Play@YSDC

Z-Day - 2:29 PM Central Time - Airfield 10 miles SW of Kearney, Nebraska
In the tower lobby-
Diane and Rick led the way into the tower through the shattered front door and ran for the central stairwell. Before they got there, Private Julio Alvarez emerged from the stairwell door. Both cops pointed their weapons at him. Diane had a Mossberg shotgun, and Rick wielded a .357 Magnum.

"Freeze, punk!" shouted Rick, raising his voice to be heard above the fire alarm.

"I'm Sergeant Diane Ford of the Nebraska State Police!" called his partner. "Drop your weapons and put your hands in the air! You're under arrest for kidnapping and interfering with official police business, and that's just for starters!"

Alvarez did the math quickly and put his M-4 on the ground. He left his Berreta in his holster along with his grenades and his combat knife. "Listen, I am on the good side. My Coporal has gone around the bend. He has kidnapped a women pilot upstairs along with the tower control person and he wishes to rape them both. I was going to go get help from the guys he had placed in Hanger 1, they are from the helicopter. We need to take him out. Then I was promised a ride out of here. We have zombies coming for us right now so it is in your best interest to let me do my job and help get us out of here."

In the tower lobby-
"We've got to save them!" said Rick.

"How can we be sure we can trust this guy?" said Diane. "He could be making this up for all we know. And I said drop your weapons, plural. That means all of them."

(Alvarez, roll Persuade or Fast Talk if you want to try to convince Diane you're telling the truth. Also, everyone roll Listen. This roll is at half skill due to the fire alarm. Alvarez has an additional -5% penalty from his helmet, applied after his skill is halved. Characters who enter this thread at this point may also attempt this Listen roll.)

Occ-
What is the usual skill roll for Listen since i do not have it.
What is the usual skill roll for Fast Talk or Persuade because again I do not have it.

Alverez sighed. As he thought of what to say he paused to see if he heard anything unusual. He did not hear anything.
"Listen, there are zombie creatures coming toward this very building as we speak. My pistol, knife, and grenades are all holsted in my belt. You have weapons pointed at me. You can see my hands. I put down my M-4 in good faith despite this being a millitary base and you being a civilian. You will be able to see me going for my pistol and will be able to blow me away before I had a chance to raise it. So I am keeping those weapons on me so I can fight the creatures. You have a problem with it then tough luck because as i stated before you are trespassing on millitary ground and I have every right to arrest you instead."
He then paused and tried to persade the cops about what he had been saying about Gardner holding the women hostage. He saw that he almost had convinced the two but they did not buy his story. Keeping his hands in the open he said, "Do you want to talk to my corperal? He is so proud of kidnapping the girls that he will most likly tell you himself. Here is my radio, I can call him up if you want."

In the tower lobby-
Dr. Bernard Smith entered through the shattered doors, a pistol in his hand. Lucy Armstrong came in behind him, leading Stephanie Bridges and Dr. Brigetta Hausmann. Lucy had a steel pipe strapped to her back, but no gun was visible. "Here, let me help you with that," she said, unwinding the duct tape securing Stephanie's arms behind her back.

"And give away the fact that we're here?" said Diane, frowning at Alvarez. "Surprise is the only advantage we've got. Look, maybe you're telling the truth, but maybe you're not. But you're in no position to negotiate here. If you really want to save those women, you'll cooperate with us fully." She paused, glancing at Rick but keeping her shotgun pointed at Alvarez. She lowered her voice. "You hear that? Sounds like three sets of running footsteps, coming from the back of the tower."

(Everyone roll Listen at half skill again.)

Alvarez looked at the many guns facing him. He said, "Girls, tell them about your friend and how I am helping save her. We can all do it together right now. And you know what I do not even care about getting out of here now anymore. I mean I would like to get to Omaha and see my girl but I am afriad that if Gardner wins he kills me and if he see does not win he will take down as many of us as he can before he goes down himself. So I am most likly a dead man. Please do this or this cop will shoot me!" While he was talking he tried to hear what the cop had heard but he did not hear anything because of his helmet.

In the tower lobby-
"The soldier is right, woman, he's on our civilian side!" called Bob's voice from behind the tower over the din of the alarm. "There is no need for us to fight each other." He paused. "And we've got: INCOMING!"

Lucy finished pulling the duct tape off of Stephanie's arms. She ripped away the tape covering her mouth. "It's true," she told Diane Ford, "Alvarez said he's on our side, and he thinks Flynn is too, but he isn't sure. I'm the one who convinced him to come in here to rescue Erica." She gently removed the tape from Dr. Hausmann's mouth as well.

"Okay," said Diane. She nodded to Alvarez. "You can pick up your M-4 again. I think you're gonna need it..."

Harry Flynn, Bo, and Bob rushed in through the back door. They couldn't see the others in the lobby because the central stairwell and shaft blocked their view, but they could hear their raised voices. "Stephanie!" called Bo. "Thank God you're okay. Stay well back, we've got company!" He positioned himself on the east side of the round central column and faced the doorway, his shotgun raised. Three zombies were running headlong towards it. A rifle shot rang out from above, and one with a knife sticking out of its chest fell, its skull splintered.

(Harry Flynn and Bob, roll Sanity. Sanity loss is 0/1d10, so if you succeed you lose no Sanity. If you fail, you lose 1d10 points. If you lose 5 or more points, you must roll Idea. Failure means you can act freely, but if you succeed you will go temporarily insane. As long as you stay sane, you have one combat round to shoot. There is time to aim for the head, at a -5% penalty. Bob may either fire his .45 once or his 9mm twice at the same target at normal skill, but firing both at the same time will result in massive skill penalties that really aren't worth it. Flynn gets two shots with his pistol.

Anyone else in the lobby may move around the wide central shaft this round. If you do, you must roll Sanity as described above, but you will not be able to shoot this round as well.)

Bob barely registers the unsavory scene (San 72 (1d100=38, 1d10=6)) and remains unphased. For him, it's simply one less threat to worry about.

He levels his Beretta and fires twice at the closest zombie's head. The first shot strikes home, hard, but the second misses by but an inch (Handgun 48% -5% (1d100=10, 1d10=7, 1d100=47, 1d10=4)).

Alveraz nodded his thanks and picked up his M-4. He then ran to the other side of the room where Bob and Flynn were and stopped dead looking at the undead coming toward him. He got startled a bit seeing these creatures coming at him. The sight scared him to death. His mind snapped and he ran to the nearby wall and licked the dirt in the cracks.

(occ-wow those rolls sucked.)

Flynn was looking at the scene and somehow managed to keep lucid. So he decide to shoot the creatures.
He was lucky and shot one creature, with low damage in theright arm.
With a seconde zombie, he missed the target.

In the tower lobby-
Bo Richards shuddered when he saw the dead running closer, and he froze up momentarily. Fortunately, he did not have a chance to think about it, aimed his shotgun at the head of the uninjured zombie, and fired. His shot was extremely accurate and blew the thing's head off.

Trooper Rick Brenner ran around the central column and caught sight of the wounded zombie as it staggered through the open doorway. He held himself together and raised his .357 Magnum. Dr. Bernard Smith was not far behind, but he was more deeply affected. He recoiled in terror, knowing that one bite would be the end of him. He promptly fainted.

Lucy Armstrong unstrapped the steel pipe from her back as she rounded the corner, but the horrible sight gave her pause. She stood there shaking for a moment, her mind overwhelmed by the thought of impending doom. Rather than resist, she embraced it, running headlong towards the monster.

Sergeant Diane Ford was the last around the bend. She reacted coolly and professionally, bringing up her shotgun quickly.

"Bo, be careful!" called Stephanie. She wanted to run to him, but she knew that without a weapon there was nothing she could do to help.

"He'll be okay," said Dr. Hausmann.

Stephanie nodded, hoping she was right.

(Everyone who is currently sane may fire one shot before the last zombie gets to attack someone. This time there is no chance to aim at the head before it attacks, so you must use random hit locations. It has taken 7 damage to the head and 10 damage total. It will take 40 damage or more in general to finish it, but any hit that happens to do 3 or more damage to the head will also finish it. This shot will be at point blank range, so your skill is doubled. If you still miss, roll Luck.)

Alverez stopped licking the wall and went onto all fours. He crawled over to the still body of Dr. Smith and begin to lick his face as if he, Alverez, was a dog.

Flynn was shootinglike a madman, laughing and not very concern with the damage or the locations he was hitting.

Bob's steady hand raised the Colt 1911 and easily hit the zombie. (48% x2 (point blank) (1d100=57, 1d10 2=10))

Realising that there is no chance to retreat now, he braces himself to try to block the way of any zombie who might get through. His loose flightsuit seems to lose a little slack as muscles bulge in preparation.

In the tower lobby-
Both Harry Flynn and Bob Larkin shot the zombie in the chest, but it lumbered onwards, heading right for Lucy as she rushed towards it. Rick Brenner responded quickly, firing his Colt Python. The bullet struck it square in the head, putting it down. "Yeah!" he cheered.

Lucy leaned against the wall and slumped down. "It's no use," she moaned. "There's always more of them. I might as well just wait here to die..."

"All clear!" called Diane, peering out the door. The nearest zombie was crawling on the ground over forty yards away, and it had just had its head destroyed by a rifle shot from above. "Nice shooting, Rick." She turned to Bo. "You too, Trooper. I'm Sergeant Diane Ford, by the way."

Bo shook her hand and loaded a shell into his shotgun to replace the one he'd fired. "Pleased to meet you, Sergeant," he said. "I'm Trooper Bo Richards. I don't think I'll ever get used to the sight of those things." He was still shaking. "I'm sorry, I ought to be able to keep it together."

"Are you kidding?" said Rick. "I saw you blast its head to bits. You did great, man! You're a hero!"

Stephanie and Dr. Hausmann came around the bend. Stephanie ran up to Bo and threw her arms around him. "You're my hero!" she said, planting a kiss on his lips. She broke off far sooner than she would have liked. "I wish there were more time, but we've got to save Erica! That creep Gardner took her upstairs. He also mentioned another girl they've got up there, Kathryn. She must be the air traffic controller we spoke to earlier."

-Gardner, yes, we must do something about him...
Suddenly Flynn nottice what happened to Alvarez and shout:
- Ey, Alvarez! Get up!

Alveraz stopped licking the good doctor and instead rolled over to the floor which he begin to lick.
(occ-how many more rounds am I insane?)

As soon as Bob is done reloading, he'll pull Alvarez off the ground and attempt to restrain/calm him down.

In the tower lobby-
"Alvarez, Flynn; Are you two okay down there?" came Dawkins's voice on their radios. "Those running rot bags didn't cause any trouble down there, did they? I've got Kathryn up here with me and Gardner is on his way down the fire escape with the pilot, heading to the chopper."

"There's no time to lose!" said Rick, already running for the stairs while loading a fresh round into his revolver's empty chamber. "We have to save those ladies!"

"I'm with you," said Bo, following him to the stairwell and up towards the second floor landing. Diane went up after them.

Dr. Bernard Smith gradually came to his senses and took in the scene. He noticed Alvarez lying on the floor near him. "Alvarez!" he said, helping Bob with the medic after the pilot had reloaded both of his pistols. "Get a hold of yourself, man. We need your help!" His words got through, and Alvarez was himself once again.

"Stephanie, you should get back to work," said Dr. Hausmann. "You've done your part to save Erica, and now it's up to Bo and the others to finish the job. We've got a whole planet to save, ja?"

Stephanie nodded, knowing that there wasn't anything else she could do. She took the laptop from Dr. Hausmann and sat down at the reception desk with it. She easily found her place and resumed typing.

"Funny meeting you here, Dr. Hausmann," said Dr. Smith. "I'm glad to see that you and your lovely assistant are all right."

"Danke, Dr. Smith," she replied. Stephanie also smiled and waved from her seat. "We won't be truly all right until we get to Omaha, though."

Lucy just sat with her back against the wall and sighed.

Alveraz picked up his M-4 and said, "Bo, I am going to try and cut them off outside!" He then ran for the doors heading outside for the chopper to stop Gardner.

-I'l go with you, it's easier if we are two!

West of the tower-
Flynn and Alvarez left through the shattered front doors and walked over to the helicopter. Nobody else was around outside. The fuel barrel that was hooked up to the pump was now empty, all of the fuel having been loaded into the chopper's tank, which was now two-thirds full. Erica Spears's weapons and her light Kevlar vest rested on the front passenger seat.

The shrill fire alarm finally stopped.

In the tower lobby-
Dr. Bernard Smith went over to Lucy. "Hang in there," he said comfortingly. "We're going to be all right now."

Lucy shook her head wildly from side to side. "No, we're not," she said. "We're still doomed. The whole world is doomed."

"Not if we haf anything to say about it, it's not," said Dr. Hausmann. "Once Stephanie and I get to Omaha, we may be able to put a stop to this madness."

Stephanie nodded again as she continued to type rapidly. Just then, the fire alarm stopped ringing.

On the stairs-
"The elevator's indicator light said it was on the fourth floor," said Rick as he led the way upstairs. "With the fire alarm going off, the elevator will just sit there with its doors open and can't be used. We'll check there first."

"We also have to do something about that sniper on the roof," said Diane. "We can't go outside while she's still up there."

As the three State Troopers passed the second floor landing, they noticed a discarded laptop computer. They continued up to the third floor, where a fire extinguisher had been left on the landing. Just after they got there, the fire alarm ceased.

(Rick, roll Listen.)

"Flynn lets use the fire escape. Maybe we can get a jump on the SOB. Remember we want to try and take him alive if possible for trial by courts martial but if he resists blow the bastard away. He will not hestiate to do the same to us."

-Catch him alive? Well, if you insist... But our priority is that we stop him and both stay alive.

"Well of course. But I say we try and get the drop on him and if he shows any signs of resistance...any at all....we blow him to kingdom come."

West of the tower-
Flynn and Alvarez took off at a run towards the east side of the tower, cutting through the lobby on their way to the rear exit near the bottom of the fire escape.

In the tower lobby-
As Flynn and Alvarez ran through the lobby, they heard Dawkins on their radios. She said: "Alvarez, Flynn. That bastard Gardner is on his way down the inner stairs from the roof. He has the pilot with him still. I assume you two are done following his crazy ass orders, seeing how you allowed the men to escape from the warehouse. I'm done following his orders too."

Lucy Armstrong wallowed in despair for a few moments longer, oblivious to the good doctor's efforts to help her. Then she slowly came to her senses, stood up, and retrieved her steel pipe.

Dr. Smith turned his attention to Dr. Hausmann. "Really?" he said, intrigued. "I suppose you must know a lot more about what's going on than I do, if you're close to being able to stop it." He walked with her back to the reception desk where Stephanie was typing away, and he looked at the computer screen. "Does it have anything to do with this?"

"Ja," said Dr. Hausmann. "We haf vital data that we must get to the Crisis Response Center in Omaha. We landed here to refuel, since our chopper's fuel tank did not hold enough to get us all the way there."

Bernard nodded. "I got out of Cheyenne on one of the last commuter flights to Omaha. I was on my way to the Crisis Reponse Center too, to help out however I can. They wouldn't let us land there this morning and turned us back, however, so we put down here. Some of the people here made off with it and all the other aircraft, except the old crop duster in the hangar. It's broken down, but Lucy and the cops won't need too much longer to fix it."

(Everyone, roll Listen. Alvarez and Flynn, you both have a -5% penalty because of your helmets.)

On the stairs-
Rick led the way upstairs to the fourth floor, where the elevator was currently stopped. He didn't hear anything, but Diane clearly did. She held up three fingers and pointed up the stairs. The three of them crept cautiously upstairs, their guns ready, but their bootsteps echoed on the floor.

Flynn is delighted with the idea of shooting Gardner, so he doesn't hear a thing.

As Alvarez walked through the lobby he thought to himself giddy thoughts of blowing Gardner away. Because of this he failed to hear anything.

Bob observes.

Listen (1d100=42)

On the tower stairs-
The three State Troopers heard the elevator suddenly come to life and move upwards past them. They quickened their pace.

(Bo Richards, Diane Ford, and Rick Brenner are moving to this thread: Tower of Terror. Everyone else remains in the current thread.)

In the tower lobby-
Bob could hear the elevator start moving far above. It rose upwards, stopped for several seconds, and then began to descend.

Suddenly, a loud explosion came from far above, seeming to shake the tower!

"Oh my God!" cried Stephanie, her forehead creased with worry.

"Alvarez, Flynn," barked Dawkins on their radios. "Report. What's going on down there?"

-I heard an explosion, but i don't know anything else.

I did not hear a thing. Flynn and I are ready just in case. Most likly it was a distraction move by Gardner. If you see him emerge shoot his head off.

"The elevator went up, then back down and boom..." Bob says, feeling tempted to find out what happened, but judging it more wise to stay and protect this side of the building.

In the tower lobby-
Bob recognized the source of the explosion. It was a hand grenade, very much like the one that had nearly killed him. Alvarez was familiar with the sound too.

"Medic! She´s hurt bad!" called a woman's voice from far upstairs that everyone recognized as Kathryn McCoy, the air traffic controller.

The elevator stopped briefly a couple of floors up. Then it moved back up again, and then stopped again.

"Should we do something?" asked Dr. Smith, looking at Alvarez.

"Don't go up there, it's a trap!" said Lucy. "That Kathryn chippy is Gardner's girl, I'm sure of it. She's trying to set you up for him!"

"We must get out of here!" said Dr. Hausmann, heading for the front door. "Bob, Stephanie, kommen zie! We haf to start the helicopter up so we can take off at a moment's notice."

"But..." started Stephanie, "we can't just abandon Erica!" Still, she saved her progress, closed up the laptop, picked it up, and followed her. "What about Bo? And what's to stop that sniper from shooting us?"

"Erica sacrificed herself to save us. If we do not get to Omaha, it will all be in vain. And I haf a feeling Bo would not be coming with us anyway. He was probably the one who gave up his seat for Alvarez. Hopefully Bo and the others will rescue her, but if they all get killed, what do you think Gardner will do to us? Not to mention that everyone who dies will get back up. There should be just enough fuel already loaded to reach Omaha. We can be ready to leave just in case our friends don't prevail, but if they do we can stay."

"Alvarez, Flynn." said Dawkins over the radio again. "That sounded like a hand grenade and it sounded like it went off right below me. Get everyone out of the tower, now!"

"Everyone out of the tower right now. Flynn lets go we will stay behind for now and try to trap Gardner in the tower but everyone else go now!"

-Hum, we will wait until all have left and then we will go. Unless our dear corporal appears of course.

"Have that sniper women get off the tower too. It's too dangerous." Bob says hearing the radio "Surely a well prepared sniper has a rope up there to rapel down from in such a case of emergency."

"As for Dr. Hausmann, she's right about one thing: we have to get a move on." Bob says "Even if we get to the chopper before all the others, we can still spin her up and prepare for departure... But the doctor and the data need to be aboard and ready to leave, for whatever reason."

(I can't connect to Invisible Castle again, so I used real dice this time. The rolls are below if anyone wants to see them.) In the tower lobby-
Stephanie and Dr. Hausmann had already made it out the front door. Dr. Smith took one look around and nodded. "Yeah, let's bug out," he said. He and Lucy went with Bob and followed them outside, leaving Alvarez and Flynn alone in the lobby.

(Alvarez and Flynn, roll Listen. Remember the -5% penalty from your helmets.)

West of the tower-
"Ja, Bob," called Dr. Hausmann as she and Stephanie made their way around the police cruiser. "We must move quickly."

"You got room in there for us too?" asked Dr. Bernard Smith.

"It only seats five," said Stephanie. "Dr. Hausmann and I have to go, and Bob has to fly it. We've also promised Alvarez a place on board, which only leaves one seat. I'd really like for you to come with us, Dr. Smith, and I'm sure you could be of help when we reach Omaha. If they can save Erica, though, that won't leave any open seats." She glanced up towards the tower roof as she headed for the chopper. The flatbed truck was still idling nearby, and the barrel was still hooked up to the fuel pump. It had been completely drained into the chopper's fuel tank. "There's nobody up on the roof that I can see. Looks like that sniper had the sense to get off." She and Dr. Hausmann reached the helicopter and opened the doors. "I can't fly this bird, but maybe I can start the engine up. I saw Erica do it, and I'm smarter than the average blonde." Sure enough, she managed to start it up.

OCC - why would the doc try to start the bird if Bob is around?

"You don't need two pilots. If Erica is unharmed, then I don't really need to go. Another scientist could make a difference." Bob says, though it's obvious he'd rather be in the air.

OOC: As usuall, Flynn don't hear athing.

(I have a little time tonight, but won't have much during the week. In the interest of moving this forward, I'm going to update now and roll Listen for Alvarez this time.)

In the tower lobby-
Alvarez couldn't quite hear anything either. As he and Flynn stood watch, they soon both heard the unmistakable sound of the elevator coming down from above. They tensed up, expecting it to stop in the lobby, but instead it continued on past the lobby and stopped in the basement.

Dawkins spoke over the radio: "Alvarez, Flynn. I'm heading down the fire escape. I'll see you at the chopper."

West of the tower-
"There's Erica's things in the passenger seat," said Stephanie.

"Go on and take them," said Dr. Hausmann. "She'd want you to have them."

"I just hope I have the chance to give them back to her." Stephanie grabbed Erica's Kevlar vest and put it on, then slid the Beretta into her holster. "Too bad Gardner took all the extra ammo for her pistol and rifle." She also took the M-16 and the Grease gun, along with the extra .45 magazines. "Can any of you use a rifle or an SMG?"

Bob arrived at the helicopter alongside Bernard and Lucy as the rotors began to pick up speed. "Yeah, I'm not too bad with a rifle," said Lucy.

"Then you can borrow this." Stephanie handed her the M-16. "I'll hold onto the Grease gun." She climbed into the bench seat in the rear of the helicopter, slipped on her lab coat, and set the computer down on her lap. Dr. Hausmann climbed in and sat on her left.

Alverez said, "Flynn we better get moving outside now. I don't trust that tricky bastard anymore then I can throw him." He walked outside to wear the chopper was but did not get into the chopper yet.

In the tower lobby-
Alvarez had only moved a few feet towards the front door when the fire alarm began to ring loudly again. "That chopper better not take off without me," Gardner said over the radio. "Otherwise something very bad will happen to the girls."

Alveraz got on the radio and said, "Since you are such a brave man why not show yourself to me in this lobby right now and we will have an old fanished duel. Just you and me. Or are you too much of a coward to show yourself asshole? If you are going to come bring the girls with you.."

In the tower lobby-
"If you're so brave," replied Gardner, "why don't you come find me, you filthy traitor?"

"Traitor to what? There is no country anymore. But you are a rapest and a kidnapper and those are laws against the UCMJ. Come out and face me and if you kill me in equal combat you may be able to get your ride on the copter."

In the tower lobby-
Gardner spoke again: "Don't throw around accusations you can't prove. I haven't harmed the ladies...yet. And you're a kidnapper too, remember? If you leave in that chopper, I'll have nothing left to lose. I'm not going to walk into a deathtrap. You need to come to me - before it's too late." A second later, a woman's muffled scream was heard on the radio, barely audible over the fire alarm.

-Alvarez, it's better that you cover yourself, since you are a better shooter. If he will appear, i will distract him, and you will do whateaver is necessary...

Alvarez nodded and said, "Flynn care to join me? We will start downstairs and then move up from there." Getting on his radio he said, "Okay ahole we are coming to get you. You will die or you will surrender to millitary arrest and trial followed by a first class hanging if found guilty which you are so...."

-Let's go then.

Alvarez leaned out the door to tell the others what he and Flynn were planning to do and said, "We can use all the help we can get. Bob and Bo or anyof yous if you want to come with us we will appreciate it."

At the helicopter-
"We need Bob to fly us out in case something goes wrong!" called Dr. Hausmann, shouting to be heard over the rising whine of the rotors and the fire alarm. "Bo isn't with us, he's still in the tower somewhere!" Neither Lucy nor Dr. Smith left the chopper.

At the helicopter-
"You guys aren't going to help?" Stephanie asked Dr. Smith and Lucy as she plugged in her laptop to conserve battery power and resumed her work. "I'd go myself if this weren't so important."

"Stephanie, nein!" said Dr. Hausmann. "You are too important to take a risk like that, and you know what that schweinhund would do if he got his hands on you. Remember, you are not an action hero. You are a scientist, and you have to help save the world. Leave the rescuing to the professionals, ja?"

"Those were my thoughts exactly," said Dr. Smith. "I barely know how to use this thing." He patted the pistol Diane had given him. "There are three National Guardsmen and three State Troopers in there all gunning for Gardner. Don't worry, they'll get him."

"I know, but...I just feel so bad about Erica, especially after he took her instead of me. What if they're too late?"

(Bob, Dr. Hausmann, Stephanie, Dr. Smith, and Lucy are moving to this thread: The Helicopter. Please stop reading the current thread at this point.

Alvarez and Flynn, remain in the current thread.)

In the tower lobby-
Flynn and Alvarez entered the stairwell and carefully made their way down the spiraling stairs to the basement. The stairway ended at this point. The elevator rested here, its doors remaining open while the fire alarm was ringing. It could not be used until the alarm was shut off, as a safety precaution. A quick peek around the corner revealed that the elevator was empty. Directly across from the elevator was a door leading into the basement corridor.

(Flynn and Alvarez, roll Listen at half skill. The -5% penalty for your helmets is applied after your skill is halved. Since you only have a base skill of 25%, this means you will succeed on a 7 or less on 1d100.)

Flynn is too concentrade to listen anything

(I went ahead and rolled Listen for Alvarez to keep things moving forward.)

In the basement-
Alvarez heard the alarm, but little else. The door led into the circular basement corridor that curved around to the left and right, completely enclosing the central shaft. The half he and Flynn could see was empty. There were also three metal doors visible, all closed. One was directly across the hall from the stairwell door, and on each side of it there was one some distance away.

Alveraz turned to Flynn and keeping quiet used hand signals to show that he was going to move to the door at the end of the hall and open it and that he would need cover. He slowly inched his way down the hall to the door and opened it.

(The hall is circular and surrounds the central shaft. It doesn't have an "end," so I presume you mean to open the door directly across from the stairwell door. There are two more doors you can see from where you are, one on the left and the other on the right. Half of the corridor cannot be seen from there, as the shaft blocks your view.)

In the basement-
Flynn covered the door while Alvarez opened it. On the other side was the generator room. The generator took up much of the back of the room, and it looked to be running normally. There was nobody inside the room, and no real place to hide in there.

Both of them could hear a message in Morse code on their radios. They clearly recognized it as the letters S.O.S., the international standard distress call.

Alvarez heard the distress call but figured that his best bet was to finish searching the basement. He backtracked to the door on the left if one faced from the stairway door and asked Flynn to cover him while he opened the door.

In the tower basement-
Alvarez could see another door further to the left as the corridor curved around. It was about the same distance from this door as this door was from the generator room door. When Alvarez tried the door, he found that it was locked. Neither he nor Flynn had keys to the tower. They knew that Dawkins had taken Kathryn's set when she had searched her initially. It was also possible that Gardner had a set, though they didn't know whether he did or not.

This door is locked and we do not have keys. Check the other door opposite from us currently Flynn and then we can go down the hall and finish checking the basement before going on up.

-It's better that i go first, if there is trouble, you can shoot Gardner when he is concentrate in me.
Flynn goes to the oposite door.

In the tower basement-
When Flynn moved to the door on the right, he could see another door further down the corridor to the right, evenly spaced like the others. Between them, Flynn and Alvarez had seen about 5/6 of the hall. Only the area on the opposite side of the stairwell from the generator room remained out of sight.

A darkened storeroom was on the other side of the door that Flynn opened. Stacks of crates and boxes lined two of the walls, and there were some pallets with stacks of wooden and metal sheets on the other one. This room appeared empty as well.

Flynn avances with caution (and keep his rabbit leg in one hand, nervously).

In the tower basement-
Flynn cautiously searched the storeroom, his pistol in one hand and his rabbit's foot in the other. After a minute, he was sure there was nobody hidden in the room and no useful items lying around in it. He and Alvarez had gone through two of the rooms so far. The door Alvarez had found was still locked, and there were two doors in sight that they hadn't investigated yet. There was also the short stretch of corridor on the opposite side of the central shaft from the generator room.

Alveraz said to Flynn, "There are two doors we can see. This one is locked plus there is the other part of the hallway we cannot see yet. Cover me and I will open that door." He pointed to the door down the hall.

(occ-it is the first door that he sees on this side of the hallway that has not been checked out yet.)

Alveraz said, "Flynn cover me" and he went to the door next to the locked one.
(occ-he goes from 5 to 4 and asks Flynn to go from 2 to 3 so he can still be seen. )

In the tower basement-
Alvarez and Flynn proceeded to their respective doors without incident. From their new positions they could see the rest of the corridor. The hall itself was empty, but there was a sixth door between the two they stood outside. It was identical to the other five and was also closed.

(Alvarez and Flynn, roll Listen at full skill with a -5% penalty due to your helmets.)

OCC-Is that 25% since I do not have the skill listed?

Alveraz stopped to listen and see if he heard anything but all he heard was the beating of his heart and he and Flynn's breathing.

In the tower basement-
Flynn's ears perked up. "Alvarez, did you hear that?" he asked. "Single rifle shot, sounds like it came from ground level. Either in the lobby or outside. I heard shouting too."

No I did not hear a thing. Do you want to continue investagating down here or do you want to go upstairs and check it out?

-Let's go outside, the others may be needing our help. That rat is already a prisioner there!

Alvarez lifted his M-4 and said, "Lead up the stairs and I will follow but be careful."

In the tower basement-
Flynn led the way back to the stairwell, with Alvarez a short distance behind covering him with his M-4. They reached the base of the stairs. The elevator was still open and empty, and the place still looked deserted. Then a short burst of automatic gunfire echoed down from upstairs. It seemed to Flynn to be coming from the tower's front entrance.

-Shit! Now what?

"Flynn, be careful. Lets go to where we can see the doors but still get cover. Also shoot to kill the fucker. My guess is he is killing everyone up there."

-Ok, i will first, and cover me.

On the tower stairs-
Flynn led the way upstairs, quickly but carefully, while Alvarez covered him. They soon reached the ground floor. Flynn peeked carefully around the corner of the stairwell's doorway and out into the lobby. Private Simone Dawkins lay on her back in a pool of blood in the front entryway of the tower, motionless. She was attached to a rope and harness, and the rope extended outside and upwards, towards the roof. She had evidently used it to climb down from there. The lobby appeared otherwise empty, though he couldn't see all of it from the stairs.

(Flynn and Alvarez, roll Listen at half skill, with an extra -5% penalty due to your helmets. This means you'll succeed on a 7 or less. Also, both of you roll Spot Hidden with a -5% penalty to see what else you notice.)

Flynn didn't hear or see a thing, disgust as he was with the death of his comrade.

(Actually, Flynn has 70% in Spot Hidden, so his effective skill is 65% and that roll is a success.)

On the tower stairs-
From where he was, Flynn could see that Dawkins had been shot. She was probably dead, but he couldn't tell for sure without going up to her. Through the shattered front doors, he could also briefly see the helicopter taking off as it rose out of view. Bob lay on the helipad, also unmoving. The flatbed truck was still idling near him, but he noticed that the police car was no longer parked outside.

-Alvarez, you won't believe this, but i think that the helicopter is just flying away...

Alvarez was so busy thinking he would be shot at any moment from behind that he did not hear or see anything.

On the tower stairs-
By the time Alvarez reached the ground floor, the helicopter was already gone. The lobby seemed as still and quiet as the grave, at least what the two men could see from inside the stairwell.

"Dang it that was our ride out of here! Now Gardner is going to get it! I am going to personally stab the mother fucker!"

On the tower stairs-
Both Alvarez and Flynn heard the chopper roar past overhead. It flew off to the east, past the tower, and soon it was no longer audible.

(Both of you roll Listen at full skill to see what else you might hear, again with a -5% penalty - so your chance is 20%. Also, both of you roll Idea.)

Alvarez stopped to listen to the roar of the chopper as he silently cursed to himself. However the roar was too loud for him to hear anything else. He thought of what to do now as he looked around the lobby. But he was so pissed that nothing came to him. "You think of anything now Flynn?"

Flynn was too distress to hear anything, and was thinking of what to do.
-Well, first, it's better that we shoot those bodies in the head to prevent them to return. Then, find that bastard and kill him slowly, and finally, find any other surviver. After that, we will try to find a solution; maybe get a car?

On the tower stairs-
It occurred to Flynn that the helicopter was heading eastwards, the same direction as Omaha. Gardner had been talking about going to Warren Air Force Base earlier, which was far to the west. He also recalled that the police cruiser was no longer where it had been parked in front of the tower, though of course the truck was still out at the helipad.

(If you want to try to shoot Dawkins in the head, go on and roll your shots now. From your current position, you will have to roll your normal weapon skill with a -5% penalty for aiming at the head. Dawkins is wearing her helmet, so each bullet that hits will have its damage reduced by 5 to a minimum of 0. It will take a total of 10 damage after getting through her helmet to prevent her from ever rising.

Alvarez can fire a single shot from his M-4, since that's the weapon in his hands. If you fire a burst of 3 bullets, you cannot aim at the head, though you do get a +20% to hit. You would roll 1d3 to see how many bullets hit, and each bullet would then hit a random location. Her body armor reduces the damage of each bullet that hits her chest or abdomen by 8. You could draw your pistol, but then you'd only get one shot with it this round.

Flynn, you have your pistol already drawn, so you may fire it twice this round.

If you want to remove Dawkins's helmet, you'll have to go up to her in order to do so. It will take the rest of this round to reach her. At that point you'd be at point blank range for the following round, but if she rises up you'll be in a very bad position.)

Alvarez set his M-4 to a 3 burst setting and fired at Dawkins body. However his rifle jerked in his hand and all three rounds missed the body entirely.

Flynn failed boths shoots.

On the tower stairs-
Alvarez and Flynn heard Erica's voice on the radio: "Alvarez, Flynn, this is Erica Spears. I managed to get away from Gardner at the last second and escape with the civilians in the helicopter. I tried to get Kathryn to run towards you so you could protect her, but she ran the wrong way and he got her again. He just left the airfield with her in the police car a minute ago heading south. Dawkins could get back up, so keep your distance from her and shoot her in the head to be safe. He killed Bob by shooting him in the head, so he won't be getting back up. He also killed the other three State Troopers with a grenade, so you're the only ones left who can rescue Kathryn. I can't turn back, as I won't have enough fuel left to make Omaha if I do and I need to get my passengers there safely. We'll still be in range to talk for a few more minutes, but keep in mind Gardner can hear everything we say. Over."

Dawkins began to twitch and stir. Then she sat up and looked hungrily at Alvarez and Flynn, her eyes red as blood. She started to get to her feet.

(Both of you roll Sanity. Normal Sanity loss is 0/1d10. Remember that Alvarez gets a +10 bonus to this roll. He already lost 9 Sanity for seeing zombies earlier, so if he fails his roll he only loses 1 point. Flynn lost 1 point for seeing zombies, so roll as normal for Sanity loss in the event of failure. If you roll 10 for Sanity loss, treat it is 9. Unless you go temporarily insane, you both have another combat round to either shoot using the same rules as last round or do something else.)

Alvarez saw Dawkins rise from the grave so to speak and he felt fear rise in his heart. However he choked it down and pointed his M-4 at the zombie. He fired once but the bullet missed to the right. "Uhh Flynn fire and get the hell out of here. I will meet you at the truck on the helipad." He then ran like hell toward the other side of the tower lobby exit.

Flynn was shocked to see the zombie, but managed to resist the urge to run. He decided to shoot one last time, but to no avail and he followed Alvarez.

In the tower lobby-
As Alvarez and Flynn emerged from the stairwell, Dawkins lurched towards them. After a few feet, she reached the end of her tether. The harness she was wearing and the rope attached to it kept her from advancing further. She strained against it as she pursued her former comrades, but it held fast so far However, it would not hold forever, and any attempt to get through the front door would mean exposing themselves to her, so they both fled out the back door, Flynn in the lead. Dawkins kept trying to follow them with single-minded stubbornness, and this time the holds that secured the rope to the harness snapped. By the time they got out the rear door and emerged on the east side of the tower, they could see that she had just walked around the central shaft.

(Dawkins will reach the back door next round. You have one more round of combat before she gets close, so you may either shoot using the above rules or continue running. The truck is on the helipad twenty yards west of the tower and it will take two full rounds to reach it. The first round will get you to the west side of the tower, and the second will get you to the truck.)

Flynn keep running.

So does Alvarez

Outside the tower-
Flynn and Alvarez circled around the tower with Dawkins lumbering slowly after them. As they got around the curve of the tower she vanished from sight, but they knew she was still after them. Once the dead got on someone's trail, nothing could make them give up except a closer meal or a bullet in the brain. They reached the west side of the tower. The truck was visible at the helipad not far away, still idling where Alvarez had left it and with the keys in the ignition. Near the truck lay Bob's still motionless corpse and the empty fuel barrel.

"Alvarez or Flynn, do you read me?" came Erica's voice over the radio, crackly with static. "Please acknowledge. We're going to be out of range soon, so if you have anything to say, do it now."

(Alvarez and Flynn, roll Spot Hidden, again with a -5% penalty because of your helmets.)

As Alvarez booked for the truck he thought he saw something. "Flynn do you see that" he said and pointed. He turned to face his M-4 toward where the zombie was coming and jogged backwards a bit. He got on his radio, "Erica, we hear you. We were in the tower lobby right after you took off and we were trying to shoot Dawkins in the head to keep her from becoming a zombie but we both missed twice. She has risen and we are trying to make it to the truck nearby and once there we will hunt down and kill Gardner and rescue the civilian. We plan to also shoot Gardner in the head to keep him from rising and coming back. I am glad you made it out and only wish I was on that copter too. But wish us luck and maybe we can meet up with you somewhere along the way."

(OCC: If Alvarez threw a grenade toward where Dawkins is coming and rolled a success, could he hurt her? )

Outside the tower-
When Alvarez ran past the tower, he spotted a hand grenade just lying on the ground a short distance to the northwest. The pin was still in it. He also saw that Bob had a bullet hole in the center of his forehead, which explained why he hadn't risen too.

(Since Alvarez passed his Spot Hidden roll, there is no need for Flynn to roll as well. Either of you can pick up the grenade as you run by it on the way to the truck. You may throw a grenade as your action for this round, but if you do that you will not also be able to reach the truck and will have to wait until the following round to do so. You would have to throw one of the grenades you already have, as you cannot also run over to the one on the ground and pick it up at the same time. To do this, make a Throw roll, with a -10% penalty because of your armor. The base chance is 25%, which is then reduced to 15%. You may be able to hurt Dawkins. An outright kill is unlikely, as that would take 10 damage to the head. This means you'd need to do at least 15 damage, since her helmet would absorb the first 5 points. You would also need to randomly get the head as the hit location. If you happen to get a leg hit, there's a chance you'll cripple her and slow her to a crawl. Otherwise it takes 40 damage total to drop her, and her body armor reduces all hits to the chest or abdomen by 8 points. A fairly close miss will still damage her, but not as much as the full 4d6. You cannot shoot this round, as she is not in your line of sight, but you can estimate where she is for the purposes of a grenade throw.)

"Flynn pick up that grenade on the ground as you run by." Alvarez then turned around and ran for the truck at high speed.

Flynn grabs the grenade and keep running.

At the helipad-
Flynn scooped up the grenade on the run, and he and Alvarez reached the truck without incident. Dawkins had just become visible rounding the north side of the tower, but she was still over twenty yards away.

Erica replied to them on the radio: "I wish you'd made it out, too, but I'm glad you're in a position to help Kathryn. I nearly ended up as Gardner's latest conquest, and I heard it's partly thanks to you that I didn't. Best of luck, both of you. Stephanie's really worried about Kathryn, but I know you can rescue her. She says hi and good luck, by the way, and so does Dr. Hausmann. I hope after you're done you can join us in Omaha."

"This is Lucy Armstrong," said another woman on the radio. "I'm one of the mechanics. I wish you luck too. Also, there's an old broken-down crop duster in Hangar 1 that we started fixing. The doors are locked and I've still got the keys on me, so you'd need to break in, but after you save Kathryn maybe you could finish the repairs. It would take a while, though. And please...tell Kathryn I'm sorry I misjudged her. I feel terrible about what she's going through."

(If you want to get in the truck and leave now, you'll need to decide who's driving. Since the flatbed is small enough, you would use Drive Auto skill. Normal driving does not require any rolls, but any dangerous maneuvers or situations, such as car chases, would.

Flynn has Pilot Helicopter skill, but not Pilot Civil Prop. If you ever do fix the crop duster, he might be able to figure out how to fly it, but there'd be large skill penalties.)

OOC: I think that Flynn is more skilled, right? And it's better that Alvarez has his hands free to to shoot if necessary.
-Let's find the missing girl!

(Yes, that's correct. Flynn has 40% in Drive Auto and is armed only with a pistol. Alvarez has the M-4, and he only has the base skill of 20% in Drive Auto.)

At the helipad-
Flynn reached the truck first and climbed into the driver's seat. It was all ready to pull out just as soon as Alvarez got on board.

-Here Flynn, say do you know in what direction that bastard followed?

Alvarez climbed into the truck also and rolled his window down so he could aim the M-4 out of it if he had to.
"Flynn you have two choices, either we can try to pick up the scent of Gardner and rescue fair damsel or we can drive toward the zombie and hit her trying to kill her or at least slow her to a crawl giving me time to finish her off with my trusty rifle. But it is up to you."

-Saving the living is the priority, leave the dead unless they bother uss.

In the flatbed truck-
Flynn pulled away from the helipad and drove south along a road that ran parallel to a runway. Erica had said on the radio that the police car had been heading south. As he drove away, Dawkins began to dwindle in the distance. She was still walking after them, but she could not possibly catch up. Soon the road exited the airfield and turned into the main road leading away from the airfield. It continued onwards as far as he could see.

Flynn continues driving.

Alvarez started to whistle the Air force Hymn. La la la da da da da la la

-Thanks to you i'm alive- thinks Flynn to his rabbit leg- All the others are dead, and i'm the only who survive; Alvarez is only alive because he sticked with me. Dawkins didn't believed it, and look where she is now.

In the flatbed truck-
Dawkins soon fell far behind and vanished from sight. After driving south down the road for a while, Flynn and Alvarez could see that it came to an end in the distance at a T-junction with an east-west road. There was no sign of any other traffic, nor were any more zombies visible.

(Flynn and Alvarez, roll Track. The base skill level is 10%. If this fails, roll Idea.)

Flynn wasn't concern with looking to his enemy, since he thought there wasn't much where to run.

In the flatbed truck-
While Flynn couldn't make out the police car's tire tracks, he did realize that Gardner was most likely heading for Warren AFB as he had originally planned. It was about 240 miles to the west, which would be a four hour trip at 60 miles per hour. If he was heading that way, he would have turned right here. The eastbound lane, to the left, would eventually intersect with another road leading north to the suburbs of Kearney and then Kearney itself. Flynn knew that the cities would be best avoided, since they'd have a lot of zombies. The westbound lane, on the right, led to more back roads and farm country.

" I have no idea Flynn. But I say lets go where there are no zombies and maybe we will pick up his scent."

-To the right then! We will see soon if we are correct. Besides, he doesn't know we are following him, and that's a big advantage.

In the flatbed truck-
Flynn drove to the T-junction and turned right, following the road to the west. It stretched into the distance ahead, devoid of traffic as far as he could see. After a couple of miles, the truck reached an intersection with another road going north and south. The road it was currently on also continued to the west.

(Flynn and Alvarez, roll Track. Again, the base chance is 10%.)

Flynn was lucky and saw clearly the direction the fiend had followed.

Alvarez was too busy looking behind him to see any tracks.

In the flatbed truck-
Flynn was able to make out a fresh set of tire tracks that were the same size as the police car's tires. The tracks passed right through the intersection and continued onwards to the west.

Flynn drived in direction of the tracks.

In the flatbed truck-
Flynn drove west through the intersection without even slowing down, following the tracks. Soon he was passing a farm on the left side of the road. A one-story farmhouse stood amid cornfields, with an attached garage on the right side of the house. To the left a dirt road branched off from the paved road the truck was currently on. It led up to the garage, which was open and devoid of vehicles and people. Beyond the house there was a barn, and past that a grain silo was visible. The tire tracks he was following, however, continued west on the paved road. There were no recent tracks on the dirt driveway, though it appeared a vehicle had left several hours ago.

-What do you say, should we stop to see if we find food, fuel or anything worth, or should we continue?

"Are you crazy? If we stop for anything we could get jumped by more zombies and we give Gardner more of a chance to get ahead of us! No we need to keep on driving."

-Yeah, your probably right, let's continue then.

In the flatbed truck-
Flynn drove onwards. About a mile beyond the farm was an overpass with a highway heading north and south about ten feet above the east-west road he and Alvarez were currently on. There were no access ramps nearby from which to gain access to the highway from this road. The road continued west, through an underpass beneath the highway, and the tracks led through it. Though it was mid-afternoon and there was still plenty of sunlight, much of the underpass was shadowed and dim. Peering through it, both men could see a police cruiser stopped on the road some distance beyond the overpass. The tracks led right to it.

(Flynn and Alvarez, roll Spot Hidden. Remember that there is a -5% penalty due to your helmets.)

Flynn doesn't notice anything.
-Do you think it's our man? Or anyone else?

Alvarez peered ahead into the gloom trying to see anything. He saw something move and said, "Stop I see something."

In the flatbed truck-
Gardner was indeed seated in the driver's seat of the police cruiser, and Kathryn was in the back seat looking at the truck through the lens of a digital camera. What really drew Alvarez's attention, however, was a spike strip directly in their path, in the underpass. It was hard to see in the shadows, but it hadn't been hidden all that well and Alvarez managed to see it. It occupied nearly the entire width of the underpass, such that there was no way to drive through it without going over the strip. If the truck were to roll over it, its tires would burst.

(Flynn, roll Drive Auto to try to stop before hitting the spike strip.)

The digital camera's flash went off. Perhaps Kathryn was trying to warn Flynn and Alvarez about the spike strip.

Driving a truck isn't so easy as a helicopter, and Flynn lost the control.

Knowing that they now had no tires left, were going to have to walk back toward the base many miles through an infected area, and pretty much were dog meat now....Alveraz raised his M-4 and took aim at Gardner's head ready to blow it off if he tried to drive away.

-Kill the bastard, now!
Flynn take his weapon and aims.

On the road-
Flynn slammed on the brakes, but the truck had too much momentum and he could not bring it to a halt in time. The front tires rolled over the spike strip and were punctured. Both men heard the hiss of escaping air as the flatbed came to a stop.

(The police car is a couple hundred yards away. This is well out of pistol range, and is long range for the M-4 even with precision aim. We're in combat now, so people will act in Dex order. Flynn may fire one shot now by leaning out the window, but he will only hit on a roll of 1 on 1d100. He also cannot aim at anything in particular and would be lucky to hit the car at all. After that, Gardner will get to act and possibly drive away before Flynn gets his second shot. Once he has gone, then Alvarez will get to act, but for now he'll have to wait until that happens.)

Flynn fired one shot, but without much hope of hiting and indeed he missed.
-Damm bastard! He must have the demon himself as a friend!

On the road-
Gardner leaned out his window briefly and fired a shot with his M-16. The bullet missed the truck due to the long range. Then the police car began to speed away to the west.

(Alvarez, you get one shot at 1/4 skill before the car gets out of range. There is no time to use precision aim or to specify a part of the car to aim at, as you'll be lucky to hit it at all. This means you'll only hit on a 12 or less, and you'll only get an impale on a 2 or less. Flynn, you may also fire your second shot. You only hit on a 1 on 1d100, as before.)

-I won't shoot. We are only losing good ammunition. I have another idea- and look at Alvarez.

alvarez cursed and said, "Well whats your plan now?"

-Returning is out of question; we don't know if we would be able to repair the truck, and we would have to fight against the infected. We will follow him slowly with the flat tires, until we find a car. We can resist against any infected unless they are a horde, and even in that case, we can runn. He thinks that we will never find him, and thats our advantage. So what do you say?

On the road-
While Alvarez and Flynn discussed what to do, Gardner drove off in the police cruiser and vanished into the distance to the west, carrying Kathryn off to an unspeakable fate. But the two men had their own survival to worry about as well.

(Alvarez and Flynn, roll Idea. It is possible to drive with two flat tires, but there will be severe penalties for doing so. Before you go on, you'll have to get out of the truck briefly and move the spike strip so that it doesn't pop the other tires when you roll over it. You will only be able to go at about 10 miles per hour, which is faster than walking but not by much. There is a -20% penalty to all Drive Auto rolls, but there is also a +10% bonus because you'll be going slowly, so the net penalty is -10%.)

Alvarez thought for a minute and then said, I have an idea.

On the road-
Alvarez realized first of all that Flynn was right about not returning to the airfield. It would take over half an hour to drive back there on two flat tires and even longer to get there on foot. There were spare tires there, but the place could be crawling with zombies by the time they got back. The only other possible means of transport there was the broken crop duster, but it would take hours to fix and the two of them had little chance to defend the hangar for that long.

Flynn did have a tool kit that included an air pump and patches that could repair punctures, but to do so would take a lot longer than it would to change the tires if they had any spares - which they didn't. During that time, anything could happen. They'd want to get somewhere more secure than out in the middle of the road if they were going to try that.

The road ahead to the west may or may not have vehicles on it, but that was the way Gardner was heading and Flynn could continue to follow his tracks, albeit very slowly unless they found a new vehicle. There was also the farm they had passed a mile back. Though the garage had been open and empty and a vehicle had left there hours ago, the barn might contain another vehicle - or it might not. Another likely place to find vehicles was the highway above. It was Route 183, which led north to the town of Holdrege and south towards the Kansas border. While it was more likely to contain vehicles, it was also more likely to have zombies traversing it looking for food. It might be possible to climb up to the elevated highway ten feet above on the support struts, but it would be difficult. There might also be access ramps further north or south, and at some point the highway would have to descend to ground level. The north-south road they had passed two miles back might intersect with another road that would connect to Route 183, but it would take a while to get there. There might also be another road further ahead that would - or there might not. They could also follow the highway on foot to the north or south and abandon the truck, which could actually allow them to get onto it faster. Driving the truck off-road with two flats was clearly impossible.

(If you want to try to climb up to the highway from here, roll Climb at a -10% penalty due to your armor. Since the base skill is 40%, this means you would have a 30% chance if you don't have the skill. A regular failure would just waste time, but a critical failure could cause you to fall from a height and get hurt. Otherwise, there are plenty of other options listed above. There is no need for Flynn to roll Idea now, as he'd just come up with the same things. Both of you decide how you'd like to proceed.)

-What do you say? We return to the farm and try to find some tires? Or we continue until we find a vehicle?

"Well I was thinking about this situation. I think as it is still daylight, we should get out of this truck here, climb to the highway, and hopefully find a new car within a few minutes walk. I do not think that we should leave the sight of the truck however. If we do not find something after a few minutes, we should come back here, drive back to the farm, drive into the barn, secure the barn, and hopefully either find a new vehicle on the farm or tires we can use. If we do not at least we get the time and safety to fix these tires. If for some reason that does not work we can always at that point drive to the north south road and look for another access to the highway.
I do not think it would be smart to either keep following the ahole on two flats or to leave this truck and go on foot for very long. So lets go climb. Meet you at the top.
Alvarez got out of the truck with his M-4, placed it on his back, and walked up to one of the struts and began to climb. He failed to get anywhere. "boy I need to lose weight. You want to come out here and try?"

-Let me try.
Flynn was in excelent form and in a few instance he was in the highway. He looked for any car.

On the road-
Alvarez lost his grip and fell when he attempted to climb up to the highway, but fortunately he was close enough to the ground at the time that he injured nothing but his pride. Flynn made it to the top without incident, however, and took a good look around. There were a few wrecked cars within the range of his vision, but they were all either beyond repair or would take him hours to fix. However, he did notice one that might do the trick and looked largely intact.

About two hundred yards to the south, a large mobile home was pulled over on the right shoulder. Three people huddled on the roof of the RV: a man and two women. Unfortunately, the reason they were up there was that there was a bunch of zombies surrounding the motor home and trying in vain to get up there: seven to be precise. Many more lay on the road surrounding the mobile home, all of them shot in the head.

(Alvarez, you may try again to climb up to the highway with a 30% chance. Flynn, you are too far away from the zombies to have a chance of hitting them with your pistol. If you want to shoot at them, you'll have to get closer first.)

Flynn will wait until Alvarez climb. It will be easier if it will be 2 shooting at the zombies.

Alvarez tried to climb again but again he failed. This time he managed to get higher however.

Flynn will look for a rope or something, he may use to help Alvarez.

Keeping the rabit leg in his hand, Flynn fell that lady luck wouldn't abandoned him...

On the road-
Flynn went over to the nearest wrecked car. While it would never drive again, he did find some jumper cables that, when tied together, were long enough and would serve adequately as a rope. He tied them to each other and secured it to the guardrail on the eastern side of the highway, then lowered it down to Alvarez and prepared to help him up.

(Alvarez, roll Climb at -10% again. Flynn, make a Resistance roll of your STR of 11 against Alvarez's SIZ of 12 to see if you can pull him up. This roll will succeed on a 45 or less. As long as at least one of you succeeds, Alvarez will make it onto the highway.)

Alvarez is too heavy to lift!

Alvarez saw this as a challange and like all challanges he decided to meet it like his old drill sgt had told him to do. He took some steps back and then performed a running leap at the pole to climb to the highway. He just about got up to the top but then fell back to the pavement. "Damm it maybe I should just take the car back to find another way around."

-I don't think it's a good idea that you go away, you may find more infected. Well, by the way, there is 3 persons who are in a van, with some infected trying to attacked them, i think i will help them.

(The three people are on top of the RV, not inside it. An RV is a mobile home, much bigger than a van.)

On the road-
Alvarez slid back down the makeshift rope and found himself on ground level again. Fortunately, he was unhurt.

(Alvarez, roll Climb at -10% if you want to try to climb up again. Flynn, you may make another Resistance roll looking for 45 or less, or you may do something else such as approach the zombies. Remember that your pistol's magazine has been about halfway used up, so you might want to exchange it for a full magazine before engaging the zombies. You may do this and move closer to them at the same time, but if you're trying to pull Alvarez up to the highway you won't be able to.)

OOC: Thanks! I didn't know the difference.

Flynn tried to no avail to pull Alvarez again.

Alvarez tried to climb once more but again he failed to do so. "you know maybe if I take off my armor right now and throw it up to you then climb I can do better. Once up there I can put it back on and as long as we stay back the zombies will not attack us for now right?"

(If Alvarez is going to take off his armor, that will take one whole minute, during which he would not get to attempt to climb. It would be very hard to throw it up there, but he could tie it to the cables and Flynn could pull it up. In the following round, Alvarez could then try to climb at 40% instead of 30% and Flynn would also get another chance to pull him up. Once up top, it would take him another full minute to put the armor back on. It will probably be easier just to keep trying to climb.)

On the road-
Flynn could see that the zombies were still circling the mobile home, but they could not reach the people on top. The man and the two women definitely seemed to have noticed him, and were watching him with a mixture of curiosity, wariness, and hope. Alvarez remained stuck below.

(Flynn and Alvarez, you have the same options as last round.)

Flynn decided to try one more time, and this time he succeeded!
-Alvarez, you really need to make a diet!

OCC: It was time !

On the road-
With Flynn's help, Alvarez was able to make it up to the elevated highway. Both of them were about two hundred yards north of the RV, which was pulled over on the southbound shoulder on the opposite side of the road. The seven zombies had taken no notice of either of them yet, and instead were trying to get at the man and the two women standing on top of its roof.

(You may both approach the zombies now if you wish. At the current range, Alvarez may shoot with his M-4 at half skill, with the -5% penalty for a headshot applied after the skill is halved. It will be almost impossible to hit with a pistol from here. The M-4 has a base range of 90 yards, or 180 with precision aim. That is how close you'll have to get to use your full skill. The Beretta has a base range of 15 yards, or 30 with precision aim. Between 30 and 60 yards, you would be at half skill. If you're more than 60 yards away but within 90 yards, you would be at 1/4 skill. Again, the -5% penalty is applied after taking a fraction of your skill. Beyond 90 yards it will be almost impossible to hit a zombie in the head with a pistol. Let me know how close you two want to get if you approach.)

Flynn will go with caution to 15 yards.

On the road-
As Flynn got closer to the zombies, he was able to make out more details and the sight shocked him as it always did.

(Flynn, roll Sanity. You have already lost 4 Sanity points from seeing zombies, so any loss of more than 6 counts as only 6 because you can only lose 10 points for seeing them in a reasonable period of time. Even if you stay sane, don't do anything else until I get a post for Alvarez and I post an update afterwards. You might want to only close to 30 yards, since you can still use your full skill at that range. Alvarez already lost 10 Sanity recently for seeing zombies, so he does not need to roll Sanity.)

OOC: Why don't i have such good scores when i really need? Anyway, Flynn will go only to 30 yards.


Flynn was totally blasés to the infected, and wasn't affected by their sight.

Alvarez kept his M-4 at the ready and walked to where Flynn was.