Play@YSDC

Z-Day - 4:22 PM Central Time - Farm 25 miles west of Holdrege, Nebraska
At the farmhouse-
Corporal Anthony Gardner peered into the cornfield directly south of the garage and spotted the same blond man he had seen before on top of the RV, crouched in the cornfield. The man wore a helmet much like his own, and he also had a 9mm pistol, a golf club - and a hand grenade, which he lobbed at him very accurately! It landed just three yards from his feet. Kathryn saw the man and the grenade too, her eyes wide with fright.

(Gardner, roll Dodge if you want to try to take cover. This roll is at -10 due to your armor. You will not be able to return fire this round if you do so, but you will go first next round - if you're in any condition to do so. You will not avoid all of the damage, but you will be able to reduce it if you succeed. Your armor may also protect you from some of the damage. Kathryn, you may roll Dodge as well, with no penalty, to try to flatten yourself in the back seat. The vehicle will protect you somewhat, so you can avoid all of the damage if you succeed. Once the Dodge rolls are resolved, I'll describe what happens.)

Gardner was moved more by the blast than by his own speed.

Paralyzed with shock, the blast takes her by surprise....

At the farmhouse-
"Boo Yah, Motherfucker!" shouted the man in the cornfield.

Gardner tried to take cover, but his armor slowed him down too much, and in the end it failed to protect him sufficiently. The blast threw him backwards onto the hood of the police car and blew off his left arm, leaving him bleeding and unconscious. The car itself was only moderately damaged, but the two front tires were shredded, and the windshield and all of the windows shattered as shrapnel ripped through them and bounced around the garage. The car was blown backwards into the rear wall of the garage and skidded to a halt. Kathryn threw her left arm up to shield her face from the flying shards of glass and fragments from the grenade, thus sparing it from all but superficial damage. However, her arm was badly lacerated.

(Kathryn, it's your turn to act now. If you want to climb out of the police car through the broken window, roll Luck.)

(Don´t know how much Kat will have time to do, but I´ll post her intended actions...)
Bracing her injured arm, she looks at the mutilated Gardner. Turning her attention to the golfer... and seeing the smashed window she grabs the digital from the back seat and takes the opportunity to - at last - climb out of the window. Luckily she kicks the remains of the window - not risking drawing blood on the jagged edges. "Yeah, you rest now, UNCLE!" Kat whispers hardly audible at the man sprawled at the hood. To the blond helmet adorned combatant she acknowledges, "Thanks! Kathryn McCoy, formerly air traffic controller, now survivor at large!" She examines the shoulder to see how bad it is...

Taking in the situation and grasping that Gardner is down she looks for a pipe or something to whack him over the head. Dawkins sends her regards... Her mind races ahead imagining the scene to come...

At the farmhouse-
When Kathryn looked at Gardner, she could see that he was still alive, though he was bleeding out and would die within seconds - unless she were to do something about it. Though he was unconscious, his vacant eyes gazed into hers, as if pleading to her for help. It struck her that she had never seen him powerless before, and completely at her mercy. She held his fate in her hands now.

(Jack, you can get halfway to the garage before Gardner dies, so you couldn't try to save him even if you wanted to. Kathryn, if you do want to try to save his life, you have one chance to make a First Aid roll, which would give him back 1d3 HP. Or, you could just let him die and do something else. To look around for a blunt object, roll Spot Hidden. Jack's golf club would do the trick nicely too, but he isn't here yet.)

When Kat heads for the hood she looks for a pipe, finding none,

next round...:
,she climbs up the front of the car and kicks at the jaw bone of the glaring Anthony Gardner. "Bleed! Just a bit more, honey!"

(Failing to kick him properly she´ll hold her next kick, looking at the golfer to get more help with finishing the corporal off.)

Quickly transferring the seven iron to his left hand, Jack whips out Alvarez's 9mm and hurries towards the carnage.

"Miss! Miss!? Are you OK?!"

"Now that I got out of that bloody police cruiser, yes." Calming down, she looks for the M-16 and the hand gun... "His weapons, where did they go?" "I´d rather not think of the past few hours, let´s pretend they didn´t happen to me, OK?" "I heard your vehicle before and hoped you should stop. Thanks, once again!"
"Don´t let this creep live! Let me finish him off!" She stretches her right arm to accept the golf club.

At the farmhouse-
Kathryn saw that her left arm and shoulder were torn up pretty badly, and the pain was starting to register. She would not be able to effectively wield the golf club in one hand, and she couldn't use her left arm until her wounds were bandaged properly.

Jack emerged from the cornfield, crossed the road, and started down the driveway toward the garage while Kathryn looked around in vain for a weapon. Gardner's M-16 had been ruined, its barrel twisted unnaturally from the force of the explosion and the stock horribly misshapen. It wouldn't even make a serviceable club, as it looked like it would fall apart. His pistols, knives, and grenade were in even worse shape, though it might be possible to salvage some of his ammo from his backpack. Gardner himself, splayed on the hood of the police car, bled to death messily while she watched. The cold and hateful feelings she had alarmed her. Only recently she had sacrificed her freedom in a failed attempt to save a policewoman who was also dying from a grenade blast - a grenade Gardner had thrown. Now she did nothing while Gardner himself expired other than seek to hasten his demise, and she felt satisfaction. Even though he had done horrible things, he was still human and helpless, and she was helping to cause his death. Was it wrong to feel so good about it? Had her time with him made her become more like him?

Jack too was aghast when he saw the carnage - the carnage he had caused. He had never killed a man before and never thought he would have to. He had been an evil man, true, and Jack had done it to save an innocent woman, but the thought of what he was capable of doing still alarmed him.

(Jack and Kathryn, roll Sanity. Sanity loss is 0/1d4 for Jack and 0/1d6 for Kathryn. Hers is higher because he is powerless while she is trying to kill him, while Jack acted in her defense while Gardner was still a threat. This round Jack will reach the garage, but he will not have time to do anything there yet. Kathryn used her action in this coming round to try to kick him, but she will miss. The two of you may still speak briefly during this time, however.)

OOC: Invisible Castle is down so I rolled real dice. (San roll = 08)

Once Jack arrives at the scene, he pauses for but an instant as he solemnly contemplates what he has just wrought. "I did what I had to do," he says to himself.

Putting his pistol in the front band of his shorts, he turns his attention to the obviously traumatized Kathryn: "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa there little lady. He's on his way out now, anything more is overkill."

Proffering his hand, softly he says "Let me help you down from there. That arm isn't looking so good. Why don't we get it cleaned up? Oh, and by the way, the name's Jack."

How about Gardner's Kevlar, how's that looking? Any signs of that P10 automatic?

(Roll(1d100)+0:87,+0 Total:87 Roll(1d6)+0:5,+0 Total:5 "d&d ROLLER")

Bewildered she replies, "Kathryn McCoy, yes he´s out. But as things are standing, I´m not sure he´ll remain down..."

Choosing his words carefully, Jack keeps his gaze affixed to the shell shocked woman. "What, precisely, do you mean?" he asks cautiously. "Was he infected?"

Jack will attempt a psychology roll to ascertain if she's suffering from post traumatic shock (rolled a 73, failed).

"I´ve seen people wounded - only to see them rise again.You can´t be too sure!" She accepts the hand and descends to the garage floor.

Looking back at the display on the police cruiser´s hood, she takes in the consequence of the recent events. (Idea Roll(1d100)+0:10,+0 Total:10) And stops chatting with Jack.
(guessed I was to roll Idea ince she failed her SAN check...)

"Kathryn, have you been inside the house yet? Do you think there might be anything inside that could help us? A first aid kit would be real useful right about now. At the very least, there's gotta be a washroom with a medicine cabinet, right? Let's get that arm cleaned up." Jack says soothingly as he guides Kathryn by her good arm towards the doorway into the farmhouse.

Pausing as he recalls what Alvarez and Flynn had told him earlier about the resurrected Dawkins, Jack casts a wary look at the recently departed.

Kat reels backwards as Jack tries to guide her inside... "No! You just want me in to the shower - again!" She looks at the blond rescuer with suspicion in her eyes. Then she looks at the smashed police cruiser. "I won´t get into that..house ever again! There´s a med-bag in the car. Let me go, creep!" She tries to remove Jack´s hold on her.

Shocked, Jack unhands the traumatized young woman and puts up his open right hand in a placating gesture: "Huh?! Wha-? No. No! You've got the wrong idea! I'm here to help, I'd never hurt you. Why, you can't be much older than my daughter. Calm down. Do whatever makes you feel safe, whatever makes you feel secure. OK?"

Calming down some as the hand releases the grip, Kat tries a smile. It feels awkward. "A daughter? What´s her name?" Kat keeps her back at the house wall checking the garage door for more newcomers.

"My daughter? Her name's Lauren, she'll be nineteen soon. My wife's name is Emily. Alvarez and Flynn, do you know those guys? They told us about you and led us here."

Relieved that the young woman is calming down, Jack continues talking in an easygoing patter as he backpedals closer to Gardner's corpse, mentally preparing himself for the grotesque task that lies before him.

"Alvarez and Flynn?..Did they send you to retrieve me? They are working with Gardner...it´s all a trick! They´ll have me now, when their CO is gone. Don´t let them take me!" Suddenly McCoy gets the crazed glare in her eyes again. Suspicion and fear as she looks at Jack moving closer to the dying NG.

"Um, Alvarez got his leg shot off by Gardner trying to rescue you. He and Flynn are speeding away towards Warren AFB as we speak. I understand you've had an emotionally trying day but there's no one here who will cause you harm. I have some unpleasant business to which I need to attend to make sure that Gardner doesn't get back up. So please, do us both a favor, step outside of the garage and pull the overhead door shut. Will that make you feel any safer?"

"Jesus!" Jack thinks to himself. "What is it today with hysterical women? I can't get away from them!"

At the garage-
When Jack reached the garage, he could see that Gardner was already dead. His corpse lay still on the hood of the car.

(Each of you may now act again.)

"Kathryn, you'll want to either close your eyes or look away," Jack calmly states.

With those final words, he draws his sidearm, presses the muzzle between Gardner's lifeless eyes and looks away as he pulls the trigger.

(OOC:Do you need a dice roll?)

Two attempted head shots @ 75%: 02 & 36
Dmg: 14 (does that bypass the armor?) & 1-5=0

(I rolled a 7)

Incredulous that his second shot only dented the corpse's helmet, the frustrated attorney pockets the 9mm and readies his trusty 7 iron.

While Jack deals with Gardner´s remains, Kat moves to the garage door and checks if all is clear outside. Being prepared to retreat if someone tries to ambush her. The sound of the gun makes her think of the shooting range and how much better it should feel if she had a piece herself. Her index finger twitches by reflex. "That bastard was like a crazy, he kept on killing people all over the place. And you´re telling me he just fell short finishing his own men off too?....Did I say thank you, by the way? You have toi forgive me I´m not usually this erratic. The time with that animal made me... changed... I almost kicked his head off - had I kept my balance...I´ll check if all is clear outside!"

At the garage-
Jack's first bullet penetrated deep into Gardner's skull, but the recoil caused the gun to jerk, and his second shot was deflected by the helmet. Kathryn stepped outside and looked around in all directions. The road stretched on to the east and west and was deserted as far as she could see. The cornfield Jack had emerged from was across the road. The dirt driveway that led to the road also branched off and went around the side of the garage, leading toward the barn she had seen earlier.

As Jack flicked his pistol's safety on and returned it to his waistband, Gardner's eyes suddenly snapped open and he sat up. Kathryn blanched with terror when she saw it. It was impossible, he was dead! Gardner gazed at her with soulless red eyes, only this time he looked at her not with lust, but with hunger. Luckily for her, Jack was standing right in front of him. He had just enough time to grip his golf club with both hands before Gardner seized him about the waist with his one arm, crushing him with incredible force. His jaw dropped open and he lunged for Jack's left thigh with uncanny speed.
(Kathryn and Jack, roll Sanity. Sanity loss is 0/1d10. Jack, if you do not go temporarily insane, you get one chance to parry the bite with your golf club. Make a roll against your weapon skill, which is 55% in this case. If you succeed, your club will take the damage instead of you. If you fail, you may also attempt a Dodge roll. If that fails too, you're going down. You may also attempt a Dodge against the Grapple attack to wriggle free. Note that if you attempt one or more Dodge rolls, you will not get to attack this round, though you can still run away if you manage to avoid the Grapple, or try to break free if you don't. The Grapple will do no damage to you this round, but it will cause 1d10 damage next round and each round thereafter until one of you dies or you somehow break free. This requires a STR vs STR Resistance Table roll. Gardner has a STR of 20 in zombie form, so you'd have a 10% chance.

If you successfully parry the Bite attack and you choose not to try to Dodge the Grapple, you may attack Gardner and try to finish him off. If you target his head, you have a -5 penalty to hit. Your golf club does 1d8+1d4 damage, which includes your damage bonus. Further, the Kevlar helmet only provides half of its protection against melee attacks, rounded down. This means it will only reduce your damage by 2. His head has taken 7 damage, so it will take 3 damage that gets through the helmet to finish him.

Kathryn, if you go temporarily insane, this will be a separate insanity from the one you've already got. If you do not, you are also free to attack if you wish. You do not have a weapon, so you'd have to use an unarmed attack. The same -5 to hit and -2 to damage would apply. You also have the option of running away, just specify a direction.)

Kat watches the risen Gardner! Jack the golfer is obviously in trouble, but the sight doesn´t bother Kat. She is struggling whether to kill the reborn Gardner or run for it. Considering Jack saving her, although his motives are unknown, she decides Gardner needs to be put down...For good!
Reaching the NG she swings at him...

Getting a running start she launches a swing at the grappling NG.

Horrified but not unnerved, Jack throws up his trusty seven iron in a desperate parry just in the nick of time as the undead corporal's jaws clamp upon the titanium shaft!


"Fore!" Jack shouts in a guttural voice, smiting the ravenous ghoul solidly in the face with his golf club. With a sickening yet satisfying smush the titanium head smashes through the demonic guardsman's orbital bone putting him, it, down for good.

At the garage-
Kathryn punched Gardner in the head with her good arm, but the blow just bounced off of his helmet. Jack jammed the metal shaft of his seven iron between his jaws just before they would have clamped down hard on his thigh. They nearly broke the club in half, but the titanium was strong enough to hold it together, though it did bend alarmingly. He then raised it overhead and brought it down desperately on Gardner's skull, crushing it in. Gardner released him and fell back onto the hood of the police car and lay still, this time for good. Jack had killed him - twice. It was finally over.

The departing adrenaline surge leaves Jack trembling and breathless. Dropping the ruined club, he steadies himself with one hand on the hood of the decimated cruiser and speaks into his head mike: "Alvarez, Jack here. Do you read me?"

Kat with horror in her eyes as she looks at the remains of the NG. Had he been infected all the time? Was that why he had acted in the way he did? She stumbles backwards out the garage door - for the last time, ever...
"I, I got to leave, can´t stay!" She turns and starts a run towards the barn they had been talking about earlier. Up she had to get up, away from all this killing. Knowing she had a part in the killings, she was in a way running away from herself...

Sighing deeply with resignation, Jack pushes off from the hood of the ruined cruiser and walks wobbly legged towards the passenger side of the vehicle. Trying the door handle, if it's locked, he will carefully reach through the blasted window and unlock the door from the inside in an effort to locate the first aid kit the panicked woman had mentioned previously.

I just have to get some elevation from those things....And pull up the ladder....That will do the trick! He had been a nice man that Jack fellow. But he´d got splattered hadn´t he?! The thoughts exchanged rapidly. She couldn´t remember. First the barn. Then look for a vehicle. Yes, that would do for a plan. Kat was calming down as she hurriedly got closer to the barn. She slowly becomes aware of the wounded shoulder. Did it need some fixing or would it be alright as it was? It didn´t feel too bad...

At the garage-
Jack reached through the window and unlocked the door. He opened it and rummaged through the pile of stuff on the front seat. It didn't take him long to find the first aid kit.

At the barn-
Kathryn reached the front doors of the barn. They were sliding doors, and currently closed. Normally it would be trivial to slide them open with both hands, but it would be difficult with only one. Her arm was still in pain, and it would be good to bandage it soon.

(Kathryn, roll STR x 5 to open the barn doors. If you succeed, roll Luck.)

What kind of "stuff" is on the front seat?

At the garage-
Thoroughly searching the front seat, Jack found a fire extinguisher, road flares and hazard markers, five gallons of water, crime scene tape, a crowbar, a lug wrench, a folding shovel, rain gear, and a radar speed gun.

Stuffing as many road flares as he can into his oversized pockets, Jack grabs the med kit with his right hand and grasps the crowbar with his left, turning, when done, towards the open garage doorway.

Trying to get the doors up Kat only finds out how bad she needs her both arms. She sinks down in front of the doors, exhausted from the effort. The doors must be stuck! She looks at the farm house she just left. Then rips her halter-neck and tries to stop the bleeding.

Never minding the exposure she wrangles the halter-neck off to get something relatively clean to stop the bleeding.

(It will be a kind of tourniquet when she´s done, partly covering her chest with the bad arm...)

Tucking the medkit under his left arm, with his right hand, Jack pulls the garage overhead door shut and begins moving toward the barn around back.

(Yes, the halter top's neck strap is very thin and wouldn't even make a good tourniquet. It rises from Kathryn's chest and over her collarbones, looping around behind her neck and leaving most of her back exposed. Without the strap, it would not have any support. You can't do a proper bandaging job with it, so best to just leave it in place.)

At the garage-
Jack managed to fit four flares into his pockets. When he closed the garage door, he heard a click as it locked into place. Getting back inside now would be a bit trickier. He picked up his crowbar and first aid kit and circled around the side of the garage.

At the barn-
Kathryn strained at the handle of the sliding door, and while it seemed like she was loosening it, it wouldn't quite give. As she slumped over, she realized that the neck strap from her halter top wouldn't be suitable. She could tear material from the bottom of her skirt if she wanted, but it was plenty short as it was and that would make it even shorter. Or she could wait and use the first aid kit that Jack was carrying. She saw him come around the side of the house and start on his way to the barn. He would arrive soon.

(Kathryn, if you want to try the door again you may roll STR x 6 this time. Again, roll Luck if you succeed. If you want to try to bandage your wounds by tearing off part of your skirt, you may roll First Aid. The base skill is 30%, and if you succeed, you get 1d3 HP back.)

Giving up on both the door and the puny halter, Kat tears the bottom of the skirt and makes a haphazard bandage around the upper arm. Succeeding to stop the bleeding and feeling a litle better as Jack comes towards the barn.

At the barn-
Kathryn plucked out the metal fragments and shards of glass from her arm. Then she ripped a band of fabric from around the bottom of her skirt and used it to crudely bandage her wounds. It wasn't the best job, but it was adequate. She could once again use her arm, though it was still painful. Perhaps a medical professional could do more. She looked up just as Jack arrived.

(Either of you may open the barn doors without having to roll STR. Roll Luck if you decide to do so.)

"Looks like I'm a little late with this," Jack says as he proffers the medkit, "although you might do better with fresh gauze and disinfecting the wound."

Eyeing the barn doors, he continues speaking. "I saw you struggling with these. Here, let me to help."

With ease, he opens the barn doors. "We're in luck, they're not stuck."

As the weary prosecutor pauses to fish his flashlight out of his pocket, he casts a backwards glance toward the farmhouse.

Are there any rear doors or cellar doors visible behind the farmhouse?

Kat stands up and receives the first aid kit with a nod and takes a step back as Jack opens the barn doors.

At the barn-
Jack glanced at the back of the farmhouse before opening the barn door. He saw that there was a rear door, as well as a storm cellar set into the ground behind the farmhouse that wasn't visible from the front. When he opened the barn door, he and Kathryn saw nothing dangerous inside. A tractor was parked in the middle of the barn, facing the door. On the right side there were two closed horse stalls, each of them occupied by a horse. Both horses were panting and looked very thirsty, not to mention hungry. A trough at the back of the barn still had some slop in it, but the horses had been unable to get to it while they were stuck in their stalls, and they had long since consumed anything within them. There was also an empty hay wagon on the left side, underneath a hayloft that took up the western third of the barn's upper half. A ladder leaned against the side of the loft, leading up to it.

Jack heard Alvarez reply on the radio: "Alvarez here. What is your situation? Are they dead?"

"Oh thank God!" Jack says into his mike, clearly relieved. "I was afraid you guys were out of range. Where are you guys? Is everything OK? How are my girls? I'm with Kathryn now, she's a little cut up, a little shell shocked, but otherwise, she's all right," Jack says as he winks at her good-naturedly. "Gardner is down, I repeat, Gardner is down...for good. Can you come back to pick us up? We're investigating the barn for supplies that might assist us. Over."

While he awaits for Alvarez's reply, Jack probes the dimness of the barn with the beam of his flashlight. "It's a shame about those horses but if the guys and my family come back, the best we'll be able to do for these animals is to get em fed and turn em loose. I'll bet that tractor runs on diesel, same as our RV. That'll come in handy. What I'd like to do is inspect the cellar and see if there's anything there that might be of use. What do you think we should do?" he asks Kathryn.

She listens to the conversation on the radio then replies, "I´d get up on the loft and scout the surrounding fields for hostiles. That would make a good stand to cap off any more zombie thingies.... Just to be safe before we leave." She adds, "The house has a well stocked fridge and freezer, but I won´t go there!" She turns to the ladder and grabs it to ascend.

"Wait!" Jack exclaims. "I think your idea is a good one but I also think it prudent that we don't split up. I can understand your refusal to go back into the house, really, I do, but it'd really be of benefit to us both if you watched my back while I check out the cellar. What do you say?"

Turning to Jack, Kat says, "Then you´ll have to give me a gun or something. I´m no good at hand to hand as you observed over there. But I´m a decent shot. If you lend me a handgun I´ll be a fair rear guard."

"I'm not asking you to fight, just to keep guard and prevent anything from sneaking up on me while I root around in the cellar. First sign of trouble, give a yell and then run. The gun's not mine to lend out. I hope you understand."

At the barn-
The horses whinnied weakly at the humans who had just entered the barn, nudging the gates of their stalls with their heads.

"We're stopped at a farm about a mile and a quarter west of your position," said Alvarez. "Emily and Lauren are fine. Emily's with me now, and Lauren's helping Flynn fill up the RV's tank. We found a gas pump at this farm, and they're cracking the lock open now."

"That's great!" Jack says enthusiastically into his mike. "I'm going to stay put and scout around here for supplies. How soon before you're able to come back for us?"

Kat looks around for a pitch fork or a flail in the barn. "Yeah, scream and run - that´s really great tactics!" She can´t help but sounding sarcastic. "Keep the gun, I´m getting some kind of weapon first. Then we can check the cellar. " She scans the walls for a proper tool to satisfy her need.

Unappreciative females seem to be the order of the day as Jack shrugs off the woman's barb. "I'm not proposing any 'tactics'. Do what you want. If it's important to you, you're welcome to this crowbar," he motions with his left hand. Without another word, he heads toward the cellar doors.

"Sure, that´ll do nicely." She weighs the proffered crowbar and follows on Jack towards the cellar of the farm house. "Are your family coming here to pick us up? I know there´s a base just a bit from here. The air force have a radio team not far off. Then there´s the Warren AFB. Gardner had an idea to get there, but I figured they´d shoot him at sight... If we talk to the radio team we probably could get access to the base." Feeling the anxiety give way, she picks up the digital and hits record. "Update! I´m free, and Gardner is dealt with. I have been rescued by a man named Jack. His family and some of the NG from the air field dealt with Gardner, who went havoc after the situation at the air field. If he ever was sane... The police cruiser is useless.... Wonder how Erica is doing? We´re checking the cellar of a farm house along the road to WAFB." She pans the camera 360 degrees and turns it off.

"Alvarez hasn't answered yet, "Jack replies as he scans the surrounding cornfields. "Yeah, both Harry and Alvarez had mentioned the communications center at some truck stop on I 80 that was our ultimate destination. As good a plan as any..." he shrugs.

"What I want to do," he continues explaining, "is stock up with any and all gear here that we can carry and, if need be, we can rendezvous with them using either the horses or tractor as transport. Hopefully they'll be able to come back for us, though. Alvarez, do you read me? Over."

At the storm cellar-
"Flynn is out getting us some gas," replied Alvarez on the radio. "Once he comes back I will let him know that it is safe to come pick you up. Or you can hike out to us, your choice."

Jack and Kathryn reached the storm cellar doors. They were at a slight angle off the ground, leaning against the rear of the house. A wooden plank had been put through the handles to keep the doors shut, but it could easily be removed.

(If you open the cellar doors and look inside, roll Luck.)

Before removing the plank or opening the doors, Jack pounds on the doors and calls out : "Anyone in there?" and then stops and listens. Not hearing anything, he draws his pistol with his right hand and removes the plank and flings open the left door, stepping back as he does so.

At the storm cellar-
There was no response to Jack's call. When he opened the door, he saw a set of steep stairs leading down into the cellar. He could hardly see any of the inside from his current position. If he wanted to know what was down there, he'd have to go inside and take a look around.

"I´ll stay here, to make sure no one gets to you from behind." Kat watches along the farm house outer walls.

Answering Alvarez, Jack replies: "Given a choice, I'd soon as not hike to where you are given that those infected things are wandering about. Plus, you guys have the benefit of knowing where we are, having been here before, whereas I can only guesstimate where you are based on your directions. Comprende'? I'm about to investigate the cellar under this farmhouse. If you guys came back here, we could resupply to some extent. Let me know what you wanna do. Over."

Jack shines his flashlight into the dimness of the cellar.

At the storm cellar-
From the top of the steps, Jack could only see the area at the bottom, which was empty. He would have to descend to see more.

At the storm cellar-
Jack did not see any light switch or cord at first, but once he climbed down the steps he could see a bulb hanging from the ceiling with a pull cord not far from the exit. He pulled the cord and lit up the cellar. It wasn't all that large and was as deserted as the rest of the farm seemed to be. There were some emergency supplies stored down here, enough food and water to last two people for two weeks.

"Not much down here other than food and water!" Jack calls up to Kathryn. "At the very least we can water the horses now," he adds, as an afterthought. He grabs a couple of large jugs and makes his way back up the stairs.

At the storm cellar-
As Jack began to collect the water, he heard Alvarez reply on the radio. "I'll be in touch soon," said the medic.

"Take your time, plenty for us to do around here," Jack says amiably into the microphone.

"Yes, let´s give the horses some water and let them free." "It´s all clear up here, do you need help getting the stuff up?"

"No, I'm good. Rest that bum arm of yours and keep an eye out."

Kat stays topside and grips the crowbar in her good hand.

At the farmhouse-
Jack started bringing up supplies from the cellar while Kathryn stood watch. So far he had gotten about a quarter of them up to ground level, and things remained uneventful. They did notice that the sun was starting to get lower in the sky, so they didn't have as much time as they might think. If they wanted to get to Warren Air Force Base before it got dark, they would need to leave soon. Otherwise, they would have to find a safe place to wait out the night, unless they wanted to keep traveling after sunset.

Jack checks his watch for the time and speaks into his microphone: "Hey Alavarez, how're things coming along there? Are you guys gonna be able to pick us up soon?"

At the storm cellar-
Jack's watch read 4:35 PM. He knew they would gain an hour heading west by moving from Central time to Mountain, but it still didn't leave too much time to spare.

"If worse comes to worst," Jack says to Kathryn, "if need be, we can camp out up in the hayloft. From what I've seen, those infected aren't much for climbing. Now, let's get those horses watered."

At the farm-
Jack went back to the barn. The horse trough was already full of water and food, so there was no need to bring the emergency supplies. The horses neighed imploringly when they saw him return.

(Kathryn, you can be with him at the barn now if you wish. You didn't post a response, but we can assume you went with him if that's what you wanted to do.)

OOC: I was under the impression that the horses were dehydrated and starving else I wouldn't have bothered.

Regarding the tractor, is the cab enclosed or does it have an open seat? Does the wagon look as if it could be attached to the tractor with chains or rope?

"Tell you what, Kat. No tellin' how long it's going to be til they come get us. Why don't you take the binoculars and keep watch up in the hayloft? I'm going to go inside the house and garner any other additional supplies I can find."

(Kat followed Jack to the barn again, keeping an eye back at the farm house.)
When arriving to the barn she checks the ladder and climbs to inspect the hayloft as Jack feeds the horses.

(Actually, I was wrong about the distance to the truck stop. It's 170 miles away, not 155.)

In the barn-
Jack filled a couple of buckets with water and brought them over to the horses while Kathryn climbed the ladder, putting one in each stall. The anmials slurped it up greedily, and he went back to fetch some hay. By the time he gave it to them, the buckets were already empty.

Kathryn reached the top of the ladder. The loft had several bales of hay stacked up, and there was a window in the west wall. She went over to it and peered outside. It gave a good view of the cornfields and the road in that direction.

(Kathryn, roll Spot Hidden. Both you and Jack, roll Listen. Jack, your roll is at -5 because of your helmet.)

Distracted by the neighing of the horses and preoccupied waiting for a response from Alvarez, Jack does not hear anything.


OOC: I was trying to edit my entry for IC and wound up inadvertently rolling again. I don't know if you want to discard the latter roll or apply it to my next roll.

( See no evil, hear no evil say no evil..)

Failing to observe anything or hearing naught, Kat starts to search the bales.

(Actually, that Listen roll succeeds because Kathryn isn't wearing a helmet and thus has no penalty.)

In the barn-
Kathryn could see nothing out the window, even with the binoculars. She only just heard the sound of a large vehicle approaching the farm from the west, but she couldn't see it. The house had to be blocking her view at this point. There was nothing apparent among the bales of hay, and it would take her too long to search through them. If there was a needle in one of them, she'd probably never find it.

"Vehicle approaching!" comes from the hay loft. She starts to scramble down the ladder.

Jarred from his reverie Jack desists petting the feeding horses. "Huh? What? Is it an RV? That'd be my family," he says hopefully.

"Can´t tell, out of sight...coming from the east..." She watches her feet as she descends.

"The west? That must be them! But just in case it's not, you might do well to sit tight here..." Jack says to Kathryn.

Suddenly, a realization occurs to him: "Oh shit! The spike strip! Stay here!" he urges Kathryn and without another word, bolts from the farmhouse at top speed.

Jack runs toward the road along the western side of the farmhouse in a desperate bid to head off the vehicle and calls into his headset "Alvarez! Alvarez! Is that you approaching?! Copy?"

OOC: If the vehicle is approaching from the West, Kathryn would be able to see it then, correct?

At the barn-
Jack heard Alvarez reply on the radio: "No, I am in the farmhouse down the road. Flynn was driving toward you."

(This is not a major update. Jack will reach the back of the farmhouse at the end of this round, and Kathryn will reach the bottom of the ladder. I'm waiting to give a player in one of the other threads a chance to post before I update again.)

"Waitaminute," Jack says into the headset, "you're still at the farmhouse? Why? Is Harry coming by himself? Why didn't you tell me he was on his way? Is everything OK? Where are my girls?"

At the barn-
Alvarez replied, "I tried to come with him but he wanted to come by himself. Everything is fine. I should have let you know he was coming. The girls are with me. We are going to stay the night here since there is no real reason with Gardner dead to dash in darkness for a base."

At the farmhouse-
Jack reached the rear of the house as he heard Flynn shout: "Ey! Time to go away!" His voice came from the other side of the house, but Jack would need to go around the house in order to see him or the RV.

At the barn-
Kathryn reached the bottom of the ladder.

(Kathryn, roll Listen to see if you hear Flynn from all the way back here.)

"Harry, we're back here!" Jack answers as he walks toward Flynn's voice, relief palpable in his reply. "I heard you guys found fuel. What else can we stand to re-up?"

"Alvarez, can I talk to Emily or Lauren? Who ever is closest."

Kat does hear Jack´s shouting and gets ready to exit the barn.

At the farmhouse-
Jack heard Alvarez speak on the radio: "Uhh we are really busy. We think there is a zombie nearby. Can we get back to you?" As he rounded the side of the farmhouse, he heard Flynn shout back: "Food, guns and anything that we can use to repair the RV if necessary, leave the rest."

Kathryn emerged from the barn in time to see Jack vanish from sight around the side of the farmhouse, heading for the front. She soon reached the rear of the house.

(Jack, you are moving to this thread: Reunion.

Kathryn, you remain in the current thread for now.)

Kat hesitates with the crow bar in her good hand. She looks left then right and heads for the side where the garage is situated. The medic´s bag is slung over her torso in the carrying strap. Might make use of it later...

At the farmhouse-
Kathryn made her way around the side of the house to the front.

(Kathryn, you are moving to this thread: Reunion)