//------------------------------// // 12 // Story: CYOA: Next in Line // by David Silver //------------------------------// You pull out your dagger and set it on the desk. "Thank you, so--" She doesn't get to finish, as you draw your pistol and set it neatly, facing neither of you. "Oh, great. The--" You draw a second dagger from your boot and put it next to the first. "Is... there more?" Sweetie is peering at you skeptically. "Are we done?" You bring your hands together gently. "There are some weapons I can't put down. But I imagine that's true for you too." Sweetie's ears pin back a moment before she laughs tensely. "You have a point. I have no weapons, but I couldn't say I'm unarmed. Fair." She brushes the weapons aside and out of the way. "You are a warrior." You don't offer an argument. "I can respect that, but what kind of warrior? This world, the one you're trying to get into, is not like the one you're leaving behind." She leans back in her chair, prompting a squeak. "But I'm getting ahead of myself. Why don't you tell me about your world?" You: 1) Tell her about a cruel world where the strongest survived. 2) Tell her about a fairly normal world. You just like being prepared.