Play@YSDC

On Roundtop Road-
The rest of the vehicles followed David's truck around the 60-degree bend and onto Roundtop Road, heading north.

"Yes, her injuries don't look life-threatening," said Lt. Doolittle. "I'm sorry about the crash. Give me a helicopter and I'm fine, but I'm hopeless behind the wheel of a car. If I'd been a better driver, this wouldn't have happened. I'm sorry..." She took a deep breath. "Well, let's at least see to our own injuries from the crash." She bandaged herself thoroughly as the truck trundled northward.

Roundtop Road soon passed underneath both Route 30 and I-80. On the other side of the underpasses, it became North Fort Access Road. Ahead, North Fort Road branched off to the left, but it was just a dead end. "Won't be long now," said David.

OOC,[b]Frank Hodges[/b], you may attempt First Aid on yourself. If you succeed, you gain back 1d3 HP.

Colin continued driving but his mind was elsewhere. He was thinking about the time right after he and Joe had come back from Iraq and had just got the jobs working construction. They had gone on a double date which had ended really badly for both of them. He chuckled at the memory and wiped a tear from his eye that slid down his cheek.

"Don't blame yourself, Doolittle. It's not your fault at all. It could have happened to any of us. Shit, had I been able to grab the wheel I could have prevented the crazh."
As he spoke, Frank worked to bandage his wounds. He was able to relieve some of the pain from the car crash.

On North Fort Access Road-
David continued to lead the way north. Beside him, Dr. Owens leaned back in his seat, feeling nauseous and feverish. Melinda and Keith followed in his pickup truck, then Amanda on her Harley, and finally Colin and the others in his truck. Lisa sat next to him, too focused on her own losses to pay much attention to him. "I wish I could come back there to help her out," she said to those in the rear, "but there's no room back there and I don't think we should stop until we reach the base." Coltrane nodded, but just sat in silence.

"Ironic, isn't it?" said Lt. Doolittle. "Zorie's the best medic we've got, with the possible exception of Amanda, and she's the one who needs our help the most. Luckily her suit wasn't breached in the crash, so there should be no problem getting her through quarantine quickly once we get there."

The vehicles trundled further north, passing the turnoff to North Fort Road as well as a few other roads that headed left. It finally reached and crossed an intersection with Route 210, Happy Jack Road, which was clear in both directions. Beyond the intersection, the road became Roundtop Road once more. In the distance, buildings became visible after the last couple of miles of barren, empty land. The survivors also finally caught sight of the perimeter fence of Warren Air Force Base. They were almost there.

Colin spoke up and said, "I would be very surprised if the millitary let us in to the base. I think we should take my suggesstion and go north."

OOC: Is Melinda and Keith hearing what Colin says?

In the truck-

" Don't worry Melinda, we are almost there. Look" Keith says pointing to the buildings in the distance.

On Roundtop Road-
Coltrane glanced over at Colin. "North?" he said. "Believe me, we don't want to go that way. The missile base where we were evacuated from is in that area. They touched off a nuke over it, remember? I think there's a good chance they'll let us into the base anyway."

"They'll let Zorie Spooner in for certain," said Lt. Doolittle from the back. "We have to make sure she gets there safely. We owe her that much, at least. I think there's a decent chance they'll let the rest of us in too, though we'll definitely be quarantined. Colonel Carmichael is on our side, and he's a decent enough guy. We have to at least try. The base is right here, and I don't want to have to go anywhere else. We barely made it this far."

David crossed Happy Jack Road and headed north on Roundtop Road, the other trucks and Amanda's Harley following. There were buildings along Happy Jack Road to the right, as well as more on both sides of the road further north. Treadway Trail branched off to the left, leading into a neighborhood filled with off-base housing. Shortly past that, Military Road led to the right. A large lot with a building in it was northeast of the intersection, just outside the perimeter fence. The fence itself was made of steel and topped with razor wire. Every so often a "High Voltage" sign was on the fence warning that it was electrified. The area was deserted, though dead bodies lay at the base of the fence outside it, some of them still clutching it. A number of them had visible bullet wounds and other injuries, so they were evidently already dead when they had been fried by the fence.

Roundtop Road ran north alongside the fence. Houses were visible to the left, but it was a while before any more roads branched off. The first was Elling Road, which headed to the left. On the right side of the road, a short drive led up to a gate in the fence, but a barricade blocked off the drive at the very beginning of it. Beyond that there were no doubt the Claymores about which Carmichael had warned them. The convoy rolled on to the north. Garfield Reservoir, which supplied water to Warren AFB, was visible to the left. Past that, Rucker Road led west. David drove past all of them, heading north. "Shouldn't be long now," he said. "The gate we're looking for is only about a mile away."

OOC,Whoever posts next, please make another Luck roll for the entire group. Again, the average Luck score is 60%.

Colin shook his head and said, "Well if we get in I am going to fight these creatures. i am not going to sit around on my ass doing nothing in a hospital ward dangnabit!" He felt lucky enough that they would get in and smiled

On Roundtop Road-
The convoy kept heading north, parallel to Warren AFB's perimeter fence. More smaller dirt roads led off to the left, toward more buildings. After passing a few smaller roads that went into dead ends, it passed the turnoff to Ketcham Road, which led into another off-base housing development, as did Healy Road beyond it. After that, there was only wilderness visible to the left for a while. To the right everyone could see into the base through the fence. A dirt road paralleled Roundtop Road inside the base, though no buildings were nearby on that side of the fence. Eventually the dirt road merged with a paved road that curved around from the southeast that Frank Hodges and the other Air Force personnel recognized as Missile Drive. A Stryker M1133 Medical Evacuation Vehicle was stopped where the two roads met. When the trucks passed its position, it began heading north on Missile Drive, shadowing the convoy from the other side of the fence. Mounted upon it were an MK19 40mm grenade launcher, a .50 M2 machine gun and a lighter M-240 7.62mm machine gun. In the distance, the intersection with Randall Road was visible.

-Now what?-asked Melissa

Colin said to the people in his truck, "Well at least they are prepared for us. I say we go in and if they let us in and are not REMF's then cool otherwise we will need to flee for the wilderness and I will take anyone who wish to go there."

In the truck -
"Yeah, it appears to be the case. I'm proud of you, Melinda. You've been amazingly strong through all of this. Hopefully we'll be safe here for a little while." Keith leaned over and squeezed Melinda's leg with affection as he scans the area ahead.

In the back of the truck-
Gritting his teeth through the pain, Frank says with more than a little cynicism: "Looks like they have rolled out the red carpet for us."

-Well Keith, if I am stronger is thanks to you and your family, on my own I would't have survive 5 minutes. And it was you who helped me to have a (she blush) new purpose on life. Your my new family.
She kisses his hand.

On Randall Road-
David led the way north in his 18-wheeler, first crossing some railroad tracks that ran parallel to Randall Road before reaching the road itself, which intersected with Roundtop Road at a 60 degree angle. To the left, Randall Road went off to the northwest. A short distance further in that direction, Roundtop Road continued to the north alongside the perimeter fence. Past that turnoff, Randall Road became Experimental Farm Road. David made a sharp right turn, stopping shortly beyond the intersection at a massive steel barrier on wheels. The other vehicles pulled up behind him and stopped. Though they could not see beyond the barrier, they had seen the base's gates as they had approached the intersection. The gates were not far past the barrier and were heavily guarded by SF troopers. Within the base, Missile Drive had curved around to the northeast to intersect with Randall Road inside the base. The Stryker turned left on Randall Road and stopped just inside the gates. Other than the activity at the gates, the area was deserted

"Colonel Carmichael, this is Lt. Doolittle," said Rebecca into her radio. "We've arrived. Do you read me, sir?"

"I read you, Lieutenant," answered Carmichael. "I had a talk with the base's XO, and he agrees in principle to letting everyone in - except the infected person you have with you. He still needs to convince the CO, but he's got our commander's ear and is probably the only person who can do it. I should hear an answer back in a couple of minutes. Are all of you okay?"

"I had a mishap with the car back on I-80, sir. We had to abandon it and ride in the back of one of the pickup trucks. We were injured in the crash, and Zorie Spooner is unconscious, but her suit has not been breached and her injuries are not life threatening."

"We have a medical team standing by in the MEV you've no doubt seen. Everyone who's injured can ride inside it if you're granted admittance. It will take you to the quarantine clinic we've set up. Just sit tight and I'll get back to you."

Amanda dismounted from her motorcycle and walked over to Colin's truck. "Maybe I can help her," she said.

Lt. Doolittle nodded. "Yes, I think we can try again."

Dr. Dale Owens opened his door and got out of the truck. "I guess this is where we part ways," he said. "You may as well keep my gun, ammo, and medical supplies. I won't be needing 'em."

"What if you want to..." started David, "you know...check out early?"

"Maybe I could borrow your shotgun. That would be the easiest way. My wife and son are already gone, and I'd be joining them in another hour or two anyway. No sense prolonging the end, I guess."

OOC,[b]Frank Hodges[/b], you may try another First Aid roll for [b]Zorie Spooner[/b] if you wish. If you succeed, roll 1d3 to see how many HP she recovers. Anyone else is also free to try now that the vehicles are stopped.

Colin parked his truck and got out of it to stretch his legs. He walked over to the Semi to talk to David, "What now? Are we going to simply let Dr. Owen go on his way alone or are you going with him and in which case if we run into some REMF's in here I want to come with you."