Play@YSDC

(I still haven't gotten Sanity rolls or an action for Bobby Sheen, but I know his player has been active on the board for the last few days, so I went ahead and rolled for him and assumed he'll prepare his M-24 so he can fire next round.

Walkers from the east: 40 dead, 1 with 9 damage to head, 1 with 8 damage to head
Walkers from the west: 31/32 dead
1 at NW corner [9 damage to head, 10 damage to left leg]
NW barricade: 10/60 HP left
SW barricade: 48/60 HP left)

Z-Day - 1:06 PM Mountain Time - At the motel and truck stop
On the motel roof-
Malanowski's LAW struck the parking lot about ten yards too far to the west, not damaging the creature but far enough away that no friendlies were hurt. He discarded the empty launcher. Sergeant Black saw that his shot had still done decent damage to the creature, as one would expect from such a powerful weapon as the Barrett. Luke's shotgun also did significant damage. The giant worm's hide was tough and absorbed some of the damage, but it was still horribly wounded. A couple more hits like those would bring it down.

Bobby Sheen did not panic upon seeing the creature, but he did flinch. He hastily chambered a round in his M-24 so he could fire at it. Airman Thomas Cole nearly lost it, but continued hanging by a thread. He lobbed a grenade, but in his near-panic he was way off target. Unfortunately, it arced and bounced well to the north. Ernest Granger gaped in shock, his mind all but destroyed by the impossible sight before him. He knew this monster would be the death of him, and he began to sob uncontrollably.

The monstrous worm reared up, letting out a screech of pain and rage. Its wounds appeared to be starting to knit themselves together, though it was still very badly damaged. Then it brought itself crashing down upon the cluster of men on the west side of the roof, scattering them like bowling pins! Cole was too slow to get out of the way, and he was crushed to a pulp. Ernest Granger somehow rolled far enough out of the way that he escaped without injury.

(Luke, Black, Sheen, and Malanowski, you each have one chance to avoid being crushed by the worm. You will need to roll against either Dodge or Jump, whichever is higher. However, those of you who attacked the creature - everyone but Sheen - will not be able to Dodge and thus must roll against Jump. Dodge has a base skill of DEX x 2, and Jump has a base skill of 25%. Also, all of you but Luke are wearing body armor, which gives you a -10 penalty to both Dodge and Jump. If you succeed, you will manage to move far enough away from the center of impact that you take no damage. If you fail...well, don't fail.

If you succeed at your roll, you may take another action, and each of you will be able to attack the creature once if that's what you want to do. However, any further damage to the creature will take effect in the round about to start, after this attack. The worm has 5 points of armor, so deduct 5 from whatever damage you roll for each attack. All of you have the +20 to hit. Luke, don't forget the -5 penalty for fatigue. You still hit last time even with the penalty.)

On the motel balcony-
David managed to keep from losing it, but he was still somewhat shaken. Amanda also remained calm, though she was affected too. Her carbine was also jammed, and she didn't fancy the chances of her revolver doing much to the enormous creature. "Run!" she cried, retreating east along the south side of the balcony while trying in vain to clear her jammed M2.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" said David, following her.

"Doc, stay back!"

Dr. Owens looked startled as the two of them approached him, but stayed where he was. "What is it?" he asked.

"It's a freaking huge ass worm!" yelled David. "It's like some kind of...graboid!"

Kincaid looked startled as Cole's grenade landed not far below and to the west. While the balcony would shield him somewhat, it would still hurt!

(Kincaid, roll Dodge. If you succeed, you may then attack the worm with the SAW if you wish, as the Dodge takes place in the round that's ending and your attack would take place in the next round. If you fail, give me a CON x 5 roll, as you'll probably take enough damage to need to do this to stay conscious. Even if you succeed at your CON x 5 roll, don't act until I tell you how much damage you take. It is quite possible you could be knocked out or even killed automatically.

To attack with the SAW, decide how many bullets you're firing first. You may fire up to 20. Then make a Machine Gun roll, with a +20 bonus due to the creature's size and a +5 bonus for every bullet after the first, for a maximum effective skill of 90% if you fire 5 or more bullets. If you hit, roll 1dX to see how many bullets hit, where X is the number of bullets you fired. For each bullet that hits, roll 2d8-5. If you get an impale, only the first bullet that hits does 4d8-5 and all others do 2d8-5. If you get a critical hit - a roll of 5 or less - you will bypass its armor and roll 2d8 for every bullet, including the first.)

In the comm room-
"The nuke just went off on schedule," came Carmichael's voice over the comm system, barely audible over the roar of battle.

"Sir!" answered Lt. Curtis. "The motel is under attack by some kind of giant worm!"

"Say again?!" Carmichael sounded incredulous.

"The civilians reported that it came out of the ground, sir!"

"But you haven't seen it yourself, have you? I wouldn't be too sure that report is accurate. It sounds impossible to me."

"Sir, it just hit the roof - hard! If our snipers are dead, we're sitting ducks!"

Lt. Doolittle finished repairing the M-4. "It's done!" she said. "Anyone got any magazines?"

(Ramirez, roll Idea about the worm. By the way, you're already armed with an M-4 if you'd rather use that than your pistol.)

West of the motel-
Cole's grenade went off not far from the northwest stairs. Ortega stood paralyzed as a massive spray of shrapnel struck him in the gut. His armor saved his life, but he fell to the ground unconscious and bleeding. The barricade was nearly destroyed. One of the zombies at the stairs fell, its skull split open. The crawler's left leg was heavily damaged, and the other one lost its right leg and stopped moving for good. The zombie crawling across the parking lot was also destroyed as the metal fragments pierced its skull. Hodges was far enough away that the blast didn't touch him.

(Hodges, you may attack now. If you throw your grenade, remember that your armor gives you a -10 penalty to your Throw roll, but attacking the worm gives you a +20 bonus from its size for a net +10. If you miss, roll Luck.)

East of the motel-
Cheng drilled the zombie that had been crawling after Applebee, finishing it off. Lt. Blanco and Zorie Spooner rushed to where the man had fallen. Zorie got there first and saved his life, tying a tourniquet around his thigh and stopping the bleeding. Applebee awoke, and while his wound was looking a lot better, he was still in intense pain and feverish. He might be able to stand and walk, with difficulty. "He's burning up!" said Zorie, putting a hand on his forehead.

"Cheng, come over here and cover us!" called Lt. Blanco, waving him over. "I'll take a look at that arm of yours!"

(Applebee, roll Sanity for realizing you've been bitten. Sanity loss is 0/1d10.)

At the garage-
On the roof, Lewie aimed at another zombie and fired, only to miss badly. Melinda remained seated in the truck, waiting for Keith's return. Coltrane took another shot and hit, knocking a ghoul off of its feet - yet it still kept crawling. "The motel's being attacked by something huge!" he shouted as Colin arrived in his truck, with Joe Soarez sitting next to him and mumbling something incoherent. "I wouldn't head over there until it's dealt with."

At the top of the stairs-
Keith watched as Lisa, Sue, Clarence, and Tsuba emerged from the stairs at last. "The motel is under attack!" said Clarence. "I just heard it on the radio." He paused, realizing something. "Amanda's there!" Four zombies crawled onto the landing down the first flight of stairs and began making their way toward the surface. Clarence and the others from below also saw the horde coming from the east.

(Lisa and Sue, roll Sanity. Lisa, you can lose no more than 3 points as you've already lost 7 for seeing zombies. Any loss of more than 3 counts as 3. The zombies to the east are about 200 yards away, so only those with rifles can target them. Anyone at the top of the stairs can shoot at the zombies coming up from below, and any hit to the head will guarantee a kill at this point. Lisa, you may fire twice provided both shots are at the same target. Sue, you may fire once at a single target.)

On the motel roof-
While Luke wasn't as badly smashed as he could have been, it was still enough to crush the life out of him. Only the toughest of people could possibly have survived the impact.

Keith pulls the pin from his grenade and lobs it towards the massive worm. His armor prevents him throwing the grenade accuratly, however, he was lucky in that the miss did not vere towards his companions.

West of the motel-
The grenade curved to the right and landed nearly ten yards west of the giant worm. While it was still close enough for some of the shrapnel to hit it, it did not appear to be damaged in the slightest.

Frank cursed his luck, and un shouldered his LAW. Seeing the terrible damage the best was doing to the motel, Frank knew the worm had to be destroyed.

But for his body armor, Airman Malanowski would have been able to avoid the conquering worm's crush but, alas, his reflexes were slowed.


Where is the zipline in proximity to all this action?

(The top of the zipline is in the middle of the east side of the roof. It would take someone one full round to reach that part of the roof, and then one more round to slide down the zipline. Unfortunately, I don't think Malanowski is going to make it there... )

On the motel roof-
The worm squashed Malanowski to death beneath its massive form.

The newly resolute Native American woman barely blinks when she catches sight of the impending horde.

"Well, isn't that just peachy," she says sarcastically through clenched teeth, takes aim, and fires at another zombie below.

"Dammit!" she yells in frustration as the 9mm misfires and jams.


OOC: Where are the Rough Riders' motorcycles parked?

On the Roof-

Black tries to jump out of the way but his body armour slowed him down to much. He made one last desperate attempt to save lives. Over the radio he cried " We need help!" He had no time for anything else as his fate desended on him.

In the Comm Room-

Rameriz suddenly thinks of something. He grabs his M4 and moves towards the door.

(The Rough Riders' motorcycles are parked on the west side of the garage, except for Amanda's which is parked at the motel. It will take anyone at the top of the stairs one full round to reach the bikes, and Lisa has already acted this round.)

On the motel roof-
Black also was brutally crushed to death underneath the behemoth.

In the comm room-
Ramirez suddenly recalled his conversation with Dr. Hausmann in the underground facility this morning. She had mentioned something about a great snake spirit emerging from the ground and consuming all. Maybe there was some kind of connection.

(You might want to review Dr. Hausmann's tale at http://www.nma-fallout.com/forum/viewto ... 6da527803b - only Fearlessfred and Laraqua, who plays the good doctor herself, are permitted to view the above link.

Ramirez, if you actually leave the room, roll Sanity with a Sanity loss of 1d3/1d20. You will not be able to attack the creature this round, however.)

Sheen tried to jump out of the way but failed to move far enough in time. He cursed knowing that death was coming to greet him with its open arms.

(Where is Colin Lewis during all this? I did not see him listed in the thread but I was told to come here? Also sorry bout not posting up lately. Very busy with things in my life lately.)

(Colin is there. He's mentioned in the "At the Garage" segment, and he has just arrived on the west side of the garage with his truck. You can post for him whenever you're ready. It's okay that you've been busy and haven't had time to post. If you ever have to be absent for any length of time, you can leave instructions for your characters.)

On the motel roof-
Bobby Sheen also met his demise beneath the massive worm, leaving a weeping Ernest Granger the sole survivor on the roof.

Sue keeps her nerves and fires at the zombies getting up onto the landing behind them, scoring a hit.

Cheng is on position to cover his collegues.

(OOC: Sorry, I meant Frank. I edited my post above.)

(I think your enjoying this to much Mr. Handy. This is turning into a slaughter.)
In the Comm Room-
"She was right. If we had simply lisened to them." He steps out onto the balcony and is shocked he stays sane and rushes back into the comm room. "We need help now!"

(OOC: Yeah, I think there is only one way for this to end.....)

On the Motel Balcony:
Kincaid is taken off his feet by the explosion, his body slams to the floor.

East of the Motel:
Applebee freezes looking to the bloodied tourniquet wrapped around his leg, remembering moments before, being attacked by the ghoul. His mouth moves to speak to no audio.

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sanity loss. (0/1d10=)
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(Actually, there's a few ways this can end - but none of them are very good! Just try to get the least bad possible ending!

Applebee, you need to roll 1d10 for Sanity loss. If you lose 5 or more, you then need to roll Idea and try to fail. The 0/1d10 format just meant you lose 0 Sanity if your roll succeeds and 1d10 if you fail.)

On the motel balcony-
Luckily, Kincaid was only moderately wounded by the shrapnel.

(Kincaid, you may now fire your SAW. If you do so, decide how many bullets you're firing - maximum of 20 - and make a Machine Gun roll. If you hit, make the other rolls as described in the initial post.)

- At the ruined diner

Lisa Crow looks about frantically: "Who's gotta spare piece they can lend me?! I'm jammed! Someone gimmee a gun!"

How many rounds will it take to unjam? What do you need me to roll?

(You can't clear the jam yet, since you've already acted this round. Next round I'll tell you what to do. I'm just waiting for those rolls for Kincaid and Applebee before I update.

Fearlessfred wrote:(I think your enjoying this to much Mr. Handy. This is turning into a slaughter.)

*hides leather jacket with "Death From Below" on the back and plush worm*

Who, me? Whatever gave you that idea?

*whistles innocently*)

Can Cheng use a grenade without killing anyone?

Fearlessfred wrote:(I think your enjoying this to much Mr. Handy. This is turning into a slaughter.)

*hides leather jacket with "Death From Below" on the back and plush worm*

Who, me? Whatever gave you that idea?

*whistles innocently*)[/quote]

Oh nothing just the fact that in under there was the ham and cheese sandwhich, here there was the Worm and in over
well I have no clue what you have there but it's probably a giant evil flying chicken of doom or something similar.

" I think it's time to bug out, guys," says Keith as he fires at the approaching hoard and misses. "Let's all load up in the truck and get us some distance."

"Let's not forget the bikes," interjects Lisa, "and I still need a piece. Anyone?"

"Here you go" Keith says, grabbing his 9mm from his waist band, " You can use this."

At the ruined diner-
"Or you can use my .45 if it's more your speed, honey," said Tsuba, taking aim with his AK-47 at a zombie.

(Lisa, you may take whichever gun you prefer, but remember that you can't act again since you've already done something since this thread started. I'll update again tomorrow night.)

Lisa takes the proffered 9mm from Keith. "Thanks, sweetie," she says with genuine warmth. Tucking the malfunctioning pistol in her waist band, she thumbs the safety to OFF and chambers a round into the newly acquired pistol. "It ain't got nothing to do with speed, baby," she says to Tsuba with a twinkle in her eye, "I'm already packed with 9 mill mags."

Colin yelled, "Lewie Newton, come ride in the truck with me and Joe. I need your help to get him back from insanity."

Can Melinda shoot the creature?

(ooc: sorry.. been meaning to post sooner, but had to finish off a contract, I'll finish my posting tonite.)

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sanity loss: Applebee 1
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On the Motel Balcony:
Kincaid whinces as he struggles to his feet, ignoring his wounds from the embedded shrapnel. Clutching the SAW close against his chest while keeping low to the ground and away from the railing, Kincaid moves slowly, cautiously along the east to the ladder leading to the parking lot below.

"...no no."


(ooc: as much as I wanna try my hand at fighting... I don't want to have my character horribly crushed, eaten or whatever else you've got in store just yet.. already going to lose applebee and I didn't even get to light anyone on fire )

(That's okay, my wormy has plenty of other targets to destroy. This just means it won't have nasty pointy bits of metal thrust into it at high velocity.

And Applebee's not dead yet...though that may change soon...

Melinda isn't close enough to shoot any zombies with her pistol, and she's only get the base of 20% in Handgun anyway. The closest zombies are the crawlers coming up the stairs, but she can't see them from her current position.

Walkers from the east: 40 dead, 1 with 9 damage to head, 1 with 8 damage to head
Walkers from the west: 31/32 dead
1 at NW corner [9 damage to head, 10 damage to left leg]
NW barricade: 10/60 HP left
SW barricade: 48/60 HP left)

On the motel roof-
Ernest Granger lay amidst the corpses of his companions, tears streaming down his cheeks.

West of the motel-
The gargantuan worm shrugged off the shrapnel from the grenade and descended to the parking lot. The wounds it had taken continued to close up, though it still looked rather injured. Then it slithered around the southwest corner of the motel. Hodges could no longer see it with the building in his way.

The zombie at the northwest corner kept munching on what was left of poor Phillips. Ortega lay unconscious a few feet away.

(Hodges, you cannot see the worm to attack it. You may shoot at the zombie if you wish, or you may move to a new position.)

East of the motel-
Cheng reached the southeast corner of the motel, where Zorie stood ready to look at his arm. "Oh, no..." she said. She was so saddened to see that he had been bitten that she couldn't concentrate on bandaging the wound. Lt. Blanco tried to help her, but she wasn't having any luck either. Then she looked to the west and saw a sight that made even her normally steady hands quiver. The worm was sliding towards the small group at the corner, and was now only six yards away!

(Cheng and Applebee, roll Sanity. Sanity loss is 1d3/1d20, so you lose 1d20 if you fail the roll, and if you succeed you still lose 1d3. If you lose 5 or more, you may go temporarily insane. If that happens, roll Idea. If you fail this roll, you are still in control of yourself. If you succeed at the Idea roll, you are temporarily insane and cannot act freely. If you remain sane, you may act before the creature does. You can attack it, using your normal skill with the +20 bonus to hit. If you fire a 3 round burst from your rifle, you get another +20 for a total of +40. If you hit with a burst, roll 1d3 to see how many bullets hit. Each rifle bullet that hits it will do 2d8-5 damage. If you get an impale, the first bullet does 4d8-5 while the others do 2d8-5. If you get a critical hit, which happens on a roll of 5 or less, each bullet does 2d8 damage. The worm is too close to use a grenade or a rocket without hurting yourselves. You can also flee to the north, which will put you around the corner from the worm.)

On the motel balcony-
Amanda, David, and Dr. Owens fled north along the east side of the balcony and soon reached the ladder and the zipline. As they did, they saw Kincaid come into view at the northeast corner.

(Kincaid, you can reach the middle of the eastern part of the balcony this round if you wish. This will put you where the ladder and zipline are, but you will not be able to descend this round.)

In the comm room-
"Sergeant Black, come in!" barked Curtis into his microphone. There was no response. "Anyone on the roof, please respond! Coltrane, Ortega, do either of you read me? We need help here!"

"Ramirez, have you got any spare magazines?" asked Lt. Doolittle. "I've fixed the M-4, and two carbines are better than one. I'm not very good with long arms, though."

"I can use an M-4," said Mikhalin. "I've had some training."

"Um...didn't you shoot your commanding officer?"

"My commanding officer was Lt. Elizabeth Malone, not that crazed Captain Lereux." She glanced at the corpses, which were still lying on the floor an hour after their deaths, their bodies riddled with bullets. "If I shot her, it was after she died and got back up."

"You know her better than I do, Ramirez," said Lt. Curtis. "It's up to you whether or not you trust her to use that M-4 Doolittle's got." He got on the line with Warren again. "Lt. Colonel Carmichael, we've taken heavy casualties! We've lost Sergeant Black and his partner, and I don't know what shape our senior airmen are in. All our best marksmen are most likely dead. Without those reinforcements, we cannot hold our position."

"I don't know what else to tell you, Lieutenant," answered Carmichael. "A helicopter can only fly so fast. We've got one of them inbound for refuelling, and I've given instructions to assemble reinforcements. They're being selected and equipped as we speak. The only thing I can do to shorten the amount of time it takes for them to reach you is to only pump enough fuel into the chopper for it to reach you and no more. That might shave fifteen minutes off their ETA, but we're still talking a good 45 here. Your position is important enough to hold that it's worth sacrificing a helicopter. Hell, we already did that, so it's worth another. We can try to send more fuel to you on another flight when we have time, but this may be a one-way trip."

"Do it, sir!"

"You need to hold out until they arrive and do whatever you can to kill whatever's attacking the motel. Enlist the aid of the civilians. The only other option is to scramble a fighter and have it put some missiles into any hostile target it detects, but if it's as close to the motel as you're saying we'd run the risk of taking out communications, and I don't think we can afford that."

At the garage-
Coltrane gawked when he saw the zombies to the east closing in. Though shaken, he was still himself. "Sir, Coltrane here," he said over the airwaves.

"Thank God you're still alive," replied Curtis. "Where the hell are you?"

"Sir, I'm at the garage helping to shoot the hostiles to the east."

"Screw that, we need you back here now! Hitch a ride with the civvies. Better yet, bring them with you! There's some kind of giant worm attacking the motel from the other side! It took out Black, Sheen, and a bunch of other good men. If the civilians won't come along willingly, remind them that it's martial law and they've just been drafted. Or reactivated if they're former military, which several of them are. We can't hold the motel without them even if we do kill this thing!"

"Yes, sir!" He called across to Clarence Deeds. "Mr. Deeds, sir! We need to fall back to the motel. No doubt you've heard what my CO just said on the radio." He climbed into the back of Colin's pickup truck. "Take us back to the motel, fast! Don't drive into the booby traps we've set up!" He pointed out the three tripwires.

Lewie Newton climbed down the ladder from the roof and hurried over. "Joe, hang in there buddy!" he called. "Come on back, man, we need you!"

Joe Soarez instantly came to his senses. He even felt somewhat better. He climbed out of the truck and got on his bike. "Go on, Colin, I'm right behind you!"

(Melinda, roll Sanity for seeing the zombies now that they're closer. Sanity loss is 0/1d10.)

At the ruined diner-
Clarence looked at the incoming zombies to the east without flinching. Then he glanced west at the motel and caught sight of his wife on the east side. "Amanda!" he shouted. "We're coming!" He turned back to his sons and the two women. "You heard the man, we've got to go to the motel. Back to the vehicles! If our guys and gals in uniform didn't need us we could have all just hit the road, but that's not an option now. Even if Amanda weren't still there, I've still got my duty. These colors don't run." With that, he took off for the garage. Tsuba was right behind him. The three remaining zombies crawled toward the surface and were now halfway up the last flight of stairs.

(Keith, Sue, and Lisa, you may reach the garage this round. If you stay to shoot at more zombies, any surviving crawlers coming upstairs will get to attack you afterwards. Lisa you may move and try to clear your jammed pistol at the same time. To do this, roll against either Handgun or Mechanical Repair, whichever is higher. If you succeed, roll 1d6 to see how many rounds it will take to finish, including this one. If you fail, you just wasted the round. If you critically fail, you break your weapon.)

Colin began to drive toward the motel. (Do I need to roll anything?)

Cheng saws in shock the creature and started to regressto his infancy:
-The Bashe is coming to get me! The Bashe is coming to get me! I behaved bad! Mommy, I promiss I won't break the dish again!
He is in the ground crying and covering his eyes like a child.

-I have a bad feeling about this- says Melinda...

(OOC: Keith would like to hope behind the wheel of his truck and drive everyone the heck out of there. He can do that, right?)

Frank sets his LAW on the ground next too him, and raises his rifle. He takes aim at the zombie dining on his friend and fires. The bullet strikes it in the dead cetner of it's head.

Lisa calls out to Tsuba: "Baby, I'm going for the bikes!" and adroitly unjams the pistol.

OOC: How many rounds to unjam with a critical success?

(Melinda still needs to make a Sanity roll for seeing the zombies, with a 0/1d10 Sanity loss.

Keith can make it to his truck this round, but he can't drive away until after the next update.

Hodges, you might want to rethink your action. There is only one zombie left feeding on Phillips; Cole's stray grenade destroyed the others. You also can only throw a grenade every other round. If you really want to throw the grenade, let me know and I'll apply that grenade throw after the next update, at which time I can roll hit locations and damage or explain to you how to do it. You only have one hand grenade left now, so this will be your last one. Finally, you'll want to consider that Ortega will take the full brunt of the blast. He may still be alive, but he almost certainly won't be any more if you toss that grenade. If you'd rather not throw the grenade, you can fire your rifle at the head of the remaining zombie. It has already taken 9 damage to the head, so any head hit will kill it.

Lisa, your pistol will be unjammed at the end of this round.

I forgot to roll for Amanda to try to clear her jammed M2 during the update, so I'll do it now.)

On the motel balcony-
Amanda struggled with her carbine some more as she ran along the balcony, this time with more success. She easily cleared the jam.

East of the motel-
Cheng stared hungrily at the asphalt below him as he lay bawling on the ground, wondering what it tasted like.

Keith runs for his truck and jumps in the drivers side: "Come on! Pile in, we've got to get out of here!"

Colin paused in his drive by Keith to ask, "What you want to do? You want to go fight this creature or get the hell out of Dodge?"

" My mom is back at the motel. We've got to save her. Let's kick that things ass then we can discuss getting out of here."

In the comm room-
"Here." He hads over the three of his magazines for the M4. "Right now we need all the help we can get. Give her the gun."

Colin says to Keith, "Hop in then and we will give you a ride."

OOC: Could you please make the roll for Melinda?

East of the Motel:
Applebee's eyes open wide and his mouth drops although he remains calm , even to the horrific sight slithering towards them. Standing uneasily on his two feet, he lays a firm hand on Cheng's shoulder, tugging at him.

"..bout time we move."


On the Motel Balcony:
Kincaid looks to the group of three making their escape from the balcony, his eyes firm, his breathing controlled and his jaw clenched ignoring the pain from the sharpnel still embedded in his body. Moving hastily towards the zipline he slings the SAW over his shoulder.

--------------------------------------------------
sanity loss/Applebee (1d3=3)
--------------------------------------------------

Sue will stay with the others. If they want to head off on their bikes, she's up for that. She will, if possible, take a final shot at the zombies on the way on her next turn (so long as that doesn't overly slow her down).

(Firing a shot at the zombies would slow Sue down too much, so she'll just run to the bikes with the others. I'll roll Sanity for Melinda, so that's no problem. Also, Applebee only had a current Sanity of 34, so his Sanity roll of 36 is a failure and he will lose 1d20 Sanity instead. I rolled that for him, as well as an Idea roll. He went temporarily insane.

Walkers from the east: 40 dead, 1 with 9 damage to head, 1 with 8 damage to head
Crawlers from the east: 3 with 9 damage to head
NW barricade: 10/60 HP left
SW barricade: 48/60 HP left)

At the garage-
Melinda did not panic when she saw the zombies closing in from the east, but Lewie shuddered in terror, barely remaining in control of himself. He hopped on his Harley, and shortly afterwards his wife Sue arrived and jumped onto hers. Clarence and Tsuba got on their bikes as well.

"Hop on, babe," said Tsuba to Lisa, patting the seat behind him. She got on the back as she finished clearing her jammed pistol.

Colin Lewis drove off to the west in his truck, with Coltrane riding in the bed. Joe Soarez rode alongside them on his motorcycle. Clarence, Bill, and Lewie drove off after them.

The three zombies with massive head wounds reached the top of the stairs and began slowly crawling west.

(Keith and Sue, you can drive to the east side of the motel this round, but you won't be able to do anything else this round after you arrive. Riding there also takes up Lisa and Melinda's actions for the round, but they can still talk and reload.)

West of the motel-
No sooner had Frank Hodges put down the zombie that was chewing on Phillips than the medic himself began to move. He crawled the few feet to where Ortega lay unmoving, his breathing shallow. Phillips bit down extremely hard on his right arm, shattering the limb and snuffing out his life instantly.

(Hodges, you may shoot at Phillips now if you wish. Note that he had had the foresight to remove his helmet, so his head is not armored.)

On the motel roof-
Ernest continued to sob uselessly.

In the comm room-
"No, we can't take a chance on that, sir," said Curtis. "I can't be sure there would be anything left to defend by the time the fighter arrived even if you did send one out."

"We'll, we've got some on combat air patrol, so we could have one out to your position pretty fast if we needed to," answered Carmichael.

Lt. Doolittle took the magazines from Ramirez and handed them and her M-4 to Mikhalin. "Here you go," she said.

"Thank you, ma'am, sir," said Mikhalin. She loaded the weapon and held it ready.

Lt. Doolittle picked up the MP-5 and its spare magazines from the table. "I could use a better weapon myself. I wouldn't be very accurate on full auto, but I'll be all right if I use single shots."

East of the motel-
Lewie Newton, Colin Lewis, Joe Soarez, Clarence Deeds, and Tsuba pulled up in the parking lot, carefully avoiding the tripwires Coltrane had pointed out.

Applebee freaked out when he saw the giant worm, and in his heart he knew it was all over. Embracing his fate, he dragged himself around the corner to the west and headed right for its gaping maw.

Zorie Spooner managed to control herself, though even she was a little disturbed. Lt. Blanco also did not panic, though she very much wanted to. Both women fled to the north. "Stay up there!" shouted Lt. Blanco to those on the balcony as she reached the base of the ladder. "It's coming!"

The worm oozed forward and pressed its attack, its wounds continuing to close up. They were about halfway healed now. It lashed out with two of its tentacles. One of them struck the willing Applebee, whipping his already wounded leg and granting his death wish. The other went right for Cheng.

(Cheng, roll Dodge, with a -10 penalty due to your armor. You can't do anything else constructive, as you are temporarily insane. You are the only one who can currently see the worm. If anyone east of the motel wants to head to the south part of the parking lot, you will see it, but you will not be able to attack it this round. If you haven't seen the worm before, you'll need to roll Sanity with a Sanity loss of 1d3/1d20.)

On the motel balcony-
"God, what do we do?" asked Amanda.

"This way!" said David, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her north, away from the monster. Dr. Owens hurried after them. The three of them passed Kincaid, who had just reached the ladder and the zipline.

(Kincaid, you are in the middle of the east side of the balcony. You cannot see the worm, but you will if you go to the southeast corner. However, you won't be able to attack it this round. You may instead reach the northeast corner, you may climb the ladder up to the roof or down to the ground, or you may slide down the zipline to the eastern part of the parking lot. If you take the zipline, roll DEX x 5.)

Frank Hodges fired at Philips' reanimated corpse, but missed. He cursed his luck, and aimed again.

-I can't believe this! First the zombies, then this, the world is really at the end!-says Melinda

Cheng is paralized.

(Umm I thought that Lewis was driving toward the hotel not to the west alone?)

As soon as everyone pilesi nto his truck, Keith drives follows Lewis to the west.

(Yes, the motel is to the west of the garage. Colin Lewis has arrived there now, I just forgot to mention that in the "East of the motel" section when I updated it. I edited it in now. Colin Lewis may still act.

There is no "everyone" to pile into Keith's truck. Only Melinda is riding with him, and she was already waiting inside. The others have their own vehicles. Keith will arrive at the east side of the motel at the next update.

By the way, if you have more than one character in this thread, you can post for multiple characters in the same post if you like. Of course, that's irrelevant for most of you at this point...)

East of the motel-
The worm's tentacle seized Cheng brutally by the leg and dragged him around the corner to the south side of the motel, killing him instantly. The others on the east side of the motel only saw the briefest flash of the tentacle before it and the man were gone.

On the Motel Balcony:
Kincaid lets loose a vile string of obscenities looking to the ladder, zip line and back again, before slowly reaching towards the ladder. With a heavy sigh he beings his climb up the ladder to the roof.

Near the diner-
Keith punches the gas pedel and drives towards the motel.
(OOC: If he see's the worm, he does not approach closely to the motel.)

At the motel-
(Can Frank shoot again?)

(OOC: No problem. I just wasn't sure and didn't want to be the one holding things up.)

Sue will drive after Keith to the east side of the motel this round to keep with the others.

"Guys, Personally whatever this creatures is I do not think we can beat it. As they taught us in Iraq sometimes you need to cut your losses. i am for leaving now and maybe meeting up with the gang later on. What do you all think?"

(Walkers from the east: 40 dead, 1 with 9 damage to head, 1 with 8 damage to head
Crawlers from the east: 3 with 9 damage to head
NW barricade: 10/60 HP left
SW barricade: 48/60 HP left)

On the motel roof-
Suddenly, the dead bodies surrounding Ernest Granger on the west side of the roof began to stir. He gaped in horror, His already broken mind bent a little further. His five former companions rose up as one and swarmed him. Luke promptly bit him on the right arm, almost hard enough to break bone. He moved too fast for the cowhand to get out of the way, and the agony was too much to bear. Ernest collapsed to the roof while the other zombies climbed upon him. Black failed to get ahold of him, but Sheen seized him tightly and chewed his leg lightly. Malanowski also grabbed him. Cole almost had him, but his fellows got in his way.

Kincaid reached the top of the ladder and climbed up onto the east side of the roof. He couldn't see what was going on on the other side beyond the peak and the huge satellite dish, but he heard the man's final scream.

(Kincaid, if you want to move to the west side of the roof you will then be able to see the zombies and must roll Sanity. Sanity loss is 0/1d10, but any loss of more than 4 will count as 4 since you've already lost 6 for seeing zombies. You will not also be able to attack the zombies this round. You could instead go down the zipline to the parking lot from here if you roll DEX x 5, or you can climb down the ladder to either the balcony or the ground provided nobody else climbs up this round.)

West of the motel-
Phillips chomped on Ortega some more, oblivious to the bullet that had nearly split his skull.

(Hodges, you may fire one more shot. You can also see the zombies on the roof.)

East of the motel-
All of the Rough Riders except Amanda gathered in the parking lot east of the motel. The sound of breaking rock came from just around the southeast corner.

"Zorie, get up on the balcony!" shouted Lt. Blanco. "I'll follow later." She spoke into her radio. "It looks like Cheng and Applebee are down. The creature is on the south side of the motel." Zorie Spooner complied and began to scale the ladder.

"I know you're afraid, Colin," said Clarence. "If it were just us here, we could get Amanda out and roll out of here, but we've got our troops to think about. We have to rescue them, and I don't know if they can be convinced to abandon their position. They have orders to hold it no matter what, and if we leave them now they'll never be able to do it. I think we can kill this thing if we're smart, fast, and we keep our distance. If any of you want to get out of here, go on and hit the road. I won't hold it against you. We'll all try to meet up again at Warren AFB. That dirt road goes north, away from the monster. It should link up with Route 30, which you can take west. If you want to stick around, follow me. Keith, if you're staying you might want to let Melinda out so she can ride with someone who's leaving or get up to the balcony. Tsuba, the same goes for Lisa. Everyone who's sticking around to see this through, follow me. Stay far from that corner. If that monster is lurking around it, it will be close enough to get you." Without waiting to see if anyone followed him, Clarence drove off to the southeastern part of the parking lot.

(If you're following Clarence, let me know. Don't roll Sanity yet.)

On the motel balcony-
Zorie Spooner swung over the railing and stepped onto the balcony from the ladder. As she did so, Amanda, David, and Dr. Owens rounded the northeast corner and headed west. They passed the ammo crate and soon reached the northwest corner. David frowned when he saw the heavily damaged barricade. "That ain't gonna hold for long," he said.

In the comm room-
"Sir, it seems we've just lost two more men," said Lt. Curtis to Warren AFB. "This isn't looking good. Those civilians are our only hope."

"If trained SFs can't kill whatever threat you're facing, why do you think the civilians can?" asked Carmichael.

"The men who died were badly wounded in the helicopter crash when they arrived, sir, and they were taken by surprise. These civilians are almost all former military, they're organized, they're well-armed, and they've got vehicles. I don't know if they can save our hides, but they're the only chance we've got."

East of the motel-
"I'm staying with you, Dad," said Tsuba. "Lisa, I think you should get up on the balcony and look after Mom."

"If you're going to be leaving, I'll get off here," said Coltrane to Colin Lewis.

"The hell you say, Lawrence William Deeds! I left you once, I'm not going to leave you again! You men folk aren't going to run off and do something stupid and heroic and leave us women to become widows!" Lisa yells, choking back tears.

"Mama Deeds, help me talk sense into your boys!"

"Oh Fuck. I am staying then." He drove after Clarance.

(Mr. Handy please try to not kill me off since this is my last character! Unless you are making a huge number of new ones for the next chapter that is.)

On the east side of the motel -
"We've got to take out the rest of these zombies before we can do anything" Keith said. "Let's hit them, and fall back with the trucks like we've been doing. Who's with me?"

At the motel-
Frank took aim, and squezed the trigger: The shot went high.
"Son of a bitch!" Frank looked around for any signs of survivors.

(OOC: Does Frank see the trucks or hear them at least?)

-I'm with you. I can at least try to distract them by shouting, giving you some time more to shoot.

(ooc: does Kincaid have any grenades to play with?)

(Thanks, John. Kincaid does not have any grenades. Aside from the SAW, his only weapon is the pistol he started with, and he has no weapons capable of indirect fire. Maybe he could salvage grenades from the corpses of his fallen comrades, but some of them have risen up and will want to eat him...

I am making a huge number of new characters for Chapter 4. Whether or not Colin Lewis survives is in part up to you, and in part up to the dice.

Frank Hodges can see Ernest Granger on the roof, but he won't survive long. He can see Amanda, David, and Dr. Owens on the balcony, but that's it. Roll Listen, with a -5 penalty for your helmet, to see if he can hear the vehicles.)

East of the motel-
"The zombies to the east can wait," said Clarence. "It'll be some time before they reach the motel, and there are around fifty of them. This worm needs killing now. If we go after the zombies first, there won't be anyone left alive to protect once we're done shooting those bastards in the head."

Lisa Crow hugs her beau tightly and speaks softly in his ear: "I'll follow you to the gates of hell, Tsuba. Til death do us part..."

(ooc: I gotta stop being so spacey.. thank you.)

On the Motel Roof:
"fuck fuck fuck," Kincaid mouths as he kneels to the ground, keeping still upon hearing the poor mans screams and eventual silence that follows. Slowly taking the SAW into hand his eyes remain set on the satellite dish.

(Walkers from the east: 40 dead, 1 with 9 damage to head, 1 with 8 damage to head
Crawlers from the east: 3 with 9 damage to head
NW barricade: 10/60 HP left
SW barricade: 48/60 HP left)

West of the motel-
Phillips kept chewing on Ortega's corpse, completely unconcerned about the lead flying around him.

(Hodges, you may take another shot now.)

On the motel roof-
Sheen squeezed the life out of Ernest Granger, and all five zombies began devouring his body. There was plenty of him to go around for all of them.

Kincaid saw none of this from his perch on the east side of the roof. All he could hear was the gruesome chomping.

(Kincaid, you have the same options as last round.)

In the comm room-
"Then there's still a chance," replied Carmichael to Lt.. Curtis. "You have to hold your position."

Lt. Curtis turned to Ramirez, Lt. Doolittle, and Mikhalin. "I'm open to any suggestions you have," he said. "Ramirez, what did you mean when you said we should have listened to her? Her who? And what did she say that would be helpful to listen to?"

East of the motel-
Lt. Blanco climbed up the ladder to the balcony following Zorie Spooner.

"We're not actually married yet," said Tsuba to Lisa, "but if we survive this I aim to fix that first chance we get. I can see there's no talking you out of this, then." He drove south after his father, as did Colin, Joe, and Lewie. Keith and Melinda stayed where they were in his truck. He could see that the zombies to the east were getting close to the ruined diner now, but it would still be a while before they could threaten the motel. Sue stayed put for now as well, apparently unsure of what to do. When they reached the southeast part of the parking lot and saw around the corner to the south side of the motel, the worm was gone. The only trace it had ever been there were a hole in the ground south of the motel, just west of the corner, and the mangled bodies of Cheng and Applebee.

(The zombies to the east are already close enough to use full skill with a rifle, as long as you use precision aim. Anyone with a loaded rifle may take one shot at one of them this round. No other active zombies are visible from the east side of the motel.

Nobody on the east side of the motel can see the people on the northwest corner of the balcony.)

On the motel balcony-
Zorie Spooner raced north along the balcony to the northeast corner, while Lt. Blanco vaulted over the rail and stood on the east side.

"We've got to shore this barricade up with more furniture," said David at the northwest corner. He went to the northernmost door, the one to Room 36, and tried it. It was locked. "There's no time to go tracking down the keys. I'm busting it in!" He slammed into the door, but only bruised his hands. "Dammit!"

"Let me give it a try," said Dr. Owens. He dented the door, but just slightly.

"At this rate it'll take forever," said Amanda. "Maybe you should try that shotgun."

Lisa remains on the back of Tsuba's bike and draws a pistol in each hand.

"Let's circle the motel, baby, and if any of these dead fuckers start moving, gun it!"

Sue will attempt to stay with the others, seeming confused at the rush of noise and motion that seems to be encircling her.

In his truck-
"Melinda, you drive the truck. I'll tell you where to go, but I think I'm better off in the bed of the truck using my rile." Keith hoped out of his truck and jumped into the back of it. "Just make sure to keep at a distance from all of those things. Drive towards my father, but don't get too close to the motel. I don't want any of those things hoping back here with me."

At the motel-
Frank took aim once again, and fired. Again the shot missed.
As Frank curses his luck, he is but was able to hear something over the rifle crack.

So what is Lewis doing cause you have not posted anything for a few days.

OOC: Thanx! That clarifies things a bunch what with all that's happened and players jumping in and out.

Are there any other drivable vehicles in either parking lot? Could you describe the garage?

-Ok, I will drive the truck.
Melinda prepaired prepaired herself, and started the engine.
-I'm ready!

(OOC: I am waiting for when my characters can act again. )

Colin said, "How you doing Joe?"

(Not going to take a shot this round. Saving ammo for big worm like creature.)

(Smart move! I haven't gotten posts for Kincaid or Ramirez, so they won't do anything this round. Yes, Frank and Keith already acted last round, and now they may act again. I'm still waiting for Emily to take her turn in Over, though.

There are several drivable vehicles in the parking lot east of the motel, and only a few on the west side. They belonged to the motel guests. Note that without a key, you would have to hotwire them - not an easy task while you're under attack! The garage is a sturdy concrete building with metal garage doors, all of them closed. As far as you know, only David has been inside it out of all of the survivors, so you'd need to find out the details from him or take a look yourself. There are gas pumps not far to the west of the garage, with both regular and diesel fuel. The garage is pretty much intact, as it was shielded from the bomb in Chapter 1 by distance and the diner itself, and it was built extra tough. A short ladder leaning on the west side of the garage leads up to its roof, but nobody remains on top of it.

A kick would do more damage to the motel room door, but is less likely to cause damage in the first place without points in Kick skill. An untrained punch will still do slightly more damage per round on average than a kick without a damage bonus, and with one it is far more efficient. Of course, the shotgun is a lot more effective than either of them.

Walkers from the east: 42/85 dead, 1 with 9 damage to head, 1 with 8 damage to head, 1 with 3 damage to head
Crawlers from the east: 3 with 9 damage to head
NW barricade: 4/60 HP left
SW barricade: 48/60 HP left

Temporary insanity rounds remaining:
Senior Airman Roger Coltrane: 11
Bill Black: 10
Joe Soarez: 12)

West of the motel-
As Frank's third shot in a row missed, Ortega began to stir and Phillips stopped eating him. Ortega's eyes opened, crimson and furious. Both zombies crawled up the northwest staircase, with only the flimsy remnants of the barricade between them and the three civilians at the top.

(Hodges, you may take one more shot now. While Phillips has no helmet on, Ortega is still wearing his. It will reduce the damage of any shot that hits his head by 5. Phillips takes full damage to the head if you manage to hit him this time, but each zombie requires a total of 10 damage to the head to take down, as neither has been hit yet.)

On the motel balcony-
"Okay, stand back!" called David. Amanda and Dr. Owens rounded the corner while the trucker stood at an angle to the door and aimed his shotgun at its lock. Despite his lack of skill with the weapon, he held it steady and blasted the lock with buckshot, blowing the entire door in. "Door's open!" Amanda and Dale returned and stepped into Room 36 to start moving furniture.

Zorie Spooner reached the ammo crate and collected the remaining magazines. "The people in the comm room will be needing this," she said to Lt. Blanco, who had arrived at the northeast corner.

Then the barricade on the northwest stairs took a light hit, followed by another. There was almost nothing left now.

In the comm room-
Lt. Curtis didn't hear the barricade being damaged, the shotgun blast still ringing in his ears. "What's going on out there?" he asked.

"I don't know, sir," said Mikhalin.

"I'm not sure, sir," said Lt. Doolittle. "It sounds kind of like wood breaking, but I can't be sure."

"Ramirez, check it out," said Lt. Curtis.

(Ramirez, roll Listen. You have a -5 penalty from your helmet.)

East of the motel-
Melinda drove Keith's truck to the southeast part of the parking lot, stopping where the other vehicles were gathered. Clarence plugged a zombie that was approaching the diner, killing it. Coltrane shot another one, but only winged its scalp. Lewie also hit one, splintering its skull.

"Okay, babe, hang on tight," said Bill. He drove west to the southeast corner of the motel with Lisa on the back of his Harley, giving the hole a wide berth.

"I'm doing better now, thanks to Lewie," Joe said to Colin. He took a shot too, but the recoil made him miss badly and knocked the weapon out of his hands. It clattered to the pavement. "Just wish I knew where that thing went." He was about to dismount to retrieve his rifle when the ground shuddered yet again. Another sinkhole opened up in the parking lot a few yards east of the southeast corner. A monstrous, worm-like form emerged from the hole and oozed across the parking lot after the large gathering of vehicles. Eight tentacles wriggled all around its squid-like head as its segmented, slime-coated body advanced! "Me and my big mouth..."

Just as Tsuba got close, the corpses of Applebee and Cheng began to move and crawl toward the motorcycle. Then the ground broke to the east of his position. He turned back to see what had caused the noise and instantly regretted it. He recoiled at the sight of the worm, deeply disturbed, and he knew this thing should not be. Irrationally, he began gnawing on the handlebar of his Harley.

Coltrane shook a little when he saw the zombies, but it was the worm that truly unnerved him. His mind unraveled, and he was certain he was done for. He whimpered while seated in the back of Colin's truck, sucking on the grip of his rifle.

Clarence took the zombies in stride, and even the worm didn't affect him too badly, but it was very frightening even so. Lewie was calm when the zombies rose, and while not completely overwhelmed by the worm, even he shook a little. Joe freaked out and quivered in his boots, his mind turning to mush just like his knees. He snarled with rage and turned to face the worm.

(Lisa, first roll Sanity for seeing the zombies. Sanity loss is 0/1d10. If you lose more than 3 Sanity from this, count it as only 3. Then roll Sanity for seeing the worm. Sanity loss for that is 1d3/1d20, and this roll should be against your reduced Sanity after the previous roll if you lose any. If you remain sane, you may act before the zombies or the worm do. What's a worm do? Well, it sort of wriggles around and slaughters everyone in its path! You may fire two shots with a pistol, either at the worm with +20 to hit or at a zombie at point blank range. If you shoot at a zombie, there is no time to aim at the head and you must roll a random hit location for each hit on 1d20, as they are about to attack if you remain here. Both zombies wear helmets and body armor. The worm has 5 points of armor as well. If you do not shoot, you may flee on foot in the direction of your choice without having to roll anything, but you'd be leaving Tsuba behind. If you want to attempt to drive away while seated behind him instead, roll Drive Motorcycle and pick a direction if you succeed.

Keith, you don't need to roll Sanity for the zombies, as you've already lost 10 points for seeing them. Just roll Sanity for the worm, with a Sanity loss of 1d3/1d20. You may act before the worm's turn if you remain sane. Shooting at the worm has a +20 bonus due to its size. You only have 2 bullets left in your rifle, so if you fire a burst you get only a +5 extra bonus for a total of +25 if you target the worm, and must roll 1d2 if you hit to see how many bullets strike home. You may fire a single shot instead. If you shoot at a zombie, you must roll Luck if you don't hit with every bullet you fire and there is no time for you or anyone else to aim at the head.

Sue, you must roll Sanity twice, first for seeing the zombies with a 0/1d10 Sanity loss. Then you must roll Sanity for seeing the worm, against a possibly reduced Sanity score, with a Sanity loss of 1d3/1d20. If you remain sane, you may act as well. You are close enough to the worm to do 4d6 damage with your shotgun, -5 for its armor. You also would get the +20 bonus to hit, as does anyone shooting at it. If you shoot at the zombies, you only do 2d6 damage to each zombie you hit, but you roll 1d3 to see how many targets you hit. There are only two of them there, so if you roll a 3 you still just hit both of them. If you miss the zombies, roll Luck.

Colin Lewis, you must roll Sanity only for seeing the worm, with a Sanity loss of 1d3/1d20, since zombies have already cost you 10 points. If you remain sane, you may take your action.

Melinda, roll Sanity twice as described for Sue. If you remain sane, you may act as well.

Anyone sane who is driving a vehicle can flee with no problem, just pick a direction - preferably other than west, since that's where the worm is. You may also flee on foot without having to roll.)

On the motel roof-
Kincaid held his position. The chewing continued, and then he heard the ground breaking open to the southeast and saw the worm emerge.

(Kincaid, you don't need to roll Sanity, as you've already seen the worm. If you want to fire your SAW at it, roll Machine Gun with a +20 bonus, and an additonal bonus of +5 for each bullet in the burst after the first, to a maximum of 90% effective skill if you fire 5 or more bullets. You may fire as many as 20. If you hit, roll 1dX to see how many bullets strike the worm. Each one does 2d8-5 damage to it. You cannot see any zombies from your current position to shoot at. Your other options from before remain open. You may move to the west side of the roof, where the worm will be out of your line of sight but you will be able to see the zombies on the roof. You may also climb down the ladder to either the balcony or the ground, or slide down the zipline by rolling DEX x 5, or you can stay put. If you change position, you may not also shoot this round.)

The Native American woman had seen enough zombies today to be inured to them but the worm was another matter. Her eyes flew wide with the realization that today would most likely be her last and she once again was overcome with panic.

(ooc: would it be possible to unload 20 rounds through the satellite dish? Just the sounds of a mans screams from behind something by unknown assailants... given what has happened I'd rather blow the shit out of anything first before taking those few steps out of curiosity )

In the truck, east of the motel-
Keith could not grasp the sight of the terrible beast before him. He was horrified at the sight of the creature and went insane as he realized what was about to become of him.

West side of the motel-
In disbeliefe at this poor aim, Frank took a deep breath, steadied himself, and fired again. This time, the round struck the targets head cleanly. The head that once belong to Philips, exploded and the zombie fell to the ground unmoving.

Colin stared at the worm and his mind crossed into the nether regions He had seen arwful things in Iraq but this took the cake. Colin could not take it. He began to see not only the one worm but thousands of them all around him. He screamed in terror.

The zombies were such old news in light of the new events that Sue Newton didn't care when she saw them again. The worm, though, deeply affected her and it hit her hard.

(Does Colin go insane all the time now? I think he has lost enough points toward that end?)

Melinda saw the zombies in their full glory but lucky for her, she didn't understood quite it meaning. After that, seeing the worm didn't impress her much, but it it's huge size was enouth to destroy her fragil mind.

Mel decide to drive the truck in the oposite direction of the worm, to get safe as quickly as possible.

(Walkers from the east: 42/85 dead, 1 with 9 damage to head, 1 with 8 damage to head, 1 with 3 damage to head
Crawlers from the east: 3 with 9 damage to head
NW barricade: 6/60 HP left
SW barricade: 48/60 HP left

Temporary insanity rounds remaining, not counting this one:
Senior Airman Roger Coltrane: 10
Bill Black: 9
Keith Deeds: 11
Lisa Crow: 10
Colin Lewis: 11)

West of the motel-
Hodges took down Phillips, but Ortega was still hammering at the barricade on the northwest stairs.

(Hodges, you may take a shot at Ortega now. Remember that he's wearing a helmet, so damage will be reduced by 5 unless you get a critical hit - and if that happens it will just be 2d8, not 4d8. The zombies on the roof are also visible, but Luke is the only one not wearing a helmet and they're all busy eating Ernest Granger.)

On the motel balcony-
Dr. Owens and Amanda Deeds easily lugged a heavy dresser out of Room 36 and shoved it into place at the top of the stairs. David ducked into the room and had no problem carrying a nightstand out and adding it to the barricade. Lt. Blanco reached the northwest corner, following Zorie Spooner who had run past the corner toward the comm room. "The worm came back up southeast of the motel!" she reported on the radio. "I think it's going after the civvies!" Ramirez emerged from the comm room and hurried north, meeting up with Zorie on the way.

Then Ortega smacked the barricade some more, but the newly added furniture was holding...for now. "Northwest barricade is under attack, but it's still holding!" called Ramirez, his excellent hearing correctly interpreting the noise. "Sounds like there's only one of them down there!"

In the comm room-
"Sir, it appears the worm is about to engage the civilians," Lt. Curtis told Carmichael. "So far the barricades are holding, but I don't know how long they'll last."

Lt. Doolittle only shook her head. "I shouldn't even be here," she muttered.

East of the motel-
Lisa Crow leapt off of the back of the bike and ran in terror to the south, leaving Tsuba behind. She crossed the highway, not daring to look back. Applebee crawled over and nearly bit him hard, but he pulled up his leg at exactly the right moment. Cheng followed close behind and almost seized him and pulled him off of the Harley, but again he miraculously avoided the ghoul's grasp.

Keith began gibbering incoherently in the back of his truck. Luckily, Melinda had the presence of mind to pull away and drive east.

"Kill that sucker!" bellowed Clarence, firing a burst from his Bushmaster that hit it with two rounds. It shrugged off one, but the other appeared to penetrate its muscular hide. Lewie frowned, having fired the last bullet from his rifle and not having time to reload. He whipped out his pistol and got off a shot, striking the worm but not even scratching it. Joe Soarez drew his own pistol in a fit of rage, unwilling to take the time to retrieve his rifle, and shot it, though his bullet did no better.

Sue Newton lost it under the pressure. She became catatonic, remaining frozen in horror. The worm slithered closer, rearing up as it got near. Its one wound had already closed most of the way. Then it came crashing down on the cluster of people and vehicles! Clarence tried to jump out of its path, but he was far too slow in his old age. It crushed him to death brutally, along with his Harley. Lewie Newton also reacted far too slowly, and he was also flattened. Joe Soarez almost got away, but almost wasn't good enough and he was smashed to a bloody pulp as well. Sue, paralyzed and unable to flee, also was pounded lethally into the pavement.

(Colin Lewis, if you want to try to get clear on foot, roll Dodge or Jump, whichever is higher. The base skill for Jump is 25%. If you want to try to drive away instead, roll Drive Auto. Colin will take reduced damage for being inside the cab of his truck if he fails his roll.)

West of the garage-
Melinda sped away from the motel in fear, trying to put as much distance as she could between her and the worm. Keith was still in the bed of the pickup truck, but he was still not himself. The large pack of zombies was filtering around the eastern side of the diner and the three zombies that had crawled up the stairs were getting closer now, but she still had a little time before they reached her position. She was afraid to look back, but from what she could see in her rear-view mirror it was very bad. She did spot Lisa fleeing to the south on foot.

(Melinda, you may act now. You may drive where you like. You may head north on the dirt road, or south off the road. If you go southwest, you may also reach Lisa this round. If you try to head east around the mob of zombies, roll Drive Auto. Otherwise you don't need to roll anything yet.)

On the motel roof-
Kincaid continued to hesitate, though he held a very deadly weapon in his hands. Blood still dripped from his untreated shrapnel wounds. The chewing continued on the opposite side of the roof, and he also could see the carnage in the parking lot below.

(Kincaid, you have the same options as before. If you fire at the worm and you either miss or you do not hit with every bullet you fire, you will need to roll Luck to make sure you don't hit Colin or Coltrane if they don't drive away or get killed.)

Melinda will go southwest and will drive until no zombies or the worm is on sight.

Frank took aim at Ortega and fired, but the shot missed.
(OOC: Was Hodges able to hear what is going on at the other side of the motel?)

Colin Lewis put the petal to the metal and got the hell out of the area in his truck. Along the way he tried to hit some of the many "worms" he was seeing all around him.

Colin tried to turn the car around and drive away from the one main worm in front of him even though he "knew" that there would be other worms around and behind him ready to attack.

His successful driving score: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1753864/

Colin drove south but his main goal was to head west as soon as he could.

(Since Kincaid's player has been absent for so long, I'm gong to run him as an NPC for now.

Walkers from the east: 42/85 dead, 1 with 9 damage to head, 1 with 8 damage to head, 1 with 3 damage to head
Crawlers from the east: 3 with 9 damage to head
NW barricade: 3/60 HP left
SW barricade: 48/60 HP left

Temporary insanity rounds remaining, not counting this one:
Senior Airman Roger Coltrane: 9
Bill Black: 8
Keith Deeds: 10
Lisa Crow: 9
Colin Lewis: 10)

West of the motel-
Hodges watched with dismay as his shot missed again. He also noticed that the zombies on the roof had stopped eating Ernest Granger - because the farmer was now one of them! Luke ran east and vanished over the peak of the roof. The four armored zombies staggered along behind him, but were still visible. Ernest himself was right alongside them. Ortega was still trying to break the barricade, but at least the people on the balcony were able to keep it from falling completely apart for now.

(Hodges, you may take another shot at the zombie of your choice other than Luke. All of them except Ernest are wearing helmets and body armor.)

On the motel balcony-
"I've got the extra magazines from the ammo crate," Zorie told Ramirez, out of breath. She held them out to him.

"I'll take half," he said, taking six of the magazines and hurrying north. "Get to the comm room and give the rest to Mikhalin, ma'am." He passed Lt. Blanco on his way to the corner, while she was heading south.

Amanda and Dr. Owens hurried back into the open motel room and hauled out the desk, adding it to what was left of the makeshift barricade. David grabbed the other nightstand with one hand and stacked it on top. Ortega continued to mindlessly flail at the barricade, almost completely demolishing it. It would not hold much longer.

On the motel roof-
Kincaid looked on in shock as the worm crushed the motorcyclists in the parking lot below, but was relieved that at least the trucks had escaped. If only he had acted sooner, they might all have lived. Grimly raising the SAW, he resolved to take action now before more people died and opened up on the worm with everything he had. He might have missed had it not been such a huge target, but he managed to spray it with eleven rounds, doing moderate damage. About half of the bullets had been absorbed fully by its tough hide, and all but one of those that had hit it did minor damage. Even so, the creature was badly hurt, but it was still far from destroyed - and its wounds were already starting to mend themselves.

Then he heard footsteps coming up quickly behind him from the west. Luke had already crested the peak. While he did not panic, he was still in terrible danger. Luke seized him and bit him extremely hard on the left leg, not killing him outright but causing him to pass out. The last thing he saw was the other five zombes reaching the peak of the roof and heading right for him.

In the comm room-
"It's still going to be more than half an hour before we can send a helicopter," said Carmichael over the communications network, "but we may be able to send you some relief a little sooner. We're fueling up a C-130 now with enough fuel to make it to your position and back, but little to spare beyond that. The SF troopers we've selected to reinforce your position will be aboard. If you continue to hold it by the time they reach you, they'll parachute in nearby while the C-130 returns to base. Otherwise, it'll return with them aboard and we'll have to cleanse your position. Understood?"

"Thank you, sir," replied Lt. Curtis. "What's the ETA?"

"We're still talking over twenty minutes here, but it's the best we can do. It will take 18 minutes just for the C-130 to reach you after takeoff. This is also very dangerous for the SFs. I fully expect casualties immediately upon landing or shortly thereafter. They may be injured if they land badly, or mobbed if they drift off course and land in the middle of the infected. Even if they make perfect landings, they'll still be hard pressed to survive. You must hold out until they arrive. If communications cease, we will assume your position has fallen and take appropriate measures."

"What exactly would those measures be, sir?"

"Chemical weapons. We have a stockpile of nerve gas available. If your position falls, we'll have a helicopter deploy it there and then send in a team with protective gear to retake it."

Lt. Doolittle gulped. "This can't be happening," she mumbled.

"This is Lt. Curtis," said the communications officer over the radio. "Anyone who is still alive out there and able to report your status, please do so. It is imperative that we hold our position until reinforcements arrive. If we can last another twenty minutes or so, we'll be all right."

East of the motel-
Colin Lewis sped away before the worm came down on his friends, with Coltrane still in the bed of his truck. He drove south at high speed, bumping across the highway and onto open ground. The many worms that only he could see all darted out of his path, and none of them attacked. Once he was clear, he turned to the west.

Lisa continued running south as well, not even thinking about how she had left the man she loved behind again. Applebee missed Bill badly, and Cheng tripped over his fellow zombie, leaving him miraculously still unscathed. But the worm started moving back to the west, toward him.

West of the garage-
Melinda turned the wheel hard to the right and drove southwest as fast as she could.

South of the motel-
As Lisa ran south beyond the highway, both Melinda and Colin drove close to her in their trucks. Keith was in the back of the one Melinda was driving, and Senior Airman Roger Coltrane was in the bed of Colin's. As Colin looked back, he realized that his best friend Joe had been killed in the attack that had nearly hit him.

(Colin Lewis, roll Sanity at -10 due to Joe's death. This means you will only succeed on a 4 or less. Sanity loss is 0/1d6. If you go temporarily insane again, it will just extend your current temporary insanity's duration. If Melinda or Colin stops here this round, Lisa will get aboard the truck. If both trucks stop, she may choose which one she rides in. If neither of you stop, she'll continue fleeing on foot. All of you are about 30 yards south of the motel. If you keep driving, let me know which way you're heading. If you stop, you may also shoot at Cheng or Applebee, or at the worm. If you shoot at the zombies, your shots will take effect after they attack Tsuba again, and you must roll Luck for each shot that misses. Both zombies also wear helmets and body armor. Shooting at the worm gives you a +20 bonus to hit. Colin, if you shoot at the worm, you must roll Luck to see if you target the real one or one of the imaginary ones.)

Colin screamed in angrish at seeing Joe die! Luckly for him he managed to keep the grief in check for now. He stopped his truck and called to Lisa to "get in". He also leaned out the window facing toward the worm and grabbing his rifle aimed at the worm and fired the rifle. However he ended up aiming at a worm only he saw in his mind. He cursed silently.

Unreasoning panic pervading her mind, Lisa continues to truck southward and east toward the road...

Melinda will slow the truck so she may enter, but won't stopped...

Frank fired again at Ortega and this time, struck him in the head. The round cleanly pierced his helmet and despite the protection, dropped the zombie.

Frank took a look around the area for more infected that were close to him. He knew he had to get around to the other side of the motel, but wanted to make sure there were not other bitten bodies or infected that may be able to attack him.

(OOC: On my to hit roll, I entered the wrong character name on accident. I always confuse Keith and Frank.)

(That's okay, I know who you meant.

Walkers from the east: 42/85 dead, 1 with 9 damage to head, 1 with 8 damage to head, 1 with 3 damage to head
Crawlers from the east: 3 with 9 damage to head
NW barricade: 6/60 HP left
SW barricade: 48/60 HP left

Temporary insanity rounds remaining, not counting this one:
Senior Airman Roger Coltrane: 8
Bill Black: 7
Keith Deeds: 9
Lisa Crow: 8
Colin Lewis: 9)

West of the motel-
With Ortega down, the northwest barricade was no longer in immediate danger. Hodges looked around, but there were no zombies visible on the north or west sides of the motel, and the zombies on the roof had all passed over to the east side by this point, beyond the peak and out of his line of fire. He couldn't see what was on the south or east sides of the motel from his current position.

(Hodges, you're a good deal northwest of the motel, just within the field of grass. You may reach the northwest corner of the motel this round if you wish by moving southeast. You may instead move due east or due south, but you still won't be able to get to a point where you can see the east or south sides of the motel this round.)

On the motel balcony-
Zorie Spooner entered the comm room. Lt. Blanco hurried after her and went inside not long after.

"Ramirez here," reported Ramirez on the radio. "There's someone active in the field shooting, but I can't see who it is. He just took out the last of the dead that was threatening the northwest barricade. I'm heading east to try to take out that worm." He jogged off along the north side of the balcony.

"I'm coming with you!" said Amanda, running behind him. "My husband and my boys are over there! David, you and the doc can rebuild the barricade now."

David and Dr. Owens carried out the table from Room 36 and added it to the barricade.

On the motel roof-
Luke squeezed Kincaid to death, and he began eating his body. The other five zombies arrived and fell upon him, and all of them quickly ripped him apart as they devoured him.

In the comm room-
Zorie Spooner burst into the comm room. "Lt. Blanco is right behind me," she said, out of breath. "Is anyone in here hurt?"

"I never got properly treated after the helicopter crash," said Lt. Curtis. "Airman Mikhalin's arm could also use some more looking at." He spoke into his radio once more. "I say again, if anyone is alive out there, please report your status. Over." He then spoke to Lt. Colonel Carmichael. "Sir, it's not looking good. The barricade is still holding and the infected man who was attacking it has been dealt with, but we're still in bad shape. It doesn't sound like we have many people left, but if we can take out that worm I think we can hold out."

"Right," said Carmichael, skepticism evident in his voice. "The worm. Tell me, Lieutenant, have you seen this thing yourself?"

"No, sir, but I certainly heard it crushing our men to death, and some of them reported seeing it before that."

"I don't doubt that you're under attack, but you can't trust your perceptions. We've had high numbers of people losing it today under all the strain, seeing things that aren't really there."

Zorie started to examine Lt. Curtis, but she wasn't able to do much for him. Lt. Blanco entered the room.

East of the motel-
The worm cotinued to approach the southeast corner of the motel, and now it was nearly there. Its wounds kept closing up, but it was still heavily damaged.

South of the motel-
Cheng was busy untangling himself from Applebee, who almost bit Tsuba extremely hard, but again he expertly avoided the deadly teeth. But his luck would clearly not hold out forever.

Colin Lewis saw his shot strike one of the worms that nobody but he could see, but the bullet didn't seem to hurt it much. His rifle was now empty. Melinda drove on to the southwest, and Lisa ignored both trucks and kept running south.

(Melinda, you're now out of effective pistol range, but you may keep driving in whatever direction you choose. Currently, you're 80 yards south and 50 yards west of the motel. Coln, you may drive away now too if you wish. Your rifle is empty, and it will take two full rounds of both ejecting the spent cartridge and manually reloading bullets before it can be fired again. Alternatively, you may use your pistol or your SMG. The Ingram M-11 does not have burst capability, but it may fire 3 single shots per round. It has a malfunction number of 98. You will need to use precision aim to avoid a range penalty with either weapon, which means you may only fire at one target. If you shoot at a zombie's head, your shots will take effect after that zombie's next attack. The first two shots you fire will happen before the worm can act, but if you fire three with the M-11, the third shot will happen afterwards. Shooting at the worm still has the +20 bonus to hit, of course. Your revolver only gets one shot per round. For each missed shot fired at a zombie, roll Luck to make sure you don't hit Tsuba. For each shot that hits the worm, roll Luck to make sure you hit the real one. The zombies wear body armor and helmets, so any hits to their heads will have their damage reduced by 5, and the worm's innate armor also reduces damage to it by 5 for each hit.)

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

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

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

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

(Walkers from the east: 42/85 dead, 1 with 9 damage to head, 1 with 8 damage to head, 1 with 3 damage to head
Runners from the east: 0/10 dead
Crawlers from the east: 3 with 9 damage to head
NW barricade: 6/60 HP left
SW barricade: 48/60 HP left
Luke: 3 damage
Black: 3 damage
Sheen: 5 damage
Malanowski: 9 damage
Cole: 7 damage
Granger: 3 damage

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Melinda keep driving

So does Colin

(Walkers from the east: 42/85 dead, 1 with 9 damage to head, 1 with 8 damage to head, 1 with 3 damage to head
Runners from the east: 0/10 dead
Crawlers from the east: 3 with 9 damage to head
NW barricade: 6/60 HP left
NE barricade: 51/60 HP left
SW barricade: 23/60 HP left
Room 27 barricade: 3/3 HP left
Luke: 3 damage
Black: 3 damage
Sheen: 5 damage
Malanowski: 9 damage
Cole: 7 damage
Granger: 3 damage

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Walkers from the east: 42/85 dead, 1 with 9 damage to head, 1 with 8 damage to head, 1 with 3 damage to head
Runners from the east: 0/10 dead
Crawlers from the east: 3 with 9 damage to head
NW barricade: 6/60 HP left
NE barricade: 42/60 HP left
SW barricade: 23/60 HP left
SE barricade: 46/60 HP left
Room 27 barricade: 6/6 HP left
Luke: 3 damage
Black: 3 damage
Sheen: 5 damage
Malanowski: 9 damage
Cole: 7 damage
Granger: 3 damage

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Walkers from the east: 42/85 dead, 1 with 9 damage to head, 1 with 8 damage to head, 1 with 3 damage to head
Runners from the east: 0/10 dead
Crawlers from the east: 3 with 9 damage to head
NW barricade: 6/60 HP left
NE barricade: 33/60 HP left
SW barricade: gone
SE barricade: 46/60 HP left
Room 27 barricade: 9/9 HP left
Luke: 3 damage
Black: 3 damage
Sheen: 5 damage
Malanowski: 9 damage
Cole: 7 damage
Granger: 3 damage

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(Walkers from the east: 42/85 dead, 1 with 9 damage to head, 1 with 8 damage to head, 1 with 3 damage to head
Runners from the east: 0/10 dead, 1 with no right leg [18 damage], 1 with no right arm [15 damage], 1 with 10 damage to left arm, 1 with 8 damage to head
Crawlers from the east: 3 with 9 damage to head
NW barricade: 6/60 HP left
NE barricade: 33/60 HP left
SW barricade: gone
SE barricade: 46/60 HP left
Room 27 barricade: 12/12 HP left
Luke: 3 damage
Black: 3 damage
Sheen: 5 damage
Malanowski: 9 damage
Cole: 7 damage
Granger: 3 damage

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

With his helmet being more of a hinderence than good, Frank takes it off and scans the area for threats.

(Removing the helmet takes the whole combat round.

Walkers from the east: 42/85 dead, 1 with 9 damage to head, 1 with 8 damage to head, 1 with 3 damage to head
Runners from the east: 0/10 dead, 1 with no right leg [18 damage], 1 with no right arm [15 damage], 1 with 10 damage to left arm, 1 with 8 damage to head
Crawlers from the east: 3 with 9 damage to head
NW barricade: 6/60 HP left
NE barricade: 25/60 HP left
SW barricade: gone
SE barricade: 32/60 HP left
Room 27 barricade: 12/12 HP left
Luke: 3 damage
Black: 3 damage
Sheen: 5 damage
Malanowski: 9 damage
Cole: 7 damage
Granger: 3 damage

Temporary insanity rounds remaining, not counting this one:
Senior Airman Roger Coltrane: 2
Keith Deeds: 3
Lisa Crow: 2
Colin Lewis: 3
Javier Ramirez: 7
Dr. Dale Owens: 1)

West of the motel-
Frank Hodges removed his helmet and looked around carefully. He just barely caught sight of figures moving slowly through the grassy field. The closest ones were about 60 yards west of his current position and heading for the motel. It would take them a while to reach him, but they'd get there eventually. He couldn't tell how many there were, only that there were at least fifteen and probably more. The worm in the parking lot righted itself and prepared to strike again at the comm room door.

(Hodges, you may act now. You may throw your grenade, shoot, move, or take some other action.)

On the motel balcony-
David fired twice with his pistol at one of the runners that had entered the parking lot to the east, but both bullets missed.

In the comm room-
Lt. Blanco began to treat Lt. Curtis, cleaning and rebandaging his wounds and repairing them a little. Mikhalin finally understood what the Russians were saying. "Sir, the Russians are very concerned about the nuclear detonation they detected," she said, "but they're primarily worried about what our intentions are. If they have any plans of their own, they aren't talking about them. Some of them had previously thought that we hadn't used our nuclear weapons yet because we were incapable of doing so. Now they know we do have the capability, and the hypothesis that we've been holding our nukes back because they think we intend to carry out a first strike against Russia is now gaining credibility."

"Thank you, Airman," said Lt. Curtis. He passed this information on to Lt. Colonel Carmichael.

"I appreciate the intel, Lieutenant," said Carmichael. "Anything you can find out about their intentions would be extremely helpful."

East of the motel-
The two runners with wounded arms reached the northeast stairway and damaged its barricade further. The runner with the head wound got halfway there, and the one that was missing a leg crawled a quarter of the way to the stairs. The other two runners that had bypassed the tripwires, along with Luke, Bill, and the other zombies in the parking lot, converged on the southeast stairs. Luke smashed his way up the stairs, and Bill did likewise alongside him. The barricade was almost halfway destroyed. None of the other four runners had made it to the parking lot yet.

South of the motel-
Lisa ran another fifteen yards south, and Amanda caught up with her and drove alongside her, honking her horn. "Lisa!" she called. "Hop on the back and ride with me! We need to join up with the guys, and you'll never catch up on foot. I know you're afraid. So am I. I'm just as crushed as you are that we've lost people we love. I'm here for you, and I always will be." She didn't seem to be getting through, however. The trucks passed out of view to the south, though their tire tracks were still visible.

The trucks continued south at speed, and were now over a thousand yards south of the motel. The people in them heard Amanda's honk, but they could no longer see the motorcycle or Lisa behind them at this point.

Panic-stricken, Lisa puts her head down, arms pistoning, and continues to flee as fast as her slender legs will carry her.

(Well, your missed attack wasn't off by enough for the grenade to bounce back and hit you, but you critically failed your Luck roll, so something very bad will happen as a result...

Walkers from the east: 42/85 dead, 1 with 9 damage to head, 1 with 8 damage to head, 1 with 3 damage to head
Runners from the east: 1/10 dead, 1 with no right leg [18 damage], 1 with no right arm [15 damage], 1 with 10 damage to left arm
Crawlers from the east: 3 with 9 damage to head
NW barricade: 6/60 HP left
NE barricade: 16/60 HP left
SW barricade: gone
SE barricade: 21/60 HP left
Luke: 3 damage
Black: 3 damage
Sheen: 5 damage
Malanowski: 9 damage
Cole: 7 damage
Granger: 3 damage

Temporary insanity rounds remaining, not counting this one:
Senior Airman Roger Coltrane: 1
Keith Deeds: 2
Lisa Crow: 1
Colin Lewis: 2
Javier Ramirez: 6
Dr. Dale Owens: 0)

West of the motel-
Frank Hodges watched helplessly as his grenade arced too high and to the left. It landed on the balcony, right outside the comm room door, and there was nothing he could do to stop it from detonating. The door and most of the barricade behind it were blown to bits! Then the worm rose up and struck out with six of its tentacles. The first one broke down what little remained of the barricade, and the other five snaked into the room itself.

Drawn by the sound of the explosion, zombies started to arrive from around the southeast corner. The two uninjured runners that had entered the southeast part of the parking lot, unable to get past the mob around the southeast stairs, had run along the south wall of the motel and moved up the recently cleared southeast stairway.

(Hodges, it's your turn again. You may shoot at one of the zombies. If you're aiming at a zombie's head, you will have to fire a single shot only and take a -5 penalty to hit. Or you may move or take some other action instead.)

On the motel balcony-
David fired one of his last two bullets at the runner with the head wound, hitting it and taking it down before it could reach the motel. On the northeast corner of the balcony, Dr. Dale Owens began coming to his senses.

In the comm room-
The room's occupants gaped in horror when the grenade blew the door apart and the worm finished the job. Alexandria Mikhalin was this close to panic, but she managed to contain her fears. Lt. Curtis was surprisingly calm, though even he was affected slightly. Lt. Doolittle let out a terrified scream, her psyche shattered, though she did not quite realize how doomed she was.

In desperation, the five people in the room fired on the worm with everything they had. Zorie put two bullets very deep into the creature, heavily wounding it. Lt. Doolittle wildly sprayed it on full auto with her MP-5, connecting with only two rounds that caused only a little damage. Lt . Blanco put two bullets into the thing, wounding it moderately. Lt. Curtis also shot it twice, hurting it about the same amount. The creature was near death as five of its tentacles barged into the room, one towards each of the people inside. At the last second, Mikhalin fired a burst from her M-4 that hit with devastating effect. All three rounds struck home and shredded the monster. It let out a pitiful, agonized wail as it fell back, ooze dripping from its many wounds. Its massive carcass collapsed to the parking lot below and lay still, causing the ground to shake with the impact. But the damage had been done...

East of the motel-
Some of the zombies gathered around the southeast stairway began moving around the south side of the motel. Luke further damaged the barricade there, and so did Bill. At the northeast barricade, the runners continued to pound. Two more runners entered the eastern edge of the parking lot, both heading for the northeast stairs. The one-legged zombie was now just 10 yards from those same stairs.

South of the motel-
"Lisa, please get on board!" said Amanda as she continued to drive slowly alongside her, now 150 yards from the motel. "We'll get through this together. We'll survive." But her words only made the young woman even more frightened.

The two trucks were now three quarters of a mile south of the motel.

Frank looked on in terrors as the worm attacked the people in the comm room, but was suddently relieved when the worm fell down dead. "Fuck yeah, maybe we have a chance still!" he said in celebration.
He fired one of the fast approaching runners. The round struck it cleanly in the head doing minimal damage.

Looked at the hoard he ahd recently spotted, and gagued their distance to the motel and the time it would take them to reach his position.

(Walkers from the east: 42/85 dead, 1 with 9 damage to head, 1 with 8 damage to head, 1 with 3 damage to head
Runners from the east: 2/10 dead, 1 with no right leg [18 damage], 1 with no right arm [15 damage], 1 with 10 damage to left arm, 1 with 4 damage to head
Crawlers from the east: 3 with 9 damage to head
NW barricade: 6/60 HP left
NE barricade: 6/60 HP left
SW barricade: gone
SE barricade: 11/60 HP left
Luke: 3 damage
Black: 3 damage
Sheen: 5 damage
Malanowski: 9 damage
Cole: 7 damage
Granger: 3 damage

Temporary insanity rounds remaining, not counting this one:
Senior Airman Roger Coltrane: 0
Keith Deeds: 1
Colin Lewis: 1
Javier Ramirez: 5)

West of the motel-
The zombie that Hodges shot was slowed by its head wound, but it kept climbing the stairs and reached the top. The other runner made it to the top and vanished through the doorway into the comm room. From around the southeast corner, Sergeant Black shambled and reached the base of the stairs. Bobby Sheen, Igor Malanowski, Thomas Cole, Lewie Newton, and Sue Newton were close behind him. After a quick look around, Frank Hodges saw that the mob of zombies coming from the west was now 45 yards from his position. He'd be able to fire five more times without risk before he'd have to move. They had just started coming directly for him, drawn by the sound of the shot he had fired.

(Hodges, you may fire once at one of the zombies now. You may target the one you wounded at the top of the stairs. All of the zombies at the bottom of the stairs except the Newtons are wearing body armor and helmets.)

On the motel balcony-
David raised his shotgun and took aim at the newly arrived runners coming for the northwest stairs. He fired, but the blast went over their heads. "Hey, Doc! Get over here before that barricade goes down! We'll get out of here on this zipline and get to my truck! To the roof first!"

Dr. Owens stumbled south along the balcony until he reached David.

In the comm room-
"We actually killed it," said Lt. Doolittle in disbelief. "I-"

But the people in the room had no chance to even catch their breaths. A ghoul came running into the room at them at high speed. Mikhalin calmly raised her M-4, and Lt. Blanco kept her wits about her. Zorie shuddered, frightened but not paralyzed. Lt. Curtis maintained his steady demeanor, though with difficulty, and Lt. Doolittle was used to the sight of these things already.

Zorie got off one shot, unable to miss from so close, and badly injured its right leg. Lt. Doolittle switch to single shots and put a bullet into its left leg, creasing it as it went past. Lt. Blanco shot it once in the left leg, causing more damage. Lt. Curtis accurately planted a shot in its skull, sending it crashing to the floor. It stopped moving.

Mikhalin stood ready with her M-4 and spoke to Carmichael. "Sir, a grenade just blew open the door to this room and our barricade," she said. "Then that worm tried to get us, but all of us firing together were able to kill it. We all saw it. We also just killed one of those cannibals."

East of the motel-
Ernest Granger, Clarence Deeds, and Joe Soarez all made for the southeast stairway behind Luke, Bill, Cheng, and Applebee. Luke chipped at the barricade a little, and Bill really walloped it. At the northeast corner, the two runners kept bashing the barricade there. There was now very little of it left. The last two runners had not quite reached the parking lot - they were still 40 yards away. The crawling zombie was very close to the northeast stairs now.

South of the motel-
"I'm sorry, Lisa," said Amanda, still driving beside her. "I wish I knew what to say." They were now 165 yards from the motel. Just then, Lisa came to her senses and realized what she had done, leaving Tsuba to has fate.

(Lisa, you are now free to act normally again. No Sanity roll yet, as you don't know for certain that he's dead.)

The trucks were now nearly a mile south of the motel. Coltrane sat up in the back of Colin's truck, bewildered by the change in surroundings.

(OOC: I know I can fire a short burst, but is there such a thing as a full burst? Can I unload the rest of my clip on the big group in an error to slow them down?)

(OOC: Okay, understood.)
Seeing the others charge the stairs, Frank did his best to thin the herd. Frank took aim at the runner on the stairs and fired a round that pierced it's skull. The zombie fell to the ground in a heap: dead.

One down, a crap load left to go, Frank though

Regaining her senses, Lisa slows to a jog and looks at Amanda. "Oh God, Mrs. D, we've gotta go back for Tsuba!"

Lt. Doolitle checked the ammo in her gun and looked around waiting for further instruction.

OOC: so yea im back. woo.

Colin hit the brakes on his truck as he saw Lisa suddenly become one of those worms. He screamed in terror and raised his rifle only to realize it was empty.

(Walkers from the east: 42/85 dead, 1 with 9 damage to head, 1 with 8 damage to head, 1 with 3 damage to head
Runners from the east: 3/10 dead, 1 with no right leg [18 damage], 1 with no right arm [15 damage], 1 with 10 damage to left arm
Crawlers from the east: 3 with 9 damage to head
NW barricade: 6/60 HP left
NE barricade: gone
SW barricade: gone
SE barricade: 1/60 HP left
Luke: 3 damage
Black: 3 damage
Sheen: 5 damage
Malanowski: 9 damage
Cole: 7 damage
Granger: 3 damage

Temporary insanity rounds remaining, not counting this one:
Javier Ramirez: 4
Lt. Angela Blanco: 5)

West of the motel-
The fast zombie that Hodges shot went down in a heap at the top of the stairs. The other six slowly climbed up the stairs and over the still corpse of their fellow ghoul. They would be at the door to the comm room soon.

(Hodges, you may act again. You may shoot once, move, or do something else.)

In the comm room-
Lt. Doolittle saw that she had eight rounds remaining in her MP-5's magazine and one in the chamber. Her sidearm was still fully loaded with an extra bullet in the chamber.

"At least that's something," replied Carmichael. "Thank God. Anything else to report?"

"Everyone else get out while you can!" ordered Lt. Curtis. "Only one of us needs to be in here to keep communications open as long as possible, and as the CO that should be me. The rest of you save yourselves. I don't think we can hold this place."

"Sir, you still need me," said Mikhalin. "I speak Russian, and you don't. I'll stay."

Curtis frowned, but he knew her logic was correct and he didn't have time to argue. "Okay, let's go! " He led the way out to the balcony, the medical researchers following him.

(Lt. Doolittle, you may follow the others out of the room. If you do, you'll see the zombies, but you will not need to roll Sanity since you've already lost 10 for seeing zombies in this chapter. They're blocking the way south, but you can run north and make it to the center of the west side of the balcony this round. If you try to attack them, they will get to attack you back, so that would not be advisable. You may reload your MP-5 while you run.)

On the motel balcony-
David slung the shotgun across his back, swung onto the ladder, and climbed up to the roof. Dr. Owens was about to follow him when he heard the sound of crunching wood from both the northeast and southeast barricades. Luke hit the southeast one again, and Bill did too. There was only a thin piece of wood remaining. Then one of the runners cracked open the northeast barricade and another emerged from the stairs and leapt for Ramirez's prone form, coming up just short. Two more runners came up the stairs right behind them.

Zorie Spooner saw her former comrades, now undead, as she emerged from the comm room. She refrained from panicking, but ran north along the balcony. Lt. Blanco's eyes widened. She had gotten used to working with these people, and she couldn't believe that they had died. It was too much to bear, and she was certain she would end up just like them. Terrified, she froze and remained standing where she was. Curtis calm as ever, grabbed her arm and dragged her after him. "I'm not leaving you behind!" he shouted.

East of the motel-
The one-legged zombie finally reached the northeast stairs, just as the last two runners arrived from the east, also heading for them. The main horde was still 40 yards from the motel.

South of the motel-
Amanda stopped the motorcycle next to Lisa, sobbing. "I'm so sorry, Lisa," she said. "He...he didn't make it. I barely got out of there myself, and he nearly killed me after he rose up. If I hadn't jammed my carbine in his mouth...he practically broke it in half. It's not your fault, Lisa. He gave his life so that you could escape, and there's no greater proof of his love. There's nothing for us back there. I lost Clarence too, and a few other friends. But Keith and Melinda are still alive, and so is Colin Lewis. We have to follow them. Hopefully they know to turn west eventually and head for Warren AFB, because I don't see how we can catch up to them unless they stop." She patted the seat behind her. "Hop on, they're getting farther ahead."

Almost a mile to the south, Melinda saw Colin just in front of her, but she couldn't see why he had done so. In the back of her truck, Keith finally came to his senses. Colin Lewis blinked twice and suddenly there was no sign of Lisa or the worms, only his truck and Keith's. In fact, all of the worms he had seen all around him were inexplicably gone. Had they ever even been there? Were any of them real? He didn't know. In the bed of his pickup, Coltrane looked around. "You've got to take me back to the motel!" he said. "My guys are back there. How did I get here?" He tried to recall what had happened. "You saved my life back there, didn't you? Thanks, man." He spoke into his radio. "This is Coltrane. I'm not sure where I am or how I got here, but I'm in the back of one of the civilians' trucks. Can anyone read me? What's going on at the motel? Over."

(Keith Deeds and Colin Lewis, you are now yourselves again. Indefinite insanity won't kick in until the end of the chapter, and I'll let you know at that point how it affects you. You may both act freely now. Hodges, Lt. Doolittle, and the other USAF characters at the motel all heard what Coltrane said on the radio. Amanda and Lisa are nearly a mile back, and the group with the trucks can neither see nor hear them.)

Lt. Doolittle doesn't need to be told twice to run. She bolts for the door while reloading her gun. She's stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of the zombies but only for a second before she heads north out onto the balcony. All the while she mutters "Not even supposed to be here. Not even supposed to be here."

Melinda stops and ask if he want to join the truck.

At the motel-
Frank took aim at one of the walkers going up the stairs and fired. This round, too, stuck the zombie in the head. While the round did a terrible amount of damage, it was not enough to stop the beast.
A few more shots, then I have to get moving, Frank thought to himself.

In the truck-
Finally coming to, Keith looks around expecting zombies all around. "Wha..... what! No..." Noticing that they were far from the motel: "Melinda, we need to go back. My family is back there. We have to see if we can help them."

Colin shook his head and said, "We cannot go back. It will only end in tears there. We need to get to Warren Air Force Base for protection. We have to continue on."

In the truck-
"Leaving is not an option. My mother, father and brother are back there. We are going back." Turning towards the cab of the truck, "Melinda, take us back there, okay, darling?"

(Walkers from the east: 42/85 dead, 1 with 9 damage to head, 1 with 8 damage to head, 1 with 3 damage to head
Runners from the east: 3/10 dead, 1 with no right leg [18 damage], 1 with no right arm [15 damage], 1 with 10 damage to left arm
Crawlers from the east: 3 with 9 damage to head
NW barricade: 6/60 HP left
NE barricade: gone
SW barricade: gone
SE barricade: gone
Luke: 3 damage
Black: 3 damage
Sheen: 5 damage
Malanowski: 9 damage
Cole: 7 damage
Granger: 3 damage
Lewie Newton: 9 damage to head

Temporary insanity rounds remaining, not counting this one:
Javier Ramirez: 3
Airman Alexandria Mikhalin: 10
Lt. Angela Blanco: 4
Lisa Crow: 11
Dr. Dale Owens: 13)

West of the motel-
Hodges put a bullet in Lewie Newton's head, knocking him down onto the balcony. He still was able to crawl on, lagging behind the other zombies. Glancing to the west, Hodges saw that the leading edge of the pack was now 30 yards away from him, but he still had time for a few more shots before he had to move.

(Hodges, you may take another shot now. Any hit to the head would finish off Lewie, though he is now reduced to a crawl. Sue is not wearing a helmet, but the other four zombies you can see on the balcony are all armored.)

On the motel balcony-
Dr. Owens stared horrified as the four runners swarmed over Ramirez, who still lay helpless at the northeast corner. They all bit him, two of them gnawing on his left leg and another chewing his left arm. The one that bit the side of his belly couldn't get through his body armor, but the damage from the other bites was enough to mortally wound him. Then Luke destroyed what little was left of the southeast barricade, and Bill ran past him straight for the doctor, ready to grab him and chow down. Dale avoided his grasping arms, but not his gnashing teeth. The zombie tore a small chunk from his right arm. The veterinarian could not cope with his doom, but retained enough presence of mind to flee. He managed to get onto the ladder and follow David up to the roof.

On the west side of the balcony, Lt. Curtis hauled Lt. Blanco with him as they fled north along the balcony to the northwest corner, following Zorie Spooner. The five standing zombies were just five yards behind them, with Lewie Newton crawling after them another few yards back. They passed by the door of the comm room without paying it any heed. "Coltrane, this is Lt. Curtis," replied the CO on the radio. "We can't hold the motel and we're evacuating, except for Airman Mikhalin who volunteered to stay and work the comm as long as possible. We're going to need a lift."

(Lt. Doolittle, you may make it to the northwest corner of the balcony along with the others this round. If you attack the zombies, they're still close enough to attack you back afterwards. Alternatively, you could leap over the balcony railing to the parking lot below. If you do this, make a Jump roll to avoid taking damage.)

In the comm room-
Mikhalin watched as the zombies streamed past the smashed-open door, frightened beyond reason. She couldn't take it any more, and it finally sank in that she had just sacrificed her life. She heard many voices speaking in Russian - speaking directly to her! Desperately, she grabbed the microphone and spoke to Carmichael. "Sir, this is Airman Mikhalin!" she said quickly. "I volunteered to stay behind so the others could get out. The Russians know we're listening in on them! They know who I am, sir! They said they're going to bury America and rule what's left of the world! All these years they've been lulling us into a false sense of security while they've secretly been planning to take over! Sir, I think they're behind everything that's happened today!"

"Airman, calm down," said Carmichael, skepticism in his voice. "How can the Russians know who you are? Why would they tell you these things if they're true? None of this makes sense. Put Lt. Curtis on."

"Sir, he's gone. They're all gone. I'm the only one left."

On the motel roof-
David stared in shock at the corpse of Brian Kincaid, which had been ripped asunder. He gulped, on the very brink of madness, but he remained in control of himself. Then he caught sight of the SAW lying on the roof. "Whoa, baby!" he said, claiming it for himself. He swallowed his disgust and rooted through Kincaid's pockets, taking his pistol and magazines. He turned around when Dr. Owens clambered onto the roof from below. Dale choked up when he saw the torn young man, becoming violently ill. He almost retained control of his mind, but it slipped away from him. He froze, no longer having a will of his own.

East of the motel-
The crawling zombie started up the northeast stairs, and the two runners arrived at the base of the stairs just behind it. The horde of slower zombies was 30 to 35 yards from the motel.

South of the motel-
Lisa trembled when she learned of Tsuba's death. It was my fault, she thought. I ran out on him again after I swore I wouldn't. Once more she broke down, certain that she had caused her love's demise and, as a result, nearly caused his mother's death too. She gazed at Amanda with blank eyes. She's our leader now. I have to do whatever she does. She got on the back of Amanda's motorcycle.

"It'll be all right," said Amanda as she pulled out and headed south, but Lisa didn't seem to be listening. They were now a few hundred yards south of the motel, but still out of view of the trucks.

Coltrane climbed out of the back of Colin's truck. "You're free to go where you want, sir," he said to him, "but I'm heading back to the motel." He went across to Keith's truck and climbed into the cab. "Thank you, ma'am. If you want to get to safety, you should go with your friend in the other truck and get to Warren AFB. It's about forty miles west of here, and you'll want to stay off the roads."

(Colin, Melinda, and Keith, you may act now. Decide which vehicles you're going in, and whoever is driving each one needs to say which way you're heading. The motel is almost a mile to the north, and Warren AFB is around 40 miles to the west.)

Colin leaned out the window and cried out to Melinda and Keith, "We need to stick together if we are going to survive. If you want to go back to the hotel then lets go. I vote for Warren AFB however. But what the fuck. Whereever you all want is fine by me."

-Y-you want to return there? With all those zombies and the worm?- she asks incredully.

"Not really, i always wanted to go to Warren but we got sidetracked. My greatest fear there is to see my beloved friend Joe as a Zombie and me being the one to blow his fucking head off. But whatever you all want to do. The chief fucking point is to stick together."

(I gave Colin some character which is why all the cusing. If you think it too much Mr. Handy please let me know.)

At the motel-
Knowing he had a little more time to do what he could to help those in the motel, Frank took aim at what used to be Sue and pulled the trigger. The round took her in the side of the head as she climbed the stairs; ending her existence.

In his truck-
"I need to check on my family. I can't just leave them back there. Besides, there are people there who can helps us and who are in contact with Warren. We need to at least see what is going on back there before we abandon the position."

Lt. Doolittle Turns to see the zombie horde coming. The site of all of them so close causes her to blank out and completely forget she even has weapons. She then tosses herself over the railing of the balconey and crashes down to the parking lot below.

(Walkers from the east: 42/85 dead, 1 with 9 damage to head, 1 with 8 damage to head, 1 with 3 damage to head
Runners from the east: 3/10 dead, 1 with no right leg [18 damage], 1 with no right arm [15 damage], 1 with 10 damage to left arm
Crawlers from the east: 3 with 9 damage to head
Luke: 3 damage
Black: 3 damage
Sheen: 5 damage
Malanowski: 9 damage
Cole: 7 damage
Granger: 3 damage
Lewie Newton: 9 damage to head

Temporary insanity rounds remaining, not counting this one:
Airman Alexandria Mikhalin: 9
Lt. Angela Blanco: 3
Dr. Dale Owens: 12)

East of the motel-
The three zombies at the northeast stairs reached the top, while the rest of the mob advanced to about 25 yards from the motel.

On the motel roof-
"Doc?" said David, waving a hand in front of Dale Owens's face, but all he got was a blank stare. Then he noticed the arm wound. "Oh, crap, you got bitten! Guess I won't be able to bring you with then, but I'll make you as comfy as I can while I wait for those things to reach the motel. Then I can slide past 'em and make for the truck." He tried to bandage the doctor's wound awkwardly.

In the comm room-
"Sir, they do know who I am," said Mikhalin, speaking quickly because she didn't know how long she had. "My parents were Soviet spies. They were sent to this country as sleeper agents, but when the U.S.S.R. broke up they thought they were off the hook and could just live normal lives. Only the whole collapse of Communism was a ruse, and now their handlers think my parents raised me as a sleeper and want to activate me. But I won't do it! I love this country, sir, and I don't care that they can overhear us, I won't do their bidding!"

Carmichael scoffed at the very idea. Somebody saw 'Little Nikita' a few too many times, he thought. Any intel she gives me will be unreliable. "Airman, you've had a rough day," he replied. "We all have. You've done more than enough for us, and there's no reason for you to throw your life away for an extra minute or so of intel. Get the hell out of there now. That's an order!"

"Yes, sir!" She turned to the door, stopping in her tracks when she saw Luke rush into the doorway. She raised her rifle nervously, but refused to give in to panic. "Bozhemoi!"

On the motel balcony-
The four runners at the northwest corner, the three who joined them from below, and Tsuba all swarmed over the unconscious and bleeding Ramirez. They easily finished him off and settled into their meal. Luke ran west along the south side of the balcony and over to the comm room door. Sue Newton fell to Hodges's excellent marksmanship, but her husband crawled along the west side of the balcony toward the northwest corner behind the four armored zombies.

Zorie Spooner and Lt. Curtis, pulling Lt. Blanco with them, reached the northwest corner ahead of the zombies. Glancing east, they saw Ramirez being consumed and knew that that direction was out. The barricade on the northwest stairs was nearly destroyed, but climbing over it might have proven tricky, and they might have been caught by the zombies if they didn't scale it quickly enough. Seeing Lt. Doolittle go over the rail, Lt. Curtis made a speedy decision. Scooping up Lt. Blanco in his arms, he too vaulted the railing. "Jump!" he shouted to Zorie, who was already following suit. The zombies ran to the stairs. Black destroyed half of what was left of the barricade, and Sheen demolished the other half.

West of the motel-
Zorie landed unharmed, rolling as she hit the pavement to avoid injury. Lt. Curtis lost his balance when he hit the ground, landing very badly and severely injuring himself. As he passed out from the pain, Lt. Blanco spilled from his arms and was merely bruised, as Lt. Curtis had broken her fall. Zorie looked around the parking lot. "We need wheels, fast!" she called.

About ten yards south of their position, Lt. Doolittle was moderately injured when she rolled onto the pavement, but it wasn't enough to stop her.

(Lt. Doolittle, if you want to go over to the northwest corner to help Zorie with the officers, it will take the entire round. However, the armored zombies on the balcony are already moving down the stairs right near them and will get to attack you if you try. If you do that, you should roll Dodge just in case. Hodges, the same applies to you. Either of you may shoot at either one of the armored zombies, or Luke. Lt. Doolittle could fire a burst at one or more of the armored zombies, but she's unlikely to hit without skill in SMG, and you can't aim at the head with a burst, only with single shots. When firing single shots with the MP-5, you may use Handgun skill instead, and it may fire twice per round. If you aim at a zombie's head, there is a -5 penalty to your roll, and if you fire multiple shots you may only shoot at one target this round.

You may try to find a vehicle to hotwire instead. Frank Hodges can't get to any of the vehicles this round, but he could move to the area of the parking lot due west of the northwest stairs and be in a position to reach a vehicle the round after - instead of shooting. There are a few near Lt. Doolittle. Their windows have been shattered by various explosions and tremors, but they look like they're still in working order. To hotwire one, roll Electrical Repair.)

South of the motel-
"We're coming back, sir," said Coltrane on the radio. "We're just sorting out which of the civilians are coming with and which are heading for the base." There was no reply from Lt. Curtis. "Sir?"

(Keith, Colin, and Melinda, roll Spot Hidden.)

Further north, Amanda kept driving away from the motel on her Harley. She glanced back to Lisa. "Just hang in there," she said. "We're going to be all right. We're going to live. I know that people we love very much have died, but we're alive because of the sacrifices they made. They will not have died in vain."

Lisa came to her senses. "Mama..." she said, weakly, clutching Amanda. "I love you."

"I love you too, honey."

"I will go back if you want me to. I am only going to Warren if everyone else is. So what the fuck is everyone doing?"
He was too busy yelling to see anything.

Lt. Doolittle looked around, saw the danger the officers were in and then considered the danger she herself was in. She wanted to help. She really did, they needed her, even if she wasn't supposed to be there, she should help. She should. But what good would it do. It would be far more helpful to get a vehicle for escape. With a car or something they can all escape together. Yea, that's what she needed to do. And this justification kept her from thinking of herself as a coward. And still that voice reminded her, "your not even supposed to be here."

Doolittle ran for the nearest accessible vehicle intending to hot wire it. Once inside she quickly ripped out the wires and went to work. With a quickness all the more hastened by fear she got the car started fast enough to even impress the most talented of car jackers.

With all the talk, Melinda doesn't see a thing.
-I still think it's stupid, we don't know if they are alive and I think it would be pointless to go there, but ok, I'm going because you save me and you were all very nice to me. But as soon as we see the worm, I stop the truck, and you will have to go on foot- no need to atract the atentions of that beast.

In the truck-
"That's fair, darling. I just need to make sure before I leave the motel for good. Besides, we may still be able to help the others with hit and run tactics" Keith said to Melinda. Eager to get back to the motel, Keith was unaware of his surroundings.

At the motel-
Thinking it best to move positions, Frank stood up and moved to the parking lot area of the motel.

(Walkers from the east: 42/85 dead, 1 with 9 damage to head, 1 with 8 damage to head, 1 with 3 damage to head
Runners from the east: 3/10 dead, 1 with no right leg [18 damage], 1 with no right arm [15 damage], 1 with 10 damage to left arm
Crawlers from the east: 3 with 9 damage to head
Luke: 3 damage
Black: 3 damage
Sheen: 5 damage
Malanowski: 9 damage
Cole: 7 damage
Granger: 3 damage
Lewie Newton: 9 damage to head

Temporary insanity rounds remaining, not counting this one:
Airman Alexandria Mikhalin: 8
Lt. Angela Blanco: 2
Dr. Dale Owens: 11)

East of the motel-
The leading edge of the horde reached the eastern edge of the parking lot. Three of them were at the forefront, two heading for the northeast corner and the other for the southeast corner. None of them tripped any of the wires.

On the motel roof-
David frowned, reloading his shotgun and waiting for the zombies to move up to the motel so he could get past them. "Come on, come on..." he muttered.

In the comm room-
Alexandria Mikhalin, even in her delusional state, knew that this was a fight she couldn't win. She had to get out of here or she'd be trapped. As Luke charged her, she tried to dart around him, easily evading his uncoordinated attack. She darted through the open doorway, Vladimir Putin's mocking laughter echoing in her mind behind her.

On the motel balcony-
At the northeast corner, the zombies continued consuming Ramirez. Mikhalin darted out of the comm room and down the southwest stairs, just a few feet ahead of Ernest Granger as he came around the corner. Luke had also turned around and was pursuing her. "Help!" she cried.

West of the motel-
Frank Hodges ran south out of the grass, into the middle of the northern part of the parking lot. About fifteen yards to his east, at the bottom of the northwest stairs. Zorie Spooner looked desperately at the fallen officers at her feet and the four armored zombies coming down the stairs behind her. There was no time to revive Lt. Curtis, and she knew she could not save both of them. She might not even be able to save one, but she had to try. In the end there was no real choice. Not only was Lt. Angela Blanco her friend and mentor, she was also lighter and in better condition. She tried to drag her toward the blue Honda Accord that Lt. Doolittle had just hotwired, but she was not quite strong enough. And then disaster happened.

Sam Black was the first one down the stairs, and he went after Zorie. He wrapped his arms around her, but she nimbly slipped out of his grasp. Bobby Sheen was right behind him, and he pursued her too, but luckily he came up short. Malanowski attacked her too, though he could not get past his comrades. Finally, Cole rushed Lt. Blanco, seizing her tightly and pulling her away from Zorie Spooner. "No!" Zorie cried.

Then zombies started to filter into the northwestern corner of the lot from the field of grass, some 30 yards west of the motel. Six emerged, and there were doubtless more on their way behind them.

(Hodges, you may either move or shoot at the zombie of your choice, or take some other action. Remember that the zombies at the bottom of the northwest stairs all have body armor and helmets. If you stay where you are and shoot, no zombies can reach you in the coming round. You may move to the base of the northwest stairs if you wish, but then you will be exposed to the zombies there. You may also make it to the car that Lt. Doolittle has hotwired and get inside. You cannot make it to the southwest stairs in one round, but you could get most of the way there if you wanted.

Lt. Doolittle, you may now start driving. You don't need to roll Drive Auto unless you go off-road for some reason or you need to evade an attack or try a risky maneuver. The base skill level for Drive Auto is only 20%, so that's a risk you probably don't want to take. You may drive to where Frank Hodges is located without any chance of zombies intercepting you. You may also swing by the southwest corner and try to pick up Mikhalin, but there is a fast zombie chasing her - the slower one on the balcony can't get close enough to attack this round. You may also drive to the northwest corner, where there are four armored zombies, one of which is busy with Lt. Blanco but the other three of which are free to attack. Instead of driving, you may shoot this round and remain where you are, in which case Hodges, Zorie, and Mikhalin will all be able to reach the car and get in next round provided they survive, and no zombies will get close enough to attack you or the car. If you fire a burst at the armored zombies, you do run a big risk of hitting the three humans near them and you cannot target their heads. You may fire at a single zombie's head twice with either the MP-5 or your pistol by using your Handgun skill with a -5 penalty to each roll. It takes a total of at least 10 damage to the head to kill a zombie. The zombies at the northwest stairs have Kevlar helmets which will reduce the damage from each shot by 5 to a minimum of 0. If you get 1/5 of your effective skill or less on your attack roll, that is an impale and you roll double the number of damage dice - 2d10 instead of 1d10 - but the helmet will still reduce the total damage by 5 if the zombie you're shooting is armored. If you get a 5 or less on your attack roll, that is a critical success. It does 2d10 damage to an unarmored zombie, but to an armored zombie it will do the normal 1d10 while ignoring its armor.)

South of the motel-
Amanda sped south and was now about half a mile from the motel. She noticed nothing unusual. Lisa, clinging to her back, did spot something. "Look, Mrs. D!" she called, pointing to the south. "There are the trucks, coming this way! Keith and Melinda are in that one.

Amanda brightened. "Keith!" she shouted, honking the horn.

Further south, Colin and Keith had started driving north, back towards the motel. When they were about three quarters of a mile from the motel, everyone in the trucks heard the honk of a motorcycle horn in the distance to the north.

"This is Coltrane again," said Coltrane into the radio. He didn't notice anything either. "Is there anyone alive back at the motel at all? Please reply if you can!"

(Hodges and Doolittle, you can both hear and reply to what Coltrane says.)

At the motel-
"Roger that! We have survivors, but I am not sure for how long. Things look bad." Frank said as he motioned in vail for Lt. Doolittle to come pick him up. Remembering his radio he said into it: "Lt. Doolittle, swing over here and pick me up. I will try and take out the infected attacking our friendlys." With that, Frank raised his rifle and took aim at Cole's head. Frank curses as the shot barely misses.

In the truck-
"You hear that?! A motorcycle horn! Hear north, Melinda. Perhaps someone made it out alive after all."

Lt. doolittle Doesn't even take the time to reply but instead starts driving immediately to Frank

-Right, but we will stay here to be sure, it must be full of zombies now.

In the truck-
"We need to head north and see who is honking. Then we can regroup and use hit and run tactics on those bastards and wipe them out!" Keith said, excited by the sound of the motorcycle horn.

(Walkers from the east: 43/85 dead, 1 with 9 damage to head, 1 with 8 damage to head, 1 with 7 damage to head, others with various damage from grenades
Runners from the east: 3/10 dead, 1 with no right leg [18 damage], 1 with no right arm [15 damage], 1 with 10 damage to left arm
Crawlers from the east: 3 with 9 damage to head
Luke: 3 damage
Black: 3 damage
Sheen: 5 damage
Malanowski: 9 damage
Cole: 7 damage
Granger: 3 damage
Lewie Newton: 9 damage to head

Temporary insanity rounds remaining, not counting this one:
Airman Alexandria Mikhalin: 11+
Lt. Angela Blanco: 1
Dr. Dale Owens: 10)

East of the motel-
The three zombies that had entered the parking lot closed in on the motel and were now just ten yards away. Five more were several yards behind them. Two of them tripped the remaining tripwires, and both grenades detonated. The three that were past that point were badly wounded, but kept coming. So were four of the ones that had reached the edge of the lot, though the one that tripped the southeast tripwire lost an arm. That one and another headed for the southeast corner, while the other two headed for the northwest corner along with a zombie that walked over the spot where the first grenade had gone off a while ago. That one got some shrapnel in the head from the central grenade, which brought it down since it already had a head wound.

Six more zombies were about eight yards from the eastern edge of the lot when the grenades exploded. All but one headed for the northwest corner. One took a serious wound to the skull, while three more took wounds to their bodies and kept coming. Two of them were far north of the grenades and suffered only minor injuries. The rest of the pack was far enough back that it wasn't damaged much.

On the motel roof-
"They're sure taking their sweet time," said David, swapping out his new pistol's magazine for a full one.

West of the motel-
Luke darted downstairs after Mikhalin, easily catching up to her at the bottom and brutally taking her down. "Nyet!" she screamed, unable to get away or shove her rifle into his jaws. He bit her left calf, lightly wounding her as he began to crush her in his arms. Her impending demise weighed heavily on her, and she broke. She knew it was all over, and that Russia would destroy America and take over what was left of the world.

Lt. Doolittle pulled out with a screech of rubber and headed northwest, stopping beside Frank Hodges in the middle of the northern part of the lot. Zorie Spooner rushed over to the car and dived into the back seat. "I'm sorry, Angela!" she cried. The three zombies continued to chase her, but she was easily able to outpace them. They were now only seven yards away. The six zombies that had come out of the grass closed in on the car from the other side, and another three emerged from the grass behind them. Unfortunately, the bullet that Hodges had fired hit Lt. Blanco, wounding her left thigh. Mercifully, she blacked out. Cole squeezed Lt. Blanco, cracking her ribs, but at least he did not manage to bite her too. Lewie Newton finished crawling down the northwest stairs and reached the bottom, and Ernest Granger stumbled down the southwest stairs.

(Lt. Doolittle, if you do not drive away now, nine zombies in all will reach the car from both sides. You can avoid them without having to roll anything by either driving north and then east around the north side of the motel, or by heading south and then turning left to head around the south side of the motel. I-80 is due south, but there is a section of unpaved ground between you and it. If you want to head directly to the highway, you'll need to roll Drive Auto.

Frank Hodges, you may get into the car before she drives off. Choose which seat you want to be in. You may also fire at a zombie this round after getting in the car if you wish.)

South of the motel-
"It's my fault he's dead," moaned Lisa. "I ran and left him behind again after I promised I wouldn't."

"Don't blame yourself, Lisa," said Amanda. "If you had stayed you'd both be dead now, and he wouldn't want that. He'd have wanted you to get away." She met up with the trucks as they were on their way north, about 5/8 of a mile south of the truck stop. "Keith!" she called. "I'm so relieved you survived, son. I'm glad to see you made it out too, Melinda and Colin. We have to get away from this place fast!"

"Some of my people are still alive back there," said Coltrane. "We can't just abandon them." He spoke into the radio. "Hodges, it's good to hear your voice. I should have known you couldn't be killed. And Lt. Doolittle's still alive too, I hear. Ma'am, what happened back there? Who else is still alive?"

"David and Dr. Owens were going up to the roof," said Amanda. "They're going to try to slide down the zipline and get to his truck once all the dead have moved past the bottom of it and reached the motel. I...I'm sorry, Keith. Your father and brother...it's too late for them."

(Keith, roll Sanity. Sanity loss is 0/1d6.)

At the Motel -
Frank grimaced as he watched his erant round strike Lt. Blanco in the thigh. With little time to waste, Frank hurried around the car and jumped into the front passenger seat of the car. Once in the car, he drew his pistol and fired a round at the nearest zombie. The pistol bucked in his grip as the round exploded out of the pistol and into the face nearest zombie. The massive damage dropped the zombie to the ground in a heap. "Let's get us some distance from these fuckers" Frank shouted.
"God damn, it's good to hear you too, man!" Frank said into the radio. "I'm still ticking.... for now. We've got a car and we are heading out to give us some breathing room. There are others here, and we need to see about getting them to safety. Let's regroup and see if we can't do some hit and run on them and maybe divert the infected while another group rushes in and grabs the other survivors."

At the trucks -
"What?! Mom......no. Dad and Tsuba can't be gone. They can't be........" grief overcame Keith and tears streamed down his cheeks. While it pained him greatly to hear of his dad and brothers death, Keiths mind was able to cope with the loss. He got out of the truck, hurried to his mother and embraced her. After a moment, he wiped the tears off his face with his sleve and turned to the others: "What's the plan now? Did anyone else survive at the motel?"

-Just decide quickly, ok? If we stay too much long those creatures will be here, and we will be all dead- says Melinda very nervous...

With out wasting another second Lt. doolittle speeds away from the zombies, heading north and east around the hotel.

(Is my character driving to the hotel or away from it? I got a bit lost there)

(OOC: Well, there are two groups:
1) Lt Doolittle and Hodges and someone else are in a car speeding north away from the motel.
2) Keith Deeds and a bunch of others are north of the motel and are talking about heading back to the motel to to do hit and run on them.

My directions may be off, but this is how I understand it.)

In the car -

Frank spoke into the radio: "Where are you guys? We need to all meet up. The motel has been overrun, but the com gear is still there and I believe it needs to be secured. We are heading east at the moment." Frank looks around at his surroundings trying to determine possible routes the small Honda can take without it getting stuck. "I'm not sure we can take the jalopie off road, so you man all need to come east to our position. If we meet up and use the trucks to keep our distance, I think we can take them out. Some of our men are now fast moving, armored zombies but if we aim for their unarmored legs we can slow them down and keep us safe."

(Colin and Melinda haven't said where they're driving, but their players have been online, so I'm going to go ahead and update again now. They haven't gone anywhere yet.

Walkers from the east: 43/85 dead, 1 with 9 damage to head, 1 with 8 damage to head, 1 with 7 damage to head, others with various damage from grenades
Runners from the east: 3/10 dead, 1 with no right leg [18 damage], 1 with no right arm [15 damage], 1 with 10 damage to left arm
Crawlers from the east: 3 with 9 damage to head
Luke: 3 damage
Sheen: 5 damage
Malanowski: 9 damage
Cole: 7 damage
Granger: 3 damage
Lewie Newton: 9 damage to head

Temporary insanity rounds remaining, not counting this one:
Zorie Spooner: 8
Dr. Dale Owens: 9)

West of the motel-
Frank put a bullet into the skull of Sergeant Black, punching through his helmet and dropping him. Then Lt. Doolittle pulled away to the north, turning hard to the right and speeding east past the north side of the motel to avoid Sheen, Malanowski, and the zombies coming from the west. Cole finished crushing Lt. Blanco to death, and Lewie Newton went after Lt. Curtis. He crawled over but couldn't quite reach him yet. At the southwest corner of the motel, Luke gave Mikhalin a deadly bear hug, snapping ribs and slaying her outright. Then he and Ernest Granger began to devour her.

On the motel roof-
David began to remove bullets from a partially full magazine and fill up another that was mostly full while he waited for the zombies to close in below. Dr. Owens continued to stare blankly.

East of the motel-
"This is Zorie Spooner," said Zorie on the radio as the car swept around the north side of the motel. "We killed the worm, but there's just too many zombies and the motel is getting it from both sides. I think it's a lost cause. Even if we could somehow take the motel back, how could we possibly hold it? The comm gear would take way too long to move, and even if we could take it with us in one of the trucks, it can't operate unless it's hooked up to that satellite dish. It's not my decision what to do, though. That's up to Lt. Doolittle. She's the ranking officer now that both Lt. Curtis and Lt. Blanco are gone." She blinked back tears, overwhelmed by Angela's death. "I couldn't save her...I tried so hard..." She broke down, knowing that it was her fault. She sat stock still in the back seat, terrified that she would join her.

The zombies on the northeast corner of the balcony ran down the stairs and pursued the car as it zipped past. They had stopped eating Ramirez because he was now running alongside them. Lt. Doolittle was easily able to outrun them in the car. She crossed the northern part of the parking lot, avoiding the slow-moving horde that was coming from the east. She reached the dirt road that was halfway between the motel and the garage. It led north into the distance, but about fifty yards to the north Baldwin's truck blocked the road. Two of its tires had been shot out, and it wasn't going anywhere. The ground to either side of the road was muddy, so it would not be easy to bypass it. To the south, the road connected to I-80, which went east and west. Once she had gotten well past the zombies, they ignored the car and headed for the motel. The first few zombies were now just a couple of yards away from it, and the back of the pack was 25 yards off.

(Lt. Doolittle, you may choose where to drive. If you follow the dirt road north, you'll need to go off the road to pass the truck, in which case you'll need to roll Drive Auto. The base skill is 20%. You may drive around the zombies and get onto I-80 heading either east or west without having to roll anything. Warren AFB is some 40 miles to the west. Frank Hodges, if you want to shoot at a zombie, you'll be at half skill now that the car is moving. The -5 penalty for aiming at the head is applied after halving your skill.)

South of the motel-
Amanda hugged her son back with all her strength, leaning on him for support. "We need to get to Warren AFB," she said. "It's about forty miles west of here. We'll be safe there. I know David and Dr. Owens are alive back there, up on the roof, but David plans for them to get out on that zipline and escape in his truck once the mob reaches the motel and the path between them and the truck is clear."

"Lt. Doolittle, ma'am," said Roger Coltrane, "I've got five civilians here with me, but only the two men have rifles. We're a little over half a mile south of your position. What are your orders?" He spoke to Keith next. "Lt. Doolittle got out of the motel and is in a car with Airman Frank Hodges and Zorie Spooner. Hodges is a good man. We can depend on him."

Lt. Doolittle, slightly upset at the way Zorie starts to break down, holds back her own tears. As she drives the car west onto I-80 she says over the radio, "We are to pull out of the motel and head west. We can meet up and figure out what to do from there once we are at a safe distance from any danger. There is no point in throwing away any more lives for that stupid motel. It's a lost cause."

She then tries to calm down Zorie as best she can, telling her it wasn't her fault. None of this was anyone's fault.

(Lt. Doolittle, you'll need to roll Psychoanalysis to calm Zorie down. The base chance is only 1%. Her temporary insanity will run its course eventually regardless.)

South of the motel-
"Yes, ma'am," said Coltrane. "We'll meet up with you. I recommend we get off the highway as soon as possible." He spoke to Keith and the others. "Lt. Doolittle's car is heading west on I-80. We should head northwest to join up with her."

-We don't have to go to the hotel again?-says Melinda relieved-great, let's go to that road then!
She directs the truck to the highway.

In the car -
With adrenaline surging through his veins, Frank takes one last shot one of the many infected in the region. The shot flies harmlessly high. Turning back in his seat to face forward, Frank lets out a big sigh. His hands beging to shake as the gravity of what befell the others, his friends, weighs on him. He puts his face in his hands as he remembers them. Finally, he sits back up, his dirty face streaked with tears: "They didn't deserve that. None of them did. They were good men. Soldiers. And to end it like that...." He turns his head and stares out the window of the car.

At the trucks -
The relief of seeing his mother again quickly washes over Keith as he is brought back to reality: " Alright. Lets head north west and try to meet up with Lt. Doolittle" Keith says as he scans the area for signs of Lt. Doolittles car or approaching infected.

(OOC: Has anyone alive had any contact with Warren? Do any of us know about the PMS compound?)

(OOC: OKay. Thanks for the update. I, myself, am not sure what the status of Warren is. If they have been breached, if they are under attack, or if things are fine there so I am wondering if anyone in the group knows it's condition. Did any of the current survivors hear about the C-130 with reinforcements or the possibility of a helicopter with nerve agent cleaning up if they lost contact with us?)

Colin says, "Lets go to Warren." He began to drive that way.

(Temporary insanity rounds remaining, not counting this one:
Zorie Spooner: 3
Dr. Dale Owens: 4)

West of the motel-
Lewie Newton reached Lt. Curtis, grabbing him and chomping down hard on his neck, biting his head off. The lieutenant would never rise again.

On the motel roof-
"Sorry, Doc," said David, "but I'm gonna have to leave you here. You've got some stuff on you that won't help you any, but I could sure use it. If you've got any objection to me taking it, say something now." Dale Owens did not respond, his thousand yard stare seeming to pass right through David. "Thanks, buddy." The trucker took the .40 pistol and ammunition from Dr. Owens, as well as his medical supplies. Then he tucked his Sig Sauer into the veterinarian's belt. "This piece and I go back a long ways. It's yours for what's left of your life. There's only one bullet in it, but that's all you're gonna need. I guess this is goodbye, then, huh?"

David waited for the horde to close in on the motel, standing on the eastern edge of the roof with his belt looped over the zipline. The zombies swarmed for the stairs and up onto the balcony. When the last of them got close to the motel, he stepped off the edge of the roof and slid down, landing safely in the parking lot.

East of the motel-
Lt. Doolittle turned right onto I-80 and sped west, leaving the motel and all the carnage far behind.

About a minute later, David landed and ran east toward his truck. The zombies left him alone, trying in vain to get to the much closer but inaccessible Dale Owens up on the roof.

South of the motel-
"Then let's head out," said Amanda. She got back on her Harley and drove off to the northwest, Lisa clinging to her back. Keith got back into the bed of his truck, while Coltrane remained in the shotgun seat. Melinda and Colin drove the trucks away, following Amanda. Keith caught sight of the car speeding west on the highway as he got closer, but he did not see any threats other than the zombies mobbing the motel.

On the road-
Lt. Doolittle drove west on I-80. Ahead of her, about half a mile from the motel, she saw a smaller road branching off to the north and south. She reached the intersection just as the motorcycle and the two pickup trucks arrived. A road sign beside the right shoulder gave distances to nearby towns in miles:

Potter 1
Dix 3
Kimball 5

(Everyone but David and Dr. Owens is present at the intersection. Feel free to talk amongst yourselves and decide on a course of action.)

Colin says,
"Well Potter is a small town. Only about 390 people in the village so less of a chance for zombie hordes but they may not take kindly to strangers. Dix is a smaller village with about 260 souls in it. Same idea applies. We need to stay away from Kimball. It is the county seat and has around 3,000 potential zombies there. Although that could be a good place to lay up for a while as well. I vote for Dix but will go wherever people wish."

On the road-
"I don't think stopping at those towns is such a hot idea," said Coltrane. "All those ghouls coming through the grass from the west either came from Potter and Dix, or they came from Kimball and blew through those towns. I doubt there's anyone left alive in Potter or Dix anyway. Either they got eaten, or they got the hell out of there. I still think our best bet's to get to Warren. If we stay in one of those towns, we'll be no safer than we would be back at the motel, especially if those things follow us."

"We should wait here a few minutes for David and Dr. Owens to catch up to us," said Amanda. "If anything comes this way first, then we'll have to bug out. Colin, maybe you can see something through your rifle's scope."

(Anyone who wants to may roll Spot Hidden, but specify which direction you're looking. Colin will be able to see more detail, since he has a scope. Also, everyone may roll Navigate once to try to help plan out a route. Lt. Doolittle may use her Navigate skill; aerial navigation is her specialty, but she can navigate on the ground too. If you don't have Navigate listed on your character sheet, the base skill is 10%. If you want to reload your weapons, you have time to do that now.)

Colin says, "As I said, I was just commanting on maybe getting supplies on the way to Warren."
He used his scope to check out the way back toward the motel to see if anything was following them. He thought he saw something but it simply could be the waving grass in the breeze.
He also got some maps out of the truck to help plan a route to Warren. But he failed to find a good route and gave it up.
He reloaded his rifle.

On the road-
Through his rifle's scope, Colin Lewis could see the zombies swamping the motel. The ones on the west either went over to gnaw on the bodies at the base of the northwest stairs or surged up the southwest stairs and onto the balcony, where they headed east. There were dozens of them visible, but he couldn't see the ones on the east side of the motel with the building in his way. He saw David running east from the motel's parking lot, heading for diner's parking lot. No zombies pursued him, and none were visible in the grass between the intersection and the motel. Colin could not see Dr. Owens.

Lt. Doolittle let out a small sigh of relief. At least she is away from that hell hole. Still she felt uneasy. Stopping to figure out where to go was necessary, yes, but she still felt extremely uneasy. She turned away from the group for a moment. Let them figure out where to go, they probably knew more than she did. She wasn't even supposed to be here. That Colin guy seems to know enough about the area. With that uneasy feeling still sitting in her stomach she gazed back towards the motel.

-I agree, we can stay for some inutes, those creature are slow, and we can pick any survivors. But latter we should go to that base, it must be safer there!

In the bed of the truck-

Keith stood up and scanned the area to the west. After looking for threats he said to the others: "We may be able to skirt around the town and try to signal any survivors who might be there?
(OOC: Can Keith or Frank do some rough math in their heads around how many hoards of infected came from the west towards to motel?)

In the Honda-
Frank exited the passenger seat of the Honda and scanned the area to the north. The images of his friends heads snapping back as he shot them replayed in his head, preventing him from noticing anything.

(Keith and Frank know that there have been between 150 and 200 zombies that have approached from the west since they arrived at the motel, not counting the ones that were just spotted. However, they have no idea how many arrived in the morning, since they weren't there. In all, it is probably more than the entire population of Potter, so it seems probable that many of them came from Kimball originally. There have been several hundred zombies coming from the east during the course of the day. Most of them must have come from Sidney, especially since Brownson was flattened early on. Sidney is a much bigger town than Kimball. There is unlikely to be anything special in Potter or Dix in terms of supplies, considering their size. There may be some food and water, but you have way more than enough on you to get to the base. Sidney does have the HQ of Cabela's, where Melinda once worked. There were plenty of guns and ammo left there when the Rough Riders got done looting the store, but it's six miles in the wrong direction and there are likely to be a lot of zombies in your way.)

On the motel roof-
Dr. Owens finally snapped out of it, staring at the untreated bite wound on his arm. He bandaged it with his torn sleeve, repairing the damage. But he knew that the poison was already in his blood, and sooner or later it would kill him. Already he felt it burning in his veins.

Between the motel and the T-Bone-
David continued runninng for the truck. He was now only 25 yards away.

On the road-
Looking to the west, Keith could see approximately three dozen figures advancing slowly through the grass a short distance north of the highway. They were about a quarter of a mile from the intersection, and at their current pace it would take them another three minutes to reach it. He could also just barely see Potter from here, but could not determine if there was anyone in it from this distance. It was on the north side of Route 30 and the railroad tracks, which ran parallel to I-80 not far to the north. Colin watched as David cleared most of the distance to his truck. Lt. Doolittle could barely see the motel, and while she could tell that there was a lot of movement in and around it, she couldn't make out any details without a scope or binoculars.

Coltrane peered to the south as he reloaded his M-16 by feel. "It looks clear that way," he said. "I don't think we've got time to go salvaging supplies from towns along the way. We're less than an hour from Warren anyhow, and going into a populated area would only put us all at risk. If we can find and rescue survivors that would be great, but we don't want to get too close. Warren AFB is on the west side of Cheyenne. It's small as cities go, but it's bigger than anything else in this neck of the woods. Cutting through the heart of the city to reach the base would be suicidal, so I recommend heading around Cheyenne either to the north or the south. We'd still have to contend with going through the suburbs as we got closer, but it wouldn't be as bad. I have no idea what's between here and there, however. If we were following the highway we could find it easily enough, but we'd also run into plenty of the dead. I suggest using the back roads." He nods to Lt. Doolittle. "Ma'am, you're in charge, so what we do is up to you."

Zorie Spooner blinked and looked around, finally herself once more. "Oh, you're hurt!" she said as reality sank in. She took out her medical kit and treated Lt. Doolittle's injuries from her leap off of the balcony, and she was soon as good as new. "Don't look at me for directions. I'm totally lost."

Amanda pondered how best to get to Warren AFB by the back roads, but she wasn't sure which way to go. Lisa merely shrugged. "Here, you can have this back," she said to Keith, returning his pistol to him. "I've got mine working again." She reloaded her Beretta.

(If you've already rolled Navigate, don't roll again, but if you haven't you should. I still haven't gotten rolls from Lt. Doolittle, Frank Hodges, Keith, or Melinda. If nobody succeeds at a Navigate roll, the trip will take longer as you will likely get lost along the way. You may also reload your weapons if you wish to do so, taking up one combat round per magazine swapped, and you may each additionally choose a direction and make another Spot Hidden roll this round. Colin will see the most detail through his scope. if you already succeeded at a Spot Hidden roll last round and want to keep watching in the same direction, you do not need to roll again.

If anyone wants to shoot at the zombies to the west, you have five combat rounds. You'll have to succeed at a Spot Hidden roll first while looking west, which will take up one combat round if you succeed. If you fail, you will not get to shoot during this set of five rounds. Keith does not need to roll, since he already saw them, but he will need to reload at some point, which will cost a combat round. Only those with rifles have a real chance of hitting. Colin's rifle has a scope, so he may use his full skill with only the -5 penalty for aiming at the head if he sees them. However, it has a slower rate of fire and he will only get two shots this time. Everyone else with a rifle will be at half skill.)

Melinda looks at the road and then says:
-That way!


OOC: Thats was fantastic roll!

Colin Lewis turned his scope to the west to find the zombies. "There the bastards are." He took aim at one of the zombies heads and fired. Not only did the bullet hit true but the head exploded in gore and the zombie dropped to never walk again. He took aim at another zombie head and fired. Again the shot was spot on perfect and the zombie fell to not rise anymore.

In the back of his truck-
"We've got imcomming," Keith shouts to the group. Seeing that they are a ways off still, Keith begins to reload his rifle. "Should we wait for the survivor at the motel to get in his truck and hopefully meet up with us?"
(OOC: I rolled a navigate and failed, but my browser crashed before I could submit it and now the IC Search page is not working. I failed regardless.)


Standing next to the Honda-
Franks head staps to the west as he hears the call of incomming infected. He is immediatly able to spot them approaching. Gauging their distance, he realized waiting for them to get closer would increase his chance of hitting and, thus, saving his ammo. As he waits, he grabs a map and attempts to discern a path to Warren but he is unable to do so.

Sure Navigating on the ground and in the air are two entirely seperate things, but still Lt. Doolittle was able to map out a route following the back roads to the south to get to the Base.

"Here, this is the route we go. If we spot any areas with survivors or supplies and said areas appear to be low risk, we stop. Who is still back at the motel?"

"Colin made mention of seeing someone making it off the roof and running for a truck. I didn't catch the name of the person, but that sounds like survivor behavior."

In the diner parking lot-
David reached his truck and hopped into the driver's seat. He already had his keys out, and he shoved them into the ignition and started the engine. Then he began to drive west.

On the motel roof-
When Dr. Owens saw the truck begin to move, he decided to take his chances and try to escape from the motel. He wrapped his jacket around the zipline, held onto the sleeves, and slid down.

East of the motel-
Dale reached the ground safely, but then the zombies at the motel turned toward him and started heading his way. Several of them were moving very quickly, and he had to race to stay ahead of them. Even so, they were catching up. He waved frantically to the truck as it began to turn toward the highway. "Pick me up!" he shouted. "I know I've been bitten, but I can still be useful for the next few hours!"

David spun the wheel and swung up alongside him. "Get in, fast!" he yelled. Dr. Owens threw open the door and hopped in, just a few yards ahead of the zombies. David turned away from them, having slowed down but never stopped. He picked up speed and drove back to the highway, getting onto it and heading west. The entire horde pursued the truck.

On the road-
With a little help from Lt. Doolittle, Melinda worked out the best route to reach Warren AFB by the back roads south of I-80. They would need to start by turning left here at the intersection.

"That would be David," said Zorie Spooner, reloading her pistol. "I think your friend Dr. Dale Owens was with him. We should really wait for them to catch up to us."

"Yes, but we can't stay here too long," said Coltrane. He peered into the field, easily making out the approaching zombies. "I count 34 of them left, and they'll be on our position in two minutes. I think we should leave after one minute, heading south. Hopefully that will give David enough time to reach us, or at least to see which way we're headed. Save your ammo, there's no way we can kill them all before they get here. All we can do is put as much distance as possible between us and them. Stay in your vehicles and get ready to pull out." He loaded his M-16 with a full magazine, then filled up one of his partial magazines from the other.

(It's okay that there's no link to Keith's Navigate roll. Only one of you needed to succeed anyway, and Melinda already had the best success. You have five more combat rounds before the next update. Everyone with a rifle may use their full skill, and other than that the same rules from the last update apply. Colin Lewis may shoot three times, or he may reload instead.)

Colin got back into the truck and reloaded his rifle to have 5 bullets in it. He started the truck and got ready to pull out with the group.

At the Honda-
After checking his gear, Frank climbed back into the passengers seat of the Honda and instinctivly reached for the seat belt. He paused, realizing that the world had gone to shit and that he didn't want to get tangled up in a seat belt and let the belt go. He had to chuckle at how pavlovian reaching for a seat belt had become for everyone.

Doolittle got back into her car saying, "If anyone can get a hold of the survivor back at the hotel, fine. If not we wait as long as we safely can. We then drive off, I'll lead the way, and we just hope he can follow our trail."

"That truck would cetainly me a nice thing to have over that Honda," Keith said. "Mon, Lisa, do you two want to hop in the truck and I will head back and meet the truck?"

On the road-
"I'll ride in the other pickup with Colin again," said Coltrane, getting out of Keith's truck. "You can ride shotgun with Melinda if you like. Say, you've got CB radios in these trucks of yours. I bet we could raise David with them." He glanced back. "Hey, here he comes now!" The big rig was approaching quickly from the east.

"Lisa, why don't you ride with Colin too?" asked Amanda. "I do like your company, but it's safer for you to be in an enclosed vehicle rather than on the back of my bike. I'll stay on my Harley. I'd hate to leave it behind." Lisa nodded and reluctantly slid into the cab, moving over so that Coltrane could get into the shotgun seat.

"Can I have my gun back?" Dr. Owens asked David as the truck got closer to the vehicles stopped at the intersection. "You can have it after I die, but I can be a lot more useful with it. Here's the one you gave me."

"Okay," said David, exchanging pistols with him, "but if you start getting a hankering for my insides, I want you to end it. I can do it for you if you can't."

"Do we have to tell the others I've been bitten?"

"I'm afraid so. You saw all the trouble that happened because you didn't tell anyone about your boy until it was almost too late. Baldwin died because of that. That's not gonna happen to anyone else, not on my watch." David stopped at the intersection beside the other vehicles. "We might want to get a move on! All those dead guys are hot on my tail back there. They're a ways behind, but they'll catch up if we stay here jawing."

"We've got another batch coming from the west, and it's almost here," said Coltrane. He shuddered when he saw how close they were, but he was fairly used to the sight and it did not affect him too badly. "We'll stay in touch by CB, but we'd better get rolling fast. Melinda worked out a route to Warren AFB."

"That's great! Wish I had time to give her a kiss. I'll lead the way. My truck's big enough to handle anything that gets in our path. Just tell me where to go."

"You can start by turning left. We'll be heading west after a couple of miles, so we'll tell you when to turn."

"Roger, Roger. Heh." David made a wide left turn and began driving south. Amanda kick-started her Harley and began to follow a short distance behind and off to the side.

(Keith, I presume you're riding with Melinda, but you're free to get into the back or into another vehicle if you prefer. All drivers - Lt. Doolittle, Melinda, and Colin - will need to work out which order everyone is driving in. The two pickup trucks and the Harley can go off-road if needed, but David's semi and the car will have to stick to the roads. You'll want to pull out now, as if you remain at the intersection, the zombies from the west will start to arrive. Nobody else needs to roll Sanity, as the only other people who have seen the zombies already lost 10 this chapter for seeing them, and you'll be gone before they get here if you leave now.)

Colin will follow the truck that Melinda is in.

-It's better that we go by the road, less chance to be lost or find some obstacle, and we may actually find someone alive in the way. Should we go now?- says Melinda, more and more nervous.

(Keith will ride in the cab with Melinda. I suggest an order of The Semi, Colin's Truck, the car, the harley and then Melinda's truck)
"Yep, let's head out."

Would't be prefered to be the truck first? If any zombie appears, the truck can still continue and smash it.

Colin said, " I think we should drive in this order. Melinda, then me, then the harley, then the car, then the semi."

(Occ-If no one else moves before the next update Mr Handy simply have Colin pull out first before we can get attacked by zombies ok?)

OOC: I will only be able to post monday as usuall, so I'm fine for any decision.

(OOC: The point of having the semi first is that is is massive and can clear a path if we encounter anything like that.)

OOC: Ok, so I will follow as ryandsommer said.

In the truck-
"Go ahead and follow the semi." Keith said to Melinda.

-Right!-Says Melinda happy by leaving that place.

Colin followed Melenda and Keith.

On the road-
David led the way south in his big rig. He got on the CB and addressed the others in the trucks: "You might want to tell the Air Force folks riding with you to switch to this frequency on their personal radios so we can all talk." He waited a little for the others to adjust their frequencies before he continued; Coltrane relayed the information to the people in the car over his radio. "Just so you know, Dr. Owens has been bitten during our escape from the balcony to the roof. He looks okay for now, and he might still be useful during the rest of the trip, but I don't think there's any way in hell they'll let him onto the base. Hey, I don't even know if they'll let the rest of us in, in spite of the fact that I and the ladies in this group are extremely good looking."

Melinda followed the semi around the corner to the south, followed closely by Lt. Doolittle's car. Amanda dropped back behind the car on her Harley, and Colin's truck brought up the rear. The small convoy began the long and perilous journey to Warren Air Force Base, fleeing from the zombies that had overrun the motel and cut off their communications. Forty miles to their west lay safety, but between them and it was a lengthy stretch of land and a finally a city full of the risen dead. Even if they reached Warren safely, David was right: gaining entry might not be as simple as it seemed. And if they did get access to the base, would it really be as safe as they presumed?

(Chapter 3 is now officially over! Congratulations on surviving! This thread will remain unlocked during the break between chapters so that you can converse with each other and with the NPCs. Almost everyone either has a radio or is in a vehicle with a CB. The only exception is Amanda, but if anyone wants to talk to her, just signal and she'll drive alongside you. Feel free to reload your weapons and consolidate partial magazines as well, as you'll have plenty of time to do these things before Chapter 4 starts. There's no need to roll any more dice, as nothing will happen until then.)

-So Keith, how you are doing?-says Melinda

OOC,This thread is now locked. The story continues in the Gold section of Chapter 4, found on the link below:

Cheyenne of the Dead