IC-THRU-The Conqueror Worm(Everyone)

[Mr. Handy]

(Remember that the zombies are to the east, near the ruined diner at this point. You can reach the west side of the garage this round if you want, and you'll be safe for the next couple of rounds, but the zombies are closing in. You won't need to roll Sanity again for the zombies, as you already did when you saw them the first time. If you want to get away from this area without going near the worm or the zombies, you can follow the dirt road north if you go around the stopped truck, or you can head over the open ground to the south.)

[Mr. Handy]

(Walkers from the east: 42/85 dead, 1 with 9 damage to head, 1 with 8 damage to head, 1 with 3 damage to head
Crawlers from the east: 3 with 9 damage to head
NW barricade: 6/60 HP left
SW barricade: 48/60 HP left

Temporary insanity rounds remaining, not counting this one:
Senior Airman Roger Coltrane: 10
Bill Black: 9
Keith Deeds: 11
Lisa Crow: 10
Colin Lewis: 11)

West of the motel-
Hodges took down Phillips, but Ortega was still hammering at the barricade on the northwest stairs.

(Hodges, you may take a shot at Ortega now. Remember that he's wearing a helmet, so damage will be reduced by 5 unless you get a critical hit - and if that happens it will just be 2d8, not 4d8. The zombies on the roof are also visible, but Luke is the only one not wearing a helmet and they're all busy eating Ernest Granger.)

On the motel balcony-
Dr. Owens and Amanda Deeds easily lugged a heavy dresser out of Room 36 and shoved it into place at the top of the stairs. David ducked into the room and had no problem carrying a nightstand out and adding it to the barricade. Lt. Blanco reached the northwest corner, following Zorie Spooner who had run past the corner toward the comm room. "The worm came back up southeast of the motel!" she reported on the radio. "I think it's going after the civvies!" Ramirez emerged from the comm room and hurried north, meeting up with Zorie on the way.

Then Ortega smacked the barricade some more, but the newly added furniture was holding...for now. "Northwest barricade is under attack, but it's still holding!" called Ramirez, his excellent hearing correctly interpreting the noise. "Sounds like there's only one of them down there!"

In the comm room-
"Sir, it appears the worm is about to engage the civilians," Lt. Curtis told Carmichael. "So far the barricades are holding, but I don't know how long they'll last."

Lt. Doolittle only shook her head. "I shouldn't even be here," she muttered.

East of the motel-
Lisa Crow leapt off of the back of the bike and ran in terror to the south, leaving Tsuba behind. She crossed the highway, not daring to look back. Applebee crawled over and nearly bit him hard, but he pulled up his leg at exactly the right moment. Cheng followed close behind and almost seized him and pulled him off of the Harley, but again he miraculously avoided the ghoul's grasp.

Keith began gibbering incoherently in the back of his truck. Luckily, Melinda had the presence of mind to pull away and drive east.

"Kill that sucker!" bellowed Clarence, firing a burst from his Bushmaster that hit it with two rounds. It shrugged off one, but the other appeared to penetrate its muscular hide. Lewie frowned, having fired the last bullet from his rifle and not having time to reload. He whipped out his pistol and got off a shot, striking the worm but not even scratching it. Joe Soarez drew his own pistol in a fit of rage, unwilling to take the time to retrieve his rifle, and shot it, though his bullet did no better.

Sue Newton lost it under the pressure. She became catatonic, remaining frozen in horror. The worm slithered closer, rearing up as it got near. Its one wound had already closed most of the way. Then it came crashing down on the cluster of people and vehicles! Clarence tried to jump out of its path, but he was far too slow in his old age. It crushed him to death brutally, along with his Harley. Lewie Newton also reacted far too slowly, and he was also flattened. Joe Soarez almost got away, but almost wasn't good enough and he was smashed to a bloody pulp as well. Sue, paralyzed and unable to flee, also was pounded lethally into the pavement.

(Colin Lewis, if you want to try to get clear on foot, roll Dodge or Jump, whichever is higher. The base skill for Jump is 25%. If you want to try to drive away instead, roll Drive Auto. Colin will take reduced damage for being inside the cab of his truck if he fails his roll.)

West of the garage-
Melinda sped away from the motel in fear, trying to put as much distance as she could between her and the worm. Keith was still in the bed of the pickup truck, but he was still not himself. The large pack of zombies was filtering around the eastern side of the diner and the three zombies that had crawled up the stairs were getting closer now, but she still had a little time before they reached her position. She was afraid to look back, but from what she could see in her rear-view mirror it was very bad. She did spot Lisa fleeing to the south on foot.

(Melinda, you may act now. You may drive where you like. You may head north on the dirt road, or south off the road. If you go southwest, you may also reach Lisa this round. If you try to head east around the mob of zombies, roll Drive Auto. Otherwise you don't need to roll anything yet.)

On the motel roof-
Kincaid continued to hesitate, though he held a very deadly weapon in his hands. Blood still dripped from his untreated shrapnel wounds. The chewing continued on the opposite side of the roof, and he also could see the carnage in the parking lot below.

(Kincaid, you have the same options as before. If you fire at the worm and you either miss or you do not hit with every bullet you fire, you will need to roll Luck to make sure you don't hit Colin or Coltrane if they don't drive away or get killed.)

[kabukiman]

Melinda will go southwest and will drive until no zombies or the worm is on sight.

[ryansommer]

Frank took aim at Ortega and fired, but the shot missed.
(OOC: Was Hodges able to hear what is going on at the other side of the motel?)

[Mr. Handy]

(Hodges heard screaming and a loud smashing sound - much like the sound that the worm made when it crushed those guys on the roof. He can't see what happened, but he can probably figure it out.

Now I just need an action from Kincaid and a roll for Colin Lewis before I can proceed. Even though he's insane, the type of insanity he's got allows him to function somewhat. With fewer PCs around to wait for, at least it means more frequent updates!)

[Mr Zombie killer]

Colin Lewis put the petal to the metal and got the hell out of the area in his truck. Along the way he tried to hit some of the many "worms" he was seeing all around him.

[Mr. Handy]

(Escape is not automatic now that worm has attacked. I'll need a Drive Auto roll for Colin Lewis as I said above, and you'll also need to pick a direction you want to drive in. Even if the worm hits, you'll still be able to drive away provided it doesn't cripple the truck or knock you unconscious.)

[Mr Zombie killer]

Colin tried to turn the car around and drive away from the one main worm in front of him even though he "knew" that there would be other worms around and behind him ready to attack.

His successful driving score: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1753864/

[Mr. Handy]

(Colin actually has a much higher Drive Auto skill if you look at his character sheet, so he succeeded by quite a bit and will easily evade the worm's attack. When you say you're driving away from the worm, do you mean you're heading east? If not, I'll need to know which way you're driving. Remember that there are a whole lot of zombies to the east.)

[Mr Zombie killer]

(Can you give me an idea of what is around us in the various directions? East is zombies, one way is giant worm. What is the other two directions offer?

[Mr. Handy]

(Look back up at this post: http://www.callofcthulhu.org.uk/viewtop ... 497#p63497 in the West of the garage section. The information I gave for Melinda is valid for you too. She headed southwest to where Lisa is running. You can get to the same position this round too if you head south first, then around to the west.)

[Mr Zombie killer]

Colin drove south but his main goal was to head west as soon as he could.

[Mr. Handy]

(Since Kincaid's player has been absent for so long, I'm gong to run him as an NPC for now.

Walkers from the east: 42/85 dead, 1 with 9 damage to head, 1 with 8 damage to head, 1 with 3 damage to head
Crawlers from the east: 3 with 9 damage to head
NW barricade: 3/60 HP left
SW barricade: 48/60 HP left

Temporary insanity rounds remaining, not counting this one:
Senior Airman Roger Coltrane: 9
Bill Black: 8
Keith Deeds: 10
Lisa Crow: 9
Colin Lewis: 10)

West of the motel-
Hodges watched with dismay as his shot missed again. He also noticed that the zombies on the roof had stopped eating Ernest Granger - because the farmer was now one of them! Luke ran east and vanished over the peak of the roof. The four armored zombies staggered along behind him, but were still visible. Ernest himself was right alongside them. Ortega was still trying to break the barricade, but at least the people on the balcony were able to keep it from falling completely apart for now.

(Hodges, you may take another shot at the zombie of your choice other than Luke. All of them except Ernest are wearing helmets and body armor.)

On the motel balcony-
"I've got the extra magazines from the ammo crate," Zorie told Ramirez, out of breath. She held them out to him.

"I'll take half," he said, taking six of the magazines and hurrying north. "Get to the comm room and give the rest to Mikhalin, ma'am." He passed Lt. Blanco on his way to the corner, while she was heading south.

Amanda and Dr. Owens hurried back into the open motel room and hauled out the desk, adding it to what was left of the makeshift barricade. David grabbed the other nightstand with one hand and stacked it on top. Ortega continued to mindlessly flail at the barricade, almost completely demolishing it. It would not hold much longer.

On the motel roof-
Kincaid looked on in shock as the worm crushed the motorcyclists in the parking lot below, but was relieved that at least the trucks had escaped. If only he had acted sooner, they might all have lived. Grimly raising the SAW, he resolved to take action now before more people died and opened up on the worm with everything he had. He might have missed had it not been such a huge target, but he managed to spray it with eleven rounds, doing moderate damage. About half of the bullets had been absorbed fully by its tough hide, and all but one of those that had hit it did minor damage. Even so, the creature was badly hurt, but it was still far from destroyed - and its wounds were already starting to mend themselves.

Then he heard footsteps coming up quickly behind him from the west. Luke had already crested the peak. While he did not panic, he was still in terrible danger. Luke seized him and bit him extremely hard on the left leg, not killing him outright but causing him to pass out. The last thing he saw was the other five zombes reaching the peak of the roof and heading right for him.

In the comm room-
"It's still going to be more than half an hour before we can send a helicopter," said Carmichael over the communications network, "but we may be able to send you some relief a little sooner. We're fueling up a C-130 now with enough fuel to make it to your position and back, but little to spare beyond that. The SF troopers we've selected to reinforce your position will be aboard. If you continue to hold it by the time they reach you, they'll parachute in nearby while the C-130 returns to base. Otherwise, it'll return with them aboard and we'll have to cleanse your position. Understood?"

"Thank you, sir," replied Lt. Curtis. "What's the ETA?"

"We're still talking over twenty minutes here, but it's the best we can do. It will take 18 minutes just for the C-130 to reach you after takeoff. This is also very dangerous for the SFs. I fully expect casualties immediately upon landing or shortly thereafter. They may be injured if they land badly, or mobbed if they drift off course and land in the middle of the infected. Even if they make perfect landings, they'll still be hard pressed to survive. You must hold out until they arrive. If communications cease, we will assume your position has fallen and take appropriate measures."

"What exactly would those measures be, sir?"

"Chemical weapons. We have a stockpile of nerve gas available. If your position falls, we'll have a helicopter deploy it there and then send in a team with protective gear to retake it."

Lt. Doolittle gulped. "This can't be happening," she mumbled.

"This is Lt. Curtis," said the communications officer over the radio. "Anyone who is still alive out there and able to report your status, please do so. It is imperative that we hold our position until reinforcements arrive. If we can last another twenty minutes or so, we'll be all right."

East of the motel-
Colin Lewis sped away before the worm came down on his friends, with Coltrane still in the bed of his truck. He drove south at high speed, bumping across the highway and onto open ground. The many worms that only he could see all darted out of his path, and none of them attacked. Once he was clear, he turned to the west.

Lisa continued running south as well, not even thinking about how she had left the man she loved behind again. Applebee missed Bill badly, and Cheng tripped over his fellow zombie, leaving him miraculously still unscathed. But the worm started moving back to the west, toward him.

West of the garage-
Melinda turned the wheel hard to the right and drove southwest as fast as she could.

South of the motel-
As Lisa ran south beyond the highway, both Melinda and Colin drove close to her in their trucks. Keith was in the back of the one Melinda was driving, and Senior Airman Roger Coltrane was in the bed of Colin's. As Colin looked back, he realized that his best friend Joe had been killed in the attack that had nearly hit him.

(Colin Lewis, roll Sanity at -10 due to Joe's death. This means you will only succeed on a 4 or less. Sanity loss is 0/1d6. If you go temporarily insane again, it will just extend your current temporary insanity's duration. If Melinda or Colin stops here this round, Lisa will get aboard the truck. If both trucks stop, she may choose which one she rides in. If neither of you stop, she'll continue fleeing on foot. All of you are about 30 yards south of the motel. If you keep driving, let me know which way you're heading. If you stop, you may also shoot at Cheng or Applebee, or at the worm. If you shoot at the zombies, your shots will take effect after they attack Tsuba again, and you must roll Luck for each shot that misses. Both zombies also wear helmets and body armor. Shooting at the worm gives you a +20 bonus to hit. Colin, if you shoot at the worm, you must roll Luck to see if you target the real one or one of the imaginary ones.)

[Mr Zombie killer]

Colin screamed in angrish at seeing Joe die! Luckly for him he managed to keep the grief in check for now. He stopped his truck and called to Lisa to "get in". He also leaned out the window facing toward the worm and grabbing his rifle aimed at the worm and fired the rifle. However he ended up aiming at a worm only he saw in his mind. He cursed silently.

[John Gaunt]

Unreasoning panic pervading her mind, Lisa continues to truck southward and east toward the road...

[Mr. Handy]

(Lisa has already passed the highway, and it is now north of her, between her and the worm. She's not going to want to go back that way. Does she continue running south, does she head in a different direction, or does she get in the truck?)

[John Gaunt]

(Given that Lisa is fleeing in a blind panic, I don't think she's capable of making a rational decision like getting into the truck. She continues running southward in a straight line...)

[kabukiman]

Melinda will slow the truck so she may enter, but won't stopped...

[ryansommer]

Frank fired again at Ortega and this time, struck him in the head. The round cleanly pierced his helmet and despite the protection, dropped the zombie.

Frank took a look around the area for more infected that were close to him. He knew he had to get around to the other side of the motel, but wanted to make sure there were not other bitten bodies or infected that may be able to attack him.

(OOC: On my to hit roll, I entered the wrong character name on accident. I always confuse Keith and Frank.)

[Mr. Handy]

(That's okay, I know who you meant.

Walkers from the east: 42/85 dead, 1 with 9 damage to head, 1 with 8 damage to head, 1 with 3 damage to head
Crawlers from the east: 3 with 9 damage to head
NW barricade: 6/60 HP left
SW barricade: 48/60 HP left

Temporary insanity rounds remaining, not counting this one:
Senior Airman Roger Coltrane: 8
Bill Black: 7
Keith Deeds: 9
Lisa Crow: 8
Colin Lewis: 9)

West of the motel-
With Ortega down, the northwest barricade was no longer in immediate danger. Hodges looked around, but there were no zombies visible on the north or west sides of the motel, and the zombies on the roof had all passed over to the east side by this point, beyond the peak and out of his line of fire. He couldn't see what was on the south or east sides of the motel from his current position.

(Hodges, you're a good deal northwest of the motel, just within the field of grass. You may reach the northwest corner of the motel this round if you wish by moving southeast. You may instead move due east or due south, but you still won't be able to get to a point where you can see the east or south sides of the motel this round.)

On the motel balcony-
Zorie Spooner entered the comm room. Lt. Blanco hurried after her and went inside not long after.

"Ramirez here," reported Ramirez on the radio. "There's someone active in the field shooting, but I can't see who it is. He just took out the last of the dead that was threatening the northwest barricade. I'm heading east to try to take out that worm." He jogged off along the north side of the balcony.

"I'm coming with you!" said Amanda, running behind him. "My husband and my boys are over there! David, you and the doc can rebuild the barricade now."

David and Dr. Owens carried out the table from Room 36 and added it to the barricade.

On the motel roof-
Luke squeezed Kincaid to death, and he began eating his body. The other five zombies arrived and fell upon him, and all of them quickly ripped him apart as they devoured him.

In the comm room-
Zorie Spooner burst into the comm room. "Lt. Blanco is right behind me," she said, out of breath. "Is anyone in here hurt?"

"I never got properly treated after the helicopter crash," said Lt. Curtis. "Airman Mikhalin's arm could also use some more looking at." He spoke into his radio once more. "I say again, if anyone is alive out there, please report your status. Over." He then spoke to Lt. Colonel Carmichael. "Sir, it's not looking good. The barricade is still holding and the infected man who was attacking it has been dealt with, but we're still in bad shape. It doesn't sound like we have many people left, but if we can take out that worm I think we can hold out."

"Right," said Carmichael, skepticism evident in his voice. "The worm. Tell me, Lieutenant, have you seen this thing yourself?"

"No, sir, but I certainly heard it crushing our men to death, and some of them reported seeing it before that."

"I don't doubt that you're under attack, but you can't trust your perceptions. We've had high numbers of people losing it today under all the strain, seeing things that aren't really there."

Zorie started to examine Lt. Curtis, but she wasn't able to do much for him. Lt. Blanco entered the room.

East of the motel-
The worm cotinued to approach the southeast corner of the motel, and now it was nearly there. Its wounds kept closing up, but it was still heavily damaged.

South of the motel-
Cheng was busy untangling himself from Applebee, who almost bit Tsuba extremely hard, but again he expertly avoided the deadly teeth. But his luck would clearly not hold out forever.

Colin Lewis saw his shot strike one of the worms that nobody but he could see, but the bullet didn't seem to hurt it much. His rifle was now empty. Melinda drove on to the southwest, and Lisa ignored both trucks and kept running south.

(Melinda, you're now out of effective pistol range, but you may keep driving in whatever direction you choose. Currently, you're 80 yards south and 50 yards west of the motel. Coln, you may drive away now too if you wish. Your rifle is empty, and it will take two full rounds of both ejecting the spent cartridge and manually reloading bullets before it can be fired again. Alternatively, you may use your pistol or your SMG. The Ingram M-11 does not have burst capability, but it may fire 3 single shots per round. It has a malfunction number of 98. You will need to use precision aim to avoid a range penalty with either weapon, which means you may only fire at one target. If you shoot at a zombie's head, your shots will take effect after that zombie's next attack. The first two shots you fire will happen before the worm can act, but if you fire three with the M-11, the third shot will happen afterwards. Shooting at the worm still has the +20 bonus to hit, of course. Your revolver only gets one shot per round. For each missed shot fired at a zombie, roll Luck to make sure you don't hit Tsuba. For each shot that hits the worm, roll Luck to make sure you hit the real one. The zombies wear body armor and helmets, so any hits to their heads will have their damage reduced by 5, and the worm's innate armor also reduces damage to it by 5 for each hit.)