Eight Journeys
Marigold
A Project from Code by Sarah Thomas
Art Generated by WOMBO Dream-AI Art Generator
Welcome to Eight Journeys: Marigold! You're about to guide a cute, feisty rabbit thief through a series of choices. Each choice has two options, both of which will lead you on a very different path. This story has eight possible endings. Will Marigold end up in a romance, or the victim of a horror story? How about abducted by aliens? It's up to you, so choose wisely!
Marigold is a wild rabbit living on the edge of a city in Utah. He enjoys exploring and making friends with
other animals, but his passion is gardens. Raiding them, that is. Marigold is a connoisseur of local produce,
and no one grows anything in his area without his knowledge. Recently, Marigold discovered a garden whose owner
has managed to grow bananas. Marigold isn't sure how, but he doesn't care. Since the discovery, he's
been there almost every night to steal one. Or two. Or three…
Tonight, it's no different. Marigold arrives at the garden just after sunset and settles in for his
nightly feast. Everything is peaceful…
Alarms blare and lights flip on in the house. The back door slams open, and the owner's
chihuahua-terrier mix comes sprinting out. Marigold bolts, but the dog is hot on his heels. The garden's rail
fence does nothing to slow him, nor does his owner's shouting.
Marigold has two options. He can run for the city. He knows it well and should be able to lose the dog
in its maze of streets. But there are other animals there too, and not all of them are friendly. Not to mention
the presence of cars, humans, and a whole host of other threats.
Or he can run for the countryside. It's less familiar, but with so much open space he should have no
trouble outrunning the dog. And after the chase, he might have a better chance of finding more food and a
peaceful place to spend the night.
What to do?
Marigold wheels toward a narrow dirt lane and speeds up. His legs burn, but it pays off as the dog begins to
lag. When Marigold spots a dense field of corn, he takes a chance and darts into it. The dog skids to a stop. It
paces the edge of the field for a few minutes but is ultimately unwilling to chase Marigold among the sharp
plants. With a snarl, the dog abandons the chase and heads back home.
Marigold breathes a sigh of relief and, once he's certain the dog is gone, emerges to get his
bearings. Almost immediately, he recognizes the lane and remembers there's a garden a little further down
with ripe tomatoes. He starts hopping.
And hops.
And hops.
And hops.
Two hours later, Marigold is forced to conclude that: 1-This wasn't the lane he was thinking of,
2-There won't be any tomatoes tonight, and 3-He's lost in an unfamiliar countryside with nowhere to sleep.
Disheartened, he stops for a break. He can try and backtrack in the morning, but he's too tired to do
it tonight. He debates curling up here, but it's too exposed. He's about to continue when he realizes that
there's a driveway up ahead. It's almost completely overgrown with weeds and leads to a building that, as
far as Marigold can tell, is an abandoned church.
Marigold considers. A building would give him better shelter than he has out in the open. It probably
doesn't have food, but he might be able to curl up in the corner and sleep. But the building is also
unfamiliar. It's likely already home to another animal, one that may or may not be friendly. And it might be
structurally unsound as well, given how old it appears.
What to do?
Marigold darts toward the city. Better to stick with what he knows if he's going to lose the dog. He winds
through the streets and alleys, hoping to lose the dog in the confusion.
It doesn't work. No matter how many times Marigold changes directions, the dog keeps up stubborn
pursuit. Worse still, Marigold slices his foot on a piece of glass while running past an abandoned cupcake
bakery. The injury slows him, and Marigold quickly realizes he needs to change tactics if he's going to
survive the next five minutes.
When he rounds a corner, he's surprised to see an animal control car parked up ahead. He can see an
officer inside, eating a doughnut and waiting for an animal to appear.
Hmm. Marigold does happen to have an animal he needs to get rid of. But the officer might not see
Marigold and the dog if they run by. Or worse, he might try and capture Marigold instead.
What to do?
Marigold gives the church a hard pass and tiredly begins heading in the direction he thinks is home. His
progress is slow, with frequent breaks and even a short, restless nap. It's deep in the middle of the night
when he hears whimpering.
Marigold stops and listens. The whimpers are punctuated with quiet yelps and scuffling. The metallic
scent of blood lingers in the air, and Marigold's heart begins to pound. He's about to turn and flee when
a quiet, weak voice calls out for help.
Marigold creeps forward and peers down into a ditch. At the bottom, a fox is lying on the ground.
Marigold almost flees again, but then he realizes that the fox's back leg is caught in a trap. It's bleeding,
though not heavily, and the fox's coat is matted and muddy from his efforts to escape.
The fox pleads with Marigold for help. He claims to be a vegetarian and promises not to hurt Marigold
while he pries off the trap. He promises a warm burrow stocked with food for as long as Marigold wants to stay.
This shouldn't be a hard decision. The fox is a predator. Marigold doesn't believe for a second
that he's a vegetarian, or that there will be food and a place to stay if Marigold stops to help. Not to
mention that the trap is heavy. Marigold doubts he could get it off the fox's leg even if he wanted to.
What to do?
Marigold noses his way into the church through a hole in the wall. Once inside, he stands up on his hind legs
to look around. It's dark and musty, a broken stained-glass window the only source of light. The floor and
pews are rotting piles of wood, and weeds are starting to poke their way through the foundation.
Marigold shrugs. It's ruined, but he's not here for a worship service. He can't smell any other
animals, and it's protected from outside dangers. He begins searching for a corner to tuck himself into for
the night.
A flash of turquoise light catches his attention, and he turns. The light is coming from the far end of
the church, under the window. He hops closer to investigate. There's a door he didn't see when he first
came in, old and ornate and in seemingly better condition than the rest of the church. On the doorknob,
there's an amulet hanging on a golden chain. It's shaped like a pointed hat and glows with a soft blue
light.
Marigold is tempted to grab it. It's pretty, and the light would be a soothing addition to his home
burrow. But it looks heavy. He might have trouble getting it home. Plus is it supposed to be glowing? That seems
dangerous.
What to do?
Marigold decides to chance it and runs toward the animal control car. He dives underneath seconds before the
dog closes in. The dog is in a frenzy now, barking and snarling and trying to squeeze under the car to get
Marigold. He's so distracted that he doesn't see the officer until a restraining loop is around his neck.
His snarls turn to yelps as the officer wrangles him into the car.
Marigold runs as soon as the dog is contained, not wanting to give the officer a chance to capture him
as well. Feeling smug, he heads for home. Stupid dog.
And then he trips over a body.
Marigold reels back in horror as he looks down. A bloody rat lies at his feet. Marigold has nothing
against rats. He's friends with quite a few of them. In fact, once he looks a little closer, he realizes
that he recognizes this one. His name is Rory, and he and his brother Emmett have come on garden raids with
Marigold a few times. What happened to him?
Marigold hears hissing before he can investigate further. Emmett is at the end of the alley, along with
several other rats. Marigold is about to call out a greeting when he realizes that the rats are tense, teeth
snapping and eyes narrowed.
Confused, he looks down. His coat is matted with dirt and blood, and he's standing over the corpse of
their fallen brother. With a start, he realizes they think he killed Rory.
He can stay and try to explain, but the rats look too tense to listen. Or he can run for his life a
second time tonight and try to clear his name when things calm down.
What to do?
Marigold decides he doesn't want to add imprisonment to his list of problems for today and avoids the car.
Desperate, he thinks of one last thing he can try.
He almost misses the alley in the dark but swerves into it at the last minute. The dog plows in after
him, and they're both greeted with furious hissing. Marigold dives to the side as a grey cat tackles the dog.
His snarls turn to yelps almost immediately, and within moments he turns and flees.
Fur bristling, the cat turns to regard Marigold. Birdie isn't his friend, but he's run into her a
few times and she's never hurt him. He even brought her a small blanket last week for her newborn kittens,
and he hopes that memory will be enough to convince her not to eat him. He explains the situation, and Birdie
rolls her eyes and relaxes. With an irritated flick of her tail, she tells him never to bring a dog near her
babies again and retreats.
Marigold sighs in relief and turns to head home. It's been a long night.
He's on the outskirts of the city when a beam of light suddenly floods the ground a hundred feet in
front of him. Marigold dives for cover, and then he pokes his head out. The light is beautiful, glowing a
fluorescent purple color he's never seen in nature. He feels drawn to it, though he tries to tell himself
it's dangerous to get near something so strange.
But it's so beautiful…
Marigold turns to go and then stops. Turns back. Looks at the desperate fox. Turns away again. Turns
back. Curses. Stares at the fox again. Curses again, more colorfully.
And then he scrambles down the bank and hops up to the fox. He doesn't move as Marigold inspects the
trap on his leg. It's made of thick metal and buried deep in the ground. The fox suggests finding a thick
stick, and Marigold goes hunting. He finds one after a few minutes, and he and the fox wedge it into the trap.
Pulling together, they manage to open it just enough for the fox to slip his foot free.
Marigold braces to run. The fox is injured, but Marigold is exhausted from the night's events and
doesn't know if he'll be able to escape in time. But all the fox does is sit down and clean the dirt and
blood from his leg. After a few minutes, he stands and beckons Marigold to follow him. Marigold hesitates a
moment, but he's too tired to find another option. He follows the fox to his burrow.
It's warm and full of fruits and vegetables. The fox introduces himself as Logan, and amazingly
enough, he is a vegetarian. While Marigold eats, they bond over stories of raiding gardens and evading dogs,
humans, and other threats. Logan explains that his eyesight has begun to fail, which is how he stepped into the
trap tonight.
Marigold begins forming a plan. They both love to raid gardens, and his eyesight is still sharp. Logan
might not see as well, but he's big enough to act as a bodyguard while Marigold does the raiding. Then they
can share the spoils.
So, he asks Logan if he's ever tried a banana.
Congratulations! You've led Marigold to a feel-good ending!
Marigold turns away from the fox and does his best to ignore the increasingly desperate cries for
help as he hops away. It bothers him a little to hear another animal in distress, but he isn't stupid. The
fox would probably eat him the second he got close enough to grab.
He realizes he's next to a large farm and stops to smell the air. Just as he thought. There's an
orchard nearby, and he can smell the fallen apples rotting on the ground. His exhaustion seems to disappear as
he eagerly begins to hop toward dinner.
POP!
There's a stinging sensation in his flank the same instant he hears a sharp crack. Marigold glimpses
a hollow cylinder stuck to him before he turns to flee. But he doesn't get far before his legs weaken and his
vision darkens. He collapses…
And jumps awake in the dark. Panting, Marigold tries to make sense of his surroundings. He runs into
several walls before concluding that he's trapped in a room. He can smell many different animals, though the
scents aren't recent. Overlying all of them are the acrid scents of blood and fear.
And then he hears footsteps.
Trembling, confused, and terrified, Marigold backs into a corner and tries to make himself as small as
possible. The door shrieks open on rusted hinges…
Congratulations! You've led Marigold to a horror ending!
Marigold gives the amulet one last glance but decides against it. He's had enough adventures for
one night. He finds a dark corner of the church and curls up to sleep.
It's dawn before he stirs. When he opens his eyes, he's greeted with a face inches from his own.
Startled, Marigold shouts and scrambles back, tripping over his feet and ending up flat on his back. He braces
himself for an attack.
A black-and-white rabbit watches him, her expression curious and amused. She doesn't attack, and
Marigold relaxes. Her name is Claire, and she's spent the last several years living in the church. She shows
him around the grounds as the sun rises. Marigold is surprised to find that, while the building is rotting, a
garden has survived. It's overgrown and has some weeds, but plenty of crops have managed to thrive without
humans to tend them.
Claire points him back to civilization in the afternoon, and Marigold finds himself reluctant to leave.
Only a few days pass before he comes to visit Claire and her garden again, bringing a banana as a gift. As the
month pass, they bond over a shared love of produce.
And one day Marigold doesn't leave.
Congratulations! You've led Marigold to a romance ending!
The beautiful amulet is too tempting to pass up. Marigold places a paw on top of it to lift it from
the doorknob.
The church vanishes.
So does everything else.
Marigold jumps as he feels a sensation of rushing, even though he isn't moving. Cloudy white mists
envelop him, and he finds he can't move when he turns to run. After what feels like hours, the mists clear
and Marigold finds himself standing on a high, snowy plateau. He notices that the amulet is now fitted snugly
around his neck.
Another rabbit is waiting for him. She's old, her pelt stormy grey and white. Atop her head sits a
hat identical to the one from the amulet.
She greets a bewildered Marigold calmly, and with respect. She explains that he's been transported to
another realm, one rent with chaos and destruction. Their prophecies point to a chosen one, an outsider who will
wield the amulet's powers to bring balance to their world.
It seems Marigold's adventures are only beginning…
Congratulations! You've led Marigold to a fantasy ending!
Marigold holds his ground and calls out to Emmett. He quickly explains the situation, and Emmett
stalks forward to investigate. Marigold and Emmett examine Rory's body and, within a few minutes, two things
become evident. One, Rory was killed a few hours ago. And two, he was killed by talons, not rabbit claws.
Emmett relaxes, his anger melting into distress. He has a good idea as to the identity of the
perpetrators. A few months ago, an escaped pair of pet parrots moved into the same alley the rats inhabit. The
birds, Milo and Coco, are notoriously ill-tempered and have been fighting with the rats over food and space.
They've caused injuries before, but this is the first time they've killed anyone. Tearful, Emmett asks
Marigold for help.
Marigold cocks his head thoughtfully. That animal control officer is probably still nearby…
Their plan takes shape quickly, and the rats climb the walls where the parrots are roosting. Emmett
jumps down and lands on Milo's back, snapping. Both parrots jump awake with screeches of alarm and fury. The
rats quickly fade into the shadows at the same time Marigold darts out, and the angry parrots give chase.
The animal control officer is still in his car when Marigold dives under it a second time. Like the dog,
the parrots are too preoccupied with trying to shred him that they don't see the human until they're
trapped in his net.
Marigold triumphantly returns to the alley. More rats have gathered, drawn by the disturbance. Though
they're grateful for his assistance, it's still a solemn occasion. Marigold says goodbye to Emmett as they
head off to bury Rory, and then he turns for home.
Congratulations! You've led Marigold to a true crime ending!
Marigold runs.
Shouts go up behind him as the rats give chase, and soon his pursuers number more than a dozen. Panting,
Marigold weaves through the narrow city streets back toward the countryside. The rats are smaller than he is,
but he's exhausted and his leg is beginning to throb. As soon as he sees an open field, he runs into it and
buries himself in a thicket under a tree.
The rats follow partway into the field, but it starts to drizzle. They lose his scent and, wet and
discouraged, turn and head home.
Once he's certain they're gone, Marigold cautiously pokes his head out from his hiding place. This
isn't good. The rats will spread the news that he murdered one of them, and soon half the animals in the city
will be hunting for him.
He needs to clear his name. And fast.
Congratulations! You've led Marigold to a thriller ending!
Marigold jumps into the center of the beam. Everything around him is purple, and he feels delighted
as he spins to look around. He smiles at his now-purple fur…
And then he floats into the air.
It's a gentle sensation, and for a few moments Marigold is bemused as he watches the ground get
further away. And then the panic kicks in. He struggles in the air, but it accomplishes nothing as he floats
higher and higher. He looks up to see a massive purple light growing to embrace him…
Marigold opens his eyes later, surprised to find that he must have passed out. He's in a room so
bright and white it hurts his eyes. He backs up and feels a wall behind him. With a start he realizes he's in
a glass cage.
A dark blue humanoid figure suddenly appears at the glass, and Marigold jumps back in alarm. But the
figure only speaks softly and holds out a small device. Purple light glows over Marigold, and the creature
disappears for a moment. When it reappears, it's carrying a small water bowl.
And a banana.
In astonishment, Marigold stares at the food and water as the creature retreats. He hops up to the
banana and takes a curious nibble. It's perfectly ripe.
Well. He doesn't know where he is or what those creatures are, but there's a banana here and no
dogs.
It could be worse.
Congratulations! You've led Marigold to a sci-fi ending!
Marigold drags himself away from the light with effort and turns to run. To his relief the light
doesn't follow, and he slows after a few minutes. He turns to look back.
Fire is raining from the sky.
Horror floods him. He hadn't realized it, but the light is attached to a large floating vessel of
some kind. There's more than one, he realizes, all converging on the city. Missiles rain down from them, and
the ground shudders as they impact. Within minutes, the city is a burning pile of rubble.
The vessels fly off, and Marigold stares at the destruction of his home. Maybe there will be survivors.
But what were those things? Will they come back?
And now that the city is destroyed, what will all of them eat?