinking what I'm thinking?" Anton says. "We can chop it up and sell it on the chopstick market!"
action: Dig
response: What do you want to dig?
action: You dig the garden
response: What do you want to dig the plants with?
action: You dig the plants with Claw
response: That's a precision instrument -- you shudder to think what Harry would say if you got it all clogged up with dirt.
Your attempt to dig the garden with the Claw makes Anton snicker.

Anton is kicking the foliage, making a mess.
action: You examine the foliage
response: It makes you think about that girl at the market who's always encouraging you to come down to help out on their farm. But no, Anton would never go for that.

Anton's mouth is moving and his eyes are glassy. Suddenly he throws his arms into the air and runs in a victory circle.
action: Inventory
response: You're wearing a striped sleeveless top, identical to your brother's except for the bush of chest hair he has coming out the top of his. Your chin has also refused to sprout anything that isn't embarrassing.

You are carrying a vegetable, the containment unit (being worn and empty) and the Claw.

Anton thinks he sees a bug in the dirt, but it's just a pebble.
action: You hit Anton
response: Knocking some sense into your brother is tempting, but you know from experience that it's a waste of time.

Anton pretends to shovel some dirt in his attempt at anti-farmer satire.
action: You throw the cucumber at Anton
response: (the vegetable at Anton)
Convincing yourself that an old fashioned food fight will let off some steam, you throw the veggie at Anton. It smashes into his chest, and -- disturbingly -- grey-green vines burst forth from the mess at a shocking speed to encircle your brother.

There's a moment where he's tied up as effectively as if with rope, and then his stunned expression starts to darken.

Anton's arms strain. "No... trap... from a stupid FARMER," bursting through the tendrils, "...can hold a Karrento!"

The vines fall off of him into a pile at his feet and begin to rot.

Anton's still mad, kicking at the tarmac.
action: You get the the plank
response: He funnels his rage into pulling the plank free of the dirt in a cloud of dust!

Anton picks up the plank.

Anton seems to have cooled down.
action: You take the cucumber
response: You grab another of the cucumbery vegetables.

Anton's mouth is moving and his eyes are glassy. Suddenly he throws his arms into the air and runs in a victory circle.
action: Go southeast
response: Rooftop, at the base of the chimney
Off in the distance, Anton is kicking the foliage, making a mess.
action: You throw the cucumber at the chimney
response: Leaving your hand like a green oblong snowball, it smacks into the chimney and sends out its viney tendrils around and around the structure until the tough vines cover the surface.

Anton strolls by and lets out a low whistle. "Those farmers are getting trickier every year."
action: Go upwards
response: Near the base, the cracked brick provides enough finger and toe holds to climb to...

Rooftop, halfway up the chimney
Anton looks up, arms folded and nodding approvingly like he's your supervisor or something.
action: Go upwards
response: The latticework of vines helps you scale the surface...

Rooftop, top of the chimney
You're on the lip of the chimney, the inside of which has been mostly bricked up.

You can see the whole rooftop from here.

Inside an alcove you spot a small amount of spider silk.

Down below you, Anton shades his eyes and watches you.
action: You examine the silk
response: It's white, with just a tiny bit of a shimmer in certain lights. Weird to think it'll end up in some organic skyscraper in Asia somewhere, reinforcing a wooden beam or strut.

Down below you, Anton shades his eyes and watches you.
action: You take it
response: Silk's reactive with organic substances, which is why it's so valuable for reinforcing building materials. If you're wondering how reactive, you only have to look at Harry's friend Two-Fingers Nancy.

"Toph, you see any of the white stuff up there? We gotta get us some spizz..." Anton calls from below.
action: You take the silk with Claw
response: Carefully you pinch the silk with the Claw and gently wind the strands around. Harry gives you a slightly better price for it when it's in one piece and free of debris.

You put it into the containment unit and engage the lock. Success!

"Toph, you see any of the white stuff up there? We gotta get us some spizz..." Anton calls from below.
action: Go downward
response: You take a moment to appreciate the view before you climb down, to appreciate the lack of Anton's inane chatter that fills every moment of every day.

Something about the top of the access door cube across the rooftop catches your eye. It seems to have a bulge.

Down below you, Anton shades his eyes and watches you.
action: You examine bulge
response: You have to squint to see it across the rooftop -- it's easy to miss, being white-on-white, but you realize that the top of the access door cube has a lump of spider silk.

You've never seen a deposit that big. It's like, good-ol-days big.

Down below you, Anton shades his eyes and watches you.
action: Go downward
response: Rooftop, halfway up the chimney
Anton looks up, arms folded and nodding approvingly like he's your supervisor or something.
action: You go northwest
response: The visible exits are up (to rooftop, top of the chimney) and down (to rooftop, at the base of the chimney).

Anton looks up, arms folded and nodding approvingly like he's your supervisor or something.
action: You go downwards
response: You climb down, dropping the last couple of feet to...

Rooftop, at the base of the chimney
Anton is here.

Anton is hiding behind the smokestack. Why, or from whom, you couldn't say.
action: Go northwest
response: Rooftop, garden patch
You can see a rotting mess and a row of vegetables here.

For (probably ill-advised) reasons of his own, Anton heads to the exit door.
action: You take the cucumber
response: As you grab another veggie Anton gives you a poke in the bum and you drop it into the patch.

It explodes, and the vegetable it hit explodes, and so on around the patch until all the vegetables are gone.

Anton shakes his head and wanders off. "Smooth as silk, Toph. Smooth. As. Silk."
action: You tell Anton about the bulge
response: You're not really close enough to Anton to do that. Might want to call him over first, or follow him.

Over a bit, Anton is examining the exit door minutely.
action: You tell Anton about bulge
response: Anton hears you and trots over. "What? Did you think of a plan?"

Anton squeezes you on the shoulder. "Nice grab!" You go on to tell him about the much larger cache you've spotted. His eyes grow bigger and bigger until you think they might pop out of his head.
action: You check your inventory
response: You're wearing a striped sleeveless top, identical to your brother's except for the bush of chest hair he has coming out the top of his. Your chin has also refused to sprout anything that isn't embarrassing.

You are carrying the Claw and the containment unit (being worn), inside which is a small amount of spider silk.

Anton points off to another point of the rooftop. "Gonna see what I can see," he says as he walks away. "Just give a call when you need me."
action: You examine Anton
response: Your brother Anton is a broad shouldered, bearded fellow with long tangled brown hair and eyes with a tendency to wander. His features are relaxed and calm. Like you, he's wearing the typical clothes of a silk collector, including the identical striped sleeveless top. He has a plank.

Across the rooftop, Anton appears to be negotiating with the door, but it doesn't seem to be going well.
action: You look at the plank
response: It's about a dozen feet long.

Off in the distance, Anton appears to be negotiating with the door, but it doesn't seem to be going well.
action: You go south
response: Rooftop, by the exit
Anton is here.

The concrete stairwell exit is a rectangle protruding at least fifteen feet from the rooftop, its only feature a closed metal door.

Anton is examining the exit door minutely.
action: Up
response: It's too high to jump to, and the cube's surface has no climbable nooks and crannies.

Anton punches the door and then immediately regrets it.
action: You ask Anton for the plank
response: Anton gives the plank to you.

Anton is sitting on the ground. He's discovered that the tarmac is slightly soft and is pressing his hand into it to make a print.
action: You climb the plank
response: You like climbing for climbing's sake, but even so you don't see the point of that.

Anton farts, pretends you did it, and then heads off, shooting back disgusted looks from the garden.
action: You put the plank on the cube
response: You do your best, leaning the plank against the wall of the fifteen foot cube. Then Anton wanders by and notices what you're up to. "You could just climb me, Toph, I'm way more useful than that stupid farmer's plank."
action: You climb Anton
response: To free your hands for climbing a bit, you drop the plank.
With ease that you've had since childhood, you scramble up your brother's body and end up standing on his shoulders. The body memory makes you recall, with a twinge, how proud your parents were of this ability when you were a toddler.

The top of the exit cube is now only a few inches from your fingertips.
action: You take the silk with Claw
response: You'd rather leave it in the containment unit, unless you have some specific idea of what you'd like to do with it.
action: You get on the cube
response: That's not something you can enter.

Anton shifts and looks up with a pained look, and since you're not doing anything you decide to climb down off his shoulders.
action: You climb Anton
response: You climb Anton, amazed at his pungent smell given that you'd bathed just yesterday. One of his many mysteries.

The top of the exit cube is now only a few inches from your fingertips.
action: You jump
response: You bend your knees and with a jump you get your fingers hooked around the ridge of the roof. Anton goes sprawling, but a few seconds later you've pulled yourself up to...

Rooftop, on top of the exit cube
The top of the access door structure is a bit weathered but solid, holding you easily. You can go down from here.

You half-think the silk is a trick of the light, but no. Here it is. A big sticky lump of spider silk.

Down below you, Anton shades his eyes and watches you.
action: You take the silk with Claw
response: (the large amount of spider silk with the Claw)
You use the Claw to stuff the container full of silk. You've never filled the container before. You can't wait to see the look on Harry's face -- you'll be able to eat for weeks on this. You close the container.

Anton looks up, arms folded and nodding approvingly like he's your supervisor or something.
action: You go downward
response: Rooftop, by the exit
Anton is here.

The concrete stairwell exit is a rectangle protruding at least fifteen feet from the rooftop, its only feature a closed metal door.

You can also see a plank here.

Anton appears to be negotiating with the door, but it doesn't seem to be going well.
action: You take the plank
response: Taken.

Anton is examining the exit door minutely.
action: You look at the building
response: It's similar to the one you're on, except that the exit door is hanging off its hinges. Instead of a garden there's a faded billboard for a long forgotten movie. Given its alphanumeric website address it's a few decades old at least.

There's probably a ten foot gap between the buildings.

Anton wanders off to the northeast corner.
action: You put the plank on the gap
response: The plank now provides a very narrow escape route to the west.

Off in the distance, Anton is staring at the sky, a goofy grin on his face.
action: You go west
response: Anton arrives at Rooftop, garden patch from the east.
action: Go west
response: Channelling your tightrope-walking ancestors, you place one foot in front of the other, trying not to think about--

--you've never backstepped this fast but it might not be fast enough but then Anton grabs you in a big bear hug and pulls you to safety.

Rooftop, by the exit (in Anton's bear hug)
To the west you can see a nearby building, about the same height as the one you're on.

The garden patch is north, the chimney is east and the empty corner is northeast.

On the nearby building is a plank.

The concrete stairwell exit is a rectangle protruding at least fifteen feet from the rooftop, its only feature a closed metal door.

"TOPH!" At first you think you're shaking, but then you realize it's Anton.
action: You look at the plank
response: It's about a dozen feet long with a crack in the middle.

Anton's eyes are darting around fearfully, he's muttering "Careful, careful careful..."
action: You examine the billboard
response: What hasn't been bleached by the sun has been soaked through by the rain. But you can just make out the URL: www.ghostswithshitjobs.com.

You give your brother a squeeze and a pat on the back and the catatonic look leaves his face. He looks at you happily and then shakes you, pushes you away.

The plank is still in one piece, barely. You lean over to pull it in but seeing the pavement below gives you a sick fantasy of having your brains spread over them. You take a few stumbling steps back from the edge and sit on the tarmac.
action: You get the plank with Claw
response: It's too lightweight a tool for that.

Anton sees what you're trying to do and pulls in the plank himself.

"That was a close one, Toph. Geez. The closest."
action: You ask Anton,  to go west
response: Anton nods. "I could make that jump easy, Toph. But then where would that leave you?"

Anton looks at you like you're joking, but when you're not smiling he gets flustered.

The plank sticks up where it's cracked and Anton stomps it flat.

"You shoulda tied off. Collectors die every day from being stupid."

"Tied off?" you say, "With the rope in the bag YOU LOST?!" The familiar rage you feel at your brother burns away the last of nausea in your belly.

"No," he says with a sullen kick at the tarmac.
action: Open containment unit
response: Don't fiddle about with the SCU. It's for spider silk-related things only.

Anton's still nervous, his eyes wide and his nostrils occasionally flaring.
action: You put the silk on the plate
response: Which do you mean, the large amount of spider silk or the small amount of spider silk?
action: You put the small amount of the silk on the plank
response: You lay it over the length of the wood, making sure to cover the crack. It hisses and smokes dramatically, the wood blackening wherever the white fibre makes contact.

Blinking the smoke from your eyes, you panic that it's the wrong kind of wood -- but the hissing has stopped.

Anton looks at the board and at you with a baffled look on his face.

Anton seems less freaked out.
action: You look at Anton
response: Your brother Anton is a broad shouldered, bearded fellow with long tangled brown hair and eyes with a tendency to wander. His features are relaxed and calm.

Anton punches the door and then immediately regrets it.
action: You examine the plank
response: It's about a dozen feet long with a crack in the middle and shiny black veins where the silk has reacted with it.

Anton wanders off to the exit door.
action: Go west
response: There's a ten foot gap. You could always climb pretty much anything, but long jump was never your strong suit.

Anton is sitting on the ground. He's discovered that the tarmac is slightly soft and is pressing his hand into it to make a print.
action: You put the plank on the gap
response: You need to be holding the plank before you can put it on top of something else.

Anton appears to be negotiating with the door, but it doesn't seem to be going well.
action: You take the plank
response: Taken.

Anton is sitting on the ground. He's discovered that the tarmac is slightly soft and is pressing his hand into it to make a print.
action: You put the plank on the gap
response: The plank now provides a very narrow escape route to the west.

Anton is examining the exit door minutely.
action: Go west
response: You look back at your brother. "OK, Anton. I'll go across first to make sure it's safe. Then you."

Anton looks anxious. "I don't think so, Toph. I mean, you almost got turned into sidewalk jam the last time. Can't you just go down and open the the door from the inside?"

It's a bad idea to leave your brother alone. The last time you left Anton by himself he got his pinky finger stuck in a pipe so bad he ended up sleeping with it for a week. But it's obvious he's not going to go across in this nervous state. You need to get his mind off the danger.

Anton punches the door and then immediately regrets it.
action: Continue
response: You've gotta show Anton something that'll take his mind off the very real chance of death first.

Anton farts, pretends you did it, and then heads off, shooting back disgusted looks from the northeast corner.
action: You show the silk to Anton
response: Which do you mean, the large amount of spider silk or the small amount of spider silk?
action: Large amount
response: Anton flips open the container and his eyes bug out of his head when he sees how much silk there is. "Wha--"

Anton is blazing with excitement, all anxieties forgotten.
action: Go west
response: Before you step out onto the plank, you look back at your brother. "Now we gotta be extremely careful with--"

Anton makes a contemptuous sound. "Careful!?! If we were careful we never would have gotten trapped on a roof and made the score of the century," Anton raves, his face beaming. "Let's go! I can't wait to see Harry's face!"

He pushes you to the side and strides out onto the plank.
action: Wait
response: Time passes.

Half way across, right on the crack, he turns around and looks at you with his big, puppy-dog eyes.

He raises his arms in the air. "Take that, Pachenkos! You can't trap the Karrento Brothers!"

Not wanting to draw attention to the incredible danger he's in, you just raise your arms and try to smile.
action: Wait
response: Time passes.

Anton throws his head back and guffaws, then walks safely to the other end of the plank.

"C'mon Toph, let's go blow Harry's mind!"
action: Go west
response: You cross the plank -- still totally stable, the spizz really works -- and join your brother.

Arm in arm, you head down the stairs, chanting "KAR-REN-TO!"

Heading to Harry's to cash in your silk, you pass the alley between the buildings where you could have fallen to your death. You look away, not willing to face what could have happened, and instead clamber up on your brother's shoulders. You grab his thick mane of hair as he starts to gallop like a horse, just like when you were kids.
action: You look around
response: Conciousness is slowly returning...
Something inside is telling you to wake up. Part of your mind says "Sunrise approaches."

Underneath your dream you feel a deep shiver... It is a chime, the bell of a clock-tower. Another follows, and another. You count them, fully awake suddenly, counting them down. Six. Five. Four. Three.

Your eyes close, and your stomach tightens in anticipation. The sheets around you feel very safe.

Two. One.

The first ray of sunlight lances through the slats in the window-blind. It strikes your eyes, and you feel yourself go.