IC-THRU-The Conqueror Worm(Everyone)

[ryansommer]

Seeing no immediate danger, Frank grathers the LAW off the ground and hustles south so he can see around the other side of the motel. He knows he will not be able to quite see, but it is the safest rout.

[Mr Zombie killer]

(can Colin load his gun and drive at the same time?)

[Mr. Handy]

(No, he can't. If he were a passenger he could reload, but there's nobody else around who's in any state to drive or reload for him.)

[kabukiman]

Melinda will keep driving south, she is not thinking quite her options...

[Mr Zombie killer]

Colin follows Melanda driving south as well. he thinks safty in numbers.

[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
Runners from the east: 0/10 dead
Crawlers from the east: 3 with 9 damage to head
NW barricade: 6/60 HP left
SW barricade: 48/60 HP left
Luke: 3 damage
Black: 3 damage
Sheen: 5 damage
Malanowski: 9 damage
Cole: 7 damage
Granger: 3 damage

Temporary insanity rounds remaining, not counting this one:
Senior Airman Roger Coltrane: 7
Keith Deeds: 8
Lisa Crow: 7
Colin Lewis: 8
Javier Ramirez: 12
Dr. Dale Owens: 6)

West of the motel-
Hodges ran due south, leaving the cover of the grass to run across the parking lot.

(Hodges, you are now west of the northwest section of the motel. You cannot see any zombies or the worm from here. If you head south you will be west of the southwest section at the end of the round starting now, but you will still not be able to see the south side of the motel at that point. If you want to move back into the field of grass, you'll need to head southwest or west. The field starts 30 yards west of the motel, but 15 yards north of it.)

On the motel balcony-
Amanda gasped when she reached the northeast corner and saw the bodies. "Clarence!" she cried, her heart broken. While it hit her hard, at least her sons were not among the dead. Then her husband, the Newtons, and Joe Soarez got up and started moving across the parking lot slowly. This was simply too much for her to see her husband like this, and her mind snapped, but she did not need to think in order to function. Ramirez was also extremely disturbed and utterly shocked. He knew they were all doomed, and he fainted, landing in a heap on the balcony.

Amanda saw the horde of zombies to the east as well. They had just reached the western edge of the garage and were advancing on the motel, only 100 yards standing between it and them. Ten fast-moving ghouls had caught up to the other forty or so, and they were just now starting to pass them. She also saw the worm slithering toward the southeast corner, and she knew that this would be her only chance to take some shots at it before it vanished around the bend. Her first shot hit, but the second one jammed her carbine, and the bullet that did strike the worm did absolutely nothing to it. Then she saw six more zombies go right over the edge of the roof and plunge to the parking lot below. "Guys, we got big trouble to the east!" she shouted.

"Come on!" called David. He and Dr. Owens ran across the north side of the balcony toward her. They arrived too late to see the worm, but the shocking sight of the zombies was still there. David somehow still remained cool, but Dale Owens finally lost it - and lost it big time. Knowing that there was no hope for survival, he began to babble.

In the comm room-
"Sir, none of my people are reporting in," said Lt. Curtis to Carmichael. "I just sent Ramirez out there to see what was going on, and I haven't heard from him either. I've got Lieutenants Blanco and Doolittle, Zorie Spooner, and Airman Mikhalin up here. For all I know the civilians have either been killed or they ran away. It's not looking good, sir."

"The C-130 is preparing for takeoff right now," Carmichael told him. "I wish there were some way to aid you faster, but this is the best we can do."

"I know, sir. At what point can we abandon our position?"

"At no point. I need you monitoring and reporting in on the world situation as long as you are physically capable of doing so. Even if nothing's happening, we need to know that. We're going to take back the motel if it falls, but we have to minimize the amount of time during which we're blind."

"All's quiet out there so far," said Mikhalin as Zorie went over to work on her arm, this time with more success. "I wish I could say the same thing for here." She started feeling a little better.

Lt. Blanco could not do anything for Lt. Curtis.

East of the motel-
Clarence and the other undead Rough Riders began to shuffle west toward the southwest corner of the motel, and now they were just over ten yards away. Luke ran off the edge of the roof first, only damaged slightly when he hit the ground. So were Sergeant Black and Bobby Sheen. Malanowski was heavily damaged, and Cole moderately. Ernest Granger only took some light bruises. All six zombies quickly regained their feet.

South of the motel-
Cheng attacked Bill Black again, clamping his teeth down before he had a chance to avoid them. He bit the biker in the stomach, easily tearing through the tough leather of his jacket. Applebee came very close to biting him too.

Then the worm rounded the corner, most of its wounds already healed. As it passed Tsuba, it sent four of its tentacles after him, all of them homing in on him. He avoided two of them, but the others grabbed him and drained the life from him before releasing his corpse.

Lisa continued to run, unaware of her beau's demise some 60 yards behind her. Colin drove past her heading south, and was soon 130 yards south and 50 yards west from the carnage. Melinda was another 50 yards further south of him.

(Colin and Melinda, you may act again. If you're going to keep driving south, just say so in your post.)

[ryansommer]

(OOC: Can Frank climb over the barricades? Is there a laddder up to the balcony?)

[Mr. Handy]

(The northwest stairs' barricade has been mostly destroyed, so you might be able to climb over it. You can reach the bottom of the northwest stairs this round, but you can't attempt the climb yet. There is also a rope ladder leading up to the southeast corner of the balcony. You can reach the bottom of that this round.)

[ryansommer]

Feeling a little too vulnerable on the ground, Frank heads towards the barricades at the NW corner of the motel

[kabukiman]

Melinda keep driving

[Mr Zombie killer]

So does Colin

[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
Runners from the east: 0/10 dead
Crawlers from the east: 3 with 9 damage to head
NW barricade: 6/60 HP left
NE barricade: 51/60 HP left
SW barricade: 23/60 HP left
Room 27 barricade: 3/3 HP left
Luke: 3 damage
Black: 3 damage
Sheen: 5 damage
Malanowski: 9 damage
Cole: 7 damage
Granger: 3 damage

Temporary insanity rounds remaining, not counting this one:
Senior Airman Roger Coltrane: 6
Keith Deeds: 7
Lisa Crow: 6
Colin Lewis: 7
Javier Ramirez: 11
Dr. Dale Owens: 5)

West of the motel-
Frank Hodges reached the base of the northwest stairs. He could see that what was left of the barricade was at the top of the stairs. It looked like he might be able to climb over it with a little effort.

Then the worm came around the southwest corner of the motel, still lightly wounded but healing rapidly. It reared up and brought itself crashing down on the southwest stairs' barricade, causing very heavy damage. It would not withstand another hit like that one.

(Hodges, you do not need to roll Sanity, as you already did when you first saw the worm. If you want to try to climb up the northwest stairs, roll Climb, with a -10 penalty due to your armor. You may instead attack the worm. If you do so, remember that there is a +20 bonus to hit. If you use a LAW rocket or a grenade, you will also damage and possibly destroy the southwest barricade. If you miss with either of those weapons, roll Luck. If you fire a burst from your rifle, this gives you an additional +20 to hit for a total of +40. You would roll 1d3 to see how many bullets hit, and each one would cause 2d8-5 damage. On an impale, the first bullet causes 4d8-5 and any others cause 2d8-5. If you get a critical hit, on a roll of 5 or less, each bullet causes 2d8, bypassing its innate armor.)

On the motel balcony-
Amanda looked around in panic. "Ramirez, get up!" she pleaded. "We need your help!" But he was not responsive. She desperately tried to clear her jammed carbine, also without success.

"We've gotta get outta here!" said David. "My truck's over in the T-Bone's parking lot, but all those dead guys are between us and it."

"My bike is still down in the parking lot, but it won't hold all of us and those guys from the roof will get us if we try to get down there."

They both heard clawing at base of the barricade on the northeast stairs. "They'll get us if we stay here, too!"

In the comm room-
"God, it's right outside!" cried Lt. Doolittle as the room shook.

"Lock and barricade the door!" ordered Lt. Curtis.

She nodded and complied, locking the door and putting on the chain. With Lt. Blanco's help, she began moving furniture in front of the door. Zorie Spooner kept working on Alexandria Mikhalin's arm.

East of the motel-
The zombies that had fallen off of the roof made a beeline for the northeast stairs. Luke was faster than the others and reached the barricade first, really laying into it. Clarence and the other dead Rough Riders were only a few yards from the southwest corner. The first of the runners from the east were now only 80 yards distant from the motel.

South of the motel-
Cheng and Applebee continued gnawing on Bill Black's corpse. Lisa ran further away and was now 75 yards from the motel. Colin and Melinda drove south across the open ground before them, putting another 200 yards between them and the motel.

(Colin and Melinda, let me know if you want to do anything besides continuing to drive south.)

[ryansommer]

(OOC: Does Hodges have any idea how quickly the worm can move?) Also, are there any vehicles left in the parking lot?)
Might as well go down with a fight Frank thought as the shouldered his LAW. If he does nothing, the work will smash the barricades and the zeds will get up. If he misses, he may still damage the worm and the cades. Damned if he does, damned if he doesn't.
He fires the rocket and misses the worm. Luckily he does not further damage the barridcades.

Frank drops his rocket, and makes a move to climb the barricades at the NW corner as soon as he can.

[Mr. Handy]

(He hasn't really seen the worm move all that much so far...but he's about to find out! It does move a good deal slower than he can run, and in fact most people can outrun it. There are a few vehicles in the western side of the parking lot, but none of them are running. He would have to break in and hotwire one, which would require an Electrical Repair roll. At only a 10% base skill, that's not the sort of thing you want to try with the worm bearing down on you. There were more vehicles in the eastern side of the parking lot, but he doesn't know if any of them are running or not. Your skill with the LAW was really 35%, not 38%, but your miss was close enough that it will hit the worm slightly.

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
Runners from the east: 0/10 dead
Crawlers from the east: 3 with 9 damage to head
NW barricade: 6/60 HP left
NE barricade: 42/60 HP left
SW barricade: 23/60 HP left
SE barricade: 46/60 HP left
Room 27 barricade: 6/6 HP left
Luke: 3 damage
Black: 3 damage
Sheen: 5 damage
Malanowski: 9 damage
Cole: 7 damage
Granger: 3 damage

Temporary insanity rounds remaining, not counting this one:
Senior Airman Roger Coltrane: 5
Keith Deeds: 6
Lisa Crow: 5
Colin Lewis: 6
Javier Ramirez: 10
Dr. Dale Owens: 4)

West of the motel-
Hodges fired the LAW and discarded the empty disposable launcher. The anti-tank rocket hit the parking lot several yards to the west of the creature, but it still took a little shrapnel, a bit of which actually penetrated its tough hide. Even so, its wounds were closing up quickly and it was now almost completely healed. The worm turned its attention to him and crawled north. It was now just 10 yards away from him.

(Hodges, you may act again now. You fired your only LAW. You have one grenade left, but you are now within the blast radius if you hit the worm with it (as are both western barricades), and your Throw skill has a -10 penalty due to your armor. This would combine with the +20 for the worm's size, for a total of +10. You may use the rifle as before, or you may move. If you try to get onto the balcony, roll Climb-10 to try to get over the barricade. If you want to run, pick a direction - the worm is due south of you. It will not get close enough to attack you this round as long as you don't go any further south than you are now.)

On the motel balcony-
"Come on, babe, there's no time!" said David, grabbing Amanda by the arm. "Leave them! We have to go!" He dragged her south along the balcony while she fiddled in vain with her carbine some more. They couldn't see the zombies from the roof any longer, and her dead friends were already underneath the balcony at the southwest corner. "We have to get to your bike now!" They reached the ladder and the zipline. The lead runners to the east were only 60 yards off and closing fast.

In the comm room-
The two female lieutenants stacked more furniture up in front of the door and window of the room while Zorie Spooner worked on Mikhalin's arm.

"Sir, whatever is out there just attacked the barricaded stairway nearest this room," Curtis reported to Carmichael. "It stopped when a LAW was fired at it, so at least someone out there is still alive and fighting it. I don't know why they haven't reported in yet, though."

"Understood," replied Carmichael. "The C-130 just launched a few seconds ago. ETA to your position is 18 minutes. Stay on the line with me, and don't lose contact. Any news from the outside world yet?"

"I'm starting to pick up some Russian chatter, sir," said Mikhalin. "It seems like they've noticed that nuclear detonation at our missile base ten minutes ago, but they're talking too fast for me to make out all the details."

"Keep at it. It's absolutely vital that we know how the Russians are reacting."

"I wish we could get a handle on the Chinese too," said Curtis, "but now that we've lost Cheng we don't have anyone left who knows the language."

East of the motel-
Luke battered the northeast barricade some more, and Sergeant Black joined in. The other four zombies from the roof were lined up behind them, but they couldn't get past them on the stairway to attack the barricade. Meanwhile, Clarence reached the southeast barricade and pounded on it mightily, with Joe Soarez assisting a good deal. Nearly a quarter of the barricade was already demolished. The Newtons crowded behind them.

South of the motel-
Cheng and Applebee continued their feast. Lisa ran mindlessly away and was now 90 yards from the motel. The two trucks were a quarter of a mile south of the motel at this point. There was nothing but flat, open ground as far as their drivers could see.

[ryansommer]

With all the infected around, Frank was certain the roof was the safest place for him. However, did not want to risk failing at climbing the barricade. He was sure he was going to die, but was determined to take out as many of these bastards as he could before he did.
With a grunt of determination, Frank spun on his heels and sprinted off towards the North West. Away from the worm and the infected. As he ran, he pulled his last grenade and ran with it in his hand. (OOC: UNless that will slow him down, in which case, he will not do that)

[Mr. Handy]

(That's not a problem. You can pull out your grenade while running, but if you throw it you'll have to stop.

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
Runners from the east: 0/10 dead
Crawlers from the east: 3 with 9 damage to head
NW barricade: 6/60 HP left
NE barricade: 33/60 HP left
SW barricade: gone
SE barricade: 46/60 HP left
Room 27 barricade: 9/9 HP left
Luke: 3 damage
Black: 3 damage
Sheen: 5 damage
Malanowski: 9 damage
Cole: 7 damage
Granger: 3 damage

Temporary insanity rounds remaining, not counting this one:
Senior Airman Roger Coltrane: 4
Keith Deeds: 5
Lisa Crow: 4
Colin Lewis: 5
Javier Ramirez: 9
Dr. Dale Owens: 3)

West of the motel-
Frank Hodges turned and ran to the northwest, taking out his last grenade as he did. He soon reached the southern edge of the field of grass. The worm did not give chase, but instead it turned around and went back to the southwest corner, where it again came down hard on the barricade, destroying what was left of it. Its wounds had now completely healed.

(Hodges, roll Spot Hidden, with a -5 penalty due to your helmet. You may move again, throw your grenade, or attack with your rifle this round.)

On the motel balcony-
"Where's your wheels?" asked David.

"Right near the bottom of the ladder," said Amanda. "I left it running."

"Well, get on down there while you have the chance and get yourself out of here. If I can't get down there in time, I'll wait until they all close in on the motel and use the zipline to get past them, then run for my truck."

Amanda slung the carbine over her shoulder and started down the ladder. The zombies to the east continued to close in. The first runners were now just 40 yards away, and the bulk of the horde was less than 80 yards off.

In the comm room-
The room shuddered again when the stairway's barricade was destroyed. Blanco and Doolittle reinforced the room's internal barricade some more. Zorie Spooner kept busy on Mikhalin's arm while the communications specialist struggled to understand the rapid-fire Russian speech, but she still couldn't quite get it. "I'm still having difficulty, sir," she said, "but I'll get it eventually."

"I just hope we have long enough," said Lt. Curtis. He spoke to Carmichael. "Sir, it sounds like the barricade on the stairs outside the room is gone now, and that thing is right outside the door again. We've blocked it up the best we can, but it's not going to hold long."

"Then get us whatever intel on the Russians you can, while you can," said Carmichael. "I'm sorry, but I can't make that aircraft fly any faster. I've done all I can."

South of the motel-
Bill Black stood up, his eyes red with rage and hunger. He bolted around the southeast corner of the motel, and Cheng and Applebee crawled after him.

Lisa ran on, now over 100 yards away from the motel. She could still see the trucks in the distance, over 500 yards beyond her.

East of the motel-
Luke tore into the northeast barricade again. Then Amanda reached the base of the ladder, right next to her Harley. The other zombies on both stairways turned and closed in on her. None of them reached her yet, but then she saw her son Tsuba come running from around the corner straight for her. He may not have been her flesh and blood, but his death still devastated her. She had never experienced such terrible loss before. Still, she retained her will to live and gripped her carbine ready as he rushed her. He stumbled into her, his teeth clamping down on her carbine after she could not evade in time, damaging it badly enough to break it.

[ryansommer]

Frank reaches the grass and notices the worm is not giving chase, however, he notices little else.

Feeling vulerable standing up, Frank crouches down and hides himself in the grass.

[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
Runners from the east: 0/10 dead, 1 with no right leg [18 damage], 1 with no right arm [15 damage], 1 with 10 damage to left arm, 1 with 8 damage to head
Crawlers from the east: 3 with 9 damage to head
NW barricade: 6/60 HP left
NE barricade: 33/60 HP left
SW barricade: gone
SE barricade: 46/60 HP left
Room 27 barricade: 12/12 HP left
Luke: 3 damage
Black: 3 damage
Sheen: 5 damage
Malanowski: 9 damage
Cole: 7 damage
Granger: 3 damage

Temporary insanity rounds remaining, not counting this one:
Senior Airman Roger Coltrane: 3
Keith Deeds: 4
Lisa Crow: 3
Colin Lewis: 4
Javier Ramirez: 8
Dr. Dale Owens: 2)

West of the motel-
Frank crouched down in the grass, concealing himself. The worm, having destroyed the stairway's barricade, reared up and tried to bring itself down on the comm room's door, but it slipped and fell to the parking lot.

On the motel balcony-
David stood where he was, watching with increasing alarm as the zombies got inexorably closer to the motel. He reloaded his shotgun.

In the comm room-
The women finished stacking furniture in front of the door and window. "That's as good as it's going to get," said Lt. Blanco. "Zorie, how's the airman's arm?"

"She'll be okay, given time to heal," said Zorie. "I'm about halfway done. Lt. Curtis could use some more help, though."

Mikhalin still couldn't make out what the Russians were saying. She could tell by their tone of voice that they were extremely anxious, but little else.

East of the motel-
Amanda straddled the Harley Davidson while Tsuba picked himself up off of the ground where he had fallen. Luke came at her very fast, but she kicked the motorcycle into life and sped out of the way, discarding her ruined M2 carbine. She darted around the gathering cluster of zombies and turned south, heading across the highway toward where she could see Lisa running away. "Hang on, Lisa!" she shouted. "Mama's comin'!" The zombies tried to pursue her, but once she got a good distance away they turned their attention back to the southeast stairway.

The runners from the east closed in on the parking lot. Six of them entered the lot itself, Two of them came into the southeast corner on either side of the tripwire there without touching it. Another two tripped the wire and set off the grenade on the northeast corner, and the last two were caught within the blast radius. One lost a leg, another an arm. Another had its left arm wounded, and a fourth took a severe head wound but kept coming, albeit more slowly.

South of the motel-
Lisa was now 120 yards south of the motel, with Amanda starting to catch up to her. Both women could still barely see the trucks, which were now half a mile away.

[ryansommer]

(OOC: If the worm is not paying attention to me, and I am hiding, can I throw a grenade without giving up my spot? Am I in range to throw a grenade? Can I take another look around to make sure my 6 is clear?)

[Mr. Handy]

(Yes, you are within range to throw a grenade, but far enough away that it won't hurt you unless you miss really badly and then fail a Luck roll. And yes, you may first roll Spot Hidden at -5 again. The worm isn't paying attention to you right now, but you don't know enough about its capabilities to know if it will be able to figure out where the grenade came from.)