Create your own story: Road Trip (Prep)

Create your own story: Road Trip

Read along the story and choose what you want to happen

How big is your group?

7 players

6 players

5 players

Your group has decide to go on a roadtrip around the country during your holidays. You all want it to be just you, car and backpacks. Where are you going?

Mountain

Coast

You decide to go to the coast. Good weather, sun... but, there are six of you. Do you...

Take twocars

Take one big car

You all pile up in the van, fasten your seatbelts and are ready to go. One of you puts the direccion on Google maps and it gives you two options. - The main route: Highway crossing through the interior - "Scenic" route lining the coast.

Scenic route

Main route

You are having a great time, enjoying the views with the air con at full blast. And you have only got mad at each other a couple of times. Setting the playlist on shuffle was a great idea. You are enjoying the road, the music and the conversation when you see a sign with the next gas stations on it.

Say something

Ignore it

You decide to ignore it. If you needed fuel, the driver would have noticed. Let's just chill and enjoy the music. What could go wrong?

Enjoy

You decide to tell the driver. He checks the tank indicator and is almost empty. Thanks God you said something! You are going to stop on the next station and refill the car.

Go to the gasstation

You arrive at the gas station. It's time to make a little stop and stretch your legs. Should you...

Go buy snacks

Go to the restroom

You decide to go buy snacks. After all, the car is not the only one who needs to refuel. You are looking around searching for something tasty when you see someone behaving rather (suspiciously/weird/erratically) You look around but nobody is paying attention. You...

Keep looking around. Sure he is okay

Go back to the car.Stomach can wait

You decide to keep looking around. What can go wrong? Besides, you are hungry and craving non-healthy snacks. Everything is good until the suspicious behaviour becomes worrisome. Do you…

Go to a more secure/hidden part of the shop

Stay where you are

Slowly and nonchalantly, you signal to the rest of the group to come with you and you move to a corner of the shop hidden behind an aisle. Just then, the suspicious individual takes out a knife and threatens the cashier. You and your friends crunch down and out of sight. - Do you keep hidden in silence? As long as the cashier does what they say everything will be okay - Try to take your phone and alert the police

Take phone out

Keep hidden in silence

You keep hidden in silence. You look around the shop to see if there's anyone else around that may get nervous and complicate things a little.

It's just you and the cashier

There's a man

You move slightly out of your hideout, trying to make eye contact with the cashier to let them know they're not alone. When they look at you, you can see the panic on their eyes. it looks like they are begging you to do something

Try to help out

Ignore it. It would be over soon

Even if it pains you a little. You decide not to help. You are sure that in situations like this, helping can be worse. Insurance will pay, and it's not worth risking your life. The cashier looks resign but gives out the money of the register and the robber leaves. You let out a sigh of relief. It was really scary but everybody is safe and sound

Next

You call the police and ask them to send an ambulance too. The cashier is looking a little too pale and you feel like your heart is going to come out of your chest. You get check by the paramedics and are ask to give a statement. You also have to give your contact information to the police. You are allow to continue on with your vacation, with a new story to tell and the knowledge that you may testify in a trial. What a start to the break!

The cashier looks too nervous and panicky, so at the end you decide to help them. You and your friends look at each other. There’re three of you, and one of them. You should be able to overpower them, right?

Not so sure

Yes

You move to closer but still hidden positions. You are going to observe and if it looks like they would do something to the cashier, then you would act. You don’t know why, but suddenly the cashier has the knife and the robber is prepared to launch themselves at her. You all act at once and get him. You look for supplies and tie him down. Your friends come back from the toilet and are quick to call the police- VINCULAR FINAL DETENCION CIVIL

vincular

You approach slowly trying not to make a sound, you are almost there when one of your friends steps into a candy wrapper. The robber turns around, you look to your other friend and jump towards the robber just as they realise they weren’t alone. You grapple for a couple of minutes but you manage to take the knife from them

Throw it away

Keep it

You throw the knife away from them and between the three of you, you manage to immobilise them. You tie them down with supplies from the shop while the cashier calls the police. You wait there for some time until the police arrive. They tell you that because you performed a “civil arrest”, you will have to accompany them to the police station to give your statement.

Well...

You tell the others who have gone to the bathroom, they are not exactly happy, but they think you guys did the right thing. You spend the rest of the day at the police station and have to look for a place to spend the night. You lost one day of travel and your budget is now smaller, but at least you help someone. Right? Maybe it would have been better to run out of gas

In the heat of the moment, you keep it in your grasp. You don’t want them grabbing it again. You look at your friends, they look like they are going to grab the robber

Move away with knife

Don't react

You move away before anything happens. You’ve seen a lot of movies where fast actions like that took a turn for the worst. Your friends manage to immobilise them, and you move around the shop fast trying to find something to contain him. Once he can’t move, you call the police.

Police

You wait there for some time until the police arrive. They tell you that because you performed a “civil arrest”, you will have to accompany them to the police station to give your statement. You tell the others who have gone to the bathroom, they are not exactly happy, but they think you guys did the right thing. You spend the rest of the day at the police station and have to look for a place to spend the night. You lost one day of travel and your budget is now smaller, but at least you help someone. Right? Maybe it would have been better to run out of gas.

They move too fast and you don’t have time to react. They end up pushing him towards you and you all fall in a heap. You try to get up fast and keep the knife safe. You don’t want any accidents. Just as you are about to do it, you hear your friend yell. In the heat of the moment, he got stabbed with the knife.

Helpfriend

Catch robber

Both you and your friend quickly turn to help your injured friend. You just care about helping your friend, the robber takes that opportunity to run away. You don’t even notice, you are too focused on yelling, asking the cashier to please, for the love of God, call an ambulance. The rest of the group came back from the toilet just in time to find you all screaming in panic and blood on the floor. Someone, not the cashier, manages to call an ambulance.

Ambulance

They come relatively fast and take them to the hospital, even though it looks like a superficial wound they want to play it safe. You have to stay in the gas station and give a statement and description of the robber to the police. After you are done you all go to the hospital. Your friend is fine, but they need stitches and won’t be able to swim in the ocean for about two weeks. Should we keep going?

No

Yes

You have a meeting once they’re clear to go. You all agree that you want to keep going with your holidays. You are discussing the arrangements and new plans when one of the nurses hears you. She heard what happened and feels bad for you. She offers to call a friend who rents apartments and ask if they have any last minute cancellation

Yes, please

Nah, it's okay

She comes 10 minutes later. Apparently karma exists. They had a last minute cancellation of a small “villa” near the coast that even has a small pool. You can have it for half the price if you accept the days they have it free. You accept. The villa is giant and looks like a place for rich people. You had the best time, playing games, cards, and talking. Also, the pool is great. It may not have been what you thought, but it is pretty near perfect.

You say thank you for offering but prefer to look for it yourself. You had enough emotions for one day and feel like it’s better to take a small break and regroup. You find a hotel that has free rooms and it’s not too expensive. You talk about what new plans you can have, now that the circumstances have changed - Look for a cheap hotel instead of camping - Look for any cheap accommodations on the mountain side so you can make hiking trips.

Cheap mountain

Cheap hotel

You look for a cheap hotel, so everyone could be more comfortable and your friend's wound could be better taken care of and remain cleaner. You find one close by, it looks a little shady but what is important is that you are all together, right? Beds are super uncomfortable, food is disgusting and the pool is tiny. You prefer to skip the beach for your friend's sake. All in all 1/10 terrible experience, would not recommend. But at least, you got a ton of stories to tell, and maybe someday, laugh about.

You look for cheap/ last minute accommodations on the mountain/interior in hopes everyone is heading to the coast. You were right! There are a lot of options and they are within our budget. You find a cabin that looks pretty good and even has a small pool. You got there the next day and…..

Thank God, it's perfect!

Scammed

You have a very hard time finding the house. You are driving around where it said it was, but you can’t see it, and the roads aren’t easy. You are about to give up and call it quits when you see it in the distance. Thank God! — Or not… once you get closer you can see that it looks like the cabin in the picture, but maybe 15 years older. Maybe it looks better on the inside. You go to where they told you the keys were and...

Who are you?

No keys

They’re not there. You look around while one of your friends tries to call the person in charge. They are not answering and you can’t find the keys anywhere. Another friend decides to try the door, and as soon as they turn the knob, it collapses on itself. The inside is worse than the outside, and there’re probably new species emerging in the pool. You left the dilapidated cabin house behind. It looks like there won’t be any holidays after all. You’ve lost the time, the money and the will to keep trying. Let’s hope next year is better.

You find them there. At least there’s that. You are all standing close to each other in front of the door, hoping and praying it is better on the inside. You try the key, but it’s hard to turn it. You are getting a little nervous trying to open it when suddenly the door opens itself. WTH? A man opens the door, asking you what you are doing trying to get into his home. You all look at each other confused. You try to calm him down and explain to him that you have rented the cabin and show them your phone with the details. He starts rambling about stubborn people and just watch when he sees them, that he’s been living here for years.

What?

You don’t understand anything. He tells you to tell them that this is his house, and has been for ten years, so they better accept it! You try again and again to get in contact with the agency. You manage to get in contact with them and explain the whole situation.They sighed. Apparently he’s a squatter they’ve been dealing with for years. They agree to return your money once you threaten to call the police. Looks like this is not your year, you will go back home and plan it better for next year. With lots of contingency plans

It looks perfect! Just like the pictures! A spacious living room with a big TV. The rooms are big enough, beds are comfortable and the pool fits all of you and even has sunbeds for all! Good luck feels surreal!

It's too perfect

Great!

You almost can’t believe it, but it is true! The cabin is perfect and you have a blast. You all spend time relaxing in the pool, talking and playing board games. It was a bumpy road, but by the end you all agreed it was worth it. One of the best vacations of your life!

After everything that happened, you are not too fast to trust, and decide to relax by the pool or maybe take a little hiking excursion

Hike

Pool

You decide to go to the pool, sunbathe or swim for a little while. Everything is going perfectly; you are half asleep on the sunbed, when suddenly one of your friends screams. Apparently you are not the only one who thinks the pool is nice. When you open your eyes you see dozens of bees flying around you and dipping into the pool. You grab your towel and run to the house. Looks like the pool is no longer an option. Well, at least the house has darts and a pool table.

You and a couple more decide to explore the mountain a little. In the description of the house it said there were hiking trails marked. You find a green, a red, and a yellow one Which one do you follow?

Red

Yellow

Green

You settle on yellow. Shouldn’t be too easy nor too hard, right? Yellow is always in the middle. It’s the right decision. The trail takes the perfect amount of time, and at the end of it, there’s a beautiful lake. You spend some time there, relaxing, admiring the views and skipping stones. You stay until the sun starts to set, just enough to see the change of colours in the sky reflect on the water. You leave with just the amount of time to make it back with some light, enough not to get lost. You would tell the others of the lake. It sure is a good place to spend time at. You all come back multiple times to spend time and watch the sunset. You make unforgettable memories with your friends

Some of them want to do the red one, but you don’t feel so sure about it. Red usually means difficult, and you know you don’t have enough time today

Go anyways

Pass

You go anyway. Everyone insists you take water, food, warm clothes, phones fully charged and walkie-talkies, just in case. You had already had bad luck, so you agree. Turns out you didn’t really need it. Apparently in this case, the red route is short and easy to follow. We may check out the other ones tomorrow, and maybe it won't be even worth it. How short are they going to be? You may find out a different time. For now, let’s just enjoy what we have

You prefer to skip it. Better safe than sorry. Some of your friends insist on going, but you all make sure they have water, food, warm clothes, phones fully charged and walkie-talkies, just in case. You already had an accident. Not even two hours later, they are back. Apparently, it was very short and easy to do. You may do it tomorrow then. But if that was the hard one… how easy is the green? You may find out a different time. For now, let’s just enjoy what we have

You settle in the green one. Green usually means easy and you look up the markings. Green means local route, so you feel confident you will be back before the sun starts to set. Well… think again. Apparently the one who set the markings has no idea of the code. You’ve been walking for over two hours and can’t see the end. - Doesn’t matter , let’s finish! - Maybe it’s better to head back

Go back

Let's go!

You decide not to risk it and head back. You can always come back tomorrow with more time. Just as you are getting out of the woods, the sun starts to set. You see one of the best sunsets of your life, the light coming through the foliage and reflecting in the pool in a mixture of reds, oranges and pinks. What a good way to finish your real first day of vacation

You know it’s gonna get dark, but you are committed to finish, it can’t be much longer. After another hour, you start to actually worry, the sun has started to set and light is going fast. You weren't prepared for how truly dark it was going to be. You try to call the ones who stay at the house but, surprise, surprise, no service. You… - Come back fast even of there’s no light - Look for a safe place to spend the night

Safe place

Let's go back

You are not risking anything, you are going back and you are going back fast. You’ve got your phone’s flashlight and you kind of know the way. It should be faster, right? You all go as fast as you dare, though it is hard to see. You know you should be close already when suddenly you step on a fallen branch and fall. You’ve twisted your ankle. You are all getting worried again when you see lights. The rest of the group, worried about you not being back, has come looking for you in case anything happened. They help you up, and you all make your way back, slower this time. You have a twisted ankle and your friend a stab wound, but at least you can relax on the sunbeds for the rest of the holidays. You sure would have stories to tell

It’s getting dark fast, and the noises of the woods are getting louder. You all decided to make a little safe camp and wait out the night. You can’t risk getting lost on your way back and end up even further away. It’s better to wait for daylight. You find a little clear on a small hill. It’s big enough for all of you and has good visibility. You put all your things in the middle and make a makeshift little camp. You decide to take turns being awake. You all try to stay awake by talking, but people start falling asleep. It has been a very intense couple of days.

It’s your turn when you start hearing more noise, steps and the rustling of the leaves. You are starting to get really scared when you hear a whistle and someone calling your names. It turns out to be the forest rangers. Your friends were worried you weren’t coming back and after trying to find you close by, they called the authorities. They guide you out of the woods and warn you to be more careful next time, look up the info about the routes before starting one, and do it when you have enough time. Better to just enjoy the pool for now

You decided you had enough adventures on the first day, maybe it’s time to call it quits and try again next year. Everyone would be healed again and you can all enjoy it fully. Maybe you would go to the mountains next time

You turn in time to see your friend checking the injured one, so you decide to follow the robber. You chase after them, you are about to catch them when they turn a corner

Not worth it

Keep chasing

You keep going anyways. Bad idea. Just as you turn the corner you see two more people waiting for the robber. You stop in your tracks, but it’s too late. As you are about to get out of there running, you get hit on your head and your world turns black. You wake up to your friend, who has gone to the toilet, frantically calling your name and shaking you. Once you come back to your senses, you made your way to the station’s shop to find an ambulance and the police. Your friend takes you to the ambulance and explains that they found you lying unconscious on the floor.

They check you over and decide you are going with them to the hospital. They keep you in observation for a concussion for 24h. The police come to take your statement and get your information in case something else happens. Your friend is fine. They didn’t get stabbed too deep, and they expect a full recovery as long as they take good care of the wound. You decide to call off the holidays. Try better luck next year and never play the hero again

You slow down. You don’t know what you can find there. Maybe it’s just the robber or maybe they have an accomplice, or more than one. You decide it’s not worth the risk. At the end of the day, you already stopped them from getting anything and your friend has been stabbed. One injured person is already enough. You let them go and go back to your friends. When you get back, the rest of your friends are already there, the situation is under control, and an ambulance is on the way. When the ambulance arrives, they take your friend to the hospital, even though it looks like a superficial wound they want to play it safe.

Vincular con la otra opcion

You move to closer but still hidden positions. You are going to observe and if it looks like they would do something to the cashier, then you would act. You don’t know why, but suddenly the cashier has the knife and the robber is prepared to launch themselves at her. You all act at once and get him. You look for supplies and tie him down. Your friends come back from the toilet and are quick to call the police. (Repetir lo de la detención civil)

Vincular con la otra opcion

You manage to get your phone out without making noise. Now the problem is… if you call the police, the robber may hear you.

Text Friends

Call anyways

You decide to call, if anything, they would be able to hear the robber and take you seriously. They answer and start asking questions in a very calm voice. You try to let them know you can speak or they will hear you. You are whispering, they can’t understand you. You are starting to get very nervous. You are trying to let them know you are in the middle of a robbery and they are asking stupid questions. You get exasperated and speak a little too loudly. Suddenly everything is too quiet. You all turn around just to see the robber looking down at you. Oh crap! You just react and tackle them to the ground. One of your friends grabs the knife as you all scramble out of there.

You just run without looking back, and when you make it out of the shop you realise your friend is kneeling on the ground, hands up and looking scared. Apparently the police were actually sent as soon as you told them, and now your friend got out running with a knife in his hands. They make you kneel down on the ground too. You can’t believe it as the police are getting you in cuffs. Just then your friends, who had gone to the toilet, alerted by the sirens, came out running trying to tell the police you are, in fact, innocent. The only one who can say you are innocent, the cashier, is nowhere to be found. The police find it easier to just detain everyone and take you to the station.

They keep you in separate rooms and interrogate you. Your “restroom” friends make it to the police station and tell their side of their story. It doesn’t change anything. It takes them hours to check the security cameras and verify your version. By the time they let you go, you are all too tired, too shaken and upset to keep going with your holidays. You just want to go home, you will try again next year

You decide to text your friends, the ones who had gone to the toilet, and ask them to call the police. They start asking questions and you keep texting the details as fast as you can without making any noise. They finally tell you they’ve called, but now you are not sure they’re going to make it in time.- Wait anyways- Pay attention in case you need a distraction

Pay attention

Wait anyways

You are sorry for the cashier, but you already managed to alert the police and you are pretty sure whatever the robber can get from a small gas station in the middle of nowhere, it’s not worth risking your life. You all wait in silence, and just as the robber gets out the door, the police arrive. They made it just in time. They take your statement and your info in case they need you as a witness in a trial, even though they say it is very improbable. You all feel a little bad for the cashier, but an agent tells you you made the right choice. You never know how things can turn out. With the go-ahead you all leave to finally start your holidays. Let’s hope you can actually relax for once!

You keep half hidden, waiting for the police to arrive. The cashier keeps looking in your direction, you try to tell them everything is alright to keep them calm, but it doesn't look like it’s working, and the police are taking their sweet time. You try to signal the cashier to stop looking at you, or they’re going to reveal you are there.

Keep looking

They stop

They realise what you are trying to say to them and they finally stop looking. Thank God. Just as the situation starts to look too tense, the police arrive. You throw yourself flat on the floor and wait for it to finish. It looks touch and go for a little bit there, but they manage to apprehend them without further risks. The police sweep the place to make sure there’s no one else. When they see you down, they ask you if you are okay. They ask you a couple of things and take your statement and contact info in case they need you as a witness. But you are free to go. You get out of the store to find the rest of your group anxiously waiting for you. You get out of there as soon as possible, there’ll be time to tell the story during your holidays.

It doesn't work, they keep looking at you and the robber realised. They sharply turn in your direction, so fast you don't have time to react. They catch you looking and start walking towards you, knife in hand. If you try to hide again, they will see your friends- Hide anyways- Run on the opposite direction

Run away

Hide anyways

You can think about anything but getting away from danger, so you get back to your hidden spot. The robber approaches, you can hear their steps getting closer and closer. You look at your friends, you are all quite terrified. He turns the corner and is right there in front of you. Just then you can hear the door opening and closing. Thank God, the police are here. You let out a sigh of relief, but it’s short-lived. It wasn’t the police, it was the cashier that took off running as soon as the robber wasn’t close. The robber realises and they look stunned for a moment. You take the chance and also take off running. You’ve just made it out when the police arrive. You point him to the robber and they apprehend them.

They make you stay until they can make sure you are innocent and not an accomplice. The cashier seems to have vanished, so you all would have to go to the station until they check the security cameras. You show them your phone with the conversation with your friend, but it’s not help. Your friends appear just as they are putting you in the police car. One of them takes a picture and another a video. You would never live this down. Thankfully they check the cameras fast and they let you go with an apology. You have a trip to go back to and a very angry parent on the phone. Thanks a lot for the picture, guys!

You take off running in the opposite direction, the robber, for whatever reason, decides to chase you, so you run around a couple aisles and see the door right there. You go for it. You take the harm away from everyone and the police should be about to make it. You get out of the shop, robber on your tail, just as the police arrive. You’ve seen action movies, you know how it works. You kneel on the ground, hands behind your head, just in case. The robber is slower to react and still has the knife in their hand, so it’s easy to know who to apprehend. They do just that. They take your statement and that of your friends and cashier. They take your contact info, you would have to testify but it would take time, so you can keep going with your holidays. The cashier thanks you for your help. Now let’s keep going with the adventure! You already have an “Epic” story to tell

You get a little nervous. You hope he is not like one of those typical men in movies that like to play the hero. Sadly, you were right to worry. The man starts talking down to the robber, telling them that what they are doing is stupid, that they’re going to get caught eventually anyways, and all for what? Some little money from a forgotten gas station? He keeps talking while walking toward the robber, who is getting more and more nervous and jittery by the moment. You have a bad feeling about it.

Right

Wrong

Thankfully, you were wrong. He changes tactics and starts talking him down, instead of talking down to him. He manages to calm the robber down and take away the knife. He throws it away, it falls near you, you push it under a shelf. The man loudly asks for someone to call the police. You realise he knew you were there, so you do as he asks. When the robber realises, they start getting agitated again and start telling you all how desperate they are, that they have kids who need food and they have been unemployed and looking for a job for a long time. - Believe them and let them go - Don’t care about your sad story

Right

Wrong

You all look at each other while the robber keeps babbling and crying. You feel sorry for them. The man looks at you, looks at them, and lets them go. But not before they promised they won’t try again. Only time will tell if they meant it. You didn’t manage to call the police before he started crying, so you just pay for your things and go to your car. In the car you tell the rest of the group what happened. You can’t stop wondering if you all took the right decision, you hope you did. Anyways, what’s done is done. It’s time to forget the past and focus on the future. Beach holiday, here I come!!

Neither of you cares. What they did was wrong. You call the police. They come, verify all of your stories check out and leave with the robber. You go to the car and back to your holidays. It could have turned out bad, but luckily it didn’t. Life goes on, you have a holiday waiting

Sometimes, you hate to be right. The man keeps on telling off on the robber, and is getting dangerously close to them. The robber holds the knife out towards him. Their hands are shaking slightly, you can see it, and the man does too. He launches himself towards the robber, they start wrestling to get hold of the knife. Suddenly, it is like everything stops. During the struggle the robber got stabbed in the stomach. The cashier is screaming, the man is yelling at them to just shut up! And the robber is bleeding a lot. You all get out of your hidden place and go look for something to help stop the bleeding. Your friends came back from the restroom asking what’s taking you so long. They stop in their tracks when they see the scene. One of them comes to help you by putting pressure on the wound, another is looking for instructions on Google, and the last one is calling an ambulance.

The man keeps on yelling at the cashier until he realises your friend is calling an ambulance, and the police. Then he suddenly stops and turns to your friend. He starts yelling at him to hang up. There’s so much noise. The cashier is still half screaming/half sobbing, the robber is loudly begging for help, the man is yelling at your friend, a different friend of yours is yelling back at him telling him to shut up, and you can also hear the voice of someone through the phone. All of that while you are keeping pressure on someone’s wound and getting their blood all over you. Everything is just too overwhelming. You are pretty sure you are on the verge of an anxiety attack. Everything moves too fast and too slowly at the same time. You are not sure how much time has passed.

When you think you can’t handle it any more, you hear the sirens. The emergency dispatcher heard all the commotion and sent everyone. You are not sure what happened, but in a flurry of movement the EMTs are with the robber, you are sitting against a shelf and someone insists on shining a light on your face. You may be in shock. When you come back to yourself, the EMTs are wheeling the robber away, the police are struggling to take the now handcuffed man away and your friends are looking at you with worried faces. What happened? Apparently you passed out, no surprises. Everything is getting sorted out. The police are trying to put the pieces together, they are not sure who the real criminal is now, so they are taking all of you to the station so they can get your testimony. After that small, quite traumatising hiccup you are back to your holiday plans. You deserve a break even more now!

You stay where you are, this is not a movie, just a random small gas station in the middle of nowhere on the coast of Spain. You will be fine. Bad idea! Bad idea! There may not be easy access to guns here, but knives still exist and they are easy to get. You knew that before, but it is even clearer with a knife on your neck. You are a hostage now. Just great. - Do what they tell you - Be “brave”

Be "brave"

Obey

Well, you are getting out of this in one piece, so whatever they say, you are doing. You stay very still, the knife is still touching your neck but is not cutting skin, so you are okay-ish. The cashier’s trembling hands are putting all the money in a bag. You are not sure where your friends are, but you can’t move your neck to look for them. You hope they stay put and don’t endanger you while trying to save you. They are the longest 5 minutes of your life, but thankfully everything goes smoothly for the robber. As soon as they get the money, they push you out of the way and run out. They got their money and you got to keep your life and your neck intact, a good deal if they ask you. The cashier is not that happy, but it wasn’t their life on the line, so you don’t really care. Apparently, you still need to wait for the police to arrive and make the report, to give your side of the story.

It seems that, the fact that you cooperated and didn’t put up too much of a fight can be interpreted as you being an accomplice. Go figure. They take your testimony and that of your friends, they also check your phone to make sure you weren’t “in conversations” with anyone suspicious. You are free for now, but they take your contact info and say to answer if they call, or you might get in trouble. Your parents are going to be so mad. You are finally back in the car, what a surreal experience. You are a little shaken, but you really want to get started with your holiday, so you ignore the bad feelings in the pit of your stomach. A little extra nervousness sure beats getting stranded in the middle of nowhere, doesn’t it?

You don’t have time for this, you had a really bad, stressful year and want to get to the beach as soon as possible. You need to disconnect, but not in a literal way. You take a deep breath, and can feel the blade of the knife in your neck. It actually feels pretty dull; you are not even sure it could hurt you

Go for it

Okay, that's it. You mentally say goodbye to your parents and siblings, and also apologise just in case you are, in fact, wrong. You recall what you once saw in a movie as a kid, self-defense is important. Was it foot, nose, stomach or nose, foot, stomach? You hope the specific order doesn’t matter that much and go for it.

It doesn't matter

It matters

It doesn’t matter. They cry out in pain and go down holding their nose and stomach. They don’t have the knife any more. As one, your friends and you move. One grabs the knife, another tackles the robber down and another ties them down. Pretty effective and well-organised if you can say so. The cashier calls the police. Your friends come back from the restroom as you wait. You tell them everything and they are, obviously, quite shocked but glad your little gamble worked out. When the police arrive, they tell all of you that because you performed a “civil arrest”, you will have to accompany them to the police station to give your statement.

You spend the rest of the day at the police station and have to look for a place to spend the night. You lost one day of travel and your budget is now smaller, but you are alive and kind of riding the high, you know? Next time, you may stay put, though.

Well…crap, the order does matter, and in your nervousness you are pretty sure you actually performed the worst combination. The robber is quite okay and what is worse, he is now pissed. You try to backtrack, but it’s too late. A small noise makes them more jumpy and as soon as you start moving, they react. You are not exactly sure of what happened, but you hear your friends yelling, you are experiencing a sort of out of body situation, and there might be blood. Like a significant amount. You black out. You wake up the next day. You are in an unfamiliar place, you look around and there are your parents. What is going on?

Turns out you got stabbed in a “delicate” place, you lost a lot of blood and you almost didn’t make it. You are okay thanks to your friend's fast reaction and the surgeon who operated on you. One of your friends called your parents in hysterics, so they made it to the hospital very fast. Your friends are all okay, they are resting in a nearby hotel after spending the night at the hospital. You would need to stay in the hospital for at least a couple of days, so no holidays for you. Later, you tell your friends they should go anyways, deep down you wish they don’t. It would be okay, though, it was you who took the risk. Next time you are turning around and away as soon as you see someone that looks even slightly dicey.

You decide to go back to the car. Nothing against anyone, but you had a bad feeling and you can always buy snacks later on. You get back on the road and a few minutes later, you see emergency service’ cars going in the direction you came from. You can be sure anything happened at the gas station, but you feel reassured on your choice nonetheless. Time to enjoy your holidays!

You and a couple of the others decide to go to the restroom. Better now than regret it later. You all get in and when you try to get out, something is wrong. The door doesn't open. You try the knob again and again but it doesn't work. You are locked. You look at each other. Is this one of those restrooms where you have to ask for the key?

Looks like it

You try to call the rest to ask them to go grab the keys and let you out. You look at your phones, one of them is out of battery and the others don't have a signal. Great Do you...

Wait until they notice

Look for a way out

Yell for help

You start yelling for help and kicking and hitting the door to make as much noise as possible. There wasn't too many people around, but someone would hear, right? All of you keep on screaming until suddenly you hear knocking on the door.

Who is it?

Your friends have noticed your absence and have come to check everything was okay. You tell them you are locked inside and to go look for the station worker. They should have a key or something to let you out

On it!

Time goes by and they're still not back. At the ten minutes mark, you start getting a little worried. Do you think...

The cashier can't find the key

Everything is fine

Just then you hear something and see the door handle start to move. You are free! Apparently, there was someone behaving quite suspiciously and the cashier wouldn’t take their eyes away from there. So your friend had to wait until they left for the cashier to listen to them and go grab the key. You’re glad you got free without too much problem, and are talking about the cashier’s prejudices when you get a bad feeling. It’s like the hair on the nape of your neck stood up. You can’t go out of there fast enough. You’ve been in the car for ten minutes, just enjoying the drive, when you see a police car and an ambulance drive in the opposite direction. You hope the cashier is okay.

Your friend comes back, they let you know through the door. Why are they not opening it? Apparently, the cashier can’t find the key. Whoever used the bathroom before you, just as you entered, may have taken it with them. There should be an extra one, but the cashier is new and doesn’t know where it is. They’ve been looking for it and trying to contact their superior to no avail. That’s why they took so much time. Just great. You camp out on the restroom floor. At least you got company and water, even if it’s not drinkable.

You wait for a long time, one of you remembers they got a deck of cards and you pass the time entertained. A couple of hours later, someone knocks at the door. They had to call a locksmith and it took them a long time to arrive. When you finally get out, no one is happy. The manager of the gas station is mad that you just went into the restroom without asking for the key, and your friends are upset because they had to wait for that long while the cashier was losing their mind and justifying her action, just to later get reprimanded by the manager.

Hold yout ground

Say sorry

You apologise, and let them know it wasn't your intention you just didn’t realise there was a key you had to ask for. There wasn't any sign that indicated it. You listen to them going off on you for a little while and decide you got enough. You grab your things and leave. Everyone is a little tense and upset in the car, but 5 minutes of awkward, tense silence later, one of you just burst out laughing. You all follow suit, and soon you are all laughing at the surreal situation. You are two hours behind on your schedule, but you have something to tell. Back to your holidays! It sure could have been worse, right?

Yeah, you are not having it. You don’t know too much about laws, but even you know that they can’t make you responsible for something that wasn’t properly indicated. You tell the manager that there wasn't any sign in the bathroom, or anywhere visible, that said there was a key and that you had to ask for it. You also add that you, in fact, can actually sue them for not having a spare key in case of accidents, like the one that just happened and that let you lock in the bathroom for more than two hours. Where are the security measures? Nowhere to be found, that’s where. You turn your back to them and go on your merry way to the car. Your friends follow you, awestruck. You got a holiday to go back to and you have already wasted two hours. Let’s go!

You look around for a way to get out, but there's only one small window and it also has bars on it. Time to try a different solution

Look for a way out

The car starts going slower and slower until it stops. You all look at each other not understanding anything. Turns out you should have said something, you ran out of fuel and the driver hadn't noticed. Now you are stranded in the middle of nowhere. You look at your phones, half of you are out of battery (playlist doesn't sound so great right now), and the others don't have signal.

We are screwed

Okay, so this is slightly scary, but not enough to panic yet. You decide to wait outside the car (reflective vest on) for a little bit. Someone has to pass and help you put, right? You would ask for help then.

Waitout

A while later, no car in sight, and all of you are starting to panic a little. Someone says that you also didn't see any cars while you were driving. - Remember we didn't use the main route on Google maps? You start thinking what to do. Where was the last thing with people you saw?

Gas station

Smallvillage

It was a gas station! Perfect, we do need fuel. That was... 15 km ago! One of you remembers there was a road sign with the next gas stations. Should be about 10 km ahead. But... is it open? What should you do?

Go back15km/open

Go back15km/open

Go ahead10 km/open??

You have settled in playing it safe and going back to the gas station you already know is open. Now it's time to make another decision... Should all of you go or should some of you stay with the van?

Half of us stay with the van

We all go

It's better if you stay together, you never know what it can happen. But... should you leave things behind and travel light, or should you get your things just in case?

Travel light

Take everything

You don't want to risk anything happening to the car. There's enough of you to split in a safe way. The only problem is... Is there enough water? It's hot, the sun is burning and you only have one full 0.5L bottle and one half empty. What should you do?

Leave water with car

The ones that walk take it

You have settled in going ahead to the next station. Five kilometers in this sun is a lot, and... it doesn't make sense for it to be close, does it? Now it's time to make another decision... Should all of you go or should some of you stay with the van?

Half of us stay with the van

We all go

It's better if you stay together, you never know what it can happen. But... should you left things behind and travel light, or should you get your things just in case?

Travel light

Take everything

You don't want to risk anything happening to the car. There's plenty of you to split in a safe way. The only problem is... Is there enough water? It's hot, the sun is burning and you only have one full 0.5L bottle and one half empty. What should you do?

The ones that walk take it

Leave water with car

You know there are gas stations not too far away, but still feels risky. It's pretty hot, the road is not in the best condition and there's at least 2 hours walking in at a fast pace. You talk among yourself and decide on keep waiting for someone to pass. You will be together and at least you have the van.

Wait for a car

Finally, after hours of waiting you see a car passing. You make signals to them, batting your arms in hopes they will see you. The car seems to come to a stop near your van. You go to investigate and talk to the potential "saviours". It turns out to be just one man. You asked him to let you make a call to your car insurance to ask for a tow truck. The man refuses. Says he would give some of you a ride to the nearest gas station but that's it. Not to be judgy, but he doesn't have the most trustworthy looks.

No thank you

Take the risk,hitch a ride

You thank the man for stopping but say: No, thank you. You wait until the sun starts to set. Should you: - Wait inside the car - Camp out on the little esplanade past the shoulder of the road

Wait in car

Camp out

You decide to ignore it. If you needed fuel, the driver would have noticed. Let's just chill and enjoy the music. What could go wrong?

Sorry, under construction.Come back later

Sorry, under construction.Come back later

Sorry, under construction.Come back later