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Don’t Rest Your Head: The Growth – Session 1 Pt. 2 Oliver

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In Don’t Rest Your Head, as opposed to the opening scene being narrated by the Game Master, this is given to the player. Again, DRYH emphasizes player agency, which is why the rulebook refers to them as protagonists.

Scene #1

For his opening scene, after a few hours at work, trying to distract himself from his thoughts with a book, Oliver found that he wasn’t alone in the junkyard. There was a loud clattering noise when a pile of metal scraps fell, and then louder disturbances as if someone he couldn’t see was running around knocking things over and causing chaos. The calling got louder, screams that only he could hear with the ground melting beneath his feet until everything went black. The black faded to a haze of unfamiliar surroundings and he opened his eyes to find himself in his bedroom with his shirt and hands covered in someone else’s blood. (as written by Bastian)

He stares in shock and confusion at his bloody reflection only to hear footsteps coming up the stairs. He can see red and blue flashing lights out the window of his apartment. Oliver makes a mad dash out the building only to black out once more.

When he comes to, he’s standing outside in utter darkness. The only source of light is an odd street-lamp at the end of the corner, but he has no time to observe it with any detail. The red and blue lights are coming for him again, this time accompanied by a shrieking siren. He books it, hands and feet flying. He can’t outrun this car forever.

Immediately, he begins looking around for a hiding spot. There is something that looks like an alley near him. He dives into the darkness, only to find that the further he goes down the narrower the alley becomes as if the buildings are melting together. He can only get so far before he has to duck down into the darkness and pray for the best.

He’s sweating bullets as he hears the cop car come to a shrieking stop just outside the alley. The flashing lights create a dizzying spectacle against the walls of the alley Oliver’s chosen to hide in. He can see bricks of various textures and ages of decay and styles of architecture haphazardly smashed together, like a child put this city together out of mismatched Lego bricks from different decades. He hears footsteps but can’t see the policemen yet, only four blue flames flickering in the dark.

A hand reaches for him and grabs him by the scruff of his collar jerking him out of the alleyway. For the first time he can look into the face of those chasing him. It’s what appears to be a man only his eyes are empty blank sockets and only flickering blue flames fill them. His skin is oddly textured with little bumps and raised edges and then Oliver realizes the man grabbing him his made of wax.

“Who are you, and what are you doing out alone in the streets?” The wax-man screams.

The other one, who’s wax has dripped over his clothes and of seemingly larger bulk comes to join him. “What my brother means to ask is, are you okay? You’re covered in blood!”

Oliver looks to both of them. Throughout his life he’s become accustomed to passing himself off as someone else, lying about who he actually is to trick other people into believing his own constructed fantasies. He can make anyone think he’s what he wants to be, whether that’s a married man with a wife and kids, or a vicious and powerful tycoon, or someone just charming and suave. He’s none of these things, he’s just Oliver Jr, the broke son of a writer. He immediately begins to think of a yarn to spin for these two gentlemen.

He can’t tell them the truth. It sounds too shady. A man blacking out and waking up with blood on his clothes, blood that is decidedly not his. Anyone would bring him in for questioning, and if he wants to know what happened during those hours of darkness, he’ll need to be a free man to do it, even when faced with such impossible absurdities.

Oliver tells the candle-cops that he’s been in a terrible car accident and that he may need to get to a hospital. There’s a moment of hesitation and he wonders if even such strange creatures could buy such an obvious falsehood. They look back and forth to each other and the moment taxes him. For the first time Oliver feels the pangs of sleep calling for his eyelids, and then the second one grabs his brother’s hands and forces him to release Oliver.

“We gotta get this man to a hospital! Quick!” They grab Oliver and throw him into the back of the police car and race off speeding into the night.

Oliver looks out the windows, seeing the bizarre rooftops and buildings all squished too closely together. This is not the city he left. He can’t tell if he’s dreaming or if he’s simply gone insane. He shrugs his shoulders and lies down in the back of the car, resigning himself to let whatever happens come.

End scene.



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