So If I remember right we started next to our car and we got out to walk along the road? So maybe a short cutscene before we begin where the radio is playing and you hear a radio show talking about the local area. Maybe they mention how there is some old folk tales about a monster stalking the forest or maybe a person calls into the radio show and mentions how they saw the monster and got away? These are just some ideas of how you could integrate story into the game without doing the "paper with information randomly strewn about" thing.