Play@YSDC

Z-Day - 12:30 PM Mountain Time - Ruins of the T-Bone
At the garage-
The motorcycles and two pickup trucks pulled up near the fuel pumps. Everyone present heard gunfire start up again coming from the west side of the motel. The old man with the beard called up to the garage roof where Luke was: "Hello up there! My name is Clarence Deeds. Can you tell us what's going on here? Where's everyone else?"

Melinda try to help any injured but her lack of training is visible.

While his father is talking to the man on the roof, Keith gets out of his truck and scans the perimeter for infected.

(Melinda seems to be in the wrong thread. If she stayed behind to help the wounded, she should still be outside the motel in The Siege, so you should post in that thread instead, or I can move your post there for you. However, there are no injured people currently with her on the ground. She would need to climb the ladder to get on the balcony first, but she might want to wait in order to let Adrian up before her. Once she's upstairs, someone will eventually show her where to go. If Melinda does want to go with Keith to the T-Bone, carry on in this thread, though there are no injured people here. The only visible person is Luke, and he's very healthy.)

At the garage-
Keith patrolled around the edge of the garage. It was almost the only part of the structure still standing, as the diner lay in ruins. There was a large area of the diner still intact, though much smaller than the garage. There was also a small section of roof still standing near it that had been shored up with wooden beams.

Peering to the east, he noticed that there was a large group of the infected shambling slowly closer about a mile off. There seemed to be between 70 and 100 of them.

OOC: My mistake, she will follow Keith.

"Aww, shit man. Can't we get a moment or rest." Keith sighs as he spots the other incomming hoard and points them out to the others. "They aren't moving fast, but they will be here soon enough."
Looking up to the man on the roof, "You okay up there? You got enough ammo and such?"
"We should warn the the others a the motel and get those snipers dialed in, but we'd have to send someone over to do that. What do think, Pa?"

"I'm fine, thanks for asking." Luke says casually, resting his rifle on one arm. Anyone looking closer will see his hands are almost eclipsed with burnt gunpowder and several streaks of dirt on his face.

"I could use hell of a lot of 7.62x51mm -or .308 Winchester- ammo. And some 12 gauge shells. If that's not possible, any rifle and suitable ammo will do. Probably could use some food and drinks too, but I can hold out without that for now." he adds "But I'm almost running dry on rifle ammo... I won't be holding out long if groups like that keep coming."

"The only people left here around these parts either went to the motel, or went below the diner. Some sort of underground crap complex. Personally, I suspect it's an even worse deathtrap than up here, but I suppose you're welcome to try and find out, if they haven't blocked the way down. Which I suspect they have if they had half their wits left as they fled below."

"As for the USAF boys, yup, they need to be informed of this new group and my need for ammo, but I haven't been able to draw their attention. Understandably so, since they've been too busy blasting those zombies..." he explains "And eachother."

-What? They are not united to fight this threat?

"Human nature..." Luke shrugs "I suppose they needed to bleed before realising that wouldn't help them one single bit."

"I'm Luke, by the way." he adds.

"Pleased to meet you," says Keith. "I'm Keith Deeds. This is my pa, Clarence, and my big bro, Tsuba. The rest of these folks we came with are the rest of The Rough Riders. Oh, and this lovely lady is Melinda. The rest of the introductions will have to wait cause we've got work to do."
"I'll head back to the motel and warn them and see about getting you some food and ammo."

Keith jumps in his truck and makes haste back to the motel with Melinda riding shotgun.

"Any of those bikes I saw coming in have off-road capability?" Luke asks "Those undead are attracted to either life and/or noise, as far as I can tell."

"I think you could goad them around with a dirtbike until you run out of fuel, or fall. Might be a useful snippet of information, since we're far too stationary right now."

Dale leans out of the window of the truck and speaks loudly to the two men who are currently speaking, "Does anyone here have a plan on what we are going to do. I'm just sorta following the crowd, but it'd do me good to hear that we have a safe place we are going to try to go to."

(Keith and Melinda are moving to this thread: The Siege. You may read the portion you missed while you were away if you wish. Please stop reading this thread at this point.

Everyone else remains in the current thread. Dr. Dale Owens, if you wish to return to the motel you and Adrian will be going back to that thread as well, but don't post there yet. It will take a full round to drive there.)

At the garage-
"I hope they don't start shooting each other again," said Clarence. "My wife's back there, and my boy's going there too. Nice to meet you, Luke."

"I'm afraid we don't have any 7.62x51mm ammo," said Tsuba. "My AK takes 7.62mm M1943, and that's not compatible. They might have some back at the motel, though. We don't have any spare rifles, I'm afraid. We don't even have enough for all of us."

"I've got the only 12 gauge in our group," chimed in Sue. "I only have a hundred shells, though. Just how low are you?"

"All of our bikes are dirt bikes," said Clarence. "The trucks can go off road too. That's how we got here. We escaped from Sidney to the south, then swung around to the west before heading back this way. You're right about mobility being the key, and we've been using hit-and-run tactics to whittle down the ones that have been chasing us, using outriders to divert them from the main pack while the rest of us shoot. It's very effective. We're not planning to hunker down here or even remain long. We were hoping to refuel our vehicles here. After that, well, apparently Warren AFB is still operational. Might try to head there, if they'll let us in. We probably wouldn't want to stay there indefinitely either. Sitting in one place is a recipe for getting eaten. Still, we've got to make sure we have enough fuel to keep moving. If we run out in the middle of nowhere, we're screwed. You're welcome to come along with us when we hit the road, Luke. We've picked up a few people along the way. Melinda you've already met, and..." He noticed Dr. Owens. "This is Dr. Dale Owens, and his boy Adrian. Doc, I thought you were going to stay at the motel and look after the survivors of that chopper crash."

"So, what's the plan?" asked Lewie.

"Some of us with rifles will stay here and start picking off those things. Anyone with a scope, for sure. That means Lewie and Colin. I'll help out too. I'd also like to send some people below to search for survivors, and for anything useful that we can salvage. Even if they're all dead down there, we may find weapons or ammo on them."

"I'm staying up here with Colin," said Joe Soarez.

"I'll go down," said Tsuba, eager to prove himself - not just to his family and friends, but to himself as well. He had to assure himself that he still had what it takes.

"Not without me, you don't," said Lisa, standing beside him.

"I'll go down too," said Sue. "My shotgun could prove useful in close quarters."

"You three be careful, now," said Clarence. "If there's any sign of trouble down there, come right back up and get us. I'd like to send more people down, but I think we're all needed to stop these critters. So, what happened here? Looks like a bomb went off."

"We will, pop," said Tsuba. He led the women into the ruins, which were littered with bodies, parts of bodies, and spent shell casings. The small section of the diner that was still standing that had used to be the liquor closet had a stairway leading below into the unknown. The others dismounted from their vehicles and took up defensive positions around the garage.

(Luke, you have five combat rounds to shoot at zombies, at half skill. If you do, first you must roll Con x 5. If you succeed, you may shoot as normal. If you fail, you will have a -5% penalty to all your Rifle rolls due to exhaustion from shooting for the last few hours. This penalty will persist until you get half an hour of uninterrupted rest, and is applied after your skill is halved.)

Mr. Handy wrote:"I hope they don't start shooting each other again," said Clarence. "My wife's back there, and my boy's going there too. Nice to meet you, Luke."

"I think they've felt enough self-inflicted pain to last them a lifetime now, so I wouldn't be too worried about that." Luke remarks "Common sense eventually prevails."

Mr. Handy wrote:"I'm afraid we don't have any 7.62x51mm ammo," said Tsuba. "My AK takes 7.62mm M1943, and that's not compatible. They might have some back at the motel, though. We don't have any spare rifles, I'm afraid. We don't even have enough for all of us."

"Too bad, it's my only rifle that allows me to reach out and touch someone." he says with half a smirk "I've got enough ammo to wack another hundred of those up close and personal though, from above."

Mr. Handy wrote:"I've got the only 12 gauge in our group," chimed in Sue. "I only have a hundred shells, though. Just how low are you?"

"Not low enough to go stealing the ammo of your only gun, sweetheart."

"Anyone in your group have a .357 Magnum? I've got some spare ammo for that, but I lost my pistol."

Mr. Handy wrote:"All of our bikes are dirt bikes," said Clarence. "The trucks can go off road too.

"Then the question is if you're skillful enough and lucky enough to keep using them." Luke nods.

Mr. Handy wrote:After that, well, apparently Warren AFB is still operational. Might try to head there, if they'll let us in. We probably wouldn't want to stay there indefinitely either. Sitting in one place is a recipe for getting eaten. Still, we've got to make sure we have enough fuel to keep moving. If we run out in the middle of nowhere, we're screwed.

"I wouldn't count on them too much, if what I've seen is remotely related to how the USAF acts."

Mr. Handy wrote:You're welcome to come along with us when we hit the road, Luke. We've picked up a few people along the way. Melinda you've already met, and..." He noticed Dr. Owens. "This is Dr. Dale Owens, and his boy Adrian. Doc, I thought you were going to stay at the motel and look after the survivors of that chopper crash."

"Pleasure to meet you, people. Kind of a relief to know others have been able to think on their feet and stay alive." he says "For a while I thought that those AirFarce Rambos would be the last humans I'd see."

Mr. Handy wrote:"You three be careful, now," said Clarence. "If there's any sign of trouble down there, come right back up and get us. I'd like to send more people down, but I think we're all needed to stop these critters. So, what happened here? Looks like a bomb went off."

"C4 satchel. Present from the survivalist Neo-Nazi muffins up in the hills. Put a good amount of hurt into us, civilians." Luke explains "Their leader died here. I doubt they have any love for us."

Mr. Handy wrote:(Luke, you have five combat rounds to shoot at zombies, at half skill. If you do, first you must roll Con x 5. If you succeed, you may shoot as normal. If you fail, you will have a -5% penalty to all your Rifle rolls due to exhaustion from shooting for the last few hours. This penalty will persist until you get half an hour of uninterrupted rest, and is applied after your skill is halved.)

The hunter's shoulder and trigger finger are far too well trained to tire now.
"Now, let's get back to the turkeyshoot." Luke says as he lies down and shoulders his rifle. He only takes 3 shots, taking his time as not to waste too much ammo.

rifle (long range headshot) (1d100=68, 2d6 4=12, 1d100=62, 2d6 4=13, 1d100=58, 2d6 4=15)

At the garage-
Luke's three shots all missed. The zombies were almost a mile away, but he would have been able to hit them easily had they been closer.

"Well, it's not my only gun if you count my dinky little .38," called Sue.

"I've got a .357 Magnum," said Colin. "Thanks, I'd sure appreciate the extra ammo. If my buddies find an extra rifle or some ammo down there, we'll be sure to share with you." He glanced up at the garage. "So, how can we get up there?"

"I'm also glad to meet someone who knows what he's doing," said Clarence. "Not all Air Force personnel are as foolish as the ones that started shooting each other. Most of us are vets, and Lewie Newton here used to be USAF." He indicated a man with a scoped Winchester rifle.

"Oh, we had our share of dumbasses," said Lewie. "Never seen any quite that dumb, though."

"I've heard of those Nazis. They've got a compound somewhere around these parts, not far away. Glad to hear their leader bought it, but I'm sorry they caused all this destruction."

Mr. Handy wrote:"Well, it's not my only gun if you count my dinky little .38," called Sue.

"Either way, I've got enough of 12 gauge shells for now. More interesting in things with longer range. Even 12 gauge slugs will do."

Mr. Handy wrote:"I've got a .357 Magnum," said Colin. "Thanks, I'd sure appreciate the extra ammo. If my buddies find an extra rifle or some ammo down there, we'll be sure to share with you." He glanced up at the garage. "So, how can we get up there?"

"I've still got a rope and there should be a ladder around here somewhere." Luke answers "You're welcome to join me up here and I'll give you the hundred or so rounds of .357 Magnum I've got left."

"But no touching my other stuff without asking." he adds with a warning.

Mr. Handy wrote:"I'm also glad to meet someone who knows what he's doing," said Clarence.

"Well, I'm just doin' what I've done all my life, ma'am."

(Clarence is male, by the way. )

At the garage-
"They've got two ladders back at the motel," said Clarence. "I don't think they need 'em both. Doc, if you're going back there, maybe you can tell Keith to bring back the shorter one."

"Will do," said Dr. Dale Owens. He climbed back into his SUV and drove back towards the motel. Adrian sat in the seat beside him, rubbing his eyes.

"Thanks," Colin told Luke. He looked off into the distance. "They're still most of a mile off. Too far for me to have a decent chance of hitting for now, but at least we'll have time to get up on the roof."

"Both of you stay behind me," Tsuba told Lisa and Sue as he led the way down the stairs. "If anything happens to me, get out of here and tell the others."

The gunfire from the motel petered out and then stopped entirely.

(Luke, you may take up to five more shots if you wish.

Dr. Dale Owens and Adrian are moving back to this thread: The Siege. Wimrock, please stop reading this thread at this point.)

Luke holds off shooting a little longer and tries to relax.

(occ- i have to get ready to go to work so if you have to update then update. i will not be albe to look at this again till late tonight. If Sheen can fire hold off and I will do that. If Colin can get to a roof with Luke and Lewie then go ahead and do that also.)

Colin said, "hold up there pard. I need to load my rifle before we climb up to that their garage. Plus a ladder will be here soon and we can easily use that to keep from hurting ourselves." He loaded 5 bullets into his Marlin. "Hmm, going to have to get me some more of these. I only have 68 more left."

(Tsuba, Lisa Crow, and Sue Newton are moving to this thread: Beneath the Surface.

Everyone else remains in the current thread.

Walkers from the east: 2 dead, 1 with 9 damage to head)

At the garage-
A few shots came from the roof of the motel, and three of the distant creatures fell. Two of them stopped moving entirely, but the third crawled slowly onwards. The rest of them were now about 3/4 of a mile away.

"Yeah, we'd all better reload while we can," said Lewie Newton. "I've got over a couple hundred .300 rounds left if you need some." He loaded two more bullets into his Winchester as he looked around the area. "There's some kind of crate just sitting on the east side of the ruins."

"Interesting," said Clarence. He looked up at Luke. "Any idea what's in it?"

"Yeah Lewie I may need them later on today. Anyone want to come with me to see whats in that crate?"

"The guns and ammo crate? I think it was pretty much stripped clear of ammo when the helicopter left, but haven't been able to check since I've been a tad busy." Luke says.

"So Luke, would you like to check now with me or not?"

"Go check, there should still be some stuff inthere." Luke says "I've gotta stay uphere and make sure nothing gets through the grass. We've had dogs and stuff before. pretty hard to spot from far away."

"Lewie you want to go check the crate out with me?"

(Walkers from the east: 8 dead, 1 with 9 damage to the head)

At the garage-
"Might as well have a look," said Lewie Newton. "Can't do much else until they get back with that ladder."

"I'll come too," said Joe Soarez. They both went with Colin Lewis to the east side of the ruins where the crate lay open. It contained 65 7-round .45 magazines suitable for an M1911A1, as well as four full and two partial six round .30-30 magazines.

"Tsuba could use some of that .45 ammo," said Lewie.

The horde continued to slowly get closer, and they were now 2/3 of a mile away. More shots came from the motel roof, and some of the zombies dropped, but there were still 75 or so left standing.

(Again, Luke may fire up to five shots at half skill. Colin Lewis would be at 1/4 skill, also with the -5% penalty applied after dividing the skill, and would only get three shots. In a couple of minutes they will get close enough for your chances to hit to improve.)

Lewis said, "I could fire my rifle at them but they are a bit far for me so I will wait a minute or two. Lets get this ammo crate back to the garage so we can divide it up there." He lifted the crate and walked back to where he had started.

Luke waits and rests, preparing for the shooting to come.

(Walkers from the east: 13 dead, 1 with 9 damage to the head)

At the garage-
Joe Soarez and Lewie Newton helped Colin carry the ammo crate back to the west side of the garage, where they set it down. "There's a buttload of .45 magazines in there," said Lewie. "Also a handful of .30-30 mags."

Clarence nodded. "Tsuba can snag some of that .45 ammo when he gets back," he said as he examined the contents of the crate. "Anything we don't need we might be able to trade to the Air Force for other types of ammo or supplies."

The mob continued to approach, its ranks being thinned out by the snipers at the motel. It was still over half a mile away.

(Luke is still at half skill this round, and the others with scoped rifles are at 1/4 skill. After the next update, the zombies will close within half a mile and the chances to hit them will increase.)

"Where is the ladder so we can get up to the roof?"

At the garage-
"Keith is supposed to be bringing it back," said Clarence. "I'm not sure what's keeping him."

Luke lets off a single shot for ranging purposes after removing his magazine from the rifle. He misses, nods and manually chambers a round, then slamming the magazine home.

"Almost turkeyshoot time." he remarks, leaving it unclear who he is talking to, if anyone at all.

(Walkers from the east: 16 dead, 1 with 9 damage to the head)

At the garage-
Looking west, the people gathered at the garage could see the snipers on the motel roof continuing to shoot. Keith stood outside his truck in the motel parking lot, talking to the Air Force people and loading the shorter ladder aboard. To the east, the horde closed to half a mile from the eastern edge of the diner. It would start to arrive in about six minutes. There were still around seventy remaining.

"Look alive, everyone!" said Clarence. "We've got incoming! Get in position, guys!"

Lewie Newton and Joe Soarez positioned themselves near their bikes in case they needed to move out quickly and took aim at the dead that were slowly closing the distance.

(Luke, you may now fire five shots at full skill, with only the -5% penalty for aiming at the head. Colin Lewis, you may fire up to three times at half skill if you wish. The -5% penalty for a head shot is applied after halving your skill. Those without scopes on their rifles would be at 1/4 skill if they want to shoot.)

Since the ladder has not got here yet, can Lewis climb the building and if so what would it be..the book says 40% but you may have changed it.

"Luke lower your rope. I want to climb up to help out up there."

Luke judges he has some time before he can make certain shots, so he doesn't mind feeding the man some rope. If possible, he'll attach it to something solid on the roof (like airvents or an AC unit).

(Since Luke has been waiting up there for a while, he's had plenty of time to tie the rope and let the end dangle down. He may still take five shots at full skill now.)

At the garage-
Luke was able to find an exhaust vent to which he securely tied the end of the rope. Then he let the other end of the rope drop off of the roof and hang down.

(Colin Lewis, go ahead and roll Climb.)

Lewis grabbed the rope climbed to the roof. "Cherrio mate and where are them zombies at?"

"Watch." Luke simply replies as he lines up his sight.

He squeezes off the first round, hitting the zombie just right. It collapses where it stands (10dmg). The second shot goes right through the eyesocket of the next one (impale: 24dmg) and the third quickly follows suit (impale: 28dmg). The next zombie goes down just as well, although less spectacularly (12dmg), but excitement gets the better of even the most seasoned hunter, as he narrowly misses his last shot.

(Walkers from the east: 27 dead, 1 with 9 damage to the head, 1 with 8 damage to the head)

At the garage-
Luke opened fire, and the snipers on the motel roof continued shooting with deadly accuracy as well. Less than sixty zombies remained on their feet now. Two crawled slowly onwards after having been badly wounded in the head, and the rest all lay dead in the fields to the east. It would take the horde another five minutes to reach the eastern edge of the diner.

"Impressive," said Clarence, nodding with approval at Luke's shooting. Just then his son Keith pulled up in the pickup truck. Melinda was sitting in the passenger seat, and two USAF Security Forces troopers stood in the truck's bed.

"Sir, I'm Acting Senior Airman Manuel Ortega," said one of them, a tough-looking Hispanic man. "This is Airman Igor Malanowski. We're going to ride in your son's truck to carry out hit and run attacks on the enemy and lead them away from the building if they get too close. We've brought back a couple of radios so we can all stay in touch. You should keep one for yourself and give the other to Luke up on the roof. We've also brought back the ladder."

"Thanks, that's good thinking," said Clarence. He took the radios, put one in his ear, and gave the other to Lewie Newton. "Bring this up to Luke," he told him, helping him carry the ladder over to the western wall of the garage. They set it up and Lewie climbed to the garage roof, where he handed the radio to Luke. Joe Soarez scaled the rope with lightning speed and stood beside his friend Colin Lewis.

"Ma'am," said Ortega to Melinda, "maybe you'd better get out here and stay with the others. This is likely to be dangerous. Either way, Malanowski has that pistol and a few magazines for you."

Malanowski held out the M9 automatic pistol and three spare magazines for her to take. "Here you go, ma'am," he said.

Clarence nodded again. "Probably a good idea for you to have a weapon," he said to Melinda. "I agree, you should get out and stay with us. I don't even like sending Keith, but I don't think there's any way I could hold him back."

(Luke, you may fire five more shots at full skill, with only the -5% penalty for shooting at the head. Colin Lewis, you get three rifle shots at half skill if you want them, with the -5% penalty applied after your skill is halved. Those whose rifles have no scopes are still at 1/4 skill.)

-Thank you for the weapon. Ok, i will go with you, even if i prefered to stay with Keith.

Keith hopped into the drivers seat of his truck, and prepared to take the fight to the enemy when a thought crossed his mind. "Hey," he shouted to the soldiers in the back of his truck, "Do you all want to tie yourselves in so you don't go bouncing out on accident if we have to bug out in a hurry?"

(OOC: Keiths character sheet says he has a pistol, is that correct? He would like to have one so he can shoot while at the wheel in the even a zed sneaks up or comes charging from the underbrush. Game mechanicly, how will the hit and run tactics work? I'll drive out there and stop a ways off while the soldiers fire and while I watch out backs?"

"Good to see you flyboys are getting your shit straightened out." Luke says inbetween shots "You guys don't happen to have some spare 7.62x51mm, do you? I could use some resupplyin'. Save for that, I've only got close range weapons left."

He easily takes down another zombie (10dmg) and pulverizes two other's skull (impale 28dmg,impale 18dmg).

"Like shooting fish in a barrel." he says as he holds fire and reloads, while scanning the perimeter. He figures the other snipers can take care of the rest.
OCC:

ryansommer wrote:(OOC: Keiths character sheet says he has a pistol, is that correct? He would like to have one so he can shoot while at the wheel in the even a zed sneaks up or comes charging from the underbrush. Game mechanicly, how will the hit and run tactics work? I'll drive out there and stop a ways off while the soldiers fire and while I watch out backs?"

the airmen have in the meanwhile also learnt that the zombies are attracted by noise. as such, they'll try to lure them away from their primary target, while the snipers do their work.
but it is probable that the car will stop briefly, take down some zombies, ride on, stop, shoot some more, etc. thus taking advantage of closer range (thus higher hit probability).

(Yes, Keith has a Beretta M92 9mm automatic and three extra magazines. They're listed on his character sheet and the weapons list. The way hit and run attacks will work is that you'll drive just close enough that the soldiers will get to use their full Rifle skill. Then they will fire until the zombies start to get close, at which point you'll drive away and stop somewhere else so they can resume firing. Shooting while the truck is moving will result in penalties to hit.

Also, when rolling damage for an impale, you roll double the dice rather than merely doubling the result. In this case it doesn't matter, as any roll of 4d6+8 will do more than enough damage to kill a zombie.)

At the garage-
Melinda got out of the truck and took the M9 pistol and three magazines from Malanowski. "You're welcome, ma'am," he answered. He gave a couple of the grenades he had found to Ortega, as well as the M-4 he had borrowed from Sergeant Black to use instead of his own broken weapon. "Now that I've got Duran's M-16, I'll use that for now."

Ortega nodded and called up to the roof. "Thanks, pal. They do have some 7.62x51mm back at the motel. One of the snipers uses it for his M-24. He's got a couple hundred rounds at least. Have you got enough to outlast this wave, or are you going to need it sooner? Now that you've got a radio, you can talk to Sergeant Black yourself." He turned to Keith. "I think we're ready. Get us within a little less than 300 yards of the leading edge, and then we'll open fire. If they get within 30 or so, we'll fall back."

A quick count showed Luke that he had a total of 94 rounds left for his rifle.

Keith put his AR15 on the seat next to him, and made sure his pistol was withing easy reach as he glanced at the fuel gauge in his truck to make sure he wouldn't be running out of gas while their butts were in the wind.
"Hang on," he said to the soldiers in the truck. He threw the truck into drive and headed towards the approaching hoard.
(OOC: Which direction is the hoard approaching from? Will we be heading offroad or staying on the highway? If forget how the area is layed out so I just want to make sure my posts are concise and accurate while we do the hit and run.)

At the garage-
Ortega and Malanowski tied themselves down and held on while Keith pulled out.

(The horde is approaching from the east, and it is currently about 700 yards away from the eastern edge of the diner. It is walking off-road. I-80 goes to the east, but there are wrecked vehicles blocking it in places. Route 30 also goes east, but it is about a mile north of here. The pickup truck has 4-wheel drive and is perfectly capable of driving off-road.)

Keith shifts his truck into drive and with a "Hang on" to the guys in back, he heads towards the hoard. "Sir, which direction should we try and pull the hoard? I am thinking to the south so your men can get some shots off at them, and then back to the east if we need to," Kieth says to the men in the back of the truck. "Hey! I just thought of something else. When we get a chance, we should gather everyone up at the motel, then see if we can find a loader to create an outter wall all of those crushed cars in the gunk yard. It would take some time, but it looks like time and infected are what we have in spades."

Lewis decided to wait for a bit before wasting ammo. He lay on his stomach on the roof however to have a better place from which to fire.

(Walkers from the east: 35 dead, 1 with 9 damage to the head, 1 with 8 damage to the head)

At the garage-
Lewie Newton and Joe Soarez also held their fire, waiting for the zombies to get close enough that they'd have a better chance of hitting.

"We'd better get up on the roof too," Clarence said to Melinda. "You can use the ladder. I'll climb the rope." However, he wasn't as spry as he used to be and it was slow going for him.

(Luke, Colin Lewis, and everyone else on the roof has another five combat rounds, using the same skill penalties as before.)

On the highway-
"Sounds like a plan," said Ortega. "Let's drive east along I-80 until we're close enough. If we have to, we can drive east past them if they get too close and lead them away from the truck stop. We can keep circling around to prevent them from getting close."

"I also picked up Duran's knife," said Malanowski. "If you don't have a close combat weapon, you ought to have it. I've already got my own."

"Thanks," said Ortega, taking the blade from him. He turned to Keith. "We don't really have a whole lot of time. I haven't had a moment to rest since we landed, and we're under constant threat of attack. Creating walls from those junked cars is a good idea if we can do it. I didn't see any loader around here, but there is a tow truck."

Keith pulled onto the highway and headed east a few hundred yards. The fuel gauge indicated that he had plenty of gas for local maneuvering, but it would be a good idea to top off his tank before leaving for good. He found a good place to stop, with the horde just over 250 yards off. Both of the men in the back of the truck raised their M-16s and took aim.

(Keith, you may fire up to five shots with your AR-15 if you like. The first two shots would be at half skill, with the -5% penalty for aiming at the head applied after the skil is halved. The last three shots are at full skill, again with a -5% penalty for a head shot. You may fire four shots with only the first at half skill and the others at full skill, or three or fewer shots at full skill, if you wish.)

(OOC: Keith will use his first round to try and spot any infected that are fast movers or were missed and may be able to sneak up on us while we shoot at the main group. His second round he will look try and judge how long before they should move again and where they should move to.)
Keith leaves the truck running as he makes his first stop. He puts the truck in park, opens the door, and stands on the door frame of the truck to scan the area for lurking infected they may have missed. The area looks clear.

With the area around truck clear, Keith takes in the surrounding area and takes note of some possible stopping points for when they move next, before taking aim at the approaching hoard of infected. "All right you bastards, come and get some," he says as he lets loose with three shots. The first two strike home, but the recoil of the three shots causes the thrid round to sail high. The two shots that hit, however, did so with devestating results and dropped the creatures.

Melinda used the ladder to climb.

Luke takes another 3 slow shots, killing 2 (impale + 12dmg) and severely wounding another (7dmg).

He briefly looks up and frowns at the zombie from which he just removed half the cheekbone, but keeps on coming regardless.

Lewis got ready to fire but again the distance was too great for him. He decided to wait a few more seconds

(Walkers from the east: 48/86 dead, 1 with 9 damage to the head, 1 with 8 damage to the head)

At the garage-
Melinda easily made it up the ladder to the roof. Since Clarence wasn't having much luck with the rope, he climbed the ladder too after she was done. The shooting continued, and now over half of the dead were lying still on the ground. Three were wounded in the head, and the two with the worst wounds were crawling and lagging well behind the others. They angled southwards, towards the pickup truck out on the highway.

(Everyone on the roof with a rifle may now fire with full skill. They're too far to use any other weapon, however. Colin Lewis and Lewie Newton only get three shots each, as their weapons have lower rates of fire. Everyone else may fire up to five shots.)

On the highway-
Malanowski opened up on the dead with his M-16. His first three shots were good, especially the third, but the last two missed. He killed two of them outright and also finished off the one Luke had wounded. Ortega also started shooting, hitting with four out of five shots. Those four bullets took down three more of the enemy.

Only a few dozen remained now. They were about a quarter mile from the diner, but they started to angle southwards towards the truck. Keith estimated that they would reach it in another minute. They were now close enough to get a good look at, and he really wished he didn't need to.

(Keith, roll Sanity. Since you already lost 6 points for seeing zombies earlier in this chapter, any loss of more than 4 only counts as 4.

After that, you may fire four more times without risk and use the fifth round to drive eastwards for another few hundred yards and draw the zombies away from the diner. There is a clear spot on the highway where you can stop and resume shooting. If you stay and shoot a fifth time, the zombies will reach the truck and get to attack.)

Lewis saw that the zombies were close enough to shoot at now. He aimed at three of the walkers heads and fired three times. The first two shots hit their targets while the third went way wild and Lewis feared he may have jammed the gun.
(occ-Did I? I got a 98 on that last roll. Also this is okay if I do it like this correct? Instead of detaling every roll. I have seen others do it this way.)

Lewis saw that the first bullet had hit its target in the right hemphisere of the brain and had done some magic bullet action zipping through the head killing the zombie once again.
The second bullet hit its target in the nose area and also dropped the zombie.

Taking his time, he repeats his previous 3 shots. But to his amazement, he's faced with the same result, yet again! 2 instant kills and one severely damaged zombie (7dmg). He grunts, at the creature's resilience.

A cold chill jolted across Keiths skin and his stomach churned in disgust at the sight of the shambling corplse. Surpressingthe terror welling up inside him, Keith calmed himself fired off three more rounds at the approaching beasts. Keith trembled slightly as he fired off his first round and missed. The other three shots, however, struck home. The first round struck with devestating force and obliterated the head of it's target.
THe secodn round also dropped it's target, but the third one barely grazed its skull.
"Alright guys, time to move again. Hang on!" Keith said as he jumped back into the drivers seat of the truck. He waited for the soldiers to finish taking their shots before driving the truck to a clear spot a few hundred yards east on the highway.

(OOC: I said Keith is waiting for the soldiers to take their shots because the other guys have not posted and acted in this round. He will by no means let the infected reach the truck. If he needs to drive away before they take their shots, he will.)

(Walkers from the east: 71/86 dead, 4 with 9 damage to the head, 4 with 8 damage to the head)

At the garage-
The zombie that Luke had wounded was the same one that Keith winged, and the combined force of the two bullets striking its skull knocked it off of its feet, though it still continued crawling slowly. He and Clarence heard some voices on their radios.

"Phillips," said a man Clarence recognized as Airman Frank Hodges, "how are you doing out there...I mean how are you feeling?"

"I feel like hell," replied Phillips. "I can get these last two mines, but after that I need to lie down and rest."

"Wallace, one of the civilian truck drivers, has been bitten," said Lt. Blanco a little later. "His symptoms are progressing slowly, but he cannot be admitted upstairs."

Clarence began firing at the ghouls with his rifle, landing three hits out of five shots fired. Two were dropped, but kept crawling. One had its skull blown to splinters. Joe Soarez also opened up with his Mini-14, hitting three times as well. He killed two and wounded another badly. Lewie Newton fired three times and got two good hits, slaughtering both of his targets.

(Again, Luke may fire up to five times. Colin Lewis may fire twice.)

On the highway-
Malanowski was used to the sight of the creatures, but Ortega was utterly unnerved. Luckily, it didn't last long. Both men kept firing, each getting off four shots before Keith had to pull out. Malanowski got three hits, one of them excellent. All three zombies were slain. Ortega hit with every shot, killing two and reducing two more to crawlers.

Keith drove eastward, keeping an eye on the remaining zombies that turned to slowly pursue him. He stopped about 600 yards east of the diner, and was shocked to see another group of zombies approaching the truck through the grass to the east and a bit to the north. These were moving a lot faster, and they made a beeline for the truck. They were only 100 yards away now, but there were just four of them.

(Keith, roll Sanity. Again, any loss of more than 4 points only counts as four. Then you have five combat rounds to shoot, after which the zombies will reach the truck unless they are wounded or killed first. Malanowski and Ortega will also get five rounds. Odds are you will finish them off before they arrive, but if you keep missing you can hold your fifth shot in reserve in case you need to drive away. Any kills in excess of the first four will be applied to the walkers you passed earlier, who are a long way off and cannot reach you for a while.)

" Incomming!" Keith shouts as he spots the newest infected. His mind reels at the sight of them. They are soo close! Coming soo fast! Every muscle, every instinct in his body is screaming at him to flee, however, friends, family and even strangers are counting on Keith. He pulls it together, wipes the sweat from his brow and takes aim and the newly spotten hoard.
Keith lines up his shots. His hands are shaking. He lets lose with his AR15, however, the gun jammed on the first shot.
Keith was able to quickly fix the jam before needing to move the truck to safety once again.

(You can't go temporarily insane, since you can't lose 5 or more points. You failed your Sanity roll, so just roll 1d10 to see how much you lose, but any roll of more than 4 counts as 4. Then you may act.)

Lewis aimed at a zombie's head through his scope and fired then shifted aim and fired at another zombie's head. The first shot missed but the second shot hit the second zombie square in the middle of the forehead. The zombie's head was well nothing was left of it and the zombie fell to the earth dead again.

Luke breathes a sigh of relief as his stroke of 'bad' luck is broken. How frustrating to see 3 perfectly good shots yield 2 dead and one wounded, twice in a row...

(OOC: I edited Keiths post above.)

At the garage-
Luke and Clarence heard Frank Hodges speak on the radio: "Phillips, Hodges here. You aren't looking so good, man. I know everyone can hear this and what I am about to say ain't going to be pretty, but it needs to be said. You've been infected and we all know what happens then. I know you don't want any of us to get hurt. If you turn, you're going to come and attack us and could hurt, if not kill several of us. I don't know how to say this in a pretty way, so I'm just going to say it: If you feel faint, or like you're going to pass out, you may want to end it before the infection takes you, bro. I don't like the idea of it any more than you do, believe me, but it's better than turning."

"Believe me," replied Phillips, "I don't want to turn either. When the time comes I'll do it myself, but I'm not there yet. I can still help out until then."

Zorie Spooner spoke: "This is Zorie Spooner. Airman Thomas Cole is cleared to return to duty, and I've screened him and am confident he is free of infection."

Lt. Blanco spoke on the radio next: "Phillips was infected a little over an hour ago, and it takes about two hours to run its course. The symptoms will get progressively worse over time, but we'll have plenty of warning before he goes. Phillips, once you're done with the mines I'll need you to report to Room 6. You'll share it with Wallace. I'll also need a volunteer to keep an eye on you two, and to end it if you can't when the time comes."

One of the snipers took down the last two walking zombies, so Clarence started finishing off the crawlers and took out four of them. Joe Soarez fired several shots, but he only got one of them. Lewie Newton took two shots, both of which missed, before starting to reload.

(Colin Lewis, it will take you three combat rounds to fully reload your rifle. You may also take one shot if you wish, or you may reload the rifle partially and then take two shots. Luke, you may take up to five shots if you want them. There is only one crawler left, and any rifle hit to the head will kill it.)

On the highway-
Ortega barely kept his head together. Malanowski started shooting at the runners' heads first, getting two hits and two narrow misses. Both of the runners went down. Ortega shot the other two, dropping them. With the immediate threat gone, Malanowski took out a crawler and Ortega eliminated another one. Only one remained, and it was far enough away that it posed no threat for now.

(Keith, you may shoot at the last crawler if you wish, up to six times since you didn't need to use your fifth combat round last time.)

Lewis will use the time to fully reload his rifle.

Keith took aim and fired at the last crawler. The first shot missed, but the second one found its mark destroying its head in a puff of red.
"Allright, that looks like the last of them," Keith said. "I'll take us back to the motel so we can pick up some ammo for that guy on the roof back there and figure out what to do."





(OOC: I rolled 6 times for my attacks so I didn't have to keep rolling one at a time. The second one hit and killed it so I will not fire the remaining 4 times. Is that okay? If you'd ratehr I rolled all shots seperatly, let me know so I can do so in the future.)

"Keep an eye out, will you?" Luke asks as he sits back and relaxes while he checks his remaining ammo.

At the garage-
Luke counted his remaining ammo and found that he had a total of 85 rounds remaining for his rifle. There were 12 currently loaded, two full magazines, and four partial magazines.

Keith puts his truck in gear, and heads back towards the diner. As he drives, he opens the rear sliding window and says to the soldiers in back, "Hey guys, can you get in the blower and see if the guy at the diner wants to join up with the others at the motel or is he is okay where he is?"

Luke sits back and starts sorting through the ammo. Turning the partially loaded ones into fully loaded ones.

Malanowski looks at Ortega and asks "You wanna make that call, Senior Airman or should I?" Looking through the window at Keith, Malanowski says: "Having you biker boys and this truck here sure went a long way to boosting our odds of surviving this clusterfuck. Were you guys planning on staying here awhile or do you have places to go?" While waiting for his reply, Igor takes visual stock of the motel and diner parking lots for intact vehicles.

"Ya know, we were planning on trading for some supplies and moving on as keeping on the move has kept us alive. However, we may not be so lucky as to find another gas station and once we run out of gas and stop moving, we are good as dead." Keith said to the Airman in the back of the truck. "My names Keith, buy the way. Keith Deeds. My pa is up on the diner roof with the other guy, and I don't know where my brother is, but he's around here too. Lets go back to the diner and talk this over with my pa."

At the garage-
Luke and Clarence heard Sergeant Black's voice on the radio: "The last of the infected has been killed. Anybody cleared by the doctor and without another task we could use more ammo up here. There should be some more in the ammo crate and if anyone can bring it up it would be a great help. Also if possible remove the armor and anything useful from our recent casualties. We could use one of the rooms on the second floor as an armory if possible." After a pause, he continued speaking. "This is Sergeant Sam Black of the USAF to the diner group, are you listening?"

An unfamiliar voice spoke next: "Sergeant Black, sir. As soon as the good doctor patches me up, permission to make a defensive survey of the motel and surrounds please? I have a few ideas, but I need to have a visual sitrep of my own to see if they'll work before I take up your time telling you what they are."

Black answered: "Sure thing, just stay near the motel and be careful."

"Roger that, Sergeant. Will make sitrep ASAP. Anyone fancy giving me a hand? I could do better with a few more eyes and brains, and we don't seem to be in any immediate danger right now."

Then Frank Hodges spoke: "Coltrane and I are available to help, providing that Black or Sheen can keep an eye out for Phillips,"

The second voice then spoke again: "Senior Airman Coltrane, sir, would that be okay? If that's an affirmative, and the sergeant okays it, could you please check to see how many of the cars in the lot are mobile? I'm thinking we use them to limit points of approach to the motel, creating fire corridors. If it'll work - and I think it will, those things don't seem to have much in the way of smarts - we can defend key points with a minimum of personnel and seriously enhance our ability to hit the dead bastards. We'll work out the best points for this, then block up any leftover windows by breaking up the furniture. Could someone out there find some tools? A hammer, nails - hell, even a nailgun if there's one handy. The less points of access the infected have, the easier this place will be to defend. I'm in Room 4 right now, a bit banged up, but I think I get the Doc's once over next, so I shouldn't be too long."

"Heck, the cars don't even have to be able to run. There's a junk yard and a tow truck over there across the highway. We could tow some junkers over here and possibly build a wall around this place."

"Good idea, sir, but I think it might be wise to leave a few gaps. Those dead things tend to take the easiest possible route to their target, so if we make funnels, we can herd them into killing fields and blow the bastards away. Board up the windows that face in other directions and they will HAVE to come at us from exactly where we want them to. Hmmm... If we make some loose barriers as well we can close up any point that gets compromised with a minimum of effort. Maybe rip off some car hoods as well, for a bit of extra ablative." There was a pause. "Oh, and sir? If you head over to the junkyard, be careful - there could be anything out in those wrecks."

"Now that you mention barracades, I think I remember one of the truckers talking about having a load of lumber and tools in their cargo."

"Clarence Deeds here," replied Clarence on the radio as he exchanged magazines. "Reading you loud and clear, Sarge. What can we do for you?"

"Cole here," said someone else. "I've been cleared and I'm on my way up to get the ammo."

Luke loaded a full magazine into his rifle and then began to consolidate his partial magazines. He was able to fill up another one and started work on the next. It would take him about a minute more to finish.

Lewie Newton looked eastwards through his scope, but he saw nothing of note. He also reloaded his rifle. Soarez reloaded as well.

"I'll get on the horn," said Ortega, reloading. He spoke into his microphone. "Luke, this is Ortega. Are you all right where you are, or would you rather join the others at the motel?"

Keith drove west on the highway and soon reached the turnoff to the truck stop. He turned right and drove into the T-Bone's parking lot, pulling up outside the garage. He saw his father and Melinda were still on the roof with the others.

Melinda is relief that Keith is back and smiles to him.

Malanowski is keeping his eyes peeled for vehicles that appear to be operational.

Keith pulled the truck up and put it in park, "Hey there, darling" he said to Melina with a wink. "You alright up there?"

"Hey pa, what's the plan and where did Tsuba run off to?"

At the garage-
The unknown voice spoke on the radio again: "Okay, Hodges, Coltrane, I'll be with you in a minute - Spooner's just going to check me over and patch me up. Can we find out what else the truckers were carrying? I still think car hoods are a good idea. If we can brace them somehow then they'll make a good way of slowing the infected down - some of those things move pretty damned quickly."

Luke finished filling his magazines. He now had four fully loaded magazines, one of them in his rifle with an additional bullet in the chamber. He also had one partial magazine with six bullets remaining.

"Your brother went downstairs with Lisa and Sue to explore the underground facility and see if they can find any survivors or anything worth salvaging," called Clarence. "You're welcome to join them if you like. As for the plan, I was thinking we'd fill up our tanks here, salvage and trade for what we can, and move on. Warren AFB is still operating and is nearby, so I was thinking we'd head there afterwards. We probably don't want to move in permanently, but at least it'll be a good place to trade for more supplies and stay the night. What do you think?"

"Luke here. I'm fine where I am." he replies on the radio "If we all move to one position, we'll loose some tactical advantage I think. And makes us a little less effective."

"I could use a resupply though. I've got somewhere around 80 bullets left for the M14 and I really wouldn't mind some of that bodyarmor you mentioned..."

"I think we also should take the opportunity to get some food distributed. I've got something to drink and some snacks but in the end we don't know how long we'll be stuck if we end up pinned down..." he adds.

"We might want to yell down and make sure he is okay down there," Keith said to his dad. "I don't like the idea of he and the ladies being down there all along."

Keith took a long look around, "Ya know, dad. We've been doing a pretty good job of staying alive by keeping on the run, but what if we can't find more gas down the road? We won't be able to run forever, and if we run out of gas without shelter, we're dead." Keith ran his fingers though his hair and rubbed his face. "If we're to head out on the road again, we should have a desination in mind. That way, we know how much fuel we need to get there, and what to expect once we do get there. What do you think?"

"Everything you've said, Keith, is reasonable," interjects Airman Malanowski. "And your questions are good ones. There are some people here might be amenable to throwing in with you" he says, quickly glancing at Ortega. "This location has everything you need in terms of supplies but not much in the way of fixed defenses," he continues. "In case you haven't heard, the whole world is going Def Con 5. Nuclear! All over the globe. Underground might be a safe place to hole up for the forseeable future. Also, there's a group of militants up the road in their own compound. No one knows their status, might be worth checking out, too."

Standing up in the bed of the truck, Malanowski calls up to Deeds: "Mr. Deeds, if you're looking to trade for supplies, perhaps I can broker the transaction for you. What do you guys need and what are you prepared to offer?"

At the garage-
The voice on the radio continued: "Anybody in a room with one of the truckers, could you please ask them what they were hauling? Apparently, one of them had a large consignment of lumber and tools we could use to make this place more secure. Please could I have confirmation of this, and any other loads?"

"That's Defcon 1," said Ortega, "Defcon 5 is good. I agree, if we stick around here too long we're likely to end up dead."

As if to accentuate his point, a few gunshots rang out west of the motel and Sergeant Sam Black said "Contacts! West side!" over the airwaves.

A new voice spoke next: "It's a pack of infected coyotes! Two down and six to go, but they're close!"

Then Lt. Blanco cried out on the radio: "Room 5, help! The little boy was bitten and turned!"

"We'd better get back to the motel fast!" said Ortega when he heard the radio chatter.

Clarence started climbing down the ladder. "We're going to need water, food, and ammo most of all," he called down to Malanowski. "Additional weapons would be nice too. Fuel is essential, but we can fill up at the pumps here." He reached the bottom and nodded to Keith. "You're right, we'll need a long-term destination in mind and sufficient fuel to get there. We can sort that out once we get to Warren. I'm sure we can stay there in the short-term while we figure out where else we can go. Go on and spin them back to the motel. I'll head below myself and make sure your brother and the ladies are okay. If they've been gone this long, it must go down pretty deep and they might not hear a shout. I hope the radio still works underground. I know about that compound to the north, but it's either full of racist nutjobs or more of those things. Either way, it may be more trouble than it's worth."

"Alright. Be careful, dad." Keith said as the threw the truck into drive and sped toward the motel as quickly, but safely as he could.

(OOC) Malanoskiw was standing up in the bed of the truck. Should he attempt a dex roll to hang on or remain upright? Mr. Deeds never did answer what he was prepared to offer in trade btw.

(Oh, sorry, I forgot. Thanks for reminding me! No, there's no need to roll anything. Keith is driving carefully, so as long as you hang on you'll be fine.)

At the garage-
"As for what we can offer," continued Clarence, "you've seen us in action. We'll help defend this place as long as we're here, and we can offer our labor. My sons are great at repairing just about anything, and we can do any heavy lifting that's needed. We can also give you guys a ride out if you decide to pull up stakes. You be careful too, Keith."

"Def Con 1, right, my bad," says Malanowski looking sheepishly at Ortega, "guess that's why you got put in charge."

Turning around to face the front of the truck, he pounds on the top of the cab. "Hey in there. Gives us a heads up before you take off next time! You wouldn't wanna lose one of us."

Bracing his M16 on the roof of the truck's cab, Malanowski keeps his eyes peeled and attempts to ascertain where the latest gunfire is emanating from and what's being fired upon.

Lewis said, "Luke you want me to go find us some food and drinks for up here?"

Luke gets up, briefly watches the motel through his scope, trying to spie something.

If he sees no way he could help, he'll turn due west to see if he can see anything off the sides.

At the garage-
Keith drove away to the west with Ortega and Malanowski in the bed of his pickup. Clarence went over to the stairway and started heading down.

Zorie Spooner spoke on the radio: "Spooner here. Airman Brian Kincaid is not infected and is fit to return to active duty."

More gunfire erupted from the motel, as well as the sound of a grenade going off somewhere to the west. Luke saw Lt. Angela Blanco flee from one of the central motel rooms on the ground floor, struggling with her pistol. From her actions it was obvious to him that the weapon had jammed at a very inopportune time. Wallace emerged from the room just to the north of that one and ran over to the room that the doctor had vacated, his rifle at the ready. When he reached it, he stood stock still, blocking the doorway. He raised his rifle, but it was impossible to see what he was aiming at with his bulk in the way. Luke also saw Keith pull up a short distance away from Lt. Blanco, who ran over to the truck and spoke hurriedly to the men inside.

(Luke, if you want to try to see what's to the west of the motel on either side, roll Spot Hidden.

Keith Deeds, Manuel Ortega, and Igor Malanowski are moving back to this thread: The Siege. You should read the post that the above link leads to, but do not read any of the posts above that you have missed unless you already had another character in The Siege. In any case, remember to keep what you know separate from what each character knows.

Everyone else remains in the current thread.)

Lewis cleared his throat and said again, "Luke do you want me to go down and get food and water for us all?"

OCC: bingo for Luke: spot hidden (1d100=3)

Lewis sighed and cursed, "I am going to go back to the motel to see if I can find some food. Anyone who wants to can come with me!" He got up and taking his gear and weapons began to climb the ladder back to the ground.

At the garage-
Colin Lewis reached the bottom of the ladder. His truck was parked nearby.

Up on the roof, Luke saw Phillips in the field of grass northwest of the motel. A horribly mangled coyote, evidently zombified, was attacking him, but he sprayed a burst at it and took it down. More coyote corpses littered the grass to the west of where he stood. Phillips then turned and started heading northwest, towards the wreckage of the helicopter. Luke was also able to see into Room 5 beyond Wallace. Dr. Owens moved towards him with a hand outstretched, and in panic Wallace fired a burst at him. One of the rounds struck the doctor in the head and laid him out on the floor. He did not appear to be a zombie, but his son Adrian most certainly was - even from this distance the hunter could make out the red in the boy's eyes, but the fact that he was crushing Baldwin to death and eating his corpse kind of gave it away. Malanowski ran up to the door and put a bullet in Adrian's head, but he was still moving. Ortega, Keith Deeds, and a man in a flight suit were close behind him.

Phillips spoke on the radio: "This is Phillips. The threat to the west has been eliminated. I'm going to set that last mine now."

"Applebee here," said another man. "Confirmed, we're clear to the west."

"Airman Cheng," said a new voice. "I need you to report to either Lt. Blanco or Zorie Spooner for immediate screening. Once you're cleared to come upstairs, report to the communications room. I need someone who can understand Chinese."

Zorie Spooner also spoke: "Spooner again. Lt. Doolittle is also uninfected and cleared for duty."

(Luke, you may fire one shot if you wish, at half skill due to having to shoot past Wallace. You may aim for the head with a -5% penalty. If you miss, roll Luck to make sure you don't hit the wrong person. If one of the people at the motel takes out your target first, your shot will not take place.)

In the warehouse-
Clarence reached the bottom of the stairs and emerged into the warehouse, shaking his head as he saw all the destroyed zombies. He heard the conversations on the radio loud and clear.

"Hey Joe come join me will ya?"

At the garage-
"Comin'!" said Joe Soarez. He climbed down the ladder to the ground.

OCC:

Mr. Handy wrote:(Luke, you may fire one shot if you wish, at half skill due to having to shoot past Wallace. You may aim for the head with a -5% penalty. If you miss, roll Luck to make sure you don't hit the wrong person. If one of the people at the motel takes out your target first, your shot will not take place.)

the situation is a little hectic, so a question: there are plenty of other people in the room and only 1 zombie to be seen, right?

OCC: then Luke will pass. not worth the risk.

IC:

"This is Luke, zombie spotted in Room 5 of the hotel." Luke says over the radio "Be careful, there might be more. I don't have a clear shot at this time."

At the garage-
As Luke watched, Ortega recoiled and then sat down, slumping over. Keith took a shot, but he missed. Then the man in the flight suit fired his pistol twice, trying to shoot past Wallace, but both rounds hit him in the back and he fell.

"This is Blanco," replied Lt. Blanco. "Roger that. That's the boy Adrian I reported earlier. He's the only one, but if anyone has been killed they'll rise up soon too."

Malanowski fired again, hitting Adrian in the head and putting him down for good.

Down below, Joe Soarez got into the shotgun seat of Colin's truck. "Okay, man, let's go," he said to his friend.

In the warehouse-
Clarence looked around the warehouse as he made his way through it, but saw nothing noteworthy. He hurried through and down the stairs toward the smashed gate leading to the reception area. "Tsuba, it's Dad!" he called. "Where are you, son?"

(does Colin need to roll drive to get to the motel?)

Colin drives to the hotel.

At the garage-
Luke heard Malanowski shout "Zed down!" on the radio, and Keith shot Baldwin's corpse in the head. Then Phillips said: "This is Phillips. Claymores are all set. I'm heading home." Finally, Lt. Blanco said "Blanco reporting. The threat in Room 5 has been neutralized. One civilian was killed by Adrian after he turned, and two more have been wounded by friendly fire."

Colin Lewis drove off to the west with Joe Soarez in his truck.

(Colin Lewis and Joe Soarez are moving to this thread: The Siege)

In the reception area-
Clarence entered the hallway at the back of the room, heading for the guard room.

(Clarence Deeds is moving to this thread: Beneath the Surface.

Everyone else remains in the current thread.)

At the garage-
Now that things had settled down to the west, Lewie Newton nodded to Luke and Melinda and turned his attention back to the east. He saw nothing noteworthy.

Luke heard more voices on the radio. Sergeant Black said "Good work, Phillips."

Hodges spoke next: "We are all set over here. What are our next orders?"

Then the man who had issued an order to Cheng said "This is Lt. Curtis. Thank you, Airman Phillips. Hodges, I need you and the other men with you to report for medical treatment and screening. Considering what just happened, there must be someone with a rifle accompanying anyone who has been bitten at all times from now on. I'm reluctant to have them stay at the motel at all, but there are few alternatives available. The garage across the road is one possibility, I suppose, and there's also that underground facility. Lt. Blanco, are they in any condition to be moved?"

Blanco replied. "Phillips might be, sir. I wouldn't advise moving Wallace until I've had a chance to treat him." She paused for a minute. "Airman Cheng is cleared to go upstairs."

At the garage-
""This is Sergeant Black to Luke," said Black on the radio. "How would you feel about joining us up here?"

"Roger that," said Hodges. "On our way back to the east side now."

"Wouldn't mind bein' high & dry. And closer to the ammo stash." Luke replies over the radio "But I'm not entirely convinced it's in our collective best interest. It leaves a potential blind spot. Though you're the professional sniper, so you ought to know best."

At the garage-
"Sir," said Kincaid on the radio, "permission to co-opt a couple of able bodies to get some defences set up? Any volunteers would be welcome."

"Sergeant Black," said Ortega after he had spoken, "any word on ammo and supplies for the folks at the diner? Keith Deeds is getting ready to head back over there."

Black responded to Luke over the radio: "I understand that, would it be possible that one of the bikers takes your place?"

Lt. Curtis spoke next: "Sergeant Black, our defenses are in your hands as always. Assign your men as you see fit."

"I think the bikers are aiming to press on, when their buddies get back." Luke replies over the radio "But it doesn't hurt to ask."

"Anyone up to taking over overwatch here?" he asks loudly, not to anyone in particular "Would allow me to join the military snipers, for a better view and a better shot. But we can't allow to leave this roof unmanned, as dogs and whatnot might come through the grass unseen from the motel."

(I'll let Lewie Newton's new player answer for him.)

At the garage-
"I can use a rifle," said Melinda, "but I don't have one and I'm not as good as you are."

"Malanowski, what is your location," said a woman on the radio. "This is Lt. Doolittle, I'm coming down to get that broken gun. Hopefully i can fix it."

"I'm in room 5, Lieutenant," Malanowski answered. "Had to put down an infected. There are two living bite victims here: Airman Phillips and a civilian. You want I should keep watch on 'em, Lieutenant? I do still have that busted M4, it's not going anywhere."

"Malanowski, Sergeant Black should answer that question," replied Lt. Curtis, "and your fire team leader should be the one to ask. I know this is an unusual situation, but you still need to follow the chain of command. It's there for a reason. Black is in charge of our defense, so it's up to him who gets assigned to which duties anyway."

"Not a whole lot of people are, my dear." Luke replies with a smug but kind smile "Only thing I've got to offer though, is my shotgun, but that wont help you much on the roof, unless you let them come really close."

"Sure, the largest part of being on the roof here is actually spotting, rather than shooting." he adds "But I wouldn't want to handicap you, by leaving you here without any longer range capability."

"Anyone else up for helping the lady out?"

"I've got you covered." Lewie settles himself into a comfortable firing position and looks through the scope of his gun, scanning the too-silent fields for any tell-tale motion.

At the garage-
"Last time I checked, Lieutenant," Malanowski spat out on the radio, "the Senior Airman was having a bad day. Sergeant Black, permission to come top side?"

Lewie Newton's vigilance paid off. As he peered through the scope of his Winchester, he caught sight of a large mob of between 80 and 90 zombies slightly under a mile away to the east. They were shambling slowly but inexorably closer, and they would arrive in a little over ten minutes.

(If you want to start shooting at the zombies at this range, Luke may fire at half Rifle skill and Lewie at one-quarter skill. The -5 penalty for aiming at the head is applied after dividing your skill. This gives Luke a 35% chance and Lewie only a 10% chance, so you may want to wait until they're closer. You have five combat rounds before the next update, but the Winchester can only fire every other round, so Lewie would get a maximum of three shots with it. There is no need for anyone else to roll Spot Hidden to see them now that Lewie can point them out.

Also, Luke, you will need to roll Con x 4 if you are going to start shooting to ward off exhaustion. If you fail, you will take an additional -5 penalty until you get half an hour of continuous rest, reducing your current chance to 30%. Lewie doesn't need to roll, as he hasn't been shooting for hours as Luke has.)

"Looks like we got two pairs of eyes to take my place for now." Luke says over the radio "I'm coming over to the motel."

OCC: what's the status on the ladders/ropes etc both at the motel & at Luke's position?

"Hey everyone! There's a whole heap of them to the East! Nearly 100 of the ugly f***ers coming right this way!" Lewie looks through his scope, fascinated by the grotesque parody of a person lurching towards him.

"I'll take that as my cue to leave." Luke says with a smile "It'd be wasting ammo to shoot now, but they should be more than close enough by the time i get to the motel."

At the garage-
Luke climbed down the ladder, reaching the parking lot. The motel was a hundred yards to the west. Lewie Newton and Melinda Christie remained on the garage roof. The mob was slowly getting closer, but it was still a long way off.

(The same rules for shooting at the zombies apply this time. It will be about four more minutes before Lewie can fire at half skill, but for now he's still at 1/4 skill.)

Lewie continues to watch the things lurch forward, lining up a shot.

West of the garage-
As Luke jogged toward the motel, he heard more chatter on the radio.

"Lt. Blanco, Airman Malanowski here. What's your twenty? Over." said Malanowski.

"Cheng, get yourself some grenades and set up some booby traps to the East. You can be our forward line of defense. Once they get close in, fall back to the roof." said another man.

"Yes sir!" replied Cheng.

Then Frank Hodges said: "Ortega, Black: There was talk about setting up defenses around here. What is the status of that? I'd like to help out when I return to duty if I may."

As Luke was approaching the dirt road halfway between the T-Bone and the motel, Keith Deeds drove by in his pickup truck with Colin Lewis in the back, returning to the garage.

At the garage-
Lewie watched the zombies through his scope. They were now 3/4 of a mile from the eastern edge of the ruined diner. Melinda had remained silent.

(OOC: Mr. Handy, let me know when Keith arrives, please.)

Seeing Luke on the move, Keith slowed to a halt near Luke, "Want a lift? I'm gonna grab Melinda and whom ever else wants to go to the motel and head back over there. Just an FYI, they are screening everyone before they are allowed into the motel. Might take you a while to get to that roof, is all I am saying."

"They'll want eyes on top." Luke says with a smile "I'll get bumped ahead of the line, no doubt."

"And I should get to the motel before you pick Melinda up, though I thought she was planning to stay put."

OCC: feel free to correct me about my assumption that he'll walk over just as fast, if not faster.

(Luke is moving to the following thread: The Siege. Please stop reading the current thread. You may read The Siege from the linked post onwards, and you will post there instead of here.

All other characters remain in the current thread.)

At the garage-
Keith pulled up outside the garage in his truck with Colin in the back, followed half a minute later by Joe Soarez driving Colin's truck. Lewie Newton and Melinda remained on the roof, looking to the east. Just then there was a brief, sudden tremor that shook the area. It was rather mild as earthquakes went, not anywhere near powerful enough to knock somebody over, but it was disconcerting.

"Whoa!" Keith says as he steadies himself outside his truck. Seeing Melinda safe, Keith greets her with a big smile, "Hey, Melinda, sweetie? How about I take you back over to the motel where it is safe. My mom is over there helping to look after people and she could sure use your help."

"Hey Lewie, any word from my Pa and Tsuba? They've been down there a while."

Colin stood up in the back of the truck and said, "Whats going on over here?"

Joe opens the door and runs over to join Colin, "What the..." he looks around, then up at Colin, "Jesus, man, did you feel that? There was an earthquake of some sort."

-Ok, let's go now, but don't risk your life unless it is absolutely necessary! I don't want you see turn in one of those things!
She timidly try to put her hand in Keith hand.

Yeah i did feel it. are we staying here or what is going on?

Joe shrugs to Colin and looks to the others, then back, "I'm not sure. Personally, I want to go back, but..." he gestures to the others, "we can't exactly leave them by themselves, really."

Keith takes Melindas hand and helps er to the truck. "Don't worry, I'll be alright. I'm gonna stay with the truck and keep ahead of those things while people in the back pick them off. It's I want safe and I think the motel is the safest place for you right now."
Once Melinda is in the truck, he turns to the rest of the group, "Anyone who's coming, hop on in. We need to get back to the motel and get some troops so we can do some more hit and run on those bastards. Lewie, how long till that group makes it here? If you have a radio, tell the soldiers that I am coming back and looking for volunteers to do hit and run on this group. Alright?"

On the stairs-
Lisa Crow hurried up the stairs as the ground trembled around her. Heedless of the tremor, she continued to the surface.

At the garage-
Melinda climbed down the ladder from the garage roof and got into Keith's truck beside him, leaving Lewie alone on the roof. The horde was a little more than half a mile away now.

Suddenly, Lisa emerged from stairs leading underground, panic written all over her face. Nobody else was with her.

(Lisa, you are still temporarily insane and fleeing for two more rounds. You may choose in which direction you run, provided it is away from anything dangerous. Lewie, if you make a successful Psychoanalysis roll you can bring her out of it early.)

Colin Lewis said, "I will volunteer to help pick those creatures off."

Joe Soarez steps next to Colin, "So do I. These bastards need to learn how to stay dead."

"Why don't you two do some hit and run on them with the truck and try to lead them I to the range of the snipers at the motel. We'll stay here."
" Lisa, where's my dad and bro?" keith hops out of the truck and heads to the stairs and yells down, "Dad!?"

Heedless of Keith, Lisa runs towards the motel in a blind panic.

Joe nods and turns to Colin, "Sounds about like the only thing we can do. You up to it, Colin? I don't want to force you if you feel like you're going to have another incident like earlier, freezing up."

I think i can do it. You drive ok and I will shoot.

Joe nods and gets into Colin's truck's driver seat, getting ready to get going.

Keith yells down the stairs, "Dad! Dad? Come on! Hurry uptop! I've got the truck up here!"

At the garage-
"We're okay, bro!" came Bill's shout from below. "We ran into more of those things trying to get into a sealed hatch deep inside this place, but I think we can finish them off! What's going on up there? Is Lisa all right? Do you want all of us to come back up, or just Pa?"

Lisa ran to the west, ignoring everyone else. She ran past the garage and towards the motel in the distance, and what she hoped was safety.

As Lewie Newton watched from the roof, the mob got closer. It was now half a mile from the diner and closing.

(Lewie, you may now use 1/2 Rifle skill to shoot at the zombies if you wish, with a -5 penalty for aiming at the head. You have five combat rounds, but you may only fire three times because your rifle has a 1/2 rate of fire. Colin Lewis may also shoot three times at 1/2 skill, again with that -5 penalty, since his rifle is scoped as well. If Joe actually starts driving, however, he'd have to fire at 1/4 skill instead as long as the truck is in motion. Joe and Keith would be at 1/4 skill if they were to shoot from this range, but they would each get five shots.)

(so what is the number i have to hit now. Either standing still or moving)

(If standing still, you need 27 or less for a head shot. If the truck is moving, you need 11 or less. If the truck moves this round, however, next round you'll be close enough to use your full skill.)

At the garage-
Across the way, Luke was visible climbing the ladder up to the motel roof. Sergeant Black began shooting at the zombies, and four of them fell in short order.

"Joe lets drive a bit closer to those scum so I can get a better chance at them. not to close of course. Remember how we did it in Iraq?'

Joe nods and chuckles, "A bit of Iraqi Hit-and-Run? Of course I do!" he revvs the engine, "Let's do this."

Keith shouts back down the stairs to his brother, "I don't know if I would say Lisa is 'alright'. She is uninjured, but she ran out of here like a bat out of hell and is heading towards the motel. We've got a hoard of about 100 coming this way. You all better hurry up and kill them and get out of there before you get stuck between... well... a rock and a dead place. Some guys are doing hit and run on them, but it might be best if they had another truck helping them. I got my truck here to give you all a ride out of here."

Lewie let off 3 rounds, each striking their target. The first two were devastatingly accurate. The third shot also found its mark, a little plume of sickly red mist showing through the scope.

(I kinda figured I'd probably killed them all, so didn't bother rolling again! What a set of rolls!)

(Yes, that was some excellent rolling!

Walkers from the east: 11 dead)

At the garage-
Keith heard a rifle shot from below, followed by a shotgun blast. "That's one more down," called Clarence. "The others are already mostly destroyed, so we should have no problem!"

Lisa stopped running a short distance west of the garage, finally coming to her senses. To the west, Frank Hodges emerged from the motel and began running towards the garage. Gordon Cheng and Brian Kincaid were busy setting up booby traps on the eastern edge of the motel parking lot. Luke and Malanowski had climbed up onto the motel roof, where Sergeant Black was shooting more zombies, and Zorie Spooner was examining Ernest Granger and David right outside the motel.

(Lisa, you may act freely again.)

On the highway-
Joe Soarez pulled out and drove east for about 250 yards on I-80. When he stopped, he could see that what was left of the horde was just 450 yards further east. It was already starting to get thinned out, though there were still over seventy left.

(Colin Lewis, you may fire three times at full skill, with only the -5 penalty for shooting at the head. Joe Soarez, you may fire five times, but you'd be at half skill. The -5 penalty would be applied after halving your skill.)

Realizing, with grave concern, that she had abandoned her lover, Lisa runs back toward the diner yelling: "Keith! Keith! We gotta help them! Tsuba and Sue are down there being pursued by those things!"

Lewis stood up and took aim at the zombie horde making sure he was looking at a head each time. The first shot missed its target but the next two shots each hit a zombie and put it down for good.

Joe decides to keep his eyes on the way he's driving, making sure he doesn't mess up and wreck.

Kieth moved to Lisa and but his hand on her shoulder: "Lisa, it's alright. I've been talking to them. Sounds like they have the situation under control down there."
Turning to the stairwell again, "Hey, Bro? Lisa is up here, she's a little shaken up, but still solid. You sure you're okay down there? Need any help?"

(Colin did fire. Read the post above please)

(I didn't get another post for Joe Soarez, so I'll just assume he held his fire as he intended. With only a 25% chance to hit, it would probably be waste of ammo to fire then anyway. Now he can use his full skill.

Walkers from the east: 23 dead, 1 with 9 damage to head, 1 with 8 damage to head, 1 with 7 damage to head.)

At the garage-
A few volleys of gunfire came from the roof of the motel, further reducing the ranks of the undead. There were now around sixty on their feet, with a couple more wounded in the head reduced to a crawl and falling behind. Keith and Lisa heard Tsuba reply from below: "Thanks, I'm glad she's fine! We're fine. My damn gun jammed on me, but Pa and Sue were able to make up for it. Got about nine more of these things left somewhere below us. They've already got major head wounds, so they're slowed to a crawl. We should be able to mop 'em up. Sounds like you're needed more up top. Let us know in advance if things get hairy and we might have to bug out. It'll take us a little while to climb all those stairs." He paused for a second. "My gun's working again! We're good now!"

Lewie saw the horde continue to advance. It was now a third of a mile away. Suddenly, there was a loud explosion coming from the west side of the motel, followed almost immediately by another one.

(Lewie Newton, you may fire twice if you wish and also reload. You're still at 1/2 skill, but after this set of five combat rounds the zombies will be within range to use your full skill.)

On the highway-
The advancing mob was now a little over 300 yards away from the stopped truck. Colin and Joe also heard the explosions in the distance.

(Colin Lewis, you may fire twice this time. Joe Soarez, you may fire five times. Both of you are at full skill.)

((Rolls. Three out of the five shots fire and hit their marks, two of which were instant kills))

Joe lets loose fire on the walkers, two of the shots hitting two that were already wounded, dropping them once and for all. The last one is severly wounded by a 7 hp shot.

Lewie squeezed off two more rounds, both hitting their mark. The first zombie flopped lifeless in the grass, the second...(does a 10 kill a zombie?)

Looking Keith in the eye, Lisa says emphatically: "Keith, DO NOT leave without your father or brother. I'm going back down."

Moving towards the stairway, the newly resolute Native American woman calls out: "Tsuba! Mr. D! Hurry up here! We've gotta go!"

"Believe me, I'm got going anywhere." Keith says.
As Lisa moves back to the stairs, Keith turns to the truck and leans on the open window frame and takes Melindas hand: "How are you holding up, dear? As soon as Dad and Tsuba get back up here we'll head back to the motel where the soliers can help keep us safe. Ok?"

At the garage-
Sue Newton shouted up from below: "We can't leave this thing to get up behind us! And we're not done down here!"

Pistol double clenched in sweaty palms, Lisa hurries down the stairs.

Colin took aim at a zombie and fired However he either missed or his gun jammed.

(my rolls suck this morning! Did I jam the rifle? If I did I will not reflect the second shot in the roll which would have been an impale.)

(At this point, we're moving to one combat round per major update.

Walkers from the east: 34 dead, 1 with 9 damage to head)

At the garage-
Gunfire echoed from the roof of the motel across the road. Some of the shots hit the horde to the east, now just a quarter of a mile from the diner. Others were directed to the west, but nobody at the garage could see the past the motel to determine what they were shooting at. Hodges, who had been running to the garage, doubled back for the motel at the sound of the explosions. Another SF trooper at the motel started running east towards the diner, passing his comrade on the way.

"Are you sure it's going to be safe at the motel?" asked Melinda, uncertain.

Lisa started carefully down the stairs. As she went, there was another volley of shots, followed by silence.

(Lisa, roll Listen.

Lewie, you may now fire once at full skill, with only the -5 penalty for shooting at the head. You may only fire this rifle every other round, so you will not get a shot next round if you shoot this round.)

On the highway-
The horde was further thinned by the hail of lead, with only about 50 left standing. One more crawled far behind them, losing ground every second. The leading edge of the mob was now only about 150 yards from the truck.

(Colin Lewis and Joe Soarez, roll Sanity. Sanity loss is 0/1d10. Colin, since you lost 7 Sanity for seeing zombies earlier, any loss of more than 3 counts as only 3, and you cannot go temporarily insane. Joe, on the other hand, can. Colin, your rifle is empty, but you may load two bullets into it this round. Joe, you may fire once, provided you do not go temporarily insane.)

Edging down the stairs, a study in concentration and determination, Lisa does not hear anything other than the intermittent gunfire coming from below.

At the garage-
A third explosion was audible from the west side of the motel.

On the highway-
Colin and Joe heard the blast too.

At the garage-
"How bad is it up there?" called Sue from below. "I'm thinking if we can get this place cleared out we might have a place to retreat to."

"It's bad!" Lisa answers emphatically. "C'mon, we're loading up the trucks and getting a move on! Tsuba, do you hear me?!"

Lewie shot again, hitting and dropping another zombie.

Lewis loaded two bullets into his rifle

"Yeah. I am sure it will be safe......well....safer" Keith says with as much as a chuckle as he can muster. " Their are soldiers there with lots of guns and they have the upstairs sealed off from the ground. It's about as safe as we can get, right now."

Joe hears the blast. He doesn't take time to fire another shot, keeping his eyes on where he's going for a bit as Colin reloads.

(Walkers from the east: 35 dead, 1 with 9 damage to head)

At the garage-
Lewie watched with satisfaction while his target fell, never to rise.

"Well, okay," said Melinda, though she didn't sound too sure in light of the recent explosions and gunfire. She watched the SF troopers scurrying about the parking lot just to the east of the motel, racing for the southeast and northeast corners, evidently trying to circle around the motel to meet the threat. Hodges reached the lot and ran for the northeast corner, while the trooper that was heading this way got closer. He was about 3/4 of the way to the garage.

(Lewie, you cannot fire this round, as you must spend this round ejecting the shell casing and chambering the next bullet. Keith, if you want to fire you'll be at half skill.

Lisa is moving to this thread: Beneath the Surface. Please stop reading this thread at this point and begin reading the other thread at the linked post.

Everyone else remains in the current thread.)

On the highway-
The horde advanced closer, but there was still time for another four shots or so before Joe would have to move the truck.

(Joe, you do not need to watch where you're going, as the truck is currently stopped, like I said before. Since you're looking around anyway, you may roll Spot Hidden for your action last round. This round you and Colin may each fire one shot.)

Keith hold his fire in an attempt to conserve ammunition.

Colin Lewis aimed and fired at one of the zombies. He hit the zombie in the head. The head exploded in gore.

(Got a 59 for the shooting and a 11 for the damage. IC is down.)

(Dice rolling:

Walkers from the east: 36 dead, 1 with 9 damage to head)

At the garage-
Keith heard more gunfire from downstairs. Melinda continued to wait nervously in his truck. On the roof, Lewie finished chambering the next round and was ready to fire again. The SF trooper was getting closer, and he would arrive soon.

(Lewie, you may fire once this round at full skill. Keith, you're still at half skill.)

On the highway-
There still remained close to fifty zombies on their feet, and they continued their slow, relentless advance. Joe Soarez also noticed that beyond them, about half a mile east of the diner, or about 600 yards from their current position, there were ten more zombies closing in quickly.

(Colin, you cannot fire this round, as you fired last round. Joe, you may fire at a walker with your full skill. You would only be at 1/4 skill if you fired at a runner.)

"Come on, guys! Let's hurry it up down there. Those things are getting a little too close for comfort."

(I realized that Colin Lewis and Joe Soarez never made the Sanity rolls I asked for three rounds ago, so I'll roll for them now. I also rolled for Lewie Newton's shot.

Walkers from the east: 37 dead, 1 with 9 damage to head)

At the garage-
There were more gunshots from below as Senior Airman Roger Coltrane came running up to the west side of the garage. He could see the advancing horde that was still some distance to the east, beyond the stopped truck on the highway.

Lewie Newton took another shot, hitting and obliterating a zombie's head. His rifle was now empty.

(Lewie, it will be two rounds before you can fire again. You must spend one round reloading and one round ejecting the spent casing and chambering the next bullet. Keith and Coltrane, you are at half skill if you want to shoot at the zombies to the east.)

On the highway-
Colin was frightened by the approaching zombies, but he was starting to get used to them and was only somewhat alarmed. Joe was also terrfied beyond imagination. He lost it completely and babbled incomprehensibly.

(Colin, you may fire another shot this round. Joe, you have gone temporarily insane. This will last 14 rounds, but I'm including the past three rounds in this total. That means you'll be insane for the current round and another ten. During this time you may roleplay your madness, but you cannot do anything constructive, such as shooting or driving.)

Keith anxiously awaits the other to arrive from below. However, he continues to watch the approachin hoard, waiting for them to get within range of his rifle.

In the silence between rifle shots, Keith hears something.

At the garage-
Keith heard a few sets of footsteps moving up the stairs quickly.

Preparing his rifle, Keith calls out: "Is that you all coming up the stairs?"

Colin cursed and got off the back of the truck. He got into the driver side gentely pushing Joe over and prepared to drive back to the garage.

(Walkers from the east: 37 dead, 1 with 9 damage to head)

At the garage-
"Yeah, son, it's us!" Clarence shouted back from below. "We've still got six of them crawling behind us!"

On the roof of the garage, Lewie ejected the spent casing and then began to reload. Coltrane could see Applebee and Cheng running back into view from around the southeast corner of the motel. Melinda saw them too.

(Lewie cannot fire this round. Keith and Coltrane, if you wish to shoot at the walkers to the east they are now close enough for you to use your full skill, with only the -5 penalty for shooting at the head.)

On the highway-
Colin Lewis shoved his buddy Joe Soarez over into the shotgun seat and slipped behind the wheel, closing the door behind him. The horde was getting uncomfortably close, and the ten runners were starting to catch up to them.

"Waugh!" moaned Joe. "Fergl spleh gork!"

(Colin, it will take you this round to turn the truck around. After the next update you'll be able to drive back to the diner. There is enough time to get out before the zombies reach your current position.)

"Hurry up, dad. We'er clos to getting overrun up here." Keith raises his rifle and takes aim at the closest walker and fires. The round takes the shuffling beast in the head, casung it to drop to the ground; dead.

(So what do I do/ Can I drive back now or will it be too late and if so can I grab Joe and drag him out with me?)

Lewis turns the truck around.

(Walkers from the east: 39 dead, 1 with 9 damage to head)

At the garage-
"We'll be up in just another minute, son!" Clarence shouted back. He and the others were now visible on the landing halfway down. They were shooting at something down the next flight of stairs, out of Keith's line of sight.

Lewie Newton finished loading two bullets into his rifle and chambered one of them. Coltrane took aim at one of the walkers to the east and shot one between the eyes, blowing its head apart.

Just then, the ground shook again. It was more violent than the last tremor. A sound like breaking rock also came from the west, beyond the motel, but its cause was not visible.

(Keith, Coltrane, and Lewie Newton, you may each fire one shot this round if you wish.)

On the highway-
Colin Lewis successfully turned the truck around and started driviing west on I-80 with the leading edge of the horde not far behind. They were still some 45 strong, but they soon dropped behind the truck as it built up speed. Joe sat on the seat beside him, continuing to babble. The two of them felt the tremor too, but they were too far from the motel to hear anything else.

Keith took aim again, and fired. The round stuck the zombie squarely in the head, reducing it's head to a stump.