IC-OVER-Abducted(Anthony Gardner/Erica Spears/Kathryn McCoy)

[Dave Syrinx]

Kat shrugs at the ironic NG in the front seat. Give me a gun, and I´ll show you some skill!, her eyes flash at him.
"Then, find us that hay loft then and let´s bunk up there with a ladder. Sounds safe enough."

[Mr. Handy]

On the road-
The police car had now progressed ten miles beyond the overpass, for a total of 14 miles west of the airfield. The time was now almost 3:15 PM, which still left hours of daylight, especially considering that they were heading west.

[Dave Syrinx]

Having failed terribly in trying to get a shot at some new clothes Kat makes do with what she has. She spits in her palms and starts to rub off the stains on her arms. She tries to see her own reflection in any of the windows to check for wounds. As she does she scans the road for upcoming farmhouses. "Maybe that one will do?" She points to the far right ahead on the road.

[Mr. Handy]

On the road-
Try as she might, Kathryn could not clean off all the blood from her arms in this manner, and her blouse was soaked clean through. She would need a shower or a bath to wash herself thoroughly. She was relieved to see that she had no wounds.

Another mile went by, with farms on either side of the road. None of them showed any signs of life - or unlife, for that matter. However, that did not mean they were empty. Occasionally during their journey westwards they passed a farm that showed obvious signs of hasty abandonment, much like the one they had seen a mile before the overpass. The one Kathryn pointed to was one such abandoned farm.

[Dave Syrinx]

"This derelict farm house might do, right?" Kat knocks at the divider to get Gardner´s attention.

[Dave Syrinx]

"By the way, Gardner, what were your unit doing prior to the meteor incident? Have you enough to deliver in your AAR? Obviously you were sent to the airfield to do a clean sweep. Which you succeeded in with a vengeance. No probs with that. The prior mission will of course be over shadowed but, what was it?" As she gets no response to the suggestion of stopping at the farm house she starts to examine the door for possible flaws. (not properly shut..)

[Mr. Handy]

(Laraqua hasn't logged on for several days. Until she does, Gardner will just keep driving west as she had indicated previously, without saying a word.)

On the road-
Gardner drove past the farm in silence and onwards for a few more miles.

The back doors were fully shut and locked from the outside. The windows were also reinforced, but they were probably the weakest part. It might be possible to batter them given enough time and effort, but Gardner would surely notice if Kathryn tried to do that. She lacked the physical strength necessary to force the door itself open.

[Dave Syrinx]

While the cruiser speeds through the landscape, Kat records a sound file stating the last hours events - in case she´d not make it to the base. "Earlier today, a strange thing happened when I was at my shift in the control tower...//...The National Guard turned up...//...Their commander died...//...Corporal Gardner took command..//...Speeding towards WAFB...//...This is Tower Control, Kathryn McCoy reporting." Then she press the voice record button again and tries to get some rest.

[Mr. Handy]

On the road-
Gardner concentrated on the road ahead, which was still clear. He drove on for several more miles. They were now almost 30 miles west of the airfield, with a little over 170 to go before they would reach the truck stop.

[Laraqua]

Gardner listens for any 'unfortunate' clues she may have left on the tape recorder to his actions. Then he pauses and starts scanning the road-side for farm houses. The last thing he wanted to do was wander through the cramped confines of a house like zombie-bait but he couldn't take her anywhere just yet. The barn idea was a good one, yet deeply uncomfortable, and he had the feeling that - maybe, just maybe - if they kept quiet and didn't give away their position, the zombies wouldn't find them. After all, those things weren't organized enough to do a sweep of the area, now were they?

[Dave Syrinx]

(Nothing but a brief outline of the events at the airfield was recorded on the voice recorder.)

Kat looks up from her slumber and says, "Hey, so what´s the plan? I recorded some INTEL on the goings on at the airfield, should the events turn ugly.."

[Mr. Handy]

On the road-
About a mile further down the road, Gardner saw a small farm on the right side that looked like it had been vacated in a hurry. The garage door stood open invitingly, and the garage was empty. There was no sign of anyone around, whether alive or undead. This farm also had a barn some distance behind the house. It was currently around 3:30 PM, so there was still plenty of daylight left.

[Dave Syrinx]

"Why don´t we drive over to the barn and get it secured? Then we can check the house later, when we have had it under surveillance for a few hours." She looks hopefully at Gardner.

[Mr. Handy]

(Laraqua logged onto the board briefly last night, but didn't post here. I'll NPC Gardner for now until she gets back and try to have him carry out her stated intentions. By the way, I edited one of the posts above to reflect that the truck stop is 170 miles west, not 150.)

"We don't have time to sit for hours and watch a house that might be empty," Gardner said, driving slightly past the dirt driveway and then shifting into reverse and turning backwards onto it. He backed slowly towards the open garage so that he could pull out in a hurry if necessary. "I think I'll do a sweep and make sure it's clear. Just keep quiet until we know for certain." He stopped the car inside the garage and shut off the engine to keep the noise down. The connecting door to the house had been left as wide open as the garage door, implying that the residents had fled in a hurry.

[Dave Syrinx]

(Good to hear you got a new CPU!)
"Watch out for unfriendlies, it might be a honey-trap. Look it´s harmless....Not! Keep ypur aim at waist-level!" As Gardner goes checking the coast, Kat looks at the driveway for tracks.

[Mr. Handy]

(Thanks!)

In the garage-
"Don't worry, darling," said Gardner, "I'll be fine. This is not my first barbecue. Just keep the noise level down as a precaution." He pocketed the keys and got out of the car, then readied his M-16 and moved cautiously towards the door to the house. He could see a large living room on the other side. Nobody was in it, hostile or otherwise.

Kathryn could see the police car's own tracks easily enough. She tried to make out any other tracks on the driveway.

(Kathryn, roll Spot Hidden. The base level is 25%.)

Gardner walked through the door and into the living room. The front door was in the middle of the left wall, still closed and locked with the chain on. The living room contained a couch, chairs, and a TV set. An archway in the right wall, close to the garage, led to a dining room and kitchen area that were also deserted. There was another door on the right wall towards the back of the living room.

[Dave Syrinx]

McCoy tries to distinguish other tracks but the fresh ones make it impossible. She keeps a watchful eye at the door Gardner entered...

[Mr. Handy]

In the farmhouse-
"Looks good so far," said Gardner. "I'm going to check out the rest of the house now. Don't go anywhere," he added with a smirk.

Gardner walked into the dining room and kitchen first. Everything looked normal, though the dirty dishes left on the table suggested that the owners of the house had in fact left in a hurry. The back door led out from the kitchen to the area between the house and the barn, and it was locked as well. He took a peek out the window and saw no movement behind the house. A smaller interior door led to a pantry, which he found was stocked with a decent amount of food when he cautiously opened it. He shut the pantry door, then checked the fridge and freezer. More food was inside, and the power was still on. He tried the sink, and the water that came out looked clear and fresh. Nodding to himself, he headed back towards the living room and the interior door on the far end.

[Dave Syrinx]

(I assume Kat has some visibilty of Anthony´s rumaging...)
Kat watches as the NG comes in her line of sight at times. Deciding against trying to kick out the side window. Besides it looked too thick for her to manage in the short period of time. Instead she fiddles with the stapler to unscrew some of the interior fittings of possible. There might be something useful hidden under the carpet or the seat...

[Mr. Handy]

(Kathryn can see him from time to time as he walks through the living room, but the other rooms are all out of her line of sight.)

In the garage-
Kathryn's search of the rear compartment turned up nothing. It was designed to hold prisoners, so there wouldn't normally be anything stored back there where a prisoner could reach it anyway, and the police hadn't left anything behind back there either. As soon as Gardner went through the interior door and out of the living room, she took out the stapler and started trying to dismantle it.

(Kathryn, roll Mechanical Repair. The base skill is 20%. Also, roll Listen.)

In the bedroom-
Gardner opened the door from the living room and peeked inside, covering the room with his M-16. His precaution turned out to be unnecessary, as the bedroom beyond the door was as empty as the rest of the house. He stepped inside and took a better look around. There was a king-sized bed at the back of the room between two nightstands. On the right side of the room was a narrow hall with two doors, one on the left and one straight ahead. He crept up to them and checked the left door first. On the other side was a large walk-in closet filled with clothes on two racks. The left rack held women's clothes, and they looked like they would fit Kathryn. They might be a little tight on her, he thought. Not that that's a problem. The right rack held men's clothing that was about his size. He closed the closet door and checked the one at the end of the hall. On the other side he saw a bathroom. There were a sink with a medicine cabinet over it, a toilet, and a combination bathtub and shower.