Rat and I sat in the small living room of the cottage, him happily gnawing on his bear and me wondering what to do next. Okay, looting time. I proceeded to the small bedroom and looked around, Rat trailing beside me. The room was very modest, and the only real place to store things was the dresser, so I started opening the drawers. The top drawer had within it some basic clothes, including a T-shirt, shorts and a bandana. I grabbed the bandana and wrapped it around my neck. Rat looked up at me with a look of confusion. I bent over to pat him and he sniffed the bandana vigorously. This must have belonged to his family. He’s got quite the nose, this dog! The second drawer down contained some old cowboy-style boots, a bolo tie and a wide-brimmed cowboy hat.

  “Rat, was your dad a jackaroo?” I asked. “Or was he a cowboy?”

  Rat looked back at me but didn’t answer – after all, he was unable to speak English. I couldn’t help but covet the funky yet genuine items, so I unzipped my duffle to collect them.

  Back in the menu zone, I went to hit the X when I noticed that there were now some boxes that were filled with green instead of being dim. Strength had increased to five boxes, stamina to five boxes and athleticism to four. Hand-to-hand now had two boxes filled, and even rope had a box filled. In the latter parts, foraging, hunting and stealth each had one box now filled. Wow, it looks like Rat has some skills! I checked the remaining parts of the interface more thoroughly and noticed that a collar was also listed in the attire section. It seemed now Rat and I were a team, so our skills and other things had merged. In the Advantages section, finally some things were listed, nimble and keen hearing, but in the Handicap section I noticed that instead of high sense of smell, it now listed extremely acute sense of smell. I couldn’’t really fathom why that would be an issue, to be honest, but with nothing to do to change these, I pressed on. I closed out of the interface and placed the hat, boots and tie inside my bag. I kept the bag open as Rat and I proceeded through the rest of the cottage.

  In the final drawer of the bedroom dresser was a long rope, a hip flask and some Winfield Blue cigarettes. I grabbed them all. I was beginning to wonder how much I could fit into my bag, but continued collecting.

  Moving to the bathroom, I found a small first-aid kit and tweezers, both of which I took. A fluffy clean towel hung on a rack next to the small vanity, making me pause for a moment as I realised exactly how pungent my hotdog-brined jumper was. Why do I smell so bad all of a sudden? Maybe I should have a shower. I quickly went around and ensured all the doors and windows were closed, locked and covered before removing my jumper and other layers and popping them into the washing machine I had found earlier. I sourced a bottle of laundry detergent nearby and put on a wash, draping my bandana, bag and leather jacket over a nearby armchair and standing up my boots there too.

  “I’m going to have a shower now, Rat – you keep watch.” Strangely enough, Rat seemed to understand the command, his ears becoming alert as he put down his bear next to my boots. He started marching quietly through the cottage, stopping at every egress point and listening for a moment before continuing his rounds.

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  I jumped into the small blue-and-white-tiled shower and turned the tap on. The shower head sputtered a bit as water started spurting out. I cannot say it was the most relaxing shower I’d ever had, but thankfully the lukewarm water left me feeling refreshed and no longer meat-scented. I dried myself off with the towel as I stepped out of the bathroom. I had better put something on while I wait for my clothes to wash and dry. I grabbed the jeans and shirt from the bedroom and put them on. Once again, it seemed like they fit like a glove, despite looking like the completely wrong size. I guess that’s what happens in the game.

  After about half an hour, the wash was done, so I moved my clothes over to the dryer and set it for forty-five minutes, hoping that would be enough. In the interim, and with Rat still on patrol, I started looking through the living room for anything worth salvaging.

  The living room was tiny, but it felt lived in. A tattered floral-print recliner armchair was in the middle, flanked on the left by a round wooden side table. The table had a square coaster on it with ‘The Big Banana, Coffs Harbour’ printed on top. A small television remote also sat on the table. The armchair faced towards a chunky little television perched atop a small four-shelf bookcase. On the lower shelves were a few books, namely a first-aid manual called Steve Johnson’s Guide to Aussie Survival, Dog Training for Beginners, and a small novel called A Cowboy in Love. On the top shelf of the bookcase was a chunky video player, and next to it some VCR tapes. Oh my gosh, I haven’t seen these since I visited my nan’s house years ago! I reminisced. I wonder if they work. On the middle shelf was two small framed pictures. One showed a handsome mustachioed man and had a note scrawled on it: My heart will be with you always. The other was a portrait-style photo, like you would’ve had taken at a shopping centre back in the day. It showed a gaunt man with brown hair and a short beard wearing a flannelette shirt, a cowboy hat and jeans. Sitting next to the man was Rat, wearing a matching flannelette bandana.

  “That’s your bandana!” I said to Rat. “No wonder you looked at me funny when I wore it!”

  I looked down at the shirt I had taken from the bedroom; it was the matching shirt to Rat’s bandana.

  This was quickly becoming the hardest game I had ever played, especially as I had normally only played Stardew Valley. I was not prepared for the emotional rollercoaster I would be going on. My eyes welled up and I choked back more tears, thinking of Rat’s missing dad.

  “Rat, we’re family now. I know I’m not your dad, but I’ll make sure you’re safe.” Rat paused on his rounds and looked at me, dropping his ears and wagging his tail.

  “Come here,” I said, and Rat trotted across the room. I gave him a big cuddle and he licked my face for the first time.

  “What do you think about some food, buddy?” I asked Rat as we walked across the living room to the kitchen.

  I started looking in the cupboards and fridge as Rat resumed wandering around the cottage.

  “Beeep!” the dryer sounded, startling both of us.

  “Woof!” Rat barked cautiously.

  “It’s okay, it’s just the dryer,” I said.

  Rat’s bark turned into a deep growl as he walked towards the front door, hackles up.

  Oh god, it’s not just the dryer.