Riberry tree, Australian Rainforest

You keep walking along the rainforest path until you reach the Riberry tree. With the towering trees around it, it seems small and unassuming, but it’s a vital ingredient of the cure. The small, green leaves are unremarkable, but when it fruits the tree is filled with wonderful purple berries. The raw berries provided a good food source for traditional Aboriginal people, and you’ve even seen them in salads in the tourist traps around Brisbane.

You hold your phone up to the tree and scan the Riberry leaves into the device. You breathe a sigh of relief. You’re so close now. You’ve collected two ingredients, just as your uncle asked. Now all that’s left is to send him the information so that he can rematerialise the ingredients and synthesise a cure. You hope you picked the right ingredients.

Your phone buzzes.

When you’re finished, meet me by the Poinciana and we can synthesise the cure.

You continue on towards the end of the loop. When you’re almost back to the road you hear something moving in the bushes. You freeze and swallow, turning your head slowly to inspect the sound. You hear the crunch of leaves and something brushing up against tree branches. A man comes crashing out of the bushes looking behind him, clutching a knife in one hand. He bashes into you and you fall over, narrowly avoiding a death as a shish kabab.

When you look again you see he’s an Education Officer. He’s wearing a wide brimmed hat, has a satchel slung over one shoulder and a woven basket on one arm.

He looks down at you. ‘Are you one of them?’

‘One of who? I’m not infected if that’s what you mean.’

He looks you up and down and then nods, putting the knife away. ‘Sorry, never can be too careful.’

You nod and he walks closer. ‘I don’t have much time. How can I help?’

‘I’m searching for ingredients for a cure,’ you say.

He stares at you. ‘So am I.’

‘Great, we can help each other.’ You take out your phone and show him the ingredients you’ve collected. He looks at them and nods knowingly.

‘Hopefully these are the right ones, we’re running out of time,’ he says.

‘I need to get back to my uncle. He’s waiting for me by the big Poinciana tree. I’ve got to bring the ingredients back to him. Do you want to come with me and we can work together?’

You hear movement on the footpath behind you. A number of infected people come into view. One of them spews blood onto the footpath. The Education Officer holds up the knife and before you can say anything he throws it at one of the infected. It sinks into an old lady’s chest and she falls over dead.

‘What the hell are you doing?! We could have cured her.’

‘Maybe, maybe not. Anyway, getting to that tree is too dangerous right now. Follow me back to the Herbarium and I’ll show you how to prepare those ingredients. We’ve got a small team set up there and we have all the tools at our disposal to make a cure.’

Do you:

Herbarium: Follow the Education Officer back to the Herbarium and make a cure with his team? Your uncle is an intelligent man, but this guy has a group of experts in this field. He knows what he’s doing. Plus, you’ve got a better chance of getting away from any infected you meet if there’s two of you. Leave the Australian Rainforest and walk upwards past the auditorium and the Administration building. Up the top to your right will be the Queensland Herbarium.

OR

Poinciana, Flowering Trees and Shrubs: Go to the Poinciana and make the cure with Uncle Frederick? You don’t know this guy from a bar of soap. He might be an expert, but he’s clearly ruthless, and who knows what his motivations are. You know you can trust your uncle, so you take your leave while the Officer’s back is turned. Leave the Australian Rainforest and cross the road towards the Planetarium. Follow the brick path up past the statue of Konstantin up past the Information Kiosk. Now follow the ring road down to the left until you arrive at the massive Poinciana. Uncle Frederick is set up underneath.