IC-THRU-The Siege(All but Luke)

[Mr. Handy]

(Yes, that's what we were waiting for and here it is. I had hoped Wimrock would have posted by now, but I need to move this forward. I'll just assume David took the shotgun but not the grenade launcher/rifle combo.)

West of the motel-
Carlos Duran got a clear look at the remaining creatures as they closed in on the motel and got gunned down by his comrades, but he had seen plenty before and the sight didn't really affect him. He barely missed with his first shot and with his second, and the third was wide by a decent margin. His fourth shot missed by just a hair, but his final shot was on target. "That's all of them," he reported over the radio. Then he turned to Phillips. "Let's get back to the motel."

Phillips stood gaping, his already fractured mind cracking again. However, he managed to keep from thinking about it and ran back to the southwest corner of the motel.

"Okay, folks," said Clarence Deeds, "let's all move to the parking lot on the other side of the motel. It's not good to be so close to the grass. I'll be heading over to the diner to check things out there. Anyone who wants to should come with me. If you're going over to help with the wounded, go with Amanda."

Amanda kept her wits about her and finished clearing the jam while she hopped onto her bike. "Melinda, would you be a dear and drive Keith's truck while he rides in the back?" she asked.

Tsuba shuddered, though he was getting used to the awful things by this point. He too got on his Harley. I mustn't let my family down again, he thought. Lewie Newton remained solid as always, and he and his wife Sue got onto their bikes as well.

Colin, however, lost it, unable to cope with the horrid creatures. He knew that they were going to get him, make him one of them.

Suddenly, he was back in Iraq, on the outskirts of Fallujah. His convoy was stopped at a farmhouse and had just fought off an ambush by insurgents. He saw the smoking remains of the helicopter and knew that they had brought it down, that good men and women had died. What's the point? he wondered. He lost all will to fight and wandered towards the field of grass to meet his fate.

"Colin!" shouted his friend Joe Soarez, who stayed collected. "Where are you going? Come back! We need you, buddy!" But Colin wasn't hearing any of it. "Colin, wait!" shouted Amanda. He ignored her too.

Lewie recognized the symptoms of Colin's flashback. "Lewis!" he barked in his best sergeant's voice. "Return to the convoy, we're pulling out! That's an order, soldier!"

Colin came to his senses and returned to reality. "I'm sorry," he said, getting back into his truck. "I don't know what came over me."

"It's okay, man. It happens. Let's just keep moving."

"Daddy?" asked Adrian as his father started up the SUV and began to pull out with the other vehicles. The pack moved around the north side of the motel.

At the southwest corner of the motel, Cole trembled, but he was starting to get used to the ghouls and it didn't hit him as bad as it could have. Lt. Curtis nearly made it up the ladder, only to slip and fall. He landed badly, but wasn't hurt much.

On the motel's roof-
Black and Sheen saw the last of the crawling zombies go down.

In the comm room-
"Be careful!" called Alexandria as David left the room. She picked up the microphone again. "Colonel, we've finished off the last of them and both civilians have left the communications room."

"That's good to hear," answered Carmichael. "Any word on Lt. Curtis?"

"No, sir, I haven't heard from anyone from the chopper. I don't know what's keeping them."

East of the motel-
Lt. Blanco and Zorie Spooner followed the survivors from the helicopter crew up the ladders to the east side of the balcony as the vehicles came around the north side of the motel and into the eastern parking lot.

On the motel balcony-
Lt. Rebecca Doolittle led Brian Kincaid around the south side of the motel balcony. "We shouldn't even be here!" she groused. "We should be up in the air, and now we're trapped on the ground with those...things!"

"Don't worry, ma'am," said Kincaid, "I'm sure they'll send someone to extract us."

Doolittle said nothing. I can't spoil the kid's illusion, she thought.

Wallace was remarkably calm as he swapped out his magazine, having nothing left to fear at this point. Baldwin, however, couldn't take it and still had plenty left to lose. He staved off madness only by a hair's breadth. He reloaded his rifle and stood shivering.

Malanowski was taken aback too. He snapped like a twig, his own mind betraying him. He stood frozen in place. Ortega remained in control of himself and reloaded while he had the chance.

David detached the Remington 870 shotgun from under the barrel of McCain's M-4 and reconnected the stock. The weapon still had five shells in it out of a maximum of eight, and he also found a couple of boxes of 12 gauge shells, containing an additional 50 in all.

[kabukiman]

-Yes, of course i will help. Let's go!- She says anxious to get out of there.

[Fearlessfred]

In the Comm Room-
"I'll go see what's keeping him." Rameriz moves out on to the balcony wondering if the undead would ever stop coming.

On the Roof-
Black breaths a sigh of relief now that the last of the dead had fallen. "If this keeps up there will be no more infected in the area for us to kill. Atleast I hope so."

[wimrock]

David reloads up to the maximum possible reload for the shotgun while he waits for more zombies to appear.

[ryansommer]

In the back of his truck
"Melinda, sweetie, go ahead and follow the other to the other side of the motel." Keith said to Melinda while he finished unjamming his gun.
"Once we get over there, I'm gonna head to the diner with my Pa. You think you might be able to help Amanda out with the wounded?"

At the motel

Frank scanned the areafor more infected.

[Mr. Handy]

(Frank Hodges succeeded at his Spot Hidden roll. If you had failed, you would have noticed nothing, but don't assume there's nothing to be seen if you succeed. In this case, there is something to see! Also, Lt. Doolittle is up on the balcony above his position, though she is part of the helicopter crew. It is Lt. Curtis who is his CO, and he is currently on the ground with Hodges, having just fallen off the rope ladder. You may want to edit your post above.)

West of the motel-
Peering into the grass, Frank Hodges caught sight of seven more ghouls loping through the high grass to the west. Unlike the others, these were moving very quickly indeed - and they were less than a hundred yards from the motel!

(Frank Hodges, roll Sanity, and remember your +10 bonus. Sanity loss is 1/1d10 as before. If you do not go temporarily insane, you have two combat rounds left to shoot before they start to emerge from the grass.

If anyone else on the ground west of the motel, the balcony, or the roof who hasn't acted yet wants to roll Spot Hidden and you succeed, you must also roll Sanity unless you've already lost 10 Sanity points from seeing zombies since the chapter started. If you remain sane, you have only one combat round to shoot - you are assumed to be looking in response to whatever warning Frank Hodges is sure to give. If you fail your Spot Hidden roll, you do not see the zombies until they come out of the grass and into the parking lot.)

[kabukiman]

-Ok, i will try.

[ryansommer]

Frank scans the tall grass and catches sight of more infected heading towards to motel. But these ones were different. The others had been infected. Sick. They moved slowly. Lumbered along as if their illness was a weight being dragged behind them. These ones, however, moved so fast. Like a deadly predator hell bent on taking down it's prey. Festering tears of flesh and flopped around as they sprinted towards him.
The usually cool Frank Hodges, began to unravle. His mind reeled, then snapped.

[kabukiman]

OOC: Can Cheng shoot again? Does he need to make a spot hiden check?

[Mr. Handy]

(Yes, you do need to make a Spot Hidden roll, at a -5% penalty. If you succeed, roll Sanity as described above. If you do not go insane, you may then shoot once at a zombie's head.)

[kabukiman]

Cheng continues not seeing anything.

[wimrock]

Dale moves the truck to follow the rest of the group that is on the other side of the hotel. As he pulls out, he looks back at his son . He asks Melinda, "How's he doing?"

[wimrock]

David looks down from the balcony. "All armed and nothing to do. Let's get me some freaks to shoot!"

[ryansommer]

In the back of his truck
As Melinda moves the truck around with the others, Keith scans the surroundings fro signs of the infected. However, he is too busy keeping his balance to spot anything.

At the motel
(OOC: Frank has gone insane. I think I remember you saying that you roll what kind of insanity and duration. If I am wrong, let me know what to roll.)

[Mr. Handy]

(Runners from the west: 2/6 dead)

East of the motel-
Keith Deeds managed to finish clearing his jammed rifle while Melinda drove around the motel. She stopped in the parking lot on the east side to slide over to the shotgun seat, and Keith got back in his truck's driver's seat to follow his father, brother and friends over to the diner. Dr. Dale Owens and his son Adrian remained behind, as did Ernest Granger. Amanda remained with them as well.

(Melinda and all Rough Riders except Amanda Deeds are moving to this thread: Blue Plate Special. Please stop reading the current thread at this point.

Everyone else, including those listed in the Others category, remains in the current thread.

Frank Hodges has fainted, and he will come to when his temporary insanity wears off. The duration was only three rounds, which include the two rounds when he would have gotten to shoot. The current round is the third out of six.)

West of the motel-
Frank Hodges passed out when he saw the creatures. He had no chance to give a warning to anyone.

Carlos Duran trotted back towards the southwest corner of the motel as fast as his wounds would allow. He noticed that his rifle only had one bullet remaining in the chamber, so he loaded a full magazine. He was about halfway back to the motel when six creatures burst from the grass in pursuit of him and rushed him from behind. He never heard them coming until they were on top of him. The first one swiped at him and missed, and he recoiled in horror. Panic seized him, and he knew his doom was upon him. He wailed miserably as the others swarmed him. The second zombie tripped over its own feet and fell, scrabbling at the asphalt of the parking lot. The third seized him in its mighty arms and brought him down to the ground, and the fourth grabbed him from the other side. The fifth would have gotten him had the others not been in its way, and the last one could not get through its comrades to feast.

Lt. Curtis had just regained his footing, and he turned when he heard Duran cry. He did not panic, but he did scurry up the ladder with a surge of adrenalin. "Six hostiles in the western parking lot! Man down! Fire at will!" he shouted over the radio as he climbed.

Thomas Cole, already inured to the sight of these horrible creatures, fired at the first one and hit it in the chest, but it did not even slow down. Greg Applebee was also numb to the shocking appearance of the zombies. He wished he could have used his flamethrower on the cluster, but Duran would have gotten caught in the flames. Instead, he shouldered his rifle and shot it dead center, all but destroying its ribcage. Yet the thing still did not go down. Senior Airman Roger Coltrane gaped in horror, but recovered fast and shot the lead ghoul too, ripping a chunk from its right leg. Steve Phillips nearly lost his mind again, but barely held onto his wits. He also took a shot, hitting the wounded zombie. The bullet blew through the zombie's torso, and its limbs were hanging on only by slender tendons, the bones having been pulverized.

(Gordon Cheng, roll Sanity. Sanity loss is 0/1d10. If you remain sane, you may fire one shot. You may use your full skill, with only the -5% penalty for aiming at the head.)

On the motel roof-
Black and Sheen saw the zombies rush out of the grass and overwhelm Duran.

(Both of you roll Sanity. After that, you may also shoot following the above rules if you stay sane.)

On the motel balcony-
Wallace and Baldwin moved further north to give Ramirez some space on the crowded southwest corner. Lt. Blanco and Zorie Spooner also arrived from the east. Then the shooting started and everyone looked into the parking lot.

Malanowski was still frozen. Zorie Spooner gasped, but was not too badly affected. She drew her pistol. Ortega remained steadfast. He missed his target with his hasty shot, however. Unfortunately, the stray bullet hit his friend Duran, shattering his left leg. "No!" he cried. "Lo siento!"

Duran gritted his teeth and was able to stay awake despite the intense agony. "It's okay, amigo!" he called out, knowing these could be his last words.

Lt. Rebecca Doolittle drew her M9 and squeezed off a shot, but she missed too - and she also hit Duran! The bullet hit his arm and downed him. "God, no!" she cried, mentally stunned by what she had just done. She shuddered, but kept from losing it completely. Ortega was horrified by the role he had played in causing his friend's death, but his final words had eased his mind.

"You did him a favor," said Lt. Blanco. "He was already bitten, and he was about to suffer a slow and agonizing demise."

Brian Kincaid swallowed his disgust and took out his pistol too. He shot the grievously wounded zombie, finishing it off.

Wallace remained in control of himself. He shot the second zombie and blew its skull apart. He let out a whoop. Baldwin completely lost it. His mind splintered and he could not handle what his brain was processing. He stood rooted to the spot.

Lt. Blanco remained stable and took out her Beretta, only to have it jam when she pulled the trigger.

(David and Ramirez, roll Sanity. If you stay sane, you may take one shot at the zombies in the parking lot. They are 15 yards away, so you get to use full skill with any weapon, with only the -5% penalty for aiming at the head. David can use either his pistol or his shotgun. The base skill for shotguns is 30%. If you hit with the shotgun, roll 1d3 to see how many zombies you hit, and then roll 2d6 damage for each one that you hit. The pistol can fire two bullets per round, but only at the same target.)

In the comm room-
Alexandria Mikhalin waited nervously, monitoring the equipment.

East of the motel-
"Let's get upstairs fast!" said Amanda when she heard the gunfire erupt again. She climbed the shorter ladder and got onto the balcony.

(One more person can climb up to the balcony this round, using the taller ladder. There is no need to roll anything to climb the ladder since you are not injured.)

[kabukiman]

Cheng is uninpressed by the "infected". He decide to shoot in the head and see it exploding.

[Fearlessfred]

On the motel balcony-

Rameriz recoils in fear but begins to fire anyway
hitting one of them in the chest .

On the Roof-

"Black turns his head and is horrified by what he sees. Knowing that that he should have seen
them coming. He doesn't even move to fire.

[Mr. Handy]

(Remember, failing a Sanity roll doesn't mean your character automatically goes insane or can't fire. They've both failed, so you should roll 1d10 for Sanity loss for each of them. If they lose 4 or less, they can act freely. If they lose 5 or more, roll Idea. If that roll fails, they can still act freely. It's only if they succeed at the Idea roll that they would go temporarily insane. Go ahead and roll their Sanity loss, and Idea if necessary, or I'll roll myself the next time I update Through if you haven't done so yet.

EDIT: Okay, I saw your rolls. Ramirez was allowed to aim at the head, by the way. I had him fire Cole's pistol since his own is still jammed from Chapter 2.)

[Mr Zombie killer]

Bobby Sheen saw the creatures emerge onto the parking lot. He started to freak a little bit. However he managed to keep his head and cool and prepared to fire.
He aimed at one of the runners heads and fired. The bullet hit the creature in the eye socket and bobby saw the head rip apart from the force of the bullet. As the creature dropped to the ground, Bobby cocked another round into his rifle and took aim at another head. However this time he did not judge the wind and the bullet missed to the right. "Dang it."

[Mr. Handy]

(You didn't link to the actual Sanity loss of 2 points, but I found it on Invisible Castle. Also, there was only time for one shot, so happily you will not be charged that second bullet. There are two zombies still visible. I'll wait one more day for wimrock to post for David before I update Through.)